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 19
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and has a reputation in that capac- ity second to no man in the coun- try. He officiates at the largest and most prominent race tracks in the east. He spends the greater part of the winter season in Ken- tucky and the west, selecting racing horses for the eastern trade, and he has brought into New England more horses which have proved high class race horses than any other man in the business. He has selected over 225 horses from the breeding farms of the south that have since proved to be fast race horses. He sells more high class speed horses each season than any other man in New Eng- land, and his reputation as a judge of fine stock stands at the head of the list. Mr. Merrill is a Republi- can in politics, and one of the most energetic and progressive of Dan- vers business men in his chosen line.
Dean A. Perley.
Mr. Perley was born in Boxford, in 1830, and at the age of fourteen went to learn the trade of blacksmithing with Henry Long, Topsfield, working seven years for board and clothes. In 1851, he went to California via the Isthmus,
RESIDENCE OF A. H. MERRILL.
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staying over a year and on returning to the east formed a partnership with Mr. Long in blacksmithing and stabling. He was married to Miss Nancy A. Towne of Boxford in 1854 and in 1863 removed with his family to Danvers, having bought a blacksmith shop in 1860. The original shop was located at the back of what is known as the Eagle house, the present shop, at the corner of School and Franklin streets, being built in 1868. Mr. Perley has every facility for the carrying on of his extensive business which includes blacksmithing, horse- shoeing, jobbing and carriage re- pairing. By strict attention to bus- iness and fair dealings with all, he has built up a trade requiring the assistance of five competent me- chanics, and customers find their work executed in a thoroughly reli- able and satisfactory manner. Mr. Perley has a comfortable home at 53 Poplar street where he enjoys the cessation from active labor to which his success in business enti- tles him. Although he has never sought an office his interest in municipal affairs and the well being of the community has been abundantly displayed. He is exceedingly genial and popular.
DEAN A. PERLEY.
George Barnes & Co.
George Barnes is a native of London, England. He was born in Camberwell on the east side in 1864, and at the age of thirteen served an apprenticeship to cigar-making with the large wholesale house of G. & S. Goodes in his native city. In 1886 he came to Boston and be- ing a thoroughly expert workman he soon found employment with Mr. Isaacs of Kimball street, where he re- mained over twelve months, coming from thence to Dan- vers to work for
RESIDENCE OF D. A. PERLEY.
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GEORGE BARNES.
A. J. Stetson, with whom he re- mained seven years. Four years ago he commenced business for himself as a manufacturer of ci -. gars and has built up a steadily increasing trade, his output being about 120,000 cigars a year. His special brands are M. & S. in the ten cent grade, and 2-60-4, No. Ones, Indian Boy and others of the five cent variety. These ci- gars are warranted long filler with Sumatra wrappers, and only skilled hand labor is employed in their manufacture. 'These goods are highly appreciated and meet with a ready sale. Mr. Barnes also carries a general line of tobacco, pipes and smokers' supplies, to- gether with some of the best brands of domestic and Key West cigars. His store is located on Maple street and is tastefully fitted up, the most scrupulous cleanliness being observed.
Frank H. Crosby.
The subject of this sketch was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, in 1860. He comes of good old colonial stock, his father being Hiram Cros- by, well known in the Lower Provinces. Mr. Crosby came to Danvers and became a citizen years ago and there is not a more enthusiastic American citizen in the state. He established himself in the house painting business, and from a modest begin- ning he has built up an ex- tensive and lucrative busi- ness, having constantly in his employ from six to ten journeymen, and in the busy season many more. He personally looks after all work and it is thoroughly well done. He has irre- proachable taste in the se-
FRANK H. CROSBY.
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lection of harmonious colors; judg- ment in. the selection of wearing qualities in stock used, and scrup- ulous attention to the most minute details of the work. The result cannot fail to be that the buildings painted by Crosby are pleasing to the eye and the paint much more enduring than ordinary work. As a business man and as a man in private life, Mr. Crosby is worth knowing.
Walter L. Barker.
Although Mr. Barker has only spent three years in Danvers, he has been instrumental in building up a section of the town where formerly existed pastures and un- occupied land, and his record of twenty dwelling-houses erected in nine months shows how thor- oughly his work is appreciated. He makes a special feature of res- idential work and among the many contracts he has successfully carried out are the residences of Mrs. Bowie, W. E. Simpson, George Marling, George Scampton, Peter Reid, Rufus Scott, James Shaw, three for Willis E. Smart, two for C. T. Mosher, eleven for W. F. Putnam, fifteen for himself, which he has sold on the instalment plan, two for J. Frank Porter, and one each for Charles Hall and Harry Hanson.
W. L. BARKER.
Mr. Barker is always prepared to furnish estimates which are executed with care and accuracy and are based upon an extended knowledge of quantities and values, the work being personally super- vised. Mr. Barker is a native of Fitch- burg, where he was born in 1864, gradu- ating from the Beverly High school and the Bryant and Stratton Commer- cial College, Bos- ton. He learned the trade of a car- penter in his father's shop at Beverly and then pursued his avo- cation in the prin- cipal cities of the country as far west as Fresno, Califor- nia. Upon his return to the east in 1887, he en- gaged in business in Beverly, con-
RESIDENCE OF W L. BARKER.
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tinuing until 1892 when he took up the driven-well and windmilll business at Wenham, also doing carpentering and general jobbing. He established his business here in 1896, but continued to reside in Beverly until the completion of his residence on Trask street in October last. Mr. Barker is a member of the Order of American Mechanics and of the Pilgrim Fathers.
Thomas E. Dougherty.
Thomas E. Dougherty, whose pleasant home is at 37 Cherry street, was born in Dan- vers on June 4, 1848, in a house on Maple street where the gram- mar school now stands. He was educated in the public schools of Danvers and also took a course in Co- mer's Commer- cial College, Boston, and is a graduate of that institution. He learned the trades of shoe cutting and pat- tern making, and has long been recognized as an expert in this line of the shoe manufacturing business. He has held the positions of superin- tendent and foreman in large factories in Lynn, Marblehead and Salem, in Mas- sachusetts, and two years in factories in the west. He is at present engaged in his business in Lynn.
Mr. Dougherty has always been inter- ested in everything pertaining to the in- terests of his native town, and has often served as moderator at special town meetings. In everything for the advance-
ment and prosperity of the town, Mr. Dougherty is an active worker. He is a member of several secret and social- soci- eties, in all of which he is very popular and a valuable worker. He is one of those energetic, public-spirited citizens, who, when there is anything needed to be done for the upbuilding of his town, is ready with time, work and money to help along the cause. It goes without saying that such a man is deservedly popular with all classes and is a much esteemed and valued citizen.
THOMAS E. DOUGHERTY.
Frank B. Trask.
Frank B. Trask, the Dan- vers upholsterer, is located at the corner of Elm and High streets at one side of the Square. He is the son of Al- fred and Mary Jane (Blackey) Trask, and was born in Danvers on February 12, 1859. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and after graduating from school learned the upholstering business, later engaging in bus- iness for himself. The excellence of his work has attracted much attention from people who recog- nize true art in furniture. Mr. Trask's patronage is not confined to Danvers but comes from all the nearby towns. He is a connoisseur in antique furniture and rare old articles and bric-a-brac can be found in his storerooms. He is an ardent Republican in politics but never cared for office for himself, though a hard worker for the political candidates of his choice. He knows a good horse
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when he sees him and he generally has one or two speedy ones in his stable. Mr. Trask was married on November 25, 1893, to Antoinette Maud Gammon and has a cosy home at the corner of Conant and Franklin streets.
Calvin Putnam.
Although 84 years old on the 30th of last May, Calvin Putnam is one of the best preserved of the older business men of this section and his business faculties are as acute as ever. For sixty-two years he has been engaged in building and lumber operations and he Is still the head of an immense lum- ber business at Danversport, where the mills, yards and wharves of the Calvin Putnam lumber concern are located, with railroad connections and water privileges which enable him to receive and ship lumber from and to all points. Mr. Putnam is a native of Danvers and he received his education in her public schools. After leaving school he learned the carpenter trade and there are ten or a dozen houses yet standing in town which he built more than sixty years ago ; and the fact that they are still in a good state of preservation and have
FRANK B. TRASK.
had but few repairs made upon them in all that time demonstrates the thorough- ness of his work and the quality of the materials used. Seeing the need of a lumber mill, Mr. Putnam built one at tidewater at the Port and from this small beginning grew the large business which he has conducted for so many years and in which he is still interested. He was for twenty-five years the senior member of the firm of Putnam & Pope, Beverly, with a mill and large yard there. The management of the Beverly business he gave up to a brother- in-law and nephew some time ago. He has been an extensive opera- tor in lumber in Maine and Michi- gan for many years, and his only son, who died some years ago,
F. B. TRASK'S STORE.
DANVERS.
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was also an extensive dealer in black walnut and other fine woods in the west, with offices in Boston. Mr. Putnam, although often asked to accept public of- fices of trust, generally de- clines. He never cared for any public position, and though he was some- times persuaded to accept a place on the prudential committee and similar places where men of super- ior judgment were needed, he always steadily refused to be a candidate for po- litical office ; in the same way he declined director- ates in financial institu- tions, though often sought for to fill such positions. Mr. Putnam at one time par- tially retired from the lum- ber business, but thought it advisable to return to active management again soon after. He is credited with having made a large fortune from his business, and is one of the wealthy
CALVIN PUTNAM.
men of the town. He has a hand - some home at the cor- ner of Locust a n d Poplar streets. His face is one of the most familiar . He has 0 n adopted daughter but no
children of his own. Mr.
RESIDENCE OF CALVIN PUTNAM.
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Putnam may be seen daily driving about town for pleasure or to and from his estab- lishment at Danversport, and a stranger would not think him to be a man of more than sixty-five. He is a handsome old gentleman with bright eyes, a cheery smile, and a pleasant word for everybody. He is an interesting conversationalist and a very companionable gentleman.
Calvin Putnam Lumber Co.
Over sixty-three years ago Calvin Put- nam founded the business carried on for a number of recent years by Pope Bros., and now by the Cal- vin Putnam Lum- ber Co. For forty-six years Mr. Putnam conduct- ed it uninterrupt- edly, that is, from 1836 to 1882, when the whole- sale business was sold to Turner & Harrington, the retail business be- ing sold the fol- lowing year to Pope Bros. In 1890, the latter firm bought out Turner and Har- rington and con- solidated the whole business under their own name. Fletcher Pope and Isaac D. Pope are sons of Se- lectman Daniel P. Pope, and were both born and educated in Danvers. Calvin Putnam has immense lumber interests in various parts of the country. Fletcher Pope has for some years been general manager of the Phillips & Rangeley R. R. Redington, Maine, and general manager of the Redington Lumber Co., and with- draws from the lumber firm to give his whole attention to those duties. The firm has recently been reorganized, as Calvin
Putnam Lumber Company, with officers as follows : President, Calvin Putnam ; treasurer and manager, Isaac D. Pope ; directors, Calvin Putnam, I. D. Pope, W. D. Wing. The business is continued at the old location, with the able advice and experienced assistance of Calvin Putnam, the veteran lumber merchant.
The firm are wholesale and retail deal- ers in lumber, and manufacture mouldings, flooring, sheathing laths, shingles and clapboards, a specialty being made of hard wood floors, interior finish and mouldings. The mills and plant cover an area of twenty-five acres with over five hun- dred feet of wharf- age accessible to vessels of from 600 to 800 tons. There are twelve large storehouses with a capacity of 5,000,000 feet of lumber, and a large and well equipped mill with a machinery capacity of 30,- ooo feet of lum- ber a day. The firm handles on an average fifteen million feet of lum- ber yearly, and employs thirty men. Their trade is mostly in this State and New Hampshire, and an office is maintained at 408 Union street, Lynn.
ISAAC. D. POPE.
Salem Normal School.
The normal school system of the Bay state is almost without an equal in that department of instruction. In the front rank of the several institutions of the kind under state supervision, where are prepared those who, in turn will lead the thought of youth, is the magnificent struc-
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MILL OF CALVIN PUTNAM LUMBER CO.
ture at the corner of Lafayette street and Loring avenue in the city of Salem.
The first class in the history of the school was received in a two-story build- ing on Summer street, September, 1854. Dr. Richard Edwards, the first principal, had an administration of three years, Prof. Alpheus Crosby having charge for the succeeding eight years. Both were thorough educators and the school ad- vanced rapidly, requiring additional ac- commodations in 1865. In the same year, Dr. Daniel B. Hagar accepted the principalship, continuing until ill health caused his resignation early in 1896, fol- lowed a short time later by his death. In 1892, upon the r e commendation of the board of visitors, $250,000 was appropriated by the legislature for the purchase of a lot and the construction of a suitable building Land was pur- chased early in 1893 and in the fall of the same year the building work began. The dedication oc- curred January 26, 1897, with ap-
propriate exercises and in the presence of leading instructors and officials.
The present principal is Dr. Walter P. Beckwith. The total enrollment since the inception of the school has been nearly 4500, of whom about one-half have regularly graduated. Sixty teachers have been em- ployed.
The present building is located in a most com- manding position in the southern part of the city. It is of buff brick with light stone trimmings, and has three stories and a basement. The main building is 180 feet in length, with two wings, each 140 feet long. Every convenience is available and the arrange- ment is of the best. The sanitation, ven- tilation, heating and lighting apparatus and general equipment leave little to be desired.
The attendance is largely from Essex and Middlesex counties, although several states are represented. For admission, a high school education or its equivalent is required. The regular course of study requires two years, but special or partial courses may be taken, as a rule classes
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WHARF OF CALVIN PUTNAM LUMBER CO.
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SALEM NORMAL SCHOOL.
DANVERS.
19I
ROOM IN SALEM NORMAL SCHOOL.
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being admitted only at the beginning of the fall term. The faculty numbers twelve persons. Most abundantly has the Salem Normal School fulfilled its mission as conceived at its founding- " of reviving and establishing the normal method of learning, teaching and living in the older portion of the common- wealth."
Walter P. Beckwith, Ph. D.
In June, 1896, the cit- izens of the town o f Adams learned with regret of the election of their highly esteemed su- p erintendent of schools to the principal- ship of the Salem Nor- mal school. In his nine- teen years' oversight of the education of the youth of the Berk- shire town, Mr. Beckwith had become a part of the local life. The
the finest of its kind in New England, be- ing about to be dedicated, involving ad- ditional duties which the opening of extra departments must of necessity bring about. From the first, the interest of the new principal in the school and in the city has been deep and sincere. Walter P. Beckwith was born at Lempster, N. H., Aug. 27, 1850, of English and Scotch parentage. In early life he had only the limited edu- cational ad- vantages of a youth in a small farming c o m munity. He spent three years as a teacher in and about his native town, later attend- ing the Clare- mont high school for a short time and graduat- ing from the Kimball Un- ion academy at Meriden in 1871. In his college career at Tufts he was obliged to be absent a portion of the time to assist himself by teaching,
PROF. W. P. BECKWITH, Principal Salem Normal School.
sundering of these ties seemed inevitable, as the Sa- lem position was too attractive to be re- fused. All, however, felt a great measure of pride in the high honor which had been conferred upon their townsman, which has been fully justified during his comparatively brief administration of the state normal school in Salem. Mr. Beckwith was chosen to his present posi- tion from among a large list of worthy candidates. The school was entering upon a new era, a new building, perhaps
one period comprising an entire year. Mr. Beckwith's standing as a student was very high and he graduated with honor. The position of principal of the Chicopee Falls high school was offered and ac- cepted, this relation continuing until Jan- uary, 1878. During his long residence in Adams he had become identified with many interests aside from his school du- ties. For thirteen years he served as chairman of the public library trustees, was repeatedly elected moderator of town
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meetings and served upon important com- mittees. Mr. Beckwith attends the Uni- versalist church, is a member of Starr King Lodge, Salem, F. and A. M., member of the A. O. U. W., and of the Tufts College chapter, Phi Beta Kappa. He was re- cently elected president of the Tufts Col- lege club, which includes the Tufts gradu- ates in and about Boston. He has writ- ten largely to various periodicals and is
Scotch and English -- his father's earliest ancestor in this country came to Connec- ticut in 1636, his mother's to Charlestown, Mass., in 1635, and a year or two later he was the first person to be taxed in Woburn.
Willard J. Hale.
Willard J. Hale, register of deeds of
WILLARD J. HALE, Register of Deeds.
an effective public speaker. A member of numerous educational societies, he has been honored by the degrees of A. M. and Ph. D. on behalf of his alma mater. De- cember 23, 1879, Mr. Beckwith was united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Sayles, a teacher in the Adams public. schools. He has one daughter.
Prof. Beckwith's ancestry is entirely .
Essex county, was appointed to his pres- ent responsible position August 31, 1897. to succeed the late Charles S. Osgood. In the fall of the same year he was the nominee of both the leading parties for the office and was elected by a practically unanimous vote. This is by no means Mr. Hale's first experience in places of trust. In his native city of Newburyport, where
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he obtained his education, he was chosen to the common council in 1879, serving two years and in 188I was made chairman, being twice re-elected. As a Republican, he represented his district with great credit in the lower branch of the Legislature of 1885 and in the following year went to Colorado Springs to engage in real estate transactions. Mr. Hale divided his time between his western inter- ests and the dry goods business at Newburyport, in which he has been interested for himself since he was twenty years of age. He was ap- pointed postmaster by President Harrison Sept. 19, 1890, and held the office for four years. In 1896 he was one of the delegates to the Republican National Convention from the sixth Congressional dis- trict and was a member of the committee which officially notified Vice President Hobart of his nom- ination. Mr. Hale is president of the Board of Trade, a director of the First National Bank, also a trustee of the Five Cents Savings Bank, all of Newburyport. Since an early age, Mr. Hale has been connected with his native city's best interests, and the es- teem in which he is held by his towns- men and the people of the entire county is sufficiently told in the high honors which have been conferred upon him.
JOHN LUMMUS.
Lummus & Parker.
The oldest grist mill in this section is that now operated by Lummus & Parker at Danversport. This mill, or a portion of it, has been running for more than a hundred and fifty years, and is operated by tide water on the Crane river. The senior member of the firm, John Lummus, is a na- tive of New York and he succeeded A.W. & J.A. Ham in the ownership of the mill in 1874. For a time the firm name was Lummus & Den- nett. About five years ago Mr. George H. Par- ker became a partner. Mr. Parker is a native of Tremont, Me.
RESIDENCE OF JOHN LUMMUS.
DANVERS.
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GEORGE H· PARKER·
Both have families and homes on High street. An extensive business in hay and grain of all kinds is done by the firm, extending all over Essex county. The mill and storehouses are situated on tide water where vessels of ten or twelve feet draught can come and in close proximity to the Eastern division of the B. & M. railroad, af- fording unexcelled facilities for the receipt and ship- ping of hay and grain. The busi- ness has greatly increased under the present man- agement and the firm has a wide acquaintance. The gentlemen are both popular and energetic and give excellent ser- vices to numerous patrons.
E. Kendall Jenkins.
E. Kendall Jenkins, the County Treasurer, is a son of Captain Ben- jamin and Betsey Jenkins, and was born in Andover in 1831, receiving his education in the public schools of that town. In his early man- hood Mr. Jenkins engaged in farm- ing until 1861, when he enlisted in the First Massachusetts Heavy Ar- tillery, in which he served for three years. In January, 1866, he was appointed deputy sheriff by Sheriff H. G. Herrick, and in March of the same year was chosen town clerk, treasurer and collector of his native town. Upon being elected county treasurer in 1878, he re- signed these offices and devoted his exclusive attention to the duties of his new office. Mr. Jenkins has been for a number of years a trus- tee of the Public Library at An- dover, which was erected to per- petuate the memory of the Andover soldiers who fell in the Civil War. He was one of the first to advocate the erection of this handsome building and was one of its charter members. Mr. Jenkins is president of the First National Bank of Salem, and through- out the entire course of his public ca- reer has enjoyed the respect and es- teem of all, for his unvarying courtesy and strict integrity.
LUMMUS & PARKER MILL.
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DANVERS.
Colonel Samuel A. Johnson.
The marked popularity of Colonel Samuel A. Johnson, Sheriff of Essex County, was at- tested in the flattering vote by which he was chosen to his present responsible position in the fall of 1895. For many years he had served as Deputy Sheriff, and upon the retire- ment of Sheriff Herrick, Colonel Johnson was the eligible successor. He was born in Salem, July 31, 1847, and attended the public schools of that city until nine years of age, at that time removing to Wisconsin. He studied with the class of '69 at Beloit College in that state. Shortly after Colonel Johnson returned to his native city and studied law in the office of Hon. William D. Northend ; he was admitted to the Essex Bar in September, 1871, and was associ- ated with Mr. Northend for about one year. The next three years were spent in Lynn, in practice with ex-Clerk of Courts Peabody. Col. Johnson has travelled quite extensively in this country and in Europe, residing for some time
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