History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 83

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 83

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him ; his highly cultivated garden was the home of many a prize-bloom.

Much as the subject of this notice employed his pen, he published but one little work besides his mu- sical works mentioned. This was in 1830, " A Work on the Construction and Use of Mathematical Instru- ments in Portable Cases." About the same time he wrote a work on Algebra, but finding that the late Mr. Ebenezer Bailey was engaged upon a book of similar character General Oliver generously with- drew his own mannscript. But he wrote, especially in the later years of his life, a vast number of articles for the newspapers and current literature of the day on all the topics with which he was familiar, and these communications were most entertaining and in- structive.

General Oliver's wife died on the 24th of January, 1866, and this was a blow which he never really re- covered from. In recording the event he wrote, -- " As said Carlyle of Mrs. Sterling, in his life of Edward Sterling, she was of a pious, delicate and affectionate character, exemplary as wife, mother, friend,-of timid, yet gracefully cordial ways,-with natural intelligence, instinctive sense and worth: with a soft voice, a tremulously sensitive nature, strong chiefly on the side of the affections, and the graceful insights and activities that depend on these; truly a beautiful, much enduring, much loving house- mother."

Henry Kemble and Sarah (Cook) Oliver had issue, -Samuel Cook, Sarah Elizabeth, Henry Kemble, Maria Kemble, Emily Kemble, Mary Evans and Ellen Wendell.

ABIEL ABBOT LOW.

Salem has been most generous in enriching, with her worthy sons and daughters, other cities and towns of the country. Few places are more indebted to her for such noble gifts than Brooklyn, N. Y., the story of whose better history and higher prosperity could not be told without the mention of such men as Seth Low and his sons, Isaac H. and John W. Frothingham, Ripley and Reuben W. Ropes, George B. Archer, and others of most excellent repute. Hon. Ripley Ropes, after faithful and valuable service to his native city, removed many years ago to Brooklyn, where his exalted character as a man and his long and distinguished usefulness in public life have made their enduring impress upon the city of his adoption.

Abiel Abbot Low, one of the merchant princes of New York, and an eminent philanthropist and finan- cier, was born in Salem, Essex County, Mass., Febru- ary 7, 1811. He was the eldest son among twelve children of Seth Low, a native of Gloucester, West Parish, of the same State. His mother, Mary Porter, was descended from John Porter, one of the original settlers of Salem village, (now Danvers), and was a daughter of Thomas Porter, of Topsfield, the town adjacent to Danvers on the north. The Porters have

been a numerous and influential race in this part of Massachusetts and elsewhere for more than two hun- dred years. Mary was born in Topsfield in 1786, and was a lady of superior character, illustrating all the virtues and nobleness of the Roman matron, refined and adorned with the influences and graces of the Christian faith. She lived to be eighty-six years of age and continued to be an object of much veneration among all who knew her, to the end of her useful and honored life. Her husband, Seth Low, was a man of high intelligence and of solid worth, of strong, clear and sedate mind, and of courteous and dignified de- portment. He was held in great respect and love by his fellow-citizens at Salem, where he spent the ear- lier portion of his married life, as also at Brooklyn, N. Y., whither he removed in 1829, and where he died in 1853. A devout, upright, and public-spirited man, he was one of the foremost citizens of Brooklyn, and rendered most important service, in many ways, to that city in its earlier municipal history. Blessed with such a parentage, and inheriting the excellent qualities of both his father and mother, the son could hardly fail of an honorable and distinguished career. He grew np without any of the vices or bad habits which so often blight the hopes and promises of youth. He received his early education mainly at the public schools of his native city, and wisely and diligently improved the opportunities and advantages which were there afforded him. He was, for some time be- fore he reached the age of maturity, a clerk in the mercantile house of Joseph Howard & Co., a Salem firm largely engaged in the South American trade. Here he manifested remarkable aptitude for business, and won, not only the heartiest commendations, but the entire confidence of his employers. In 1829 he removed to New York, and remained with his father, whose occupation was that of a drug merchant, for three years. In 1833 he sailed for Canton, China, and on arriving there became a clerk in the house of Rus- sell & Co., which was then the largest American firm in China, and of which an uncle, the late William Henry Low, was a partner. In 1837 he was admitted into the firm, and, after three years, returned home, in 1840, to prosecute the same business here-already possessed of considerable wealth, though not yet thirty years of age. He was early distinguished for his sagacity, his far-seeing wisdom and his bold and judicious action. Soon after his arrival home, he es- tablished himself in Fletcher Street, New York, and there laid the foundation of that which was destined to become the leading house of America in the China trade. The business of the house was of rapid growth and at length assumed such large proportions that a fleet of swift vessels became indispensable.

With characteristic energy he set about building his own ships, and the construction of the " Houqua," "Samuel Russell," "N. B. Palmer," "David Brown," " Oriental," "Penguin," "Jacob Bell," "Contest," "Surprise," " Benefactor " and " Benefactress" kept

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pace with the demands of his business for a while ; but he was compelled to purchase several, among them "The Golden State," "The Great Republic " and the " Yokohama." For years the house carried on its immense traffic of teas and silks without the loss of any of its ships. From Fletcher Street the office was first removed to South Street, between Beekman Street and Peck Slip, and again, in 1850, to No. 31 Burling Slip, the present site of the establishment. About the year 1845, Mr. Josiah O. Low, a brother, became a partner ; in 1852, Mr. Edward H. K. Lyman, a brother-in-law, was admitted into the firm ; and at various subsequent dates several sons and nephews,-the firm-name be- coming and remaining to this day "A. A. Low & Brothers." The firm have always maintained their justly-deserved reputation for the strictest integrity, and for the largest and most enlightened methods of mercantile pursuit and dealing. Their name has been the synonym for rectitude and honor in all business transactions, and they have been a tower of strength amidst all the changes, fluctuations and reverses in the commercial world during the past forty-six years. Their influence was most powerfully exercised and felt in the cause of maintaining the national credit; and in the gloomy years of the Civil War they bore their full share in the work of defending and saving the Republic. Refusing to allow their ships to sail under any other flag than the Stars and Stripes, they suffered the loss of the "Contest " and the "Jacob Bell," both of which were captured and burned by Confederate privateers, the latter being freighted at the time with a cargo of great value. During Mr. Low's whole business career he has received constant tokens of the high respect and consideration of the mercantile profession to which he belongs, and of the community in which he lives. His influence in the New York Chamber of Commerce has been whole- some and conspicuous, and it has also been justly ap- preciated and honored. He became a member of it in 1846. In 1863 his sound judgment, his ready grasp of details, his marked sagacity and his unbending rectitude led to his election as president of this world-renowned body; and on the expiration of the stated term of three years, he was re-elected. At the close of 1866 he resigned this position, in order to make a voyage around the world. On January 1, 1867, he embarked with his wife and one son from San Francisco in the Pacific Mail steamship "Colorado," the first American merchant steamer which crossed the Pacific.

On his return he was honored with a banquet, ten- dered by the representative men of his profession, in the city which had so long been the scene of his labors and his triumphs. He frequently has been called upon to address the Chamber of Commerce and his fellow- citizens upon subjects connected with the financial or political problems of the day. His vigorous mind has been highly cultured by reading, stndy, travel, ob- servation and action. His style, both as a writer and

a public speaker, is singularly felicitous and effective, and remarkable for clearness, compactness, good taste and elegance of expression. He has the faculty and the habit, not only of stating his case strongly, but of reasoning on it so wisely and fairly, as well as forcibly, that his reader or listener (as the case may be) is car- ried with him, and willingly, as well as from convic- tion, adopts [his conclusions. It is because of these qualities that Mr. Low has always had such great in- fluence in the associations with which he has been connected, and such weight in the community in matters of general interest. Had his career been in public life, he would have been as eminent in the counsels of state as he has been in the wide domain of commerce. In great crises, commercial, financial or political, in periods of depression, panic or actual disaster, he has the courage of his convictions, and his opinions are eagerly sought and freely given. During the Civil War, on all important questions of national policy or duty, his voice and his action were alike ready and sagacious, clear, loyal and determined. Holding no political office, though several times in- vited to do so, he often has been called or sent to the national capital in a representative capacity, for con- sultation with the government in relation to matters of grave commercial interest. .

It is not easy to measure the value and influence of such a man in the community and the country to which he belongs. Able, wise, patriotic and of incor- ruptible purity and honesty, he is constantly a pillar of strength and support to all the best interests of society and is a rock of safety and defense amidst the changes and perils to which government and people are exposed, or are liable. It is not alone Presidents and Cabinets, Congressional leaders and foreign minis- ters, the army and navy, upon whom we must chiefly depend in the most stormy times, or in the most criti- cal emergencies. All will be lost unless the nation is held mightily to its financial obligations, its plighted word, its sacred honor. After the war, and for many years, the land was rife with dangerous theories and pestilent heresies in regard to these matters, and Re- pudiation itself was a more or less popular cry. It was all-important, and absolutely necessary, that the mer- cantile and banking classes should lift their voices for the right, that the great commercial metropolis should be heard, that the Chamber of Commerce should speak, and speak with no uncertain sound. Of such occasions, one was in connection with the Centennial Celebration of the Chamber, held at Irving Hall, New York City, April 6, 1868. Mr. Low delivered an ad- dress on "The Finances of the United States," and the closing portion of it is here given, in illustration of his sound views, his exalted patriotism and the power and grace of his words :

" Finally," he says, "it seems to me that existing laws for the conver- sion and redemption of the public debt are good enough till the country returns to epecie payment. I look to such return as our only hope of rescue from impending evil. The crisie ie full of peril, as all who read and reflect will be forced to admit ; the contemplation of this peril leads

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me to sorrowful reflection. Three years have passed away since the War of the Rebellion was closed. The eventful mouth of April, 1865, wit- Dessed the surrender, throughout the South, of all the rebel forces ; the disbanding of the loyal aroties of the North, and the re-establishment of the national authority everywhere ; and although the country was pros- trate in sorrow at the death of its great hero and martyr, there was sol- ace and joy in the thought that the blood and treasure of the loyal States bad not beeu poured out in vain. Not only hud the life of the nation heen providentially preserved, but its honor was untarnished ; at home and abroad confidence in the ability of our people faithfully to redeem every obligation that was giveo during the war daily gained strengtlı, and the speedy restoration of the wayward States to their legitimate place in the Union was the animating hope of every patriotic heart. How this hope has thus far been disappointed it is uot my province to consider.

"We may now boast, indeed, that America is ' the land of the free and the home of the brave ; ' slavery has ceased to exist ; the curse and the reproach it brought on our flag and our fame have been buried in a com- mon grave. Have we wiped out this long endured blot on our country's escutcheon, amid all the fire and bloodshed of civil war, in order to deepen and darken the stain repudiation would leave in its stead ? Haa it come to this, that the Congress of the nation can deliberately enter- tain propositions, in less than three years after the war, that strike at the spirit and letter of laws now on the statute-book, in the presence of the very men who made them-laws that are vital to the security of those who lent their money for the prosecution of the war ! Have we reason to fear that Senators and Representatives who make such de- mands on our confidence, in their extraordinary measures to enforce re- construction, will subject our faith to a still severer test ? Can they hope to maintain the character of friends of the Union for the sake of the Union if they expose to dishonor the life whose salvation hae cost such a price in blood and treasure ? Shall we go forth as bitherto, in virtue of our American birthright, proud in the consciousness that our nation's right makes our nation's might, or remain at home rather than be withered by the rehuking eye of every honest man in every other land governed by honest men ? It were better, far, to dash from the Ameri- can ensign every star and leave only the stripes, as a symbol of everlasting disgrace-of everlasting punishment-if we must cease to claim the re- spect we have hitherto enjoyed under its all-inspiring folds. No ! Let me recall these despairing words! I will not believe in such a destiny. The loyal and the true will rally in behalf of the right and the good. The people and the Congress will uphold the national faith. Our eagles and half-eagles will once more circulate throughout the land, our eyes shall be gladdened with the old device, 'In God we trust,' and throughout the world the stars and stripes shall float together the glorious emblem of nationality to millions upon millions yet unborn."

At the conclusion of the meeting Mr. Low sub- mitted resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, favoring the resumption of specie payments and the honest discharge of the national debt. No man, more than he, was fitted by talent, character, exper- ience, rectitude and service to stand at the centre in such a time, and represent before the people and the world the commercial mind and interests of the United States. Mr. Low has been solicited many times to become the president of banking, insurance and other institutions of a similar character, but he has declined every proffered station of service save that of a director, in which capacity he is identified with a number of prominent organizations. In Brooklyn, the city of his adoption and residence, he has been one of the most public-spirited and useful citizens. He has been an ever-ready and excep- tionally liberal patron of schools and colleges, churches and charities, not alone in Brooklyn and New York, but in other parts of the land; and his contributions of money to every good enterprise or institution that has appealed for aid have rarely, if ever, been surpassed in number and magnitude by

those of any of our wealthy and philanthropic citizens. Thoroughly imbued with the spirit of a firm and en- lightened Christian faith, the church has found in him a true, devoted, exemplary friend, and many of its branches of different names have been encouraged and prospered by his timely and generous gifts. Fully. appreciating the value and importance of substantial education to every community, he has long made the public and private schools of the city objects of the highest concern. Of the Packer Collegiate Institute, in Brooklyn, Mr. Low has been for many years presi- dent of the board of trustees, giving to its affairs large and intelligent oversight, and contributing lib- erally to its library and scientific equipment. The Brooklyn Library and the Long Island Historical So- ciety have found in him, from their inception, one of their most appreciative, active and munificent patrons. The City Hospital, the Society for Improving the Condition of the Poor, the Union for Christian Work and many other benevolent institutions, attest his readiness to aid in the support of well-designed and practically-managed organized charities. Perhaps no more touching illustration of this influence has been furnished than in the munificent gift, by Mr. Low, in the name of his wife, of the new and beautiful St. Phoebe's Mission House, which he caused to be erected as a fitting memorial of a departed daughter of won- derful beauty of Christian character and life. The building was opened May 5, 1886, and a tablet more recently erected bears the inscription :

" IN LOVING MEMORY HARRIETTE LOW. This house is given for the work she loved by her bereaved parents."

In our great Civil War, Mr. Low's loyalty and patrotism were most pronounced and constant. He was a member of the Union Defense Committee of New York, and quite early in the conflict succeeded Mr. Dehon as treasurer of the committee, which place he continued to fill until the war was over. He was among the most energetic, liberal and useful members of the "War Fund Committee" of Brook- lyn, which was organized in 1862, and which effi- ciently aided the United States Sanitary Commission. He was president of the General Committee of Citi- zens in Brooklyn, which, in co-operation with the committee of the Woman's Relief Association, in February, 1864, managed and carried out to its grand result of more than $400,000, the Brooklyn and Sani- tary Fair.

This sketch would be quite imperfect did it omit allusion to Mr. Low's constant and most generous re- lief to those who are in need. It is his nature to " Do good by stealth and blush to find it fame," and the world little knows, though very many privately and gratefully know, the largeness, spontaneousness and mercy of his bounty in their hour of suffering. His sympathy and gifts have not been limited to those to whom he stood in the relation of friend or

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mere acquaintance. The casual mention, in his pres- ence, of distress that had befallen even a stranger whom he had never seen and of whom before he had never heard, has many and many a time (within the knowledge of the writer) elicited not only his warm and Christian sympathy, but his prompt and large pecuniary relief. It has often been remarked by those who have known him well, how continuously and tenderly, amidst all his manifold and arduous daily cares, he has borne such unfortunates in mind, recalling their names and circumstances and, with more benevolent intent, making fresh inquiries about them long after it might naturally have been sup- posed that such cases must have been forgotten. One of his honored father's last injunetions to his children was, "Remember the poor." And that they have done, not more in obedience to the paternal mandate, than from the philanthropic spirit which they in- herited from their excellent parents, and which they have also imparted, it may be added, to the succeed- ing generation. As the acknowledged head of this very large and influential family cirele that surrounds him in Brooklyn, and in every domestie relation of life, Mr. Low, it is not necessary to say, finds his own faithful devotion and affectionate care abundantly recompensed to him in the veneration and love of all. And what is thus' true of him in the home and amongst his kindred is true of him also in other con- nections, in which to still larger numbers he has been the prudent counselor, the thoughtful sympathizer, and the helpful and steadfast friend.

Mr. Low was first married, in March, 1841, to Ellen Almira, daughter of the late Josiah Dow, of Brook- lyn, N. Y., and a lady of rare worth and loveliness, by whom he had four children,-two sons and two daughters, all of whom survived their mother, who died in January, 1850. In February, 1851, he was married to Anne D. B., widow of his deceased brother, William Henry Low, and daughter of the late M. Bedell, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Mrs. Low has been very prominent in the religious, benevolent and social life of the city ; and it was specially under her fond and faithful guardianship, intelligent and judicious train- ing and earnest and conscientions Christian influence that the motherless children to whose charge she succeeded, and her son, William G., who had been born under her first marriage, received together their home preparation for their varied and prominent spheres of usefulness in subsequent years.

Of these five children, Harriette died August 2, 1884; and Ellen, who married Henry E. Pierrepont, Jr., of Brooklyn, died December 30, 1884. The sur- viving three, are A. Augustus Low, merchant, who married a daughter of the late George Cabot Ward, Esq., of New York; William G. Low, lawyer and Hon. Seth Low, ex-mayor of Brooklyn, and also a merchant, both of whom married daughters of the late Hon. Benjamin R. Curtis, of the Supreme Court of the United States.

LEONARD BOND HARRINGTON.

The names of men who distinguished themselves for the possession of those qualities of character which so largely contribute to the success of private life and to the public stability, of men who have been exemplary in their personal and social relations, thus winning the affection, respect and confidence of those around them, ought not to perish.

Their example is more valuable to the majority of local readers than that of illustrious heroes, statesmen or writers, and all are benefited by the delineation of those traits of character which find scope and exer- eise in the common walks of life.

Among the individuals of this class few are better entitled to be held in respectful remembrance than is the subject of this sketch.

The direet ancestor of Leonard B. was Robert, who came from England prior to 1642, and settled in Watertown, Mass.

For several succeeding generations the Harring- tons were tillers of the soil, and became, through their energy and thrift, extensive landed proprietors in the various parts of New England, where they set- tled and were men of influence and position.

Charles, the father of Leonard B., however, was a tanner and currier by trade, and he. carried on this business during the early part of his business career with a good degree of success. He also did a large business as a packer of beef, and opened up a large export trade in it. In this branch of business he was a pioneer, and was very successful until, during the French War, he suffered great losses in vessels and cargoes by French spoliations. He married Mary Bond, by whom he had five children,-Charles, born January 29, 1782; Artemus, born October 14, 1784; Ruth, born August 25, 1789; Jonas B., born August 22, 1792; LEONARD BOND, born January 29, 1803.

Leonard spent his boyhood in Salem, Mass., to which town his father moved from Watertown shortly after the Revolutionary War. He attended school in Salem, where he acquired a practical knowledge of the branches there taught, hut, at the age of thirteen years, developing a taste for sea-life, he went a voy- age to South America, during which he suffered from yellow fever, and recovering from it, was finally shipwrecked. These experiences led him to give up the sea, and he then chose the business of leather manufacture. He learned this trade in Roxbury, Mass., and after serving his time he worked as a journeyman for several years, and by prudence and frugality was enabled to begin business for himself in 1829, and from that time to the present has success- fully maintained his position among business men.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 83

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1538

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538