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 18

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 18


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Representative Abelard E. Wells.


Mr. Wells was born in Portland, Maine, June 17, 1854, his father being George W. Wells, and mother Frances A. Wells. He graduated from Westbrook Seminary, Westbrook, Maine, in 1875 and from Tufts College in 1879 with degree of A. B. Went to Peabody to teach in the fall of 1879 as principal of the Bowditch gram- mar school where he remained until 1889. During this time he was principal of the Wallace evening school for five years. The last three years Danvers Improve- ment Society. of his teaching he devoted all of his spare time to the study of law, but abandoned the idea of entering upon that profession and did not complete the REPRESENTATIVE A. E. WELLS. course for admittance to the bar. In ing a " Village Improvement Society,"


1889-90 he was N. E. agent for Dodd, Mead & Co., New York publishers. Since that time he has been engaged in the business of life insurance and has been connected with the Mutual Life and New York Life Companies. He served on the board of selectmen in 1895-6 and was chairman the last year. Has been on the school committee for five years and for the last three years has been chairman. He is a member of Jordan lodge of Masons, of Washington Royal Arch Chap-


ter, of Winslow Lewis Commandery, or Knights Templar, of Holten Lodge of Odd Fellows and Peabody Board of Trade. In the campaign of 1896 he was president of the Mckinley & Hobart Club, which was a flourishing organization. He has served on important town com- mittees and been a delegate to various conventions, and has been connected with all the social and literary clubs of the town. In 1883 he was married 10 Alice S. Teel of Peabody, a teacher in the public schools. He has always been a Unitarian in religious belief and a Repub- lican. Representa- tive Wells' valuable services on the Pea- body sewerage ques- tion and also on the Danvers Water works matter in connec- tion with Representa- tive Learoyd have again brought him to the forefront in a public capacity. He has been an aggress- ive and able leader in all his undertak- ings.


On Sept. 1, 1886 a meeting of ladies and gentlemen in the Town Hall, for the purpose of form-


was called to order by Dr. W. W. Eaton, who was elected chairman and Ezra D. Hines was chosen secretary. After the presentation of a cane and a sum of money to Joshua Sylvester by Alden P. White, as a mark of appreciation and es- teem, a committee was appointed to draw up a constitution and by-laws ; these were adopted at a subsequent meeting and Dudley A. Massey was elected presi- dent. The objects of the society are the " improvement and ornamentation of the


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DANVERS.


roads, sidewalks and grounds of the Town of Danvers and the encouragement and assistance, in every practicable way, of whatever may tend to the improvement of the town as a place of residence."


With these objects in view the society has labored for nearly thirteen years and throughout the town the results of its work are apparent. Once each year, on Arbor day, public exercises are held and trees are planted in various places through- out the town. In years past, oaks, ma- ples, e t c., have been set out at the Town house, the electric light sta- tion, the First Church and at the Peabody Institute as well as in other localities. Trees planted and named for distin- guished men are as follows :- I n 1888, two golden leaved oaks in front of the Town House, the one towards Holten street called the John G. Whittier tree, the other the Joshua Sylves- ter tree. In 1890 an oak from Oak Knoll on the left hand side of the northern entrance to the Institute grounds, called the Gov. Brackett tree and on the left, a purple leaved beech, called the Lieut. Governor Haile tree. In 1891, five trees in front of the First church, a purple leaved beech, the Rice tree; a white oak, the Farmer tree ; a linden, the Village tree ; a cut leaved birch, the Ingersoll tree ; a rock maple, the Peabody tree. Tablets are also being erected from year to year to mark historic places within the town. The grounds at the electric light station have been graded and beautified as well as the small park on Pickering street and


the grounds about the Eastern and West- ern stations. To the society also belongs a greater part of the credit for the- erec- tion of the new station at Danversport in 1887.


The purchase of the Berry lot of twen- ty-five acres as a public park for the town is the largest undertaking the Society has entered upon and to Dr. W. W. Eaton, with whom the idea originated, much of the success of the plan must be attributed. Together with Conrad Juul he negotiated with Mr. Berry for the purchase o f the land, and by public fairs, by contributions and from other sources the necessary $5,000 has been raised, and the property formally transferred so that now the deed is in the possession of the Society, only awaiting the time when the whole shall be turned over to the town as a public park forever.


E. B. PEABODY.


In scores o f other ways, per- haps less direct, the influence of the society has been felt. The removal of fences, the laying out and beautifying o f lawns, the building of concrete sidewalks, the construction of macadam roads, the adoption of a uniform width of streets, the appointment of a town forester, the introduction of electric lights and the re- modelling of the Town house are im- provements, for all of which the society may justly claim more or less credit.


Dudley A. Massey served as president of the society until 1890 and from that date until 1898 Dr. W. W. Eaton held the position ; in 1898-'99, J. W. Porter and in 1899, J. Frank Porter. Mr. Ezra D.


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DANVERS.


Hines and Rev. E. C. Ewing have acted as secretaries ; the former from the for. mation of the society until 1892 and the latter from that date to the present time.


A. P. White, the first treasurer, was succeeded by D. A. Massey, and he by H. M. Bradstreet, the present treasurer.


Elisha B. Peabody.


Elisha B. Peabody has built more buildings in Danvers than any other man or firm. Owing to a long illness early in the year he has not been as busy this year as usual, but he will be in full swing again by another season, probably. Mr. Peabody has built over 200 dwelling


vers Electric Light plant, which stands I20 feet high.


By planning houses and other structures, he saves to customers the expense of an architect, and has the whole work better in mind than if dependent upon some- body else for instruction and advice as to material and manner of construction. His services are much in demand for large contracts of repairing, heavy work being a specialty.


Mr. Peabody was born in Boxford, where he attended the public schools un- til he was fourteen years of age, when he went to New Hampshire, where he lived until he was twenty-one. During that time he learned the carpenter trade at which he has been engaged ever since.


RESIDENCE OF E. B. PEABODY.


houses in Danvers, Peabody, Salem, Mid- dleton, Topsfield, Manchester, Beverly Farms, North Andover, Swampscott, Lynn and other towns during the past few years. He contracts for any part of a building, or for the whole, from the putting in of the foundation to the finishing of a house ready for occupancy, including the mason work, carpentering, painting, plumbing, papering, etc. He has built some of the finest houses in this section, notably one for Mr. Creese, of Bernard, Friedman & Co .; Dr. Jackson, at Beverly Farms ; A. A. Conant, at Topsfield, and many others. Mr. Peabody is also a mover of buildings, and he has erected some very high smoke stacks. He erected the stack at the Dan-


He has supported himself ever since he was fourteen years of age. He came to Danvers fifteen years ago, and for thirteen years he has been engaged in building operations on his own account. He is an architect as well as a builder, and draws plans and writes specifications for all kinds of buildings. Mr. Peabody has been one of Danvers' busiest citizens for the past dozen years. He is a Blue Lodge, Royal Arch Mason, and K. T., an Odd Fellow and a Red Man, and a mem- ber of numerous other social and fraternal organizations. In politics he is a Repub- lican. Mr. Peabody has a wife and two children, and his home is at the corner of Franklin street and Central Avenue.


DANVERS.


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W. W. EATON, M.D.


William Winslow Eaton, M.D.


Dr. Eaton was born in Webster, Me., May 20, 1836. He graduated at Bruns- wick High school and engaged in teach- ing for several years, subsequently gradu- ating from Bow- doin College in I 86 I. He was elected class or- ator in 1858 a n d Athenæan Society poet in 1861. In 1865 he received the degree of Master of Arts. Dr. Ea- ton began the study of medicine with Dr. John D. Lincoln of Bruns- wick in 1860, taking his first and second course of lectures in 1861- 2, at the Maine


Medical School, of which he was also libra- rian. He was a pupil of Dr. Valentine Mott in the winter of 1863, and graduated at New York University, March, 1864, hav- ing been granted leave of absence by the Secretary of War for this purpose. During the Civil War Dr. Eaton entered the mili- tary service in June, 1862, as hospital stew- ard of the 16th Regt. Maine Volunteers, performing the duties of assistant surgeon, was commissioned as such Jan., 1863, and in 1864 was promoted to be a surgeon, with the rank of Major, and served three years, participating in all the battles of the Army of the Potomac, from Antietam to Lee's Surrender, Apr. 9, 1865. July 12, 1865, he married Agnes H. Magoun of Brunswick, Maine ; has had four children, of whom the two daughters are now living. He began practice in South Reading, Mass., in 1865, removing to Danvers in April, 1867, when he united with the First Church at Danvers Centre. In 1865 he was elected a member of the Maine Medical Association and of the Middlesex District Society and Massachusetts Medical Society the same year ; has held the position of Censor, Coun- selor and President of the Essex (South Dis- trict) Medical Society ; was appointed by the Massachusetts Medical Society to prepare and read a paper at the annual meeting of the society in June, 1887, which was accepted for publication in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.


RESIDENCE OF DR. W. W EATON.


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DANVERS.


He has been either surgeon or comman- der of Post 90, G. A. R., since its organi- zation and a staff officer of the Massachu- setts department in 1898. Dr. Eaton has served on the school committee for fifteen years and was for several years its chairman. He was also chairman of the building committee on the erection of the Tapley school in 1870 and of the Park street school in 1874; member of the committee on the remodeling of the Town House, 1896-97 ; chairman or sec- retary of the Board of Health for twenty-five years ; trustee of the Peabody Institute for four years during which time he re-ar- ranged and complete- ly catalogued the li- brary ; trustee of Wal- nut Grove Cemetery Corporation since 1880 and president since 1885, and unas- sisted drew a set of scale plans of the cem- etery which were very favorably commented upon and would have done credit to an ex- pert engineer ; one of the organizers and first vice president of the Danvers Improvement Society and has been its president for the past eight years ; chair- man of the committee appointed by the town which reported on and secured an appropria- tion of $1000 for macadamizing High street, the first piece of macadamizing done in Danvers ; member of the Bow- ditch Club and president at the time of its dissolution when he placed its records in the Peabody Institute ; President of the Danvers Scientific Society and its teacher of chemistry and physics ; de- livered the address of Ward Post 90, G. A. R., in 1886, Plunkett Post, Ashburn- ham, in 1887, and in Topsfield in 1896 ; delivered the memorial address at Pea-


H. F. BATCHELDER, M.D.


body Institute on the death of President Grant and at the Town House on the death of Whittier ; in June, 1889 was ap- pointed a member of the Salem Board of United States Examining Surgeons for pensions, from which he resigned in 1893 and was reappointed in 1897, and is at present president of the Board ; in politics always a Republican and for a number of years chairman of the Republican Town Committee ; raised in Army Lodge No. 8, F. & A. M. in 1864 while in camp near


Mitchell Station, Va .; member of Amity Lodge since 1867; charter member of Mosaic Lodge in 1871, and Worshipful Mas- ter 1881-82 ; charter member of Holten Royal Arch Chapter in 1872 ; High Priest in 1886 ; received the Cryptic Degrees in Salem Council in


1897 ; knighted in Winslow Lewis Com- mandery in 1888 and was chairman of the Committee on the revision of By-Laws ; Captain General in 1890-9 1 and declined an unanimous re- elec- tion; was assistant prelate in 1892 and prelate since 1893 ; 1 e- ceived the A. and A. rite fourteenth de- gree in Sutton Lodge of Perfection in 1890.


Henry F. Batchelder, M.D.


Dr. Henry F. Batchelder was born in Middleton, Oct. 10, 1860, being descend- ed from Joseph Batchelder, who came to this country in 1636, the Batchelder an- cestry being of the oldest and highest standing recorded in genealogy. He is the son of John A. and Laura A. Batchel- der. He was educated in the Salem pub- lic schools, graduating from the High


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DANVERS.


175


E. H. NILES, M D.


school in that city in 1879, and in Bos- ton University Medical school, where he obtained the degree of C.B. (Bachelor of Surgery) in 1882 and M.D. in 1883.


He began practice in his native town and shortly afterward came to Danvers where his recognized skill and great per- sonal popularity have secured for him an extensive and high- class patronage. He has been a member of the School Board for six or seven years and belongs to Amity Lodge of Masons, Hol- ten Chapter, Winslow Lewis Commandery, and other fraternal or- ganizations. He is a member and has been an officer in · several medical fraternities, including the Ameri- can Institute of Ho- meopathy, Massachu- setts Surgical and Gyn-


æcological Society and Essex County Hom- eopathic Society. He is Republican in politics, but is never actively partisan, and has the universal esteem of his fellow towns- men. On Apr. 30, 1884, he was married to Miss Caroline E. Taft of Dedham, and two children grace the household.


Edward H. Niles, M. D.


Among the newer additions to the medi- cal fraternity of Danvers, no representative of the art of medicine has had greater suc- cess or become in so short a time more uni- versally popular than Dr. E. H. Niles.


Dr. Niles was born in West Fairlee, Vt., thirty-one years ago and attended the local schools, Thetford and St. Johnsbury acad- emies and Harvard Medical School, having also taken a year's special study under a Dartmouth College professor. About eight years ago he came to Danvers, where his pleasing individuality and skill in his profes- sion soon commanded recognition, and his progress has been rapid and steady. While not seeking any office he has been repeated- ly elected to the School Board and would undoubtedly receive other recognition of a similar character should he show the dis- position to encourage it. On June 6, 1888, he was married to Miss Maud A. Smith of West Fairlee, Vt., and they have three children.


He is popular in various fraternal cir- cles, belonging to the Masons and other orders.


RESIDENCE OF DR. E. H. NILES.


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DANVERS.


Frederick William Baldwin, M.D.


Dr. Frederick William Baldwin is the son of Stephen Henry Baldwin and Elizabeth Ann (Inman) Baldwin, and was born in Birmingham, Conn., December 14, 1861. He was educated in the public schools of Shelton and Birmingham, Conn., and also studied at the Conservatory of Music and Bryant & Stratton's Business College, Bos- ton. He studied medicine at Harvard Medical School, from which he received a degree of M.D. in 1886. Since then he has taken several special courses at the Mass. General Hospital. His first ances- tor in this country was John Baldwin, who came to the country in 1638 and settled in Milford, Conn. He was an Englishman. The Doctor's great-great-great-great-grand- father was a soldier in the French and In- dian war and Deputy in 1747 and 1748. His great-great-great-grandfather was Dr. Silas Baldwin of Derby, Conn., a surgeon of celebrity, who served in the war of 1812. His grandfather and father, Lieut. Stephen H. Baldwin, were in the Civil War, so it will be seen the Doctor comes of a patri- otic family. Dr. Baldwin is and has been since March, 1894, chairman of the Dan- vers Board of Health. He is the medi- cal examiner for several life insurance companies and a member of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society, in which he


F. W. BALDWIN, M.D.


has held the office of Censor and is now a Councillor. In politics, Dr. Baldwin is a Republican. His office and residence are at the corner of Maple and Cherry streets. He has a large and lucrative practice and is one of the most popu- lar men in town.


W. C. Nicker- son.


W. C. Nicker- son, proprietor of the oldest clothing store in Danvers, is one of the best known young bus- iness men in the town, for Mr. Nickerson is a progressive man, a firm believer in the efficacy of ad-


RESIDENCE OF DR. F. W. BALDWIN.


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DANVERS.


vertising and has made his name well known in all the homes of Danvers and adjoining towns. W. C. Nickerson was born in Orleans, down on Cape Cod, something over thirty years ago. He comes of good old colonial stock, his an- cestors having been among the early set- tlers of the Cape. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and at the early age of fourteen went to work to carve out his own fortune. For eleven years he worked for one firm, and during that time he thoroughly mastered all the details of the clothing trade. He early


of a one to assist the manager of the store. Mr. Nickerson early determined that the people of Danvers should have no reason for going out of town to- pro- cure anything in the line of men's, boys' and children's clothing, or gentlemen's furnishing goods or hats of any grade or quality. Being a careful and shrewd buyer, an economical manager who keeps his expenses at the lowest limit consistent with a liberal management, he has been able to successfully compete with the big stores of the cities in prices ; and his stock always embraces the newest in fab-


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INTERIOR OF W. C. NICKERSON'S CLOTHING STORE.


developed abilities as a salesman and has the happy faculty of making and holding new customers. He was highly valued by his employer and he improved his time in familiarizing himself with the manufacture, purchase and sale of cloth- ing and haberdashery. Seven years ago Mr. Nickerson came to Danvers from Whitman and purchased the only cloth- ing store there was in town at that time, which was then located in the National Bank building, and conducted by George Jacobs of Peabody. It was but a small business then, requiring only the service


rics and styles, for being a wise manager, he allows no old, out-of-style stocks to accumulate on his shelves and tables. Each season's stock is that season's styles. The most fastidious youth can, at the Nickerson store, always obtain the ultra fashionable clothes, haberdashery, neck- wear, hats, etc., in fact whatever can be had in any of the big clothing establish- ments of the cities, can be had at Nick- erson's at as low, and often lower, prices. All clothing sold here is made in clean, airy, healthy workshops, and no sweat shop garments are ever allowed in this


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store. The trade in children's cloth- ing has grown to large proportions, and the heads of many families not only in Danvers but all the sur- rounding towns have found that their little folks can be clothed at Nickerson's in natty and serviceable clothes at a less expense than ever before possible. From the time Mr. Nickerson bought out Jacobs' until the present time there has been a healthy, steady and per- manent increase in the volume of business. He soon outgrew the store in the bank building and moved to the large store now occu- pied in Colonial building. Here he carries a large stock of ready- to-wear clothing, hats, caps, trunks, umbrellas, gloves, travelling bags, canes, and everything in neckwear, underwear, hosiery and all those thousand and one things necessary to the perfect toilet of a well- dressed man or boy. There is a wide range in the qualities, styles and prices of goods, goods to fit


J. W. WOODMAN.


all tastes and means. Everybody can be fitted and suited. Mr. Nickerson keeps the people fully informed of what he has to offer them through a liberal use of printers' ink and he does not advertise anything which he has not. All purchases are made satisfactory to the purchaser. From a business requiring one man and a boy, the business has grown to require four expert and courteous regular salesmen beside the propri- etor, with extra clerks on Saturday nights and extra occasions. This business has been built up by good management, liberal treatment of patrons, liberal advertising and strict integrity. The store is a credit to the town and Mr. Nickerson is one of her popular young merchants. He is married and has one child; his home is on Ash street ; he is an Odd Fellow, Mason, and member of sev- eral social organizations. His trade is drawn from a large section of the county besides Danvers, his store be- ing a centre for suburban buyers.


DANIEL WOODMAN.


DANVERS.


179


JOHN T. ROSS.


Woodman Bros. & Ross.


In 1838 Asa Sawyer established the business at present carried on by the above firm at Danversport. His succes- sors have been Jacob Roberts, J. and N. Bragdon and Woodman Bros., the firm then consisting of Daniel Woodman and Joseph W. Wood- man. Twenty years ago John T. Ross, who had spent many years in the service of J. and N. Brag- don, was admitted to partnership, the style becoming Woodman Bros. & Ross. Under the able and con- servative manage- ment of these men the business has been consid- erably extended and the volume of trade has materi- ally increased.


The plant is perfectly equipped with all the latest wood and paper box and planing machinery, oper- ated by steam power and the light- ing of the various buildings is ac- complished by their own electric lighting plant. They cut and han- dle from two to three million feet of timber and lumber annually, much of which is derived from their extensive timber limits located at Middleton, and from thirty five to forty persons are employed in their mills. The firm are dealers in hard and soft wood and kindling, and manufacture wood and paper boxes and all kinds of packing cases. The premises at the mills cover a couple of acres of ground, with ample room for lumber piles and storehouses, and their transportation facilities are excellent. Daniel Woodman was born at Beverly in 1839, and received his education in the schools of Danvers.


Joseph W. Woodman is a native of Danversport where he was born Jan. 25, 1847, and graduated from the Holten High school. He was a trustee of the Peabody Institute for eleven years, 1886- 97, selectman and assessor 1888-89 and represented the district in the Legislature in 1896-97. He was formerly a member


WOODMAN BROS. & ROSS MILL.


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DANVERS.


of the Second Corps Cadets, Salem, is a member of the Masonic Order and the I. O. O. F.


John T. Ross is a prominent member of the G. A. R. and other orders.


Lore & Russell.


This house was originally estab- lished over half a century ago by Harrison Warren, the present pro- prietors, Clinton Lore and George Russell, purchasing it in 1889. The facilities of the firm comprise ex- tensive and complete premises, in- cluding two coal pockets with a ca- pacity of 5,000 tons each and 500 feet of wharfage at River street, the office being located on Water street, both at Danversport. Be- sides supplying a large and annual- ly increasing trade from the town and within a radius of twenty-five miles, shipments are made direct to large consumers and the trade in car-load and cargo lots from the mines without re- handling, and every modern convenience and accom- modation have been provided for prompt- ly meeting the requirements of the trade and public. The firm handles the best grades of Cumberland, Philadelphia and


CLINTON LORE.


Reading and Lehigh coal. The resources of the house are such that the largest as well as the smallest consumer is satisfac- torily served, and all coal handled is of the highest standard of excellence, well cleaned and is furnished at the lowest market rates. Liberality and fair dealing are characteristic of the firm and both the partners are progressive and enterprising citizens, closely allied with the in- dustrial advance- ment of Danvers, and their success is as pronounced as it is merited. The firm has an office in F. M. Spofford's market at Danvers Plains.


. LORE & RUSSELL'S WHARF.


DANVERS.


18I


ALBERT H. MERRILL.


Albert H. Merrill.


Albert Henry Merrill is the son of Henry Miles Merrill and Lucy Ann Fos- ter, and was born in Peabody, Mass., October 13, 1864. He was educated in the public schools of Danvers and Bryant & Strat- ton's Business College, Boston. He was married December I7, 1885, to Addie Frances Merrill, and has a pleas- ant home on Berry street. Mr. Merrill devotes his time during the racing season to the duties of a professional starting judge,




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