History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 99

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818

USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 99

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Thus the measure of his days has been filled out in usefulness to others as well as in the care of him- self and his ; and whether in public or in private life, in the community as a citizen or as an officer in church, town, or State, at home or abroad, in the house or by the way, he has been faithful to the trusts committed to him ; has shown marked ability in the execution of his numerous and diversified duties, and has merited, as he has received, from a grateful com- munity the "good name" which "is rather to be chosen than great riches."

Mr. Earl was married in Fall River, in 1830, to Miss Nancy Simmons, eldest daughter of Capt. Nathan B. Simmons, then of Tiverton, R. I. They have had a family of six children, two of whom died in infancy, and four of whom are still living, two sons and two daughters. In November, 1880, it com- ing to the knowledge of their church associates that the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding would occur early in the month of December of that year, ar- rangements were quietly made, and much to the sur- prise of the venerable couple, they were invited to celebrate their golden wedding in the parlors of the New Central Church, on the evening of December 2d. A large gathering of old acquaintances, inter- spersed with many of a younger generation, graced the happy gathering. Their pastor, the Rev. M. Burnham, made a congratulatory address, and placed in their hands an elegant solid silver vase, suitably inscribed as a memorial of the occasion.

A lady friend voiced some of their earlier life ex- periences in poetical form, while the young men of the congregation brought forward a staff of life in the shape of a substantial gold-headed cane of black ebony. Mr. Earl made a characteristically modest and happy response in receiving these good wishes and elegant and costly tokens of esteem, and ac- knowledged with heart-felt gratitude the leadings of Divine Providence in all these long years of resi- dence and service in the home of his adoption, to- gether with the measure of temporal prosperity which had attended them.

Two years later, in July, 1882, he was seized with a severe and what appeared at first to be a fatal ill- ness. For some months previous his eyesight had been failing, and now the disease culminated in a partial paralysis of the optic nerve, together with a general weakness of body, which seemed to indicate a breaking down of the hitherto vigorous and healthy

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constitution. But though prostrate at length upon a bed of sickness, from which he has never risen, and for the past few months shut out from the blessed sunlight by the total loss of vision, he has, neverthe- less, retained his courageous spirit and happy, hopeful disposition. Clear in mind, while weak in body, he has found his faith sustained and strengthened in the promises of Him whose coming he awaits with the calmness of a Christian's hope and trust, and whether the time be long or short he has the assurance within of receiving his Master's salutation, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

JEFFERSON BORDEN.

Jefferson Borden, the oldest living person of the residents of Fall River who have been identified with the inception, growth, and the present established supremacy of its distinctive industry, was born on the 28th of February, 1801, in the then village of Freetown. He was the twelfth of thirteen children of Thomas Borden, in the fourth generation from John Borden, the founder of the family in Fall River. His father's farm was situated in the east part of the village, comprising a tract upon which have since been erected the Richard Borden, Chace, and other mills. Jefferson worked on the farm, going to school regularly as the local season commenced, until September, 1816, when, in his sixteenth year, he left home for the first time, and obtained a position as clerk in the provision-store of William Valentine, in Provi- dence. In 1819 he returned to Fall River, thoroughly educated in the routine details of a business of trade and barter, but already entertaining the ambitious vision of a commercial career that would recog- nize no limits of its operations. His brother Richard, six years his senior, was running the craft " Irene and Betsey" in trading trips, in connection with his grist- mill, located on the lower stream. For the ensuing year Jefferson, when not absolutely needed on the farm, joined Richard in the sloop expeditions to Conanicut and Prudence. In 1820 the two brothers bought out the small store of Holder Borden, and Jefferson was put in to conduct the business. In 1821, upon the organization of the iron-works enter- prise, he was chosen clerk of the establishment. He retained this position till September of the following year, when the company opened a warehouse and salesroom in Providence, and the business experience and proclivities he had already demonstrated pointed him out as the most eligible representative of the grow- ing industry. Mr. Borden was a few months over his majority when he undertook the office of agent of the company at Providence, but the shrewd, sagacious promoters of the iron-works knew they had chosen the right man for the place. The event amply proved the correctness of their judgment, the agent's wise, systematic control really directing the home produc-

tion of the company, while his keen perception and clever manipulation of the market constantly ex- tended the field of its operations throughout the Union.

For fifteen years Jefferson Borden remained at his place in Providence. In 1837 the ill health of his cousin Holder made a vacancy in the management of the American Print-Works, and he was recalled to Fall River.

While in Providence, Mr. Borden had a high posi- tion as a business man, and was associated with the men who were then the leaders in business affairs. He is at present probably the last survivor of the board of directors of the old United States Branch Bank, and after that was abolished by Gen. Jackson, was a member of the board of directors of the Black- stone Canal Bank until he removed to Fall River.

For thirty-nine years Mr. Borden was the executive officer and managing agent of the print-works, re- tiring from active control only during the spring of the present year. He assumed the position at a period which will not be forgotten in financial annals as the extreme test of industrial and commercial en- durance. No panic has been more severe and no de- pression of business more general than that of 1837, and its distressing stringency upon all elements of recuperative life was greater than it could ever again be, in the degree that all industry and enterprise was comparatively immature, the country itself lacking the great elasticity it now possesses in the wonderful development of its natural and productive resources. To undertake the work of carrying a great establish- ment successfully through such a period of embarrass- ment on every hand was a terrible trial of a business man's best powers, and it is undoubtedly safe to say that when an all-wise Providence removed Holder Borden, the projector and worker, from the control and direction of the enterprise, the only person thor- oughly fitted for the exigency by experience and managing power, and probably superior to Holder in his approved financial ability and estimation among capitalists, was wisely and fortunately chosen.

His well-known reputation for business capacity in Providence was of great assistance in overcoming the difficulties at this most trying period, when not only was there great stricture in the money market, but several of the accredited agents of the company failed.

During the panic of 1857 also Mr. Borden's finan- cial ability was severely tested, and at that time also some of the agents failed. Then, however, Mr. Bor- den was for weeks confined to his bed by sickness when the difficulties were greatest, but he still con- ducted his correspondence, dictating to a confidential clerk the replies to his letters, and directing all his business affairs.

Upon the destruction of the American Print-Works by fire in 1867, Mr. Borden's extraordinary capacity for recuperation and support through a most trying period was again in forced requisition. The rapid

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restoration of the establishment in all its operative powers was truly remarkable. The eyes of all were able to observe with startled wonder the immediate re-erection of the great structure, the spacious rec- tangle of solid granite going up almost like the Khan's palace in Coleridge's phantasy, and the huge engines and machines reassuming their old places with a con- current promptness; yet few appreciated or even guessed that greater difficulties than these mere mate -. rial matters, difficulties calling for rare credit and un- questioned responsibility, had been met and overcome.

Since his return to Fall River, Jefferson Borden has been largely concerned in the various enterprises that have marked the progress of the city. A partner of the deceased Col. Richard in the important special undertakings of his later years, he was with him in- terested in the old Bay State Steamboat Company (of which he at one time owned three-fifths of the stock), the Fall River Railroad Company, the Borden Mining Company, and other extensive operations.

Another great trust which should be noted in con- nection with Mr. Jefferson Borden's business career is the management of the Valentine estate as trustee since 1839, at first in connection with Maj. Bradford Durfee, and later with Mr. Philip D. Borden. An eminent probate judge has said that there is scarcely another such case on record of an estate which at its first appraised valuation was less than two hundred thousand dollars, and from which there has already been divided more than ten times that amount among the different heirs as they became of legal age, besides providing for their support in the mean time.

Mr. Borden's retirement from immediate connection with active business has not severed his close relation to the earnest life and progress of his native city. He is still president of the Fall River Iron-Works Com- pany, the Fall River Bleachery, the American Linen Company, the Troy Cotton and Woolen Company, director in Borden Mining Company, the Annawan Manufacturing Company, the Fall River Machine Company, Fall River and Providence Steamboat Company, the Metacomet Manufacturing Company, Fall River Iron-Works, and Fall River Gas Com- pany. He has also been for many years a trustee of Brown University, and until the weight of years made it impossible to attend to the business was an active member of the executive committee of that body, and officially concerned in other business or- ganizations. His long life, full from the start of honest purpose, intense application, and constantly hopeful energy, claims for him at last exemption from the cares of business routine, and Providence has yielded to its declining years the blessings such careers worthily demand,-competence, the serene joy of a beautiful home, and the affectionate esteem of the community.

DR. NATHAN DURFEE.

Dr. Nathan Durfee was born in Fall River, then Freetown, in 1799. He was a graduate (with his brother Thomas R.) of Brown University in 1824, they being the first college graduates from this town. He studied medicine, and received the degree of M.D. at Harvard University, but the practice of the profession was not suited to his tastes, and he con- tinued in it but a brief period of time. He opened a drug-store on what is now Central Street, a little distance west of Main, erecting for this purpose the first brick building in the township. It was very small, but was then remarkable for its neatness and beauty, and its adaptedness to the use for which it was constructed. This he occupied until the erection of his brick dwelling-house on the corner of Bank and North Main Streets, where the Narragansett Hotel now stands. The first story of this house he occu- pied for his store until he gave up the business, after a brief experience in it.

He soon discovered an interest in the growing in- dustries of the place, and though not entering directly upon the management of any one business, was asso- ciated with others in the general direction of many new enterprises coincident with the progress of Fall River. In this way he became a director in the Fall River Iron-Works, American Print-Works, the old. Fall River Railroad, and the Cape Cod Railroad; was one of the proprietors of the Bay State Steam- boat Line; was largely interested in several of the banks, and in later years entered heartily into the new manufacturing projects of the city, and at his death was director in at least seven of the corporations and president of three. In earlier times, as a mer- cantile venture, he embarked in the whaling business, fitting out, in company with other persons at this port, several vessels for the whale fishery, and estab- lishing oil-works. The venture did not prove very successful, however, and was. finally abandoned. A more successful enterprise was a flour-mill, which did an extensive business for many years. He was prin- cipal owner of the Massasoit Steam Mill, for the man- ufacture of print cloths, which were destroyed by fire in 1875.

Besides filling various municipal offices, Dr. Dur- fee was a representative to the General Court for sev- eral years, and was always one of the most public- spirited of citizens. After the "great fire" he erected the Mount Hope Block for a public-house, not as a profitable investment, but to give character and respectability to the then growing town.

Dr. Durfee was a large land proprietor, owning nearly one thousand acres, a portion of it valuable for real estate purposes, in and about the city.

Besides being for some years the president of the Bristol County Agricultural Society, he was the orig- inator and president for a long period of the Bristol County Central Society, and contributed liberally both of money and zeal to its advancement. He was

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a trustee of the State Agricultural College, and its treasurer until deelining health necessitated his resig- nation. Kind-hearted and genial in his disposition, he was ever ready to help and encourage the unfor- tunate and despondent, the frequent losses sustained by him in his readiness to aid those seeking his as- sistance never chilling his sympathy or preventing his efficient action when again sought by any who needed a helping hand. He was a strong advocate of the cause of temperance, and during the active period of his life was a public and efficient worker in it.

The moral and spiritual welfare of his native town and city was ever prominent in the mind of Dr. Dur- fee, who was one of the earliest projectors of the Sunday-school work, and instrumental in establishing several suburban mission schools. He was closely identified with the Central Congregational Church, being an original member and contributor of one- quarter of the lot upon which the society's first house of worship was erected. Always one of its most ac- tive and efficient members, he took an especially deep interest in its development, and, with the late Col. Richard Borden, furnished a large portion of the funds used in the construction of the new and elegant edifice erected in 1875, and considered one of the most perfect ecclesiastical structures in the country.

He died April 6, 1876.

WILLIAM C. DAVOL.

William C. Davol was born Jan. 5, 1806, in Fall River, and while yet a lad entered the Troy Mill, then just commencing operations. He was made overseer of the spinning in 1819, and superintendent in 1827, a position which he occupied until 1841, when he be- came partner in the firm of Hawes, Marvel & Davol, and engaged in the manufacture of cotton machinery. He was an intimate friend of Holder Borden and Maj. Durfee, and when the latter went to Europe, in 1838, to investigate the improvements in cotton and iron machinery, accompanied him. By letters of in- troduction, a little Yankee ingenuity and persistence, he effected an arrangement with the owners of the Sharp & Roberts self-acting mule, to secure patents for their manufacture in the United States, and the manufacture of cotton and other kinds of machinery from the most approved patterns was entered upon at once by the new firm of Hawes, Marvel & Davol. Mr. Davol soon projected improvements to beautify and perfect the operation and durability of the self- acting mule, and from these patterns built one hun- dred and eighty thousand spindles. In 1847 a new set of patterns were made, which superseded the old, and from which one hundred thousand spindles were soon constructed. In 1852 and in 1854 other new mules were perfected with a combination of improved principles for spinning fine yarn. At the same time Mr. Davol's inventive genius was at work upon other parts of cotton machinery, resulting in patent earders,

speeders, and drawing-frames, by which the produc- tive power was quadrupled. The advantage to any manufacturing community to have among its number one such man cannot well be estimated, and the high opinion of Mr. Davol's practical worth may be gath- ered from the opinion of a well-known cotton manu- facturer, as expressed in the statement that " William C. Davol was worth more to Fall River, for the twenty years succeeding the building of the Metacomet Mill, than all others put together because of his improve- ments in cotton machinery." This is high praise, but is in some respects justified by the statement of another noted manufacturer, who said, " There's more in the man than in the mill."

The Davol Mills, for the manufacture of sheetings, shirtings, silesias, etc., were named after Mr. Davol, who was elected and still holds the position of presi- dent of the corporation.

HON. WILLIAM STEDMAN GREENE.

Hon. William Stedman Greene, ex-mayor of Fall River, was born in Tremont, Tazewell Co., III., April 28, 1841, and removed with his parents to Fall River, Mass., in July, 1844. He was educated in the public schools of the city, and in the autumn of 1856 was employed in a fancy goods and millinery store, but only continued in that occupation six months. In March, 1858, he entered the employ of John P. Slade in the insurance business, and remained with him until May, 1865.

He was married to Mary E. White, of Providence, R. I., in March, 1865, and they have three children, two sons and one daughter. In 1865 and 1866 was engaged in life insurance business in Providence, R. I., Buffalo, N. Y., and New York City.

In June, 1866, returned to Fall River, Mass., and formed a copartnership with his father, transacting business as auctioneers, real-estate, stock, and insur- ance brokers under the name and firm of Greene & Son, of which firm he still remains an active member.

In the fall of 1875, Mr. Greenc was elected a mem- ber of the Common Council from Ward five, and served in that body during the years 1876, '77, '78, '79, and for the last three years named served as president.

He has always been an active Republican, and in 1876 was chosen chairman of the Republican City Committee. An active campaign was entered upon and a canvass of voters made and an estimate of the probable result made, predicting a Republican ma- jority of seven hundred and eighty-seven. The re- sult being that President Hayes had a majority of 861, and the Republicans carried five of the six wards, and gave their senatorial candidate over one thousand majority, and elected their entire represen- tative ticket. In November, 1879, Mr. Greene was nominated by acclamation as the Republican candi- date for mayor, and was elected the following Decem- ber by four hundred and sixty-one majority. In the

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State election on the first Tuesday in November, 1879, the Democratic candidate for Governor carried the city by twelve hundred and fifty-nine majority. In the face of this result the outlook for the election of so outspoken a Republican as Mr. Greene only one month later did not seem promising, but his friends worked actively and with determination, with the successful result before stated.

His administration of the office was marked with firmness and economy. He vetoed two appropriations for three thousand five hundred dollars and two thou- sand five hundred dollars respectively, for the cele- bration of Fourth of July, both of which were sus- tained. He also vetoed an appropriation of seven thousand dollars for a city stable, but this veto was not sustained. During the year an ordinance was prepared under his direction creating the office of superintendent of public buildings and inspector of buildings, establishing a fire district and regulating the construction of buildings throughout the city ; also an ordinance creating the office of city engineer and defining his duties.

In May, 1880, he was chosen an alternate delegate from the First Congressional District to the Republi- can National Convention, holden in Chicago in June, 1880, and was present and participated in the delib- erations of the convention, which resulted in the nomination of Hon. James A. Garfield for the Presi- dency. In November, 1880, was unanimously re- nominated by acclamation by the Republicans as candidate for mayor, and was elected the following December by thirteen hundred and sixty-eight ma- jority. He entered upon his second term in Jan- uary, 1881, and in March, 1881, was appointed post- master by President Garfield, and on the 28th day of March, 1881, resigned the office of mayor, and as- sumed the position of postmaster, April 15, 1881. Under his administration of that office additional mail facilities have been obtained, mail messenger service has been established to and from the railroad depots, the number of letter carriers has been in- creased, and the routes for the collection and delivery of letters have been greatly extended, and few cities are now provided with better mail facilities. He is a member of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, and is superintendent of the Sabbath-school, which position he has held during the past five years. He is also a member of the board of trustees. He is a mem- ber of the Mount Hope Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, Fall River Royal Arch Chapter, and Godfrey De Bouillon Commandery Knights Templar, but has never held any official position in either of these bodies.

Mr. Greene is a public-spirited citizen, and all measures tending to advance the interests of Fall River have found in him an earnest advocate.

E. T. LEONARD.

Ebenezer Turell Leonard was born in Gardner, Mass., July 19, 1812. He commenced the study of medicine under Drs. Perry, Bowditch, Gould, and Wylie, of Boston, and afterwards studied at the Har- vard Medical School, graduating in 1836. He com- menced practice in Weymouth, Mass., in the spring of 1836, and remained there ten years. He removed to Fall River in 1846, and has labored here uninter- ruptedly until the present time. He graduated at Harvard Medical School in 1836. He has held the following offices in the South Massachusetts Medical Society : president two years, and vice-president and councilor two years.

Dr. Leonard is one of the oldest practitioners in the State, and one of Fall River's most honored and esteemed citizens.

HON. JAMES BUFFINTON.

Hon. James Buffinton was born on " Chaloner Hill," in Troy (now Fall River), Mass., March 16, 1817. His parents removed to Swansea, near the village of that name, in his infancy, where the first years of his childhood were passed, and where he commenced at- tending school ; but soon the interests of the family caused their return to his native village, which hence- forward became his home. His earlier years were those of self-denial and constraint, yet all through his boyhood and youth his promptness in thought and independence in action were indicative of the coming man. His parents were members of the So- ciety of Friends, his mother being an approved minister of that body of Christians for many years. She was careful in the training of her youngest born -the subject of this sketch-to inculcate in his mind the love of truth and virtue, to lay a foundation for the principles of honesty and uprightness, and to nurture him in a strict regard for the same.

He attended public and private schools a part of each twelvemonth, until he was some fifteen years of age, when he was sent for two or three terms to the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, R. I., where he made good use of his privileges, and progressed satisfactorily in his studies. Here, as elsewhere, the activity of an irrepressible nature often led him to the front, and in sports and exercises of muscular power and skill he ever showed an ambition to lead. After leaving school he commenced the study of medicine with the late Dr. Thomas Wilbur, pursuing his investigations in this science successfully to the period when he should have attended medical lectures as a finishing step to make him a veritable M.D. Failing to obtain the necessary funds at the proper time satisfactorily to himself, he turned his attention to teaching, and spent two or three years as a precep- tor in public and private schools at Westport, and afterwards in Dartmouth, at or near Padanaram, the southern extremity of the town. Here, from constant

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History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 99

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1818

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1818