USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume II > Part 88
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Confederate army, but under cover of the smoke of battle he made his escape, and after a slow and painful journey reached the Federal camp. When he was able to leave the hospi- tal he was assigned to detached duty until the close of the war, at Point Lookout, Maryland, in the force guarding thirty thousand Con- federate priso- serving as nurse, ward
master ar on steward, having direct charge er thirty-six wards with a capacity of "Thirty-five hundred patients, also of the kit- „nen, chapel, reading room, baggage room, laundry, linen room, and hospital guard quar- ters. For some time he was on detective work for the government. He twice took his name from the list marked for the Veteran Reserve Corps, thereby leaving a chance to be ordered to the front, and later was shown by the sur- geon in charge an order from Major General O. O. Howard to be sent immediately, but with it a special order from the Secretary of War to have him remain at the hospital. This was quite an honor as well as disappointment. He was discharged and mustered out of ser- vice in July, 1865.
He returned to his native town, but soon went south with the intention of locating in business there, but eventually located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the employ of the Bridgeport Furniture Company for one year. The death of his father called him home, and he settled his father's estate at Billerica. In 1870 he went west, and taught school at Wood- bine, Iowa, and in Howard county, Nebraska. He declined a nomination to the legislature, but accepted the position of superintendent of schools for the county, and filled it with credit and ability until, on account of impaired hear- ing, he resigned his office and returned east to live. Subsequently he became bookkeeper for the Lyndeborough Glass Company, and had charge also of the repairs on the buildings of
the company. During the four years that he lived in this town he married. He removed next to Olean, New York, and took charge of the box department of the Olean Glass Com- pany. A year later the company failed and he became the assignee and settled the business. He was in business for a time as carpenter and builder, later with Gillingham & Company for a year, then with George Kimball for a short time in Woburn. He finally went into the building business in Woburn and vicinity and has been remarkably successful. Among the many buildings in Woburn for which he has had the contract and built may be mentioned : The Wyman school; the
Highland school; residences of J. H. Rams- dell, F. H. Burdett, A. W. Prion and others. In 1905 he incorporated his business under the laws of Massachusetts. He was president and treasurer for one year, and then owing to ill health he decided to retire from the more pressing cares and duties of business, and his son, Allen L. Brown, became the president, and Albert E. Brown, another son, treasurer and manager. Mr. Brown has an elegant res- idence which he built himself a few years ago, at 7 Brown Place. He is a Unitarian in relig- ion, and a Republican in politics. He has been delegate to various congressional conventions of his party. He belongs to Mount Horeb Lodge of Free Masons; to Woburn Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; to Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Templar, at Melrose; to the Massachusetts Consistory, Thirty-sec- ond degree, at Boston ; and to Aleppo Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, at Boston. He was formerly a member of Post No. 222, Grand Army of the Republic, at Olean, New York, and is a past commander, now a member of Post No. 161, of Woburn. He is also a member of Rochester City Lodge, No. 166, Odd Fellows, Rochester, New York, and was a charter member of Olean Encampment of Odd Fellows. He is also an Ancient Odd Fel- low.
He married, October 9, 1879, at Lyndebor- ough, Abbie Putnam, who was born there Sep- tember 9, 1854, the daughter of John A. and Louisa (Cram) Putnam, of Lyndeborough. Her father was a farmer and miller. Chil- dren : I. Albert Everett, born at Lyndebor- ough, September 5, 1881 ; married, 1903, Bes- sie May Ashbee, of Woburn; children : i. Harris Putnam, born May 21, 1904; ii. Al- len Everett, born February 19, 1906; died. August 31, 1906. 2. Allen Lester, born at Olean, April 12, 1884, mentioned above. 3. Ward Ferguson, born at Woburn, November 19, 1888. 4. Dexter Putnam, born at Woburn, November 15, 1891.
In March, 1907, to benefit his health, Mr. Brown started a ranch life in Colorado, and was followed later by his wife and youngest son.
Thomas Gleason, the immi- GLEASON grant ancestor, settled in Watertown as early as 1652. He may have been the son of Richard Gleason, who was a proprietor of Sudbury, in 1640. The name is variously spelled in early records,
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Gleason, Gleison, Glezen, Glesing and Leason. In 1662, Thomas Gleason was in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in possession of Squaw-Sa- chem's lands. He married Susanna
Children: I. Thomas, mentioned below ; Jo- seph, John, Mary, and probably Isaac and Wil- liam.
(II) Thomas Gleason, son of Thomas Glea- son (I), settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts, on the east side of Lake Cochituate, now in Wayland. He bought, by exchange, Septem- ber 29, 1673, one half of the Benjamin Rice farm lying between Beaver Dam brook and Gleason's pond in Framingham, and in 1678 built his house near the pond. He was re- ceived as an inhabitant in Sherborn, October 5, 1678; died July 25, 1705. He married Sarah ", who died July 8, 1703. Children : I. Sarah, born February 6, 1665, married Jere- miah Morse. 2. Anne, married, 1688, John Gibbs. 3. Thomas, removed to Oxford, Massachusetts, about 1723; married, Decem- ber 6, 1695, Mary Mellen. 4. Isaac, men- tioned below. 5. Patience. 6. Mary, born June 19, 1680. 7. John, captain, had the homestead ; served as selectman ; married Abi- gail Learned; died May 9, 1740.
(III) Isaac Gleason, son of Thomas Glea- son (2), was born about 1675. He lived in Framingham near his father. His house stood about forty-five rods southeast of the old Charles Clark house. He bought, February 18, 1725, eighty acres of land of Jonathan Lamb, lying southwest of the house now or lately owned by Paul W. Gibbs. His sons, Isaac, Jr. and Phinehas, afterward lived there. In 1726 he sold his old homestead to Daniel How, who opened a tavern in it, and about 1736 Mr. How sold it to Samuel Gleason, son of John, and grandson of Thomas Gleason (2). Isaac Gleason died December 5, 1737. He married, December II, 1700, Deborah Le- land, of Sherborn, Massachusetts. Children : I. Deborah, born April 27, 1703, married Thomas Winch. 2. Isaac, born May 17, 1706, mentioned below. 3. Prudence, born October 3, 1708. 4. Phinehas, born August 23, 17II, lived in Framingham.
(IV) Isaac Gleason, son of Isaac Gleason (3), was born in Framingham, May 17, 1706. He resided on his father's place southwest of Paul W. Gibbs, mentioned above. He removed to Petersham, Massachusetts, where he died. He married, December 9, 1725, Thankful Wil- son, daughter of Nathaniel Wilson. She died in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, aged ninety-four years. His children were: I.
Isaac, born August 3, 1726. 2. Elizabeth, born March 20, 1728-29, married, March 28, 1751, John Baker, of Littleton. 3. Debor- ah, born June 24, 1731, married, August 29, 1761, John Wheeler, of Nichewaug (Peter- sham). 4. Simeon, born August 19, 1733, married, 1764, Martha Dudley ; lived in Green- wich, Massachusetts. 5. Thankful, born March 5, 1737, died young. 6. Thankful, born June 17, 1738, married, December 27, 1759, William Daggett. 7. James, settled in West- moreland, New Hampshire. 8. Joseph, born February 3, 1743. 9. Nathaniel, baptized Sep- tember 14, 1746, married Sarah Johnson ; died in Hardwick. 10. Benjamin, baptized May 7,- 1749, lived in Westmoreland. II. Fortunatus, born 1752, baptized June 7, married Esther Beman ; lived in Westmoreland.
(V) Joseph Gleason, son of Isaac Gleason (4), was born at Framingham, Massachusetts, February 3, 1743, and died at Petersham, Massachusetts, September 19, 1814. He set- tled in Petersham when a young man and fol- lowed farming there the remainder of his life. He became a prominent citizen. During the Revolution he was on the committee appointed by the town to raise men for the Revolutionary service. He was a selectman and held other positions of trust and honor. His will was dated January 24, 1812, with a codicil dated August 5, 1814; it was filed for probate Octo- ber 18, 1814, and allowed December 6 follow- ing. He married, August 14, 1766, at Peter- sham, Sarah Curtis, who died April 2, 1827, at Petersham, aged, according to her grave- stone, eighty years. Their children born in' Petersham: I. Sarah, born April 7, 1767, married, January 21, 1787, Windsor Gleason, of Charlestown, New Hampshire, son of Isaac Gleason (5) and grandson of Isaac Gleason (4), mentioned above. 2. Deborah, born No- vember 29, 1768, married, June 3, 1792, Na- hum Ward. 3. Molly, born July 31, 1771, married Abiel Parmenter. 4. Fanny, born July 4, 1773, married (intentions dated April 22, 1797) Artemas Crowell, and had two chil- dren, Alanson and Polly Crowell, mentioned in their grandfather's will. 5. David, born February 20, 1775, died February 1, 1776. 6. Lucinda, born November 2, 1777, died Oc- tober 2, 1778. 7. Lucinda, born May 20, 1779, married (intentions dated April 7, 1800) Na- thaniel Gleason, Jr., of Hardwick, Massachu- setts; married (second), October 14, 1828, Caleb Chamberlain, at Petersham. 8: Joseph, Jr., born April 7, 1781, mentioned below. 9. Betsey, born March I, 1783, married, October
M. Gleason
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28, 1804, Nathan Gould, of Leverett, Massa- chusetts. 10. Curtis, born April 1, 1785, mar- ried, December 8, 1813, Luna Hildreth, who died January 8, 1828, aged thirty-nine years ; child, Eliza F., chose as guardian, April 6, 1829, Joseph G. Parmenter, indicating that her father was dead; Curtis Gleason was executor and residual legatee of his father. II. Aman- da, mentioned in father's will. 12. Clarissa, married, June 13, 1809, Cephas Willard, men- tioned in will.
(VI) Joseph Gleason, son of Joseph Glea- son (5), was born in Petersham, Massachu- setts, April 7, 1781, and died there February 28, 1808, aged twenty-six years. He was bur- ied in Petersham and his burial place is marked by a headstone. He was a farmer. He married at Petersham, Sukey (sometimes given as Susan), Whitney, born 1780, died April 21, 1828, and buried by the side of her first husband at Petersham. (See gravestone in Petersham graveyard). She married (sec- ond), December 22, 1813, James Thompson, of New Salem, Massachusetts. Children of Joseph and Sukey (Whitney) Gleason, born at Petersham: I, Harriet, born about 1803, married, June 1, 1823, Oren Tower. 2. Louisa, born 1805, married, August 23, 1830, Samson Wetherell. 3. Benjamin Whitney, born October 12, 1806.
Sukey Whitney was the daughter of Captain Benjamin Whitney, second lieutenant in the Revolution under General Lee and later cap- tain ; resided in Simpson, Province of Quebec, and at Petersham, Massachusetts; died 1830 .. Solomon Whitney (5), father of Captain Ben- jamin (6), was born December 20, 1721 ; mar- ried, October 5, 1749, Elizabeth Smith; mar- ried (second), Ithamar Goodnow; resided at Marlborough and Petersham, Massachusetts ; he had four children.
Benjamin Whitney (4), father of Solomon (5), was born October 7, 1687. Married, Feb- ruary 7, 1710, Sarah Barrett, born November 28, 1692, died February 15, 1730. He settled in Boston, Massachusetts, and became wealthy ; he owned Narragansett rights which he willed to his son Solomon. He died October, 1737.
Thomas Whitney (3), father of Benjamin (4), was born at Watertown, Massachusetts, August 24, 1656. He was a resident of Water- town, Stow and Bolton, Massachusetts; he owned a sixty-acre farm at Pompascitticut (now Stow), Massachusetts. Married, Janu- ary 29, 1679, Elizabeth Lawrence, born Feb- ruary 3, 1659. He died at Bolton, Massachu- setts, February 8, 174I.
John Whitney (I), father of Thomas (2), was born in England in 1629; was admitted freeman April 18, 1690. He married, in Watertown, Massachusetts, January II, 1654, Mary Kettell. (See Whitney family).
(VII) Benjamin Whitney Gleason, son of Joseph Gleason, Jr., (6), was born October 12, 1806, in Petersham, Massachusetts, and died in Gleasondale (Stow), January 19, 1884. He was educated in the public schools, leaving at the age of fourteen to begin his apprenticeship to learn the trade of cabinet maker. After he came of age he followed his trade at Grafton, Massachusetts, in the wood-working depart- ment of a cotton mill there. In 1833 he went to Worcester, and during the following four years was a journeyman in a machine shop. He left Worcester and entered the employ of Gilbert & Richardson, of North Andover, Massachusetts, manufacturers of cotton and woolen machinery. The firm was dissolved in 1842 and George H. Gilbert removed to Ware and engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. July 13, 1842, Mr. Gleason formed a copartnership with George L. Davis, who had been a fellow workman with him in the employ of Gilbert & Richardson, under the name of Gleason & Davis, and began manufacturing machinery at North Andover. In 1848 Charles Furber, an old employee, was admitted to partnership and the name was changed to Gleason, Davis & Furber. Mr. Gleason retired from the firm in 1849. In 1849, the creditors of the Rock Bottom Company, which had fail- ed, prevailed upon Mr. Gleason to reorganize that company and take charge of the business. He moved to Rock Bottom and took into part- nership Mr. Samuel J. Dale. In 1875 Mr. Gleason suffered a slight stroke of paralysis, but he recovered and continued in active bus- iness until 1880, when he practically retired. He was a leader in his line of business, suc- cessful, upright and enterprising. He was a Republican in politics. In 1859 and 1872 he represented his district in the general court, and in 1860 and 1861 was state senator.
He married, August 31, 1831, Louisa Fes- senden, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, who was born in Rutland, Massachusetts, April 10, 1809, and died May 8, 1858. Children: I. Ellen A., born June 18, 1834, married Hum- phrey Brigham, of Hudson, Massachusetts. 2. Benjamin F., born August 26, 1838, died Aug- ust 25, 1848. 3. Charles W., born April 9. 1841, mentioned below. 4. Stillman A., born August 2, 1843, died August 7, 1888. 5. Al- fred D., born February 7, 1846.
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(VIII) Charles Whitney Gleason, son of Benjamin Whitney Gleason (7), was born in North Andover, Massachusetts, April 9, 1841, and lived there until April, 1849, when with the family he moved to Rock Bottom, now Gleasondale (Stow), Massachusetts.
He attended public and private schools in his own town until fifteen years of age. Then he attended school at Riverside Institute, Auburndale; Eaton's Commercial College at Worcester, and Lancaster Institute at Lancas- ter. During vacations he was in the office and finishing department of his father's wool- en mill. Mills in those days ran from half past five in the morning until half past seven at night, with one-half hour for breakfast and three-quarters for dinner. There being no school law, children as young as ten years were employed in manufactories in Massa- chusetts. At the age of nineteen years he be- came bookkeeper and shipping clerk in the mill remaining two years. At the age of twenty- one he spent the summer of 1862 travelling in Europe, returning in September, and again entered upon his duties at the mill, part of the time acting as overseer of spinning and weav- ing rooms, beside doing the office work. In April, 1863, at the age of twenty-two, he was given the position of superintendent, on trial, and in November was engaged permanently, and for twenty-four years following, held the position, even after becoming a member of the firm. His systematic habits and knowledge of the details of the business acquired during the few years of training with his father, were of great advantage in his new career as manager. He was ambitious and caretaking, and anxious to increase the output of the mills, which had suffered from frequent changes of overseers and operatives, occasioned by enlistments for the war. He entered upon his duties with energy, taking personal charge of many details of the manufacture of goods, testing the wools, mixing for the various grades, deciding what wools were needed, and watching closely that everything should be well done and economi- cally. He won the goodwill and respect of his employees, and was always mindful of their wants and comfort. He established the plan of promoting his young men to second hand positions and then to overseers, as they became competent. Some of these men filled responsible positions in the Gleason mills and in other mills throughout New England. He instilled in the minds of his employees to keep machines in good working condition and have them run to their fullest capacity. He gave
his personal attention to the repairs, and many were done at night, to save stopping the work in the daytime, and Mr. Gleason was often seen in his shirt sleeves assisting and directing the work. He seemed at home, whether put- ting in new boilers, new water wheels, rebuild- ing bridges, or building a stone dam. He was often complimented by insurance inspectors and manufacturers on the cleanliness and good order which prevailed throughout the works, and at one time was urged to take charge of a mill in another part of the State, by a manu- facturer who had heard of his good manage- ment.
His plans for increasing the product of the mills succeeded so well that in time he had raised the limit of former superintendents of 800,000 yards to 1,200,000 yards of flannels in a year. In doing this, the quality of the Gleason flannels was kept up to the high standard established years before and so well known to the trade of the United States. For fifteen years he bought all the wool used, one year going West and buying direct from the farmers.
In 1872 Mr. Gleason was admitted to part- nership in the mills, under the firm name of B. W. Gleason & Sons, the members being Benjamin W. Gleason, Charles Whitney Glea- son, Stillman Augustus Gleason and Alfred Dwight Gleason. At his father's death, Janu- ary 19, 1884, Charles Whitney Gleason became the head of the firm, which continued under the old name until the retirement of Stillman Augustus Gleason (who had charge of the fin- ishing department), in November, 1887, when the firm name was changed to C. W. & A. D. Gleason. The Gleason Brothers followed their father's methods, taking no notice of bus- iness depressions, and were highly successful in their operations. They had the confidence and esteem of their employees, some of whom had worked for the company more than three decades. They were prominent and active factors in every movement that tended to the advancement and progress of the town.
Mr. Gleason is a Republican in politics, and was the first citizen in the town to cast the Australian ballot. He has served as delegate to state and county conventions, but never held town office, although often urged to do so. He was one of the original trustees of the Hale high school, and was president of the Rock Bottom Library Association, which dur- ing its existence accumulated nearly one thous- and volumes, which are now in the care of and being used by the Methodist Sunday
Charles IV- Gleason.
ALFRED D.GLEASON
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school. Mr. Gleason has always contributed generously for church work, not only in his own but in neighboring towns. He has been treasurer of the Gleasondale Methodist church for the past twenty-four years, though not a member of the same.
Mr. Gleason's long continued close applica- tion to business began to show its effects on a not too rugged constitution, and in April, 1887, a superintendent was secured to relieve him of the details of manufacture, and a few years later, being unable to attend to business, was represented by his son until August, 1899, when he retired from the firm.
Mr. Gleason married, January 25, 1866, Lucy Woods Peters, daughter of John Howe Peters, of Feltonville, (now Hudson), Massa- chusetts. Mrs. Gleason is a member of the First Baptist chuch of Hudson. They have one son, Albert Howe Gleason. Their home is the old Gleason homestead at Gleasondale, built in 1847-8, which has been remodelled and improved, and the grounds beautified by the present owner.
(VIII) Alfred Dwight Gleason, son of Benjamin Whitney Gleason (7), was born at North Andover, Massachusetts, February 7, 1846. He came with his parents to Rock Bot- tom, now Gleasondale, in the town of Stow, Massachusetts. He attended the various pri- vate schools, the Concord Academy and the Highland Military Academy, Worcester, Massachusetts. He enlisted July 15, 1864, in Company E, Fifth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and was appointed first sergeant of his company. He was honorably discharged at the termination of his period of enlistment. Upon his return to Gleasondale he took charge of the store and conducted it for a number of years. He then became a clerk in the count- ing room of his father's mill, and June 1, 1872, he and his two brothers were taken into part- nership by their father, under the firm name of B. W. Gleason & Sons. The three brothers, S. Augustus, Charles W. and Alfred D., con- tinued the business under the same name after the father's death, January 19, 1884, until'No- vember, 1887, when S. Augustus Gleason re- tired from the firm. The name then became C. W. & A. D. Gleason and continued thus until July, 1899, when Alfred Dwight Gleason bought out his brother, Charles W. Glen- son, who was obliged to retire on account of ill health. Since then Alfred Dwight Gleason has been the sole proprietor of this extensive business, making additions in 1901 and 1902 by which the capacity
of the mill was greatly increased. Under his ownership the mills at Gleasondale have had a larger product than ever before, the business has flourished and the reputation of the con- cern has extended widely. Mr. Gleason ranks high among the successful manufacturers of Massachusetts. He and his brothers fittingly sustained the business established by their father.
Mr. Gleason has been a director of the Hud- son National Bank since its organization, hav- ing been one of the committee of nine chosen in 1881 to procure the charter. He became vice-president July 13, 1897, and president October 23, 1906, a position he has held since then. He is also a trustee of the Hudson Sav- ings Bank. He has been active in public affairs, and has contributed freely of his time and money to further every movement tending to the welfare of the town of Stow and the vil- lage of Gleasondale. He was selectman for two years and chairman of the board; he served on the building committee of the public library and is one of the trustees. He is a Re- publican in politics. In addition to his own business in Stow, he is a member of the firm of J. F. Stevens & Company, commission mer- chants, New York and Boston, and a director of the Stevens Linen Works at Webster, Massachusetts. He is well known in Masonic circles, is a member of Doric Lodge of Free Masons, Houghton Royal Arch Chapter, and Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 32. In 1898, he and his brother, Charles W. Gleason, built the Methodist Episcopal church at Gleasondale and presented it to the society as a memorial to their father, Benjamin Whit- ney Gleason.
Mr. Gleason married, May 12, 1870, Blanche A. Pratt, born Princeton, Massachu- setts, August 24, 1850, daughter of Horace B. and Relief Holman Pratt, of Boston. Their only child is Alfreda B., born July 12, 1886.
(IX) Albert Howe Gleason, son of Charles Whitney Gleason, was born in Rock Bottom, now Gleasondale (Stow), Massachusetts, April 16, 1867. He attended the grammar and high schools at Hudson, graduating from the latter in 1885. He then spent two years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by a course at Bryant & Stratton's Business College, Boston. In 1889, he went as delegate from Massachusetts to the first World's Sunday School Convention in London and continued the trip, visiting parts of Eng- land, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. In 1890 he was a delegate to the
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International Sunday School Association Con- vention at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1886, at the age of nineteen, he was elected superin- tendent of the Gleasondale Methodist Sunday school, and held the office since with excep- tion of three years, that he declined re-elec- tion.
For about nine years he was in the woolen mill of C. W. & A. D. Gleason. At times he had personal charge of different departments, including the dyeing, pattern work, shipping and other lines of work, and representing his father's interests during the latter's illness. He left when his father retired from the firm in 1899. He then went to Boston and engaged in lines of work relating to the brick and clay industry, at present doing the work of con- sulting engineer in the designing and construc- tion of plants in New England and Eastern Canada, with business connections in Dayton, Ohio.
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