Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. II, Part 6

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 732


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. II > Part 6


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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still reside. While these names have no prominent place in the pages of history, as kings or military heroes, neither will they be found coupled with any- thing base or dishonorable. They have ever been known and appreciated for their untiring constancy, loyalty and devotion to principle and duty in the more quiet walks of life, and this is testified to and emphasized by an ancient family crest and coat- of-arms that has been handed down from bygone centuries, the motto on which is: "AMIcu Gloria Fides."


The name MacLir, from which comes the pres- ent surname McAleer, has had no inconsiderable place in the domain of letters, being immortalized by the genius of Shakespeare in his King Lear ; by the pen of the gifted poet Moore in his Song of Fionnuala ; by Doctor Joyce in his Epic, Deirdre, and by many lesser lights in the world of literature. (I) Lawrence McAleer was the first of this branch of the McAleer family, so far as is known, to come to America. Having survived two wives in Ireland, he emigrated to Canada with his un- married children in 1831, and settled in the town- ship of Stanbridge, Missisquoi county, Providence of Quebec. In his old age he made his home with a daughter, Mrs. Barney McGuire, in the parish of Stc. Brigide, Iberville county, Province of Quebec, where he died in 1847, and is buried in the graveyard of the parish church.


(II) Miles McAleer, son of Lawrence McAlcer (1), followed his father to Canada in 1834, and settled with his young wife and three small chil- dren on the place, then, like most of the sur- rounding country, an unbroken wilderness, near the village of Bedford, in the same county, which was ever afterward his home, and which, after the lapse of seventy-five years, is still in the possession of the family.


(III) George McAleer, the subject of this sketch, was born November 29, 1845, on the old homestead, one of the family of ten children, which con- sisted of nine sons and one daughter, and the of- ficial record of his baptism is in the archives of the Roman Catholic church in Henryville, Province .of Quebec. Naturally apt at learning. he com- pleted the course of the district schools at an early age, and was sent to the Stanbridge Academy, in his native county, an institution of much more than local repute, where he studied the classics and higher mathematics, and was graduated in 1863. During his senior year, he taught classes in Latin, Greek and mathematics. He then took the gov- ernment examination for school teachers, received a diploma of the first class, and taught school for a time in St. Armand, Province of Quebec. Never an admirer of royalty nor of the British government, le. decided to make his home in the United States and in 1865 located in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he has since resided. He ob- tained employinent as bookkeeper in a storc of the city, and began the study of medicine during his leisure hours. In 1866 he entered upon his medical course in Philadelphia, where he graduated.


Being of an inventive turn of mind, he had, in the meantime, made several inventions for which he obtained letters patent. The folding chairs made under his patents became so popular that they led all others in the market of this and many foreign countries. Rival manufacturers infringed upon his patents, and this led to extensive and expensive litigation which continued for six years, and this occupied his time so fully as to prevent him from engaging in the practice of his profession. Such time as he had at his command, he devoted to the aid of his brother, Reynolds McAleer, who came


to Worcester in 1855 where he has since made his home. Dr. McAleer assisted him in the management and extension of the harness and saddlery business in which he was engaged, and, when the patent litigation had terminated successfully, he disposed of the folding chair business and the patents under which they were made to good advantage. The business of his brother having meanwhile been ex- panded to profitable proportions, Dr. MeAleer be- came a partner, and the business has now been successfully conducted by the brothers under the name of R. McAleer & Company for nearly forty years. This firm is well and favorably known in the business world, and enjoys the patronage of the best families and substantial stable-keepers and horse owners of the city and surrounding country, who demand high-class, dependable goods. Reynolds Mc- Aleer, the senior member of the firm, is a master of his trade, and has been identified with the harness and saddlery business of the city for more than fifty years.


When the Bay State Savings Bank was organized, Dr. McAleer was elected treasurer, his present posi- tion, though he is still a partner in the old firm. The Bay State Savings Bank is located at No. 476 Main street, Worcester, Massachusetts, and has a history of steady growth and prosperity.


Dr. McAleer is a man of versatile tastes and talents. In politics he is a Democrat of the old school, but puts men and measures above loyalty to party. Although frequently solicited to do so, he never entered the domain of politics. The clamor for station and place, the ante-election intrigue, trad- ing, double dealing of heelers and aspirants-the anything to win-and the subsequent shuffling, back- ing and filling, for selfish ends or party gain, are to him so offensive and repellant that he would never lend himself to become a party thereto. Not desiring public office, he made his home in a ward having an overwhelming majority of Republican voters. In religion Dr. McAleer is a Roman Cath- olic, and is a prominent member of St. Paul's Church.


A lover of nature, with his rifle, shot-gun, dog, and trout rod, he has long been a visitor to the forests, fields and streams of the Old Bay state, in the sunny south and northern wilds-in the early days of Spring. the lengthened days of Sum- mer, in the balmy days of Autumn time, and in the decp snows and zero weather of the frozen north in Winter-where the prized canvas-back and other sea-fowl of the coast, the bob-white of the southern plantations, the wary ruffled grouse and erratic woodcock of Massachusetts coverts, the elusive trout and fighting salmon of northern waters, and the deer, caribou and moose of the wilderness. rewarded his knowledge, energy and skill. His pen and camera have often told the story which adorned the pages of many magazines and other publications of sportsmen's literature where his contributions are always accorded prominent place. Promptness, determination and reliability- these are characteristics of Dr. McAleer. He is quick to discern, quick to decide, quick to act, with- out being impetuous or erratic.


Dr. McAleer finds pleasure along intellectual lines. He has a library of more than a thousand volumes, in which are many rare and valuable works. His library is rich in books relating to the early history of the country, especially along un- familiar but interesting, important and valuable lines. He has often been invited to read papers before civic and literary organizations, and has written ex- tensively for magazines and the periodical literature of the day. Some of his important productions are :


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"Banks and Banking," "The Printed Word," "Then and Now," "How Sabbattis Got His Christmas Din- ner," "Ferneliffe," "Reminiscent and Otherwise," "Province of Quebec ; Its History and its People," "The Etymology of the Indian Place-Name Missis- quoi," etc.


Born and reared upon a farm, Dr. McAleer was from boyhood greatly interested in rural life and improvement in cereals, fruit and domestic animals. He made a special study of the merits of the dif- ferent families and best producing strains of the dif- ferent blood lines that unite in the highest type of horse-the American trotter. In later days he bred several horses that in size, conformation, style and speed took rank with the best.


Dr. McAleer is a member of the famous Ragged Islands Club of Virginia, the Megantic Club of Maine and Canada, an honorary life member of the Missisquoi County Historical Society, and other Sportsmen's clubs and civic and literary organiza- tions.


He married, June 2, 1874. Helen Frances Ken- dall, daughter of Joel and Mary Martha Kendall, of Worcester, Massachusetts. She was born in Groton, Massachusetts, and came to Worcester in early girlhood, where she has lived ever since. They have no children.


HENRY ASHLEY KNIGHT. The ancestry of Henry Ashley Knight, Worcester's first superin- tendent of street lighting, is traced from John Knight (I), maltmaster, who was a resident of Water- town. Sudbury and Woburn. Massachusetts. He was a freeman in Watertown, 1636, and died previous to 1676. Mary, his widow, died May 19, 1676. Their children were: Mary, John and Joseph.


(II) Joseph Knight and wife Hannah resided in Watertown and Woburn. They had a large family of children, among them, Edward, born in Woburn, August 31, 1677.


(III) Edward Knight, of Woburn, married, July 13, 1699, Joanna Winn. They had ten children, born in Woburn, three of whom died in infancy. Those that survived were: Joanna, born in 1703; Edward, 1708: Josiah, 1710; Lucy. 1712; Daniel, December 20, 1715: Timothy, 1717; and James, 1720. (IV) Daniel Knight married Jerusha - and had children: Elizabeth, born October 28, 1744; Daniel, September 4 or 8, 1746, married Mehitabel Bancroft, of Shrewsbury; William, January 8. 1748-49: Edward. October 29, 1751; ,Sarah. April 24, 1753: Molly, September 1, 1755: Relief, Decem- ber 24. 1757: Reuben, August 22, 1760.


(\) Edward Knight, born October 29, 1751, married Elizabeth Flagg. November 2, 1773, daugh- ter of Elisha and Elizabeth Flagg, and born in Worcester, Mav I, 1748. She died February 3, 1793, and he married (second) Sarah Jenkins, in Townsend, February 13, 1796. Mr. Knight was private in Captain Daniel Chadwick's company, Colonel Benjamin Flagg's regiment, and marched to Hadley on the alarm. at Bennington August 28, 1777. (See Lovell's Worcester in the Revolution, page 123, and Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, page 347, volume 9). He was a farmer and lived in the northerly part of Worcester, and at his death September 15, 1810, be- queathed his farm of one hundred acres to his son. John Heath Knight, the home being on Burn- coat street. The children of Edward and Elizabeth (Flagg) Knight were: Josiah, born April 6, 1775; Abel. February I. 1777; Elijah, June 12, 1780: Polly, April 7. 1782; Jonathan, January 22, 1786: John Heath. December 20, 1700, died December 8, 1791 ; John Heath. August 8, 1797.


(VI) John Heath Knight, youngest son of Ed- ward and Sarah (Jenkins) Knight, was by occu- pation a farmer, and for nine years tilled a farm of one hundred acres left him at the death of his father. In 1828 he removed to the farm of Francis Harrington, near Lake Quinsigamond. Later he worked the William T. Merrifield farm in Rutland. was subsequently appointed to the office of turnkey at the Summer street jail, was employed by the Boston and Worcester Railroad Company, and was also for a number of years freight agent for the Norwich and Worcester Railroad Company. His last appointment was as city weigher, a posi- tion which he held at the time of his death. He at- tended the Old Union Congregational Church when located on Front street, and served as its sexton for a number of years. He was early interested in military matters, and was a member of a Worces- ter Cavalry Company. He married (first) Lucy C. Pierce. She died, and he married (second) Maria L. Parker, December 27, 1846, by whom he had three children, and nine by first wife. Their names are : Laura Maria, Edward Bangs, Franklin Heyward, Otis Harrison, Alden Bradford, born Sep- tember 27, 1827; Willard Pierce. John Heath, de- ceased ; John Heath, deceased ; John Heath, Daniel Webster, Lucy Murilla and Louisa.


(VII) Alden Bradford Knight, fifth child of John Heath and Lucy C. ( Pierce) Knight, born in Worcester. September 27, 1827, on Burncoat street. He attended the public schools of Worcester until ten years of age, when he began to care for himself by getting employment with various farmers. At sixteen, he, with a handcart, carried the mails be- tween the postoffice and the Old Foster sireet rail- road station, at the same time assisting his father in caring for the Union Church Meetinghouse, ring- ing the bell at service time. He afterward was em- ployed in the sash and blind factory of Mann, Light and Dexter. After this factory was burned, he worked at the same trade at other places, Hartford, Connecticut, and Neponset, Massachusetts. In 1855 his father-in-law, Jonathan White, presented him with a deed of a piece of land, and money with which to build a house upon it. and in that house the family made their home until 1896, when he re- tired from business. He is a member of the Union Congregational Church, and present residence is at 162 Burncoat street. June 10, 1852, he married Mary Jane, daughter of Jonathan A. and Betsey (Gleason) White, born June 4. 1828. Their chil- dren were: 1. Henry Ashley, born August 21, 1853. 2. Herbert Bradford, born October 23. 1855, married Elizabeth Johnson, of Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, and have children : Fred J., born June 8, 1883: May A., horn July 4, 1884: Lucy, born Sep- tember 17, 1886: Henry L., born November 29, 18SS. 3. Fred Elmer, born September 2, 1861, married Emily M. Harrendeen, of Connecticut, May 16. 1887, and have children: John Chandler, born June 28, 18SS, died July 2, 1906: Elmer F., born February 25, 1800: Howard A., born January 25. 1802: Jennie E., born November 11, 1893. 4. Jennie Elizabeth, born November 12, 1862, married Alton R. Cole, of Maine. They have one child, Alden Brigham Cole, born September 6, 1884. 5. Frank Harrison, born April 13. 1866, married, January 25. 1800, Eleanor C. Wallace, and they have one child, Dorothy.


Henry Ashley Knight, son of Alden B. and Mary J. (White) Knight, was born in Worces- ter, Massachusetts. August 21, 1853. and received his early education in the public schools of his native city. At the age of sixteen, having com- pleted his second year in the Worcester high school,


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he launched his first business venture by purchasing a milk route, which he conducted successfully for ten years. During the last four years of his con- nection with the milk business, he took up the study of law in the office of Potter and Mann, and later with Hopkins and Mann. In 1887 he secured an interest in the coal business, previously con- ducted by E. A. Sumner on Union street. In this line he was associated with Charles F. Mann, under the firm name of Mann and Knight, for a period of thirteen years. Subsequently Mr. Knight held a position with F. A. Mann and Company for about a year.


In IS91 the city council of Worcester created the department of street lighting, and Mr. Knight was elected as its first superintendent, a position which he has held continuously up to the present writ- ing, and in which he was attained a signal degree of success. Under Mr. Knight's management the area covered by the street lighting service has in- creased from ninety-three to two hundred and twelve miles, and the number of lamp hours per year has been more than doubled. During his term of service the cost of lighting per street mile, per year, has been reduced over forty per cent. Mr. Knight also or- ganized the supervision of wire department, and combined the office of supervisor with that of super- intendent of street lighting. The degree of thor- oughness and efficiency demonstrated by Mr. Knight in the administration of the wire department was best evidenced by the recognition of his efforts, shown by the New England Insurance Exchange, when in 1901 it was decided to discontinue their inspection of wires carrying electric current in the city of Worcester, the supervision of the local de- partment being considered a guarantee of satis- factory conditions. Mr. Knight ranks high in the estimation of the electrical fraternity with whom he comes in contact. He is a member of the Massa- chusetts Association of Municipal Inspectors, the National Electrical Inspection Association, and the International Association of Municipal Electricians. In 1904 Mr. Knight was a member of the Inter- national Electrical Congress, at the World's Fair, in St. Louis.


Mr. Knight is a member and regular attendant at Union Congregational Church, and has served two years as chairman of the church music committee. He is a Republican in politics, and has served his party as a delegate in nfany important state and county conventions. Mr. Knight is affiliated with many fraternal and social organizations. He has been prominently identified with the various Masonic bodies for many years, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Masonic fraternity of Worcester. That his efforts in behalf of the fraternity have been appreciated by his associates is evidenced by the practical unanimity with which he has been suc- cessively chosen to fill the highest office in the several organizations with which he has been af- filiated. He is a member of Athelstan Lodge, A. F. and A. M., and Eureka Royal Arch Chapter. He served during the years 1902-03 in the dual capacity of worshipful master of Athelstan Lodge, and most excellent high priest of the chapter. He is a member and holds office in Hiram Council, Royal and Select Masters, and Worcester County Commandery. No. 5, Knights Templar, in addition to membership in the fourteenth, sixteenth and eighteenth grade of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Masonry. Mr. Knight is a charter member and past potent monarch of Alethia Grotto, M. O. V. P. E. R., and an honorary life member of the Supreme council of that order. He is also a past Chancellor of Regulus Lodge, No. 71, Knights of


Pythias, and a member of Worcester Lodge, No. 56, and Worcester Encampment, No. 10, 1. O. O. F. Mr. Knight is a charter member of the Hancock Club, and holds membership in the Worcester County Mechanics' Association.


Ile married, May 11, 1881, Effic Jane Phelps, born May 23, 1853, daughter of Thomas and Emily (McFarland) Phelps, of Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Mr. Phelps was a merchant and manufacturer. Mr. and Mrs. Knight have one child, Henry Rockwood Knight, born January 9, 1886, who is at present connected with the New England Telephone & Telegraph Company.


EDWIN HOWE. John How (1), the immi- grant ancestor of Edwin Howe, of Worcester, was born in England. He was an early settler in Sud- bury, Massachusetts, and was admitted a freeman May 13. 1640. He was a town officer in Marl- boro in 1657, the year he removed to Marlboro, where he was one of the first proprietors. He peti- tioned to be excused from training, September 30, 1662, as he "was aged, thick of hearing and main- tained three soldiers in his family." He was a selectman of Marlboro. He married Mary Their children, born at Sudbury and Marlboro, were: John, born August 24, 1640; Samuel, Octo- ber 20, 1642; Isaac. August 8, 1648; Mary, 1646, died 1647: Mary, January 18, 1653-4; Josiah, see forward; Thomas, born 1656; Daniel, born 1658, died at Marlboro. John How died May 28, 1680. His will was dated May 24, and proved June 15, 1680. He bequeathed to wife Mary ; children, Sam- uel, Isaac, Thomas, Eleazer, Sarah Ward, Mary Witherby : grandchild John, son of John.


(II) Josiah How, son of John How (I), was born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, August 24, 1640. He married Mary Haynes, daughter of Deacon John Haynes, of Sudbury, May IS, 1671-7-2. She married (second) John Prescott. Josiah was in Marlborough in 1675 and helped defend the inhabi- tants during the opening of King Philip's war. Their children : Mary, born 1672, died young; Mary, born May 4, 1674, died young; Josiah, married Sarah Bigelow, December 14, 1706; Cap- tain Daniel, born May 5, 1681, see forward; Ruth, born January 6, 1684, married Bowker.


(I11) Captain Daniel How, son of Josiah How (2), was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, May 5, 1681, died there November 22, 1768, aged eighty- seven years and six months. He was admitted to the church July 16, 1758, when more than seventy years old. He married, June 17, 1725, Esther Cloyes, of Framingham, Massachusetts. She died July 27, 1758. Their children, all born at Marlborough, were: Daniel, baptized April 16, 1727, married Eunice Taylor; Jotham, born October 29, 1728, mar- ried Priscilla Rice; Nathan, born June 17, 1730, see forward; Gideon, born March 15, 1732, married Damaris Hapgood; Lucy, born May 6, 1736, married, 1758, Daniel Smith; Mary, born December II, 1738, married, 1758, Dr. Edward Flint; William, born February 14, 1734, was soldier in the revolution, died unmarried March 23, 1813, aged seventy-nine years.


(IV) Captain Nathan How, son of Captain Daniel How (3), was born in Marlborough, June 17, 1730. He was an officer in the service during the French and Indian war at Lake George and aided in the building of Fort William Henry. He commanded a company in the revolution in Colonel Whitney's regiment. He assisted in throwing up the defenses on Dorchester Heights in the night, and caught a cold that finally caused his death. He settled in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He married


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(first) Hepzibah Taylor, daughter of William Tay- lor, November 10, 1748, died June 17, 1770, aged thirty-seven. He married ( second) Zillah Taylor, daughter of Eleazer Taylor. He died March 21, 1781, aged fifty-nine years, nine months. She mar- ried (second) Jonas Temple, of Boylston, March 1, 1789. Children of Nathan and Hepsibah How, born in Shrewsbury, were: Lois, born March 2, 1749, mar- ried Rev. Edward Goddard, of Swanzey, New Hampshire, November. 4. 1769; Daniel, born Feb- ruary 6, 1752; Candace, born December 8, 1754, mar- ried, July 20, 1772, Simeon Allen, of Princeton ; Vashti, born January 13, 1757, married, 1775, Jon- athan Hubbard; Nathan, born October 12, 1762; Amasa, born November 24, 1766, married Sarah Pierce, September 4, 1786. Children of Nathan and Zillah How: Hiram, born July 16, 1775, see for- ward; Jocl, born January 19, 1779; married Pierce, of Boylston, died 1843.


(V) Iliram How, son of Captain Nathan How (4), born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, July 16, 1775. died 1829, aged fifty-four years. He was proprietor of a farm in the north part of the town of Shrewsbury, later West Boylston, on the old road leading to Sterling, where he resided at the time of his death. The house has been burned, the farm sold off in parcels and no longer has a family residence there. The homestead was in Boylston (north district of Shrewsbury) until the town of West Boylston was set off. He bought fifty-six acres of Amos Child in the West parish of Boylston, October 15. 1800. From time to time he bought other parcels of land in West Boylston. He mar- ried Olive Harthan, of Boylston, at . Boylston. She was the daughter of David Harthan ; she died 1852, aged seventy-eight years. Their children: 1. Bar- ney, born at Boylston, March 16, 1800. 2. Polly, born November 20, 1801, at Boylston, married Isaac Knight. 3. Nathan, born at West Boylston, May 8, 1803. see forward. 4. Harriet, married Charles F. Paddock, of Holden, Massachusetts, July 20, 1840. She had four children, Harriet Annie, Charles Francis, Olive Ella, died in infancy, and William Frederic. Charles Paddock went to Kansas in 1855 as an Anti-slavery settler and died there. Harriet (Howe) Paddock died in Holden, March 1, 1875. Harriet Annie Paddock married George Rich, in 1871, and lives in Worcester. She has one daugh- ter, Georgia Anna, who was married to Adelbert Teague in 1897, and resides in Boston. Charles Francis Paddock, Jr., enlisted in the Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, at the age of fifteen ; was in the battles of the Wilderness, Spott- sylvania and others, and at the battle of Petersburg lie was badly wounded and fell into the hands of the Confederates and was taken to Libby prison ; finally paroled and was sent to a military hospital in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he remained till the close of the war. He married Etta Bacon, of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, in 1880, and lived in that town till his death in 1902. He left four children- Clifford, Arthur, Francis and Harriet. William Frederic Paddock settled in Amity, Missouri. He married Dolly Carmichael, of that place, and died 1882. Ile left one son, William Frederic, who was educated in Helena, Montana, and is now located in Seattle, Washington, where he holds a position of trust in the city government. 5. Sally, married El- mer Shaw, of Boylston, and lived in that town until her death. She left three sons, Elmer, Henry, and Thomas, all now deceased. Elmer married and left four children, all married and with families. Henry married and left one daughter, single. Thomas never married. 6. Olive. 7. Joel.


(VI) Nathan Howe, son of Hiram How (5),


was born at West Boylston, Massachusetts, May 8, 1803. He received his education in the public schools of his native town, working in his youth for John Temple, the most prosperous farmer of his day. He learned the trade of clothier or fuller, the finishing. of cloth that was made on hand looms by the farmers' wives of the vicinity before the day of power looms and woolen mills. He followed this. business for several years until he had a hand badly injured in the cards in his shop. Later he came to Holden and became superintendent of James Lee's mill at Unionville, where he remained a num- ber of years. In this mill the first cotton cloth was. made that went around the Cape of Good Hope from America. About 1840 Mr. Howe entered partnership with Colonel Samuel Damon, of Quina- poxet, and they were in business about six years. He finally turned to farming. He conducted a place- at Brooks Station in Princeton, Massachusetts, for two years, then bought of Eli Goulding a farm and. saw mill in Holden. In the mill he turned out rough and dressed lumber, shingles and lath. While- working in his mill he was caught in a belt and both legs badly broken; one had to be amputated. The accident happened in August, 1857. He con- ducted the mill until his death, however, February 4, 1873. Mr. Howe was a man of much native ability, of excellent judgment and common sense, In religion he was an earnest Adventist and was prominent in the society in Holden. He took a prominent part in politics and town affairs. He was on the board of assessors, a selectman of the town, and repre- sented his district in the general court. Originally a Whig, he became a Republican when that party was formed.




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