USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 44
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MERRILL F. HOSMER, M. D .- How- ever much World War service required of the better years of young men's lives, those who served in the Medical Corps found compensations in the unique and extensive experience gained. Among these young doc- tors who served in the war is Merrill F. Hosmer, M. D., of Springfield, who was born in Westfield, November 24, 1891. He was graduated from the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons with the degree of Doc- tor of Medicine, from this Baltimore insti- tution, before the United States became in- volved in the war. He also had been an interne in the Udawood Sanatorium for the Tubercular in Baltimore; in Grace Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, and was house physician in Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, his institutional experience having included X-ray study and work. With this profes- sional background Dr. Hosmer enlisted in July, 1917, for World War service, and went overseas with the Lakeside Hospital Unit of Cleveland, of the United States Medical Corps, assigned to Base Hospital
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No. 4. This was the first American body to carry the flag into Europe. He was lo- cated with the British headquarters, in Rouen, France, for nearly two years (twenty- two months), receiving his honorable dis- charge at Camp Devens, Massachusetts. He was a lieutenant when he went abroad, but had been promoted to a captaincy in Jan- uary, 1919. In 1921 he joined the Massachu- setts National Guard, and has been regi- mental surgeon since that time, and holds the rank of major.
Dr. Hosmer's private practice began in the summer of 1919, when he opened an office in Springfield. He has made a lasting impression upon colleagues and clientele for professional abilities of a high order and extraordinary experience and technical training. He specialized in surgery and has won a reputation that is of more than local note. Dr. Hosmer is a member of the staff of the Wesson Memorial Hospital, of the city. Among his professional connections are membership in the American Medical Association, the Massachusetts Medical So- ciety, the Springfield Academy of Medicine, Hampden County Medical Society, Spring- field Medical Society, and the Association of Military Surgeons. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic Order. He has always stood as an exponent of the highest type of civic loyalty and progressiveness, and lends his influence and support to many community movements humanitarian and charitable in their intent.
On January 1, 1922, Merrill F. Hosmer, M. D., married Virginia E. Yusek, of Cleve- land, Ohio, and they have a son, Merrill James Hosmer.
BERTRAND J. PERRY-As an insur- ance company official Bertrand J. Perry, of Springfield, has performed an important and valuable work. He is vice-president of the
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, of this city.
Mr. Perry was born in Claremont, New Hampshire, on December 5, 1874, son of George E. and Carrie M. (Thrasher) Perry. His father was a native of Cavendish, Ver- mont, and his mother of Cornish, New Hampshire. The elder Mr. Perry was en- gaged as superintendent of a number of im- portant projects and was a widely known citizen in his New England district.
In the public and high schools of Spring- field, where his family came to live in 1881, Bertrand J. Perry received his early educa- tion. Graduated from high school in 1894, he immediately went to work with the Over- man Wheel Company, of Chicopee Falls. With that company, which manufactured bicycles, he remained for two years. There followed a period of newspaper work with the "Springfield Republican," and "Daily Union," serving as a reporter until June, 1897. In that year he became associated with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insur- ance Company in the capacity of clerk in the actuarial department. In 1902 he was trans- ferred to the premium department. Then, in 1912, he was made chief clerk of the home office. In 1915 he became assistant secre- tary, and in 1925 secretary of the company. Finally, in 1928, he was promoted to his present post of vice-president and director. His service with the company has covered a period of thirty-eight years, and he has aided in a remarkable way in the furtherance of worth while undertakings in the realm of insurance and in the introduction of new and special insurance features adapted to modern conditions.
At the same time Mr. Perry is a trustee and a member of the board of investment of the Hampden Savings Bank. He belongs to the Springfield Lodge of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and is a member of the
Herbert Frink
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Winthrop and Colony clubs. In spare time he interests himself in these organizations and in his favorite recreational pursuit, which is farming.
On June 15, 1900, Bertrand J. Perry mar- ried Bertha Harding Bowman, of Spring- field. They became the parents of the fol- lowing children: 1. Christine, who is the wife of Chauncey D. Pease, of New York City, a piano manufacturer. 2. Dorothy, wife of George D. Weston, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts. The Perry residence is at No. 33 Atwater Road, in the city of Spring- field.
HERBERT J. FRINK-Of early colonial descent, Herbert J. Frink, of Holyoke, con- tinued the traditions of his family for re- sponsible and useful service in the affairs of his community. Mr. Frink was dean of business men and bankers in his city through his long connections with commerce and finance. For considerably more than sixty years he was actively engaged in business matters and by his length of service, vast experience and alert observations had ac- quired a fund of knowledge that assured to all his interests, and to those who depended upon his interests, reliable judgment.
Mr. Frink was born in Willimansett, Jan- uary 10, 1851, son of Moses and Amelia (Davis) Frink. Moses Frink was a native of Willimansett, son of Gillis and Mary Frink, both also natives of Massachusetts, and died in Willimansett. Through his father, Herbert J. Frink was a descendant of John Frink who came from England on the "Lion," with Roger Williams, and the fam- ily was represented in the Revolutionary War. Moses Frink was a farmer, as was his father, and was a prominent member of the community. He supported the Repub- lican party and was a member of the Bap- tist Church. Amelia (Davis) Frink born in
Oakham, who died in Holyoke, was the daughter of Aden Davis who married a Miss Lincoln, of Oakham. Mr. Davis was a wheelwright and had a forge shop of his own.
The traditions of his ancestral American- ism were implanted into the consciousness of Herbert J. Frink in youth and this heri- tage he bore full well throughout his career. His formal education was obtained in pub- lic schools, following which he obtained em- ployment with the Crown Tissue Mills in Holyoke, as bookkeeper and paymaster, serving under Cyrus L. Frink. From the start of his career Mr. Frink showed apti- tude for matters of business and with this was combined a willingness and mental alertness that made a favorable impression upon his superiors in this and subsequent employments. Later he worked for the Holyoke Warp Mill, under James G. Smith, who was treasurer, occupying the same posi- tions as in his former work, bookkeeper and paymaster. He was now becoming known as an efficient and able young man and his record and personal qualities led to his be- ing made office manager, August, 1879, of the Holyoke Machine Company. With this company he continued to his death, serving as secretary, agent, treasurer and general manager, finally becoming treasurer and president. Growing with this firm, Mr. Frink had been largely responsible for its continued success and had developed mar- kets for its products-paper machinery, tur- bine water wheels, power transmissions, and other mechanical devices.
But Mr. Frink's position was not only that of an industrialist, for he was the only sur- viving member of the original board of trus- tees of the Peoples Savings Bank of Hol- yoke, and had an unbroken connection with this organization. He was one of the organ- izers of this bank in April, 1885, served on
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the first board of trustees, became vice-pres- ident in 1903 and since 1920 had been pres- ident. From its organization fifty years ago, the Peoples Savings Bank of Holyoke has grown to a strong financial institution with total resources and liabilities of more than $11,000,000, and a surplus of nearly one mil- lion, fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Frink was interested in other financial organizations, serving for many years as a director of the Hadley Falls National Bank and Hadley Falls Trust Company, from which he re- signed in January, 1934.
Mr. Frink was one of the directors of the Holyoke Hospital. He long was active in the Republican party. His church affilia- tion had been with the Baptist denomina- tion and its teachings of fraternity and good- will among inen have been evident in his daily life. He was a member of the Bay State Club, the Holyoke Club, the Holyoke Canoe Club, and the Mt. Tom Golf Club. Fond of travel he had motored extensively through the United States and Canada, driv- ing his own car.
Herbert J. Frink married, October 14, 1885, in Wallingford, Connecticut, Fannie E. Ives, daughter of the late W. W. Ives. Mrs. Frink is active in the affairs of the Second Baptist Church of Holyoke and, like her husband, is of old American stock whose family fought in the Revolutionary War. Mr. and Mrs. Frink were the par- ents of two children: I. Greta Ives Frink, who was educated in public schools and at Walnut Hill. 2. Herbert Lincoln Frink, edu- cated in public schools, Worcester Acad- emy, Williams College, Bachelor of Arts de- gree, who is assistant treasurer of the Hol- yoke Machine Company and assistant clerk of the Holyoke Hospital. He was in mili- tary training at Plattsburg, New York, where he was commissioned second lieu- tenant and sent to Camp Devens; there he
was promoted to first lieutenant and later to captain.
Herbert J. Frink died on February 21, 1936, at the age of seventy-five years.
WILLIAM A. RAWLINGS-Among the prominent insurance executives of the city of Springfield is William A. Rawlings, who for well over four decades has devoted his life to this work and today occupies the post of second vice-president in the Massachu- setts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Starting in a modest capacity he has risen through his own efforts through the various departments of this business and the thor- ough and well-rounded practical experience he has enjoyed has qualified him eminently for the important position he maintains to- day.
William A. Rawlings was born in Edin- burg, Illinois, son of Charles M. and Emma L. (Ford) Rawlings, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio.
His father, who died in 1920, in Florida, where he had lived in retirement, was prom- inent in the real estate, insurance, and po- litical life of his surroundings. He served as county clerk for Rice County in the State of Kansas for eight years and was mayor of Lyons, Kansas, for five terms. Mr. Raw- lings received a general education in the public schools of Sterling, Lyons and Wich- ita, Kansas. After graduating from the Lyons High School he entered the South- western Business College and upon com- pleting his studies began a career that has been marked for its outstanding distinction and success. For a time he was deputy county clerk of Rice County and later served as deputy county treasurer.
His career in the insurance field dates back to 1892 when he joined the Massachu- setts Mutual Life Insurance Company at Salina, Kansas, in the capacity of clerk. He
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worked here until 1894, when he was trans- ferred to the company offices in Kansas City as cashier. From this point on he was to enjoy successive promotions and become recognized by the leading executives of the company for the ability and aptitude he dis- played. He first came to the city of Spring- field in 1901, to work in the loan depart- ment and remained here until 1907, when he was dispatched to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to take over the management of the real estate loan office at that point. In 1910 he was promoted to the post of manager for the loan office at Washington, District of Co- lumbia, and was to serve in this capacity until August, 1925, when he returned to the headquarters in Springfield to become assist- ant superintendent of loans. While in Wash- ington, District of Columbia, he was active in social and civic affairs and was promi- nently identified with many of the leading organizations there. He is a committee chairman of the Board of Trade; director of the Young Men's Christian Association ; director of McLacklen Banking Corpora- tion, and also identified with the Brookland Building Association and the Ontario Apart- ment House Company. In 1926 he was named associate superintendent of loans, was elevated to the office of superintendent of loans in January, 1928, and five years later, in January, 1933, was elected second vice-president of the company.
In his social affiliations Mr. Rawlings is a member of the Longmeadow Country Club and the Colony Club. Fraternally he is a life member and Past Worshipful Mas- ter of the York Lodge of the Free and Ac- cepted Masons in Kansas City. As a man fond of outdoor sports he finds his greatest pleasure and diversion in fishing and motor- ing, hobbies he indulges during his leisure.
Mr. Rawlings married (first), in 1893, Minnie L. Herrick, who died in 1919. There
was one child by this marriage, Jean, who died in 1924. Mr. Rawlings married (sec- ond) Idena (Rippey) McGinley, and they are the parents of one son, William Rippey Rawlings.
ALBERT D. SHAW-As financial secre- tary of the Massachusetts Mutual Life In- surance Company, Albert D. Shaw has sub- stantially contributed to the business life of his city and to the whole insurance world.
Mr. Shaw was born November 5, 1879, in Palmer, Massachusetts, son of James B. and Mary A. (Hubbard) Shaw, both of whom were also natives of this Commonwealth. The father was for some years a merchant in Palmer, where he was widely known and beloved. The son, Albert D. Shaw, attended the public schools of Palmer, and in 1897 was graduated from high school. He spent two years in further study at Brown Uni- versity, Providence, Rhode Island, then de- voted two years to working with the Palmer National Bank.
It was in 1902 that he came to Springfield to live, here associating himself with the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Company. His experience in banking equipped him with a financial knowledge which stood him in good stead in his new work and enabled him quickly to grasp the fundamentals and the intricacies of insur- ance. In August, 1904, Mr. Shaw came into the organization of the Massachusetts Mu- tual Life Insurance Company, whose book- keeping department he joined. He was then manager of the policy and loan department, and afterward served as assistant secretary. In January, 1928, he was made financial sec- retary of the company. Since that time he has performed important and useful work with the Massachusetts Mutual, with which he has been in one way or another associ- ated for more than three decades.
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At the same time Mr. Shaw has found occasion to interest himself extensively in politics and public life. In 1914 he was elected a member of the Common Council of Springfield, serving for four years. During the last two of those years he was president of the body. He is a member of the Win- throp Club and the Blanford Club. For some years he was secretary of the Winthrop Club, and for two years he was its president. He also belongs to the Springfield Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons.
On October 17, 1923, Albert D. Shaw mar- ried Ruth M. Waite, of Springfield, and they have two sons: Lewis Albert Shaw and Richard Henry Shaw. The Shaw family residence is situated at No. 83 Magnolia Terrace, Springfield.
ALEXANDER T. MACLEAN-As member of the board of directors, second vice-president and actuary for the Massa- chusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Alexander T. Maclean occupies a prominent place in the insurance realm of the State.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, July 8, 1887, Mr. Maclean received his education there and during his youth came to this country where he entered the insurance business, becoming associated with the Home Life Insurance Company of New York as assist- ant actuary. He remained with this firm until 1916 when he accepted the position of associate actuary with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, and has remained here since, becoming actuary in 1927 and being elected second vice-president in 1928. He is highly regarded in a profes- sional capacity and holds the degrees of Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries, Fellow of the Actuarial Society and Fellow of the American Institute of Actuaries. His busi- ness headquarters are at the offices of the
Massachusetts Life Insurance Company at No. 1295 State Street, Springfield, and he resides at Longmeadow.
JOHN F. HANDY'S activities have cen- tered at Springfield during the past twelve years in association with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company of Spring- field, of which he is general counsel.
Mr. Handy was born in Worcester De- cember 5, 1895. He received his preliminary education at Westbrook Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1916. In that year he entered Bowdoin College, but had been a student only a short time when he enlisted, in 1916, in the Marine Corps. He was transferred in 1917 to the 26th Division and served in France throughout the war, being honorably discharged in May, 1919. His studies at Bowdoin College were re- sumed in September, 1919, and were com- pleted in 1922. He prepared for his profes- sional career at Boston University Law School and was admitted to the Maine bar in 1923 and to the Massachusetts bar in 1924. For a time he also studied privately in the office of Harvey N. Shepard at Boston, but in 1923 came to Springfield, where he en- tered the law department of the Massachu- setts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Two years later he was appointed an attorney for the company and in 1928 became assistant counsel. In 1932 he was elected associate general counsel and has since served in that capacity. His rise within the organization reflects the quality of his legal talents and has been based on the merits of his services alone.
Mr. Handy is a member of the American Bar Association and the Hampden County Bar Association, and while his professional duties have been specialized, he is well known among his associates at the local bar.
Edward .Hagy
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He is also a member of the Colony Club of Springfield and the Zeta Psi Club of New York City. Golf and fishing are his favorite recreations.
In September, 1924, Mr. Handy married Charlotte Stone and they are the parents of one son, John P., born July 14, 1930. The residence of the family is situated at No. 98 Ellington Street, Longmeadow.
AARON CLARK BAGG -- With his elec- tion as president of the Parsons Paper Com- pany of Holyoke in 1931, Aaron Clark Bagg became the third member of his family in successive generations to assume that office. He also has many other business interests in Hampden County and is a well-known figure in its life.
Mr. Bagg was born in Holyoke, June 6, 1885, a son of Edward Parsons and Eliza Colt (Parsons) Bagg. He is a descendant of John Bagg, who emigrated from England to Boston in 1636 and joined a group of Colonists coming to the Connecticut Valley following William Pynchon who had estab- lished a new settlement at Springfield, lo- cated on the east bank of the river. John Bagg was given a strip of land on the west bank.
Aaron Bagg, grandfather of Aaron Clark Bagg, was born in the old Bagg homestead in West Springfield, which has been in pos- session of the family for the past three hun- dred years. Prior to 1852, with J. C. Par- sons, he founded a paper mill at Agawam, but the destruction of the mill by fire shortly afterwards compelled them to seek a new site. The newly developed waterpower at Holyoke attracted them, and in 1853 they became established in the brick building, close to the Holyoke Dam, which later be- came known as the Mt. Tom Mill. After the formation of the present business here,
Aaron Bagg became president of the com- pany and Mr. Parsons treasurer and man- ager. Originally they developed the well- known line of Parsons colored flats and in 1888 began the manufacture of high grade writing paper, bond and ledger papers and similar products. Aaron Bagg became a leader in Springfield life, was appointed colonel in the local militia and also served in the State Legislature, representing this constituency. He was for some years a director of the Third National Bank of Springfield. He married Mary Mather, who was born in Marlboro, Vermont, and died in West Springfield.
Edward Parsons Bagg, their son, was born in West Springfield on August 28, 1885, and died at Deland, Florida, on March 20, 1931. He was treasurer and a director of the Parsons Paper Company at Holyoke for over fifty years and at the time of his death was its president. His entire active career was devoted to the paper industry and in addition to his connection with the Parsons Paper Company, he was a founder of the Millers Falls Paper Company, of which he was president and a director from the begin- ning. Mr. Bagg also had many other inter- ests. He was vice-president and a director of the Farr Alpaca Company of Holyoke, a director of the Hampden Glazed Paper Company of Holyoke; a founder of the Hol- yoke Silk Hosiery Company, of which he was president and a director at the time of his death; and for a number of years was vice-president and a director of the Hadley Falls Trust Company. He was a Repub- lican in politics and was active in the Sec- ond Congregational Church of Holyoke, serving on various church committees for many years. He married Eliza Colt Par- sons, born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, June 12, 1857, died on October 20, 1917, daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Colt) Parsons. Her
Hampden-20
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father was born in West Springfield, Mas- sachusetts, and died at Kalamazoo, Michi- gan, where he had settled as a pioneer mer- chant. Her mother, born in Hinsdale, Mas- sachusetts, also died in Kalamazoo. Four sons were born to Edward Parsons and Eliza Colt (Parsons) Bagg : I. Edward Par- sons, Jr., a physician and a specialist in children's diseases. 2. Aaron Clark, of this record. 3. John Leonard, formerly associ- ated with the Parsons Paper Company, and now president, treasurer and a director of the Millers Falls Paper Company, treas- urer and a director of the Holyoke Silk Hosiery Company and a director of the Hampden Glazed Paper Company. 4. Rob- ert Prescott, now sales manager and direc- tor of the New York office of the Holyoke Silk Hosiery Company, making his home in New Rochelle, New York.
Aaron Clark Bagg received his early edu- cation in the public schools of Holyoke, completing the high school course in 1903. In 1907, he was graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, with the de- gree of Bachelor of Philosophy and in No- vember of the same year became associated with the Parsons Paper Company. Begin- ning as receiving clerk, he learned the de- tails of the company's operations by first hand experience and gradually assumed im- portant responsibilities in its management. He became successively secretary and vice- president and after his father's death in 1931, followed him as president. He has been a director of the company since 1921. Mr. Bagg has also served since 1931 as pres- ident and a director of the Holyoke Silk Hosiery Company, a director of the Hamp- den Glazed Paper Company, the Hadley Falls Trust Company and Millers Falls Paper Company.
During the World War, Mr. Bagg was overseas for six months in 1918 as business secretary of the Young Men's Christian As-
sociation, accompanying the Rev. Dr. Rob- ert Russell Wicks, at that time minister of the Second Congregational Church in Hol- yoke, but now Dean of Religion at Prince- ton University. Mr. Bagg has always been interested in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association and for four years was president of the Holyoke branch. He is a deacon of the Second Congregational Church of Holyoke, a Republican in politics, a director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society ; Williamsburg Chapter of the Na- tional Grange, in which he has taken the highest (seventh) degree; and of the Sigma Phi Fraternity at Hamilton College. Orni- thology is his favorite diversion. With Sam- uel A. Eliot, Jr., of the Smith College faculty, he has been at work for several years in securing data for a publication of "The Birds of the Connecticut Valley in Massa- chusetts," which will be published during 1936.
On June 1, 1909, Aaron Clark Bagg mar- ried Helen Perrin Moore, daughter of Phil- ander and Ida A. (Grover) Moore, both now deceased. Her father was a native of Madi- son, Maine. Her mother was born in Hol- yoke and was a daughter of a former mayor of this city. Mrs. Bagg was graduated from Holyoke High School in 1902 and from Smith College in 1906, taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts. She made a trip to Eu- rope after completing her college course and returned to the United States a year or so before her marriage. She is a member of the Second Congregational Church of Hol- yoke, the Daughters of the American Rev- olution, and is secretary and director of the Hampshire Book Shop in Northampton. She has also been much interested in the Angell Memorial Branch Hospital in Spring- field.
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