USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Boston of to-day; a glance at its history and characteristics: with biographical sketches and portraits of many of its professional and business men, 1892 > Part 57
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RICHARDSON, ALBERT W., son of Albert and Abi- gail (Tewksbury) Richardson, was born in Win- throp, Mass., Aug. 28, 1853. He was educated in the schools of his native town. When a young man he entered the plumbing business in Boston, later establishing himself in the same trade in Winthrop. There he has since resided, taking a leading part in town affairs. From 1886 to 1887 he was a member of the board of health, in 1887, and 1888 a select- man, and in 1891 and 1892 a representative of his district in the lower house of the Legislature. He first served the tow i as town constable. He is a 1891 he visited Richfield Springs, N.Y., for the ' member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders.
He was organizer of the Winthrop Brass Band, in which he takes much pride. He is unmarried.
RICHARDSON, FRANK C., M.D., son of George C. and Ellen (Chase) Richardson, was born in Boston Aug. 11, 1858. His early education was obtained in the Boston public schools. Then he attended the Boston University School of Medicine, from which he graduated in 1879, and took a post-graduate course in the Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, På., receiving his diploma in 1880. He began practice the same year in East Boston, where he has met with marked success. He is a member of the American Institute of Homoeopathy ; the Massa- chusetts Homeopathic Medical Society, of which he is recording secretary ; the Boston Homeopathic Medical Society, of which he has been secretary and president ; and the Massachusetts Surgical and Gynæcological Society. He is also a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders. He was
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married in June, 1884, to Miss Nellie, daughter of Emory Chase, of Portland, Me. ; they have had two children : Halton C., deceased, and Conrad P. Richardson.
RICHARDSON, GEORGE L., was born in Boston Sept. 18, 1835. He was a member of the firm of Nottage & Richardson, carpenters and builders, for one year. The firm was then dissolved, and Mr. Ross, of Ross & Young, going West, Mr. Richardson and William N. Young, the remaining partner of Ross & Young, formed the present copartnership of Richardson & Young, and succeeded to the business of both concerns. This was in 1859, and they have re- mained together ever since, a period of more than thirty years. The firm are heavy contractors, and have done an immense amount of fine. work. They make a specialty of hardwood finish and interior work in wood of all kinds. They contract for the construction of buildings entire, when desired ; they erected in 1892 the Sherburn Building, corner of Washington and Bennet streets, making the plans, themselves and contracting for the whole work. Mr. Richardson is an active member of the Master Builders' and of the Massachusetts Charitable Me- chanic Associations. He was married in 1865 to Elizabeth J. Jones, of Duxbury. He resides in Chelsea.
RICHARDSON, JAMES B., was born in Oxford, N.H., Dec. 9, 1832. Having prepared for college at Ox- ford Academy, he entered Yale College in 1853, but while there he was afflicted with a severe illness compelling his retirement, and in 1854 he joined the sophomore class at Dartmouth. From this col- lege he graduated in 1857, and for one year read law with the late Henry W. Bellows, at Concord, N.H., coming to Boston in 1858, where he con- tinued his legal studies with Messrs. Hutchins & Wheeler. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1859, and has since been in general practice in this city. In 1865 he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature, but, having little taste for politics, served but one year in that body. In 1877 and 1878 he was a member of the Boston common council, and in 1884 was appointed one of the com- missioners to revise the city charter - a work for which he was peculiarly fitted. In his report he formulated many suggestions which have since been adopted. In 1889 he was appointed by Mayor Hart corporation counsel of Boston, which position he held until the spring of 1891. In 1890 he was offered a seat upon the supreme bench by Governor Brackett, but declined the honor. In
1891 he was made a member of the Rapid Transit Commission, and in May, 1892, was appointed by .
JAMES B. RICHARDSON.
Governor Russell to the superior bench. He is one of the oldest trustees of the Franklin Savings Bank, and for a long time has been an active man- ager of the New England Home for Little Wan- derers. He is also president of the association of the alumni of Dartmouth College. In 1891 he was elected a trustee of the college.
RICHARDSON, MAURICE HOWE, M.D., was born in Athol, Mass., Dec. 31, 1851. Fitting for college in the Fitchburg High School, he entered Harvard, graduating in the class of 1873. Four years later, in 1877, he received the degree of M.D. from the Harvard Medical School. He was assistant in anat- omy in the Harvard Medical School until 1881, when he became demonstrator of anatomy. After holding this position five years he was appointed as- sistant professor of anatomy, which position he now holds. He is visiting surgeon to the Massachusetts General Hospital, - a position he has filled for the past five years, -consulting surgeon to Carney Hos- pital, the New England Hospital for Women and Children, and the State Hospital at Tewksbury. He is a member of the American Medical Associ- ation, the American Surgical Association, the Asso- ciation of American Anatomists, the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, the Boston Society for
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Medical Observation, and the Boston Society for have three sons: William Cumston Richardson, Medical Science. He was for thirteen years ex- S.B., graduated in 1891 from the Institute of amining surgeon for the Travellers' Insurance Technology, Spencer Cumston Richardson, now at Harvard, and Amor Hollingsworth Richardson, now in Mr. Richardson's office. All attended the Prince School. Company, and has been a member of the United States Board of Examiners for Pensions. Dr. Richardson has published a number of papers and contributions to the medical journals on surgical subjects.
RICHARDSON, SPENCER WELLES, son of Peter and Hetty Spencer (Prentiss) Richardson, was born in Princeton, Mass., April 10, 1834. He was edu- cated in the Boston public schools - receiving the Franklin medal at the Quincy School in 1849 -and the high school in Brookline. He began business life in the ticket office of the Boston & Maine Railroad in this city. Here he remained a year, from Feb. 1, 1851, to Feb. 1, 1852, when he entered the Boston office, of the treasurer of the La- conia Company, the Pepperell Manufacturing Com- pany, and the Saco Water Power Machine Shop, all of Biddeford, Me. In this office he was employed fourteen years. Then, on the Ist of October, 1866, the banking firm . of Dwight, Richardson, & Co. was established, and Mr. Richardson was its head until October, 1869, after which for a year he con- tinued the business alone. On the Ist of November, 1870, with William H. Hill, jr., and Edward D. Ad- ams, he established the present banking and broker- age house of Richardson, Hill, & Co .; and in the following December he was elected treasurer of the Saco Water Power Machine Shop of Biddeford, in which position he still remains. He is also a director of the Boston & Bangor Steamship Com- pany. Mr. Richardson was one of five brothers in the Union army during the Civil War, serving as captain of Company E, Forty-fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. He is a member of Post 68, Benjamin Stone, jr., G.A.R., and companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He was a member of the Mercantile Library Association from 1854 to 1860, serving on its board of directors, as treasurer, on its lecture committee, and as presi- dent. For several years he was connected officially with the New England Female Medical College, until it was transferred to the Boston University. He is at present treasurer and trustee of the Mas- sachusetts Homeopathic Hospital, and holds posi- tions of responsibility as trustee and director of other institutions. He is a member of the Art, Al- gonquin, and Merchants Clubs. On June 27, 1864, he was married to Miss Mary T. Cumston, daughter of the late William Cumston, founder of the firm of Hallett & Cumston, pianoforte manufacturers ; they
RICHARDSON, WILLIAM HENRY, son of William Holt and Abbie Burgess (Gore) Richardson, was born in 'Boston Aug. 8, 1852. His father was a prominent dry-goods merchant of the firms of Wil- son, Hamilton, & Co. and A. Hamilton & Co., oc-
WILLIAM H. RICHARDSON.
cupying the entire block corner of Federal, Franklin, and Devonshire streets until the great fire of 1872 : and his mother was a daughter of John Gore, the largest wholesale clothing-dealer in Boston in his day, vice-president of the Five Cents Savings Bank, and one of the founders of the Tremont-street Methodist Church. When he was born his parents were living in Dix place, then a fashionable resi- dence quarter. He first attended Mrs. Finn's private school in Essex street, kept by the wife of the celebrated actor ; then the Brimmer School, from which he graduated in 1866 ; and then the English High School, graduating in 1869, just two weeks before the sudden death of Master Thomas Sherwin. This class of 1869 has become famous through the prominence of its members. He began business in the wholesale dry goods house of .1.
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Hamilton & Co., where he remained three years. ton. This house, which is widely known throughout Then he entered the retail dry-goods and small- the country, is unique as well as beautiful in its designs. It is an excellent example of Mr. Rinn's refined taste. He is remarkably thorough, and gives especial care to details in his construction of private houses. Mr. Rinn is also the architect of the monument at Bennington, Vt., standing three hundred feet high, - a most imposing design. ware business on his own account, in St. Albans, Vt. Returning to Boston he established, in 1875, the men's furnishing-goods house of Richardson & Gerts, on Washington street. Eight years later the firm moved to the present location, at No. 385 Washing- ton street. In 1889 Mr. Gerts retired from the firm, which became William H. Richardson & Co., Charles R. Adams entering, though not taking an active interest. Three years later, on the Ist of January, 1892, the business was sold to the William H. Rich- ardson Co .-- a corporation with William H. Richard- son as president and Edward E. Blodgett treasurer, thus becoming one of the largest and strongest fur- nishing-goods houses in the country. The business has reached such proportions that Mr. Richardson is obliged to make yearly trips to Europe in its in- terest. Mr. Richardson is a member of the Art Club and the Athletic Association, and is a Fine member of the First Corps of Cadets, Massachusetts Militia.
RICKER, JAMES W., son of Charles and Eliza B. Ricker, was born in Portsmouth, N.H., Jan. 31, of Marblehead." 1829. He attained his education in the public schools of Portsmouth. His first entrance into business life was in a printing-office at Great Falls, N.H., where he remained until he came to Boston and joined the staff of a city newspaper. He was for some years actively employed in newspaper work here, and was one of the projectors of the " Ledger," a newspaper published in Boston in 1859. He was also employed in the city treasurer's office in 1862, when the collection of taxes was one of its duties, and was appointed a deputy collector in 1863. When the collector's office was made distinct, he ran as a candidate against General Sherwin, who was elected. The latter immediately appointed him chief clerk. When, later, General Sherwin resigned, Mr. Ricker was chosen to the position, which he still holds. He is thoroughly conversant with the duties of his office, and is popular with both political parties, as is shown by his reëlec- tions and reappointments from 1883 to the present time.
RINN, J. PHILIP, architect, is a native of Germany, and was born in that country Aug. 21, 1837. He has been a leading architect in Boston for the past fifteen years. Among his most notable works are the chapel at Tufts College and many of the finest residences around Boston, including Oakmount, the home of the late Francis B. Hayes, in Lexing-
ROADS, SAMUEL, JR., son of Samuel and Emma L. (Woodfin) Roads, was born in Marblehead, Mass., Oct. 22, 1854. He is the sixth of the name in line of descent from one of the early settlers of that town, and among his ancestors was Dr. Elisha Story, surgeon on the staff of General Washington during the Revolution. He was edu- cated in the public schools. He early developed a literary talent and a taste for journalism, and in these fields he has spent much of his time. Before his twenty-first birthday he conducted a local news- paper, and in later years he has frequently con- tributed as a correspondent to Boston journals. In 1880 he published, through Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., his admirable "History and Traditions His first public work was as a member of the board of trustees of the Abbot Public Library in his town, to which he was elected in 1883. In November of that year he was elected to the lower house of the Legislature of 1884, and twice reelected ; he served also in the sessions of 1885 and 1886. The next two years, 1887 and 1888, he was in the senate, representing the Second Essex District, a Republican " strong- hold," which gave him, a pronounced Democrat, large majorities in both elections. In 1888 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Seventh District, and, although defeated at the polls,« ran considerably ahead of his party ticket. Dur- ing 1891 Mr. Roads was appointed private secre- tary to Governor Russell, which position. he still holds (1892).
ROBINSON, CHARLES H., supreme secretary of the Order of Ægis, son of John A. and Harriet C. (Richardson) Robinson, was born in Reading, Mass., Oct. 20, 1839. He attended the public schools until he was twelve years old, when he went to work at the shoemaker's trade. He served through the Civil War, first enlisting upon Presi- dent Lincoln's call for troops, April 17, 1861, for the term of three months, in Company B, Fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. Then he again enlisted, on August 27, this time in Company G, Twentieth Regiment, and served over three
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years. Returning to civil life, he settled in Spring- field, Mass., which was his home about five years.
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CHARLES H. ROBINSON.
During this time he was engaged in " drumming " for a leather-goods house, and covered an immense territory. He was afterwards for a while a reporter on the "Springfield Union." From Springfield he moved to Boston, and here engaged in business. Five years later he removed to Lynn, where he was for some time with King Bros. and F. W. Breed, shoe manufacturers. He also served for two years as clerk of committees of the I.ynn city council, and while he was acting in this capacity the idea of starting the Order of Agis was conceived and soon took practical form. During the first year Supreme Secretary Robinson worked incessantly and travelled many thousands of miles, finally securing nearly four thousand members and an active staff of deputies. Mr. Robinson is also a member of the Order of Solon of Pittsburg, and the " Non Secret " of Worcester. He is a member of General Lander Post, No. 5, G.A.R. He was married Jan. 16, 1868, to Miss Anna A. Brown ; they have one son, Louis T. Robinson, of the firm of Whitmore & Robinson, electrical engineers.
ROBINSON, FREDERIC MILLER, was born in St. John, N.B., April 13, 1848. He was educated in the private schools of E. K. Tucker and Thomas W. Lee. Upon leaving school he entered the
office of C. K. Fiske, M.D., and remained with him four years as student and assistant. He then entered the dental department of Harvard Univer- sity, graduating therefrom in 1872 and receiving his degree of D.M.D. In January, 1873, he began the practice of dentistry in Boston, in connection with Dr. Nathaniel W. Hawes; this association was continued until August, 1883, since which time he has practised alone. Dr. Robinson was for three years instructor in operative dentistry in the Harvard Dental School. He is a member of the Massachusetts Dental Society, of which he was librarian for three years, a member of the Ameri- can Academy of Dental Science, and of the Boston Society for Dental Improvement.
ROCKWELL, HORACE T., was born in Winchester, Conn., in August, 1838. His father, who had been principal of an academy in that town previous to 1850, was one of the earliest in America to ac- quire a knowledge of Pitman's phonographic system ; and he became an official reporter for the Congress of the United States in 1850, continuing till 1854, when he removed to Boston. Horace T. continued the education which had been begun under the tuition of his father, at the Eliot High School, Jamaica Plain, but in 1855 took up newspaper
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HORACE T. ROCKWELL.
reporting as an attaché of the " Boston Advertiser." Like his father he, was an expert stenographer ; but
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'as he developed talent for broader work he was em- aldermen of 1888 and 1889, chairman of the board ployed by the " Courier," and continued in the ser- the latter year. He resides in Allston, and is prom- vice of that paper until 1859, when he was elected to the office of clerk of committees of the city government. There he remained until 1866, when he resigned to engage in business as a printer. In the latter occupation he has continued up to the present time, being now at the head of the house of Rockwell & Churchill. His qualifications for general business were of course meagre, and his special preparation for the business of printing was limited to his acquirement of type-setting, during leisure hours, while an employé of the "Courier ; " yet, with much industry and some tact, he can be cred- ited with a success above the average, for his firm has developed a large business and maintains a high standard. Mr. Rockwell has held some public po- sitions - member of the common council in 1868, of the Legislature in 1880 and 1882, chairman of the Boston water board from 1885 to 1888, member of the governor's staff from 1884 to 1891, with im- portant special duties which were ably discharged, and he has often been "named " for other public positions which his engrossing occupations prevented him from considering. He has many affiliations, social and military, which bring him frequently be- HOMER ROGERS. fore the public, customarily with favor; but they are the minor incidents in the life of a " busy " man, inent in local affairs there. He is president of the Allston Cooperative Bank, and is connected with the Allston Congregational Church. not only in those things of purely personal interest, but in those which keep the general social machinery in motion. Mr. Rockwell is a direct descendant of one of the earliest settlers of Massachusetts, William Rockwell, selectman of Dorchester, 1630.
ROOT, HENRY A., was born in Ware, Mass., Sept. 3, 1850. Learning the building trade with his father, he came to Boston, with his brother, in 1872, when the two joined the well-known builder Joseph W. Coburn, remaining with him, under the firm name of Joseph W. Coburn & Co., until his death in 1884. Then they succeeded to the business, and have since continued, under the firm name of W. A. & H. A. Root. They have built a large number of buildings public and private, business blocks, mills, and private residences, in Boston and vicinity, and several impor- tant structures in New Hampshire. [For a list of some of their most noteworthy buildings, see sketch of William A. Root.] Mr. Root is a member of the Master Builders' Association and the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association ; he belongs to the Masonic order and the Odd Fellows; and he is a member of the Orpheus Musical Society. He was married in 1877 to Miss Caroline W. Southwell. He resides at Winthrop Highlands.
ROGERS, HOMER, was born in Sudbury, Mass., Oct. II, 1840. He passed his boyhood on the farm and in the village school, and, preparing for college, en- tered Williams in the class of 1862. When a junior in college, in 1860, he taught school as principal in the now famous Sanderson Academy of Ashfield, Mass. From college he entered the army, and went to the front in the autumn of 1862 as sergeant in Company F, Forty-fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. After serving his time in the army and obtaining his discharge, he resumed school-teaching. He taught a year in the Douse Academy, Sherborn, Mass., and two years, 1865-6, as principal of the Natick High School. Then, in 1866, he entered business in Boston, forming the partnership with his present partners, under the firm name of S. B. Rogers & Co., which has continued until the present time. He is also a director in the National Market Bank of Brighton, and a trustee in the Home Savings Bank. . Root, WILLIAM A., JR., was born in Ware, Mass., Mr. Rogers was a leading member of the board of Feb. 6, 1848. There he learned his trade of his
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father, an extensive builder in that vicinity. With his year in the office of Messrs. Chandler & Shattuck, brother Henry A. Root he came to Boston in 1872, and later practised law with John C. Gray. In 1878 William C. Loring became a member of the firm, and since that time the house has been known as Ropes, Gray, & Loring, and stands among the leading law-firms of the city. Mr. Ropes is an in- dependent Republican in politics, and, while not particularly active, has always shown a great inter- est in State and national affairs. He is a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts. and the two became connected with the old and well- known builder, Joseph W. Coburn, who laid the cor- ner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument in 1825. They continued association with him under the firm name of Joseph W. Coburn & Co., until his death in 1884, when they succeeded to the business as W. A. & H. A. Root. They have erected a large number of public buildings, business blocks, and private resi- dences in Boston and vicinity. In the Roxbury district they built the Hotels Comfort and Adelphi for the Sheafe estate, the Hotel Rugby, the Robin- Ross, HENRY F., was born in West Boylston, Mass., Aug. 16, 1844. He began business as a carpenter and builder in Worcester in 1864, having learned his trade of his father, W. J. Ross, who was a contractor and builder. In 1868 he went West, serving in the employ of Oakes Ames for six years. Returning East in 1874, he started business as a carpenter and builder in Newtonville, where he has since remained, steadily adding to his establishment, until now his mills on Crafts street cover an acre of ground and are fitted with all the latest improved machinery for the manufacture of all descriptions of builders' finish. He employs one hundred and fifty men in the mills and on buildings. He manu- factures every description of fine interior finish in son Block, Odd Fellows Block, Ferdinand's furniture store, Waterman & Sons' undertaking establishment, stables for the old Highland road, and the Hotel Eustis for Dr. Nichols; in the city proper, the Children's Hospital building on Huntington avenue, L. P. Hollander & Company's store on Boylston street, the block of stores on the corner of Washing- ton and Winter streets, stores for the Whiting estate on Fort Hill, the addition to Young's Hotel on Court street, and the Marcella-street Home, the addition to the Public Library, and the receiving-tomb at Mount Hope for the city of Boston ; also the works of the Whittier Machine Company and the Boston Cordage Company in South Boston; grammar school-house in Malden, court house in Worcester, town halls in Canton, Stoughton, and Walpole ; Music Hall Block, mills for French & Ward and Draper Brothers, the station, and Hon. E. A. Morse's resi- dence in Canton ; the pumping-station, etc., for the water-works in Newton ; the Brewster Memorial Hall and Academy in Wolfborough, N.H., A. J. Houghton's' residence in Brookline, and the Kennedy cracker works in Cambridge ; and they have built a large num- ber of breweries in this vicinity, among them those of John Roessle, A. J. Houghton & Co., A. G. Robin- son & Co., the American Brewing Company's build- ings on Heath street, the Revere brewery in East Boston, and Pfaff's brewing establishment on Bos- ton wharf. Mr. Root is a member of the Master Builders' Association, of the Massachusetts Chari- table Mechanic Association, the Odd Fellows, and the Orpheus Musical Society. He was married in 1872 to Miss Ellen L. Sturtevant. His home is in the Roxbury district.
ROPES, JOHN. CODMAN, although of American par- . entage, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 28, 1836. He was educated in Boston, and en- tered Harvard College, graduating in 1857, after HENRY F. ROSS. which he studied law at the Harvard Law School, hard woods, as well as sash, doors, blinds, etc., for receiving the degree of L.L.B. He read law for a the Boston and New York markets. He has been
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