History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 98

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 98

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Cushing Burr, son of John and Emma (Cush- ing) Burr, was born in Hingham January 21, 1759. He settled in Ashby about 1788. He carried on a farm a part of the time; besides being interested in the tannery, he was engaged in making wooden dry- measures, consisting of those holding from half a bushel to quart-measures. He was a man of action rather than of words ; very decided in his opinions, although always courteous towards every one. He was much respected by his townsmen, being one of

ASHBY.

the selectmen fifteeu times between 1801 and 1825, and moderator of the annual town-meetings thirteen times between 1800 and 1825. He accumulated a large amount of property for his time, the appraisal of his estate at his decease amounting to over $16,000. He died September 19, 1838. 1

Lewis Gould (I have been unable to learn the names of his parents) was born in Franklin October 16, 1771, was graduated from Harvard College 1797, and tradition says that he pursued a course of theo- logical studies with the intention of entering the ministry. Little is known concerning him prior to 1804, when he came to Ashby and opened a store in a building which stood where Austin Hayward's house now stands. He always dressed in a scrupu- lously neat manner with the ruffle shirt accompani- ment of his time ; was eccentric, and sometimes his language would be in bad taste for a man holding his position in society. But under a somewhat rough ex- terior he carried a warm heart, and in all his dealings he was strictly honest, courteous and obliging. Dur- ing the long time in which he was in trade here he must have acquired a small fortune, as his family ex- penses were light and he was prudent, but not mis- erly. In 1846, after a residence here of more than forty years, he wrote a polite letter "To the Inhabit- ants of the Town of Ashby," in which, on certain conditions, he offered to give three hundred dollars with which to buy a town-clock. The town acceded to his wishes, which were in regard to the tower on which it was to be put and the care that should be taken of it. After the object was accomplished the town, not willing to be outdone in etiquette by the donor, chose a committee to draft suitable resolu- tions to be spread ou the town records concerning the matter, of which the following are a copy :

" Resolred, That the towu tenders to Mr. Lewis Gould their respect and gratitude for his very much needed and useful donation of $300 for the purchase of a Town Clock.

" Pcsolred, That in accepting Mr. Gould's donation and complying with his wishes in presenting a Town Clock, we have a beautiful and enduring memento of his judicious taste, public spirit and benevolence.

" HOBERT SPENCER, " ALFRED HITCHCOCK,

" Committee."

Mr. Gould, as has before been stated, gave the town-clock, the Fitch Monument on the Common to the town, and twenty-five dollars towards the bell on the church of the First Parish. He died in Ashby April 14, 1851, and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Benjamin, Elias, Amos and Liberty Wellington, sons of Benjamin and Lucy (Smith) Wellington, were born in Brookfield. Benjamin in 1764, Elias in 1766, Amos in 1770, and Liberty in 1774. They came to Ashby between 1786 and 1790, and settled on farms in the northwest part of the town, some of them on the north- erly brow of Jones Hill. They were carpenters and bricklayers, and well adapted to make themselves homes in a newly-settled town. They made large and com- modious dwelling-houses, brought many acres of wild

land into a good state of cultivation, and orchards, which they enclosed with stone wal. and their descendants were much-respected citle

Benjamin died November 9, 1817; Elias died Janu ary 28, 1824; Amos died November 20, 1857, and Liberty died April 24, 1851. Amos was town clerk, 1810, 1812; representative in 1812; selectman six times between 1805 and 1813, and moderator at the annual town-meetings seven times in the same length of time. His son, Amos Wellington, Jr., represented the town in 1852. Liberty served on the Board of Selectmen for five years, and was chosen on several important committees.

Cushing Burr, son of Cushing and Emma (Cush- ing) Burr, was born in Ashby October 24, 1791. He was decidedly a business man : engaged in a tannery, in storekeeping and in the lumber business. Novem- ber 21, 1821, he married Miss Hulda Wright, and lived and died in the house which is the present res- idence of Charles O. Green. He was a popular and useful citizen, was moderator several times, and town clerk for thirteen years between 1840 and 1857. He was one of the selectmen for seventeen years, between 1824 and 1852, and he served on the most important town committees. He represented Ashby in the Gen- eral Court in 1832, 1833 and 1835. He died in Ashby February 8, 1866, and was buried with Masonic honors.

James O. Kendall, son of Joseph and Mary (Haynes) Kendall, was born in Ashby January 4, 1821. He is one of the successful men who were born in this town. In his youth his time was divided between an attend- ance at the district school and working with his father at the carpenter's trade. On his arrival at manhood he began in the manufacture of tubs and pails at the South Village. He built two of the mills now in operation there. In 1853 he married Miss Phebe H. Denny, of Leicester. He was one of the five mill- owners who built the reservoir. In 1856 he moved to Hartford, Wisconsin, where, for a few years, he had liberal pay for his services as a mill-wright. In 1860 he bought an interest in the Hartford mill property, including the water-power, saw-mill and flouring- mill at that place, situated on the Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad. The firm with which he is con- nected does business under the name of J. O. Ken- dall & Co. The business of this firm increased so rapidly that, in 1873, they built.an extensive brick flouring-mill, known as The Hartford Mills. In 1883 the firm remodeled the mill into a complete roller- system, and now the firm handles from 125,000 to 150,000 bushels of grain annually.

Francis Tinker, son of John and Philena (Francis) Tinker, was born in Worthington January 3, 1816. He acquired a good education at the academy in his native town and at the academy at Ashby. He learned the harness-maker's trade, and while here he worked at it for some time, which is good evidence that he had a sensible parentage. Men who graduate

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JHISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

(Adams) Stonches of the New England mechanics 1727. H, carry with them the best equipment to built. the battle of life. He came to Ashby in 1842, Und remained here until 1853, when he removed to Leominster, and while he was there, in 1860, he was elected one of the three representatives to the Gen- eral Court from the Sixth Worcester District. In 1865 he removed back to Ashby and was four times elected as town clerk and has served on the School Committee in a very acceptable manner. In 1866 Ashby chose a committee "to compile incidents and facts in regard to the early history of the town," con- sisting of "William Sheldon, Joel Hayward, Stephen Wyman, Jonas Patch, George S. Hitchcock and Francis Tinker." Generally the gentleman first named on a committee has "to bear the heat and burden of the day." Not so in this instance, as Mr. Tinker worked faithfully and was the only active inember of that committee: and just here I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to him for most of the facts and incidents relating to the part taken by the citizens of Ashby in the Revolutionary War and in the War of the Rebellion. He is author of " History of Norwood " in the "History of Norfolk County," edited by D. H. Hurd. At present this gentleman resides at Norwood, where he has held the office of town clerk since 1872, when that town was incorpor- ated, where, like mine, his

" May of life Is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf."

Francis Walter Wright, son of Abiel and Martba (Baker) Wright, was born in Nelson, N. H., Septem- ber 27, 1819. He worked on his father's farm while he was not at school, until he was twenty years old. Like many New Hampshire young men who have amounted to something, he took his turn at teaching school. He was a trader in Marlow, N. H., for about a year. He came to Ashby in 1844 and opened a store in the building which stands next west of his dwelling-house. After being in trade here for some time, he exchanged his stock of goods for an interest in a tub and pail factory, which stood in the north- westerly part of the town. This business required too much of his personal attention and interfered with his taste for general speculation so much that he sold out, and since 1848 he has been trading in neat stock, horses, real estate, and, in fact, most every- thing that could he bought and sold at a profit. He has shipped many car-loads of horses from Canada and sold them in this vicinity. He has held nearly all the town offices. He has served as moderator of thirty-one annual town-meetings since 1850, besides holding the same office many times at special town- meetings, and has held the office of justice of the peace since 1848. He represented Ashby in the General Court in 1879, and he pays the most money in taxes of any citizen of Ashby.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

MYRON W. WHITNEY.

The subject of this sketch was born in Aslıby Sep- tember 5, 1835. He is descended from John Whit- ney, who lived in Isleworth, near London, in the early part of the seventeenth century, and who embarked at London for New England in April, 1635, in the "Elizabeth and Ann," Roger Cooper, master, with his wife, Elinor, and five children-John, Rich- ard, Nathaniel, Thomas and Jonathan. At the date of emigration John Whitney was thirty-five years of. age, his wife thirty, and the sons were eleven, nine, eight, six and one, respectively. Soon after his ar- rival Mr. Whitney settled in Watertown, where he bought sixteen acres of land which had been granted by the Massachusetts Colony to John Strickland. These acres were, however, only the nucleus of a much larger estate of which he was the possessor at the time of his death. Mrs. Whitney died May 11, 1659, and her husband married, September 29, 1659, Judith or Judah Clement, whose death was followed by that of Mr. Whitney June 1, 1673, at the age of seventy-four. Three sons-Joshua, Caleb and Ben- jamin-were born in Watertown, and there, with the exception of Caleb, all the other brothers were living at the time of their father's death.

John Whitney, Jr., son of the ancestor, was born in England in 1624, and married Ruth, daughter of Robert Reynolds, of Boston. He was a prominent man in Watertown, and served on the Board of Select- men from 1673 to 1679, inclusive. He had ten chil- dren : John, born September 17, 1643; Rnth, April 15, 1645; Nathaniel, February 1, 1646-47 ; Samuel, July 28, 1648; Mary, April 29, 1650; Joseph, Janu- ary 15, 1651-52; Sarah, March 17, 1653-54; Elizabeth, June 9, 1656; Hannah (date of birth unknown), and Benjamin, June 28, 1660. Of these children Benja- miu married, March 30, 1687, Abigail Hagar and a second wife, Elizabeth, and remained in Watertown. His children were Abigail, born May 3, 1688; Benja- min, baptized July 10, 1698; Ruth, baptized July 10, 1698; John, born June 15, 1694; David, June 16, 1697, and Daniel, July 17, 1700. Of these children David settled in Waltham and married a wife, Re- becca. He was an ensign in the navy, and died be- fore April 30, 1745, the date of the division of his estate. His children were Rebecca, born in Novem- ber, 1721; David, September 25, 1723; Anna or Han- nah, August 8, 1725; Ruth, February 23, 1728-29; Josiah, November 22, 1730; Jonas, June 25, 1733, and Jonathan, February 10, 1735. Of these children Josiah lived in Waltham, and married, June 15, 1762, Sarah Lawrence. He died December 3, 1800, and his children were Sarah, born April 18, 1763; Josiah, June 23, 1765; Rhoda, August 22, 1768; Jonathan, May 8, 1772; Aunie, baptized April 2, 1775, and Lucy, baptized July 28, 1776. Of these

MwWhitney

Edwin. K. Johnson

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Josiah married Mary Barrett, of Ashby, to whom he was published January 10, 1794. His children were Josiah, born in Waltham March 20, 1791; Sally, horn in Waltham March 19, 1792 ; Jonas Prescott, born in Waltham September 22, 1793 ; Mary, born in Waltham September 14, 1796; William, born in Lin- coln July 20, 1798; John born April 7, 1801; Nancy, March 29, 1803, and Alice, December 17, 1805. He was, with his wife, dismissed to the church in Ashby November 24, 1799, and in that town the death of his wife occurred, August 23, 184I, followed by his own, December 24, 1842. Of these children William lived in Ashby and married Fanny Lincoln, a native of Marlboro', N. H. He is the father of Myron W. Whitney, the subject of this sketch, and is still living (June, 1890) in his native town at the advanced age of ninety-two.

Myron W. Whitney, until the age of sixteen, at- tended the public schools of Ashby, and then removed to Boston, where, at the age of twenty, having devel- oped musical and vocal talents of great promise, he began with E. H. Frost to study for the profession in which he has won distinction, and soon became a member of the well-known Tremont Temple Choir, of which Mr. Frost was director. During his mem- bership in the choir, which continued several years, he sang with marked success in oratorios and con- certs ; but, conscious of powers which needed a better education than Boston could afford, he went to Italy in 1869 at the age of thirty-three, and availed himself of the instruction of the celebrated Vannucini, of Florence. After leaving Florence he went to Lon- don, and, with Signor Randegger, the distinguished oratorio teacher, perfected himself in that department of musical art. While in England his singing of Elijah with the Birmingham Festival Choral Society won for him a reputation which cpened the way for a brilliant reception and career on his return to his native land. After his return he sang in oratorios concerts and festivals until 1873, when he again vis- ited England, under a contract with the distinguished soprano, Madame Rudersdorf, to sing with her in a concert and oratorio tour through England, Ireland and Scotland. The reputation which He had acquired at his earlier appearance in England was enhanced by his later efforts, and the power and compass of his voice, ranging from low C to high F, gave him a uni- versally acknowledged claim to a place in the front rank of the bassos of his day.

In the autumn of 1873 he sang at Covent Garden Theatre in London during six weeks in concert and oratorio, under the direction of Sir Arthur Sullivan, Sir Julius Benedict and other celebrated directors, and returned home in the spring of 1874 to fill en- gagements at various American festivals, and made a tour of the United States with Theodore Thomas and his unequalled orchestra. In 1875 he again visited England under a contract with Novello, Ewer & Co. for a three months' season of oratorio and concert in

Royal Albert Hall, London. This engagement was unusually brilliant and successful, and at its close Mr. Whitney sang almost nightly in the larger cities of Great Britain until his return to America, in the spring of 1876, which was hastened by an urgent in- vitation to take part at the opening of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia of that year. Mr. Whit- ney was on that occasion the only soloist of the cele- bration. The immense space in front of the art building was filled by a crowd estimated approxi- mately at 100,000, and the voices of the speakers failed to reach the ears of more than one-tenth part of the multitude. Far within the circumference of the audience the voices of even the chorus were in- distinct, but over and beyond the limits of the great congregation the grand notes of Mr. Whitney cut their way with a power and clearness which excited the wonder and admiration of all who were present and heard them. No human voice was ever subjected to such a test, and no test of far less magnitude was ever by the human voice more triumphantly met.

Since 1876, though frequently urged to repeat his visits to England, he has confined himself to engage- ments at home, which have been arduous and unre- mitting. He has sung in all the large festivals of the country, with the Handel and Haydn Society in their Boston oratorios, in eight of the nine festivals in Cincinnati and in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis festivals. He probably has the most extensive repertoire of any basso in concert and oratorio, while his later efforts have given him an enviable repertoire in grand opera also. His operatic experience, extending over a period of ten years, and including two seasons with the American Opera Company through the United States, has crowned a reputation as basso which no other singer of our country has ever attained. His success in the grand rôle of King, in " Lohengrin," no American audience has ever seen surpassed, if even equaled.

Among the more celebrated artists with whom Mr. Whitney has sung may be mentioned,-Parepa Rosa, Christine Nillson, Adelina Patti, Annie Louise Carey, Clara Kellogg, Campanini, Charles Adams, Candi- dus and Gorg Henschel in the United States ; Mad- ame Titiens, Madame Lemmens Sherrington, Madame Trebelli, Madame Patey, Antoinette Sterling, Sims Reeves, Vernon Rigby and Julius Stockhausen in England ; and Madame Rudersdorf and Edward Lloyd in both the United States and England. As conductors he has sung under Sir Michael Costa, Sir Julius Benedict, Sir Arthur Sullivan, August Manns, Signor Randegger and Sir Charles Halle in England ; and Theodore Thomas, Carl Zerrahn, Gericke and others. During the present year of 1890 he has sung in the festivals of Boston, Springfield, Cincinnati, Mansfield, O., and Pittsburgh, and his engagements end only with the advent of summer.

Mr. Whitney married, May 4, 1859, Eleanora Brea- sha, of Boston, in which city he held his residence

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until December, 1888, and has three children,-Wil- liam Lincoln, Lizzie Gertrude and Myron W., Jr. In 1888 he removed to Watertown, where he bought an estate which he has since occupied, and which he has discovered is a part of the estate owned by his ancestor, John Whitney, during his residence in that town. In 1880 he bought land on the shore of Long Pond, in the town of Plymonth, on which he built a honse which he occupies as a summer residence. The pond on whose margin his house stands, and the large numer of other ponds in the vicinity, afford him abundant opportunity for the indulgence of his taste for fishing during intermissions from his professional labors. His skill with the rod is only surpassed by his musical attainments, and it is a matter of doubt whether he is not less proud of his reputation as an artist than of the feat he has performed of landing a trout weighing twenty-five pounds and fourteen ounces with an eleven-ounce rod.

Mr. Whitney is in the prime of life, with health unimpaired, and with a voice promising still greater trinmphs than it has ever yet achieved. During his summer residence in the native town of the writer of this sketch he has won hosts of friends, and not the least of his successes was the part gracefully accepted by him at the celebration of the completion of the National Monument to the Pilgrims on the 1st of August, 1889. On that occasion the beautiful hymn of Mrs. Hemans, "The Breaking Waves Dashed High," as sung by him before an audience of 2000 persons, was one of the most interesting features of the day.

EDWIN K. JOHNSON.

Edwin Kendall Johnson, son of William and Betsey (Wright) Johnson, was born in Ashby October 5, 1827. He married Lucy M. Thayer, of Lebanon, Maine, July 19, 1866. She died in Ashby October 19, 1870. No children. He is descended in the fifth generation from Captain Edward Johnson, born in Herne Hill, Kent, England, in 1599. He came to New England in 1637, and settled in Charlestown in that part thereof which is now Woburn. He is known as the author of the remarkable historical work entitled " Wonder-Working Providence of Sion's Sa- viour in New England." He was a joiner, a promi- nent military man, and deputy from Woburn to the General Conrt many times. He died in Woburn April 23, 1762, and his sons were the leading men of that town. William was a favorite Christian name in the Johnson family, and every paternal ancestor of the subject of this sketch since the time of Captain Edward had that name. His grandfather lived in Actou, was a prominent man there, a soldier in the Revolution under General Arnold, was in the battle at Saratoga when Burgoyne surrendered. He saw Major André executed and testified to his attractive personality and his quiet submission to his fate. He moved to Ashby in 1791 and settled bencath the evening

shadow of Nemosit Hill, known also as Prospect Hill and Blood Hill. Edwin K. distinctly remembers his grandfather, and when not at school he worked with his father on his farm. He attended the academy at Hancock, N. H., one term, was at New Ipswich Academy three terms, and at the Ashby Academy most of the time for two years. He learned the mason's trade, and after he became master of the business he went to Boston, where he made a special- ty of setting boilers, ranges and furnaces, and he fol- lowed this occupation successfully for twenty-one years. He attended strictly to his business, saved his money and invested it with good judgment. For the last twenty years he has lived on the ancestral home- stead, where he cared for his parents in their declining years and to some extent has improved his farm. He has never coveted office, although he has served as moderator at the annual town-meetings and has been on the School Committee several years. He is a Re- publican in politics, having voted for every Republi- can candidate for the Presidency since that party was formed.

CHAPTER XXIII.

WOBURN.

BY WILLIAM R. CUTTER.

INTRODUCTION.

WOBURN, according to a recent authority, is one of the older towns of Massachusetts, having been settled in 1642. Its growth, however,-it continues,-was slow, and it is only in recent years that it has at- tained to marked importance. This indeed . is true ; still, Woburn has, nevertheless, quite a history, and in the past has faithfully performed her part in the State and country. In the earlier days, when the fathers were slowly and broadly laying the foundation of the privileges and advantages her present sons en- joy, many of her sons were sent to adorn and benefit other municipalities, where their careers not only gained credit for themselves but increased the renown of the places they had selected for their adopted homes. The same is true of her daughters; and the careers of these, and of the others whose lives have been spent on their natal soil, in very many instances have shown commendable examples of worth and useful- ness, sobriety, industry, good sense and abounding activity in all common employments. Dne regard has also been paid to all religious, educational and moral and pecuniary obligations. The financial credit of the town and city in its corporate capacity has always been good ; and its bills have always been paid with commendable promptness. The place has also contained among its inhabitants many public- spirited citizens, both male and female, who have `given generously of their time and means for its so-

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cial advancement and the improvement of the meutal and physical condition of its inhabitants. Those of our native population who have traveled, or have found homes elsewhere, have felt, wherever they have been, that Woburn has been a place good to hail from. For ourselves we are proud to say that we are native to Woburn; that our hirthplace was here on its goodly soil ; that its people were our ear- lier aud later friends; that within its bosom rest the remains of our beloved parents ; many of our earlier friends rest in its soil with them-peace to their ashes ! We are not ashamed of Woburn's past, and have no fears for its future. From a natural love of the work we have made the history of the town the study of a lifetime. This has been partly an inher- ited taste. Our advantages in the prosecution of the task have been great, if not unusual. We are thank- ful to all who have aided in any way in helping with special or general information. The response has always been faithfully met. In the following pages we have attempted to show the results of a few of our researches. In this undertaking we have had the sanction of the members of the Rumford Historical Association and the assistance of his honor, Edward F. Johnson, the first mayor of the city of Woburn, and of the Rev. Leander Thompson, both natives of Woburn; the latter gentleman for a long series of years having made the history of the town, its churches and the gencalogy of its people a special and favorite study.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 98

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1034