USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 40
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On August 22, 1919, in New York City, John Lewis Perkins, Jr., married Ruth Ellen Sinclair, who was born in Holyoke, daugh- ter of Peter Stoddard and Annie (Mercer) Sinclair. Her father was late president of the Holyoke Heater Company and vice- president of the Holyoke Foundry Com- pany. He was also a prominent Mason and a member of many higher Masonic bodies including the thirty-second degree of the Consistory, Scottish Rite. Mrs. Perkins, who is a graduate of Holyoke High School and of a business school in Springfield, was engaged in secretarial work before her mar- riage. She is a member of the Second Con- gregational Church of Holyoke and is active in the Junior League and other women's organizations of the city.
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Mr. and Mrs. Perkins are the parents of four sons : 1. John Lewis, 3d, born February 9, 1920, now a freshman at Taft School, Watertown, Connecticut. 2. Donald Sin- clair, born June 17, 1921. 3. Bruce Clayton, born September 17, 1922. 4. De Witt Page, born September 19, 1923. The three younger sons attend the Lovering School in Hol- yoke.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PERKINS
Bearing the name of his grandfather, who was one of the industrial leaders of his time, Benjamin Franklin Perkins, of Holyoke, is well known in the United States and abroad, as the president of the American Tissue Mills, and an executive of B. F. Perkins and Sons, Inc., internationally famous manufac- turers of certain types of paper and textile finishing machinery.
Benjamin Franklin Perkins, of the tenth generation of the family in America, and the twenty-first from its English progenitor, was born in Holyoke, on July 14, 1896, son of John Lewis and Malvena (Perron) Per- kins. He was given a thoroughly sound edu- cation, being a student of the public schools of his birth city, of Williston Academy, and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York, and was graduated from there with the class of 1920. This concluded his scholastic training and he then entered business under the supervision of his father. He rose rapidly in position and is now hold- ing the post of treasurer of the B. F. Perkins and Sons, Inc., and that of president of the American Tissue Mills. The latter concern manufactures crepe paper, tissue paper, waxed paper, and paper specialties. The products of these concerns, so well and fav- orably known, are sent to all parts of the world, and the business handled is exten- sive.
A Republican in his political views, Mr. Perkins is a member of the Holyoke Cham- ber of Commerce. He is a member of the Holyoke Canoe Club, and being fond of golf holds membership in the Mt. Tom Golf Club. During the World War he was an army ordnance inspector. Mr. Perkins keeps a stable of saddle and polo ponies which he exhibits at the Eastern States Exposition cach year, also at the fairs, and has taken a number of ribbons. He is an enthusiastic polo player and a member of the Polo Club.
Benjamin Franklin Perkins married, in Schenectady, New York, September 22, 1917, Marion Z. Ryan, born December 5, 1896, in Holyoke, daughter of John Henry and Mary Josephine Ryan, of Holyoke, and to them have been born three children: I. Marilynn Jane, born in Troy, New York, June 21, 1919. 2. Benjamin F., Jr., born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, May 9, 1922. 3. Pollyann, born in Holyoke, May 6, 1925. Mrs. Perkins is a graduate of the public and high schools of Holyoke, and of the West- field Normal School.
JOHN LEE CLARKE, JR .- John Lee Clarke, Jr., is the directing head of the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, the youngest man ever to be selected to this position by the board of trustees of this institution. Possessed of a profound knowl- edge of his subject, which has been aug- mented, from time to time, by extensive trips throughout the leading art centers of the world, Mr. Clarke is admirably equipped and qualified to occupy the important and responsible position he does today in the cultural life of this community.
John Lee Clarke, Jr., was born in Al- buquerque, New Mexico, December 31, 1906, son of John Lee and Alice (Boone) Clarke. His father is now engaged in the advertis- ing business in New York City. Mr. Clarke
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attended the private schools of his native community, later entered Williston Acad- emy in East Hampton, Massachusetts, and after completing his studies at the latter institution matriculated at Amherst Col- lege, from where he was graduated in 1932 with a degree of Bachelor of Arts.
Deeply interested in the subject of art, he has made various trips abroad to study the subject, the first in 1925, when he spent considerable time as an art student in Paris and London. Since that time he has re- turned at intervals to further his knowledge. As early as 1933 he was being assigned im- portant tasks in the profession he intended to follow. During that year he was ap- pointed by the authorities of his alma mater as head of the art department of that insti- tution, replacing Charles Morgan who was on leave of absence. He served in this ca- pacity until September, 1934, when he was appointed director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, the position he occupies today with such distinction and success. It is a notable tribute to his ability that a man of his years should be entrusted with such responsibility.
Socially Mr. Clarke is a member of the Colony Club. During his collegiate career he fraternized with the Chi Phi Fraternity and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa So- ciety, honorary scholastic fraternity.
JOSEPH CUSHING-Head of a widely known firm of accountants and business consultants bearing his name, Joseph Cush- ing, of Springfield, is a native of Massachu- setts, born in Clinton, where he attended the public schools and prepared for Dartmouth College, of which he is a graduate. The business activity of his strenuous career began as a boy, when he sold newspapers and apples in a railroad repair shop after school hours. He helped to finance his col-
lege education by working on trolley cars in the summertime, and his subsequent po- sitions included teaching school at Middle- bury, Vermont, and employment in a coal office, with the Central Vermont and the Boston and Maine Railroads, and in woolen mills.
Although his early ambitions had been for the medical profession, circumstances and his own abilities led him into the world of affairs, and before coming to Springfield he was chief accountant for a large holding company in Boston and then in the employ of a nationally known firm of accountants. His Springfield residence dates from 1916, and his success in the analysis of methods and administration have resulted in a large clientele in this country and in Canada, sev- eral pulp and paper mills across the border retaining the services of his organization. He is an instructor in Northeastern Univer- sity, past president of the National Associa- tion of Cost Accountants, and a member of the American Institute of Accountants.
Mr. Cushing's interests, aside from his profession, are reflected in his membership in all Masonic bodies, the Longmeadow Country Club, the Kiwanis Club, of which he has been secretary, and his favorite forms of recreation are fishing, hunting and golf.
STEWART RAMSAY ALLYN-For many years engaged in important real estate activities in Holyoke, Stewart Ramsay Allyn is a member of the firm of Allyn and O'Don- nell, of this city. A variety of business ex- perience has equipped him admirably for the work that he is now performing, and his po- sition in his community is one of leadership and standing.
Mr. Allyn was born in Holyoke, Massa- chusetts, November 26, 1893, son of George Henry and Rachael S. (Oliver) Allyn. His father was born February 25, 1862, in Bec-
Hampden-18
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ket, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and died in March, 1917, in Holyoke. After completing his formal education, George Henry Allyn became associated with his father in a meat market in Dwight Street. Later, in 1888, he and his father formed the H. D. Allyn real estate business, which, after the death of his father, George Henry Allyn conducted independently for some years. He then farmed the Allyn Real Estate Agency, of which he was proprietor. Politically he held to an independent course, not aligning himself with any organized party. He was an active member of the First Congregational Church. His wife, Rachael S. (Oliver) Allyn, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, is now living in Hol- yoke. She was a daughter of John Ramsay and Margaret (Colyes) Oliver, both natives of Scotland and residents of Wilmington, Delaware, at the time of their deaths.
Attending the Holyoke schools, Stewart Ramsay Allyn was graduated from high school here in 1913. He then became asso- ciated with White and Wyckoff as order clerk, so continuing for two years. He was then in the production department of the Cowan Truck Company until the spring of 1917, when he enlisted in the army at Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, where he was in training for several months. For a time he was stationed at Camp Selby, Mississippi, and then at Camp Green, North Carolina, until, in the spring of 1918, he went to France with the 4th Division as a sergeant, remaining in Germany until August, 1919, with the Army of Occupation. Taking part in a number of major battles, he was honorably discharged at Camp Dix, New Jersey. In June following he became connected with the Brisco Motor Company and the Earl Motor Company, of Jackson, Michigan, then returned to Holyoke and associated himself with the Stevens-Duryea Motor Company.
Resuming his employment with the Cowan Truck Company, of Holyoke, as a supervisor of materials, and so continuing for two years, he then joined forces with his brother, the late Oliver E. Allyn, to form the Allyn Agency. The two brothers were part- ners in this enterprise, their association be- ing interrupted only by Oliver E. Allyn's death in 1927. Stewart R. Allyn thereupon went ahead independently with the busi- ness, operating it under the same name until 1929. He then formed a partnership with John D. Williams, who had been conduct- ing the Williams Real Estate Office, and with Edward S. O'Donnell, the three part- ners established a real estate business known as Williams, Allyn and O'Donnell. That enterprise continued under the same name until Mr. Williams' retirement in Jan- uary, 1933, whereupon the firm style was changed to Allyn and O'Donnell. The firm of Allyn and O'Donnell has, since that time, handled a great deal of important real estate work, and its position in the Holyoke com- munity is one of leadership in its field and of high business standing.
Along with his purely commercial activi- ties, Mr. Allyn participates in civic and pub- lic works of importance. He is keenly in- terested in politics, though he adheres to no regular pary organization, following an in- dependent course and supporting the can- didates and measure of his choice. He was chairman of the Board of Public Works of Holyoke under Mayor Burnham's Admin- istration. He is active in Holyoke Lodge, No. 902, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Mount Tom Golf Club, the Hol- yoke Canoe Club, and the American Le- gion. His favorite pastime is golf. Mr. Allyn also is interested in church work, and is a member of the First Congregational Church of Holyoke.
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The Allyn family is widely known in Massachusetts and the surrounding region of New England. Mr. Allyn has six sisters : Bertha Allyn, secretary of the North Adams Normal School; Evelyn E. Allyn, secretary of the Westfield River Paper Company, of Russell, Massachusetts; Agnes R. Allyn, president and organizer of the Hard of Hearing League, of Holyoke; Eunice P. Allyn, a teacher, living at home with her brother; Millicent J. Allyn, a teacher at Middletown, Connecticut; and Lillian L. Allyn, of Watertown, Massachusetts.
ELIZABETH JONES TOWNE-With the founding of "Nautilus Magazine" just before the beginning of the present century (1898), Elizabeth (Jones) Towne (Mrs. Wil- liam Elmer Towne) took the first step in a distinguished career which has brought her national prominence as an editor, author and lecturer. Both through her magazine and her personal efforts she has been a leader in developing the modern philosophy of New Thought, while during her thirty- six years (1900 to 1936) of residence in Hol- yoke she has played a conspicuous part in many civic and public movements in this county.
Mrs. Towne was born in Portland, Ore- gon, on May II, 1865, daughter of John Halsey and Jane (Osborn) Jones. Her father, a native of western New York, crossed the plains to Wisconsin by covered wagon about the middle of the last century, and in 1852 pushed on to Portland, Oregon, where he was one of the earliest pioneers. In 1859 he established a lumber mill com- pany which has been in continuous opera- tion ever since and is still controlled by members of the family in the fourth and fifth generation. This enterprise was created in the wilderness. The original growth of firs
was cleared and a group of cabins, including the sawmill, was erected to make the begin- ning of the settlement. John Halsey Jones continued as a resident of Portland until his death. His wife, Jane (Osborn) Jones, was born at Carthage, New York, and at the age of fifteen became a teacher in the public schools of New York State, continuing until her marriage in 1864 at the age of twenty- three. Her future husband had come East to claim his bride and after their marriage she returned with him to Portland by way of Cape Horn. She died in Portland in 1874.
Elizabeth (Jones) Towne received her for- mal academic training in the grammar and high schools of Portland, Oregon, supple- menting this instruction, by a profound study of the various subjects which have been her special interest. The habit of scholarship early became a part of her life, and the strong impulse toward religious thought which she received in early years has always remained with her. She has made a particularly close study of the Bible, which has been her source book and guide for more than forty years.
Following her second marriage in 1900, Mrs. Towne came with her husband to Hol- yoke, where her activities have since cen- tered. She brought with her the "Nautilus Magazine," which she had founded at Port- land in 1898, a journal of metaphysics whose original issue consisted of twenty-eight hun- dred copies. With passing years under her leadership the magazine developed steadily. It filled a need in the lives of many readers and the circulation grew until it exceeded fifty to ninety thousand copies per month, distributed in every civilized country in the world. Many celebrated writers have con- tributed to its numbers, including Ella Wheeler Wilcox, who was the first to do so
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and whose articles appeared regularly from 1902 to 1912; Edwin Markham, Dr. Frank Crane, Paul Ellsworth, Sinclair Lewis, Grace McGowan Cook, Orison Swett Mar- den, Thomas Dreier and others. In 1911 the publishing company was incorporated as The Elizabeth Towne Company, Inc., with Mrs. Towne, her husband and her son, Chester Holt Struble as stockholders and directors. In addition to the "Nautilus," the corporation publishes books on meta- physics and psychology, with the particular aim of giving circulation to the tenets of New Thought. Mrs. Towne is responsible for the policies of the "Nautilus" and the general tone of her thought is reflected in its pages. She herself has contributed many articles to the publication and in addition is the author of a number of published vol- umes. These include: "Meals Without Meat," 1903; "Joy Philosophy," 1903; "Practical Methods for Self-Development," 1904 ; "How to Concentrate," 1904; "How to Grow Success," 1904; "Happiness and Mar- riage," 1904; "How to Wake the Solar Plexus," 1904; "How to Train Children and Parents," 1904; "You and Your Forces." 1905; "Experiences in Self-Healing," 1905; "The Life Power," 1905; "Lessons in Liv- ing," 1910; "Thought Force for Success," 19II ; "How to Use New Thought in Home Life," 1915; "Success to Soldiers," 1918; "How to Demonstrate $10,000," 1921 ; "Helps to Abundance," 1921; and "What Affirmation Shall I Use?" 1926. These vol- umes cover a wide range of topics ; some are New Thought (or Truth) textbooks, some are religious treatises, and others are essays on various aspects of life. A number have been translated into many foreign languages, among them German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish (published both in Spain and Latin America), Chinese, Japanese and Hindustani.
Mrs. Towne has been called "The apostle of happy living and advance through self- knowledge, self-direction, cooperation and confidence in the invisible spirit of man- kind (God)." She has lived her philosophy in her own life and has set forth its precepts not only in her writings but in the many lectures which she frequently is called upon to deliver in all parts of the United States. She is an ordained minister of The Church of the Truth, and has been affiliated with the International New Thought Alliance since 1915, serving as its president from 1923 to 1925 and holding at present the office of past president with membership on the board. From 1922 to 1926 she was also in- ternational lecturer for the International New Thought Alliance, traveling exten- sively in this country and in Europe, and lecturing in London and other cities of Great Britain in 1923, 1925 and 1926. Mrs. Towne is president of the American School of Christian Metaphysics, of which she was the founder and which is recognized by the International Truth (New Thought) Alli- ance as one of the nine representative schools of the movement. In 1918 she was instrumental in founding the Hampden County New Thought Committee, which was reorganized in June, 1921, as the Dis- trict Association for Western Massachu- setts of the International New Thought Al- liance. In 1920 she became leader of the Holyoke New Thought Center, where she served one year.
In addition to these connections. Mrs. Towne has been prominent in many phases of the life of Holyoke, Hampden County and the State. She is president of the Hamp- den County Women's Club of Western Mas- sachusetts, in which she was very active for ten years, serving as vice-president from 1918 to 1921 and president (two years) in 1921-23. This club has had nearly one
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thousand members and forms a connecting link between the leading and largest fed- erated clubs of western Massachusetts, numbering about four thousand women in all. This club belongs to the Massachusetts Federation of Women's Clubs and to the General Federation. Mrs. Towne served as director on the State board.
Mrs. Towne was one of the signers of the incorporation papers of the Holyoke Wom- en's Club, which has one thousand mem- bers, and continues as its chairman of Open Forum. In 1919, through the designation of the Holyoke Women's Municipal League, (which later became the Holyoke Women's Club) she founded the All-Holyoke Open Forum and acted as its chairman for four years, to 1924. This institution provided for the appearance of lecturers and public figures to address Holyoke audiences on subjects of general interest.
Mrs. Towne served six years as president of the Holyoke League of Women Voters and three years as director on the board of the Massachusetts League of Women Vot- ers, to 1930. She was chairman of the gen- eral committee, including representatives from leading organizations of Holyoke, the Women's clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, the Automobile Club, and others, which made the arrangements for entertaining the State Convention of the Massachusetts League of Women Voters held in Holyoke in May, 1929. She has been a member of the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce since its reorganization on a plan proposed by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. In June, 1929, she was elected pres- ident of the Holyoke Business and Profes- sional Women's Club, of which she is a char- ter member. She was reelected in June, 1930. Mrs. Towne is also a charter member of the Delphian Club and others and a member of the council of a number of na-
tional and State organizations. She has been a pioneer of her sex in politics as well as the several fields already indicated. At the time of the development of the progressive movement in American politics both she and her husband sat as delegates in the two conventions of 1912 at which the Progres- sive party was formed and Theodore Roose- velt nominated for the presidency, and again were delegates in attendance at the con- vention of 1916. During 1912-13 Mrs. Towne was one of the three women State committeemen of the Progressive party in Massachusetts and served on the board of directors of the Massachusetts Federation of Progressive Women. In December, 1926, she had the distinction of being the first woman alderman-at-large of Holyoke to be elected, taking office for a two-year term. Upon the expiration of this period in De- cember, 1928, she became a candidate for mayor of Holyoke-the first woman ever to declare her candidacy for this position. Running on a non-partisan ticket. she faced the major disadvantage of having no party or machine organization to support her and thus failed of election.
On April 10, 1880, she married (first) Joseph Holt Struble, of Portland, Oregon. She married (second), on May 26, 1900, in Holyoke, William Elmer Towne, now vice- president and secretary of The Elizabeth Towne Company, Inc. There are two chil- dren of the first marriage: I. Catherine Elizabeth Struble, born in Portland, Oregon, May 23, 1881, married Edward Lincoln Twing of Holyoke. They have two chil- dren : Garrison Struble and Elizabeth Alice. 2. Chester Holt Struble, born in Portland, May 14, 1883, who is also associated with the Elizabeth Towne Company, Inc. He has two daughters, Catherine Elizabeth and Helen Dean.
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HAROLD THOMAS SMETHURST- Free and Accepted Masons, and in this As president and general manager of The Holyoke Company, Inc., manufacturers of insulated wires, Harold Thomas Smethurst heads an important industrial enterprise of the city. He was chiefly responsible for the founding of the company and has directed its operations from the beginning.
Mr. Smethurst was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a son of Robert S. and Fan- nie (Lawrence) Smethurst. His father was also born in Philadelphia and was engaged in business there as a commission merchant throughout his active career. Fannie (Law- rence) Smethurst, the mother, was born in Manchester, England. Both are now de- ceased.
Harold Thomas Smethurst was educated in Philadelphia institutions, graduating from Manual Training High School and from Temple University, where he pursued a pre- paratory course in commercial law. Following the completion of his studies he became as- sociated with his father in the commission business and was so engaged until November, 1910, when he assumed the leadership in organizing the Holyoke Covered Wire Com- pany of Holyoke for the manufacture of in- sulated wires for electric and specialty pur- poses. The name was later changed to its present. form, The Holyoke Company, Inc. Mr. Smethurst's principal interest has cen- tered in the development of this enterprise since 1920. He became president and gen- eral manager upon its organization and in 1934, president and treasurer. Although he maintains his residence in New York City, he spends much of his time in Holyoke and is a well-known figure in the business life of this city.
Mr. Smethurst is a member of the Hol- yoke Chamber of Commerce and the Na- tional Electric Manufacturers' Association. He is affiliated with Williamson Lodge,
order is also a member of various higher bodies, including Ancient Chapter, No. I, Royal Arch Masons, and the Commandery of the Knights Templar in New York City. Mr. Smethurst is a member of Grace Bap- tist Church in Philadelphia, but now at- tends St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City, of which his wife is a member. He is a Republican in politics and finds his principal recreation in golf.
Mr. Smethurst married, in Philadelphia, Clara Louise Kellogg Bachman, who was born in that city, daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth Bachman. Her father was a com- poser and professor of music in Philadel- phia. Mrs. Smethurst, who attended Phila- delphia schools, has been very much inter- ested in educational work and is active in several organizations for the advancement of this cause. She is also active in the church.
WILLIAM SKINNER-The Skinner name has been prominent in the silk indus- try of America for more than three-quarters of a century ; "Skinner's Satin" has a fame that is wider than national. The responsi- bility for the success of the William Skinner and Sons Company, of Holyoke, during all this long period, has rested mainly upon the shoulders of father and sons, one bearing the name William Skinner and Joseph A. Skin- ner. The older man, and founder of the firm and business, was born in London, England, November 14, 1824, son of John and Sarah (Hollins) Skinner and a member of a family originally seated in the County of Durham, not far from the Scottish border. His mother was descended from French Huguenot stock. Upon the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, her ancestors fled from France to escape religious persecution and established their home in England.
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