Genealogy and history of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 70

Author: Hurd, Charles Edwin, 1833-1910
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Boston, New England historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 850

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From this hardy, substantial, liberty-loving stock sprang Richard Olney, of Smithfield, R.I., b. 1770 (probably son of Richard, b. 1749), who was m. April 3, 1795, at Cumber- land, R.I., to Abigail Wilson, of Rehoboth. For some years he was engaged in the West India trade at Providence. After the loss at sea of a packet of which he was part owner, he became a pioneer in the cotton manufacture in New England, having mills at East Douglass, Mass., and vicinity. In 1819 he removed to Oxford, Mass. Engaged for a while as inn- keeper and trader, he eventually became chief proprietor of the Oxford Woolen Company. He was president of the Oxford Bank three years, was a member of the Constitutional Con- vention in 1820, and subsequently served the

town as Selectman and as Representative. At one time a Restorationist in religious belief, in the latter part of his life he was a supporter of the Methodist church. He d. in 1841 in Burrillville, aged about seventy-one years. His wife Abigail d. at seventy-nine, in Au- gust, 1855. She was evidently the Abigail b. in Rehoboth, April 10, 1777, daughter of John and Abigail Wilson, John Wilson and Abigail Perry having been m. in 1764. Richard and Abigail (Wilson) Olney had six daughters - among them Cynthia, who m. John White, and Hannah m. Simon Wheeler - and five sons, three of whom, namely, Wilson, Elisha, and William B. m. and left children.

Wilson Olney, the eldest son, was b. in 1802 in Providence. A youth of seventeen, he taught a term of school at Douglass. After that he was successively a clerk in his father's store, an accountant in the Oxford Woolen Company Mill, and a merchant at the Plain in Oxford. From 1836 to 1842 he was in Louis- ville, Ky. Returning to Oxford to act as executor of his father's estate, he subsequently engaged in the flannel manufacture, and later was cashier and active manager of the Oxford Bank. His record was one of scrupulous integrity. He d. February 24, 1874. His wife, Eliza L., whom he m. March 26, 1832, d. May 2, 1874, in the sixty fourth year of her age. She was a daughter of Peter and Mehit- able (Corbin) Butler, and grand-daughter of James5 and Mary (Sigourney) Butler. Her paternal grandfather, James5 Butler, who was educated at the Boston Latin School, was of the fifth generation in descent from Stephen' Butler, who came to Boston with his mother, Mary Butler, a widow, in 1640. Mary Si- gourney, wife of James Butler, was b. in 1742, daughter of Anthony3 and Mary (Waters) Sigourney. Her father was the son of An- drew, Jr., and Mary (Germaine) Sigourney, natives of France, and grandson of Andrew1 Sigourney, Sr., a Huguenot, who left France on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, came to Massachusetts, and d. in Bos- ton in 1727. Descendants of Andrew in suc- cessive generations have been numbered among the substantial citizens of Boston, and have intermarried with other leading and influential

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families. Wilson and Eliza L. (Butler) Olney were the parents of five children, namely : Richard, b. September 15, 1835, at Oxford, Worcester County; George W., b. in 1840, a mill owner, who resided at Leicester, and d. February 28, 1894; Peter B., b. in 1843, a lawyer in New York City; Frederick A., who resided at Kingston, N. Y. ; and Ger- trude G., who m. Eben Sutton Stevens, a man- ufacturer at Quinebaug, Conn.

Richard Olney, the eldest son of Wilson, and the special subject of this biography, was graduated Bachelor of Arts at Brown Univer- sity in 1856, Bachelor of Laws at Harvard Law School in 1858, and received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Harvard Uni- versity in 1893. Entering the office of the Hon. Benjamin F. Thomas in 1859, he was associated in law practice with him until the death of that eminent jurist in 1878. Posses- sing a sound physical constitution, good mental abilities well trained, and the will and dispo- sition to work, he has gained his high standing in his profession through close and persistent application to business. He has long served as counsel for large railroad corporations, nota- bly the Boston & Maine and the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy. "Avoidance of cheap and easy newspaper notoriety of the day " has been set down as one of his "chief virtues." All the more impressive the occasional apprecia- tions of Mr. Olney that have appeared in print. We quote the following from the Green Bag of June, 1893 : "His prominence in the profes- sion did not begin at his admission to the bar. Before he had been long in the law school he was picked out by his instructors as a young man of uncommon good judgment, of trained methods of thought and of unusual acumen. As a student his industry fairly amounted to a rapacity of learning. From the beginning Mr. Olney's practice led him more and more into two channels - the law of wills and es- tates and the law of corporations - upon both of which he is a recognized authority. As a junior he was of the greatest help to his senior associates. His accumulation of facts and marshalling of evidence, and his application of the law pertaining to the case in hand, gave his seniors unlimited confidence that they had

the whole case within reach. His faultless logic and ingenuity of mind could always be depended upon to help them over a rough spot or around a sharp corner. His preparation of cases is so complete that they come to trial but rarely. The settlement of a case by him means that his client gets all he is entitled to. His breadth of view is so comprehensive, his honesty and fairness so well recognized, and his judicial temperament is so thoroughly appreciated by opposing counsel and by all parties that his ultimatum is generally ac- cepted."

An old-line Democrat in politics, he has not sought public life and honors. In 1874 he represented the Second Norfolk District in the lower branch of the Massachusetts Legislature, and served on the Committee on the Judiciary. In March, 1893, at the beginning of Presi- dent Cleveland's second administration, Mr. Olney, actuated by a keen sense of public duty, entered the cabinet as Attorney-general. In this capacity he counselled the action of the President in calling out the Federal troops to suppress the riot at Chicago of the Ameri- can Railway Union. The circumstances and counsel may well be recalled, lest we forget a good lesson.

The Chicago riot of July, 1894, was one manifestation of the "Pullman strike," "the re- lation of which to the Department of Justice," as explained in the report of the Attorney- general of the United States for that year, "was indirect, and arose only when the railroads of the country became involved and the passage of the United States mails and the movements of interstate commerce were inter- fered with." The strikers aimed at a complete stoppage of all the railroad transportation of the country, State and interstate, and freight as well as passenger. Such a result the De- partment sought to prevent by the most vigor- ous use of all the legal weapons at its com- mand. Many deputy marshals were sworn in at Chicago. The United States Court issued restraining orders to the strikers, but the read- ing of the injunction writ at Chicago was re- ceived by the hoots and jeers of a mob of from two thousand to three thousand, assembled at a railroad crossing in the city, where they had

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already ditched a mail train and prevented the passing of others. The inability of the civil authorities to cope with the situation having been thus demonstrated, and the fact made known by telegram to Attorney-general Olney and communicated to the President, orders were at once given by the President for the movement of United States troops from Fort Sheridan into Chicago. As soon as the troops arrived, the strike at Chicago was practically broken there, and consequently broken every- where else.

In the cases of the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific Roads, each of which had been declared a military and post-road of the United States, "the War Department was advised that the power of the President, as commander-in- chief of the military forces of the United States to keep the roads in question open and unob- structed for the purposes for which their char- ters had been granted, could not be doubted, and, in accordance with such opinion, both roads were opened for use throughout their whole extent by troops, who accompanied the trains, and whose very presence on the trains was sufficient to prevent any attempt at their ob- struction." (See also Report of Debs' case, March, 1895, argument of Attorney-general Olney before the Supreme Court, successfully defending this action of the government.)

In November, 1894, Richard Olney, not as Attorney-general, but as amicus curia (friend of the court), filed a written brief in the United States Circuit Court, district of Penn- sylvania, on the "Advantages of Labor Organ- ization,"' with a strong plea for arbitration in the case of strikes.

In June, 1895, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Walter Q. Gresham, Mr. Olney was appointed Secretary of State, the highest cabinet office, his methods continuing, as be- fore, to be those of a "strong and well-equipped lawyer and not of the politician," as one has well said - his make-up too truly savoring of the patriot and statesman to be the opposite of these, it may be added. There was no shuffling and dawdling in regard to the Mora case, for instance, which he disposed of effect- ually by enforcing the demand and receiving the money, one million, five hundred thousand

dollars. An equally clear-sighted, firm policy dictated the settlement of the long-vexed Ven- ezuelan question by an arbitration which should be "final and irremediable, and should cover the whole territory." Returning to Boston at the end of his official term in Wash- ington, on the inauguration of President Mc- Kinley, Mr. Olney resumed his law practice. He is a lover of books, an omnivorous reader, and has a wide acquaintance with good litera- ture. He is a member of the Somerset Club.

Mr. Olney was married March 6, 1861, to Agnes Park, daughter of the late Judge Benja- min F. Thomas, of Boston. Judge Thomas was a grandson of Isaiah Thomas, publisher of the Massachusetts Spy. Mr. and Mrs. Olney have two children : Agnes, born December, 1861; and Mary T., born August, 1865.

LDEN7. SPEARE, a well-known oil merchant of Boston, was born in Chel- sea, Vt., October 26, 1825, son of Dr. Sceva6 and Jane (Merrill) Speare. He is descended from New England pioneers, and some of his ancestors bore arms in the struggle for national independence. Through Dr. Moses, 5 Deacon Moses, 4 Benja- min, 3 and Ebenezer,2 he is a lineal descendant of George' and Mary Speare, who were, as far as known, his original American ancestors.

George' Speare, who is supposed to have emigrated from England, settled at Braintree, Mass., at an early date, and was made a free- man May 26, 1644. He subsequently went to Maine, where, it is said, he was killed by the Indians. His wife Mary d. December 7, 1674. Their children were : George, Sarah, Richard, Ebenezer, Samuel, Nathaniel, and Hannah. Ebenezer2 Speare, according to the Braintree records, was b. May 3, 1654, and d. November 21, 1719. He m. Rachel Deering. Benja- min3 Speare, b. in Old Braintree, December 12, 1698, m. Sarah Niles July 20, 1722. His will, dated at Braintree, 1762, and probated in March, 1775, mentions wife Sarah, executrix, and sons Benjamin, Isaac, Joseph, and Moses.

Deacon Moses4 Speare was b. in that part of Old Braintree which is now Randolph, Janu- ary 5, 1734, and d. August 11, 1813. During

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the Revolutionary War, as First Lieutenant in Captain Sawin's company of Colonel Joseph Palmer's regiment, he served four days in Jan- uary, 1776, and six days in March; also served as an officer of the same rank in the Third Company, Fifth Suffolk County Regiment ; was, July 8, 1777, First Lieutenant of Captain Eliphalet Sawin's (Third) company of Colonel Ebenezer Thayer's (Third) regiment, Suffolk County Militia, and ordered into camp on the following 17th. July 17, 1777, he was com- missioned Captain of the Third Company, Fifth Suffolk Regiment, and doubtless contin- ued in the army for some time afterward. He settled in Shutesbury, Mass. He m. Cather- ine Jones, of whose parents and ancestry no record has been obtained.

Dr. Moses5 Speare was b. in Shutesbury, February 17, 1762. He also was a soldier in the Continental army, performing guard duty at Roxbury during the evacuation of Boston. In the Revolutionary Rolls of Massachusetts the name of Moses Speare appears as having served in different regiments at various periods during the war. As Moses4 and his son Moses5 were both enrolled among the patriots, it is quite impossible to accurately distinguish the record of one from that of the other. Those desirous of examining the records will find them in volume xxviii., page 10; volume xl., page 218; and volume xxii. Moses5 Speare practised medicine until his death, which occurred June 22, 1832. He was m. in Shutesbury to Judith Pierce, who was b. in that town August 10, 1761. She d. in Ver-

shire, Vt., October 6, 1841.

Dr. Sceva6 Speare, b. in Shutesbury, Sep- tember 3, 1793, d. in Corinth, Vt., March 18, 1844. His first wife was Susan. H. Merrill, a sister of Jane, above mentioned, who was his second wife. They were daughters of Ste- phen and Mary (Hoyt) Merrill, natives of Deerfield, N. H., who at an early date migrated into the Vermont wilderness, settling at Cor -. inth, Orange County. Mary Hoyt was a daughter of Samuels and Susanna (Graves) Hoyt, of Deerfield. Samuel5 (b. February 16, 1740-41, d. in 1797), was the eldest child of Benjamin4 Hoyt, who was b. in 1706, and in 1730 m. Mary Collins. Their children were

baptized in Salisbury, Mass. Benjamin3 Hoyt (b. in 1680, d. in Salisbury in 1748 or 1749) m. Hannah Pillsbury. He was the seventh child of Thomas2 Hoyt by his first wife, Mary Brown. Thomas2 Hoyt was the third child of John' Hoyt by his first wife Frances. John1 Hoyt was one of the early settlers of Salisbury, and received five lots in the first division of land. He d. in February, 1687-8. Tradi- tion says that Samuel Hoyt was a man of un- usual strength and a mighty hunter. It also asserts that he was a member of the Boston Tea Party.

The children of Dr. Sceva and Jane Speare were : Sally, b. at Corinth, April 23, 1817, m. John N. True; Mary, b. at Corinth, August 13, 1819, m. Ziba Sprague, of Randolph, Vt. ; Alden, the place and date of whose birth has already been recorded; Susan, b. December 3, 1828, d. in her thirteenth year, March 3, 1842; Stephen Lewis Bates, b. in Corinth, May 6, 1834, a Congregational minister resid- ing in Newton, Mass. ; Albert, b. in 1836, d. in 1840; and another child that .d. in infancy,

From the public schools Alden Speare en- tered the Newbury Seminary, where he fitted for college, but was prevented by his father's death from completing his education as in- tended. Settling in Boston he entered the retail dry-goods business as a clerk, and subse- quently was employed as a salesman by whole- sale houses in the same line of trade. In 1851 he engaged in the oil business as a member of the firm of Speare, Burke & Co., later became a special partner in the firm of Alden Speare's Sons & Co., and in 1899 president of the Alden Speare's Sons Company.

During his long and successful business life Mr. Speare has been officially connected with several important commercial, financial, indus- trial, and philanthropic enterprises, all of which have profited in no small measure from his personal supervision and wise counsel. He has served as president of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, Boston Associated Board of Trade, and the Arkansas Town and Land Com- pany ; as a director and vice-president of the Connecticut & Passumpsic River Railway of Vermont, Massawippi Valley Railroad, the Mexican Central, Atchison, Topeka & Santa

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Fé, and of twenty-two other railroad compa- nies; as a director of the Hamilton Woollen Company; and trustee of the Boston Penny Savings Bank, Boston. He was one of the early directors and in 1857 president of the Boston Young Mens' Christian Association ; is a trustee and was vice-president of the Bos- ton University for the years 1875, 1886, 1887, and 1888; since 1880 a member of the Board of Managers of the Foreign and Home Mission- ary Society connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church; a trustee of the Wesleyan Association, 1886-87; was president of the Wesleyan Association since 1870, and inter- ested in the publication of Zion's Herald. For nine years he was a member of the Boston School Board. He has resided in Newton thirty-five years, and was Mayor for the years 1876 and 1877, being the second citizen to receive the honor of election to that office.

In March, 1849, Mr. Speare married Caro- line M. Robinson, of South Reading, Vt., daughter of Lewis5 and Sarah (Manning) Rob- inson. Her father was b. in South Reading, August 19, 1793, and d. there November 16, 1871. Her mother, b. in Cavendish, Vt., August 6, 1803, d. in South Reading, July 23, 1893. Mrs. Speare is a descendant in the sixth generation of William' and Elizabeth Robinson, who were the parents of Hannah (b. in Concord, Mass., in 1671), Elizabeth, Jona- than,2 and others, who were b. in Cambridge. Jonathan2 Robinson, who was b. in 1682, settled at Lexington, then known as Cam- bridge Farms, where his death occurred in 1753. . He and his wife Ruth were the parents of six children. James3 Robinson, the fourth child, who was b. in 1715, had by his sec- ond wife, Margaret, eight children, Ebenezer4 Robinson, b. at Lexington, February 14, 1765, being next to the youngest. He d. in Ver- mont in 1857. In his sixteenth year he en- listed as a privateersman, and, being taken prisoner, was confined about six months in the notorious prison-ship "Jersey," in Wallabout Bay, off Brooklyn, N. Y. Upon his release he walked all the way from New York to his home in Lexington. Prior to his seventeenth birthday he entered the Continental army, in which he served three years. About 1788 he

removed from Lexington to South Reading, Vt., and in 1792 he m. Hannah Ackley, who came from Connecticut. He held various pub- lic offices, civil and military, and was a highly respected citizen.

Alden and Caroline M. Speare have had seven children; namely, Sarah Jane, Herbert Alden, Emma Caroline, Ella' Maria, Lewis Robinson, Minnie G., and Edward Ray.

Sarah Jane, Emma Caroline, and Herbert Alden are no longer living. Herbert Alden married Rhoda Brickett, of Newton, and left three children - Florence, Emma, and Alden Herbert. Lewis R. and Edward R. Speare are respectively treasurer and vice-president of the Alden Speare's Sons Company, 369 Atlan- tic Avenue, Boston, 100 Williams Street, New York, and 9 Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, and London, England, handling oils, mill and laun- dry supplies of all kinds, and cold-water paint.

HARLES HAMILTON BROWN, a well-known citizen of Stoneham, liv- ing retired from active business pur- suits at his pleasant home on the corner of Maple and Chestnut Streets, was born in Leominster, Mass., February 27, 1839, son of Alexander Hamilton and Adelia (Spaulding) Brown.

His paternal ancestry has been traced back to Jethro Brown, b. in 1727, who is supposed to have come from a Connecticut family of Brown, and who is further said to have m. Mollie Haynes, of Groton, that State. Jethro Brown settled in Marlboro, Vt., where he d. in 1813. Lyman Brown, son of Jethro and grand- father of the subject of this article, was b. in 1767 and d. in 1854. He was a farmer. His wife, Miriam Whitney, was a native of Marlboro. They had eight children - Lyman, Samuel, Frank, Alexander Hamilton, Diana (m. a Mr. Knight), Philo (m. a Mr. Halliday), Eliza (m. Mr. Holden), and a daughter who became the wife of William Rand. The eld- est of the eight children was b. at Marlboro May 25, 1792.

Alexander Hamilton Brown was b. in Marl- boro, Vt., May 22, 1810. Coming from the Green Mountain State to Massachusetts when

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a young man, he drove the stage from Boston to Worcester for a short time. He was subse- quently employed in the manufacture of combs until after the breaking out of the Civil War, when he entered the United States service, being stationed at New Orleans and Port Hud- son. After the war he was for several years engaged in the auction business. He d. at Leominster, Mass., in 1886. On February 10, 1834, he m. Adelia Spaulding, who was b. February 24, 1809, in Westminster, Mass., being a daughter of Merari and Betsey (Heald) Spaulding, and a descendant in the seventh generation from Edward Spaulding, the founder of this branch of the family. The line was : Edward,' Andrew, 2-3 Jacob, 4 Joseph, 5 Merari, 6 Adelia7.

Edward' Spaulding came from England to Massachusetts between the years 1630 and 1633, settling first in Braintree. In 1653 he removed with his family to Chelmsford, where he became actively identified with public affairs. Andrew2 Spaulding, b. November 13, 1652, succeeded to the ownership of the pa- rental homestead in Chelmsford, where he was engaged in farming pursuits throughout his entire life. He m. April 30, 1674, Hannah Jefes, daughter of Henry and Hannah (Births) Jefes. Andrew3 Spaulding, b. March 25, 1678, m. February 5, 1701, Abigail Warren. Jacob+ Spaulding, the next in line of descent (twin brother of Henry), was b. September 6, 1703, m. in Chelmsford in 1726 Susanna Pierce. Joseph5 Spaulding, b. in Westford, Mass., May 1, 1737, m. Bridget Crosby of that town. Merari6 Spaulding, b. in Westminster, Mass., March 16, 1767, m. November 26, 1789, Betsey Heald, daughter of Major Eph- raim Heald, of Temple, N. H. She d. July 27, 1842.

Four children were b. of the union of Ade- lia7 Spaulding and Alexander Hamilton Brown, namely : Asa Everett; Charles Hamilton and Charlena, twins; and Frederick. The latter, b. 1840, d. in 1842. Charlena, b. February 27, 1839, also d. in 1842. Asa Everett, b. in 1835, d. in 1874. He was a comb-maker by trade, engaged in business in Leominster, Mass., for many years. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Leominster company that

became a part of the Fifteenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, which was commanded by Colonel Devens (later General Devens), serv- ing in Virginia, and participating in the battle of Balls Bluff. He d. of disease contracted in the army after a year's service. He m. Alena Dodge, of Leominster, who d. in 1898, leav- ing no children.

Charles Hamilton Brown attended the public schools of Leominster until sixteen years of age. The following year he went to North Woburn, where he served a four years' appren- ticeship at the currier's trade with the firm of Bond & Tidd. Coming to Stoneham in March, 1860, he was in the employ of Tidd & Bloomer until 1861, when their partnership was dis- solved and their factory closed. From that time until February, 1862, he worked for the firms of General Abijah Thompson, and Tidd & Blake, of Woburn. Returning then to Stoneham, Mr. Brown entered the employ of William Tidd, Jr., who was just embarking in business on his own account, having settled up the business affairs of the firm of Tidd & Bloomer. Mr. Brown continued with him, and later with William Tidd & Co., until January, 1866, when he was admitted as a partner, the firm name becoming Tidd & Co. His son, William Tidd Brown, was admitted to the firm in 1887, the name remaining the same. In 1890 Mr. Brown, having acquired a compe- tency, withdrew from the firm.

Fraternally he is well known in Masonic circles, having formerly belonged to Wyoming Lodge, of Melrose, and being a charter mem- ber of King Cyrus Lodge, F. & A. M., of Stoneham, and a life member of the Waverly Royal Arch Chapter of Melrose. He formerly belonged to the Hugh de Payens Commandery, K. T., of Melrose, but withdrew his member- ship by demit. For several years he was a director of the First National Bank of Woburn. He was one of the incorporators and is now a director of the Stoneham National Bank. He attends the Unitarian church. In politics is a Republican.

Mr. Brown was married November 27, 1862, in Woburn, by the Rev. R. P. Stebbins, to Oriana Tidd, daughter of William and Harriet Hartshorn (Flagg) Tidd, of Woburn, and a

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descendant of John Tidd, the immigrant pro- genitor of the family. The line from John1 Tidd was continued through John L.2 Tidd, who m. in 1650 Rebecca Wood; John3 Tidd, b. 1655, m. June 12, 1678, Elizabeth Fifield; Ebenezer4 Tidd, b. August 31, 1693, and his wife Martha Wyman; Jonathan5 Tidd, b. No- vember 7, 1724, and his wife Surviah; Jona- than6 Tidd, b. August 3, 1757, m. 1780 Rhoda Thompson; William7 Tidd, b. 1792, m. May 13, 1813, Rosanna Buckman; Will- iam8 Tidd, b. July 15, 1814, m. September II, 1836, Harriet Hartshorn Flagg, who was b. May 13, 1820, a daughter of Charles Flagg and his wife Harriet Jones. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have two children - William Tidd and Annie Hamilton.

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Genealogy and history of representative citizens of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 70

Author: Hurd, Charles Edwin, 1833-1910 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Boston, New England historical publishing company Number of Pages: 850

Author: Hurd, Charles Edwin, 1833-1910
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Boston, New England historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 850