USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1630-1913 > Part 24
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At the opening of the campaign of 1865 under General Grant, he was appointed surgeon-in- chief of all General Sheridan's First Cavalry
Division, and was with Sheridan in his "colos- sal raid" from Winchester to Petersburg, and in the Battle of Five Forks and other battles until the surrender of the enemy at Appomatox Court House, April 9, 1865.
During his four years' service, the war records show unmistakably that he participated in ninety-two (92) battles and engagements with the enemy. He was commissioned at the close of the war, on recommendation of his superior officers, brevet-lieutenant colonel
Dr. A. P. CLARKE
and colonel of volunteers for faithful and meri- torious conduct during his term of service.
Dr. Clarke next spent some time in study at the medical schools and hospitals in London, Paris and Leipzig, returning in 1866 to Cam- bridge, where he soon established himself in practice of his profession and where he resided.
He was a member of the Massachusetts Medi- cal Society; of the American Academy of Medi- cine, and was the chairman of the committee of arrangements at its meeting in Boston, 1906; member of the American Medical Association,
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and was vice-president of that body, now numbering seventy-five thousand members, in 1895-96, and was chairman of the section on physiology, 1897. He was vice-president of the Pan-American Medical Congress, at its meeting at Mexico City, Mexico, 1896. He was elected by the Russian Board, honorary presi- dent of the XII International Medical Congress held at Moscow, Russia, by invitation of his August Majesty, the Czar of Russia, 1897. He was also honored in 1890 by an invitation to contribute a paper which he read before the International Medical Congress, in Berlin, Germany. This paper was favorably received and an abstract of the same was at the time published in some of the German Medical Journals. He was a founder of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in 1888, and wrote original and valuable con- tributions to its yearly published volumes for twenty years. He was a founder of the Cambridge Society for Medical Improvement, and was its secretary from 1869 to 1874. He was a member of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, member of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society. He was a member of the Boston Medical Library Association.
He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, his great-grandfather, Captain Ichobod Clarke, having served in that war in the army under General John Sullivan in Rhode Island, 1777-78, and his grandfather, Joel Peck, having served in Captain Thomas Allen's company under the same general commander. He was a frequent and authoritative contribu- tor on subjects connected with his chosen pro- fession to medical societies and journals. He was the author of a volume "Clarke's Kindred Genealogies," 1896, and author of a volume, "Transactions of the Gynecological Society of Boston," written while Secretary of that body, 1901-1905, and of a "Book of Poems, 1896." He was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and was elected a member of the Council, 1895-1896. He was a member of the Cambridge Club, of the Boston Commandery Knights Templars, of the Amicable Lodge, F. and A.M., and member of Cambridge Lodge, No. 13, I.O.O.F .; member of the Boston Brown Alumni Association, and of the Harvard
Medical Alumni Association, and charter member of the Post 56, G.A.R. He was a member of the Cambridge common council, 1871-3, serving on the committee on finance, etc., and a member of the board of aldermen, 1874, serving on the committee on health and other committees. He was soon subsequently most influential in effecting the establishment of an independent board of health for Cam- bridge, as now organized.
He married in 1861, Mary Hannah, daughter of Gideon Gray, the fifth in descent from Edward Gray, of Plymouth, Mass., who mar- ried, January 16, 1651, Mary Winslow, daughter of John and Mary (Chilton) Winslow of May- flower fame. By Dr. Clarke's marriage he had two daughters, Inez Louise and Genevieve Clarke, both educated in the arts at Radcliffe College, and both in medicine at Tufts College Medical School, where each received the degree of doctor of medicine. They are now in active practice of the profession. Mrs. Clarke died May 30, 1892. Dr. Clarke issued in 1911, the second edition, enlarged, of his original poems. entitled "A Volume of Original Poems."
This, then, is the career, briefly stated, of a man to whom Cambridge points as an heir to those qualities of his Puritan ancestors which had such a profound influence in the building up of the communities that settled in Massa- chusetts; and whose life she considers irre- futable evidence that the strong moral prin- ciples and the stern determination to follow the dictates of conscience have not become impoverished in transmission. The events narrated above without adornment are per- haps the best commentary on the loyalty to duty that was always the guiding motive of Dr. Clarke's acts. Consider for a moment what it meant to be a military surgeon during the four years of the fratricidal conflict, that terrible period when the fate of the nation hung in the balance. The soldier, rifle or saber in hand, facing the enemy, finds, in the excitement which the lust to kill (latent, it is said, in even the most civilized) arouses in him, a kind of narcotic, as it were, by which the sensation of fear and horror is benumbed. The surgeon must, above all things, avoid any excitement, because his work requires him to be calm and self-possessed; he must, therefore,
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depend only on his sense of duty and his human- ity to help him endure the sights and sounds of the battle-field. Nor can he rest when the victory is won; then, indeed, his labors seem to be just beginning, for he must hasten night and day in his efforts to heal wounds, amelio- rate suffering, and forestall the dread diseases that are the usual concomitants of war. Bear- ing all this in mind, one reads with a new under- standing the line which says that Dr. Clarke was in ninety-two battles and engagements. Since the close of the war his activity had been constant. In spite of the demands made on his time by practical professional duties, he, nevertheless, added to the literature of medicine; for, not content with personally alleviating the distress of those who came directly under his care, he crystallized the results of his experience and study in the volumes and monographs which the medical world has received with so much appreciation. Furthermore, he even found time to give ex- pression to his love of belles lettres, in the book of verse of which he is the author. Many would claim that having served humanity at large so well, they should be exempted from the duties of civic and political life. Dr. Clarke made no such plea, but, as a member of the city government, devoted some of his best efforts to Cambridge. Always a believer in the power for good of organized effort, he allied himself with many professional, fraternal and social bodies, giving them both his moral and financial support. His home life, almost ideal, had only one cloud, the death of his wife, in 1892. His two daughters well repaid his tender indulgence and well-directed care in their rear- ing, by the consolation they gave him. He had no sons, but his daughters, who have taken up his chosen profession, were of late able to ease him part of its burdens. Many families that relied on him in the hour of need still continue in the feeling of security that comes from the knowledge that life and health are being watched over by one who has mastered the art of healing, knowing that his ability has been inherited by his children.
Dr. Clarke died April 22, 1912.
EDWARD E. CLARK
CLARK, EDWARD E., was born in Cambridge, Mass., November 4, 1870. He is the son of Martin V. B. and Sarah M. (Rollins) Clark, both natives of New Hampshire. Edward E. Clark attended the Willard Primary, the Web- ster Grammar, and the Cambridge Latin Schools, and entered Harvard College in 1890. De- pendent upon his own resources in acquiring a college education, he supported himself by doing newspaper work and tutoring, and, in 1894, graduated from Harvard with the degree
EDWARD E. CLARK
of A.B. He then attended the Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the Bar in 1897.
Closely identified with Cambridge life from his boyhood days, he has the knowledge of city affairs, the training, the education, the tem- perament and the other qualifications necessary to fit him to serve in any position with credit to his constituents.
He is a member of Amicable Lodge, F.&A.M .; the Economy Club of Cambridge; Dunster Lodge, I.O.O.F .: Citizens' Trade Association; Cambridge Lodge of Elks; Middlesex Club;
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Economic Club of Boston; and many other social and political organizations.
Mr. Clark's first entry into politics was made in 1900, when he became a member of the Cambridge Common Council, and he re- mained there four years; in 1903 he was elected and served as president of that body. During his service in the council, he was a member of all the important committees, including those on finance, claims, city charter, legislative matters, etc., thus being enabled to acquire an intimate knowledge of how the city's business and financial affairs should be conducted.
He was sent to the House of Representatives from Cambridge, in 1904, and was re-elected in 1905.
During the years when Cambridge Repub- licans were passing through the most trying experience that had ever come to them in the history of the party of that city, after the Demo- crats, under the leadership of Mayor McNamee, had wrested the control of the City Government from them, Mr. Clark was a member of the Common Council and was chosen president of that body. The Democrats were in complete possession of the Board of Aldermen and the Mayoralty, and the Non-Partisanship idea found expression only through a bare majority in the Common Council.
His incumbency of the office of president of the lower branch became, therefore, in many respects, a noteworthy one. There were occa- sions when turbulence and dissension threatened to overwhelm the sessions of the lower branch, and only the exercise of rare judgment and dis- crimination prevented subversion of the delib- erative character of its proceedings. Mr. Clark succeeded admirably in performing the task devolving upon him. So well did he act his part that, when he aspired to represent the fourth representative district on Beacon Hill, his fitness for the higher legislative arena was immediately recognized and his election was assured.
GEORGE CLOSE
CLOSE, GEORGE, one of the most prominent and public-spirited citizens of Cambridge, was born in Stratford, England, in 1845. At the
age of sixteen he came to Boston, and imme- diately began to profit by the opportunities afforded to a youth of courage and energy. At the age of twenty-one he joined his father and brother in a co-partnership for the manufacture of fancy crackers. In 1861 he began, upon his own account, the manufacture of confectionery in East Cambridge, employing at the outset about half a dozen hands. His energy and business sagacity enabled him to develop the large and successful establishment which he controlled. On February 23, 1879, the frame structure in which his business was located
GEORGE CLOSE
was totally destroyed by fire; but with char- acteristic energy he immediately began the erection of the spacious building on Broadway, which, at the time Mr. Close was taken ill, he had begun to enlarge. By untiring attention to details, always among the first to adopt improved methods of production, he had de- veloped a business that required several hundred employees, and yielded a product of about ten tons of confectionery daily. Mr. Close had rendered valuable public service to the city of Cambridge in various capacities. He was a member of the Common Council in 1883, of the Board of Aldermen in 1885 and 1886, and of the House of Representatives in 1888. Mr.
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Close was a member of Dunster Lodge of Odd Fellows; Amicable Lodge, F.&A.M .; Royal Arcanum; New England Confectioners' Club; and the Universalist Club of Boston. He was for several years president of the Howard Benevo- lent Association, and had been active in various charitable movements. He was a director of the Cambridge Electric Light Company and other corporations, and was connected with the Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He was a member of the Cambridge Club and of the Citizens' Trade Association, of which he had been president. Mr. Close was a member of the First Universalist Church. He died at his summer home at Allerton, Mass., August 18, 1911. He is survived by two sons, George E. Close and Frank D. Close, and four daughters: Mrs. Florence A. Gale, Mrs. Alice L. Mandell of Newton, Mrs. Bertha M. Bunton and Miss F. Evelyn Close. He also leaves two sisters, Miss Caroline Close and Mrs. John F. Moore, of Allston.
EDWARD R. COGSWELL, M.D.
COGSWELL, EDWARD R., was born in South Berwick, Me., June 1, 1841, and came to Cam- bridge in April, 1852. He entered Harvard College in 1860. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company F, 44th Regiment of the Massa- chusetts Volunteer Militia, and served with that regiment as a non-commissioned officer until the following June, when the regiment was mustered out of service.
After leaving college, he entered the Harvard Medical School, from which he was graduated in 1867 and immediately entered upon the prac- tice of his profession in this city.
When an independent Board of Health for the city was established in March, 1878, he was appointed its executive officer, resigning at the close of the year 1879. In June, 1869, he was chosen a member of the School Committee, upon which Board he served over ten years. In the years 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1890, he was a member of the Board of Aldermen, and from 1885 to 1887 a trustee of the Public Library.
At the present time, he is a trustee of the
Cambridge Hospital; a director in the Charles River National Bank; and president and
EDWARD R. COGSWELL
member of the Board of Investment of the Cambridge Savings Bank.
FRANCIS COGSWELL
COGSWELL, FRANCIS, formerly Superintendent of the Schools of Cambridge, was born in Atkin- son, N.H., June 24, 1827, being the son of Joseph B. and Judith J. Cogswell. He attended school at the Atkinson Academy and at the Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, N.H., and taught district schools in Merrimac, George- town and Weymouth, Mass. He also conducted a private school in Georgetown for one or two years. His first connection with the Cambridge schools was in April, 1854, when he was elected Master of the Putnam School, which position he held for about twenty years. In Septem- ber, 1874, he was elected Superintendent of Schools and held that position until 1905. Mr. Cogswell's work at the head of the school department needs no encomium. For the twenty-two years of his administration the edu-
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cational development of the City kept ahead, of its rapid, general growth, and Cambridge public schools are looked upon today as models. He has contributed quite extensively to educa- tional publications. Harvard College honored him with the degree of Master of Arts in 1861.
HIRAM M. COMSTOCK
COMSTOCK, HIRAM M., son of Israel Comstock, was born at Strafford, Vt., October 19, 1833. He was a descendant, in the eighth generation, of William Comstock, his immigrant ancestor,
HIRAM M. COMSTOCK
who, in the early seventeenth century, came from England with his wife Elizabeth, settled first in Wethersfield, Conn., and subsequently removed to New London. The subject of this sketch was educated in the district schools of his native town. At the age of eighteen he came to Boston, and a few years later engaged in business with Charles S. Gove, under the firm name of Comstock & Gove, manufacturers of soda water. The business prospered ex- ceedingly under Mr. Comstock's direction, which as head of the firm he continued up to the time of his death on March 22, 1883.
He was a well-known and highly-esteemed citizen of Cambridge, where he made his home and where his widow still resides. He was a prominent Free Mason, being a member of Cambridge Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Boston Commandery, Knights Templar; and other Masonic bodies; and had taken the thirty- second degree of Masonry. Mr. Comstock married January 1, 1857, Betsey J. Richardson, born in Corinth, Vt., daughter of Henry and Charlotte (Batchelder) Richardson. Her father was a descendant, in the seventh generation from William Richardson, who, born in England in 1620, came to Massachusetts about 1640, with his brother Edward. One child was born of this marriage, but died in infancy. Mrs. Com- stock has been from early life a lover of art, and when quite young she developed a talent for painting. After the death of her husband she pursued her art studies under some of the best masters in this country and in Europe, and has attained a creditable rank among contem- porary artists. This gift has been consecrated to charity. The proceeds from the sale of her pictures are devoted to some worthy cause. Mrs. Comstock is a New England woman of the best type, and among her many sterling qualities the most conspicuous are courage, cheerfulness and charity. She is a member of the Shepard Memorial Church, Cambridge; of Hannah Winthrop Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution; and of the Society of the Founders and Patriots of America.
Both the Comstocks and the Richardson family were identified with the important events of the colonial and revolutionary periods. Alfred E. Richardson, born May 25, 1832, who was engaged in architecture and building in Boston for many years, was a brother of Mrs. Comstock. He died in Strafford, Vt., April 4, 1880.
JOHN W. COVENEY
COVENEY, JOHN W., one of the most prominent men in Cambridge, was born in Cambridge, April 10, 1845. He received his education in the public schools of Cambridge. In 1861, when Sumter was fired upon, he enlisted at the age of 16 as a volunteer, and marched to the defence of the Union, in the Twenty-sixth
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Massachusetts Regiment. He served under Butler at New Orleans, and in the campaign of the Gulf. On his return from the war, he began work as an undertaker in Cambridge, which business he carried on successfully. On his return to Cambridge he became prominent in the politics of Old Ward Three, and, with his brother, Jeremiah W. Coveney, the late post- master of Boston, made the initial move that won recognition for the people of the Irish race in that section of the city.
Although a factor in political matters in his section of the City, he did not seek office for himself until 1886, when he was elected a member of the Common Council. He was re-elected in 1887, and his fearlessness won him the respect of all with whom he came in contact.
In the fall of 1887 his record in the Council was recognized by his nomination and election to the legislature as a representative from what was then the fifth, now the third, Middlesex district. He was re-elected in 1888, and again in 1889. During his three years in the House his ability was quickly recognized, and he ranked high among the Democratic leaders of that time. He was unyielding in his fealty to the interest of the Democratic Party, and was among the most aggressive debaters in the House.
In 1891 and 1892 he served in the State Senate and was on the committee on railroads and mercantile affairs. He was also chairman of the committee on library. He served on the Boards of Aldermen of 1902, 1903, 1904 and 1905. In the fall of 1903 he accepted a Non- Partisan nomination to the Board of Aldermen and was one of the Non-Partisan majority in the Board that upheld the hands of Mayor Daley during his first term in 1904. He was chosen by the Non-Partisans as president of the Board, and he served impartially and well. He was re-elected as a Non-Partisan member of the Board for 1905, being one of the two Non-Partisans elected. In the summer he announced that he would not seek re-election to that body again.
He was a man of magnetic personality, an interesting talker, a hard fighter for whatever interests he represented. In the turbulent days in the Aldermanic Chamber, he proved himself a master on questions of parliamentary proced-
ure and was quick to take advantage of openings left by his adversaries.
JOHN W. COVENEY
Mr. Coveney died Wednesday, April 14, 1909, being survived by his wife and two daughters. Mrs. Coveney died in January, 1912.
GEORGE HOWLAND COX
Cox, GEORGE HOWLAND, youngest child of James and Mercy Nye (Howland) Cox, was born October 9, 1854, in Fairhaven, formerly New Bedford, Mass. He attended the public schools of his native place, and was so well equipped that he was enabled to enter the West Point Military Academy. Owing to his ill health he was obliged to resign, and this was the occasion of his reluctantly entering upon a civil rather than a military career. However, this change was anything but disastrous so far as concerns material success. He was proven himself an admirable financier, as is attested by his successful labors as president of the Cam- bridge Trust Company and a member of its directorate; and his abilities as an executive officer have been abundantly evidenced in vari- ous important positions, as president of the Cambridge Park Commission, and a member
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of the State Armory Commission. His interest in local benevolent and charitable institutions is manifested by his connection with the Cam- bridge Home for Aged People, as director and treasurer of the Cambridge Hospital, the Cam- bridge School for Nurses and the Dowse Insti- tute, in each of which he is a trustee. He is an active member of leading patriotic and social
GEORGE HOWLAND COX
bodies-the society of Colonial Wars; the Good Government League of Cambridge, in which he is a director; the Colonial Club and the Cam- bridge Club of Cambridge, in each of which he is an ex-president; the Saint Botolph Club of Boston; and the Oakley Country Club of Water- town. He is also a member of the Cambridge Board of Trade, and has served as president of that body. He is affiliated with Amicable Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Cam- bridge. He is a member of the Unitarian Church, and in politics is a Republican.
Mr. Cox married, in New Bedford, September 25, 1877, Ella P. Whittermore, and they have one child, George Howland, Jr., born February 8, 1880. The family residence is Riverbank Court, Cambridge. Mrs. Cox is the youngest
daughter of Zenas and Mary (Toby) Whitter- more, of New Bedford.
JAMES VALENTINE COX
Cox, JAMES VALENTINE, son of Gershom Flagg Cox, was born in Hallowell, Me., July 1, 1813. Like his ancestors he followed the sea. He made his home at New Bedford, Mass., and engaged in whaling, rising step by step to the position of master. He made many voyages at a time when the whaling industry was very profitable, and amassed considerable wealth for his day. He served several years in the office of inspector of customs at New Bedford, and held various other positions of trust and honor in New Bedford. He married, November 19, 1838, Mercy Nye, daughter of John and Mercy (Howland) Nye, of Fairhaven, Mass. He married second, Annie E. Edwards, Octo- ber 5, 1869. He died November 23, 1884, be- loved and honored by the entire community. Children: James Nye; Myra; George Howland, born October 9, 1854.
JOHN F. CROCKER
CROCKER, JOHN F., son of Isaiah and Deborah (Goodnow) Crocker, was born in South Yar- mouth in 1851. His early education was in the public schools of that town. Later he studied at the Friends' School at Providence. In 1869 he entered business as the Cape Cod representa- tive of a Boston grocery company. He took up business for himself in 1884, forming the firm of Crocker & Eldridge, now Eldridge, Baker & Co. He devoted his time to this business until 1891, when he retired for two years.
In November, 1894, Mr. Crocker succeeded to the business of Wallace F. Robinson & Co., and in 1896 consolidated the firm with Niles Bros., in a corporation known as the Boston Packing and Provision Co., of which he became treasurer and manager. Reorganization of this corporation was effected in 1898, and it was merged with the John P. Squire Company, with Mr. Crocker as general manager. He remained with the firm until 1906, when he formed the banking firm of Crocker & Fisher, of Boston. In 1910, he retired from active business, but
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BIOGRAPHIES
had devoted a great deal of time to business at Leroy, N.Y., where is located the Leroy Cold Storage & Produce Co., of which he was vice- president and treasurer.
Mr. Crocker was married, in 1874, to Martha A. Earle of Boston. Their children are Avis W., Grace G., Martha E., John F., Jr., Allan E., Richard S. and Stewart M. Mr. Crocker died December 6, 1911.
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