Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III, Part 3

Author: Johnson, Clifton, 1865-1940
Publication date: 1936
Publisher: New York, The American historical Society, Inc.
Number of Pages: 770

USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 3

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On October 24, 1877, William H. Brain- erd married Mary A. Fenton, a native of Monson, daughter of William and Jane (Nelson) Fenton. She died October 22, 1928, aged seventy-four years. Their chil- dren were: Harold W., referred to above, who was born September 22, 1878, and be- came a civil engineer and a business asso- ciate of his father ; he married (first), Eloise Stone, and, after her death, married (sec- ond), Hattie Flynt. 2. Fred W., born May 20, 1881, who died while young. 3. Louis J., of further mention.

Louis J. Brainerd attended the schools of Palmer, being graduated from high school in 1902 and beginning in 1902 his connection with the Palmer National Bank. His first service was as clerk, and with the exception of about a year spent in Springfield, he has been associated since that time with the Palmer bank. That year in Springfield, the year of 1905-06, he spent in the employ of the Hampden Loan and Trust Company, which later became a part of the Union Trust. Immediately thereafter Mr. Brain- erd returned to Palmer, here rising through different promotions to the rank of cashier of the bank in 1909, succeeding Charles B. Fiske in that capacity and continuing so to

serve until 1929. In that year he became president. The Palmer National Bank, with resources of more than $2,500,000, is one of the best managed institutions of its kind in the State, and through the years of the de- pression has maintained a fine record for conservatism and strength and enjoyed the full confidence of its large body of deposi- tors.

Widely and favorably known in banking circles, he has been for six years a member of the advisory board of the Federal Re- serve Bank, retiring from this position in 1935. He is a director of the Massachusetts Bankers' Association and an ex-president of the Palmer Rotary Club. He is both vice- president and a director of the New England Metal Culvert Company, Inc. He is a mem- ber of Thomas Lodge of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, in which order he is also affiliated with Hampden Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Washington Council of Royal and Select Masters, Springfield Command- ery of Knights Templar, and Melha Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Louis J. Brainerd married, in January, 1908, Blanche Cushman, of Monson, daugh- ter of Edward D. and Florence A. (Sedg- wick) Cushman. To this marriage was born, on August 13, 1913, one son, Robert Cush- man Brainerd, who attended Monson Acad- emy, the Clark School at Hanover, and be- came a student at Syracuse University, class of 1938.

EDMUND STAUNTON OPPEN- HEIMER-In the business and civic life of Springfield, Edmund Staunton Oppen- heimer has been an active figure for several years. He is one of the leading insurance men of the city and is now serving as presi- dent of the Springfield Common Council, of which he has been a member since 1930.

INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY RECORDS

Mr. Oppenheimer was born in Springfield on April 1, 1902, son of Berthold A. and Let- tie (Bridge) Oppenheimer, born respec- tively at Syracuse, New York, and in New Hampshire. His father came to Springfield with his parents when he was still in early childhood and has been active in the insur- ance business here for many years. He is influential in the city's general life, and in addition to his private interests, was former president of the Springfield Goodwill Indus- tries and vice-president of the Young Men's Christian Association.

Edmund Staunton Oppenheimer received his preliminary education in the public schools of Springfield. and subsequently at- tended technical school. He began his ac- tive career in the automobile business, but after one year turned to the insurance field. He was employed at first with the Aetna Casualty Company, later becoming special agent for the Metropolitan Casualty Insur- ance Company of New York City, which ap- pointed him in charge of the western Mas- sachusetts and Vermont territories. In 1932, as an experienced insurance man, he joined his father's agency, The Oppenheimer Com- pany, and has since been active in its opera- tion. He is now clerk of the corporation.

In spite of his close attention to his busi- ness duties, Mr. Oppenheimer has found time to be active in public life. In the fall of 1929 he was elected a member of the Springfield Common Council, and in 1931 and 1933 was successively reelected. He served as president of the council in 1933-34 and has been reelected for the term of 1935. These honors, which have come to him at a relatively early age, reflect the confidence in which his character and talents are held by the people of the city. He has admin- istered his public duties with fidelity and efficiency, expediting the effective perform- ance of the city's business. Mr. Oppen-

heimer also serves as a director of the City Library Association, director of the Safety Council and as permanent secretary of the 300th Anniversary of the City of Springfield Committee. He is a director of the Spring- field Chamber of Commerce, a member of the executive committee of the Council of Social Agencies and has been influential in the local organization of the Republican party. In this latter connection, he is a member of the executive committee of the Young Men's Republican Club of Spring- field and of the State Council of Young Men's Republican Clubs.

On October 4, 1930, Edmund Staunton Oppenheimer married Elizabeth Webster Briggs, of Springfield.

JOHN W. B. BRAND-As president of the Springfield Institution for Savings, John W. B. Brand performs a labor of importance to his city and to Hampden County.

Mr. Brand was born March 25, 1872, at Norwich, Connecticut, son of Christopher A. and Elizabeth Tracy (Bulkeley) Brand, both of them natives of Connecticut. John W. B. Brand's father and grandfather were together engaged in the manufacture of the famous Brand whaling gun and bomb lance.

In the schools of Rome, New York, John W. B. Brand received his early education, and in 1887 he completed his high school course at Syracuse, New York. For a time he attended Bacon Academy, in Connecticut, and then he spent six months in the employ of the post office at Colchester, Connecticut, so beginning his active career. He passed another six months with the Colchester Rubber Company. Then, in October, 1890, he came to Springfield, Massachusetts, tak- ing a position as clerk with the Springfield Institution for Savings. Since that time he has held increasingly responsible executive

INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY RECORDS

positions in this bank. He was made assist- ant treasurer on September 26, 1903, treas- urer on May 25, 1912, and on January 28, 1927, headed the bank as president. He is now regarded as one of Hampden County's foremost bankers as his term of service to the institution nears the half-century mark. The Springfield Institution for Savings is one of the largest savings banks in New England.

In addition to his work with this banking house, Mr. Brand is active in other business and civic enterprises. He is a director of the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Company, the Sentinel Fire Insurance Com- pany, the New England Fire Insurance Company the Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Morris Plan Company. He is also a trustee of the Springfield City Library and Springfield Hospital. He is a member of the Colony Club and the Longmeadow Country Club.

On April 28, 1899, John W. B. Brand mar- ried Maud Bemis. They became the parents of two daughters: 1. Eleanor, who is Mrs. Eleanor (Brand) French. 2. Judith Worth- ington, now Mrs. Judith W. (Brand) Hill. .

GEORGE ROBERT BURNS-For years George Robert Burns has occupied a promi- nent place in the civic and political affairs of the city of Holyoke. Ranked among the Democratic leaders of this section of the State, he holds an influential position in that organization and on several occasions has been chosen by the citizenry of this com- munity to important and responsible public office. In this capacity he has served as a representative on the State Legislature, has been a member of the Board of Aldermen, and served in an official capacity for the local Democratic organization. In business he is the owner and proprietor of George R. Burns, Incorporated, wholesale liquor deal-

ers, located at No. 509 South Canal Street in this city. Mr. Burns served with distinc- tion in the United States Army during the World War and was among the first mem- bers of the American Expeditionary Forces to arrive overseas. He is universally popu- lar throughout this section of the State and is identified with many of the leading social and civic organizations of this vicinity.

Mr. Burns was born in Marlboro, Massa- chusetts, January 2, 1884, the son of George and Mary Ellen (Mahoney) Burns. His father, who hailed from Ireland, engaged in the textile industry of Chicopee under his brother-in-law, Jeremiah Mahoney, foreman of a mill in that community. His mother, who was a native of Albany, New York, died in Chicopee in 1915. She was the daughter of John and Mary Mahoney, both of Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, who came to this country during their youth and after residing in New York State, settled in Mas- sachusetts, where her father engaged in farming throughout his life.

· Mr. Burns received a general education in the public schools of the city of Holyoke, completing his high school studies there in the class of 1902. He then attended the Holyoke Business Institute and was gradu- ated from that institution in 1903. Shortly thereafter, he became associated with the Boston and Maine Railroad in this city as a clerk and worked in this position for seven years. Throughout this period he had taken a keen and active interest in the civic and political affairs of this community and at the expiration of this period was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature as a repre- sentative of the Ninth Hampden District, an office he occupied with distinction and suc- cess for two terms, 1911 and 1912. In 1913 he entered the retail liquor business in this city at No. 93 High Street and continued in this occupation under the firm name of

INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY RECORDS

Burns and Lynch, later known as Burns and Prendiville, until the United States entered the World War in 1917. During the latter year he sold out the aforementioned busi- ness and enlisted in the regular army of the United States, entering the service with William O'Brien and Henry Fitzgerald.

The three became members of Company B of the 14th Engineers and were dispatched to Camp Rockingham at Salem, New Hamp- shire, where they remained for one month before embarking for England. The regi- ment landed in Liverpool and were among the first American troops to arrive in that country. From the latter port they went to Camp Borden and later to London, where they paraded before the King and Queen and were entertained by British authorities. From here they were sent to Boulogne, France, and there received their first in- struction in the use of gas masks. After a period of training here they went on to Arras, where they were assigned to the British 3d Army, under command of Gen- eral Byng, who won fame at Vimy Ridge and was knighted for his gallantry. It was shortly after this that this body saw action in some of the major engagements of the conflict. They took part in the Cambrai and Somme defensive battle and were among the allied forces driven back by the Germans in 1918. The American contingent was sent back to Arras at this time, where they re- mained a month and later were dispatched to Calais for a like period of rest. Returning to the front they served in the Aisne-Marne offensive and took part in the Meuse-Ar- gonne battle, two engagements that were to bring undying glory to the American troops as a fighting force. In April, 1918, the regi- ment sailed from Bordeaux, France, and the following May arrived in Boston Harbor, landing here on the second day of that

month. From here they went to Camp Devens and it was here that on May 9, 1918, Mr. Burns received his honorable discharge from the service, with the rank of sergeant.

He then returned to Holyoke and became associated as a salesman with R. A. and S. P. Dunn, realtors, and worked in this ca- pacity until 1929, when he established an office of his own in the Victory Building on Suffolk Street. He specialized in high-grade real estate and became widely known as an authority on appraising land value in this section. Mr. Burns continued in this work until April, 1933, when he established the wholesale liquor firm of George R. Burns, Incorporated, which he now conducts, as president and treasurer, at No. 509 South Canal Street.

Prominent in political affairs here through- out his life, Mr. Burns has served as a mem- ber of the Board of Aldermen for four years, has been a member of the Democratic City Committee and also the Democratic State Committee. As one of the foremost mem- bers of this party in this vicinity he occupies an influential position and is highly esteemed for the work he has accomplished in a legis- lative capacity. He is a member of the Hol- yoke Chamber of Commerce, the local post of the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars; and he fraternizes with Lodge No. 902, of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. In his religious con- victions he subscribes to the Roman Catho- lic faith and worships at St. Jerome's Church of that denomination. Fond of outdoor sports of all types, he finds his main diver- sion in fishing, a hobby he indulges at his camp, located at Hampton Ponds.

HORACE AUGUSTUS MOSES -Through the range of his business and civic interests Horace Augustus Moses has

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INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY RECORDS

been a well-known figure in the life of Hampden County for many years. He is president of the Strathmore Paper Company of West Springfield, an officer or director of inany other companies and has given his active support to numerous public enter- prises, both local and of wider scope.

Mr. Moses was born at Ticonderoga, New York, April 21, 1862, son of Henry H. and Emily J. (Rising) Moses. He was educated at Troy Conference Academy, Poultney, Vermont, from which he was graduated in 1881, and in the same year began his asso- ciation with the paper industry of New Eng- land which he has since continued without interruption. Until 1892 he was connected with the Agawam Paper Company, but at the end of that time organized the Mitti- neague Paper Company. This corporation was consolidated with the Woronoco Paper Company in 1911 to form the Strathmore Paper Company, of which Mr. Moses is president. He is also president of the West Springfield Trust Company ; treasurer of the Rising Paper Company; and a director of the Third National Bank and Trust Com- pany of Springfield, the Eisemann Magneto Corporation, and the Taber-Prang Art Com- pany.

In addition to these connections, Mr. Moses is honorary president of the Hamp- den County Improvement League, in whose work he has been much interested ; president of Junior Achievement, Inc .; a member of the board of directors of the Life Extension Institute, the Eastern States Exposition, the Eastern States Farmers' Exchange, the Eastern States Cooperative Milling Corpo- ration and the Springfield Young Men's Christian Association. He is a trustee of Boston University, Wesleyan University, Deerfield Academy, the Service League Foundation, the New York State Historical Association and Trinity Methodist Episco-

pal Church of Springfield. He has been much interested in agriculture, particularly in improving the condition of the farmer and the whole general subject of the relationship between the rural and urban phases of our social life. His interests, however, also ex- tend to many other fields as reflected in the various organizations of which he is a mem- ber.

Mr. Moses is a Republican in politics and is affiliated fraternally with the Free and Accepted Masons. He is a member of sev- eral clubs, including the Rotary Club, the University Club, the Colony Club and the Longmeadow Country Club, all of Spring- field; the Republican Club of Massachu- setts and the Union League Club of New York City. He makes his home at Russell.

In 1895, at Springfield, Horace Augustus Moses married Alice Elliott.

PRESTON CHARLES POND-Through his business prominence and many civic in- terests Preston Charles Pond occupies an important place in the life of Chicopee. He is now president of the Cabot Trust Com- pany, and has been for many years a well- known figure in this city.

Mr. Pond was born at Chicopee on Sep- tember 20, 1860, a son of Levi Forester and Ellen (Crosby) Pond and a descendant of an old Massachusetts family established in the colony during the early period of settle- ment. His father, who was born in Hub- bardston, Massachusetts, was apprenticed as a machinist at Worcester in his youth. In the 'fifties he removed to Springfield and shortly afterwards came to Chicopee, where he followed his trade as a machinist in the employ of the old Ames Manufacturing Company. He died at the age of sixty-seven, in 1894. His wife, who was born at Boston, survived him many years, passing away on July 19, 1925, at the age of ninety-two. They

INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY RECORDS

were the parents of seven children : I. Ella, deceased. 2. Carrie, who died in infancy. 3. Preston Charles, of this record. 4. Albert, deceased. 5. Louise, who died in 1926. 6. Emily, wife of John B. Higgins. 7. Lucius.

Preston Charles Pond was educated in the public schools of Chicopee, completing the high school course in 1878. He assumed the active burdens of life at an early age, and as a boy of ten began to sell newspapers in the streets of the town after school hours. In 1874, when he was fourteen, he took a place in a local book store and continued this con- nection for many years, at first as a clerk and later as manager of the store. There was one interruption in this long period of service. While he was still a young man, Mr. Pond learned telegraphy and for a num- ber of years was manager of the Western Union office at Chicopee before returning to his former employer. At length, in 1907, he purchased the enterprise with which he had been so long associated and remained in the book and news business until 1918 when he sold his interest. In the same year he was elected vice-president of the Cabot Trust Company, which has occupied his principal attention since that time. In 1926 he became vice-president and treasurer, and in 1933 succeeded to the presidency of the company, which office he now holds. Mr. Pond is also a trustee and member of the board of invest- ment of the Chicopee Savings Bank and a director of the Chicopee Cooperative Bank. He has amply demonstrated his qualifica- tions as a banker in these important offices, and his judgment is regarded with profound respect both by his associates and by the people of the city-at-large.

During his life at Chicopee, Mr. Pond has always maintained an active interest in civic affairs and has given largely of his time and effort to many worthy causes. He is now treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce ;

chairman of Chicopee Chapter of the Ameri- can Red Cross, which operates a home serv- ice station in this city; treasurer of the Hampden County Tuberculosis and Public Health Association, and a director of the Hampden County Improvement League. He is also a member of the Kiwanis Club; is vice-president of the Springfield Coin Club ; and is affiliated fraternally with the Free and Accepted Masons, in which he is a mem- ber of Chicopee Lodge; a life member of Unity Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and a member of Springfield Council, Royal and Select Masters. Mr. Pond's hobby is the collection of coins, paper currency and stamps, both foreign and domestic, and this pursuit has afforded him many pleasurable hours.

HENRY BENAJAH RUSSELL-For many years engaged in activities of publish- ing and authorship, Henry Benajah Russell, of Springfield, is editor of the "Springfield Union" and president of the Union Publish- ing Company.

He was born March 9, 1859, in Russell, Massachusetts, son of Edwin Armstrong and Sarah L. (Tinker) Russell and a de- scendant of William Russell, who was a Free Mason when that order was limited to the building craft. William Russell came to America in the retinue of Lord Cornbury in 1702, proceeded to New Haven, and in 1707 married Martha Sperry, granddaughter of Richard Sperry, protector of the regicides in the "Judge's Cave," West Rock, for a period before they went to Hadley under the protection of the Rev. John Russell.

William Russell's grandson, Richard Rus- sell 2d, married Sarah Yale, of Bristol, Con- necticut, and in 1797 they removed to a Russell Mountain farm, then on the old stage route from Springfield to Albany. He died in 1840, and was buried in the old

INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY RECORDS

cemetery of Russell settlers near Hazzard, now Woronoco Lake. Sarah (Yale) Rus- sell went to Ohio to live with one of her sons, and died in 1863 at the age of ninety- nine years and eleven months to a day.

Their son, Abel, remained on the old place, marrying Emeline Loomis, a de- scendant of Joseph Loomis, of Windsor, and Lieutenant William Clark, of Northampton. Their son, Edwin Armstrong Russell, was born in 1833. and received his middle name from Richard Armstrong, who in 1830 mar- ried Clarissa Chapman and went as a mis- sionary, his wife accompanying him in a similar capacity, to the Sandwich Islands. They were the parents of General Samuel Chapman Armstrong, founder of Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia. Clarissa Chapman was a sister of Reuben Atwater Chapman, who became chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. The Chap- mans and the Russells were neighbors on Russell Mountain. Edwin A. Russell married, in 1855, Sarah L. Tinker, daughter of David and Mary (Hamilton) Tinker. In 1866 they removed to Suffield, Connecticut, and he died in 1911 and his wife in 1920. She was a descendant of Hugh Hamilton, one of the original settlers of Blandford. According to family records, his grandson, Captain David Hamilton, served, in response to the Lexington alarm, in the Revolution, and later in the government forces that quelled Shays' Rebellion. His granddaughter, Mary Hamilton, married David Tinker, of Bland- ford, and their daughter, Sarah, was born in 1837

Henry B. Russell attended the public schools of Suffield, Connecticut, and was graduated in 1877 from the Connecticut Lit- erary Institution, now known as the Suffield School, and in 1881 from Amherst College. In that same year, 1881, he began his news- paper work as a member of the staff of the "Springfield Republican," and a year later

became part owner of a new paper in Meri- den, Connecticut. In 1884 he joined the staff of the "New York Sun," which was then edited by the late Hon. Charles A. Dana, one of the distinguished figures of journal- istic history. In 1887 he became assistant city editor of the "Sun" in New York, but a year later accepted a position as editorial writer on the "Providence Journal." In 1891 he became editor of the "Hartford (Con- necticut ) Post," then owned by the late John Addison Porter, remaining in that position until, in 1898, he went to Washington, Dis- trict of Columbia. There he was engaged mainly in literary work for about four years.

As early as the spring of 1896 Mr. Russell was engaged to write a "Life of William Mckinley," and in preparation for this task he went to Ohio and obtained much of his material from Mr. Mckinley himself. The book was published a few days after Mr. McKinley's nomination for the Presidency. In 1897 Mr. Russell wrote a history of the International Monetary Conference, which was published by Harper Brothers in both London and New York. This book has frequently been cited as an authority on the monetary conditions prevailing before 1897. In 1898 Mr. Russell's "War with Spain" was published.

It was in 1902 that he returned to Suffield and became editor of the "Springfield Home- stead," continuing his work with this paper until 1917. He then became an editorial writer on the "Springfield Union," of which Maurice S. Sherman was editor. When Mr. Sherman became editor of the "Hartford Courant," in 1926, Mr. Russell became edi- tor of the "Union." He has since carried on the work of editing this widely read news- paper, and is now president of the Union Publishing Company and active head of the organization.

Mr. Russell is also active in a variety of public affairs in Springfield, being a Repub-

INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY RECORDS

lican in his political views and a member of the Realty Club, of Springfield. Since 1906 he has been a trustee of the Suffield School, and he also retains his membership in the First Congregational Church of Suffield, his home community. For many years he was a director of the Kent Memorial Library there. He is today a member of the Asso- ciated Press, the Academy of Political Sci- ence of Philadelphia and the Academy of Political and Social Science of New York.

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Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III, Part 3

Author: Johnson, Clifton, 1865-1940 Publication date: 1936 Publisher: New York, The American historical Society, Inc. Number of Pages: 770

Author: Johnson, Clifton, 1865-1940
Publication date: 1936
Publisher: New York, The American historical Society, Inc.
Number of Pages: 770