USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 34
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Not content with raising the standards of public health as a basis for community prog- ress, Dr. Starbuck is responsible for under- taking the establishment of one of the most ambitious medical projects in the State, "The Big House" at Middlefield. Discover- ing the need for a rest and recreation center, simultaneously providing a background of American comfort and an opportunity to escape from nervous tension in healthful surroundings, Dr. Starbuck organized and founded "The Big House" to provide year- around enjoyment for adults eager to live full lives in the crush of modern life with- out sacrificing either physical strength or nerve vitality. The food served at "The Big House," together with the unobtrusive treatment and efficient service received by guests there, has increased the prestige of Dr. Starbuck's project and enlarged its scope
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of service through a constantly increasing patronage. The food served is produced on farms operated in conjunction with "The Big House," while milk, cream, and all dairy products are obtained from a herd of reg- istered Guernsey cows owned by the estate.
Recently, in response to requests for treat- ment in a healthy, normal atmosphere, Dr. Starbuck inaugurated Agra-Rhetan High- land Health Center for the treatment of low and high blood pressure, arthritis and arch troubles. A competent and experienced staff of doctors and assistants is maintained to minister to the requirements and desires of patients, while the resort and health features of a center two thousand feet above sea level have commanded public attention. This rec- ognition of a project so unobtrusively pro- viding the necessities of recovery in an at- mosphere of normal health has firmly se- cured Dr. Starbuck's position as a leader in her chosen profession, while her long rec- ord of public service has placed her in an enviable position among successful women physicians in general practice and in public health work.
Descended from men and women who founded New England communities and es- tablished New England traditions, Dr. Star- buck has become noted for her unaffected manner and high ethical code, both typical of her heritage. Amber A. Starbuck was born in Gill, Franklin County, near Tur- ners Falls, Massachusetts, the daughter of George and Elizabeth (Holmes) Starbuck, both natives of Turners Falls, where Mr. Starbuck was prominent as a merchant.
Through her paternal line, Dr. Starbuck is a direct descendant of Tristram Coffin and Edward Starbuck, both among the orig- inal purchasers and settlers of Nantucket, Massachusetts. On the maternal side, the doctor numbers among her ancestors Rich- ard Mower, a native of England, who came to New England in the ship "Blessing" in
1635 and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts; Thomas Jewell, born in England in 1600, who was granted in 1639 one hundred and twenty acres at Mount Miller, now Braintree, Mas- sachusetts ; and Nathaniel Holmes, who set- tled in Londonderry, New Hampshire. From this ancestry, Dr. Starbuck has inherited the many noble traits of character which have so eminently qualified her for her chosen life work, and have gained for her a reputation of which any woman might well be proud.
Amber A. Starbuck received a general edu- cation in the public schools of Turners Falls and, after completing her studies there, ma- triculated at Tufts College, attending that institution for a year before entering Bos- ton University, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1902. At that time, she decided upon a medical career and entered the medical college of Boston University to be awarded her degree of Doc- tor of Medicine at her graduation with the class of 1906.
For a year following her medical training she served an interneship at the Massachu- setts Homeopathic Hospital and then came to Springfield to initiate a professional ca- reer of distinction. Her capabilities soon won for her an appointment as pathologist at the Wesson Memorial Hospital in this city, a post she occupied from 1907 to 1910. During this time, she also became super- intendent of the Wesson Memorial Hos- pital, a position she held between 1908 and 1910. During the latter year, she estab- lished herself in a general practice which she has conducted with outstanding success ever since.
The possessor of a well-balanced and many-sided personality, Dr. Starbuck has extended the scope of her influence as a leader in the medical fraternity to include affiliations with all of the leading profes- sional organizations and institutions in the
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vicinity. Her achievements, both profes- sional and personal, have won universal es- teem and respect throughout western Mas- sachusetts, where she has become widely known for her numerous benefactions. Her work at Middlefield, thirty-five miles from Springfield, has provided a further basis for evaluating her position, since, through it, she has brought fresh inspiration to one of the few remaining centers of unspoiled New England tradition.
Dr. Starbuck is a member of the staff of Wesson Memorial Hospital, and holds mem- bership in the Hampden County Medical Society, the Springfield Academy of Medi- cine, the Massachusetts Homeopathic Med- ical Society, the Springfield League of Women Voters, Kappa Kappa Gamma So- rority of Boston University, the Westfield River Parkway Association and the Forest and Park Association. Prominently identi- fied with the affairs of the Young Women's Christian Association throughout the period of her residence in Springfield, she is also a charter member of the Zonta Club of Springfield.
CARLOS RUGGLES-For nearly half a century Carlos Ruggles has been actively identified with one of the oldest and largest wholesale lumber organizations in Hampden County. The growth and continued pros- perity of the Carlos Ruggles Lumber Com- pany, of Springfield, can be traced to his able and careful management as president, the post he still occupies today. The con- cern, which is ranked among the foremost in this vicinity, markets its products through- out the New England states, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Carlos Ruggles was born in Hartford, Connecticut, October 26, 1866, son of Albert A. and Frances E. (Carpenter) Ruggles. His father, who was a proprietor of a book store in Hartford, died in 1922, while his
mother passed away in 1925. Mr. Ruggles received a general education in the public schools of his native community and after completing his high school studies entered business college.
Shortly after he had reached his majority, in 1887, he came to the city of Springfield and for some time engaged in bookkeeping. Later he entered the wholesale lumber busi- ness, becoming associated with Gain Robin- son, who in the year young Mr. Ruggles ar- rived, had organized an establishment here, which he continued to conduct until he was taken by death in 1905. At this time the business was incorporated as the Gain Robinson Lumber Company with Mr. Rug- gles as president and treasurer, C. W. Han- nay, secretary and Mrs. Gain Robinson, vice- president. The firm operated on this basis for eight years and in 1913 was reorganized, the title being changed to the Carlos Rug- gles Lumber Company. Today the execu- tive staff is composed of Mr. Ruggles as president and treasurer, L. G. Bloom, vice- president, Robert B. Cowles, secretary and Calvin H. Ruggles, assistant treasurer. As one of the oldest and most widely known concerns of its type, the Carlos Ruggles Lumber Company does an extensive whole- sale business throughout the New England states, New York, New Jersey and Penn- sylvania.
Mr. Ruggles has confined his entire inter- est to his business and home, finding his greatest pleasure and satisfaction in those activities he has been so intimately and directly responsible in developing.
In 1892, Mr. Ruggles married Laura Hutchinson of Connecticut, and they are the parents of two sons: 1. Carlos, Jr., who married Kathleen Quigley. He is connected with the Third National Bank and Trust Company. During the World War he en- listed and served in the United States Army 2. Calvin H .. who occupies the post of assist-
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ant treasurer of the Carlos Ruggles Lum- ber Company. He also served his country during the World War, enlisting in the United States Navy.
WILLIAM ANDREW ROBERTSON CHAPIN, M. D .- Of the tenth generation of his family to live in Springfield, Dr. Wil- liam Andrew Robertson Chapin is a physi- cian and surgeon of large professional and civic accomplishments. In his practice, as a public health officer and in the duties of citizenship he has attained a notable influ- ence in many circles of Springfield, and he is valued for the constructive position he holds. He was born March 15, 1890, in Springfield, son of Charles A. and Charlotte (Robertson) Chapin, both deceased, the for- mer of whom was a native of Springfield, and the latter of Nova Scotia. His father was a railroad engineer employed by the Boston and Albany Railroad Company.
Dr. Chapin attended public schools in West Springfield and Springfield and pre- pared for a career in medicine at the Uni- versity of Vermont, from which, in 1915, he received the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. His days of study did not end with his graduation, however, for he has con- stantly kept pace with the newer methods and advances made in medicine, and in later years he took post-graduate work at the Lakeside Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, and at the University of Pennsylvania. He served his interneship at the Springfield Hospital and began a general practice in Springfield in 1917 and has established himself among the successful members of the profession in the city. In addition to serving a large private practice Dr. Chapin is a member of the surgical staff of the Springfield Hospital and is busily engaged in furthering the cause of medicine through professional or- ganizations with which he is connected. A member of the American Medical Associa-
tion, he is a member and legislative chair- man of the Springfield Academy of Medi- cine and is active in the Hampden District Medical Society. His professional activ- ities have also been in the field of public service as city physician from 1921 to 1930 and, during the same period, he was police surgeon. Since 1920 he has been school physician under the board of health. Add- ing authorship to his other achievements, he has contributed to medical journals, and that his talent in writing is not limited to med- ical subjects has been favorably shown through his work "The Lost Legion," a his- torical story of the American medical offi- cers attached to the British Expeditionary Forces.
Wholly aside from his professional inter- ests, however, have been his activities in citizenship and community affairs, and there is scarcely a worthy institution in Spring- field that has not benefited from his efforts. In 1934-35, Dr. Chapin was chairman of the Springfield Red Cross. He is a member of the Board of Control of the Junior Achieve- ment ; has been acting chairman of the Re- publican City Committee, is a member and on the finance committee of Emanuel Con- gregational Church, liberally supports wel- fare movements and is a highly-regarded friend of the ex-service men. Dr. Chapin served as a lieutenant in the 6th Royal West Kent Battalion, 12th Division of the British Army, being on special duty as a medical officer of the United States Army, and served twenty-two months in France. He was twice wounded and was awarded the coveted Military Cross by the King of Eng- land. He nas been active for a number of years in the Medical Reserve Corps, holding the rank of major, and was commander of the Springfield Post of the American Legion from 1923 to 1924. His sympathetic under- standing of labor conditions is the result of his own experience as a railway motorman
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in 1911 and 1912. A great-grandson of a charter member of the local lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, he is a member of Hampden Lodge, of higher bodies of the Scottish Rite, and of Melha Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
On June 12, 1923, Dr. Chapin married Ann Mitchell, of Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, and they have three children: I. William A. R., Patricia Ann, and Carol Louise, all of whom are attending public school.
FREDERICK LaCROIX-The leader- ship of New England in mechanical produc- tions is maintained by such firms as the C. H. Smith Corporation whose president is Frederick LaCroix. This company has been in business for a half century producing machinery for use in the paper industry. It was not incorporated, however, until 1919, with Mr. LaCroix as its president, and is now best known as the manufacturer of the "Dandy Roll Machine," originated by the firm and used throughout the world. The factory and offices are located in West Springfield.
Frederick LaCroix was born in the British West Indies, January 27, 1871, son of James H. and Amanda (Robson) LaCroix. His father was a British Extension officer in the islands, where the son received his early education. Frederick LaCroix came to the United States with his parents, at the age of ten years, the family coming here to give the children better educational advantages, and located in Springfield. His education was completed in New Haven, Connecticut. His first employment was with Forbes and Wallace at Springfield, from which he went to the sales department of Jenkins Broth- ers, in Boston. Later he resigned to work in the Cheney Bigelow Wire Works, at Springfield. In 1899 came the opportunity to become associated with the C. H. Smith
Company, founded in 1885 and then mov- ing on its way to high place among the con- cerns making paper producing machinery. When the C. H. Smith business was incor- porated, in 1919, Frederick LaCroix was elected president and has continued in this office since, with marked efficiency and suc- cess. W. G. Trotman has long served as vice-president of the company. Both he and Mr. LaCroix have contributed a num- ber of important inventions and improve- ments to paper industrial machines, some of which have been of remarkable value to the industry.
Frederick LaCroix is primarily a business executive and inventor, a man whose first loyalty is to his vocation. He has been little inclined to join organizations, whether of the civic, club or fraternal character, al- though he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He attends the Universalist Church and is actively inter- ested in any project or movement that makes for the betterment and happiness of mankind. He has always been a good influ- ence in municipal and community affairs of West Springfield, but dislikes ostentation, and has never accepted public office.
Frederick LaCroix married Ida A. Lillie, a native of Springfield, and they are the parents of a daughter, Pauline F. LaCroix, a graduate of the Springfield Training School, who is now associated with Laura F. Barker in the conduct of Miss Barker's School, an excellent private school in Spring- field.
JAMES BROOKS COMINS, M. D .- For over thirty-five years Dr. James Brooks Comins has engaged in a general practice in the city of Springfield and during this period has come to occupy a place of dis- tinction in the medical fraternity of this vicinity. Ranked among the leading phy- sicians of this community he serves on the
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staffs of several of the larger medical insti- tutions of this city and is affiliated with some of the foremost medical clubs and societies here.
Dr. Comins was born at Stafford Springs, Connecticut, October 19, 1871, son of Wil- liam A. and Julia (Brooks) Comins, both natives of that State, now deceased. His father was a carriage maker by trade. Dr. Comins received a general education in the public schools of Stafford Springs, later at- tended Wilbraham Academy, where he com- pleted his studies in 1892, and then ma- triculated at Wesleyan University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. At this time he determined to pursue a medical career and entered the Hahne- mann Medical College in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, where he was awarded his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1899. The year he finished his medical training he came to the city of Springfield and established himself in a general practice that has been distinc- tive for its outstanding success. In his work he has become a member of the staffs of the Wesson Memorial Hospital, the Wes- son Maternity Hospital and is one of the con- sulting staff of the Springfield Isolation Hospital. He belongs to the Springfield Academy of Medicine, the Hampden County Medical Society, the Massachusetts State Medical Society, the American Medical As- sociation, the American Institute of Home- opathy and the Springfield Medical Asso- ciation.
Though the greater part of his energies have been devoted to his profession he has found time to enjoy the social and civic life of his surroundings and is a member of the Springfield Rotary Club. In politics he is a Republican and in his religious convic- tions worships at the South Congregational Church, of which he is a member. Fond of the outdoors he finds great pleasure in the game of golf. He also maintains a sum-
mer home at Pemaquid Point in Maine where he spends his vacations.
On August 25, 1903, Dr. Comins married Ada Bragg of Holliston, and they are the parents of two daughters: I. Alice Bragg, graduate of Wellesley College and now the wife of Donald D. Benson. They are the parents of one child, Barbara Anne Benson. 2. Barbara Brooks, graduate of Sea Pines on Cape Cod and Perry Kindergarten Nor- mal Training School, of Boston, now the wife of Joseph Day Lee, Jr., and the mother of one daughter, Nancy Bragg Lee.
WILLIAM GEORGE ANGERS-One of Hampden County's leading business men, William George Angers is a leader in the affairs of the Springfield-Holyoke district. He is head of the firm of William G. Angers and Company, which has its headquarters in Springfield and is specializing in supplying box boards to paper mills.
Mr. Angers, who is widely known for his accomplishments in the business world and his deep interest in civic affairs, was born March 17, 1865, at St. Cesaire, Canada, son of George and Lucy (du Pont) Angers and grandson of Paul Angers, an educator of St. Cesaire, whose wife came of the family of Massey. Both of the paternal grandparents of William G. Angers lived and died in St. Cesaire. His maternal grandparents were William du Pont, whose wife was of the Dalage family, and both of them were na- tives of St. Damas, Canada, and both died at St. Cesaire, where the grandfather was a prominent hotel proprietor prior to his retire- ment. George Angers, William G. Angers' father, was born in 1840 at St. Cesaire, Can- ada, and died there in November, 1915. He owned and operated a gristmill throughout most of his life, remaining in St. Cesaire, where he was a member of the Roman Cath- olic Church and politically a Conservative.
William G. angers.
Pierre Angers
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His wife was born at St. Damas, Canada, in 1842, and died in St. Cesaire, July 1, 1915.
In the public schools of St. Cesaire, his Canadian birthplace, William George An- gers received his early education. When he was thirteen years of age, he went to work for his father in the elder Mr. Angers' grist- mill, continuing in that employment until he attained his majority. Then, in 1886, he came to Holyoke, Massachusetts, associat- ing himself with Prentiss Brooks and Com- pany, Inc., wholesale and retail grain deal- ers. After acting for eighteen years as their steam engineer and miller, Mr. Angers started his own enterprise in the wholesale lumber trade, specializing in supplying box boards to paper mills. He set up his head- quarters at No. 56 Main Street, Holyoke, at which place he still has a branch office. About 1925 he admitted a relative, George W. Angers, as a partner in the business, and in 1930 they removed the general headquar- ters of the company to Springfield, where they are now housed in the Stern Building and are trading under the firm name of Wil- liam G. Angers and Company.
Aside from his activity in the business world, Mr. Angers has interested himself in local finance as a trustee of the Holyoke Savings Bank. Politically a Republican, he served for five years as a member of the Board of Health of Holyoke. He is active in the Holyoke Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation and in the work of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church. Traveling is his favorite diversion, and he has visited many parts of the United States and a number of countries of Europe and South America.
On August 21, 1889, in Holyoke, William George Angers married Anna Monat, who was born at St. Pie, Canada, and came to Holyoke with her parents when she was an infant in arms. She was a daughter of Peter and Euphemie (Messier) Monat, both of Canadian birth and both of whom died in
Holyoke. Her father was a retail grocer in Holyoke. Mrs. Angers is a graduate of Hol- yoke Grammar School and Holyoke High School, and, like her husband, is a member of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church, of this city.
PIERRE ANGERS-Coming to the United States from Canada in 1887, Pierre Angers took up his residence in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was given employ- ment by J. B. Provost, a local contractor. Two years later he started an independent contracting and building enterprise of his own, in partnership with C. I. Gagnier, and this partnership continued until October, 1926, when it was dissolved.
While Mr. Angers and Mr. Gagnier were engaged together in business, they erected about 800 buildings in Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Hartford, Chicopee, Westfield, Holyoke, and Springfield. At the beginning they specialized in one two and three-family houses, but by 1897 they were definitely pio- neering in the construction of apartment houses, the type of construction in which they remained active for the rest of the life of the partnership. They also contracted for and built store buildings, churches and other kinds of edifices during this period, developing large tracts of land, notably Out- ing Park and the Kibbe property. Mr. An- gers acted as architect for the firm, design- ing most of these many building projects and coming to be widely and favorably known for his attainments. In 1902 the firm was called upon to go to the Province of Quebec and organize and erect the Trois Pistoles Pulp and Lumber Company, and in the following year they organized the Wat- kins Lumber Company, wholesale lumber dealers in New York.
When the firm of Gagnier and Angers was dissolved, Mr. Angers purchased out- right the assets of the business, which in
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turn he sold to his sons, Henry, George, and Laurent A. Angers, an account of whose work appears below. They incorporated the business in 1926 under the firm name of H. E. Angers and Brothers, Inc. The officers of the company are: Henry E. Angers, presi- dent; George W. Angers, treasurer; and Laurent A. Angers, vice-president. They also conduct a lumber business under the name of William G. Angers and Company. Pierre Angers, the founder of the family in Springfield, continues to live here, though he has withdrawn from most of his business activities. He is a member of the Board of Appeals.
Pierre Angers married (first) Mary Ad- ams, who died in 1922, and (second), in 1924, Maria Ryan, of Three Rivers, Province of Quebec, Canada. To his first marriage four children were born, three sons and a daugh- ter : I. Henry E., who has been engaged all his life in the building business. He was first associated with Albert J. Gagnier, con- tinuing that business partnership until the present company of H. E. Angers and Broth- ers, Inc., was incorporated. During the World War he served overseas for eighteen months as first sergeant in a Hospital Train of the Army Medical Corps, and he is now a member of the American Legion. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus. On May 30, 1920, he married Annette Be- rube, of Ware, and they have three children : Henry E., Jr., Eugene G., and Jacqueline Angers. 2. George W., who, in addition to his work as treasurer of H. E. Angers and Brothers, Inc., is secretary and treasurer of the American Air Mail Society, which he founded in 1923. He served in the Engineer Corps during the World War, having been with the 437th detachment of engineers with the rank of first sergeant. He is a member of the American Legion, the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks and the Springfield Stamp Club. He married, on January 26, 1920, Margaret Fealy, of Washington, Dis- trict of Columbia, and they have two chil- dren : Jeanne and Marjorie Angers. 3. Lau- rent A., a graduate of Holy Cross College, who also took a course at the Harvard School of Business and Finance. He has been engaged in the building business throughout his active career, and for a time was assistant district manager of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation. His member- ships include the American Legion and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Charter Club. He married Mariette Letourneau, of Fall River, in 1924, and they have a son, Pierre Angers 2d. 4. Yvette, who became the wife of Dr. E. J. La Liberte, of Worcester, where she now makes her home.
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