Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I, Part 3

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 824

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I > Part 3

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was chairman of the public preservation committee of Massachusetts, and helped to mark permanently the old revolutionary landmarks by proper stones, tablets, etc. He bought the old house in which had lived General Rufus Putnam, at Rutland, and made it a permanently preserved historic relic of revolutionary times.

That the effect of his noble impulses and the care and consideration he always gave to the help- less and oppressed be not lost sight of, it should here be given as an illustration of this marked trait of his character, what relates to the early abolition days, when he, a young lawyer practicing in Wor- cester, helped to defend a person from mob violence. It was the case wherein a slave "kidnapper" during the "fifties" was arrested and tried in Worcester, but finally allowed to depart, with the promise of never returning. Many colored people here and many more radical abolitionists felt justice had not been meted out to him, and had it not been for young George F. Hoar and his associates he would have been violently mobbed. While Mr. Hoar was a life long friend and helper of the colored race, he did not believe in the theory of mnob law. He ever took deep interest in the freedmen of the south and gave liberally toward their educational insti- tutions, believing, as he did, that education would sooner or later solve the race problem.

One more recent act of his great kindness was seen in securing the discharge of two small Assyrian girls, who accompanied their mother to this country from Assyria in 1901 to be with the head of the family who had been here several years and de- clared his intention of becoming a citizen in Wor- cester. Before landing at Boston harhor the officers discovered that one of the little girls was afflicted with a disorder of the eye known as trachoma and considered incurable in adults and contagious. They under the law, were ordered not to land on our shores and to return at once to their native coun- try. The family was poor, the father a hard work- ing citizen of Worcester, and the mother was to be thus ruthlessly torn from the two idols of her heart. The various officials tried in vain to evade the ex- isting law, but were thwarted. The steamer which was to take the little girls back was to sail the next day, but through the interposition of Senator Hoar, whose son Rockwood made the facts known to him, finally through a touching telegram to President Roosevelt, secured a peremptory order of release of the children, and they were brought to Worcester, cared for and soon cured. When the kindhearted president visited Worcester, a few months later, he wished to see them and they met him at Senator Hoar's residence, where all parties were pathetically touched by the scene. It is small deeds that introduce to us great characters and tender hearts, such as was that of both Senator Hoar and President Roosevelt. Soon thereafter Senator Hoar had the law so amended that such a proposed hardship could not again exist in this country through "red tape."

While he of whom we write had his political enemies-and within his own party-perhaps no other man has been in public life so many years and made so few enemies, and even those who opposed his position were at all times personally his friends. In the part he took in opposing the action of the present Republican administration policy regarding the Philippine Island questions-one where he crossed swords politically with many of our brainiest statesmen-all, even President Mckinley himself, knew of and respected his manly independent stand as against popular opinion. Mckinley was of a different opinion regarding a vexed question, but personally was one of Senator Hoar's warmest

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friends. In Mr. Hoar's Autobiography, he says : "It has been my ill fortune to differ with my party many times." One such occasion was when he bluntly said to Mckinley, "you cannot maintain a Despotism in Asia and a Republic in America." The man with no opposers has accomplished little and has made but few friends, but he who in the pride and spirit of his manhood advocates the right, as he sees the right, and not from policy, is sure to accomplish what is demanded of a well rounded character, whether in politics, social or private life. Senator Hoar was broad-minded, scholarly and patriotic in all he said and sought to accomplish. Of his domestic relations it may be stated that in 1853 he married Mary Louisa Spurr, daughter of Samuel D. Spurr, who conducted a dry goods house in Worcester, kept in a large two-story brick block on the north corner of Main and Central streets. Near it stood a large two-story frame house, which was the residence of Mr. Spurr. Mrs. Hoar at her death left two children, a daughter Mary, and a son Rockwood, who graduated from Harvard College in 1876, and was elected district attorney for Worcester county in 1899, serving until January 1, 1905. In the autumn of 1904 he was elected to a seat in congress as the nominee of the Republican party for his district. For his second wife Senator Hoar married Ruth Ann, daughter of the late Henry W. Miller, of Worcester, She died about a year in advance of her husband. Finally the end came and he who had been styled "the grand old man" was claimed by the death ines- senger and the spirit took its flight at his home in Worcester, September 30, 1904. He was a firm believer in the Unitarian faith, and was identi- fied with that church many years. His funeral was attended by one of the largest concourse of people ever seen in the commonwealth on such a sad oc- casion, His remains now repose in Sleepy Hollow cemetery, at the place of his birth.

ROCKWOOD HOAR, late congressman from the third congressional district, was the only son of the late Senator George F. Hoar. While the best wishes of the friends of the honored sire always fol- lowed the son, while the ability and character of the father seemed to be in large measure inherited by the son, Mr. Hoar won his own spurs. He gained his election because he had evinced the capacity essential to represent this district in congress, because he was one of the most accomplished lawyers in his native city, because his record as district attorney deserved endorsement and commendation. He demonstrated an unprecedented popularity when a candidate for office. His vote for district attorney showed increas- ing strength at the polls every time he ran. His friends took an unqualified pride in his career.

Rockwood Hoar was born in Worcester, August 24, 1855, and always lived there. He fitted for col- lege in the Worcester public schools. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1876 and entered the law school. He received the degree of LL. B. in 1878 and A. M. in 1879. He was admitted to the bar in 1879 and immediately began to practice in the law office of his father, which was then shared by Colonel A. George Bullock, president of the State Mutual Life Insurance Company, at present, and the Hon. Thomas L. Nelson, late justice of the United States district court. In 1884 he was appointed assistant district attorney for the middle district of Massachusetts, a district which includes the city and county of Worcester. He was assistant while Colonel W. S. B. Hopkins was district attorney until 1888. In 1899 he was elected district attorney of the middle district and served until January, 1905. He was thus closely identified with the administra-

tion of justice in this county for twenty years. He had an excellent general practice, but his reputation as a lawyer and public official depended chiefly on his record in the district attorney's office as assistant and as chief. It would be difficult to find anywhere a man who had shown more sympathy for the un- fortunate, combined with absolute faithfulness to his duty as prosecuting officer. No district at- torney of Worcester county showed more discriminat- ing judgment in performing his office. His ideal seemed to be, not the one of securing convictions at any cost, but to see justice done and the spirit of the law executed in good faith.

The detective officers of the district have a high reputation for intelligence and thoroughness in the performance of their duties. By a careful and sys- tematic preparation and supervision of important criminal cases, Mr. Hoar was able to thoroughly master the questions at issue and to ascertain in advance what disposition should be made of them. He rarely lost cases in which he went to trial. The counsel for defendants soon learned that his recom- mendations to the court were carefully considered by the presiding judge and that they could obtain the best results for their clients by submitting to his careful and sympathetic judgment and to his recognition and frank endorsement of all that could fairly he said in favor of the defendant. The first trial in Massachusetts upon an indictment for mur- der in the second degree was conducted by him and the indictment sustained by the supreme judicial court. The murder trials conducted by him were held without the expensive relays of stenographers, which had so largely increased the expense of these trials in earlier days. His cases were promptly and vigorously presented.

Shortly after he was elected district attorney he became convinced that the probation system was in line with modern methods and a means of making the law more efficient. In 1900 he secured the ap- pointment of Colonel James M. Drennan as proba- tion officer for the superior court. Under this system about one hundred cases annually are taken on probation by Colonel Drennan. That means about a third of the cases presented to the court that would eventually come to trial. This policy gives the first offender a chance to reform and avoid a criminal career. The harsh and indiscriminate treatment of criminals has been found to defeat the very purpose of criminal law, and manufacture and harden criminals rather than to teach them a lesson. First offenders in all the more serious crimes, as for instances boys who have committed theft, burg- lary or embezzlement, have been put in the care of the probation officer. Of the four hundred and twenty-five cases put on probation during Mr. Hoar's term as district attorney, only a very few have proved to be second offenders. The probation system is not only humane and reasonable, but it is a Chris- tian and philosophical way to teach men who have erred to keep straight, to demonstrate that the law of our times is not provided as an instrument of vengeance, but merely to protect society and to correct the criminal himself. What The Worcester Spy said of Mr. Hoar when he was elected dis- trict attorney is very fitting at the close of his service as he enters upon a new career in the public service : "In all his official acts, Mr. Hoar has been scrupu- lously painstaking, no matter what degree of im- portance was attached to them and his tenure of the office of assistant district attorney was characterized by a measure of success that augurs well for a satis- factory administration of the department with him as chief."

He held many other positions of honor and trust. He was a member of the common council in

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PUBLIC LIBRAR

Redwood Aoar

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Worcester from 1887 to IS91, inclusive, being presi- dent the last-named year. These were important years in the municipal history of Worcester, and Mr. Hoar was always useful and energetic. He was a private in the Massachusetts Concord Artillery Company, Company C, Fifth Regiment, Massachu- setts Volunteer Militia, from 1875 to 1878. He was ap- pointed aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Oliver Ames and served from 1887 to 1890 with the rank of colonel. He was appointed judge advocate gen- eral on the staff of Governor Roger Wolcott in 1897 and served four years, acting as president of the military board of officers, having charge of the equipment of the Massachusetts troops in the war of 1898 with Spain. He had the rank of brigadier- general. He was known by all the prominent men of the state, and well liked by his associates in office. He was a director of the Worcester Trust Company. He was formerly a director of the Wash- burn & Moen Manufacturing Company before it was absorbed by the American Steel & Wire Co. He was a trustee of Clark University. He was for twenty years a trustee of the Worcester Insane Hospital, having in charge also the Worcester In1- sane Asylum, both institutions being a part of the state system for the care and cure of the insane. He received his appointments from successive gov- ernors. He always took great personal interest in the development and conduct of these hospitals.

He was a member of the Grafton Country Club, Tatnuck Country Club and the Worcester Club, but too busy to take advantage of his privileges often. His recreations were golfing, driving and hunt- ing. He was a lover of good horses. He

took an occasional hunting trip in New Hamp- shire, but he followed in a general way the old fashioned devotion to his home and his office more closely than most of his professional brethren. He was a member of the parish committee of the Church of the Unity, of which his mother was a charter member, and which his father attended from the time of his coming to Worcester till his death. He was one of the most prominent laymen in the Unitarian church in the state, and an active and enthusiastic participant in all concerning the welfare of the Church of the Unity. Mr. Hoar occupied the modest house at Washington which his father purchased about a year before he died.

He would have been an interesting figure among the new congressmen, partly because of the prom- inence of his father, partly because of his having redeemed the third congressional district by a sub- stantial majority. His was a district where a Democrat was elected to congress for three successive terms and in a year when a Democratic governor was elected in Massachusetts (1904), he was elected to congress, the vote of his district standing: Rock- wood Hoar, Republican, 17,796; John B. Ratigan, Democrat, 10,617; John W. Brown, Socialist, 733. Incidentally it may be noted that never before in the history of the government has a father in the senate been followed upon his death by a son in the house of representatives. His grandfather, Samuel Hoar, his uncle, Judge E. Rockwood Hoar, and Judge Hoar, son of Sherman Hoar, were prominent Massachusetts congressmen.

He married, June 1, 1893, Christine Rice, daugh- ter of William E. Rice, of Worcester, Massachusetts. (See Sketch of Rice Family and William E. Rice.) Mrs. Hoar is well fitted for her social duties at Washington by training and personal attractiveness. At the recent visit of President Roosevelt to Wor- cester he was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Hoar, at their charming home at 16 Hammond street. Their children are: Frances Helen, born November 24, 1895; Louisa Ruth, born August 22, 1898.

At the close of the last session of congress he came home greatly fatigued and almost immediately started on a European trip in search of rest, accompanied by members of his immediate family, and although the trip proved restful, the severe strain to which he had been subjected, had laid the foundations for a disease of the brain which finally terminated his life. Soon after reaching Worcester on his return from Europe, he placed himself under the care of his family physician, and all that was possible for human hands to do, was done to save his life, but he passed away on Thursday evening, November I, 1906, at his home, No. 34 Oak avenue, Worcester, in the same house in which his father died.

SALISBURY FAMILY. The earliest rec- ord of the Salisbury family goes back into the history of Great Britain, and it is very likely that the family had ancestors in Wales. From family records and those of Suffolk county, Massachusetts, it is clear that John Salisbury, who came to Boston between 1630 and 1640, was the founder of the family in America. But little can be learned of his history either on this side or beyond the seas. It is certain that he was a Boston taxpayer in Suffolk county, Massachusetts, in 1689; that he was among "The List of Inhabitants in Boston," 1695; and that he died in 1702.

(1) John Salisbury, earliest known at Boston, married first, Annabel and (second ) Bridget Williams, from whom were children, includ- ing Nicholas and James (twins), born August 20, 1694; Nicholas was baptized in the Second Church of Boston, Jolin was styled in the Suffolk county probate records as "late of Boston, a marriner," generally understood in tltose early days to mean a sea captain.

(II) Nicholas Salisbury, son of John and Bridget (Williams) Salisbury (1), born August 20, 1694, was a mere boy at the time of his father's death. Little of positive record can be had of the career of Nicholas, who was described as a "Mer- chant" in the Boston records, but that he grew to manhood and married Martha Saunders, and to them were born Elizabeth, Sarah and Stephen. The date of the marriage of Nicholas and Martha was October 1, 1724, and tradition says "he fell in love with her at first sight, at the Old South Church in Boston." Her father was Josiah Saunders, who in the records was described as "Marriner" (sea cap- tain ). Martha's mother was Rebekah Eldridge, whose brother John left a legacy of eight thousand pounds sterling to "My Sister and all her daughters and their children in New England." In the will of Nicholas Salisbury, April 4. 1748, he is called "shop- keeper." He gave three hundred pounds sterling to his son Stephen, and the balance of his estate left at the time of his wife's decease. He also gave "My be- loved brother Benjamin" one hundred pounds ster- ling or its equivalent. Viewed in the light of what was the true fact, and what transpired in later years in connection with the Salisburys' standing and worth as inen of means and integrity of character, the following copied from the proceedings of the selectmen of Boston, at a meeting held July 9, 1711, is amusing: "Ordered that Nicholas Salisbury, who belongs to Charlestown and came lately to our Town to dwell. be notified to appear before the Selectmen with security or depart out of our Town." In ex- planation of this it should be stated that it was then the law and custom in New England to require se- curity of all newcomers, this being for a twofold purpose ; first, to insure the town against people who might be paupers or liable to be a financial burden ; and second, to make sure of the religious and political loyalty of the newcomer before admitting

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him as a citizen who should have their protection, and who should walk and live in harmony with them.

(III) Stephen Salisbury came to Worcester in 1767 to establish a branch house for Samuel and Stephen Salisbury, of Boston, his partner being an elder brother. He was born in Boston, September 25, 1746, the son of Nicholas and Martha (Saun- ders) Salisbury. The above firm were importers of hardware and kindred goods from England and the West Indies. Worcester proved a favorable centre for a large country trade, then numbering about one thousand people. The Salisburys imported their own merchandise, and hence could afford to sell almost as cheaply in Worcester as in Boston. When Mr. Salisbury first moved to Worcester, political affairs were engaging the attention of the people, and the trouble with the mother country was be- coming more and more serious. Here controversies had become more acute than in most places, for here lived numbers of obstinate Tories, as well as many who were fearless defenders of the colonial rights. Mr. Salisbury early took his stand with the patriots. He accepted no office, but his name frequently ap- pears in town records as being on committees to prepare resolutions against some act of tyranny. He bought a large farm to the northward of the city, and his place of business was at Lincoln Square. To the east of the front door of his "mansion" was the counting-room and salesroom. Until well ad- vanced in life his mother presided over his house- hold. January 31, 1797, after his mother's death, he married Elizabeth Tuckerman, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Tuckerman, of Boston. By this inar- riage one son was born -- Stephen, March 8, 1798. A daughter, Elizabeth T., was born in 1800, died in 1803, and a son, Edward Tuckerman, born in 1803, died in 18og. Mr. Salisbury died May 11, 1829, eighty-four years of age. "His figure was slight and very graceful, and it is said that his face was very handsome, and he retained a complexion of youth- ful freshness until the end of his life." His pastor and friend, Rev. Dr. Aaron Bancroft, described him as a "just man." Ile was an original member of the famous Worcester Fire Society, organized Jan- uary 21, 1793, and continued an associate until July 6, 1801. A part of the above facts have been gleaned from writings of his contemporaries, each and all plainly verifying all that is here claimed as to the sterling qualities of his manly character.

(IV) Stephen Salisbury was born at Lincoln Square, in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, March 8, 1798, at the old Salisbury mansion, erected by his father Stephen, who came from Boston to Worcester in 1767 and built the above residence in 1770, in which he dwelt for the remainder of his days. Stephen Salisbury obtained his primary education at the Old Centre district school, prepared for college at

the Leicester Acad- emy, and graduated with honors from Harvard Uni- versity in the class of 1817, celebrated for what its members accomplished after they went forth to the actual work of their lives. Among them were Hon. George Bancroft, Hon. Caleb Cushing, Pro- fessor Alva Woods and George B. Emerson. He studied law under Hon. Samuel M. Burnside, and was admitted to practice at the Massachusetts bar, but owing to his extensive local interests never en- tered actively into the practice of the legal pro- fession, thoughi a well read and highly capable at- torney. His own business interests kept his time fully occupied, but his legal schooling was of lasting benefit to him in after life. While he never sought office, he yielded to the calls of his fellow-citizens. and served in various prominent positions, all of which he filled with a most thorough completeness.

Among the places of trust thus accepted by him were those of selectman, 1839; representative in the general court of Massachusetts, 1838-39; senator, 1846-47, and alderman during the first year Wor- cester was an organized city, 1848. In 1860 and again in 1872 he was elected presidential elector from his state. As early as 1840 the records show he was an active member of the American Anti- quarian Society, a member of its council from Octo- ber, 1853, and president in 1854, continuing as such for more than thirty years. He was the third presi- dent of the Worcester Free Public Library, and served from 1864 to 1865, and again from 1868 to 1872, inclusive. He generously contributed toward the reading rooms connected with this library. He was also a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The degree of Doctor of Laws was con- ferred on him by Harvard University in 1875. He was overseer of the University for two full terms from 1871 to 1883. He was also a conspicuous figure in the history of the Worcester Free Institute, now the Polytechnic Institute; was its first president, an office which he held until his death in 1884; he gave the valuable land on which the buildings stand, and contributed liberally to the support of the in- stitution.

In reviewing his many responsible financial trusts it is found that from 1845, when Hon. Daniel Waldo died, for more than thirty-nine years he served as president of the Worcester Bank, and was for fifty-two years one of the directors, being first Elected in 1832. He also held the office of president of the Worcester County Institution for Savings for a quarter of a century, resigning in 1871. He was made a director of the Worcester & Nashua Railroad at the date of its organization in 1845, and was its president from 1850 to 1851. At Lincoln Square he built the factory long known as "Court Mills," for the manufacture of farm implements, and when the site was needed for other purposes he built for the Ames Plow Company (which had succeeded to the business of the earlier partnership), a large fac- tory on Prescott street. He built the first wire-mill on Grove street, and enlarged the works to adapt them to the expanding business, finally selling the site to the Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Com- pany. He built other large factories on Union street.

While busy with a multitude of cares, he neg- lected not the weightier matters. He was identified as a member of the Second Parish Unitarian Church, in which he ever took a deep interest. In all of his relations lie was every inch a man, honored and trusted by a wide circle of friends throughout the commonwealth. Whether he be viewed from a social, religious, civic, or financial point of view, he always showed a full, well rounded character-a genuine type of American citizenship. His personal manner was genial, courteous and obliging to a marked de- gree. His own interests were always gauged by the best interests of his friends and neighbors. He was a well-read gentleman, deeply versed in historical and antiquarian lore, art and literature, in which he took great delight, with the added years of his busy, eventful life.

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Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. I, Part 3

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 824

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 824