USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Hampden county, 1636-1936, Volume III > Part 46
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had not fully recovered his strength. After the battle of Antietam he was appointed by the Governor of New Hampshire to a cap- taincy in the 16th New Hampshire Regi- ment and was in Louisiana with General Banks. In 1863 he was appointed by Pres- ident Lincoln lieutenant-colonel of the 3d Louisiana Native Guard, a regiment of free colored men that had been raised by Gen- eral Butler in New Orleans. afterwards known first as the 3d Infantry Corps d'Afri- que and later as the 75th United States Col- ored Cavalry, which so distinguished itself at Port Hudson. Colonel Rice was in com- mand of the regiment during most of the Red River campaign of 1864 and in 1865 was in command of the district of South- ern Louisiana and there received the sur- render of the last survivors of General Kirby Smith's army west of the Mississippi, the last organized Confederate force to lay down its arms.
Following his being mustered out of the service Colonel Rice was for a period en- gaged in cotton planting in Louisiana, but returned North and was married. He lo- cated at Springfield in 1867 and engaged in the retail provision business, continuing un- til 1873 when his wife died. Deciding then, at the age of thirty-three, to take up the law profession he went to Boston and en. tered the law office of Jewell, Gaston and Field, having a position in the Boston Cus- tom House while studying law. He was admitted to the bar in 1876 and returned to Springfield to open an office, and in time became one of the oldest members of the Hampden County bar.
Colonel Rice cast his first vote as a Demo- crat for the candidate for Governor of New Hampshire. His entry into local politics was in 1879 when he was nominated for county treasurer. In 1881 he was elected to the Legislature and resigned in 1882 to
accept the appointment of city marshal by Mayor Edwin W. Ladd. He early espoused the candidacy of Grover Cleveland for the Presidency and in 1886 was appointed post- master at Springfield. In 1890 he was ap- pointed United States Commissioner, which office he held until his death. In 1907 he was appointed clerk of the United States district court, which he held along with the post of commissioner. After leaving the post office, Colonel Rice returned to the practice of law, but in 1892 was again made city marshal and served three years with Mayors Lawson, Sibley and Kendrick. He always stood for law enforcement and his record while in that office reflected honor upon him as an honest and efficient officer.
He was nominated by his party for mayor two different times, 1896 and 1897, and in 1908 was the party candidate for Congress. He was a close student not only of politics but of American history, and at the age of seventy-five years wrote a novel dealing with Colonial history entitled "Rocher Fondu," a story covering the period begin- ning a few years before the Revolution and dealing with two French children of aris- tocratic birth who are picked up by Amer- ican Colonial soldiers soon after the battle of Lake George in 1755 and are brought up in the household of the British Governor of New Hampshire, Sir Benning Went- worth. Colonel Rice wrote a number of poems which revealed a literary quality of high order. He was a member of E. K. Wilcox Post, Grand Army of the Republic, served as its commander in 1879 and 1883 and was Judge Advocate of the Massachu- setts department.
Colonel John Lovell Rice married (first), in 1867, Marion Virginia Chellish of Cor- nish, New Hampshire, who died in 1873. He married (second), in 1879, Clara Eliz- abeth Galpin, of Springfield, daughter of
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Allen M. and Jane (Dickinson) Galpin. Mrs. Rice survived her husband until 1928. They were the parents of three children: I. Dr. Allen Galpin Rice, of Springfield, who is mentioned at length in the following biog- raphy. 2. Elizabeth, who is the wife of Rob- ert E. Stebbins, of Springfield, associated with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insur- ance Company. 3. Ellen Birnie, one of the house mothers at the Children's Village, Hartford, Connecticut.
At the time of his death, February 21, 1923, many tributes were paid Colonel Rice, both by the press and by individuals who knew, loved and respected him. The "Spring- field Republican," in an editorial under the caption "Colonel John L. Rice, Warrior for Democracy," said in part :
No man in this region had a finer Civil War record than that of Colonel John L. Rice, of this city, who died last night at the age of eighty-three. No man had a finer sense of right or wrong than he, or more scorn for the small and mean in all human relations. No citizen of Springfield has had a more varied or picturesque career, than this warrior for Democracy. Life was not a smooth and flowery path for Colonel Rice. It was full of fighting-desperate physical combat in the Civil War, in which he was left for dead in the battle of Bull Run, but lived to receive the surrender of the last organized force of the Confederacy; and no less earnest in later years in behalf of policies and principles. But his integrity of mind and act were never questioned, and he was for many years among the most clean-cut and forceful advocates of the spirit of true Democracy to which he became devoted even before the Civil War.
Colonel Rice was high spirited and high tempered. He took life seriously. Occasionally he had sharp disagreements with persons and parties, but personal differences were soon forgotten for the nature that lay below the surface was honest and pure and no man could be more charming than Colonel Rice at his best. He was many sided in his tastes, adding a love of historical study to his liking for politics and the science for government, while his literary culture manifested itself in the writing of both verse and fiction. Of strong and salient personality, he will be remembered a long time as a good citizen and true patriot.
ALLEN GALPIN RICE, M. D., F. A. C. S., was born in Springfield, July 20, 1880, son of Colonel John L. and Clara Elizabeth (Galpin) Rice. His father, who was a vet- eran of the Civil War and a leader in munic- ipal affairs, is referred to at length in the preceding biography.
Dr. Rice received a general education in the public schools of Springfield, and after completing his studies matriculated at Har- vard College where in 1902 he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then en- tered the Harvard Medical School from which he was graduated in 1905 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. The follow- ing two years he served as an interne at the Boston City Hospital and the Free Hos- pital for Women in Brookline. On January I, 1907, he returned to Springfield and estab- lished himself in practice. He has special- ized in surgery and is visiting surgeon at the Springfield Hospital. Professionally he is a member of the American Medical Asso- ciation, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the New England Surgical Society, the Massachusetts Med- ical Society, the Springfield Academy of Medicine, the Springfield Medical Club, and the Clinical Club.
Socially Dr. Rice belongs to The Club, the Century Club, the Harvard Club of Boston, the Connecticut Valley Harvard Club and the Connecticut Valley Historical Society. During the World War he was commis- sioned a captain in the Medical Corps of the United States Army and was stationed at Camp Greeleaf until he was transferred to General Hospital No. 10, at Boston.
On October 27, 1909, Dr. Rice was mar- ried to Mary Louise Merrihew of Newton, and they are the parents of a son, Allen Merrihew, born November 14, 1910, and of an adopted daughter, Faith Chamberlin Rice, born February 18, 1925. Allen Merri- hew Rice was graduated from Loomis Insti-
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tute, Windsor, Connecticut, in 1928, and from Harvard University, 1932, with the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts. He is a teacher in Tamalpais School, San Rafael, California.
JUDGE FREELON QUINCY BALL- The senior member of the law firm of Ball and Lavigne, at Springfield, and a special justice of the district court of eastern Hamp- den County, Freelon Quincy Ball has been a resident of Monson for more than four decades and has played prominent rôles in legal, civic and political affairs. He was born at Charlotte, Clinton County, Iowa, January 27. 1869, and is a descendant of old New England ancestry.
His father, also Freelon Quincy Ball, was a native of Acworth, New Hampshire, his forebears having gone there from Massa- chusetts. He was a woodworker by trade and was employed at Baldwinsville, Massa- chusetts, where, in the early 1850's he de- cided to go West and join a friend who was at that time located at Davenport, Iowa. This friend was Austin Corbin, who later became a national figure as president of the Long Island Railway. In about 1857 Free- lon Q. Ball, Sr., homesteaded a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Waterford Township, Clinton County, Iowa, and there successfully conducted agricultural opera- tions for the remainder of his active life. A few years before his death he resided with his son, at Monson, where he died in March. 1904, at the age of seventy-eight, and was buried at Charlotte, Iowa.
The elder Mr. Ball was active in com- munity affairs in Waterford Township; the Ball School there was named in his honor, and he was prominent in the Methodist Church. He was twice married (first), to Christine Peterson of Davenport, Iowa, a native of Sweden, who came to this coun- try when young. She died at the age of thirty-eight years, the mother of three chil-
dren : Harvey H., a business man of Pater- son, New Jersey, now deceased ; Austin Cor- bin, an engineer, who died in Chicago, Illi- nois; Freelon Quincy, of whom further. Mr. Ball married (second) Christine Warner, who was born in Denmark, and as a child was brought to the United States. The two children of the second marriage: Rose C., married Edwin C. Fleming, of Franklin, Pennsylvania ; Quincy H., a business man of Troy, New York.
Judge Freelon Quincy Ball, of this review, attended the district schools of his Iowa birthplace, and also received private instruc- tion. He lived at home until the age of twenty, when he came East and was em- ployed in different localities for a period, locating at Monson in 1892. Deciding on the law as his future vocation, Judge Ball, in 1895, entered the office of Judge George H. Newton at Monson to study. Admitted to the bar in 1900, he has since practiced his profession at Monson. In 1916 he be- came associated with David E. Lavigne of Springfield, under the firm name of Ball and Lavigne, with offices at No. 1323 Main Street. Judge Ball is a member of the Hampden County Bar Association, the Mas- sachusetts State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. As indicated, he is a special justice of the district court of Eastern Hampden County.
Judge Ball was elected town clerk of Monson in 1915 and has since remained in this office. He has been a member of the board of assessors since 1903 ; served on the board of water commissioners for twelve years, and has held other local offices. He was representative from Monson in 1913, was an alternate degelate to the Republican National Convention in 1916, and during this same year was chairman of the State election commission that went to the Mex- ican Border. In 1916-17, Judge Ball was a member of the State trial justice commis-
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Johng. Lynch
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sion, and during the World War was a mem- ber of the Exemption Board of the Seventh Massachusetts District. He was a member of the Republican State Central Committee for six years, was a delegate to the National Convention in 1920, that nominated Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Judge Ball was very active in the successful cam- paign of Samuel W. McCall for Governor and had charge of the campaign in western Massachusetts. He is a trustee of the Mon- son Savings Bank, a trustee of the Home for Aged and the Universalist Church. He lends his support to worthy causes not only in Monson, but in Springfield as well.
In Monson, in 1892, Freelon Quincy Ball married (first) Jennie S. Whitaker, a native of Eastford, Connecticut, daughter of Henry and Zilpah (Backus) Whitaker. Mrs. Ball died August 22, 1917, aged forty-eight. She was the mother of: I. Carolyn Rachel, born November 4, 1906, who was graduated from Burnham School for Girls at Northampton in 1924, from Smith College in 1929 and completed post-graduate work there in 1933, leading to the degree of Master of Arts. She is an accomplished musician. 2. Carlos Herrick, born May 7, 1909, was graduated from Monson Academy and attended Har- vard University. He is studying law with his father, and is assistant town clerk. He is junior member of the firm of Freelon Q. Ball and Company, general insurance agency which was acquired in 1920, being formerly known as the Peck agency and which was founded a century ago, representing a num- ber of long established companies.
Judge Ball married (second), on March 15, 1919, Lucy Palmer Johnson, of Monson, who was born in Springfield, daughter of Charles A. and Martha (Palmer) Johnson. Mrs. Ball is a graduate of Westfield Normal School and also attended Simmons College. Prior to her marriage she was a teacher. She is very active in the church, literary and social life of Monson.
JOHN JOSEPH LYNCH-During his long service as principal of several Holyoke public schools, John Joseph Lynch has be- come a well-known figure in educational cir- cles of the county. His professional reputa- tion, however, has extended to wider fields and his many civic interests have brought him independent prominence in Holyoke life.
Mr. Lynch was born in Holyoke on Feb- ruary 25, 1871, a son of Maurice and Mary (Kennedy) Lynch and a descendant of Irish stock. His father was born in County Kerry, Ireland, August 7, 1837, and was brought to this country by his mother when he was only three years old, joining his father, Patrick Lynch, who had preceded them in 1837. Patrick Lynch established the family home at Holyoke and was em- ployed in the building of the old Holyoke dam. Maurice Lynch became a brick mason contractor and later organized the Lynch Brothers Brick Company of Holyoke in asso- ciation with his brothers, Thomas J. and Michael Lynch. On the death of Maurice Lynch, his sons purchased the interest of other members of the family in this enter- prise and incorporated the old firm under the name of the Lynch Brothers Construc- tion Company. The late Patrick M. Lynch, who died August 6, 1934, Maurice Lynch, now treasurer of the company, and Joseph E. Lynch, now president, have all been active in its operation during recent years. This company has received many important local contracts from the time when Maurice Lynch, the father, did the brick work on the Holyoke City Hall. They are now engaged in rebuilding St. Jerome's Roman Catholic Church in Holyoke, an edifice which Maurice Lynch built originally and for which he donated all the brick. No other firm has ever been employed in any of the building work of this church. Maurice Lynch, Sr., was an active Democrat and at the time of his death was a member of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church. He served on the
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city council and board of Aldermen and for many years was water commissioner of Hol- yoke. He died here January 17, 1902. Mary (Kennedy) Lynch, his wife, was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1841 and died in Holyoke, April 1, 1922. She was a daughter of John and Ellen (Bresnaham) Kennedy, the former of whom came to America and secured employment on the Holyoke dam about the middle of the last century. He died here while his wife and children were on their way from Ireland to Holyoke to join him.
John Joseph Lynch, of this record, re- ceived his preliminary education in the Hol- yoke public schools. He was graduated from high school in 1890 and in the follow- ing year attended Holy Cross College. Mean- while, in 1891, he played as a member of the Holy Cross baseball team, the infield of which was comprised entirely of Holyoke boys: the late Denny O'Neil, the late Dr. Ed Mahoney of Springfield and the late Judge Thomas J. Lynch. Holyoke has produced many well known athletes; one of the most famous of that period was Judge Thomas J. Lynch.
John Joseph Lynch completed his course at Williams in 1894, when he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and since that time has carried on graduate work at several eastern educational institutions. He began his active professional career in December, 1894, when he was appointed principal of East Dwight Grammar School in Holyoke, and served in that capacity for a little less than two years. In 1896 he was transferred to West Street Grammar School, of which he was principal for more than three decades. His record as administra- tive head of this school brought him distinc- tion and firmly established his position among Massachusetts public school educa- tors. Finally, at the opening of the fall term in 1931, Mr. Lynch was installed as
principal of the new Hiram B. Lawrence Junior High School in Holyoke, which was formally dedicated on March 8, 1932, with a very elaborate program under the auspices of the American Legion. Mr. Lynch shared the speakers' program on that occasion with Dr. Payson Smith, Commissioner of Educa- tion of Massachusetts, William R. Peck, Holyoke, superintendent of schools and the Hon. Fred C. Burnham, mayor of Holyoke.
Mr. Lynch has served without interrup- tion as principal of the Hiram B. Lawrence School since 1931. He is active in the larger interests of education and is a member of the many educational organizations, includ- ing the Hampden County Teachers Asso- ciation, of which he is past president; the Western Massachusetts Grammar Masters Association, of which he is also past pres- ident; the Massachusetts Teachers Asso- ciation, of which he is past treasurer; and the Massachusetts Teachers Federation, of which he is a director. He is also a life member of the National Education Associa- tion of the United States and was a mem- ber of Williams College Alumni Advisory Council. He has contributed many articles to various journals of education, among which may be mentioned the following : "The Playground Movement for Children." "Civic Training for Character Building," "The Message of the War," "A Memorial Tribute to the Soldiers Who Died from the Town of Millers Falls," "Theodore Roose- velt and His Life's Work," "The Defense of the Irish Against the Destroyers," and "The Life of John Marshall."
In addition to these connections, Mr. Lynch has played a conspicuous part in the civic life of Holyoke for many years. He was one of the founders of the Associated Charities of Holyoke, now the Family Wel- fare Society, and served as its president for seventeen years. During the World War, he was president of the Home Service Divi-
Maurice Lynch
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sion of the American Red Cross and was very active in all war drives. He has served as president of the Holyoke Public Library since 1932 and was recently elected for his fourth term in that office (1935). Mr. Lynch is also a life member of the Theodore Roose- velt Memorial Society and an honorary life member of the Holyoke Country Club. of which he was a founder. He is a Republi- can in politics, a member of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus, in which he has taken the fourth degree. Fishing is his favorite recreation.
Mr. Lynch is unmarried. One of his brothers was Colonel Michael J. Lynch of Providence, a graduate of Brown University and a noted Rhode Island attorney. Two sisters, Mrs. Mary Ellen O'Riley and Miss Elizabeth Rose Lynch, are now deceased.
MAURICE LYNCH-As an executive of the Lynch Brothers Brick Company in Hol- yoke, Massachusetts, Maurice Lynch, who for thirty years directed the activities of this concern as president, was aiding in the man- agement of one of the oldest and most widely known firms in this section of the State at his death, March 29, 1936. Founded by his father during the latter half of the nineteenth century, the company steadily grew in importance and is credited with extensive development work in the erec- tion of residential and industrial buildings throughout Hampden County and vicinity. Maurice Lynch, who was treasurer of the brick company, was not only highly es- teemed and respected as a business nian, but also occupied a prominent place in the affairs of his surroundings, taking a keen and active part in the civic and social life here.
Maurice Lynch was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, June 3, 1879, a son of
Maurice Lynch (q. v.) and Mary (Kennedy ) Lynch.
Maurice Lynch, of this review, was one of eight children, the others being: I. Pat- rick, now deceased. He was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he completed his studies with honors. Later he became an architect and engineer, and a member of the Lynch Brothers Brick Company. 2. Thomas J., deceased. Grad- uate of Williams College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and of the Boston Law School where he received a degree of Bach- elor of Laws. He was an attorney of Hol- yoke. 3. Michael Joseph, deceased, grad- uate of Brown University and received his Bachelor of Laws degree from Boston Law School. He was prominent in politics and a member of the law firm of Tillinghast and Lynch of Providence, Rhode Island. 4. John J., president of the Lynch Brothers Brick Company, residing in Holyoke. 5. Joseph, secretary of the Lynch Brothers Brick Company, also a resident of Holyoke. 6. Mrs. Mary Ellen O'Riley, deceased. 7. Elizabeth Rose, also deceased.
Maurice Lynch received a general educa- tion in the St. Jerome Parochial School, attended the Highland Grammar School, the Holyoke High School, from which he was graduated in 1899, and later completed his studies at Williston Seminary with the class of 1901. The year after finishing his aca- demic education he became secretary of the Lynch Brothers Brick Company and from 1905 to 1935, directed the activities of this concern as president. Since that time he had occupied the post of treasurer.
This company, which owns and operates a brick manufacturing plant in South Had- ley, Massachusetts, has concentrated the major part of its attention on the contract- ing business. In this connection they have done extensive work in Holyoke and the
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surrounding territory. Among the build- ings they have erected are the Holyoke City Hall, the high school annex, the West Side Grammar School, the Highlands School, the engine house, the Holyoke Armory, the Springdale and Ingleside schoolhouses, the Baptist Church on Appleton Street, and the Methodist Episcopal Church. They are the builders of the Morris Apartments and many industrial plants including the Farr Alpaca plant, the Parsons Paper Mills, the Smith Paper Mills of Lee, Massachusetts, and the Gas and Electric Building at South Hadley Falls, as well as many others. Among their outstanding examples of residential building are the homes of Dr. Ryan and Dr. Hussey in this city.
In conjunction with his activity in the contracting business Mr. Lynch invested extensively in real estate and owns large properties in Holyoke, South Hadley and Belchertown. Apart from business pursuits he was active in local affairs, being prom- inently identified with several leading or- ganizations in this vicinity. He fraternized with the local council of the Knights of Columbus where he held a fourth degree, and also belonged to Lodge No. 902, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically he was a member of the Demo- cratic party, though an independent in his voting. He served as a member of the board of aldermen for two years, and also of the board of health, a body he directed as chair- man for two out of the three years he served. In religion he adhered to the Roman Catholic faith and worshipped at the Holy Cross Church in Holyoke. He found his greatest pleasure and relaxation in touring with his family.
On December 27, 1916, in Holyoke, Mr. Lynch married Eda MacCary, a native of this city and the daughter of Martin and Mar- garet (Fleming) MacCary, both deceased. She was educated in the public schools of
Holyoke and the Thompson Business Col- lege. She is a member of the Second Con- gregational Church of Holyoke. Mr. and Mrs. Lynch became the parents of two daughters: I. Margaret, born November 27, 1917, graduate of Holyoke High School with the class of 1935, and who will attend Wellesley College. 2. Eleanor Louise, born December 28, 1919, now a student in the Holyoke High School.
CONRAD HEMOND, whose long serv- ice as secretary of the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce has made him a well-known figure in the life of Hampden County, was born at Holyoke on November 16, 1890. He is a son of Joseph Hemond, now living in Chicopee, and Emma (Richards) Hem- ond, deceased, who was born in St. Hya- cinth, Canada. His father was born at Leeds, Massachusetts, and for many years before his retirement owned and operated livery stables in Chicopee and Holyoke.
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