USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 13
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Dr. Jean H. (Hose) Celce, mother of Dr. Frederick William Celce, was born in New York State, October 24, 1870, the daughter
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of Alonzo and Elizabeth Hose, both natives of her birthplace. Her father, who died in Johnstown, New York, was a glove manu- facturer in that place and Gloversville, New York. Through her paternal ancestry, Dr. Jean H. (Hose) Celce was a descendant of Quartermaster Timmerman, who served in the Continental Army during the Revolu- tionary War. Dr. Jean H. (Hose) Celce received her medical education at the Phila- delphia Women's Medical College, from where she was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1892. She then came to Holyoke with her husband and carried on a joint practice with him, specializing in gynecology and pediatrics throughout her life here. Dr. Jean H. (Hose) Celce passed away at her home in Holyoke, July 31, 1932.
Dr. Frederick William Celce received a general education in the public schools of his native community and after graduating from high school here matriculated at Dart- mouth College, where he was to study until the United States entered the World War. On March 7, 1917, he returned to Holyoke and enlisted in the medical corps of the United States Army, becoming a member of the 26th Division. In October, 1917, he was dispatched overseas and was detailed for service with Company D, of the 104th Infantry Regiment, serving with this unit for twenty-three months. He entered the army as a private, and was honorably dis- charged at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, in September, 1919, with the rank of sergeant of the first class. Shortly after resuming civilian life, he returned to Dartmouth Col- lege and continued his studies. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from this institution with the class of 1919, and then entered the Harvard Medical School, where he was to receive his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1925. Following the comple- tion of his medical training he served an interneship in the surgical department of the
Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, and during the two years he was associated with this institution came under the direction of Dr. John B. Deaver.
On December 1, 1927, he returned to Hol- yoke to become associated with his distin- guished father and mother in practice at No. 190 Chestnut Street. Since that time he has come to assume a prominent place in the medical fraternity of this city. He is a mem- ber of the surgical and obstetrical staff of the Holyoke Hospital and also belongs to the executive staff of that institution. Pro- fessionally, he is affiliated with the Hamp- den County Medical Society, the Massachu- setts State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and he has been a member of the American College of Sur- geons since 1932. Socially, Dr. Celce is a member of the Mount Tom Golf Club and the Harvard Club of Boston. Politically, he adheres to the principles set forth by the Republican party ; and in his religious con- victions worships at the Second Congrega- tional Church in this city. Fond of sports of all types, he finds great pleasure in the game of golf. Dr. Celce has one sister, Mrs. George Hallett, who resides at Wilson, Con- necticut.
JOHN JOSEPH DAVID McCORMICK -Since 1911, John Joseph David McCor- mick has carried on the firm and business of David McCormick and Son, cut stone con- tractors of Holyoke. He is sole owner of this enterprise, which was founded origi- nally by his father and which has now be- come one of the most important concerns of its kind in the Holyoke district.
Mr. McCormick was born in this city on March 19, 1891, a son of David McCormick, born in County Kerry, Ireland, died at Hol- yoke on December 22, 1911, and Catherine (Dowling) McCormick, also born in County Kerry, Ireland, died at Holyoke on Septem-
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ber 6, 1898. During the earlier years of his active career his father was a member of the firm of Jackson and McCormick, who were engaged in the stone business on Main Street, Holyoke, but in 1886 his partner sev- ered his connection to enter business in New York and David McCormick then be- came associated with John Wall as a cut stone contractor, under the name of Wall and McCormick. This partnership was con- tinued until 1903. A few years later he formed a partnership with his son, John J. D. McCormick, under the name of David McCormick and Son, which was terminated by the death of the elder man, in 1911, at the age of fifty-seven. John J. D. McCor- mick then purchased the interest of the other children in the business and has since carried it on under the same name as sole proprietor. This company, whose cut stone plant is situated at the corner of Appleton and Winter streets, Holyoke, has furnished stone for many public and private buildings in Holyoke and the vicinity, among them the Public Library in Holyoke, the High School Vocational School, the Highland School, the new Lawrence School, the Cen- tral Fire Station of Holyoke, the Hadley Falls Trust Company Building, the Skinner Memorial Chapel, the Second Congrega- tional Church of Holyoke, Mt. Holyoke and Smith colleges and Yale University.
John Joseph David McCormick, owner and operator of the company and a well- known figure in Holyoke business life, was graduated from the Sacred Heart School and Holyoke High School, studied for one year at Williston Seminary, and entered Cornell University with the class of 1913 to pursue a course in civil engineering. Be- cause of his father's death, however, he was obliged to leave college in his junior year and after purchasing the interest of the other children took over the management of the business which he has since success-
fully continued. He has extended it sub- stantially during the intervening quarter of a century and in 1932 also purchased the properties of the Longmeadow Company of East Longmeadow, consisting of a cut stone plant and the well-known brown stone quar- ries in that town.
In February, 1918, during the World War, Mr. McCormick enlisted in the United States Navy at Boston and was stationed at Bumpkin Island in Boston Harbor. Later, he was transferred to the Officers' Training School at Harvard University, and received his honorable discharge there in November, 1918, with the grade of boatswain's mate. Mr. McCormick is a member of Holyoke Post, American Legion, and is president of the Western Massachusetts Alumni Asso- ciation of Cornell University. He is also a member of the Cornell Club of New Eng- land, Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church of Holyoke, the Knights of Columbus (fourth degree) ; Holyoke Lodge, No. 902, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he was Exalted Ruler in 1917-18; the Massa- chusetts Order of Foresters; and the Mount Tom Golf Club. During his college days he was affiliated with the Sigma Alpha Ep- silon Fraternity. Mr. McCormick is a mem- ber of the Democratic party, but has never been active in politics and has always voted independently. Golf is his favorite recrea- tion.
On June 16, 1924, in the Chapel of Elms Academy, John Joseph David McCormick and Catherine I. Barry were married by Bishop Thomas M. O'Leary. Mrs. McCor- mick, a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Bun- ton) Barry, was born in Chicopee and died at Holyoke on April 4, 1934. She was grad- uated from Elms Academy and Trinity Col- lege, and subsequently carried on post-grad- uate work at Columbia University leading to the Master of Arts degree. Before her marriage, she was supervisor of domestic
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science at Chicopee High School. Mrs. Mc- and resided there throughout his life. He Cormick was a member of Holy Cross Ro- man Catholic Church of Holyoke and was active in many other interests. She was president of Austin Circle, Holyoke Day Nursery, past president of the Elms Acad- emy Alumna and the Trinity College Alum- næ, and a member of the College Club of Springfield.
Mr. and Mrs. McCormick became the par- ents of five daughters: Jean Barry, Ann Dowling, Janet, Eileen and Catherine.
JAMES FRANCIS LOFTUS-Since 1920, when he purchased the undertaking business of his uncle' at Palmer, James Francis Loftus has devoted himself without interruption to his professional duties in this community. The recent opening of his new funeral parlors in Springfield marks the ex- tension of his service to the larger city. This fine establishment reflects the effort he has always made to maintain the highest standards in his work, an effort which has brought him a leading place among the fu- neral directors of Hampden County.
Mr. Loftus, who is a member of one of the county's oldest Irish families, was born at Palmer on October 30, 1894. His grand- father, John F. Loftus, founded the line in America, coming from Killarney, Ireland, to Thorndike, where he was employed for a time in the old mill. Later, he entered the livery business at Thorndike and continued this enterprise for many years until the time of his death. He married Johanna Foley, also a native of Ireland, who came to the United States in girlhood with her parents and settled at Thorndike. Two of her broth- ers, James and John Foley (twins), served with the Union forces during the Civil War, the first in the navy under Admiral Farra- gut and the second in the infantry.
James F. Loftus, father of James Francis Loftus of this record, was born in Thorndike
was a merchant during the greater part of this period, and about six months before his death was appointed postmaster. After his death he was succeeded in this office by his widow, who served for twenty years. She was born Katherine O'Connor, a native of Holyoke, and is now a resident of Palmer. There are three children of this marriage: I. Mildred, principal of one of Palmer's pub- lic schools. 2. James Francis, of whom fur- ther. 3. J. Bernard, now financial admin- istrator of the Bennett School for Girls, Millbrook, New York.
James F. (J. Francis) Loftus received his education in the grammar and high school of Palmer. His first experience in his present profession was obtained while he was still a boy in school, when he worked at intervals for his uncle, the late John W. Loftus, at Palmer. After he left school he spent two years in the employ of the Central Massa- chusetts Electric Company of Palmer, and the United Electric Light Company of Springfield, following which he became timekeeper and paymaster in the construc- tion of the Hampden Railroad. Soon after the outbreak of the World War in Europe, he went to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he became paymaster in the Remington Cartridge Company plant, and was also at this time a member of the semi-professional football team representing the Remington company.
When the United States entered the World War, Mr. Loftus returned to Palmer to enlist and while waiting to be called, was employed by the Springfield Street Railway Company. When he entered the service, he was given a special assignment to the Em- balming Corps, which consisted of thirty- three men and constituted the only one of its kind in the American forces. This body was located at the Newport News, Virginia,
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port of embarkation, where Mr. Loftus re- mained until April, 1919.
On receiving his discharge, Mr. Loftus returned to Palmer and became an assistant to his uncle, whose undertaking parlors, lo- cated at No. 468 Main Street, were estab- lished in 1894. John W. Loftus died early in 1920, and in April of that year, Mr. Lof- tus purchased the business, which he con- tinued at its previous location until 1925, when he erected his present funeral parlors at No. 486 North Main Street. In October, 1934. he established his Springfield business under the name of J. F. Loftus, Inc., taking over from the James Flanagan Estate the large property at No. 619 State Street, for- merly known as the Charles Parsons man- sion. This he has converted into a modern funeral home, whose parlors and chapel have a seating capacity of more than two hundred. The interior and furnishings in the matter of beauty compare favorably with any in western Massachusetts, while the equipment is completely up-to-date in every way.
Mr. Loftus gives his personal attention to the operation of both his Springfield and his Palmer establishments. He is also active in the Massachusetts Funeral Directors' Asso- ciation, of which he is a director ; is a mem- ber of the National Funeral Directors' Asso- ciation, and a director of the Western Mas- sachusetts Code Authority of this associa- tion. In addition to these connections, he is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the American Legion, the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters, and is a com- municant of St. Thomas' Roman Catholic Church. He was a member of the recreation association that established the recreation grounds adjoining the Palmer High School, and has always given his support to civic improvements and welfare measures.
On August 7, 1922, at Palmer, James Francis Loftus married Yvonne A. Morris- sette, of Springfield, daughter of Joseph and Eleanor (Langlois) Morrissette, who were early French residents of Hampden County. Francis Langlois, a brother of Mrs. Morris- sette, operated one of the first blacksmith shops at Palmer Depot. Mrs. Loftus is a graduate of Mercy Hospital School for Nurses at Springfield, and was a practicing nurse before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Loftus have two children : I. James Francis (3), born June 9, 1923. 2. Eleanor Lucille, born June 15, 1927.
DUDLEY SUMNER SILSBY-With a splendid New England background of busi- ness experience, Dudley Sumner Silsby is able to contribute in a substantial and vital way to the commercial life of the city of Holyoke, where he is cashier and trust offi- cer of the Holyoke National Bank.
Mr. Silsby was born at Amherst, Maine, on May 31, 1885, son of Arthur W. and Lena (Sumner) Silsby. The Silsby family is an old and honorable one, dating back in America to the immigrant ancestor of the line, Henry Silsbee (the original form of the name), who was born in 1608 and migrated from London, England, in 1629, settling in Salem, Massachusetts. Dudley Sumner Silsby represents the ninth generation in direct descent from Henry Silsbee. Henry Silsbee's son, Jonathan Silsby, Sr., was born in 1650. He and his wife, Bethiah (Marsh) Silsby, were the parents of Jonathan Silsby, Jr., who was born March 16, 1677, and mar- ried Lydia Allen. They had a son, Samuel Silsby, Sr., born April 4, 1726, who married Elizabeth Woodard. Their son, Captain Samuel Silsby, Jr., was born November 4, 1755, served in the War of the American Revolution, was captured and put on board a British prison ship, but apparently es-
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caped, for he is recorded as having after- ence of shoe cutting, remaining for two ward returned to the service; he married Hannah Goodell. Their son, Captain Good- ell Silsby, was born February 22, 1780, and was a captain in the War of 1812; he mar- ried Mary Polly Osgood. Their son, Rufus Homer Silsby, was born April 17, 1826, in Amherst, Maine, where he died; he was a farmer and a musician, playing the organ and directing the music in his church; he married Mary Saunders, who was born in Dedham, Maine, and died in Amherst, Maine.
Their son, Arthur W. Silsby, was the father of Dudley Sumner Silsby. He was born November 26, 1854, in Amherst, Maine, and died in Bangor, that State. For twenty- five years he was bookkeeper and overseer of a large sole leather tannery at Amherst, Maine, and while there was active in town affairs, serving at various times as town clerk, moderator, treasurer, and selectman. For many years he was chairman of the Re- publican Committee for Northern Hancock County. As justice of the peace he settled many disputes and claims of his fellow- townsmen, and was affectionately called "Judge." The office of the tanning com- pany was moved to Bangor, Maine, in 1901, which necessitated his change of residence to that city. Shortly after, he became seri- ously ill and after a year, broken in health, but unwilling to give up, he became asso- ciated with the Charles E. Dole Company, where he remained for about twenty-five years. He was a member of the Congrega- tional Church. His wife, Lena (Sumner) Silsby, was born in Amherst, Maine, and now makes her home in Bangor.
Their son, Dudley Sumner Silsby, at- tended the district schools of Amherst, Maine, and his first employment was with Parker and Peaks, shoe manufacturers, of Bangor. There he learned the art and sci-
years with the same firm. His next work was with the Bangor and Aroostook Rail- road Company, in the passenger department of the auditor's office, leaving there after two and one-half years to become assistant bookkeeper in the Bangor office of the Schwartschild & Sulzberger Company. About five months later he was transferred to the sales department and was their north- ern Maine representative for about a year. He then returned to the railroad company as a clerk in the superintendent's office. A year and a half later, in May, 1908, he re- signed and entered the employ of the First National Bank, in Bangor, Maine, after- wards becoming cashier. He continued with the Bangor bank until September, 1917, when he left it in order to organize the Limestone Trust Company, at Limestone, Maine, and he acted as treasurer of the Limestone Trust Company until June, 1918.
On June 1, 1918, he came to Holyoke, here associating himself with the Holyoke Na- tional Bank, the institution with which he is still connected. At the outset he was as- sistant cashier of the bank. In 1926 he was promoted to the post of cashier. Then, in 1927, he was also given the responsibilities of trust officer. Since that time he has re- mained cashier and trust officer of this insti- tution, one of the very valuable banking houses of Hampden County.
Mr. Silsby is a Republican in his partisan views and is a worker in many civic and social organizations. He belongs to the Holyoke Kiwanis Club, and is treasurer of the Holyoke Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1927 he served as president of the Springfield chapter of the American In- stitute of Banking, and he has remained to this day an active member of the institute. In the Free and Accepted Masons, Mr. Silsby is a member of Rising Virtue Lodge,
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No. 10, in Bangor. He was Master of this lodge in 1913. He also belongs to the Hol- yoke Chapter of Royal Arch Masonry, and holds the thirty-second degree of the An- cient Accepted Scottish Rite. He is a mem- ber of the First Congregational Church of Holyoke. Each of these organizations and the branch of life that it represents in his city and county have definitely benefited from his interest in activity in the general well-being. He has shown himself to be a truly social-minded and public-spirited citi- zen.
Dudley Sumner Silsby married, on Sep- tember 21, 1910, in Bangor, Maine, Grace Frances Wasson, a native of Bangor, daugh- ter of Loring S. and Louise (Atherton) Wasson, of Bucksport, Maine. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wasson are now deceased. Mr. Wasson was a farmer. Mrs. Silsby attended the Eastern Maine Conference Seminary at Bucksport, Maine. She is a member of the Women's Club here, and is an active worker in the interests of the First Congregational Church of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Silsby became the parents of a son, Stanley D. Silsby, who was born January 24, 1916, and is now a student at Williston Academy.
ELZEAR FABIAN JACQUES-Among the prominent figures in the banking circle of Hampden County is Elzear Fabian Jacques, assistant treasurer of the Hadley Falls Trust Company, who for nearly a quarter of a century has been actively identi- fied with the business life and development of this region and through his accomplish- ments and success has come to win the esteem and respect of his colleagues and the general public. During his residence here he has also taken a keen interest in civic and social matters and today is identified with many of the leading organizations here.
His life is interesting and romantic. During his youth he embarked on a career in rail- roading, through odd circumstance made his way to the Pacific Coast, became stranded there, enlisted in the United States Army and was dispatched to the Philippine Islands, where he was to serve for a number of years. Returning to his native State after his military career he reentered railroad work and continued in this capacity until 1912, when he entered the banking business, which he has followed so successfully since.
Elzear Fabian Jacques was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, September 21, 1887, the son of Henry and Zenaide (De La Fresniere) Jacques, both natives of this State. His father, who was born in Webster and died in the city of Springfield on Octo- ber 21, 1921, at the age of seventy-five years, was senior partner in the carriage manufac- turing firm of H. and H. R. Jacques, of Springfield. He was a member of the Re- publican party ; and worshipped at the Ro- man Catholic Church. The elder Mr. Jacques' father was Fabian Jacques, a na- tive of Webster, who was a horse dealer during the early part of his career, later be- came a pioneer manufacturer of hubs for wagons and carriages at Abbotsford, Can- ada, served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and was among that picturesque and adventurous group that headed for the State of California during the famous "rush" of 1849. He made a fortune at this time and later returned to the East, investing his money in Philadelphia real estate. Fabian Jacques died in Abbotsford, Canada. The family trace their American ancestry to Elzear Fabian Jacques' great-great-grand- father, a seafaring man and native of France who came to the Dominion of Canada be- tween 1750 and 1760, obtained a government concession and operated a ferry. Mr. Jacques' mother, Zeniade De La Fresniere, was born
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in Ludlow, Massachusetts, in 1856, and died in Springfield in 1929.
Mr. Jacques received a general education in the public schools of his native com- munity and after completing his studies here attended college in Canada. Returning to Springfield he became a student in the Pos- tal Telegraph Company and then embarked on his railroad career as a telegraph opera- tor, working for various lines in this vicinity. It happened that shortly after he took up this work a strike took place in the indus- try and he was called upon to serve as a re- lief operator on trains operating across the continent. He made one trip over this route and by the time he arrived in the city of San Francisco, California. found that the strike had been settled and he was out of employment. A young man unburdened by family ties, he determined to satisfy his love of adventure and enlisted at this time in the United States Army, becoming a member of Troop B, of the 14th Cavalry, under com- mand of Captain Herbert B. Crosby, who recently retired from the service with the rank of major-general in command of the cavalry forces of the United States Army, and for the next three years was stationed at the following posts: the Presidio; Angel Island; Alcatraz, which is now a Federal prison ; Huachaca, Arizona; Fort Riley ; Leavenworth, Kansas; and finally Fort Slocum, in New York State. Later, he was transferred to the United States Army Sig- nal Corps and was detailed to carry on ex- perimental work in the then almost un- known field of wireless telegraphy. Shortly thereafter, he sailed for the Philippines aboard the army transport "Thomas," which took fifty-six days to arrive at its destina- tion. Mr. Jacques was first stationed at Santo Tomas, Province of Batangas, head- quarters of General Malvar, who succeeded Aguinaldo as commander-in-chief of the in-
surrectors. From there he went to Calapan Mindoro, one of the last islands to become friendly to the United States. While at Santo Tomas he was wounded in the right leg and spent about six months in a military hospital, suffering from gangrene, malarial fever and disentery. During his service at Mindoro he was a member of the first group of white men to cross that island on foot, a distance of fifty miles. It took the party seven days and when half way across they ran out of food and were forced to subsist on a diet of fried lizards, locusts and wild fruit. The island today is one of the large producers of mahogany. The Spanish mean- ing of the name Mindoro is gold mine, a metal which is plentiful in the mountains and canyons. On several occasions Mr. Jacques was on detached service with the civil government and one of these missions was private telegraph operator for the late President Taft, who at that time was the first civil governor of the Philippines.
After retiring from the army, Mr. Jacques made an extensive tour of the Orient on his homeward trip. He visited the Island of Guam, spent six weeks traveling through the interior of Japan, visited Shanghai, Hongkong, Honolulu, and finally arrived in San Francisco. He then returned to Spring- field and resumed his work in railroading, becoming a telegraph operator for the Bos- ton and Maine Railroad and later serving as ticket agent, a post he occupied until April, 1912, when he resigned to accept a position as teller of the People's Savings Bank of Holyoke, thereby initiating a financial ca- reer that has been marked for its outstand- ing distinction and success. Recognition of his ability as a banker is revealed by the fact that in December, 1918, six years after he had entered the business, he was invited to become assistant treasurer of the Hadley Falls Trust Company, the post he occupies
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