USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Marlborough > Historical reminiscences of the early times in Marlborough, Massachusetts : and prominent events from 1860 to 1910, including brief allusions to many individuals and an account of the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town > Part 27
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General Parsons next returned to Auburn, N. Y., where he was engaged as superintendent of a machine shop until he left there for Marlborough in May 1870, where he has since made his home. He at once started the business of building steam engines and machinery in which he has since been successfully engaged, shipping his famous sole leather cutters to shoe manufacturers in every country where modern shoes are made.
In May 1873, he raised in Marlborough a company of militia which was mustered into the 6th Mass. Vols. as Co. E, now Co. F, also known as the Davis Guards. In this he was elected 1st lieutenant Aug. 11, 1873, and captain Jan. 28th, 1876. He was chosen major of the regi- ment April 9th, 1879, lieutenant colonel May 16th, 1884, and colonel
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March 24th, 1890. On Feb. 25th, 1898, by concurrent vote of the House and Senate of the Massachusetts Legislature he was made Brigadier- General in the State militia.
He did not actively enter politics until after the coming of the city charter when he served as councilman four years and alderman four years more. He was next elected to the Massachusetts Senate from the Fifth Senatorial District in 1897 and re-elected in 1898. He has served four years as mayor of this city-in 1905, 1906, 1908 and 1909, a longer service than has honored any other chief executive of the City of Marlborough. General Parsons is a widower and has one son, Chester A., engaged with him in business.
EDWARD F. BROWN, MAYOR 1907.
Edward F. Brown, son of James and Mary (O'Malley) was born in Waltham, in 1865. His parents moved to Marlborough the year follow- ing his birth. After leaving school he worked in the shoe shops for a number of years, then took a position as salesman in a clothing store, eventually becoming proprietor of a clothing store of his own in the Corey building.
He served as Alderman in 1897, was a member of the High School Building Commission. He was a member of the School Committee, 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902. serving as chairman of the board the latter year. He was also chairman of the mercantile committee of the Board of Trade and on the Board of Incorporation of the Marlborough hospital. Mr. Brown is a man of courteous manners and has ever been found of strict probity in his dealings as well as energy and excellent business ability. He married, July 10, 1907, M. Louise Graham, of Dorchester, daughter of John T. and Jane F. (Fallon.)
JOHN J. SHAUGHNESSY, MAYOR 1910.
John J. Shaughnessy was born in Stow, Massachusetts, December 3, 1857. His parents came from Ireland before they were married and settled in Stow, where they have always lived, and both of them are now living.
He attended the public schools in his native town, including the Hale High School which opened in Stow in 1876. After completing
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his studies at the Hale High School, he worked at farming three years, and at the age of twenty he went to work in a Hudson shoe factory. After he had worked there a short time, Mr. F. W. Warren, a promi- nent citizen of Stow, procured the position for him of driving the express that carried the mail from Stow to South Acton, for the postmaster of Stow, John S. Fletcher, and he worked at that position for two years. It was while thus employed that he decided to proceed further with his studies and he devoted his spare time preparing for college. He entered the Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst in the fall of 1883, where he distinguished himself as one of the best mathematicians of his class, of which he was the president during the first year. He remained at that college until his junior year in 1885, when he entered the Har- vard Law School, where he remained until 1887. While at the law school he was a member of the Harvard Union, the leading debating society of the university, and he took a prominent part in the debates of the society. He entered the law office of Hon. W. N. Davenport in 1887 and afterwards entered the law office of Gale & McDonald. On motion of W. B. Gale, Esq., he was admitted to the bar in 1891, and since that time he has had a lucrative law practice, and as a trial lawyer ranks among the best lawyers of the state.
In 1903 he delivered the oration at the old home week celebration of Stow. He was elected on the board of health when Marlborough was a town in 1889 and served on that board for eleven consecutive years. He has been a trustee of the Marlborough hospital for twenty years. He was married to Ellen L. Maher, a school teacher in Springfield, Massa- chusetts, August 6, 1895. He has taken an active part in all matters per- taining to the welfare of Marlborough since he became a citizen of the place, and is an active member of the Board of Trade and also belongs to several organizations of the city. He was elected Mayor of Marlborough for the year 1910, and has the happy faculty of pacifically adjusting momentous affairs in the municipal career of our city, whose best interests he has ever at heart.
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JAMES W. MCDONALD, CITY SOLICITOR.
James W. McDonald was born in Marlborough May 15, 1853, being a son of Michael and Jane (Mulcahy) McDonald, and has always lived in his native place. He received his education in the public schools, and afterwards private tuition. At the end of three years study he was admitted to the bar after passing the examination by the Middlesex Examiners.
For several years he was Town Counsel of Marlborough and has been City Solicitor since the formation of the City Government. His intimate knowledge of the municipal history of the city and its legal affairs, thus derived, has enabled him to render valuable service, notably in matters before the Legislature, and litigation and legal questions con- nected with the public service, such as water works, sewerage system and highways.
For twelve years he was a member of the School Committee, and at the dedication of the present High School building in 1898, delivered an historical address pertaining to the public schools of Marlborough. He was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and served during the session of 1880, being a member of the Committees on Liquor
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Laws and Constitutional Amendments. In 1891 he served in the State Senate from the Fourth Middlesex District, being Chairman of the Com- mittee on Manufactures and a member of the Committees on Constitu- tional Amendments, Probate and Insolvency, the special committee on Congressional Redistricting, and the special committee which sat during the recess on the formation of a general city charter, and which reported a bill adopted by the Legislature of 1892.
Re-elected to the Senate, he served as Chairman of the Committee on Probate and Insolvency, and was a member of the committees on Judiciary, Constitutional Amendments and the special recess committee on the revision of the judicial system of the State. At the close of the session of 1892, he was appointed chairman of the State Board of Gas and Electric Light Commissioners, resigning at that time from the com- mittee on Revision of the Judicial System. During the session of 1891, Mr. McDonald was chairman of the committee that drafted the bill permitting cities and towns to construct and operate their own plants for gas and electric lighting, which was known as the McDonald bill, and which became a law.
In the Fall of 1896, upon the decease of Edward F. Jonnson, Mr. McDonald was appointed Justice of the Police Court, of Marlborough, which office he now holds.
Governor William L. Douglas, being convinced during his term of office that the appointment of a Justice of one of the Courts dealing with juvenile problems would bring to the Board a judgment which would be helpful in the discharge of the duties of the Trustees of the State Lyman School for Boys at Westborough, and the Industrial School for Girls at Lancaster, appointed Justice McDonald as a member of that Board and he still continues to serve in that capacity.
Mr. McDonald was married in 1896 to Miss Mary C. Giblin of Boston, and the union has been blessed with four children.
Mr. McDonald has always maintained an active interest in business, social and fraternal activities. He was one of the original incorporators of the Marlborough hospital ; he is a Director of the Peoples' National Bank, Trustee of the Marlborough Savings Bank, President of the Local Bar Association, member of the Middlesex Bar Association and the Suf- folk Bar Association, Union Club, Knights of Columbus, the Foresters of America, the Charitable Irish Society and the City Club of Boston.
Few, if any, of Marlborough's citizens have been honored with public offices of trust and responsibility to the extent of Mr. McDonald. He is by birth and education a typical specimen of Marlborough's best men, and as such is known and respected throughout the State.
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CHARLES F. ROBINSON, CITY TREASURER.
Charles F. Robinson, City Treasurer, was born in Bedford, Middle- sex County, Massachusetts, September 15, 1844. His early life was spent upon a farm, and at the age of sixteen he graduated from the school of his native town. At the age of seventeen he commenced work in a store in Boston, where he remained about two years, when he enlisted in July, 1864, in Co. D, Sixth Massachusetts volunteers, serving one hundred days.
Immediately following the war, he was employed as a clerk for a coal dealer in Washington, D. C., remaining there about two years when he commenced business for himself as a coal dealer in Natick, Massachu- setts. He sold out his business in Natick and went west in 1869, living several years in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ; Cincinnati, Ohio, and Chicago. Returning again to Massachusetts, he engaged in business as a retail coal dealer about June 1, 1880, in Marlborough, and is still connected with the same business as President of the Marlborough Coal Co.
He was elected City Treasurer in February, 1895, and is now offici- ating for the sixteenth year in that capacity.
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PETER B. MURPHY, CITY CLERK.
Peter B. Murphy, son of John and Catherine (Fleming) Murphy, was born in Cordaville, a village of Southborough, January 15, 1855. After leaving school at the age of sixteen years, he worked for a short time in the carding room of the Cordaville Woolen Mills. He came to Marlborough in 1871 and entered the office of the " Marlboro Mirror," where he learned the printing trade, passing through all the stages from " Printer's Devil " to editor and manager. He married for his first wife Agnes V. Behan, of Newton, by whom he has one son, now manager of the Springfield, Vt., Printing Co., and for his second wife he married Ellen A., daughter of John and Ellen (Barry) Dacey of Marlborough. He was elected Town Clerk in 1882 and has held the office of Town and City Clerk continuously up to the present time. He is a member of Division 16, A. O. H., a charter member of Marlborough Council, Knights of Columbus ; John Boyle O'Reilly Council, Royal Arcanum ; Marlborough Council No. 44, F. of A.
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WILLIAM H. OSGOOD, COLLECTOR OF TAXES.
William H. Osgood, son of William N. and Rebecca N. (Hutchin- son) Osgood, was born in South Danvers, now Peabody, March 14, 1864. He received his education in the public schools, after which he took a course in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, being a member of the class of '85. He came to Marlborough in 1889, where he conducted an extensive laundry business for thirteen years. He was elected to the Common Council in 1901 and 1902, being president of that body until he resigned to become Collector of Taxes, which office he has ably filled up to the present time. He also holds the position of Clerk of Committees. He married Mary L. Allen, November 9, 1892. He is a member of the Unitarian Society, local Masonic bodies and the Mass. Collectors and Treasurers Association.
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CHARLES S. THOMSON, CITY AUDITOR.
Charles S. Thomson, son of Orrin and Lizzie C. (Stone) Thom- son, was born in Holliston, Mass., April 30, 1864. He received his education in the public schools of Holliston and also took a course in the Eastman Business College of New York, graduating as an expert account- ant. He came to Marlborough in 1887 and established a successful business as stationer and newsdealer. He was elected City Auditor in 1909. He married Sadie M. Gross of Hopkinton in 1886. He is Senior Warden of United Brethren Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; High Priest of Houghton Royal Arch Chapter, member of the several Masonic bodies, including the Mass. Consistory 32d ; also a member of the Mass. Audi- tors' Club and Suburban Newsdealers' Association.
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LOUIS N. RICHER, SUPERINTENDENT OF STREETS.
Louis N. Richer, son of Louis and Mary (Dumas) Richer, was born in Brookfield, Mass., March 20, 1872. He lived in Brookfield until five years old, when his parents moved to Spencer, where he received his education in the Spencer public schools. After his school days he entered the shoe shop of Isaac Prouty Co. in Spencer until he became of age ; then moved to South Framingham where he lived until 1897 when he came to Marlborough. Married in 1895 Rose Anna Marchand, of South Framingham, by whom he has eight children. Elected to Board of Aldermen 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908. Ile resigned in 1908 to take the office of Superintendent of Streets and Sewers. Member of the Mass. Highway Association, French Naturalization Club, of which he is presi- dent, French Dramatic Club, Artisans, Board of Trade, and was presi- dent of the Board of Aldermen in 1907.
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GEORGE A. STACY, SUPERINTENDENT OF WATER WORKS.
George Albert Stacy was born in Northborough, Massachusetts, in 1848, son of Albert H., and Mary A. (Bride) Stacy. He attended the public schools until the death of his father, who was killed in the civil war in 1862, after which he worked on a farm, in a cotton mill, and at other occupations until 1865, when he began to serve an apprenticeship at the machinst trade in Winchendon, Massachusetts. He worked as a journeyman machinist in Lowell, Boston, South Boston, Hudson and Marlborough, until 1877. He was the succeding six years chief engineer for the Boyd & Corey Boot and Shoe Manufacturing Company.
In 1883, soon after the construction of the water works was commenced, he was engaged as pumping engineer, later he was appointed chief inspector of the construction work, and in the fall of that year he was appointed superintendent and chief engineer at the pumping station, and he has continued to hold these positions up to the present time.
In 1889 he was elected a member of the Sewer Construction Com- mittee, was the executive officer of that board, and chief inspector of the
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contract work for the construction of the filter beds and trunk line sewer ; also superintendent of construction of the street sewer built by day labor. He served on the Board of Fire Engineers for fifteen years, was elected chief of the department in 1882 ; was also clerk for several terms. He was one of the committee of three elected to purchase and install the fire alarm telegraph system and was its superintendent for three years. He is a Past Master of the United Brethren Lodge, F. and A. M., District Deputy Grand Master of the twenty-first Masonic dis- trict for two years, Past High Priest of Houghton Chapter Royal Arch Masons, a member of Hiram Council of Royal and Select Masters, Trinity Commandery of Knight Templars, Past Chancellor of Marl- borough Lodge Knights of Pythias and was District Deputy for two terms, member of the Improved Order of Red Men, Ancient Order of United Workmen, National Association of Stationary Engineers, Past President of Highland City Association No. 11, N. A. S. E. He is a member of the New England Water Works Association, and was its president in 1895 ; he is also a member of F. C. Curtis Camp Sons of Veterans. In 1898, at the commencement of the Spanish War, he with others, assisted the U. S. army engineers in mining Boston harbor. Mr. Stacy married Harriet Howe Barnes, daughter of the late William and Arathusa R. (Howe) Barnes, of this city.
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TOPOGRAPHY.
Marlborough is situated on the westerly border of the county, bounded on the north by Hudson and a part of Berlin ; on the south by Southborough and a part of Northborough ; on the west by Berlin and Northborough ; east by Sudbury and Framingham. It is 28 miles from Boston and 16 east of Worcester. It is about six miles in length from east to west, and three miles in breadth from north to south. The N. Y., N. H. & H., also the B. & M. railroads run to the city. The whole city consists for the most part of elevated land, Mt. Sligo being the highest, 650 feet above sea level. From this point, on every side, the city presents a scene of pastoral beauty.
The sheet of water called Williams Pond has waters always clear and few lakes of its size give more variety of scenery.
Quoting a versatile pen : "Being situated between the extensive valley of the Sudbury river on the one side, and that of the Assabet on the other, the central part of the place is so elevated that the hills com- mand a prospect of great extent and rare beauty. There are no ragged rocks or broken cliffs, no stagnant pools or rude waterfalls denoting a broken, sterile surface and presenting waste places, but large, regular swells of land, extending from half a mile to a mile, crowded with fresh verdure to their summits, with their slopes waving with forests of fruit trees ; fertile, cultivated valleys, spreading between the hills, adorned with grass and grain of every kind and flowers of every hue, and gentle rills winding through the meadows and marking their course by a fresh green and a belt of more luxuriant growth. These blending in perfect harmony, present a prospect fraught with all that is rich in agriculture and pleasing in rural scenery. But while the immediate view is thus attractive to the eye and grateful to the sense, the distant prospect adds grandeur to the scene. Passing over the glittering spires in several of the neighboring towns and the elevations within their borders, the eye rests upon the Blue Hills in Milton, while the lofty Wachusett in its solitary grandeur, the towering Monadnock with its cloud-capped summit and the various peaks of the mountain ranges of New Hampshire
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rising majestically in the distance, bound and complete the view on the north, west and south. Taken together, the prospect from Marlborough's hills is one of beauty rarely surpassed "
From the elevated site and general character of the town, the inhabi- tants have been and are remarkable for health and longevity. Following is a list of a few of Marlborough's aged citizens now living :
Mrs. M. E. Barnes, S9 years Amos Cotting, 84 years
Mrs. Sidney Gleason, 85 years
Calvin Smith. So years
William Colgan, SI years
Mrs. Julia S. Walker, 87 years
Mrs. Catherine Stevens, 90 years
Charles A. Warren, 81 years
Lafayette Fairbanks, S4 years
Mrs. Phoebe A. Eager, 88 years George L. Jones, 83 years
Mrs. Sarah B. Sanborn, So years
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Stevens, 82 years Samuel E. Dudley, 83 years Mary Coveney, So years
Mrs. Zeviah Barnes, 90 years Mrs. Nancy S. Leland, 85 years Mrs. Dennis Witherbee, 91 years Mrs. Wallace Witherbee, 92 years Mr. Sylvester Bucklin, 94 years Mr. Winslow Warren, 82 years William Barnes. So years Mrs. Catherine Flynn, S2 years Philip Kirby. 84 years Mrs. Ann Kirby, 83 years
Mrs. Lucy B. Wood, 84 years John Creamer, 96 years Mrs. Clarissa Proctor, 83 years Michael Ring, 90 years Mrs. Mary Tighe, 92 years
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CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS.
Marlborough is noted for its social and fraternal organizations and has many clubs that are devoted to benevolence and charity. We give below the principal organizations in the city for the year 1910 :
United Brethren Lodge, A. F. and A. M. ; G. O. Adams, 40 Witherbee street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
Order Eastern Star; Mrs. Hattie Manning, Highland street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
Houghton Royal Arch Chapter ; Charles S. Thomson, West Main street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
Grand Army of the Republic ; George S. Parker, Maple street. Civil War Veterans.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; Caleb Holbrook, 106 Russell street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
Knights of Columbus : F. A. McGill, 14 Huntington avenue. Object : Social and Insurance.
Knights of Pythias ; Reuben F. Leonard, 53 Mechanic street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
Ancient Order of Hibernians ; John A. Cratty, Devens street. Object : Social and Fraternal. Foresters of America; Fred Bertrand, 85 West Main street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
Foresters of America, Circle Laurier, (French) ; Amie Rougeau, 135 Elm street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
Marlborough Grange; F. Howard Brown, Hosmer street. Object : Social and Industrial.
Marlborough Aerie of Eagles, Armas Bonin, 75 State street. Object : Social and Fraternal.
New England Order of Protection ; Lawrence E. Kirby, 32 Kirby street. Object : Insurance.
Marlborough City Provincial Club; W. Aubrey Porter, 96 Shawmut avenue.
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St. Jean Baptiste Society ; Joseph Beaudreau 2nd, 15 Crescent street. Object : Social and Insurance.
Sons of Veterans; William M. Brigham, Brigham street. Object : Patriotism.
Davis Guards ; Major Franklin G. Taylor, Lincoln street. Military.
Mass. Catholic Order of Foresters ; James H. Lyons, 102 Essex street. Object : Social and Insurance.
Legion Spanish War Veterans; Charles F. McCarthy, 64 Florence street. Spanish War Veterans.
Marlborough Council, Royal Arcanum ; William A. Berry, 25 Witherbee street. Object : Social and Insurance.
John Boyle O'Reilly Council Royal Arcanum ; Thomas M. Dacey, 15 East Main street. Object : Social and Insurance.
Ancient Order United Workmen ; Samuel F. Wilson, 40 Harvard street. Object : Fraternal and Insurance.
Marlborough Society Natural History ; George W. Hager, Boston Road. Union Club ; E. Irving Morse, Pleasant street. Social.
Garde d'Honneur, E. Simoneau, Elm street. Semi-Military.
Pontifical Zouaves ; Alex Thivierge, 29 Hayden street. Object : Semi- Military.
French Naturalization Club ; Louis N. Richer, 54 South street. Object : To encourage naturalization.
St. Ann Club, (Italian) ; Michele A. Santella, Wachusett street. Social and Fraternal.
Musicians Union ; Harry E. Brigham, Cotting avenue. Labor Organi- zation.
Chevalier Independent ; Joseph P. Normandin, West Main street. Social.
Umberto Society, (Italian) ; Daniel Santora, 15 West street. Social and Fraternal.
Secour Mutual ; Cyprien Martin, Martin street. Insurance and Fraternal. Dramatic Club ; Louis Farley, 104 Broad street. Social.
Building Trades Council ; Wm. M. Leonard, 155 Mechanic street. Labor Organization.
Boot and Shoe Workers Union; George J. McManamy, 120 Bolton street. Labor Union.
United Shoe Workers of America; John J. Flynn. Labor Organiza- tion.
Vermont Society ; Dr. C. T. Warner, West Main street.
Maine Society ; Wm. L. Waldron, 47 Mechanic street.
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Hibernian Building Association ; Wm. Daley, 69 Maple street. Indus- trial.
Pythian Sisters ; Mrs. Charles C. Hart, 12 Washington court.
Ladies' Relief Corps ; Mrs. Frank W. Sawin, 28 Hildreth street. Rebekahs ; Mrs. Annie Clifford, 124 Prospect street.
Highland Fraternal Lodge ; Ida Bonville, 164 Elm street. Social. Ladies' Auxiliary, A. O. H. ; Miss Josephine O'Brien, 45 Washington street. Social and Fraternal.
Daughters of Veterans ; Mrs. Fred A. Trull, 18 Church street.
Daughters of American Revolution; Mrs. Fred Fay, 40 Witherbee street.
Golden Star ; Mrs. Ella Butler, 106 Brimsmead street.
Woman's Club ; Mrs. D. H. Fletcher, 40 Pleasant street. Social and Literary.
Newman Club ; Miss Anna Hyde, Florence court. Social and Literary. Colonial Club ; Mrs. C. L. Cutler, Jr., 51 Main street. Social and Literary.
Semi-Colon Club ; Mrs. F. W. Sawin, 18 Hildreth street, Social and Literary.
Tuesday Club ; Mrs. J. F. J. Otterson, 20 Witherbee street. Social and Literary.
Jeanne d'Arc Circle ; Miss Ludovine Durand, Versailles street.
White Cross Guild ; Mrs. Etta McNally, Chestnut street. Charity. Union St. Jean Baptiste ; F. Remi Moineau, 130 Broad street. Social. Artisans ; Emilian Bergeron, 364 Lakeside avenue.
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EVENTS OF INTEREST.
February 5, 1676. The English troops reached Marlborough. Their provisions failing, they turned down to Boston, leaving the field to the ravages of the Indians.
The meeting house built in 1688-9 stood only about 23 years, up to 1711.
April 8, 1706. A new cemetery in Marlborough. At a meeting of the proprietors it was ordered, granted and concluded that the land exchanged with John Perry, the tailor, two and one-half acres, adjoining the meeting house land, "shall be for a Praying Place and a Burying Place forever. " The town wanted part of the land to build a meeting house upon, and five years afterward, in 1711, they did erect a meeting house on the spot where now stands the High School building.
1761 was a remarkable year in Marlborough. March 19, earth- quake ; October 23, remarkable wind ; September 30, dandelions in full bloom ; November 1, earthquake.
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