History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 202

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 202

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MICHAEL HODGE SIMPSON.

Michael Hodge Simpson was born in Newbury- port, November 15, 1809. His father was Captain Panl Simpson, a ship-master and merchant of New- buryport, a man in prosperous circumstances and of influence and highly honorable standing in the town. The name of Michael Hodge was given him in respect to the memory of his mother's first husband, who was also a prominent member of one of the most re- spected families in town, and from him Mrs. Simp- son inherited the house on the corner of Lime and Prospect Streets, where she and Captain Simpson lived during the remainder of their lives and where the sub- ject of this sketch was born.

Michael Simpson attended the public schools and the Newburyport Academy and well improved his time, but having a strong inclination for business, left school at the early age of fourteen for clerkship in the house of Adams & Emery, of Boston, and gave snch satisfac- tion that on the dissolution of the firm, soon afterwards, he was retained by Jonathan Emery & Son, the suc- cessors of the old house. He not only ably fulfilled all the duties of his position, but also sent out ventures of his own in his employers' ships to the various ports with which they traded, receiving in exchange the goods of the countries, which he was enabled to dispose of at a profit, thus laying the foundation of his future career as a merchant. The fellow-clerk who joined Mr. Simpson in these ventures was Charles H. Coffin president at the time of this writing of the First Na- tional Bank of Newburyport. By their shrewdness and foresight in selecting the goods for these ventures these young men amassed qnite a little capital, which enabled them to start into business for themselves at a very early age, Mr. Simpson being only eighteen at the time. This connection continued quite success- fully for several years and then Mr. Simpson went into partnership with George Otis, son of the distin- guished Harrison Gray Otis. Thenew firm sent ships to Calcutta of which they and the masters of the ships were sole and equal owners. The business prospered, enlarged and extended to other parts of the world, the trade with South America in hides, horns and wool becoming before long the most important part of their business. The South American trade de- veloped a new, or rather a hitherto unsuspected, talent in young Simpson-that of an inventor in mechanical appliances, which was as important to his after- success in life as was his sound judgment in commercial af- fairs. These two talents combined made him success- ful in business from the outset and enabled him in the end to amass a large fortune.

It often happens that the inventor lacks the balance- wheel, and others profit by his ingenuity, but in Mr. Simpson's case his mechanical genius was combined with practical knowledge and being applied to his business, the profits inured to his own benefit. The wool which they imported from South America was so burry that it very materially reduced its market

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

value, as at this time all the burrs had to be removed by hand, thereby entailing a very heavy expense to make it fit for manufacturing purposes. Mr. Simp- son's attention was at this time directed to a crude invention for removing the burrs from the wool by machinery, the idea of which to him seemed good, although the mechanism was an absolute failure. Mr. Simpson, by his perseverance and the use of his inventive ability, finally succeeded, after repeated dis- appointments, discouragements and the expenditure of a large part of his fortune, in bringing the machine to a successful issue. This machine is practically to- day used on every set of cards employed in woolen manufacturing in the world.

It was only by the most persistent efforts and per- feet confidence in his ability to succeed in whatever he undertook, united with an obstinate determination never to be beaten, that he succeeded in this, his first and one might almost say his most difficult and impor- tant invention.

About this time his partner, Mr. Otis, died, and Mr. Simpson kept on by himself in his mercantile bus- iness, to which was added various inventions, all of which were connected with the woolen business. After the burring-machine was perfected and there was a certainty of large profits from its operations, he sold it to Whitwell, Bond & Co., importers of wool and largely interested in the woolen mills at Jacksonville, but the disastrous times of 1837 caused a failure of the firm, who made an assignment in favor of their wool creditors, of whom Mr. Simpson was one, and who also held notes of theirs for the burring-machine which he had sold to them. Owing to this failure, the Saxonville Mills were reorganized under the name of the New England Worsted Company, of which Mr. Simpson became the agent. He continued his mer- cantile business, importing large quantities of wool for the mills, and keeping his position as agent until 1857, when the wide-spread financial disasters caused the failure of the mills, leaving Mr. Simpson one of the largest creditors. At this time he, in connection with a friend, purchased the mills from the other creditors, from which time, under his sole manage- ment, it had a marvelous prosperity. Shortly after- wards he built and started the Roxbury Carpet Mills in connection with the woolen-mills at Saxonville, and continued his active connection with these man- ufacturing interests until his death.

At the age of twenty-four Mr. Simpson married Miss Elizabeth Kilham, a beautifulgirl of sixteen, daughter of Mr. Jonathan Kilham, a Boston merchant, with whom he passed a happy married life of nearly fifty years. She bore him five children, of whom three sur- vived their parents,-a son, Mr. Frank E. Simpson, of Boston, and two daughters, Mrs. W. W. Seely and Miss Grace Simpson.

A few years before his death Mr. Simpson married a second time, taking for his wife Miss Evangeline Marrs, of Saxonville, with whom he lived until his

death, December 21, 1884. He left no children by his second wife.

A man who amassed such a fortune and won the affectionate respect of all who knew him must have been endowed with remarkable qualities of mind and character, and such Mr. Simpson possessed in an abundant degree. In the first place, he had a won- derfully clear intellect ; he formed his plans and knew to the minutest detail what needed to be done to carry them out. Even when his business had grown to vast proportions, he was not satisfied with the general su- pervision, but he looked after every department with assiduity which would have broken down a feebler man at an early age. He had great tenacity of will, as was indicated by his sticking to his invention for wool-cleaning when others were discouraged and wished to give it up. And he required those under him to carry out his plans, although he was a kind and considerate man to all his employees. He had the instinct for business, so that whatever he undertook turned to profit, and while some thought it was luck, in reality it was intelligence, promptness in decision, a careful supervision of the business in all its details and an indomitable will which turned a seeming de- feat into victory.

Mr. Simpson was not merely a business man, but he was also one of the most benevolent and kindly of men, attached to his friends and doing aets of benefi- cence of general benefit to the public, and especially to those in his own employ. An illustration of the care he had for his workmen was furnished in what followed when the mills burned down, about a year before his death. The condition of business at the time did not seem to warrant the rebuilding, but when he saw his people out of work and needing the wages thus lost by the fire, he decided to rebuild at once, and that the people might not suffer in the meanwhile, he made provision to aid those who had families de- pendent on them for support until there was steady work for them in the rebuilt mill.

The poor man who was willing to work and needed employment was certain to find in Mr. Simpson a kind and sympathizing friend, who would provide some- thing for him to do it possible, and it would almost seem even if it were not possible. As an instance of this, at the time when there were so many unemployed men tramping through the country he purchased large tracts of woodland in the vicinity of his Saxonville home, upon which he employed any man who came to him asking for work. These lands he converted into beautiful parks by clearing, draining and making roads, thus giving employment (and that was his prin- cipal motive) to mauy unemployed men for several years. At one time he had over three hundred men on his private pay-roll employed in this work, and after the parks were completed he threw them open to the public.

The public benefactions of Mr. Simpson were munifi- cent, especially those made to his native town. The

aaron a Sargent

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NEWBURYPORT.

increase of books in the Newburyport Public Library rendered an enlargement of the library building nec- essary. This need was represented to Mr. Simpson, who very generously contributed $18,000, which was the greater part of the expenditure of making the en- largements. In commemoration of this gift the addi- tion was named the Simpson Annex. He also contrib- uted largely for the improvement of the Mall in New- buryport and an annuity of a thousand dollars for watering the streets during the summer, which he made perpetual in his will. He also contributed some thirty thousand dollars to a new college building at Wellesley College.

Such a life as his is one of beneficence. His large fortune was won by the application of extraordinary talents to supplying the wants of his fellow-men by inventions and manufactures of general benefit, and it was generously used by its possessor when it was gained. He left a name honored and beloved by all who had had dealings with him and especially by those who had been in his employ. The people of his native town remember him with gratitude, and a few older men who knew him from youth and were most intimately acquainted with him are those who honor and respect him most, and that is saying much, since there are few distinguished men who bear well the test of intimate acquaintance and continue heroes to the friends of their boyhood. That test Mr. Simp- son bore, and it is the highest testimonial to his char- acter and ability, not excepting the monuments of his beneficence, public and private, which have been mentioned.

Among the many eminent men produced by New- buryport the name of Michael Hodge Simpson will always bear an honorable place.

HON. AARON AUGUSTUS SARGENT.1

Hon. Aaron Augustus Sargent, recently deceased in California, in which State he had resided for nearly forty years, and which conferred upon him the highest positions and honors it had to give, was em- phatically an Essex County man. IIere, in Newbury- port, he was born in 1827 ; here he passed his early life, and here he married his wife. His father was here before him, and for two hundred and fifty years his ancestors had lived on the banks of the Merrimac. William Sargent, the first of the name in Massachu- setts, was among the first settlers of Salisbury in 1640, and had his residence only two miles north of New- buryport, in the First Parish, where was located his village lot, and near by were his tillage and wood- lands, his pastures and his seaside meadows; and largely his descendants may now be found in Salis- bury, Amesbury and Merrimac ; but no one of them ever attained the celebrity of Aaron A. Sargent.

He was what "in Yankee land" is called a " self-

made man," rising rapidly through all the grades of public life, to the highest save the Presidency of the Republic, by his own power. Never did he gain one step by accident, wealth, partial friends or any ex- traneous or fortuitous event. He enjoyed not one advantage that is not to-day within the reach of every boy in the city or county in which he was born and bred ; and, therefore, the lesson of his life deserves to be recorded that it may be the study of the youth to whose fathers he was personally known. This one advantage he had: nature had given him a sound, well-balanced mind in a strong and healthy body, and it had endowed him with a will that never failed to carry him through difficulties, wherever and when- ever they appeared. He early perceived that his future must be of his own making ; and he seemed to have taken from the first this motto: "Whatever man has done is within the possibilities that belong to me, as the inheritance from my fathers." It was therefore given to him to pluck greatness from seem- ing nothing, and from the humblest beginnings to make an enduring fame. The schools of his native town were open to him, and in them he obtained the rudiments of education, and laid the foundations of a great and noble life, a life which was pure, up- right, moral, well-spent and progressive, as will ap- pear in this narrative.

His father, who was a practical man and a mechanic, designed that he should learn some handicraft that would assure him a livelihood on his reaching man's estate, and so placed him in one or two situations where he could have a trade or business ; but they were not suited to his tastes, nor to the ambitions, meritorious and honorable, that gave visions to his youth and inspired his later years. Dissatisfied with the labors of a cabinet-maker and the duties of a clerk, though then, as ever, he endeavored to do his best in any situation he might be called to fill, he sought a place in the printing-office of a daily news- paper, the Courier, published by the late Enoch Hale, in Newburyport. There he fed his love of knowl- edge while he learned the art of type-setting, and there were his first efforts at authorship. We call to mind a series of papers, criticisms on " the manners and matter" of the several clergymen of the town, that first attracted public attention, causing general comment. These were followed by well-written essays upon various topics, so that when not more than eighteen years old he had won a local reputation in literature. All the time he was a hard student-read- ing was his delight, his recreation, his life. He was never known to be idle, and the hours of sleep were shortened at both ends that he might the better be prepared for the work that was before him. Like an athlete in the old Grecian games, he made ready for the race ; he prepared for the struggle; lic longed for the battle when yet it was afar off.

At the age of twenty lie struck out into the deeper waters of the world for himself, to try his chance and

1 By Ocorge J. L. Colby.

114}

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

bear his burdens. For a time he was at his trade, as a printer, in Philadelphia, "following in the foot- steps of that illustrious type-setter, Benjamin Frank- lin." Thence he moved on to Washington City, where he formed the acquaintance of a Represent- ative in Congress from the State of New York,-a man of strong mind, but limited literary attainments, for whom he acted as private secretary. They were friends and of mutual benefit to each other. This work now was to his liking. He formed an exten- sive acquaintance with eminent men ; the Congress- ional Library was open to him; he could hear the debates of great men on great questions, and feel the inspiration of the voices and the manners of that trinity of statesmen to whom the world listened,-of Webster, the mighty power, of Clay, the eloquent orator, and of Calhoun, the most splendid logician of that era. He could see and converse with statesmen and scholars such as this country had not seen before or known since,-men who moved the world upward and onward. Perhaps these were the happiest days of his life. He was American thoroughly and fully ; every heart-throb was for his country, and every prayer for the glory of the republic, and here was the American government before him. Ile was a student, thoroughly devoted to literature, morals, politics, and no university in America or Europe could afford him so much instruction for his coming career.

We know not the course of his thoughts, "The wind bloweth where it listeth," but this must have been patent to his sagacious and watchful mind; that for the accomplishment of his purposes he must have means of action. The story of the foolish virgins who were in the dark because they had forgotten their oil ; the loss of Bunker Hill to the patriots of 1775 because they were short of ammunition, could not have been lost on him; and, therefore, it was not surprising that, on the first announcement of the dis- covery of gold in California, he was ready to emigrate to the Pacific coast. Perhaps he had previously an- ticipated such a migration, since he had made the acquaintance of Fremont, and learned from him of the "goodly land" which waited the advent of those who would possess it. Be that as it may, he started with other Argonauts, from Baltimore, early in 1849, for San Francisco, via Cape Horn. Touching at Rio, Dom Pedro entertained the Americans by a public reception, and was highly pleased with the manly de- portment and general intelligence of Mr. Sargent. This seems to have been his first lesson in diplomacy. Sailing thence, he gave all his time to his books till he reached Valparaiso, Chili, where he left the ship, and spent some time in learning the resources and opportunities opening in South America. He was then on the track of an older townsman, William Wheelwright, whose fame fills that country, and found others from his native town there engaged in commercial operations. Obtaining the position of

supercargo on another ship, he continued his voyage, and passed the Golden Gate in December, ten months from his leaving Baltimore.

Probably never a man landed in California with prospects less promising, who reached any great emi- nence, and he would have been among the last of whom anybody but a prophet would have said: "In less than forty years this young man, twenty-two years old, without money, without business and with- out a friend to help him, will be the first man of this great State, and in political honors above them all." But so it was, and so inscrutable are the ways of Prov- idence. What is he to do ? Something must be done, and done at once. The country was full of printers. for they ever are in advance of the foremost wave of civili- zation. His first venture was in lightering ships-re- ceiving the cargoes in scows and transporting the merchandise up the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. This he followed with all the energy that ever attended his labors. Then he plied the pick and the shovel in practical mining ; and for a time held a situation on the San Francisco Courier, the first Whig paper in the State, and in 1851 he was setting type on the Nerada Journal, of which he soon became editor, and the next year he was prominent in politics, which were intensely exciting, in the struggle between Northern and Southern men for dominancy in the State. He carried himself so bravely through that crisis as to win eredit and renown.

Two years later, having turned his attention to the law, he was admitted to the bar in Nevada County, and at once entered upon the practice of his profes- sion with marked success, and the very next year he was elected district attorney. It will not, of course, be claimed that he immediately became a great law- yer, for the law is not a profession in which miracles are wrought, and there were learned counselors and attorneys at the Nevada bar ; but he had all the ele- ments of a great lawyer to be developed,-industry, without which genius fails and brilliancy grows dim ; then, the determination, which was ever his rule, to do his best in every case that came before him, and to know all the facts and the law relating to the cause to be tried. This ever brings success ; for, feel- ing the foundation sure beneath him, he is prepared for his duty, while the unprepared contestant is sure of defeat. He succeeded so well as to gain the approval of his clients and the applause of the peo- ple. He was the leading counsel ia some of the most important cases ever tried in California ; and at the time of his death he had pending in the courts land suits involving millions of dollars.

Leaving him as a lawyer, we notice him next in polities and statemanship. In 1856 he headed the Fremont Presidential ticket, and from the start adhered to the Republican party. In 1860 he was a delegate to the National Convention that nominated Lincoln, and in 1861 was himself elected to Congress. Thus we find him in ten years rising from a scowman

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on the Sacramento to represent one of the greatest and richest States in the National Legislature. At the end of the term he returned to the law and to his mining interests demanding his attention.

In 1868 he was re-elected to Congress, and so well served his constituents that a third time he was elected to the House in 1870; and in the same year was chosen by the Legislature for a full term as Sen- ator, which made him twelve years at Washington, devoting all his energies to further the interests of the Pacific coast. He drew the bill for the first Pa- cific Railroad, and advocated it to its enactment. His action in favor of the mint at San Francisco, and of the navy-yard at Vallejo, and, in fact, of all measures in the interest of the Pacific States, was fully up to the demands of people in that eventful era. He especially met their prejndices and their wishes on the Chinese question, and was the first man to remove this national issue from the "Sand Lots" to Wash- ington, and lift it above the Kearneys to the plane of statesmanship. He saw the evil to his State ; inves- tigated, reported and suggested the remedy which was applied. We may not stop to notice the many topics of importance he was compelled to discuss, and on which he was acknowledged to be one of the ablest debaters in the House or Senate ; and when he finished his service there, he retired with clean hands and a pure heart. He had not aggrandized himself to the injury of others. He had not enriched himself at the expense of his State or his country. Millions were within his reach, but he touched them not with the point of his finger; indeed, if he had never seen Congress his estate at death would have been many times bigger than it was. He was educated a Puritan, and he lived and died true to his convic- tions. He was loyal at heart in life, and as patriotic in legislation as was his grandfather in the Continen- tal army.

In 1882 he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Germany. It was a very good appointment, as he had the qualifications for the place. In addition to his experience at home, and his reputation as a states- man, he was an excellent German scholar, and could converse fluently in French, which is the language of diplomacy in Europe; and better than all, he had a clear head and a brave heart. He had fought the battles of life and overcome every obstacle with a courage that never quailed in human presence. He was to stand before the German Cæsar and to meet his prime minister, who thinks himself master of the world. He did it, this printer-boy, present- ing his case as he would in the Senate chamber of the United States, defending American rights as be- came man. Unfortunately, the government allowed the publication of his private despatches, which occasioned his resignation. The confidence of our government in him, however, was not lost, and President Arthur immediately nominated him minis- ter to Russia, which nomination was confirmed by

the Senate withont the nsual reference to a commit- tee. He preferred to come home to the more lucrative business of the law, aod declined the appointment. It stands, however, to his credit that he was appoint- ed to two first-class foreign missions, which has not fallen to the lot of any other man in the Pacific States, and to but very few in any other State of the Union. It is by no means clear, had his life been prolonged, that even the highest honors of his coun- try would not have been conferred upon him.

We have said that Mr. Sargent was true to his con- victions, and had the courage to abide by them through "good or evil report." He was progressive and often proposed action in advance of his time, as in suffrage unlimited by sex, or the enfranchisement of women. When he was a candidate for the Senate an opposing journalist charged this as an offense. He made no reply. Thereupon the journalist exultingly asked : " Will he dare deny it ?" Still he was silent. But shortly there was a female suffrage convention held in San Francisco; he attended and made a radi- cal speech in favor of woman suffrage, at the close saying, "They have my views now and can make the most of them ; I would not conceal them to be Sena- tor!" This was in 1872; in both houses of Congress he advocated equal suffrage for both sexes.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 202

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1672

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672