Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity, Vol. III, Part 55

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 772

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. III > Part 55

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(V) George Barber, son of George Barher (4), was born in East Medway, December 21, 1743. He married, September 21, 1769, Bethia Jones, daughter of Thomas Jones. She was born December 1, 1751, and died February 19, 1815. He was a farmer, dea- con of the church, and a soldier of the revolution. He died July 10, 1832, in East Medway. His chil- dren were: I. Seneca, born November 15, 1770, bap-

tized September 18, 1774, married Nancy Boyden, June 14, 1797, in Walpole. 2. George, born Septem- ber 10, 1772, baptized September 18, 1774. 3. Calvin, born October 25, 1774. 4. Lucinda, born October 19, 1776, died October 19, 1778. 5. John, born July 15, 1778. 6. Orinda, born October 4, 1780, married Jeremiah Daniels, June 21, 1801. 7. Elial, born July 1, 1782. 8. Achsah, born July 24, 1784. 9. Bet- sey, born January 31, 1787, married John Metcalf, July 10, 1808. 10. Mary, born September 13, 1789, married, June 8, 1809, Josiah Blake.

(VI) John Barber, son of George Barber (5), was born at East Medway, Massachusetts, June 15, 1778. He married Lydia Park, September 15, 1808. She was born December 20, 1779, and died Septem- ber 1, 1819. He married second, November 22, 1820, Suzea Crosby. He settled at the village of New Boston, in the town of Thompson, Connecticut, where he operated a fulling mill. He died July 6, 1821. He had, all born in New Boston, Thompson, Connecticut : I. John P. Barber, born August 29, ISI0, died December 29, 1892. 2. George, January 7, 1812, see forward. 3. Lydia Ann, born Novem- ber 2, 1815. married Warren Norton, September 21, 1835, died July 11, 1895.

(VII) George Barber, son of John Barber (6), was born at New Boston, Thompson, Connecticut, January 7, 1812. After the death of his father his uncle, John Park, was appointed his guardian, and he went to live with him on Park Hill, Millbury, Massachusetts. After leaving school he was em- ployed in the Corlis mill, and later with the Ridgway Woolen Mills, in Millbury, Massachusetts, for a number of years. Later he went to Sutton, Massa- chusetts, where he formed a partnership and bought a woolen mill, which they operated for several years. He was afterwards connected with the Dud- ley shuttle shop in Sutton for some time, and in 1852 he moved to Worcester. In 1853 he formed a partnership with Alexander Bigelow, under the style of Bigelow & Barber. This firm owned and operated the satinet woolen mill at Hopeville, Worcester, until 1870, when Mr. Barber retired from active business. He married, November 3, 1858, Eunice Williams Buck, who was born April 7, 1832. He died June 14, 1887. She died January 6, 1894. Their children, all born in Worcester, were: I. George Danielson, born September 1, 1864. 2. F. Lillian, born November 28, 1886. 3. John Nor- ton, born June 4, 1870, married Viola Ruth Fish, June 8, 1904.

(VIII) George D. Barber. There are several envelope factories in Worcester not in the trust, as the United States Envelope Company is popularly known in the trade. This city is a centre for the manufacture of envelopes, valentines and similar goods. Among the largest concerns making envel- opes independently is the Worcester Envelope Com- pany, one of the founders and the treasurer of which is George D. Barber. He is the eighth generation from George Barber, who came to, this country from England in 1635, and of these eight generations he is the fifth to hear the name of George. He is the son of George Barber, of Worcester, and Eunice Williams Buck, of Killingly, Connecticut. His mother was a descendant of the famous Danielson family whose name was given to a borough in the township of Killingly, and is better known perhaps than the old town itself. But the Barbers were asso- ciated with Worcester and other Worcester county towns before going to Connecticut, and as the fam- ily history given elsewhere shows, the Barbers belong to the honorable company of founders of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. George D. Bar- ber was born in Worcester, September 1, 1864, and

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in 1884 graduated from Worcester High School. He entered at once upon an active business career, going to the New York office of the George C. Whitney Company, of Worcester, manufacturers of valentines and holiday goods. He was a book- keeper and salesman with this company for two years. In 1887 he went into business with O. S. Arnold, under the firm name of Arnold & Barber, manufacturing spools and bobbins at Killingly, Con- necticut. After two years he sold out his interests to his partner, and came to Worcester for the pur- pose of starting in the envelope business. A corpor- ation known as Emerson, Low & Barber Company. was formed, and a factory leased at Foster and Bridge streets, the present location of the Worces- ter Envelope Company, the successor in business to the original company. The new company was handi- capped by the fact that the patented machines used by their competitors were not available, and they had to devise machinery for their use. The mechanical expert who had this part of the work to perform was Everett M. Low. After the first four years Messrs. Emerson and Low retired, and a new cor- poration headed by Mr. Barber was formed to con- tinue the business, Mr. Barber remaining the only one of the founders to continue. The name of the new corporation is the Worcester Envelope Com- pany, and the first officers were: President, Henry S. Pratt; vice-president, Josiah Perry ; secretary, Ezra P. Waterhouse; treasurer, George D. Barber. Since that time the business has grown and pros- pered. At present Mr. Barber, with his brother John N. and Mr. Waterhouse, are the owners of the company, they having purchased the other interests. The present officers are: President, Ezra P. Water- house; secretary, John N. Barber ; and treasurer, George D. Barber. Mr. Waterhouse, the president of the company, is the mechanical expert, and he has added many improvements to the machines of the company. The business end of the factory is managed by Mr. Barber. All kinds of envelopes for commercial use are made and find a market in all parts of the country.

Mr. Barber has taken all the degrees in the Masonic order, being a member of Quinsigamond Lodge, of Eureka Royal Arch Chapter, of Hiram Council Royal and Select Masters, of Worcester County Commandery of Knights Templar, of Worcester Lodge of Perfection, of Goddard Council Princes of Jerusalem, of Lawrence Chapter of Rose Croix, and of the Massachusetts Consistory. He is a Congregationalist, belonging to Old South Church and the Worcester Congregational Club. He was formerly active in the militia, having been a charter member of the Wellington Rifles, Com- pany H, Second Regiment, Massachusetts Militia. Although he was no longer a member of the com- pany at the time of the Spanish-American war, he acted as treasurer of the fund raised for the boys in the service. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolu- tion, his great-grandfather, Samuel Danielson, hav- ing been captain of the Connecticut train band and serving at the Lexington call and later in the Revolution. The family had the commissions signed by Governor Jonathan Trumbull, of Connecticut, making Samuel Danielson lieutenant and later cap- tain. Jonathan Trumbull is the original of the "Brother Jonathan and John Bull" story. Mr. Bar- ber is a member of the Commonwealth Club, the Worcester Golf Club and the Worcester Board of Trade.

JOHN NORTON BARBER (8), son of George Barber (7), was born at Worcester, June 4, 1870.

He received his education in the public schools, graduating from the Classical high school in 1889. He entered Amherst College the following autumn and remained there two years. While in college he went abroad with Professor E. P. Harris, under whom he studied chemistry as a specialty. In the fall of 1891 he entered the Iron Masters' Laboratory at Warrenton, Virginia, as chemist, remaining about a year and a half when he returned to his home in Worcester to enter the employ of Emerson, Low & Barber, manufacturers of envelopes, of which his brother, George D. Barber, was treasurer and manager. In July, 1893, when the present cor- poration was formed, the Worcester Envelope Com- pany, Mr. Barber became secretary of the cor- poration and director, and he has since then been active in the management and development of the business.

He is a member of the Old South Congrega- tional Church. In politics he is a Republican. He belongs to all the Masonic bodies; member of Quinsigamond Lodge, Eureka Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Hiram Council; Worcester County Com- mandery; Massachusetts Consistory, thirty-second degree; Aleppo Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of Central Lodge, Odd Fellows of Worcester; of the Tatassit Canoe Club; of the Uptown Club, and was formerly a member of the Worcester Commercial Travelers' Associa- tion.

He married, June 8, 1904, Viola Ruth Fish, born June 2, 1881, daughter of Matthew and Mary (Graham) Fish, of Worcester. Her father is sul- perintendent of a department at the Graton & Knight Manufacturing Company of Worcester. He is a native of England. The only child of John Norton and Viola Ruth Barber is Eunice May, born April 3, 1905.

PROUTY FAMILY. (I) Richard Prouty, immigrant ancestor of Hon. Charles N. Prouty, of Spencer, Massachusetts, settled in Scituate, Mas- sachusetts, about 1667. His farm was in the north- east part of Hoop-pole Hill and his house was near the causeway over the swamp, known as Prouty's Dam since 1680. He married Elizabeth Howe. Their children : James, Edward, Jonathan, Isaac, Margaret ; William, resided at Scituate and IIanover, Massachusetts.

(II) Isaac Prouty, son of Richard Prouty (1), was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, November IS, 1689. He married, October 11, 1711, Elizabeth Mer- ritt. Their six sons and one daughter all settled in that part of Leicester, now Spencer. Their chil- dren, Jacob, David, Jolin, Adam, Isaac, Caleb and Job, were baptized in the Second Church of Scit- uate, April 21, 1723. Children: 1. Isaac, born 1711. 2. Elizabeth, born 1713. 3. Jacob, born 1714. married Ann Capen, daughter of Samuel, December 8, 1741. 4. David, born 1716, see forward. 5. John, born 1718, married Abigail Johnson, daughter of Captain Ben- jamin Johnson: their son, Eli Prouty, married Re- becca Bemis and had Liberty Prouty, a prominent citizen. 6. Caleb, born 1720. 7. Adam, born 1721, married, January 15, 1751, Dorothy Howe, of Rut- land. 8. Job, born 1723. 9. Elizabeth, born 1724. IO. Ruth, born 1728. II. James. born 1730. 12. Isaac, born 1732, married Priscilla Ramsdell, see forward.

(III) Isaac Prouty, son of Isaac Prouty (2), was born in Scituate, December 17, 1732, married Priscilla Ramsdell. He settled in the west end of Spencer, Massachusetts, where most of the family also located. In 1757 he resided on lot No. 16. He died there May 5, 1805, aged seventy-three

ITLLIC

Charles Morety

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years; his wife dicd July 13, 1814, aged eighty years. Children. 1. Priscilla, born October 1, 1756, died June 30, 1833, aged seventy-seven years. 2. Elisha (twin), born 1759. 3. Elijah (twin), born 1759, married, 1788, Ann Munroe. 4. Sage, born November 2, 1762, married Alexander Dean, of Oak- ham. 5. Joseph, born March 26, 1767. 6. Thomas, born June 13, 1709, see forward. 7. Jesse, born Au- gust 6, 1771. 8. Avis, born April 27, 1775, died June 9. 1816, aged forty-one. 9. Betsey, born January 24, 1780, died September 21, 1812.

(IV) Thomas Prouty, son of Isaac Prouty (3), was born at Spencer, Massachusetts, June 13, 1769. Ile married Louisa Wood, daughter of Simeon Wood, in 1793. He married (second) Mrs. Olive Luther, March 31, 1811. He died at Spencer, May 29, 1813. Children: 1. John Nazro, born January 10, 1794. 2. Homer, born October 19, 1796. 3. Isaac, born December 9, 1798, see forward. 4. Diada- mia, born May 11, 1802, married John F. Smith, of Holden.

(V) Isaac Prouty, son of Thomas Prouty (4), was born in Spencer, Massachusetts, December 9, 1798. He was educated in the common schools and learned the trade of shoemaker. In 1820 his occupation was making boots in a small room in his own dwelling house in North Spencer. From time to time his work increased until he found it neces- sary to employ help and to erect a building for his business. This shop together with his barn and various store-houses accommodated his manufac- turing until 1855, when he built a factory on the western section of the Packard place, which he bought of Rev. Levi Packard. In 1856 he moved to the Packard house and occupied his new factory at the village in Spencer. This factory was for that time spacious, being thirty by sixty feet, three stories and basement. The business was thoroughly re-organized and the firm of Isaac Prouty & Co. organized. His, partners were his two sons, Lewis W. and George P. Prouty. With the aid of new machinery the firm made rapid progress and busi- ness grew rapidly, and the aim of Mr. Prouty to build up a large and prosperous business was real- ized. He was ably assisted by his son Lewis, who became superintendent and business manager under his father s direction.

In 1862 it became necessary to enlarge the fac- tory and for this purpose the Mason property was purchased and a new building erected. forty-two by one hundred and four feet, five stories with basement, adding an engine and for the first time operating the machinery by steam power. The new factory was occupied in January, 1864, and another son, Charles Newton Prouty, admitted to the firm. This new factory gave the firm another great impetus. Mr. Prouty was farsighted. He became convinced early in his career that machinery was eventually to be the means of reducing the cost of manufactured goods and of enabling the manu- facturer to increase his products at the same time, and he was foremost among shoe manufacturers in introducing new machinery. He lived to see the business he had established outgrow this fac- tory, and he planned the new enlargement of one hundred and thirty by forty-two feet with a new power plant. He died before the addition was built, however, and five days after his death his son Lewis also died.

Mr. Prouty was a shrewd and careful business man, giving his personal attention to the details of the establishment and studying the economy of production constantly. He believed that economy is the foundation of success in manufacturing. He

was simple, democratic and modest in his manner. He held to the habits and way of living to which he had been trained in youth, but on the other hand was progressive and enterprising in business. He was a tireless worker and retained his health and vigor until his last sickness.

He married, 1826, Mary Ann Goodell, born at Rutland, Massachusetts, June 14, 1803, daughter of John and Mary Goodell. He married (second), 1840, Mary Ann Newton, who died in 1876. Chil- dren of the first marriage: 1. John Goodell, born April 19, 1827, died 1855. 2. Lewis Wilder, born January 24, 1829, died 1872. 3. George Porter, born September 12, 1831, died 1898. 4. Ellen Smith, born October 31, 1833, died 1860. Children of the second marriage : 5. Charles Newton, see forward. 6. Mary Ann, born June 1, 1844. 7. Julia Eliza- beth, born November 14, 1845. 8. Jennie L., born March 28, 1847, married Frank E. Dunton, of Spen- cer; children-Lewis W. and Charles Easton. 9. Jason W., born May 14, 1848, married Emma A. Craig, one child-Evelyn C. Prouty.

(VI) Hon. Charles Newton Prouty, son of Isaac Prouty (5), was born October 6, 1842. He attended the public schools of his native town until seventeen years of age, when he began his business career as clerk in the general store of Grout, Prouty & Co., Spencer. The experience gained there in a year proved of great value to him in liis subse- quent business life. Following this initial business training, lie attended Wilbraham Academy, at Wil- braham, Massachusetts, until he was twenty years old. Returning to Spencer he went to work in the factory and learned the business thoroughly from top to bottom. Early in January, 1864, soon after he attained his majority, he was admitted to his father's firm, Isaac Prouty & Co. He had a good knowledge of the business and was soon given a position of responsibility. In 1868 he became superintendent of the factory and hired the help. The death of his father and brother in 1872 caused important changes in the firm. Neither he nor his brother, the two surviving partners, had had ex- perience in the buying of stock, selling of the product or in the financial management, but the business proceeded successfully without interrup- tion. Another brother, Jason W. Prouty, was ad- mitted to the firm, the name of which remained the same as before. The general management de- volved upon Charles N. Prouty and he soon demon- strated his ability to fill the position successfully. It was not long before another addition to the plant . became necessary. The manufacture of shoes was undertaken in addition to that of boots in 1875, and gradually increased until it became the most important part of the business, and from 1886 the demand for boots, formerly the sole product of the factory, diminished gradually. In fifteen years after the death of the founder, the annual product in- creased from half a million to more than two mil- lion dollars worth; the factory was enlarged until it was four hundred and fifty-seven feet in length and forty-two in width, five stories high with base- ment. There were also two large brick store-houses for shoes and leather, and another brick building for the making of shoe boxes, paper cartons, lasts, etc. Although the shoe manufacturing business has not been uniformily good, and many of the Worces- ter county shops that once prospered are now out of business, the Prouty factory has been almost constantly in operation. New machinery has been installed throughout the factory and great improve- ments made in the past twenty years. The capacity has been increased to ten thousand pairs of shoes daily, employing fifteen hundred hands. The busi-

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ness has been incorporated under the name of Isaac Prouty & Co. (Inc.)

Mr. Prouty is an active and public-spirited citi- zen of Spencer. He is an original stockholder and director since its organization of the Spencer Na- tional Bank. He is a member of the order of Free Masons. For many years he has been an active member of the Spencer Congregational Church and since 1904 a deacon. In politics Mr. Prouty is a sterling Republican. He was elected to the state senate of 1906 and re-elected for 1907 by the flatter- ing majorities of nineteen hundred and thirty-one and fourteen hundred and ninety-five. He served on the committees of mercantile affairs, agricul- ture, towns, and was chairman of the committeee on parishes and religious societies. At the begin- ning of his first term Senator Prouty made a vigor- ous opposition to the bill to increase the salaries of members of the legislature on the grounds that patriotism and not a desire for extravagant emolu- ment should be the sufficient motive for public serv- ice, and that the present pay of the legislators was adequate. At the very inception of his career in the legislature Senator Prouty demonstrated a spirit of wise philanthropy by a most vigorous and force- ful championship of a bill to suppress the man- ufacture and sale of cigarettes in the Common- wealth. He believes that the cigarette is one of the most serious menaces to the youth who, in constantly increasing numbers, are becoming addicted to the vicious habit of cigarette smok- ing, wrecking their nervous systems and not in- frequently dethroning their reason. No man in recent years has made a more open and determined stand against the evils of tobacco, profanity, alcohol and kindred enemies of morality and progress in the Commonwealth. While his constituents do not all support his more radical ideas in legislation, they have the fullest confidence in his ability, clean character and uprightness.

Mr. Prouty married, May 25, 1864, Jennie A. Richardson, daughter of Shelby and Azubah (Rice) Richardson, of Spencer. Her mother was a cousin of the late Hon. William W. Rice, congressman from Worcester, and descendant of Edmund Rice, of Sudbury, the pioneer ancestor of the Rice family of Worcester county. Children: 1. Anna Richard- son, born January 10, 1869, educated in the Ogontz School, Philadelphia; married Newton Darling, of Worcester; children-Newton Prouty and Francis Darling. 2. Lewis Isaac, born January 10, 1872, graduate of Harvard University, 1894, now treasurer of Isaac Prouty & Co., Inc. 3. George Selby, born November 22, 1874, graduate of Harvard Uni- versity, 1897, and director of the Isaac Prouty & Co., Inc. 4. Charles Newton, Jr., born June 27, 1877, graduate of Harvard University, 1900. 5. Elton Rice, born February, 1879, died March, 1880. 6. Marion Rice, born November 8, 1881, graduate of Smith College.

JOHN H. BENNETT. John Bennett (I) was probably the first ancestor in the Bennett line of John Bennett, of Worcester. He was born in Eng- land, 1632, and to judge from the number of Ben- netts who came to America earlier he found numer- ons relatives in New England when he arrived there. There is a tradition that he ran away with a Scotch peasant's daughter, that he was the son of a nobleman, proof of which is afforded by his court dress said to be in the possession of one of his descendants. The family tradition that the family is of Scotch and English origin is probably correct. He was an inhabitant of Charlestown, Massa- chusetts, 1659. He was a weaver by trade. He was

drowned, 1674, between R. Martin's ship and a lighter. His widow Mary married (second) Rich- ard Meade, 1678.

There appears to have been some connection be- tween this family and that of George Bennett, of Lancaster, who was the grandson of Richard Lin- ton, of Lancaster, who was there in 1643-4, and be- came a permanent settler among the very first. He was in Watertown with the first settlers, a juryman and deputy to the general court in 1630 there. He removed to Lancaster in 1645. He made a deed of gift to George and Lidia Bennett, of Lancaster, Jan- uary 7, 1662-63. He died March 30, 1665. George Bennett was killed by the Indians at the outbreak, August 22, 1675, in King Philip's war. On the same day seven other Lancaster people were killed. Ben- nett's house, it is said, was near the North Village road. The children of George and Lidia Bennett, as recorded, were: I. John, born July 31, 1659. 2. Mary, born August 19, 1661. 3. Samuel, born July 22, 1665. 4. George, born March 26, 1668. 5. Will- iam, born March 14, 1671, died same day. The chil- dren and wife had probably left town when George Bennett was slain. It is possible that they were at Charlestown. The sons John of Charlestown, had interests at Groton and Lancaster. Bennett, From the very first this family seems to have gone back and forth from Charlestown and Woburn to Lancaster and Groton, Massachusetts, though of course the descendants are now very numerous and widely scattered.

The children of John Bennett (I) and Mary Ben- nett were: 1. John, born about 1659, cordwainer by trade ("from Lancaster at Sweetser's, March 29, 1676." This record shows that John Bennett lived at Lancaster, where George Bennett's family was es- tablished, that he was driven from the town by the impending war. He married Ruth Bradshaw and settled in Roxbury. They had two sons). 2. Josias, died in infancy, September 12, 1663. 3. Josias, born April 23, 1664, married Rebecca Cutler, December 9, 1694; married (second) William Chartens, 1704. 4. James, see forward. 5. Mary. Some of the sons of George Bennett and some of the sons of John Ben- nett appear to have returned to Lancaster after the Indian wars and settled.

(J]) James Bennett, son of John Bennett (1), was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, May 31, 1666. He settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where the Bennett family was then located principally. He married Elizabeth Tarbell (Tarbole) February I, 1680-81. She was born 1656 and died July 25, 1684. There is some error in the record as given by Wyman, for James was probably not married at the age of fifteen. James and Elizabeth (Tarbell) Bennett had two children at Roxbury. They were: 1. James, see forward. 2. Josias, born May 6, 1684. It is probable that he returned to Lancaster or vicin- ity. His son James appears to be James Bennett, of Groton, and his son Josiah, the pioneer at Shrews- bury, Massachusetts.

.(I)I) James Bennett, probably the son of James Bennett (2), and, if so, born December 11, 1681, was the ancestor of John H. Bennett, of Worcester, Mas- sachusetts. He married, March 23, 1703, at Reading, Massachusetts, where John Brown, the justice of the peace who married them, recorded both as of Groton. They had a son James, according to the Reading history.

(IV) James Bennett, son of James Bennett (3), was born at Groton, probably about 1704. He mar- ried Elizabeth or Betsey Dodge. Their children were. 1. Sarah, born at Reading, 1745, married Parker. 2. Thomas, see forward. 3. Stephen was in revolution. 4. William, born at Reading,

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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. III, Part 55

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 772

Author: Crane, Ellery Bicknell, 1836-1925, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 772