USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > History of New Bedford and its vicinity, 1620-1892 > Part 73
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As a merchant Mr. Arnold held a place prominent and honorable. He was among the last of that successful and highminded race of men who, in the last quarter of the present century, were the merchant princes of New Bedford. He took his place while yet a young man, as the son-in-law of William Rotch, jr., and as his partner in business, among those who were known throughout the mercantile world as enlightened and successful men of business ; and while the success of his devotion, skill, and enterprise demonstrated his right to share with them their elevated position, no act of his ever sul- lied the purity of the reputation they had won.
Mr. Arnold was but little in public life. In the days when the good old plan of town meetings allowed men to be somewhat active in our town affairs, he gave a fair portion of his time to our municipal business. For a short period he was a member of the Governor's Council while the governor's chair was occupied by George N. Briggs. He filled the office of councilor with much credit and usefulness. The good governor said that at, no period during his long term of office did he have more efficient assistance from any member of his council than from Mr. Arnold. His was a well-trained, well- disciplined and a well-informed mind, fitted for usefulness in any 'direction to which its energies were given.
No man understood better than he the obligations which rested upon him, as one who had been blessed by a bountiful Providence with ample means for the alleviation of hu- man suffering and want.
He was a strong man -- strong in means and strong in the ability to judge as to the most efficient manner of dispensing his bounties. "The cause which he knew not he searched out." Never, from his princely abode on County street, did the stream of benevolence cease to flow. The exercise of the charities of which that was the foun- tain was one of the institutions of the city. Steadily, clearly, widely, always full and always overflowing, year after year the stream flowed on, diffusing throughout our city its healing, refreshing and encouraging influence. One of the special objects of his philanthropy to which he felt himself called, was to befriend and aid the colored race. Few, if any, of this class were ever turned away unhelped. Aid has gone from his house to help many a fugitive slave on to liberty. During the days of the anti-slavery agita- tion and struggle he was a regular and large contributor to the funds of the anti-slavery societies.
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GEORGE WILSON.
Mr. Arnold died December 2, 1868, at the age of eighty-seven years. Among other generous bequests in his will, he left in trust "the sum of $100,000 for the benefit of the poor and needy in New Bedford who may be deserving."
W JILSON, GEORGE, was born in Windham, N. H., October 1, 1813, where he spent his boyhood until he was fourteen years of age. His education was such as the common schools of his native town afforded, limited to ordinary rudimental instruction. Ambitious to earn his own living, he left his paternal home, with their knowledge but without the consent of his parents. It was in 1827 that he entered one of the Merri- mac mills at Lowell, as bobbin-boy, where he was employed for two years. He then apprenticed himself for three years to learn to manufacture cotton goods, receiving forty- two cents per day the first year, fifty cents the second and fifty-eight cents the third. on which money he paid his board and clothed himself. He was obliged to work thirteen hours a day for this meager sum, but he bravely continued to the end of his apprentice- ship. At the close he left Lowell mainly to get away from undesirable acquaintances and hoping to secure better opportunities for employment. For some time Mr. Wilson was unsuccessful, though he used his best endeavors and gladly accepted every oppor- tunity to earn an honest dollar. In his wanderings he came to New Bedford and found employment for a few months with Timothy Drew. It was at this time that he had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of Mr. John Howland jr., who thought Wilson a suitable man to work for him and live with his mother, Reliance, widow of John Howland; a bargain was made and young Wilson entered upon his new employ and found it very pleasant, so much so that he soon gave up all thought of looking for work in a cotton factory. It was a home to him and the influence of that good old Quaker lady did much to form his character and to fit him for the many eminent posi- tions he was called to fill later in life. For four years he continued in the employ of Mr. Howland, and while he did faithful and satisfactory work for his employer in the regular service, he was enabled by working overtime and by studious economy, to save his entire monthly wages. It was through this diligent use of his time that he obtained his little capital that was to be the foundation of his business life. In 1836 he pur- chased his first horse and truck, and commenced the teaming business, which he success- fully carried on for thirty years. In 1850 he entered into partnership with the late Hon. John H. Perry, under the firm name of John H. Perry & Co., and for seventeen years carried on the coal, paint and teaming business at the corner of Walnut and South Water streets, in which enterprise the firm was very successful.
Mr. Wilson was identified with many of the business enterprises of the city. He was president, director and superintendent of the New Bedford Tanning Company for four years, president and treasurer of the Goswold Mills, director of Mt. Washington Glass Company, of the New Bedford Street Railway Company, and the Fall River Railroad Company. He was for three years a partner with Dennison Brothers, grain and flour dealers.
Mr. Wilson was for many years a member of the New Bedford Fire Department, and has held every office from torch-boy to chief engineer, except that of clerk.
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
He was a member of the Common Council, of the Board of Aldermen, and finished his public service to the city by a four years' term as mayor. In all these positions Mr. Wilson brought that energy, faithfulness and honesty that characterized his business career, and his administration as mayor was noted for its economical and business-like methods.
Mr. Wilson was a self-made man, and through his persistent effort and a willingness to work at any honorable employment, has risen, step by step, until he has acquired an ample competency and has occupied the highest positions in the gift of his fellow citizens.
B ORDEN, ALANSON, was born in the town of Tiverton, R. I., near to the Massa- chusetts line (now in the latter State), on the 7th of January, 1823. His father was Isaac Borden, who was a farmer, as was also his grandfather and earlier ancestors, all being of English descent. His mother was Abby Borden, a member of a different family and not related. When the boy was nine years old his father and grandfather removed with the family, to Venice, Cayuga County, N. Y., where they lived many years, the father and mother, however, finally returned to Massachusetts, and both died in New Bedford. Down to the time of the removal of the family to New York State, Alanson attended the school near his home, and after the removal he attended the district schools until he was seventeen years old, when he entered the academy at Groton, N. Y. A few months later he changed to the Aurora (Cayuga county) Acad- emy, which he attended about two years. It had been his cherished intention to go through college, and during a period of teaching after leaving the Aurora Academy, he began preparation for his college course; but a combination of circumstances rendered it impracticable for him to carry out his plans, and his further educational advantages were restricted to one year in an academy at Ithaca, N. Y., which he left with an ex- cellent academic education, which was much enhanced by subsequent private study. Following his term at the last named academy he taught in district and private schools, closing this kind of labor with one year in Fall River, Mass.
In 1846 Mr. Borden went to live in New Bedford, resolved to enter the legal profes- sion. He began his studies in the office of Elliot & Kasson and remained there two and one-half years, when he was admitted to the bar and at once opened an office. He has ever since practiced here, though very much of his time and talent has been given to the duties of public office. In this respect Judge Borden has been highly honored by his fellow citizens. He was appointed Special Justice of the Police Court in 1856, and resigned the office in 1859; then he was elected to the State Legislature, serving in that body two years, with the approval of his constituents. Following this he accepted the office of trial justice for juvenile offenders, which was established in New Bedford by special statute. In 1864 he was appointed judge of the City Police Court and held the office until 1874, when all of the police courts of the county were abolished and the county was divided into three districts with a judge for each. Judge Borden received the appointment for the Third District, embracing the city of New Bedford, and the towns of Dartmouth, Westport, Fairhaven, Acushnet and Freetown, and still holds the office. In the fall of 1864 he became the law partner of the late Judge Robert C. Pit-
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ALANSON BORDEN-I. W. BENJAMIN.
man, and this connection continned for several years, and until the appointment of Judge Pitman to the Benchi of the Superior Court. In his varions legislative and judi- cial positions, Judge Borden has fully demonstrated his peculiar fitness for their duties. This is particularly true of the latter named offices, in which his natural temperament, clear instinct into the judicial features of any case before him, and his calm and gener- ally correct judgment have enabled him to discharge their duties to the eminent satisfac- tion of the community. In 1876 Judge Borden was honored with an election to the mayoralty of the city and gave his constituents an excellent administration. He has been a member of the School Board for many years and was its chairman three years. While Judge Borden's legal practice has been of a general character, he has given most of his attention, outside of his official life, to office practice. The confidence reposed in him has led to his frequent appointment as administrator of estates. as trustee of private property, and executor of wills, in which capacities he has exercised prudent man- agement and followed the high ideal of integrity which has governed his life. No views of Judge Borden's active career would be at all complete which did not allude to the fact that he has always been prominently connected with the temperance canse, and both by words and deeds has rendered that canse most efficient services.
Judge Borden was married first January 27, 1852, to Mary C. Topham, of New Bedford. She died August 22, 1876, and he married second, Mary Kent, daughter of George Kent, of Washington. She died January 9, 1885, and he married on the 16th of January, 1886, Anna R. Comerford, of New Bedford. His children are a son and a daughter by his first wife. The son is William A. Borden, who who is now in charge of the library of the Young Men's Institute in New Haven, Conn. The daugh- ter, Laura E., married Charles H. Lobdell, of New Bedford.
B ENJAMIN, ISAAC W .- The subject of this sketch was born in New Bedford, October 24, 1833, and died March 23, 1891. His father, Isaac Benjamin, was born in Livermore, Me., April 6, 1808, and died in New Bedford April 21, 1889. Lucy S. Benjamin, whose maiden name was Eldredge, was born in Yarmouth, Mass., Decem- ber 2, 1806, and is still living (1892). They were married February 5, 1832, and moved to New Bedford. They had six children, of which Isaac W. was the second born. He was educated in the public schools, and graduated from the New Bedford High School in the class of 1848.
He entered with ambitious zeal into business life, and after successive service in minor positions, he entered in 1862 into the employ of the New Bedford Cordage Company. Here Mr. Benjamin developed traits of energy, correctness and tact, that found ready appreciation from his employers. His qualifications were recognized by occasional advancement to positions of responsibility and trust. On the decease of Mr. Leander A. Plummer, the treasurer of the corporation, Mr. Benjamin was chosen his successor in office, which position he occupied and filled acceptably to the time of his last sickness.
Mr. Benjamin occupied other prominent positions in business circles, and through his sterling qualifications ohtamed and held the full confidence of his fellow citizens. He was treasurer of the Rotch Wharf Company, trustee of the Institution of Savings, and was also president of the New Bedford Co-operative Bank.
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
In politics he was a Republican, and always took a deep interest in national and mu- nicipal affairs. He served the city as an alderman in 1879; in the city council in 1869 and 1874, and was one of the Board of Commissioners of Sinking Fund. It was, how- ever, in his twenty years of service as a member of the school committee, that Mr. Ben- jamin did the more effectual work for his native town. His interest in the public schools was characterized for steady devotion and genuine enthusiasm, which he imparted to the teachers and scholars with whom he associated. Nor was it confined to those alone, but its influence was felt among his associates in office. The series of resolu- tions that were passed by the school committee in session a few days after his decease, reveals the esteem and respect in which he was held.
" The school committee of New Bedford deploring the loss it has suffered in the death of Isaac W. Benjamin, one of the oldest members, places on record this last formal ex- pression of its appreciation of his worth and of regard for his memory. Mr. Benjamin was pre-eminently a faithful servant of the people, who had chosen him to have over- sight of their common schools. The duties which devolved upon him were performed with intelligent zeal and scrupulous fidelity. He was unwearied in his devotion to the interest of the schools, unflagging in his care for the details of their management, and wisely progressive, while he brought to all questions the test of a sound judgment, en- lightened by long experience. A wise counselor and an able administrator, the schools and scholars of New Bedford owe to him the obligations of perpetual gratitude."
In honor of his memory the school located on Division street was named the " Isaac W. Benjamin School."
Mr. Benjamin was a member of the Middle Street Christian Church, and faithfully filled many offices of trust and responsibility. For fourteen years he performed de- voted service as superintendent of the Sunday-school, and for twenty-five years was treasurer of the church. His life was one of great usefulness, winning the sincere respsect and love of all his fellow citizens.
Mr. Benjamin married March 4, 1855, Miss Olive Lane Moulton of Livermore, Me. They had one child, Lncy E., born September 2, 1865, who was married, December 8, 1891, to Rev. William Rowland Spaid, of Winchester, Va.
D ROWN, WILLIAM FREDERICK .- The subject of this sketch was born in Re- hoboth December 4, 1815, and died at his home 765 County street, New Bedford, February 18, 1891. His father was Ezra Drown, of Rehoboth, born February 1, 1788. He was a farmer. The maiden name of his mother was Sally Lindsey, of Rehoboth, and was born February 20, 1789. They had seven children : Emily Jane, Betsey Lindsey, William Frederick, Martha Wheeler, Nancy Mason, Mary Hutchinson, and Sarah Fi- delia. His grandfather, Colonel Frederick Drown, of Rehoboth, was a prominent man in his days and generation. He was a soldier in the American Revolution, and filled a number of public offices. He was selectman, overseer of poor, and represented the town for two years in the General Court at Boston. He also was a farmer, and died of typhoid fever in Boston in 1804.
William Frederick Drown was educated in Attleboro, to which town his parents re- moved soon after his birth, and where he spent the early years of his manhood. In
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WM. F DROWN- f. H. CLIFFORD.
1838 he moved to Middleboro, where he engaged in the cotton business. In 1843 Mr. Drown came to New Bedford and opened a retail grocery store. In 1847 he formed a co-partnership with his brother-in-law, Sylvanus Thomas, under the firm name of Wil- liam F. Drown & Co., and carried on the wholesale grocery business. In 1861 Mr. Thomas withdrew from the firm and Mr. Drown continued the business till 1868, when he retired from active life, having secured a competency which enabled him to enjoy the latter years of his life free from the care and responsibility of business activity.
In politics Mr. Drown was a Republican and on all questions of a national or local nature, his influence was sure to be on the side of justice and humanity ; of a quiet and retiring disposition Mr. Drown did not seek political preferment nor public position.
Born of good New England stock, he developed a well-rounded character, built upon principles of uprightness, business honor and sterling integrity, and one worthy of his ancestry. He won the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens and through his long career in New Bedford maintained an enviable position as a high-minded and hon- orable man. Mr. Drown was deeply attached to his home, and his domestic fireside possessed for him the most sacred and delightful of associations. He was a kind, de- voted husband ; the tenderest of fathers. Mr. Drown was a prominent member of the North Congregational Church and was a liberal supporter of its interests.
Mr. Drown was married October 14, 1839. to Harriet J. Smith, of Rehoboth, and of this marriage three children were born: Harriet Jackson, born May 14, 1845, died August 20 of the same year; William Frederick, born July 6, 1852, died October 18, 1856; Harriet Maria, born March 17, 1847, now the wife of Charles E. Benton, of Sharon, Conn. They have one child, Harriet Jackson Benton, born December 8, 1885.
LIFFORD, JOHN HENRY.'-Conspicuous among the names of New Bedford
C men who have in past years occupied positions of eminence and made the record of their lives a part of the history of the Commonwealth, stands that of John Henry Clifford. Governor Clifford (for by that title he will be most readily remembered), was not a native of Massachusetts; but was born in Providence, R. I., on the 16th of Janu- ary, 1809, and resided there with his parents until he had finished his school and college education. It was not until after he had gone through his four years' course and taken his degree as A. B., in 1827, at Brown University, that he left his home and native State. He then entered on the study of law with Timothy G. Coffin, of New Bedford, and subsequently studied with the late Theron Metcalf, at Dedham. In 1830 he was admitted to the bar in Bristol County, and in the same year took his degree of A. M., and delivered an oration on "The Perils of Professional life." Thenceforth he was to confront those perils himself, and at once began practice in New Bedford. On the 16th of January, 1832, his twenty-third birthday, he married Sarah Parker Allen, daughter of William Howland Allen, and granddaughter of the Hon. John Avery Parker, of New Bedford, who still (1892), survives at the age of 84 in remarkable health and vigor.
1 This sketch is largely drawn from a memorial prepared by Robert C. Winthrop for the Mas- sachusetts Historical Society.
F
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
Governor Clifford, though often much engrossed in public life, continued his active connection with his profession until nearly the time of his death. He was at first for a brief period a partner of Timothy G. Coffin, and subsequently for nearly ten years was associated with Harrison G. O. Colby. From 1845 to 1853 his student-at-law, Lincoln F. Brigham, afterwards chief justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, was his junior partner. After that date he practiced alone.
He first entered upon public life in 1835, when he took his seat in the Massachusetts Legislature as a representative from New Bedford. That was the year of the revision of the statutes of the Commonwealth, and he did efficient service on the large committee which had that matter in charge. In 1836 he became one of the aides-de-camp of Gov- ernor Everett, and retained that position until. by a single vote out of a hundred thou- sand votes, Mr. Everett's chief magistracy was brought to a close in 1840. Before Mr. Everett went out of office, however, he had conferred upon Governor Clifford, in whom he had the highest confidence, the appointment of district attorney for the Southern Dis- trict of Massachusetts, an office in which he served the Commonwealth assiduously and successfully for nearly ten years. Meantime, in 1845, the county of Bristol had elected him a member of the Senate of Massachusetts, where he gave renewed evidence of his ability and accomplishments as a debater and a legislator. But his taste for legal prac- tice predominated over all others, and in 1849 he entered upon the duties of an office which was to be the field of his longest and most distinguished public service. In that year he received from Governor Briggs the appointment of attorney-general of the State.
Early in the following year it fell to his lot to conduct a memorable trial, with which his name will be always most prominently and honorably associated. Few trials, if any, in the history of the country, have excited a deeper interest, or challenged more anxious and critical attention, than that of Prof. John W. Webster for the murder of Dr. George Parkman. Even to this day the circumstances of the crime and the proceedings possess the fascination of a tragic drama. The responsibility and labor which it threw upon the attorney-general were of the most arduons character, and it is enough to say of the manner in which they were met, that when the verdict was rendered, and the full de- tails of evidence and argument were published to the world, he had earned a reputation for ability and force, as well as for discretion and fairness as a prosecuting officer, which was recognized far beyond the limits of New England. He fully realized the impor- tance of the trial, in its success or failure, on his own professional career, and looked upon it as a crisis in his life. "A failure in it," he afterwards wrote to a friend, "would liave been fåtal ; a moderate degree of success would have been scarcely less unfortu- nate ; and I fervently thank the good Being who has guided and strengthened and sus- tained me, for the eminent success which the assurances that I have received from all quarters leave me not at liberty to doubt my having achieved." Few things could have gratified him more in this connection than a passage in Blackwood's Magazine for June of that year, from the pen of the eminent barrister. Samuel Warren. He was then publishing a series of articles on modern state trials, and after alluding to the fact that he had intended to incorporate in his last article an account of the Webster-Parkman trial, he said : " All we shall say at present on the subject is, that the reply of Mr.
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F. H. CLIFFORD.
Clifford for the prosecution cannot be excelled in close and conclusive reasoning, con- veyed in language equally elegant and forcible. Its effect, as a demonstration of the guilt of the accused, is fearful." This is indeed high praise, coming from a man of the legal and literary attainments of Samuel Warren.
In the autumn of 1852 the Whig party of Massachusetts nominated Mr. Clifford for governor of the State. He accepted the nomination with reluctance ; and, though he received nearly 25,000 more votes than either of the opposing candidates, he was not elected by the people. The plurality system had not yet been adopted, and the consti- tution of the State required for an election an absolute majority of all the votes cast by the people. On the meeting of the Legislature, however, he was chosen by the votes of the two branches, and was inaugurated on the 14th of January, 1853.
Governor Clifford discharged the duties of the chief magistracy with great fidelity and dignity, and it was only for him to say whether he should remain in the office for a second term. But his interest in his profession determined him to decline a renomina- tion, and on the election of Gov. Emory Washburn, his successor, he was at once called on by him to resume his place as attorney-general of the Commonwealth. He continued to hold that high office, by executive appointment. one year, by Legislative election for another, and for a third by the choice of the people of the State, until 1858. He had thus served the Commonwealth as its highest law officer for a term of seven years in all ; and in that capacity had certainly rendered his best public service and acquired his greatest public distinction. In retiring finally from this position he did not abandon his professional labors. and was frequently to be found in the highest courts of the State and of the Nation, in the argument of important cases. During the great civil war, which soon afterwards convulsed the country, he omitted no efforts in his power to sustain the cause of the Union. More than once he was summoned to Washington to hold council with cabinet officers in regard to measures under contemplation. At home, too, he spared neither time nor money in encouraging the soldiers who went out from his own county and city. In 1862 he accepted an election to the State Senate, and was at once chosen president of that body, in that capacity rendering conspicuous service to the Commonwealth at the most critical period of the war.
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