Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 7

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

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ON. GEORGE LATHE BURT, a member of the firm of J. H. Burt & Co., contractors and builders, Blue Hill Avenue, Boston (Dorchester

district), was born in Walpole, Cheshire County, N. H., November 3, 1829, son of Hol- land and Nancy (Watkins) Burt.

Holland Burt was a native of Westmoreland, N. H. Shortly after his birth his parents went to Montreal; and he was reared in the home of his maternal uncle, Jonathan Livingstone, of Westmoreland, N. H. He served an appren- ticeship to the cabinet-maker's trade, which he learned in all its branches; and he subse- quently opened a shop of his own in Walpole, where for many years he carried on an exten- sive business. Many of the prominent cabinet- makers of Boston and the vicinity, including Edward H. R. Ruggles, Samuel Ruggles, Harvey Stearns, Edward Kendall, learned their trade under him; and also his brothers, Joseph and John Burt, who enjoyed a wide reputation as skilled workmen. Holland Burt was Captain of the cavalry company of State militia in Walpole. His wife was a daughter of Alexander Watkins, whose ancestors came from the north of Ireland. Eight of the chil- dren of Holland and Nancy (Watkins) Burt attained maturity, and two are still living. Several of them achieved local prominence. Alfred Watkins, who was a farmer and car- penter, spent his life in Walpole, in which town he served in nearly all the local offices, including that of Selectman. He was also County Commissioner of Cheshire County at the time of his death. He married Caroline

Burroughs, and reared two sons and one daugh- ter. Sumner Alexander also learned the car- penter's trade, and, coming to Dorchester in 1845, became a member of the firm of J. H. & G. I .. Burt, which was then known as J. H. Burt & Co. He was Selectman in Milton for some years. He was a member of the Masonic order. His death occurred February 28, 1886. He married Anna Shaw, but they had no chil- dren. John Holland Burt was born in Wal- pole, June 6, 1827. Having learned the carpenter's trade, he came to Dorchester in 1847, and three years later, in company with his brother George, established the present business, beginning at first in a small way, and gradually building it up to its present dimensions. Their contracts include much of the most important work in Dorchester and the surrounding country - Milton, Waltham, and Quincy. Mr. John H. Burt has been Select- man of Milton for ten years, besides having taken an active part in all town affairs, serving in various other offices. He married Jenette Cushing, of Milton, adopted daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Cushing. Their own children - two in number - are both deceased; but they adopted a daughter, Mabel Bates, who is now the widow of Graham C. Lawson, of Phil- adelphia. (See History of Walpole, N. H.)

George Lathe Burt was sixteen years old when he began to learn the cabinet-maker's trade under his father, with whom he remained until March, 1848. He then came to Dor- chester, and worked for two years as a journey- man, receiving one dollar per day for twelve hours' work. This period of hard labor for small compensation was terminated in 1850, when he united with his brother John H. in estab- lishing the present business, which has now been carried on for nearly fifty years, and which, besides the general contract work already mentioned, includes the manufacture of doors, sash, and blinds. Their success and the importance of the work they have executed in the last half-century form an interesting page in the business history of Dorchester. Mr. George I .. Burt is a director of the Dor- chester Mutual Fire Insurance Company and a trustee of the Dorchester Savings Bank. For twelve years he was a trustee of Mount Hope

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Cemetery and for four years a trustee of the Mechanics' Charitable Association. He is a Republican in politics; and, like his elder brother, he has been frequently called upon to serve in public office. He was a member of the first City Council after the annexation of Dorchester to Boston, which was in 1870, and so continued for four years. He was in the State Legislature five years, three years - ISSO, 1881, and 1882 - as Representative from the Twenty-fourth Suffolk District and in 1884 and 1885 as Senator. In the House and also in the Senate Mr. Burt served on several important committees, prominently on Chari- table Institutions and on Cities, and also was on the State House Committee. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Union Lodge, F. & A. M.

Mr. Burt was married August 6, 1852, to Miss Ellen Augusta Darby, a native of Wal- pole, N. H., and a daughter of Captain Stephen H. and Mary A. (Jennings) Darby. He has two sons: Waldo Cushing, born January 17, 1856; and George Edward, born June 22, 1858 - both of whom are associated in business with their father. Waldo married Annie A. Fee, and has two children - Ruth and George L., second. George Edward married Anna I. Crane, and has five children, four daughters and one son - Lillian, Ethel, Hazel, Dorothy, and John Holland, second. In 1898 he was appointed by the Selectmen of Milton as Building Inspector of the town, being the first incumbent of that office.

SAAC BAKER LEWIS, a prosperous business man of Provincetown, Cape Cod, was born in this place, October 10, 1831, son of Nathaniel and Azubah (Snow) Lewis. He is a grandson of Eleazer Lewis, a farmer, who was, so far as is known, a life- long resident of Truro. Eleazer Lewis was twice married, first to Betsey Paine and second to Sarah Collins, his second wife being the grandmother of the subject of this sketch. He died when over ninety years old, having reared a large family.

Nathaniel Lewis, son of Eleazer and father of Isaac Baker, was born in Truro, Mass.,

October 1, 1795. His main occupation was fishing, which he followed on the Grand Banks. After his marriage he settled in Provincetown, and resided here until his death, which took place December 1, 1864. He was married on May 31, 1818, to Azubah Snow, who was born in Truro, December 3, 1So1, and was a daugh- ter of John and Mary (Atwood) Snow, of Truro. Her father, a farmer by occupation, was born in Truro in 1765. Ilis wife, Mary, whom he married in 1791, was born July 31, 1772. She was the daughter of Enoch and Azubah (Stevens) Atwood and a grand-daughter of Nathaniel Atwood, of Truro. Mrs. Azubah Snow Lewis died on September 12, 1873. She had reared ten children - Lucy, Nathan- iel, Mary, Joseph, Azubah S., Isaac B., Thomas, George H., Bangs Atwood, and Sarah. Of these children the present sur- vivors are: Azubah, Isaac, Thomas, George, and Bangs Atwood. The last named has been a member of the Massachusetts Legislature.

Isaac B. Lewis in his early youth joined the multitude of those who gain their living in the fisheries off the Banks of Newfoundland, mak- ing his first trip to sea as cook in a vessel commanded by his brother Nathaniel. The vessel was one of the last to sail from the harbor without a stove, and the cooking was done by the fireplace. Continuing in the fish- ing industry for several years, he accumulated enough money with which to engage in busi- ness ashore, and became connected with his brother Nathaniel as proprietor of a fish market at the corner of Dover and Washington Streets, Boston. In 1868 they sold out; and he then went to Scarborough, Me., where he purchased some real estate and erected a house in which he resided for a part of each year till 1876. In that year he removed to his father's old homestead, having purchased it in 1874; and here, in the house which was erected in 1840, he has since resided, having been engaged since 188o in weir-fishing.

Mr. Lewis was first married on December 6, 1853, to Olive Ann Baker, of Scarborough, Me., daughter of Isaac and Sophronia (Snow) Baker. She died on August 24, 1869, leaving . one son, Isaac Wesley, who grew to manhood. Isaac Wesley Lewis married Laura Freeman,

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and has seven children - Olson E., Olive A., Nathaniel E., Laura May, Wesley Baker, Cora A., and Ralph Freeman.

On April 4, 1871, Mr. Isaac Baker Lewis married for his second wife Elizabeth Augusta Boothby, of Scarborough, Me., daughter of Ben- jamin and Catherine (Harmon) Boothby. Her father, Benjamin, and her grandfather, Nathaniel Boothby, were both natives of Scarborough; while her great-grandfather Boothby, also named Nathaniel, was either born in England or was of English parentage. The great- grandfather was at one time a resident of York, Me., whence he removed to Scarbor- ough, and purchased a large tract of land, a part of which he let on a lease of ninety-nine years. He engaged in farming, and lived to an advanced age. His son, Nathaniel Boothby, second, was four times married, his first wife, grandmother of Mrs. Lewis, having been a Miss Milliken. He was a farmer and a life- long resident of Scarborough, where he died at the age of seventy-eight years.

Mrs. Lewis's father inherited the Boothby homestead in Scarborough, where his life was spent, and where his death occurred at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife, Catherine, a daughter of Edwin and Margaret (Matthews) Harmon, was a native of Scarborough. Edwin Harmon, her father, who was a master mariner in the merchant service for a number of years, eventually removed to Madison, N. H., where he spent his last days. His wife, who was born at Oak Hill in Scarborough, Mc., died at the age of seventy-two. They had reared four children - Charles Wilson, Elizabeth Augusta, George Ilenry, and Benjamin Frank- lin. Charles W. Boothby served in the Fed- cral army with the rank of Captain during the Civil War, and afterward settled in New Or- leans, where he is now superintendent of the government mint. His son, Benjamin C. Boothby, served in the late war with Spain, and died of typhoid fever at Santiago. George Henry Boothby resides on the home farn. Benjamin Franklin Boothby died at the age of thirty-seven years.

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis attend the Centre Methodist Church. They are well esteemed by all who know them.

OHIN ALEXANDER TANNER, JR., M. D., who has been engaged in the successful practice of his profession in Dorchester since October, 1887, was born in Lynchburg, Va., August 9, 1851, a son of John A., Sr., and Victoria A. (Hythe) Tanner. His father is a native of the same place, being the son of James G. Tanner, a plantation overseer.

The first progenitor of the Tanners in Amer- ica came from Manchester, England, and set- tled in Manchester, Va. John A. Tanner. Sr., was formerly a merchant. He is now liv- ing there at the age of eighty years. His wife, who also was a native of Virginia, died at fifty-seven years.

John Alexander Tanner, Jr., was educated! in the Abingdon Male Academy at Abingdon. Washington County, Va., at the Emory and Henry College at Emory, Va., and at the Uni- versity of Virginia, being graduated from the last-named institution in June, 1875. In Oc- tober of the same year he entered the United States service as Assistant Surgeon, and for nine months was stationed at the Charlestown (Mass.) navy-yard, on board of the training- ship "Wabash." He then went to sea on board the United States ship "Ossipee." attached to the North Atlantic Squadron, and subsequently was transferred as Surgeon to the "Mayflower," where for three months he was associated with the cadet engineers on their annual cruise. He was next ordered to the "Wabash" for one month and then to the United States hospital at Brooklyn, prelimi- nary to examination for promotion, and in February, 1879, was promoted to the rank cf Passed Assistant Surgeon, and stationed again at the Charlestown navy-yard; and, while still in the service, was detailed with the National Board of Health as chemist in an investigation of potable waters, and was stationed at the University of Virginia at work in the labora- tory for one year. In August, 1882, he re- signed his position in the navy, and settled in Dorchester; but on account of ill health he remained there only one year, going at the end of that time to Louisville, Ky., where he was engaged in scientific work at the Hospital Cel- lege of Medicine.

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Returning subsequently to Boston, he settled once more in Dorchester, where he has since been engaged in active practice. Well-versed in his profession, thoroughly up-to-date and in touch with the latest developments of medical science, and of a pleasing personality, he is widely popular, and his services are in con- stant demand. Ile is a member of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society, of which he has been Censor and Counsellor, a member of the Boston Society for Medical Improvement and of the Dorchester Medical Club. He was for two years Surgeon of the Boston division of the Massachusetts Navy Battalion. A mem- ber, also, of the Masonic order, he belongs to Adelphi Lodge, of South Boston; Dorchester Chapter, R. A. M. ; and De Molay Command- ery, of Boston.

Dr. Tanner was married June 6, 1879, to Miss Carrie Maria Littlefield, of West New- ton, Mass., daughter of Amos A. and Caroline Amelia (Morse) Littlefield. He has one child, Carrie Virginia.

AMOS A. LITTLEFIELD was born in Rox- bury, Mass., in 1824, a son of Spencer Little- field. His ancestors were among the early colonists of Massachusetts. Having obtained a common-school education, he came to Boston and entered the employ of his brother-in-law, Mr. Stockwell, a merchant, as clerk. In 1849, immediately upon the news of the discovery of gold in California, Mr. Stockwell set out for the new land of promise, where he was one of the pioneer merchants, being among the first of the new arrivals. Goods were forwarded to him by Mr. Littlefield; and he disposed of them readily at enormous prices and at a large profit, despite the cost of transportation. The Boston establishment of the firm was on Han- over Street, where Mr. Littlefield remained for about twenty years. He then engaged in the dry-goods business at 219 Washington Street, under the old Marlborough Hall, and thus continued till 1870, when he sold out on account of ill health, and retired. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bos- ton Art Museum, in which institution he took a deep interest. His death took place in Dor- chester, February 17, 1890.

Mr. Littlefield was married in 1850 to Miss Caroline Amelia Morse, daughter of Joseph and Eunice (Puffers) Morse, of Lowell, Mass. Her grandfather, Noah Morse, participated in the battle of Concord. Mrs. Littlefield was the youngest of a family of eight children, and was the last of her race.

DGAR PAUL LEWIS, a well-known and highly esteemed resident of East Boston and one of the foremost repre- sentatives of the candy trade in New England, was born in East Boston, February 20, 1859. a son of Paul Phinney and Isabelle Graham (Handy) Lewis.

He is a descendant in the eighth generation of George Lewis, the ancestor of the Barnstable (Mass.) family of that name, who came to this country from East Greenwich, County Kent. England. George Lewis was by trade a clothier. Though called of East Greenwich. known circumstances in regard to his life make it probable that he was for a time a resident of London, and also a member of Mr. Lothrop's church in that city in 1632. About the year 1626 he married Sarah Jenkins, a sister of Edward Jenkins, who was afterward a resident of Scituate, Mass. He probably did not come to America till after the breaking up of the church in London and the imprisonment of Mr. Lothrop in 1632. He was of the Plym- outh (Mass. ) Colony in the following year ; but. though a member of the church at Plymouth. his name does not appear on the tax lists vi 1633 or 1634. He was made a freeman on January 14, 1636-7. Being poor, a servant's share of five acres was allotted to him in the division of lands at Scituate. His first wife came with him to New England, and died at Barnstable. His second wife, Mary, whose family name is not known, was living in 16;0. He died in Barnstable in 1662 or 1663. No record of the respective nativities of his chil- dren having been preserved, the following order is based largely upon conjecture: Mary. Thomas, George, James, Edward, John, Ephraim, and Sarah. The last two named were born in Barnstable. John was born in Scituate, and the others in England.

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George Lewis, second, son of George, above mentioned, was born in England. He was a planter, and resided at East Parish in Barn- stable. He was not so well educated as others of the family, and had not the active business capacity of his brothers James and Thomas. Yet he was honest and industrious, a good neighbor, and a worthy member of the church. On December 1, 1654, he married Mary Lum- bard, a girl but fourteen years of age, the daughter of Barnard Lumbard. They had twelve children; namely, George, Mary, Sarah, Hannah, Melatiah, Bathsheba, Jabez, Benja- min, Jonathan, John, Nathan, and Thankful all of whom were born in Barnstable.

Benjamin Lewis, son of George Lewis, second, was born in Barnstable, November 22, 1675. He was married on February 10, 1686-7, to Margaret Folland, of Yarmouth. They had five children, all born in Barnstable; namely, Mary, Seth, Elizabeth, Mercy, Benjamin.

Seth Lewis, son of Benjamin and Margaret Lewis, was born August 1, 1704, and died in 1751, at the age of forty-seven. He married Sarah Revis, October 22, 1724; and they were the parents of eight children - Elijah, Thank- ful, Sarah, Temperance, Mercy, Desire, Lorey, and Benjamin.

Benjamin Lewis, son of Seth, married for his second wife Desire Bacon. Their son Benjamin, Jr., was born at Centreville in March, 1797. Ilis wife was Mebitable Phin- ney, of Centreville. They had eight children - Desire, Benjamin, Britainia, Paul Phinney, Francis, Seth, Mchitable, and Ambrose.

Paul Phinney Lewis, son of Benjamin and Mehitable and father of Edgar P. Lewis, was born in Centreville, Mass., August 27, 1828. For a number of years he was engaged in the restaurant business in Boston, being located for four or five years at the corner of Bromfield and Washington Streets. His death took place in 1880. He married Isabelle Graham Handy, of Hyannis, Mass. They had two children : Edgar P., whose name begins this sketch ; and Edith 1. The latter is the wife of Jacob A. Fritz, of Cambridge, Mass. Mrs. Isabelle G. Lewis is still living, and resides alternately with her two children.

Edgar P. Lewis, after his school days were

ended, assisted his father in the restaurant for several years. On reaching the age of nine- teen he entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company as clerk, and thus continued for about two years. He then became one of the employees of Capen, Sprague & Co., who were in the same line of business, and for whom he subsequently travelled on the road as salesman, being in their employ all together for a period of six years. In 1884, having accumulated a small capital, he started a confectionery job- bing business on Meridian Street, East Boston. After a struggle at the beginning to make both ends meet, his trade began to grow, and with it his confidence; and soon after he opened a retail store on Meridian Street. These two bave been followed by three others, until at the present time he conducts a large candy factory on Sumner Street and three palatial candy stores in East Boston, as well as a large wholesale house on Friend Street, Boston, and a confectionery store in the busiest retail spot in Boston, all of which are marvels of splendor and considered among the handsomest in all New England. His factory on Sumner Street was started six years ago; and, besides manu- facturing a portion of the goods sold in his own stores, he sold largely to the trade. About the same time he removed his jobbing house to the present location at 173 and 177 Friend Street. His factory is now one of the most important in East Boston, and furnishes employment for one hundred hands in the man- ufacture of caramels, chocolates, and all other counter goods. The establishment has been several times improved, and its capacity en- larged since it was started; and important additions have been made to the machinery, enabling Mr. Lewis to produce other and new lines of sweetmeats for his stores and his wholesale trade. The jobbing house on Friend Street comprises what was formerly two large stores, and three travelling men look well after the New England trade which the store sup- plies. In the stores and factory Mr. Lewis employs one hundred and twenty-five people. The cost of fitting up the East Boston stores, all of which are liberally patronized and are handsomely attractive, was eleven thousand dollars; and that of the Washington Street

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store, near Jordan, Marsh & Co.'s, was far greater in proportion. It has been well said that Mr. Lewis's pre-eminent success has been the result of natural ability, persever- ance, and the possession of a knack born in him for acquiring, holding, and increasing trade. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine and of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston.

Mr. Lewis was married April 26, 1883, to Carrie Isabella Taber, a daughter of Pardon, Jr., and Betsy (Nye) Taber, of Acushnet, Mass. They have six children : Ralph Taber, born April 30, 1884; Edgar Paul, Jr., born Octo- ber 4, 1886; Guy Russell, born March S, 1889; Sibil, born August 2, 1891 ; Chauncey Nye, born August 26, 1894; Mildred, born October 6, 1896. Mr. Lewis and his family reside in a pleasant home on Princeton Street, East Boston.

RANCIS JACKSON WARD, a well- known and highly respected citizen of Boston, a resident of Roxbury, now re- tired from active business life, was born in Roxbury, September 17, 1830, a son of Nahum and Susan (Gurney) Ward. In his veins flows the blood of six generations of New England ancestors, the representatives of which have been mostly men of mark and local influence, imbued strongly with the characteristic Pil- grim virtues - fear of God, respect for law and order, and respect for labor.

The founder of the family in America was William Ward, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1639, and who was made a free- man in Sudbury in 1643. In 1644 he repre- sented Sudbury in the General Court, and from that year to 1660 he served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Sudbury. With twelve others, he petitioned the General Court in 1656 for the setting off of a tract of land eight miles square, west of Sudbury, which was granted, the town of Marlboro, embracing the territory now known as Northboro, Westboro, Marlboro, and Southboro, being incorporated in 1660. Hle removed with his family to Marlboro, where he was chosen a Deacon of the church.

His home lot, consisting of fifty acres, was situated on the south side of the road, nearly opposite the site of the first meeting-house. During King Philip's War he, in common with many others, suffered great hardships from the Indians, his buildings being fired, his cattle destroyed, and one of his sons slain. He died in Marlboro, August 10, 1687, at the age ci about ninety years. His will bears the date of April 6, 1686.

Obadiah Ward, William's third son, who was born about 1632, had lands assigned to him in Sudbury and later in Marlboro, .of which latter town he was Representative to the General Court in 1689. His death occurred January 5, 1718, when he was eighty-six years old.

The next in the line of descent now being traced was his son Obadiah, second, born Sep- tember 18, 1672, who died March 14, 1752. Elizabeth, wife of Obadiah, second, died Au- gust 27, 1709, in Marlboro.

Their son Beriah, born in Marlboro, January 23, 1725, was married November 26, 1741, to Hannah Stow, daughter of John Stow, of Marl- boro. They had eleven children, five of whom were born in Marlboro and six in Athol. Mass., whither the family removed.

Jabez Ward, son of Beriah, was born in Athol, November 10, 1766, and died in 1853 at the age of eighty-seven years. The active period of his life was spent in farming. On August 4, 1787, he was married to Esther Humphrey, daughter of Captain William Humphrey, a soldier of the Revolution. She was born in Dorchester in 1768, and died October 11, 1813, at the age of forty-five years. On March 27, 1817, he married Mrs. Mary Ann Osgood. By his first wife he had nine children, and by his second he had two: Henry M., born September 9, 1820; and Syl- vester Lee, born March 5, 1823.

Nahum Ward, son of Jabez and Esther (Humphrey) Ward and father of Francis Jack- son Ward, was born in Athol, Mass., October 10, ISO1. Brought up on his father's farmi, he worked at farm labors until reaching the age of twenty-three years. In 1824 he came to Boston, and entered the employ of Francis Jackson, a tallow-chandler, with whom he re-

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mained for four years. In 1828 he removed to Roxbury, and established himself in business as a tallow-chandler, his factory being situated on Ward Street. The business subsequently grew to such large proportions that in 1872 it was removed to Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor, which he purchased in 1857. Nahum Ward died November 9, 1858. In his will the business was bequeathed to his son, Francis J. ; his half-brother, Sylvester L. ; and his nephew, William H. Ward.

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Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1901, Part 7

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

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