Danvers, Massachusetts : a resume of her past history and progress, together with a condensed summary of her industrial advantages and development : biographies of prominent Danvers men, 1899, Part 12

Author: Moynahan, Frank E., 1865-1917. 4n
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Danvers, Mass.] : Published in the interest of the town by the Danvers Mirror
Number of Pages: 224


USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Danvers > Danvers, Massachusetts : a resume of her past history and progress, together with a condensed summary of her industrial advantages and development : biographies of prominent Danvers men, 1899 > Part 12


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ment, and member of the Educational Juries, both at Vienna and at the Paris Exposition of 1878; president of the Connecticut and Massachusetts State Teachers' Associations, the American In- stitute of Instruction, National Teachers' Association, and New England Pedagog- ical Association ; member of the Govern- ment of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from its establishment; ten years trustee of Bates College ; ten years member of the Massachusetts Board of Education, 1863-74; for some years member of the Educational Committee of the Social Science Association. These multiplied trusts are an abundant testi-


twelve quarterly and thirty-three semi- annual reports of public schools of Bos- ton, and several special reports relating thereto, printed in the annual volumes of the reports of the school committee of Boston from 1857 to 1878, inclusive ; the reports for the State board of Educa- tion of the Legislature for the years 1865 and 1872; report as director of the United States exhibition at the Paris Ex- position of 1878, printed with the reports of the United States Commissioner-in - chief ; Article Etats-Unis, Dictionaire de Pedagogue, Paris ; several lectures and papers printed in the volumes of the American Institute of Instruction ; and


PHILBRICK HOMESTEAD, DEERFIELD, N. H.


mony to the confidence reposed in Mr. Philbrick as an educator, and to the dis- tinguished ability with which he devoted himself to his life-long profession.


Mr. Philbrick studied law to some ex- tent, but when not engaged in educa- tional matters he was for the most part occupied in farm work, both in youth and in his later years.


He was one of the editors at different times of the " Massachusetts Teacher," editor of Connecticut " Common School Journal " for two or three years, when employed in that state. He prepared the annual reports of the public schools of the state of Connecticut for 1855-56 ;


in volumes of the National Educational Association ; circulars of the National Bureau of Education ; papers in magazine " Education," " Journal of Social Science Association," and " North American Re- view," 188t. Mr. Philbrick prepared the catalogue of United States Exhibition of Education at Paris, 1878; compiled the Boston Primary Charts, the American Union Speaker, Boston, 1865 and 1876, and the Primary Union Speaker. A large proportion of these literary produc- tions were incident to his official posi- tions, but the wide range of topics treated, with the large amount of practical wis- dom displayed, marked Mr. Philbrick as


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a man possessed of a high form of genius, -a genius for work, and a zeal in what- ever he espoused, which not only nerved his own arm, but encouraged and stimu- lated those who were called to co-operate in his plans.


On August 24, 1843, while teaching in Roxbury, he married Miss Julia A. Put- nam of Danvers, a descendant of Lieut. David Putnam, a brother of General Israel Putnam. The union proved a most happy one, and thus for forty-three years he had the cherishing support of a true helpmeet, and the comfort and joy of an ideal home.


Rev. Milton Palmer Braman, D.D.


Milton Palmer Braman was the son of a minister, Rev. Isaac Bra- man of George- town, and his mother was the daughter of a minister. Dr. Braman was the second in a family of five children. He went from Phillips Academy to Harvard, grad- uated from there in 1819, and after a year's teaching entered the An- dover Seminary. He preached his first sermon at Danvers, in December, 1825, and preached some- what during Dr. Wadsworth's sickness, and upon that able minister's decease he was speedily and unanimously called to become his successor, being ordained April 12, 1827. Dr. Braman married Mary Parker of Georgetown in Novem- ber, 1826, seven months after his settle- ment here. He resigned March 31, 1851, after a pastorate of nearly thirty- five years. He had a number of times


THE LATE REV. M. P. BRAMAN, D.D.


previously expressed a desire to be dis- missed, but his people would not let him go. This time he had decided. "I have reached that time of life when I wish to retire from the labors which the ministry imposes on me, and when it is usually better to give place to younger men." Dr. Braman moved to Brookline shortly after his resignation, then to Au- burndale, where he died April 10, 1882, in his eighty-third year. He was buried in the town of his birth after a brief ser- vice at the home of his aged mother.


Dr. Braman was a strong man; some have placed him at the head of eminent di- vines reared in Essex County. He was greatly assist- ed by his wife, one of the wisest and best of women, who re- lieved him of fam- ily cares, so that he could devote his time to parish duties, and in these she was ever


a thoughtful as- sistant. Dr. Bra- man was a mem- ber of the school committee of the town for twenty- five years, and chairman of the Board for a consid- erable portion of that period. He was also a member from this town of the convention held in 1853 for revising the Constitution of the state, and he bore an active and influential part in its proceed- ings. He was one of the nine original life trustees of Peabody Institute, and was frequently consulted by George Peabody, the donor of this magnificent gift. By his earnest and faithful preaching, he made a deep impression upon his hearers, many being led to a saving knowledge of the truth and a devoted Christian life.


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R.A. Supply (@. Boston


UNION STATION, BOSTON.


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B. & M. R. R. STATIONS.


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Asylum Station. Collins Street. Danvers Junction.


Danversport. Western, Danvers Plain. Putnamville


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Boston & Maine Railroad.


The unusual and adequate railroad facilities which Danvers enjoys is a mat- ter which causes comment from every person visiting the town and remaining long enough to realize the extent of the railroad privileges which the great Bos- ton & Maine railroad system furnishes the town. For more than fifty years Danvers has had as good railroad facili- ties as any and much better than most of the towns of her size in any part of the country. It was in 1846 that the Essex railroad was incorporated, and in 1849 it was opened from Salem to Lawrence. It was soon after leased to the Eastern railroad, and is now known as the Law- rence branch of the Eastern Division of the Boston & Maine system. In 1851 the Danvers & Georgetown railroad was in- corporated and was consolidated with the Danvers & Reading railroad in 1853. This road was later consolidated with the Boston & Maine and has been known since as the Newburyport branch of the Western Division of the Boston & Maine. These two divisions cross each other at Danvers Plains. There are no less than nine stations within the limits of the town, each village having its own neat, well-ap- pointed station, surrounded by its well- kept grounds, tastefully laid out in grass plats, flower beds and concrete or grav- elled walks. This great corporation, which looks so carefully after the wants and pleasures of its patrons, offers annu- ally prizes to its station agents who keep the grounds about their stations best and most attractive, and prizes have been often won by Danvers station agents. Especially fortunate is Danvers, too, in the class of men in charge of these sta- tions, for by their courteous manners and obliging ways they have become very popular with the patrons of their stations. There are twenty-one passenger trains daily between Danvers and Boston, some fast express trains, and a night the- atre train gives great satisfaction to a large number of patrons of the road. Nor are the freight facilities behind the passenger traffic ; no matter in what part of the town you are located if you wish


to send or receive freight to or from any direction you have but a short distance to haul it, for so liberally are the stations located along the lines of the road that all parts of the town are accommodated. This great railroad system, which con- nects with all parts of New England, has always been conducted in a spirit of broad liberality and progress, and as in the past, so probably, in the future, it will continue to be conducted in the interests of its patrons, and will continue to meet all the requirements for safe, rapid and comfortable transit, keeping fully abreast if not ahead of the times in the applica- tion of all new inventions, methods and improvements, for in these things the Boston & Maine has always been a lea der among railroads. In going to Boston by the Lawrence branch we pass through Salem, Lynn and Chelsea, and in going by the Newburyport branch we go through West Peabody, Wakefield, Malden, etc., while Newburyport, Salem, Lawrence, Reading and other famous old towns are virtually at our doors, for such are the railroad ac- commodations that one can start at any hour for almost any town in New Eng- land and make the journey in an almost incredibly short time. Great is the Bos- ton & Maine system, and Danvers is much benefitted by it.


William Penn Hussey.


The career of William Penn Hussey is a notable example of the progress of one who by industry, perseverance and en- terprise has attained a commanding po- sition in the world ; a position, however, which could not have been reached and maintained without the additional virtues of probity, fair dealing and true manhood. Like many other men who today occupy prominent positions in life Mr. Hussey owes his possessions and the standing he has attained to hard work and well ap- plied effort. Possessing by nature a clear head, a cool temperament, sound intellect and good judgment he knew that to succeed in life, industry and fidelity were the only remaining requisites for success and these he cultivated assidu- ously, with the result that there are few


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names better known or respected in the great financial centres of America and Europe than his. He was the founder and subsequently Treasurer and General Manager of the Broad Cove Coal Co., Limited, of Cape Breton, N. S., and the inhabitants of Canada consider his name


these mines have filled the people with awe so that the wise Solomon is eclipsed by the wonder-working name of William Penn Hussey. And well may it be so, for he has planned and successfully carried out feats in engineering which the Cana- dian Government engineers and other


WILLIAM PENN HUSSEY.


an all potent one in the commercial af- fairs of the Dominion. A notable event in their history was the running of the first locomotive over the railroad built by Mr. Hussey to the Broad Cove mines. The wonderful changes he has wrought and the amount of capital expended on


experts declared impossible. More par- ticularly is this mechanical skill noticea- ble in the erection of the two great break- waters that guard the harbor of the Broad Cove Coal Co. Mr. Hussey was no novice in the field of mining engineer- ing when he invested his capital and


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RIVERBANK." RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM PENN HUSSEY.


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undertook to develop and make a paying investment of the Broad Cove Mines. Many experts predicted failure, but nothing daunted Mr. Hussey set about his Herculean task. His experience in mining was acquired in the mines of Cal- ifornia and the west, amid surroundings and under circumstances that would have deterred any but him from continuing the business. This coupled with his magnificent physique, indomitable will- power and evenly balanced brain caused him to succeed where thousands would have failed and today the Broad Cove Coal Co. stands as a monument to his enterprise, skill and executive ability which the ravages of time can never efface. For his splendid services in developing this, so to speak, desolate portion of the Dominion, the Canadian Government offered Mr. Hussey the honor of knight- hood but as an American citizen he re- fused the dignity, preferring to live under the stars and stripes than become a Brit- ish subject.


Mr. Hussey was born at North Ber- wick, Maine, in 1847. He is a son of William Hussey, the well known inventor of the famous Hussey plough and a first cousin of John G. Whittier the poet. At the age of eighteen Mr. Hussey went to California where he engaged in mining. He returned to the east in 1872, but subsequently went to Kansas where he remained several years. From thence he came to Danvers and engaged exten- sively in the wholesale and retail coal business and is to this day known as the honest coal dealer. Many families here have reason to remember his benevolence, for it is a well known fact that none who asked for bread were given a stone and his coal sheds were always accessible to those less fortunate than their fellows. Generously permitting over 1,000 persons to become indebted to him for coal, he has never taken any legal means to collect what is now due him on the numerous accounts. Mr. Hussey has had charge of the construction of many large public works among which may be mentioned the sewer system of Boston. He retired from the local coal business in order to devote his entire time and attention to


the development of the Broad Cove Coal Co. which he had established at Cape Breton. Last year having brought that enterprise to a stage that it ranks among the richest coal mines in the world he re- signed his position as Treasurer and Gen- eral Manager in favor of his son J. Fred Hussey, but still owns seven-tenths of the Company's stock.


Mr. Hussey married the only daughter of W. H. Munro, the millionaire of Mar- tha's Vineyard. Riverbank, his palatial home at Danversport, stands in its own grounds and here he entertains lavishly, dispensing his hospitality to his numer- ous friends in an unostentatious and pleasing manner. Mr. Hussey has trav- elled all over the world and is well ac- quainted with the various European cap- itals where he has met some of the most eminent statesmen and financiers of the continent.


J. Fred Hussey.


The mantle of William Penn Hussey has fallen upon the shoulders of his son, J. Fred Hussey, who has proven himself to be a worthy son of a worthy sire. Not only has he inherited his father's splendid physique and genial disposition but also much of his business acumen and execu- tive ability.


Mr. J. Fred Hussey has always made his home with his father. He was edu- cated at the public and Holten High Schools of this town and at the Burdette Business College, Boston. Upon com- pleting his education he was associated with his father in the coal business at Danversport, and subsequently assisted him materially in the development of the Broad Cove Coal Co., of which he was elected Treasurer and General Manager last year, filling the vacancy caused by the retirement of his father, William Penn Hussey.


J. Fred Hussey is a young man of great ability and has already demonstrated his power to successfully continue the work of development at Broad Cove. He re- cently installed a mining plant there op- erated by compressed air which has been a great saving in the cost of mining the


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coal and has materially reduced the Com- pany's expenditure. Mr. Fred Hussey has been indefatigable in promoting the interests of the Company in every way and has won the esteem of the people of Broad Cove by his straightforwardness and kindness of disposition. His per-


persons with 200 teams and ten bagpipes accompanied the couple twenty miles to Marbou. The town was gaily decorated with flags and the arrival of the party was the signal for the firing of a salute, the greatest enthusiasm prevailing. Dinner was served at the Cameron House and


J. FRED HUSSEY.


sonal popularity was most forcibly at- tested when at the close of the season's operations at Broad Cove in January Mr. Fred and wife were given a Highland send-off by the employees and people. An enthusiastic gathering of over 300


the Jubilee Hotel, after which music and dancing were enjoyed. Before his de- parture Mr. Fred Hussey was presented the following address by J. L. McDougall, solicitor of the Company, on behalf of the people of Broad Cove.


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RESIDENCE OF J. FRED HUSSEY.


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"To J. Fred Hussey, Treasurer of the Broad Cove Company, Limited.


Respected and Dear Sir :-


Having learned that you are about to leave us for a while in order to visit your native home in Danvers, Mass., we desire to convey to you our deep appreciation of what you have done for us and for our country while you were among us. Your noble enterprise at Broad Cove has been pushed on from its inception with energy, honor and success by yourself and your worthy father and we earnestly hope that the happy progress already made is but a faint intimation of the crowning results yet to follow. In the course of three short years your zeal, your capital and your courage have changed Broad Cove from a lifeless locality into a hive of industry. Whilst you were always intensely interested in pressing on the great work committed to your management, you were at the same time ever careful to see that the men who worked for you were properly treated and properly paid. This fact created and has always sustained the most agreeable re- lations between the employers and the employed at Broad Cove. We trust your connection with the Broad Cove Coal Company may continue, for we know that such connection will ensure success to the work and satisfaction to the workers.


We desire you also to convey to your wife our heartfelt thanks for the kindly interest and sym- pathy she evinced in our welfare during the last summer and spring. You have both earned the respect and gratitude of the people of Broad Cove, who will never cease to pray for your fu- ture health and happiness."


Mr. Fred Hussey replied with feeling and with brevity. Three hearty cheers were then given to Mr. and Mrs. Hussey, and as a fitting final to a day of gladness, three lusty cheers and a tiger were given for William Penn Hussey, the father, and founder of the Broad Cove Coal Company.


Mr. J. Fred Hussey was married to Miss Bessie Cushman Ingalls of Boston last year and when not occupying his residence at Broad Cove, makes his home at Riverbank annex, where his father has fitted up a superb suite of apartments for the young couple.


The following article is from the Pro- vincialist, a paper edited in Canada and published in Boston, to show Canada's progress.


" Another enterprise of greater magnitude is the development of the Broad Cove Coal mine and the construction of an artificial harbor con- tiguous thereto. The dominant force in this huge undertaking is William Penn Hussey of Danvers, Massachusetts, and formerly well known in Boston as " the honest coal dealer." Some eight or nine years ago Mr. Hussey visited Broad Cove and, after carefully examining the coal and


the country, bought that mine for $60,000. It was then in an undeveloped state, and the diffi- culty of development and transportation seemed almost irremovable. People less shrewd -and pushing than Mr. Hussey himself, imagined at that time that he had struck a most desperate snag. But William Penn knew his ground, and went straight ahead, looking neither to the right nor to the left. In the winter of 1894 he got an Act of Incorporation passed through the Legis- lature of Nova Scotia for the Broad Cove Coal Company, Limited. It was now that Mr. Hus- sey's remarkable energy came into full play. When he bought the property the coal was there, it is true, but it was dormant and useless. There was no railroad within thirty-five miles of it ; there was no good harbor within forty miles of it ; a Canadian government engineer had exam- ined McIsaac's Lake fast by, and had made a very discouraging report as to the practicability of making a harbor there; there was no capital, hope or enterprise in the locality. Broad Cove was in evil case. But Mr. Hussey, nothing daunted, resolved on two things, namely; to open up and develop that beautiful coal property, and to make a good shipping harbor of McIsaac's Lake. He went to Great Britain and other countries of Europe to float his scheme. He en- listed wealthy capitalists in England, Scotland, France and Switzerland. He went down to Broad Cove as Manager and Treasure . of his company, purchased large tracts of land around the mine and projected harbor, imported a heavy lot of plant, built a railway from the coal pits to the proposed harbor, (two miles), bought a powerful clam-shell dredge with its fleet of scows, and went to work with the cool determination of a man who means business. The result is that on the 16th day of last month the Minister of Public Works of Canada, who had been around seeing the coastal works of the Maritime Prov- inces, had the happy mortification of being able to steam right into the new and elegant harbor of Broad Cove-a harbor which a few years ago was pronounced virtually impossible by an expert officer of his own department. The distinguished Minister also experienced the cheerful novelty of seeing, in his own fair Dominion, an excellent harbor of immense public importance just being completed, two long substantial piers splendidly built at enormous cost, a magnificent shipping wharf with three or four vessels loading thereat, and all done without receiving one cent's worth of aid from the Government of Canada or any other Government. A novel experience, truly. For be it understood that, in Canada, all these public works are expected to be built and main- tained by the Federal Government.


During the past two months an average of ten vessels a week -- vessels of about 120 tons bur- then-loaded with coal in this new harbor of Broad Cove. The season having been advanced before they were ready to do much shipping there, the market for this year's coal confined to the two provinces of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. 30,000 tons of Broad Cove coal was sold in Charlottetown, P. E. I., alone, since


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BROAD COVE COAL MINES.


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two months. Next year this company expects to reach the best markets of the St. Lawrence and of the New England States. The mine is now ready to be worked with electricity and machinery and could, if required, turn out 4,000 tons a day. During this summer and last spring an average of 100 men a day were employed on the pier work, dredging and building operations. This does not include the hosts of country people en- gaged in hauling timber and other material for the various works there. Since the shipping of coal commenced fifty miners have been regularly employed, besides engineers, weighers and man- agers. By next fall this company will have ex- pended one quarter of a million dollars in Broad Cove.


That this enterprise is one of tremendous ad- vantage to the county of Inverness is self-evident, and there is scarcely a doubt but that it is des- tined to be one of great and permanent profit to its clever, courageous promoters. Like every human venture, the undertaking has still difficul- ties and defects but its general success is estab- lished beyond question. The mine can be oper- ated at less cost than any other mine in Nova Scotia ; it is between 150 and 200 miles nearer Montreal and St. Lawrence markets, than any other of the working collieries of Cape Breton, and the superior quality of the coal will always command top prices. After this season the coal can be shipped from there in large steamers. They have now fifteen feet of water in the chan- nel at low tide, and when the piers are extended outwardly 200 feet more they will have thirty-five feet of water.


Mr. Neagli, a rich manufacturer of Zurich, Switzerland, is one of the principal stockholders, and has spent all this and the most of last sum- mer in Broad Cove. Such is his confidence in the scheme that he says he would be willing to invest a million dollars in it himself. The other parties interested are equally sanguine, particu- larly the gallant founder. So long as William Penn Hussey controls the craft, his friends in Inverness will be moved to address it in the majestic language of the old Roman: " What dost thou fear? thou hast Cæsar on board."


Thomas Pinnance.


Mr. Pinnance possesses much ability and a peculiar fitness as a fashioner of gentlemen's clothing and has been suc- cessful in building up an excellent trade. He is a native of England and was em- ployed by Poole, the celebrated London tailor. Mr. Pinnance came to this coun- try in 1888, and two years later came to Danvers, obtaining employment with M. C. Lord. In 1895 he went into business for himself, and has a store at 35 Maple street, where he has on hand an excellent line of seasonable novelties in domestic


and imported materials. His experience in the best tailoring establishments in London enables him to give his patrons correct style and an excellent fit that cannot fail to please the most fastidious.


Mr. Pinnance's trade is largely among the fashionably dressed young men of the town, who have confidence in his skill and judgment in turning out the finest clothing, while his charges are modest.




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