USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume III > Part 95
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build up opposite his own home, but he be- lieved in helping his neighbor to build up op- posite his as well. The man's conception of the Christian spirit and the magnificent com- pass of his obligations is illustrated in the en- couragement he extended to Rev. William Howe, D. D., when a student at Newton in 1833, whom he helped financially, and by his counsel inspired to begin that magnificent mission work in Boston, which contributed to the formation of Tremont Temple, and quick- ened and stimulated other churches; and it is further shown in his watchful care for young Lyman Jewett, who afterward became one of the greatest of our missionaries. Thus Dea- con Converse realized that the child of God was called to embrace not only his own city, but the world, in his sympathies and benefac- tions; and this spirit in him was recognized at an early day, and consequently he was ap- pealed to by feeble churches, infant colleges, and debt-burdened seminaries all over the land, probably more frequently than any other layman of his generation; and was chosen to serve the Missionary Union on its executive committee, which he did for many years, helping it by advice and money in more than one crisis of its history. The num- ber and value of his gifts to the Baptist de- nomination are not easy to compute. Were all of his gifts collected into one sum the total amount given in his life would probably largely transcend the donations bequeathed by others-with a rare exception here and there-in their death. Struggling institutions of learning in the west and south, innumer- able school buildings he never saw, and church edifices he never entered; and, in ad- dition, youths educated and endowments en- riched, bear witness to his liberality. From Boston to Grand Rapids, from Grand Rapids to Chicago, and from Chicago to destitute home fields and far-off heathen desolation, his money was sent on its enlightening and evan- gelizing ministry. And among those who are entitled, therefore, to rank as the real bene- factors of our denomination, Deacon J. W. Converse occupies a leading position.
"When the Tremont Temple enterprise was first projected, its avowed leader, Deacon Timothy Gilbert, relied largely on the judg- ment and on the open purse of his brother. Indeed, much of the financial responsibility was assumed by Deacon Converse, and notes which he paid for the infant society yet ex- tant prove the depth of his interest. When hours of trial came he did not lose heart, and in financial emergencies the assistance of his
credit was not withheld. As his business foresight and pecuniary aid helped in securing the Merrimac street property, so they were both engaged in the purchase and preserva- tion of the Temple property. From the first to the day of his death he thoroughly believed in the mission of the "Strangers' Sabbath Home," and in the duty of the denomination to see it established on sure and abiding foundations. When he was a member of the Temple Church, his liberality was proverbial. His rule was to give twice as much for every object as the richest of his brethren donated, and always so modestly that hardly anyone knew about it. Had he survived to see the new Temple, he would have been the most generous of its benefactors. But after the fire and during the rebuilding, he was too feeble for me to make the subject of money the theme of our conversation; and, moreover, I knew from my long intimacy with him that if he bequeathed not a single dollar, his bene- factions had been so generous, extensive and varied when in health, that he might well be saved from applications of the kind when in sickness and on the threshold of dissolution. What he did not live to accomplish, his brother, Hon. Elisha S. Converse, and his children, Mr. Costello C. Converse and Mrs. Isaac W. Chick, in the best spirit of their father, have done for him and in his name; and if this great property has been able to diminish its mortgage debt to a safe, if not an altogether satisfactory limit, it is mainly due to their liberality."
He married, in Boston, September 5, 1833, Emeline Coolidge, daughter of Nathan and Nabby (Shepard) Coolidge. Children: I. James W., Jr., born January 9, 1844. 2. Cos- tello, born September 22, 1848. 3. Emma Maria, born March 28, 1851.
(XI) Sarah Converse, daughter of Elisha Converse (10), born in Thompson, June 22, 18II; died in Thompson, June 24, 1850; mar- ried November 15, 1835, James Hill, who was born December 14, 1795, and died January 29, 1875. She was a member of the Baptist church, and an earnest and active Christian. The lineage of her husand, James Hill (8); Ebenezer (7); James (6); Captain Caleb of Douglas, Massachusetts (5); Ephraim (4): Samuel (3); John (2); John Hill (1), of Ply- mouth, Massachusetts, who settled there be- fore 1630. Children: I. James Hill, Jr., born November 6, 1836; died August 26, 1838. 2. Rev. James F. Hill, born in Thompson, Au- gust 12, 1839: married August 9, 1866, Lucy Smith Burge, of South Jackson, Michigan;
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united with Second Baptist Church, Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, 1855; graduated at Kalamazoo College (Michigan) in 1863, re- ceiving an A. M. later; graduated at Theolog- ical Seminary at Rochester, New York, in 1866; ordained pastor of the Baptist church, at Norwalk, Ohio, September 4, 1866, remain- ing some four years; then settled over the church at Muskegon, Michigan, and remained until after 1885, and now presides over the church at Big Rapids, Michigan; child, Frank Burge, born at Norwalk, Ohio, January 18, 1870. 2. William G. Hill, born in Thompson, October 15, 1840; married Kate C., daughter of Charles G. and Elizabeth Thompson, at Richmond, Virginia, November 20, 1867; he is engaged in the leather business; children: i. Beatrice C. Hill, born at Richmond, Sep- tember 28, 1868, died March 1, 1869; ii. Will- iam G. Hill, Jr., born July 10, 1871, at East Cambridge, Massachusetts; iii. Clarence Ed- ward Hill, born June 8, 1876, at Malden, Mas- sachusetts. 4. Rowland Hill, born February I, 1843; died March 29, 1844. 5. Betsey Maria Hill, born June 20, 1847; died July 29, 1870; was adopted by her grandmother, Mrs. Elisha Converse, and took the name of Con- verse. 6. Nelson B. Hill, born June 13, 1850; died August 22, 1850.
(XI) Emeline Converse, daughter of Eli- sha Converse (10), was born in Needham, Massachusetts, October 25, 1817; married November 26, 1846, Jeremiah L. Williams, at Woodstock, Connecticut; resides at Mal- den, Massachusetts; member of the Baptist church. Mr. Williams was a man of unblem- ished character, a consistent member of the Baptist church, and highly respected by his townsmen. He died November 20, 1872, after some years of ill health, and is buried in the Wyoming cemetery, Melrose. Children: I. Andrew Williams, born October 19, 1847; died May 25, 1853. 2. John N. Williams, born at Woodstock, Connecticut, March 31, 1849; married December 22, 1870,Caroline J., daughter of Joseph and Phebe C. Bickford, of Thompson, Connecticut; resides in Malden, and has been for many years connected with the Boston Rubber Shoe Company; children : i. Lena Williams, born October 6, 1871; ii. Elisha S. Williams, born June 18, 1873; iii. Frank B. Williams, born August 28, 1876; iv. John N. Williams, Jr., born August 10, 1880, died September 10, 1880; v. Florence Alice Williams, born September 18, 1884. 3. Al- mira Williams, born April 23, 1851; died Sep- tember 2, 1852. 4. Judson Williams, born April 14, 1853, in Ashland, Massachusetts, as-
sociated many years with Hon. E. S. Con- verse in his rubber boot and shoe business, and held a prominent position in the manage- ment of the company.
(XI) Hon. Elisha Slade Converse, son of Elisha Converse (10), was born in Needham, Massachusetts, July 28, 1820. His parents re- moved to Woodstock, Connecticut, in 1824, and he was brought up there with all the ad- vantages that accompanied rural life in New England at that time, including excellent re- ligious training and daily manual labor on the farm, whence he drew practical lessons in in- dustry and frugality. When he was twelve years old his parents removed to Mechanics- ville, Connecticut, where he worked for most a year in the cotton factory, and attended school during the brief terms. In April, 1833; he removed to Boston, and lived there with his brother, Deacon James W. Converse, for a short time, and attended the McLean School. During this period he was admitted as a mem- ber of the Federal Street Baptist Church by letter from the Brandy Hill Baptist Church of Thompson. He subsequently went to live with his sister, Mrs. Maria (Converse) Butler, then living at the corner of Broadway and Dorches- ter avenue, South Boston, and was employed by her husband, Aaron Butler, in his general store. He remained with Mr. Butler until the latter removed to Troy, New York, in 1836, and then returned to the home of his parents in Woodstock, Connecticut, where he attended school and worked on a farm until he was sev- enteen years old. At this age he removed to '1 nompson, and engaged to work two years for Albert G. Whipple to learn the clothier's trade. In 1839, in partnership with Albert G. Whip- ple, of Thompson, he first became actively en- gaged in business on his own account. This business so prospered that the firm soon es -. tablished a branch store at Webster, Massa- chusetts, a town about five miles north of Thompson Center. This branch was under the sole management of Mr. Converse, and also prospered. In about a year after his marriage, having closed out his business in Webster and in Thompson, they moved to Boston, where he immediately formed a co-partnership with Benjamin Poland and carried on a wholesale boot, shoe and leather business, 36 North Mar- ket street, under the firm name of Poland & Converse. This firm soon took on the addi- tional business of manufacturing and dealing in dyestuffs, spices, etc., purchasing and operating the so-called "Red Mills," in Stoneham, Mas- sachusetts, three-quarters of a mile west of the present Wyoming station of the Boston &
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Maine railroad. To this charming spot, in 1847, Mr. and Mrs. Converse removed, and again set up their household gods. Septem- ber 5, 1847, both united with the Baptist church of Malden. In those days there was no road between the "Red Mills" and Melrose, and the only way to drive between was via Malden. Beautiful as was the location at the Red Mills, it was a bit isolated, and in winter lonesome for Mrs. Converse, so in 1850 they moved again and made their home on Linden Court, later called Linden avenue, Malden, whence they moved in 1860 to the mansion of their later years. He acquired a large tract of land on what was after 1870 the border line between Malden and Everett, which was in- corporated that year.
In 1849 Poland & Converse dissolved part- nership, and Mr. Converse went into company with John Robson, under the firm name of Converse & Robson, continuing the same busi- ness at the Red Mills, with offices at 34 North Market street, Boston. During the year 1853 he dissolved the partnership with Mr. Robson. He had secured an interest in the Malden Man- ufacturing Company, through the regular channels of trade, and in 1855 accepted the of- fice of treasurer of the corporation, the busi- ness being reorganized at that time and the name changed to Boston Rubber Shoe Com- pany, which has since acquired a world-wide fame. Through the persistent solicitation of the other directors of this concern he was in- duced to sell his interests in the shoe and leather and other business in Boston, and de- vote all his time and ability to the manufacture of rubber shoes in Malden. He became buyer and selling agent as well as treasurer and established stores, wholesale and retail, to dis- pose of the product of the factory, not only in Boston but in all the large cities of the country, the factories and stores being all under his care. His authority and judgment were fol- lowed to the letter, and the great success of the business was in large measure a personal suc- cess for Mr. Converse. His business affairs prospered exceedingly and he became a man of great wealth and influence in the financial world. He was the founder and president of the First National Bank of Malden; president of the Rubber Manufacturers' Mutual Insur- ance Company; of the Standard Stave and Cooperage Company; director of the Ex- change National Bank of Boston ; a trustee of the Five Cents Savings Bank, of the Malden Public Library, of the Soldiers' Home at Chel- sea ; president of the Malden Hospital Board ; and one of the trustees of Wellesley College.
At the time Malden was incorporated as a city, in 1882, he was unanimously elected first mayor. His administration was signally suc- cessful. He laid down the lines which have been followed since with great growth in the population and assessed valuation. He lived to see the city have a population of thirty thou- sand souls, and to see the total valuation for purposes of taxation over twenty million dol- lars. The building which he and his wife gave to the city for the Free Public Library was erected in memory of their son. He also gave the city the land upon which the city hospital is built, and contributed the sum of twenty thousand dollars for hospital purposes, besides his very valuable services as president of the board. He represented his district in the gen- eral court in 1878 and 1879, and was state sen- ator for 1880 and 1881. He was a Republican. He was an earnest and devout member and liberal supporter of the First Baptist Church of Malden and held various offices in that church.
Mr. Converse died January 5, 1904. A memorial service at which Mayor Charles L. Dean presided was held by the city, Decem- ber 14, 1904. The meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. Charles H. Moss. Judge Wil- liam Schofield, in his tribute to the character of Mr. Converse, spoke especially of the Con- verse Memorial Building. "In April, 1885," he said, "the legislature passed an act by which the trustees then in office were incorporated as the Malden Public Library. *
* * This charter was enacted subject to the acceptance by the city council. A number of citizens ob- jected to this manner of selecting trustees as undemocratic, and to the transfer of city prop- erty to the corporation. A somewhat heated discussion was begun, and finally under a use- ful provision in our city charter a public meet- ing was called. The meeting was held early in July, 1885, in the old skating rink; the hall was filled to the doors, about 1,500 men being present. Mr. Converse said : 'No one of you, fellow-citizens, can regret more than myself that I have been the cause of strife amongst you. I do not intend to discuss the question or to answer the arguments presented by Judge Pettingill, and do not propose to force upon Malden this building which has been erected for the purpose of a public library. Some of you would like to know why the building has been erected. For several years my wife and I have considered the plan of doing something for Malden without regard to nationality, sex or creed ; it was to be a memorial to him who passed away from this earthly home twenty-
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three years ago. I sought the best advisers I could find, some lawyers, but none of them judges. Everyone told me to keep the build- ing out of politics, and out of politics it is going to be kept. I called upon the mayor, and I laid before him my views of the matter ; I said I wanted to have the best I could for the citi- zens of Malden. A charter was prepared which was believed to be too strong, and it was changed to what it is at present. I have had it thrown at my face that I didn't know what I wanted, but I am the father of that charter, and mean to stand by it; and if I have any standing in business I stake my whole reputation on that charter. It is right, every word of it. If in five years this time you shall not say that I am right, you may excommuni- cate me from your midst.' The vote to accept followed without a dissenting vote." Judge Schofield continued: "To have acquired a great fortune as he did by years of effort, proves him to have been a man of sound judg - ment in business affairs. To give away a for- tune wisely requires almost equal ability, al- though of a different kind. * So, al- though Deacon Converse is dead, he lives and works among us in the Public Library, in the Malden Hospital, in the Home for Aged Per- sons, in the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, and in all the institutions founded or aided by his benevolence and guided or assist- ed by his sound, practical sense and wisdom. * *
* He was by nature a public-spirited man. When Malden was a town, he was ac- tive in public affairs. Those who search our annals in the early days of the civil war, when committees of citizens all over the land were straining every nerve to raise money and men to defend the Union, will find that in Malden, Deacon Converse was a leading spirit, if not the foremost in that great work.
* * While in the senate he was chairman of the important committee on banks and banking, and during his service in the legislature was also on the committees on manufactures, on parishes and religious societies, and on a joint special committee, which seems to have been important in those days, on the Hoosac Tun- nel and Troy & Greenfield railroad. . In 1881, while Mr. Converse was in the senate, an act was passed making Malden a city. * * He was fortunate in another respect. Many men of wealth and education, well fitted by training and ability to render most valuable public service, are not acceptable to the voters because they have not a certain democracy of manner which a democratic community likes to see in its public men. Deacon Converse had
this democratic manner. He recognized with- out effort the fundamental equality of men ; he was courteous to his office boy ; he made all men feel that he regarded himself as a plain citizen, *
* * There is another quality more important than all others in determining the value of public work, and that is the spirit in which it is done. In his inaugural, by way of summary, he said: 'In short, we are to administer the affairs of the city with the same care we exercise in the management of our own private business.' No better motto could be placed over the doors of the city hall than this sentence from the inaugural of the first mayor. After his term he retired to private life, and continued to the time of his death to make his an influence felt in the intellectual and moral life of the city. Disappointment did not sour him. He was nominated for con- gress in 1884, but accepted defeat with an even mind, such as Horace commends, and kept right on doing good to the hour of his death. At the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Malden, in which he was unable to take an ac- tive part, he sent a response to the toast 'The Industries and Wealth of Malden,' which was read by the toastmaster. One passage is very affecting: 'Though this was not my birth- place,' he wrote, 'Malden has been the home of my life, and is endeared to me by many sad and many happy memories. In the midst of her people I have met all the varied joys and sorrows which come to the life of man. In the many friendships which have come to me here I have found inspiration and strength. I feel all the loyalty to the good old town that a na- tive can feel.' "
Rev. Richard Nagle, in the course of an eloquent eulogy, said : "No, it was not because he was a rich, successful man that we do him honor and give praise to-night, but because he. was a good man, a man of honor, conscientious, just, charitable, modest and kind-hearted. In times when the industrial world was filled with wars and rumors of wars, he knew how to dwell in peace and harmony with his little army of working people, a peace founded on mutual respect, good will, justice and charity. * *
That Mr. Converse was conscious of the re- sponsibilities of his stewardship as the possessor of great wealth, was often shown by his gen- erous gifts to many good causes. A consider- able portion of his income was devoted to the public good ; for generations to come the hos- pital which he founded will be a benefaction in this community. * *
* His great influence was always given for the cause of human brotherhood, and I believe it is owing largely
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to his splendid example that our community is so free from the blight of narrow prejudice and bigotry. * The influence of imi- tation is strong in human nature, hence the force of example, be it good or bad; and the example of men like Mr. Converse living a modest, unostentatious, but earnest, public- spirited life, has been and for long years to come will continue to be a power for good, not only in our immediate neighborhood, but wherever his upright, manly life was known, admired and loved."
Hon. John D. Long, former governor of Massachusetts, and ex-secretary of the navy, spoke particularly of the simplicity of life and character of Deacon Converse. He said: "In him was the very exemplification of the simple life-in the days of his youth, in the days of his struggles, in the days of his achievements ; in the days of his poverty, and not less in the days of his accumulated wealth. *
* He was simple in his home-that exquisite home, which is as idyllic as the sweetest poem that was ever written. I love to think of the early days of the Connecticut village where he lived, the home a mile or two away where lived the sweet girl whom he loved and married, and who with him made that beatific domestic circle, to which Judge Schofield has so beauti- fully referred. Could there be anything in the way of the simple life more typical than that home relation? Was there any other example there except that of the sweetest, simplest love between husband and wife, which afterward distilled into the love for children-for sons and for daughters, and for the family circle ? * The same simplicity went into his business, and there too, young men, is an ex- ample for you. It was simple fidelity, industry and accomplishment of the thing in hand, whether it was work on the farm or, a little later, the work as clerk in the store, or, a little later still, the assumption of the business of the merchant, or later the important office of superintendent of the rubber works then start- ing in this community. There was always the same steady, assiduous attention to the busi- ness in hand; there was no wasting of time or of material; there was no flinching from the task ; there was no uncertainty in questioning whether some other calling in life were not better ; but the work at hand was done, and every day was a step forward and upward. There was no 'frenzied finance' in his com- position or in his career ; he had not only the ability to accumulate and make money, but also to keep it, and keep the ball rolling, be- cause he relied upon fundamental principles,
upon industry, and not upon speculation. There was simplicity in the management of his busi- ness and in his relations to his fellow-men. He was an example of the true democracy. He lived simply with his neighbors, his friends, the people whom he employed, the business people with whom he associated. His yea was yea, and his nay was nay. He was absolutely, as Father Nagle has suggested, sincere, true as the needle to the pole; although wealth and honors came, it was still the same simple man. He was simple in his charities. They were sometimes so broad that the right hand could not help knowing what the left had done, but there were unnumbered others of which the words of the proverb were true. You have been told of the scene when in later life he gave up vouchers of indebtedness represent- ing tens of thousands of dollars-of throwing them into the fire because they were for loans which he had made to those who could not re- pay, and whom his only purpose was to assist. Beyond number, too, are the churches and in- stitutions of learning throughout the com- munity that are indebted to him. * * So * it was that to institutions of education and of charity and of religion, of all denominations, as well as to individuals everywhere, there went out the great charity of his heart, which recognized its simple relation to the brother- hood of men. What makes a man great? Is it because two of three years of his life he has served on the battlefield and shed blood and won a victory? Is it because some time he has made a great speech, or at another time has written a verse of poetry that has become a household word? Is it not a great thing to live a long, useful, efficient advancing benefi- cent life ? That is what Mr. Converse did and in that respect he was a great man. * His spirit still lives, especially in your com- munity. It is for you to cherish it, and thereby pay the best tribute to him and to his life-a life so long, so simple, even to the end, as some of you remember who saw him in those last days, with his serene face, children still clinging to his knee ; he still interested in good deeds and thoughts ; still interested in the char- ities which he had established ; still interested in the fortunes and the welfare of his em- ployees and neighbors. Fitting it is that Mal- den should pay him this honor. And happy am I who was associated with him many years in a cordial personal relationship-happy am I that I can join here and now in giving testi- mony to the example of his true, noble and simple life."
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