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 17
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at Stoddard, N. H. Mr. Carr obtained employment in the glass factory there, where he - re- mained until his twenty-first year, when he went to Plaistow, N. H., to learn brick- making. In the spring of 187[ he came to Dan- versport and en- gaged in that occupation for himself and has been most suc- cessful. The average annual output of his yard i s 20,000,000 bricks and he em- ploys twenty men in the season. Mr. Carr has always been an active and earnest worker in the cause of temperance and no-license. H e is the oldest living charte r m e m- ber o f the Cath- olic Total Abs ti- nen ce Soci- ety. In 1 870, he or- ganized the Father M a t- the w Society of Hav- erhill and in
EDWARD CARR.
RESIDENCE OF EDWARD CARR.
1875 a similar society in Salem. His aversion to the use of intoxicating liquors
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DANVERS.
is inherited from his parents, both of whom received the pledge of total absti- nence from the hands of Father Matthew during his crusade against liquor in Ire- land. Mr. Carr was overseer of the poor in 1874-78. In pol- itics he is a Gold Democrat and has the courage of his convictions. H e
was married Nov. 9, 1864, to Ellen O'Leary of Danvers and has recently erected a handsome and substantial resi- dence convenient to
his business. M r. Carr is a man of sterling qualities and stands high in the estimation of the community, both in commercial circles and in private life.
travelling salesman for the Morley But- ton Sewing Machine, with headquarters in Boston. His next position was as fore- man of the stitching room with Martin, Clapp & French and upon the removal of the firm to Dover, N. H., he made ar- rangements with their successors, Clapp & Tapley, to do all the stitching, at present operating this department i n their shop at Tapley- ville. He employs thirty-five persons in this connection and the work is in keep- ing with the high class goods turned out by the firm. In 1893, Mr. French es- tablished what may more correctly be styled a general store o n Holten street, Tapleyville, under the name of F. U. French & Co., in
Fred Ulysses French.
FRED U. FRENCH.
Fred Ulysses French is a native of which a full and choice stock of groceries,
Deer- field, N. H., where he was born in I 864. He came to Dan- vers in I 882, and worked for six months in a shoe s hop, when h e be- came a
provis- ions, mea t s, boots, shoes, rubbers and small wares may be fou n d.
Four assist-
ants
a n d two
te a m s are em- ploy e d under the
RESIDENCE CF F. U. FRENCH.
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DANVERS.
supervision of J. C. French. The store is neatly fitted up and affords ample accom- modations for the requirements of the business, the patronage being drawn prin- cipally from the neighborhood in which it is located. Mr. French was appoint- ed second lieutenant in Co. K, Danvers Light Infantry, upon the organization of the company in 1891. In 1893, he was ap- pointed first lieutenant receiving an hon- orable discharge the following year. He has served on the Republican town com- mittee for four years and is registrar o f voters. He is also a member of Mosaic Lodge, F. and A. M., Danvers Lodge, A. O. U. W., and the Or- der of Red Men.
Joseph M. Whittier.
The profession of the architect-builder is a most important one, requiring great natural talent, much study and research, a thorough mechani- cal training, com- plete knowledge of the value of building materials and of the most improved methods of construc- tion, as well as large practical experience for its successful prosecution. Proofs of Mr. Whittier's skill and ability are numerous in Danvers and its vicinity, and are embodied in the many splendid edi- fices which he has erected. The most important of these, from a mechanical point of view, is the mill of the Danvers iron works at Danversport. This building was his first large contract and was so successfully carried out that it was the forerunner of many others. The mill is a frame structure with an eighty foot- span supported by a single truss without pillars or other support and is looked
JOSEPH M. WHITTIER.
upon as a very skillful piece of engineer- ing. The mill of the Danversport Rub- ber Co. was erected and given two coats of paint within five weeks, a feat that al- though provided for in the contract was considered impossible. He was also the builder of a four-story shop for George Plumer & Co. and has in all erected about thirty residences, among which may be mentioned those of L. W. San- born and Freeman George ; the Reynolds barn, with a thirty foot post and the Por- ter barn are also ex- cellent specimens of his skill. Mr. Whit- tier is at present en- gaged on the new Maple street school- house, being erected from plans prepared by Little & Brown, architects, Boston, and L. S. Couch, of Danvers as asso- ciate architect. The structure is known as a wing building and measures 58 x 58 feet with a thirty- seven foot post, the wings measuring 31 X 33 and having a twenty-nine foot post, the whole con- taining eight rooms. The work is nearing completion and has given much satisfac- tion to the architects and the school com- mittee. Mr. Whit- tier is well equipped for the carrying out of all contracts entrusted to him, and his shop on Cheever street, Danversport, is one of the best equipped in the state. It is a three story building, with storehouses and sheds, and contains all the latest and most improved wood working and stair building machinery operated by steam. Here are turned out irregular and circu- lar mouldings, turnings, sawing and jig- ging, window frames, etc., a number of competent workmen being constantly
employed. Mr. Whittier was born at
DANVERS.
Danversport in 1866 and upon leaving the Holten High School leamme i carpen-
American Mechanics and is one of the board of frewards.
Austin L. Littlefield.
The lievelopment of the ready-made clothing business has brought good atting and stylish garments within easy reach of all. The store con- docted by M :. Litiledeld is replete with an excellen: as- sortment wi men's ready to wear clothing, fully equal 20 custom made work at a uthe of the cost The stock of men's forrushing goods em- braces stylish meckwear, un- derwear, white and colored shorts, hats, caps. trunks and bags, and every seasonable novelty is added as soon as it appears in the market The prices are placed at the low est possible figure compatible with the superior quality of the goods displayed and ser- eral courteous salesmen at- tend to the requirements of Customers. The premises are
terme. in which he engaged for three Tears. when he went into bosi- ness for himself. He is always ready to give es- timates, and can be implicitly re- Led upon to spare no pains to carry oot the reguire- ments of arch - tects. while the care bestowed upon erery de- partment of his work reflects the nomost credit on bis honorable and businesslike NTERIOR OF A. L LITTLEFIELD'S STORE methods. Mr. Whittier is a member of well lighted and tastefully arranged with Mosaic Lodge. F. and A. M., and of the a view to the expeditious discharge of
DANVERS.
163
business, and comprise a ground floor and basement each 25 x 75 feet in dimen- sions at 47 Maple street. Mr. Littlefield
NATHAN T. PUTNAM.
charge of his manager. Last January, however, the trade had increased so largely that he was compelled to relin- quish his position, and devote his whole time and attention to the growing business of his store. Mr. Littlefield is a member of Amity Lodge, Holten Royal Arch Chap- ter and the Windsor Club.
Nathan T. Putnam.
Nathan T. Putnam has erected some of the most imposing resi- dences of this and the surround- ing towns. He was born at Chi- chester, N. H., in 1834, and at- tended the district school, after- ward following a seafaring life until the close of the war when he learned carpentering and building. Mr. Putnam has had over thirty years of practical experience in his profes- sion and has carried through to a successful issue many important undertakings. Among the hun- dreds of residences erected by him may be mentioned those of the following : Geo. W. Fiske, George A. Gunn, Dudley A. Massey, Dr. Eaton, William H. Burns, G. O. Stimpson, J. O. Perry block, Epis- copal parsonage, H. M. Merrill, Samuel C. Putnam, Deacon John Learoyd, Eben
was born in Danvers in 1870, and re- ceived his education at the public and Hol- ten High schools, afterwards taking a commercial course at the Bur- dette Business College, Boston. Upon graduating from the latter he accepted an en- gagement with John O. Smith & C o., wholesale clothiers, Boston, as traveling sales- man. It was while thus e m- ployed that he opened the pres- ent store in 1896, leaving it in
RESIDENCE OF N. T. PUTNAM.
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Putnam, Albert Hutchinson, Hon. S. L. Sawyer, Mrs. Pingree, Miss Cross, F. E. Moynahan, and in fact a great many more of the highest quality and hand- somest buildings in this vicinity. Mr. Putnam has achieved an honorable suc- cess in his chosen calling, combining the highest order of architectural beauty and symmetry with accuracy in estimates and close adherence to specifications. He gives careful supervision to all work en- trusted to him and with the perfect facil- ities at hand can guarantee the very best workmanship. Mr. Putnam is a member of Amity Lodge of Masons. He has al- ways devoted his en- tire time to business and has not sought office or political aggrandizement. He is ably assisted by his son, William T. Putnam, who is also a skilful architect- builder.
The Salem Even- ing News.
Robin Damon, while engaged in the job printing business in Salem in 1880, believed that a daily paper would succeed in that city and the large adjoining terri- tory, and with others he established the Salem Evening News, soon becoming sole proprietor. The enterprise met with a good deal of discouragement for a time, but by indomitable will, and furnishing an able, impartial and thoroughly newsy publication, the projector has increased the size of the paper, office equipment and publication quarters, and general usefulness of the News, until today it is one of the most valuable plants in the country, and the largest penny daily paper in New England outside of Boston, with the lowest advertising rates of any paper of its circulation and value in the country.
The whole of Essex county is its field, with a circulation of over 16,000, about 1,400 copies being circulated in Danvers every day. The News has come to be recognized as practically the home paper of every town which it reaches, regardless of any other, daily or weekly. Its name is a household word, and its standing is of the highest wherever it is known- meaning a large section of the state.
The Danvers correspondent is Frank E. Moynahan, publisher of the Danvers Mirror, and general newspaper corre- spondent, who was the first regular local reporter the News ever had.
ROBIN DAMON.
Danvers Co-opera- tive Association.
The Danvers Co- Operative Associa- tion occupying a large portion of Es- sex block, illustrated in an earlier portion of this book, was es- tablished in 1871, but was not legally incorporated until 1882, eleven years later. It does a gen- eral retail grocery and provision busi- ness and it is perhaps the most widely known store in Dan- vers. The business was first located in a building owned by John A. Putnam, and remained there un- til 1890, when it was removed to its present quarters in the Essex block, at the corner of Essex and Elm streets, oppo- site the Eastern station. The first man- ager of the store was John C. Putnam, and he was succeeded by Alphonso Sanford, who gave place to O. S. Richards. Her- bert S. Tapley, the present efficient man- ager, has held that position since 1877; previous to assuming charge of the busi- ness Mr. Tapley had been a clerk in the store something over a year, and under his management the business has pros- pered and grown and the D. C. A. store
165
DANVERS.
is one of the solid institutions of Danvers. Mr. Tapley is a Danvers boy, a graduate of the Holten High school and for twenty- three years has been connected with this store. He is married and has a pleasant home at 24 Holten street. He is a trustee of the public library, and is much esteemed as a conservative but progres- sive business man. E. C. Cook, the head clerk, has been connected with the store eleven years, and is very popular with the patrons of the store. C. B. Williams, the other regular clerk, has had a shorter connec- tion with the store, but is painstaking and courteous. The store is con- ducted on the co- operative plan, furnishing goods to stockholders and the general public at as small advance over cost price as possible. It is up to date in every depart- ment, keeping first class, fresh goods, and every- thing seasonable in its line.
John E. Maguire.
John E. Ma- guire, of the firm of Thayer, Ma- guire & Field, of Haverhill, Mass., is a native of the town of Danvers and was born in that section known as Tap- leyville, October 23, 1854.
He was the son of John Maguire, a carpet weaver of the olden times, for which this section was famous.
He attended the public schools in Dis- trict No. 7 from which he entered the Holten High School and was graduated in the class of 1870.
At the close of his school days he en-
J. E. MAGUIRE.
gaged in work in the shoe factories, be- ginning his apprenticeship in the factory of E. & A. Mudge & Co. at Danvers Centre with whom he remained for some years. After filling many and various positions of importance in factories in town he removed to Haverhill in 1887 and established a factory and assumed management for the Field-Thayer Man- ufacturing Co. of Boston.
On the death of the senior partner a new company was formed under the firm name of Thayer & Maguire, and since by the addition of Mr. Field, Jr., the firm is known as Thayer, Maguire & Field, and they are among the largest shoe man- ufacturers of that city.
The firm manu- factures ladies' fine boots and Oxfords and in addition to their large domestic trade have repre- sentatives in the foreign markets of South America, Australia, H a- waiian Islands, and are also ship- ping many goods to the English markets.
M r. Maguire has always been a close attendant to business, but was elected and served as a member of the school committee until his removal from town.
He was also a member of the Danvers Lodge, A. O. U. W., and is a charter member of the Catholic Total Abstinence Society, in both of which he still retains his membership.
He has an active interest in his native town and her welfare and is a frequent visitor among his old time friends.
In Haverhill, his present home, he is a
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DANVERS.
member of the Pentucket and Elms Clubs, of the Father Mathew Society and of Passaquoi Tribe, I. O. R. M.
He was President of the Haverhill Shoe Manufacturers' Association and served three years on the Republican City Committee.
A large business prevents him from en- tering public life, although he has been many times besought to consent to the use of his name.
Mr. Ma-
guire was married to
Miss Nellie
Sullivan o f Peabody and their children are Miss Nel- lie J. Maguire and Master Harold E d- ward Ma- guire.
Edgar C. Powers.
E. C. Pow- ers, origina- tor and man- ufacturer o f "Powers' Asthma Specific," i s of a family which has given to the country some famous men ; notably H i- ram Powers, the famous American sculptor ; Governor Llewellyn Powers, of Maine, and many others who have achieved success in the political, profes- sional and business world. E. C. Powers was born in Orono, Me., on July 26, 1849. His mother died when he was two years of age and his father removed to Newport, Me. There young Powers attended the public schools and later spent a year at the Maine Central Insti-
EDGAR C. POWERS.
tute, at Pittsfield, Me. He was for some time clerk in a retail drug store in New- port and later in a wholesale drug store in Portland. But he preferred the retail business and returned to Newport as man- ager of the drug store owned by Dr. John Benson, it being the same store of which Mr. C. H. Shepard was for a number of years the manager. He remained in this position until the business was sold in 1875, when in April of that year he came to Danvers and became a clerk for C. H. Shepard in his drug store. This position h e filled until the summer o f 1879 when he bought o u t the business and contin- ued it until 1887, the business hav- ing steadily grown under his manage- ment, and it i s probable Mr. Powers would still be doing busi- ness in the same place today were it not for the unexpected and unusual success which attended his efforts to in- troduce to the trade a medicine which he had first originated while in the store in Newport, Me. Although he had several customers for this preparation in Newport and vicinity he had never put the prepara- tion up in a form suitable for the market and had made no effort to introduce it, and on coming to Danvers had almost for- gotten that he had ever made such a med- icine. But for the following incident it
-
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DANVERS.
is possible that a valuable medicine might have been lost to the world. One day Mr. Oliver Roberts, a patron of the drug store, called for a certain asthma medi- cine, and not having it on hand and not wanting Mr. Roberts to go to some other store for it, Mr. Powers told him he for- merly made an asthma remedy, and if Mr. Roberts would call again next day, he, Mr. Powers would make up a quantity of it, which he would like Mr. Roberts to try. The re- sult was Mr. Roberts tried the Asthma Specific and was much pleased with its prompt and benefic- ial effects,and it was largely through his influence that Mr. Powers was induced to put the Specific u p in a shape and style adapted to the mar- ket. As the local demand for the medi- cine in- creased M r. Powers saw he must e x- tend the field of his opera- tions, and the medicine was placed on sale in Sa- lem, Boston, Portland and New York. Desiring then to push the sales all over the country, Mr. Powers decided to give his whole time to the manufacture of the Specific, and in 1887 he sold his drug store to S. M. Moore, who had been his clerk for some years, and to whom he considered himself under obligations for faithful and untiring service. In 1892 Mr. Powers purchased two lots of land in
the Dorchester district of Boston; on one he erected a factory fitted up with all the modern machinery and apparatus necessary for his business, and on the other lot he erected a dwelling house for his own occupancy ; both buildings were planned by Mr. Powers himself, and he has found he made no mistake when he drew the plans ; they are both perfect in their way. Powers' Asthma Specific, the manufacture of which was begun in so small a way in Danvers, has now in- creased to such an ex- tent that the laboratory, which, when built, seemed SO unneces- sarily large, is getting a trifle crowded and already plans are be- ing made for another building bet- ter suited to meet the in- creasing de- mand for the goods. Dur- ing the past six months the demand has increased very rapidly, and Powers' Asthma Spec- ific is now sold in every state in the Union, and the cash sales are more than $1,000 per month; the prospect is that this showing will be far eclipsed the com- ing six months. Mr. Powers was mar- ried in October, 1879, to Miss Fannie W. Damon, of Stetson, Maine, a cousin of C. H. Shepard. They have three sons and one daughter, all born in Danvers. Mr. Powers has a lovely home in Dor- chester, and an interesting family.
W. F. PUTNAM.
I68
DANVERS.
Webster F. Putnam.
Mr. Putnam was born in Danvers and is the son of the late Thomas M. Putnam.
He was educated in the town schools of Danvers and in the year 1878, an op- portunity offering, he entered the employ of his uncle, the late Charles A. Putnam, who did a general banking and brokerage business in Boston.
The firm of Charles A. Putnam & Co. was noted for the conservative and hon- orable business methods pursued. In 1880, the principal retiring from active business, the business was carried on by Webster F. Putnam and Nathaniel Heath,
administrator and trustee for many es- tates. He has done much to open up land for residential purposes, having during the past five years alone built thirty-four houses in Danvers. Nor has his activity been confined to Danvers, for he was the first to realize and seize upon the advantages of similar opportunities in Manchester. His intention has been to provide means by which people of mod- erate incomes would become home-own- ers. As one would presume from the success which has come to him, he is wide awake, energetic, and conservative. In stature he is of about average height and of stout build. He has the blue eyes
RESIDENCE OF WEBSTER F. PUTNAM.
who had been a fellow clerk, under the style of Putnam & Heath. Upon the re- turn of Mr. Charles A. Putnam from his European trip, with health restored, he invited Webster F. Putnam to enter into partnership with him and, this offer being accepted, the new firm was known as Charles A. & Webster F. Putnam. Later on Webster F. Putnam established him- self in the same business in State street, and is now situated in Water street doing business under the style of Webster F. Putnam & Co. Mr. Putnam lives in Danvers, on Lindall Hill, where he has extensive real estate interests. He is
and brown hair so common to a large portion of the Putnam tribe.
In addition to an extensive banking and brokerage business Mr. Putnam has been am e nsive operator in real estate ; he has ope gd up large tracts of land for residential purposes, and successfully car- ried through many large deals. He has built many houses, on streets laid out by himself, and added thousands of dollars' worth of taxable property to the towns of Danvers, Manchester, Beverly and other places. His plan has been to secure some tract of land, lay it out in streets and building lots, and then furnish the
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DANVERS.
money to build homes for people of lim- ited means, enabling desirable citizens to secure handsome modern houses with adequate grounds and pay for them in such ways as their incomes will best allow of their doing. As an instance of the benefit to the town of Mr. Putnam's op- erations a tract of land belonging to the Alfred Trask estate and the field adjoin- ing, formerly a part of the Eben G. Berry estate, may be cited. In 1893 this estate was assessed for about $18,000, and paid a tax of about $347. In 1898, the value of the land and buildings was fully $80,000 and the taxes amounted to probably $1,950, including the water rates paid by the occupants of the new dwell - ings which had been erected on the land. Here was a gain to the town, in taxes, of about $1,600 a y e a r. Besides this direct money gain through Mr. Putnam's opera- tions about thirty- four new residen- ces have been added to the town during the past five years, and he is still
building more
houses. Fine new streets have been
built where before were on! stures.
Young shade trees, smr ,, grav-
elled walks and drn and brilliant flower beds have succeeded run-down fields and tumble-down fences. Mr. Putnam has also been a large operator in real estate in Manchester and North Beverly during the past few years, on similar lines to those in Danvers. He has erected fifteen houses in those two places during that time. All these
REPRESENTATIVE A. P. LEAROYD.
houses are of the better class, of attrac- tive exteriors and containing all the most desirable modern conveniences. Mr. Putnam has a charming home on Lindall Hill, where he resides all the year round. He married in 1887 Miss Helen P. Mel- dram of Manchester, Mass., and has two children, a girl and boy, Marion and Webster F., Jr. Mr. Putnam has the care of many estates as administrator or trustee, and these with all his own vast business interests make him one of Dan- vers' busiest as well as most suc- cessful business men.
Rep. Addison P. Learoyd.
Representativ e Addison P. Lea- royd is one of the best known men in Danvers from the fact that he has been con- nected with town affairs in some official capacity for many years. Mr. Learoyd was born in Danvers about sixty-one years ago, and comes of good old New England stock. His pleas- ant home is on Oak street. He was for many years engaged in the manufacture of leather. For more than a dozen years he has been clerk of the School Board and has also served several years on the Water Board. He has been the moderator at more town meetings, regular and special, than any other man in town. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1898, being the Republican candidate, and he has held the important office of town treasurer of Danvers for years. Mr. Learoyd is a modest, unassuming man, who has satis-
I 70
DANVERS.
factorily filled all these important public offices and he will probably be retained in some of them for years to come. He is a man of unquestioned integrity and ability, and one of Danvers' best citizens.
He and Mr. Wells make able protec- tors of the interests of the double repre- sentative district of Danvers and Peabody.
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