History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 92

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 92

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Methodist Episcopal Church.1-An informal meet- ing of a few persons interested in the formation of a Methodist class was held Friday evening, July 26, 1878, when it was decided to organize a weekly class, which should meet for the first time the next Wednes- day evening, July 31st, at the residence of Mr. Jos. W. Thayer. On that evening, July 31, 1878, the first class-meeting was held, twelve persons being present. The Rev. Joshua Monroe, of West Abington, acted as leader. On the following Wednesday eve- ning the class met at the residence of Lewis Alden,

Immediately after the fire the members and friends of the Winthrop society took the initiatory steps looking to a rebuilding of the edifice. Their efforts were crowned with abundant success, and on the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1880, a commodious , who was chosen as the regular class-leader.

and handsomely finished new church was dedicated in Three months afterwards it was thought wise to hold a prayer-meeting on one evening of the week. Such a meeting was held for the first time at Joseph W. Thayer's residence, with an attendance of about twenty-five. These prayer-meetings, held regularly on Monday evenings during the autumn and winter, had an increasing attendance, until on one occasion seventy-two were present. More than half of these, however, were from the Winthrop Congregational Church, and others still were from out of town- afforded to those in attendance, which was embraced | South Braintree, West Abington, Brockton, etc. Thus these meetings from house to house were kept up under the lead of a few persons of the Methodist persuasion and preference, until a strong desire was felt that, in order to make the movement already be- gun a more permanent one, there ought to be a formal organization of a society under the discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The preliminary steps having been taken, and the necessary arrangements made, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 1879, Rev. D. A. Whe- the presence of a large congregation. The invocation was by Rev. J. C. Labaree, of Randolph ; reading of the Scriptures by Rev. Z. T. Sullivan, of Brockton ; prayer by Rev. P. B. Davis, of Hyde Park ; sermon by Rev. L. H. Angier, acting pastor of the Winthrop Church, who took his text from Exodus xiv. 14 and 15; dedicatory prayer by Rev. George W. Blagden, D.D., of Boston. At the conclusion of the ceremo- nies an opportunity to inspect the new structure was very generally. The total cost of the edifice was $28,327, of which $15,790 was subscribed by citizens, and the church was substantially free from debt when dedicated. The more important subscriptions were : Ladies' Sewing Circle, $1000; George N. Spear, $1000; E. Everett Holbrook, $1000; Edmund White, $750 ; Sabbath-school, $600 ; Thomas White, $500; Mrs. E. N. Holbrook, $500; E. Newton Thayer, $500; George T. Wilde, $300 ; J. T. South- worth, $300; Charles H. Paine, $300; Seth C. | don, D.D., presiding elder of the Providence District, Sawyer, $300; Charles V. Spear, $250. One hun- dred and seventy-four other persons donated from $5 |

1 By Rev. Howard E. Cook.

433

HOLBROOK.

Providence (now N. E. Southern) Conference, visited the town and formally organized the Holbrook Meth- odist Episcopal Church, with seven members and two probationers. Truly a very small beginning ! These | number received is forty-seven. One, Otis Thayer, original members were Lewis Alden, Mrs. Hattie S. Alden, Elmer F. Reynolds, Mrs. Georgiana Rey- nolds, Mrs. Emma O. Thayer, Mrs. Nancy A. Nick- erson, and Edward Brewer. Probationers : Mrs. Abbie C. Hollis and Sarah W. Bates.

A desire for preaching services on the Lord's day soon prevailed, and on April 27, 1879, under the di- rection of the presiding elder, Rev. C. M. Comstock came to Holbrook and preached to the first congrega- tion ever assembled in the town under the auspices of a Methodist Episcopal Church. Library Hall had been engaged, and the services were held therein. Eighty were present at this first preaching service. The Rev. B. L. Duckwall preached May 4th and 11th, after whom the Rev. D. C. Stevenson acted as preacher and pastor from May 18th to August 2d. In this brief time he made many friends in Holbrook, who were sadly pained, the past year, at the news of his death in the South. The pulpit was supplied August 9th and 16th by the Rev. A. M. Osgood, and the 23d and 30th by the Rev. W. C. Helt. Next came the pastorate of the Rev. Nelson Edwards, for six months-Sep- tember 7th to March 7, 1880. During this time an attempt was made toward building a church. The Rev. Mr. Edwards succeeded in getting about six hundred dollars pledged, and sufficient collected to buy mouth Street, also to pay for the laying of a trench- work foundation for a church, thirty-one by forty. Here the work stopped. The first regularly-appointed preacher sent by the bishop was the Rev. E. M. Dun- ham, April 13, 1880. On the Saturday night on which he arrived in town, April 17, 1880, Library Hall was burned. Severe illness of his wife compelled him to resign his work in September, 1880, and the Rev. W. C. Endly was sent to fill out the remainder of the Conference year. The Rev. F. J. Ward was sent as the supply in 1881, and remained until ill health compelled him to resign in August ensuing. The Rev. Howard E. Cook, of Boston University School of Theology, succeeded to the vacancy. Unit- ing with the N. E. Southern Conference as a pro- bationer in April, 1882, he was sent by the bishop as the second regularly-appointed pastor of the Holbrook Methodist Episcopal Church. Again in April, 1883, he was reappointed to a third year's pastorate.

a lot for four hundred and fifty dollars, located on Ply- | and a subscription-book was started by the pastor, who also drew up some plans and specifications for a church, which were accepted by the committee, who gave him authority to solicit and receive bids thereon. This done, the carpenter's contract was given to Ed- ward Brewer at two thousand two hundred and sev- enty-five dollars. An additional cost was incurred by putting in Scotch cathedral glass, and other extras, amounting to about one hundred and twenty-five dol- lars.

The membership of the church has been increased as follows : The Rev. Mr. Edwards received two " by letter," the Rev. Mr. Dunham one " from probation,"

the Rev. Mr. Ward one " by letter" and one " from probation," and the Rev. Mr. Cook twenty-six " from probation" and nine "by letter." Thus the total

aged eighty-seven, is deceased; two have removed to Hopkinton without letter, one has been dismissed by letter to the South Braintree Methodist Episcopal Church, and one has been excluded for flagrant neg- lect of the means of grace. The present nominal membership is therefore forty-five. There are, besides, ten members on probation. Other Christians not for- mally united with the church are regularly associated with these in the religious work.

After Library Hall was burned, preaching services and other services on the Lord's day were held in the committee-room in the town hall building. Week- day services were continued from house to house. The loss by fire was considerable for this young, weak, and struggling church. There was no insurance. All was lost except the contribution-boxes and hymnals, which were found among the ruins, and such Sabbath-school books as were in the hands of scholars. A few weeks after the present pastorate began, the pastor initiated a movement towards build- ing a church. He called a meeting of the stewards and trustees, and moved that the board of stewards and trustees serve as a building committee. This was carried, and the committee consisted of Lewis Alden, Wm. B. Crocker, and Edward Brewer. The preparations for building were then at once begun,

The church is thirty-one by fifty feet, with front projection six by twenty-three feet, and rear projec- tion six by twelve feet, with a rear covered entrance and stairway to the pulpit recess. Six weeks after the building committee was chosen the lumber was hauled on to the church-lot, and in about three months the house was ready for dedication. The dedicatory services occurred Feb. 8, 1882. About fifteen hundred dollars was pledged in a day to re- move all debt. The interior of the church is divided up as follows : main audience-room thirty-one by forty feet with pulpit recess six by twelve feet ; lec- ture-room fifteen by twenty feet connected with former

434

HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

by ground-glass windows; hallway eight by fifteen brethren of North Bridgewater (now Brockton). As a result of the work the people wished a church or- ganization, and in May the choice was made in favor of a Baptist society. On May 30th the church was constituted under the labors of the Rev. Benjamin I. Lane, with four members, viz., Paul Hollis, A. L. Russell, Emily F. Russell, and Sarah E. Belcher, and the Sabbath-school was given formally to the feet ; library-room four by six feet ; ladies' kitchen over lecture-room and hall, and connected with lower floor by stairway and dumb-waiter; seat- ing capacity of whole church three hundred and fifty. Some improvements since the dedication have consisted of grading in front and also the con- creting of walks, improving the library-room, and ele- vating and railing off a section for the choir. The | church. At the close of the year the membership whole church property is valued at about four thou- was twenty-nine. The church was recognized by a council of Baptist Churches convened at South Ran- dolph in a pine grove, on land of Mr. Thomas West, Sept. 14, 1868. On Dec. 10, 1870, the ground was broken for a church edifice by Samuel Ludden (age eighty-two) and Daniel Faxon, Jr., son of the donor of the land, Rev. J. K. Chase, pastor at East Stough- ton Baptist Church, officiating. sand dollars. The parsonage property at present is about two hundred dollars. The Sunday-school was organized the third Sunday on which meetings were held, in Library Hall (May 11, 1879), with a membership or attendance of fifty-two. The present membership is one hundred and thirty, and the super- intendent is Lewis Alden. There have been two special revival seasons during the present pastorate, in which nearly one hundred persons have taken a public stand for Christ. Many of these have been soundly con- verted, and are now in the church. Some were tran- sient residents and gone from town. Some were members of the Winthrop Sabbath-school, while others are turned back into the world.

The above facts show a marked and rapid progress for the Holbrook Methodist Episcopal Church, especi- ally during the present pastorate. Death has not broken into its ranks, and there have been steady accessions. In four years this church has acquired a property worth nearly forty-five hundred dollars, has become a regular appointment in the N. E. South- ern Conference, and pays a salary of seven hundred and fifty dollars per annum. The parsonage tene- ment, of six rooms, is convenient, pleasant, and com- fortable.

The church is doing a good and needed work, and its past success is felt to be the harbinger of far | 1882 and 1883 a debt of one thousand dollars was greater growth and power for good.

The officers of the church are as follows : Stew- ards, Lewis Alden (recording secretary), Wm. B. Crocker, Samuel C. Curtis, Alexander H. McGaw, Josiah W. Chamberlain, Chas. B. Boynton, Winslow P. Wilbur, Chas. C. Webster, and Franklin Z. Phil- lips ; Trustees, Lewis Alden, Wm. B. Crocker, John I. Glover, Samuel C. Curtis, Franklin '4. Phillips, and Chas. C. Webster ; Class-Leaders, Lewis Alden and Wm. B. Crocker.

The meagre records afford but little information for the years from 1870 to 1873, but they note the dedica- tion of the church June 25, 1872, with a sermon by the Rev. William Lamson. The Rev. Mr. Lane con- tinued to supply the pulpit until about November, 1869. After three years of supply by students and laymen, the church called the Rev. Benjamin Wheeler to be pastor, Nov. 1, 1872, who by faithful ministry greatly built up the society, twenty-two being added during his pastorate, which ended with his death, Aug. 25, 1876. Following him came the Rev. Richard M. Nott, who became a stated supply (re- siding in Wakefield) until his death, in December, 1879. Although but three were added to the church during his ministry, the fruit of his and others' labors was gathered in by his successor, the Rev. Clifton Fletcher, of Melrose, who still continues as a stated supply. Fifteen members were added during October and November, 1883. During the years

canceled and improvements made in the church, in- cluding furnaces, at an expense of nearly three hun- dred dollars.

Business .- Holbrook is emphatically a " shoe town." How completely this business overshadows all others is shown by the fact that in the census of 1880, out of a total value of manufactured products of two million thirteen thousand seven hundred dol- lars, all but six thousand dollars was in boots and shoes. The business dates back to the beginning of the cen- tury. Ephraim Lincoln was one of the pioneers, and others of the early manufacturers bore the character- [ istic names, known and honored in the town to-day, of Paine, Blanchard, Holbrook, White, Whitcomb, Faxon, etc. The sires laid the foundations, and the

On the first Sabbath of July, 1861, a few members of the Winthrop Congregational Sabbath-school or- ganized a mission school in the engine-hall in South Randolph, which continued under their care until the spring of 1868. During the winter of 1867- 68 a revival was commenced by the Methodist . sons have proved themselves worthy successors. To-

435

HOLBROOK.

day three of the largest firms do ninety per cent. of his death he was succeeded by his son, Royal Thayer, the entire business.

The house of Thomas White & Co. was founded in

1839 by the senior member of the present firm, Mr. | firm. Two buildings are utilized as factories, and Thomas White. In 1865, Mr. Edmund White, from twenty-five to thirty hands are employed. The business is prosperous and increasing under its present intelligent management. brother of Thomas, formed a partnership, under the style of T. & E. White, which continued until 1870, when the firm dissolved, Mr. Edmund White retiring, The following statistics of boot and shoe manu- facture in the town are taken from the census of 1880 : and a new partnership was formed consisting of Thomas White, T. Edgar and Henry M. White (his sons), which was known under the firm-name of Thomas White & Co. In 1873, Mr. M. Walker Employés (male) over 16. Number of establishments. 16 was admitted as a partner, but no change was made Total wages paid during the year. $445,000 in the firm-name. The firm manufactures men's and Capital invested (female) " 6 202 women's kip, calf, buff, and split boots and shoes, and Value of product Stock used .. 1,360,652 2,007,700 occupies a four-story building one hundred by thirty- six feet, with an L seventy by seventy-five feet. The factory is supplied with the latest improved machinery, and at all times presents a busy scene, as there are some four hundred and fifty people engaged in vari- ous ways. The sales for the last six years averaged six hundred thousand dollars per year, the goods going all over the United States. The firm also has a large manufactory at Great Falls, N. H., where, in a three-story building one hundred and seventy-five by thirty feet, employment is given to about one hun- dred and seventy-five hands. The business transac- tions of that establishment amount to about three hundred thousand dollars per year.

The boot and shoe business of Mr. Edmund White was established by him in 1848. The building occu- pied as a factory is one hundred and thirty by twenty- five feet, and three stories in height, with two wings, measuring one hundred and forty by thirty and one hundred and forty by thirty-five feet. About four hundred and fifty hands are employed, who manufac- ture on an average two thousand five hundred pairs per day, which are sold throughout the New England and Western States. Mr. White, who is sixty years of age, is a native of Holbrook.

Messrs. Whitcomb & Paine, manufacturers of men's and boys' calf boots, pegged and standard screw, oc- cupy two buildings -- the main structure being a four- story and basement building, one hundred and seventy by thirty feet, and the other eighty by twenty-five feet, containing three floors. About two hundred and twenty-five hands are employed, who turn out one hundred cases per day. The firm is one of the oldest in the town, having been established in 1861. The members are L. S. Whitcomb and C. H. Paine.

The firm of R Thayer & Son, manufacturers of leather shoe-strings and dealers in leather remnants, was established about 1845 by Mr. Ezra Thayer. At

who later admitted his own son, Mr. E. Newton Thayer, to a partnership, thus constituting the present

950

487,600

Miscellaneous .- The only secret organization in the town is Holbrook Lodge, No. 1753, Knights of Honor, which was instituted Sept. 5, 1879. The charter members were R. P. Chandler, Dr. J. B. Kingsbury, J. T. Southworth, J. W. Hayden, Walter E. White, H. N. Clark, Z. A. French, W. R. Norton, H. F. Thayer, R. T. Pratt, C. H. French, Lewis Al- den, George M. Patten, S. D. Chase, J. E. Daniels, T. P. White, E. F. Hayden, Charles Hayden, and Elihu A. Holbrook. The Dictators have been J. T. Southworth, George M. Patten, Z. A. French, and Lewis Alden. The present officers are : P. D., Lewis Alden ; D., H. N. Clark ; A. D., F. P. Butman ; V. D., E. P. Rice ; Chap., George M. Patten ; R., J. E. Daniels ; F. R., John Adams (2d); T., W. E. White ; Guide, E. E. Paine; Guard, A. W. Pratt ; Sent., C. W. Staples.

The village in the southern portion of the town, about two miles from the centre, is known as Brook- ville. Its former appellation was " Faxon's Corner." It has a post-office and a Baptist Church, of which a sketch has been previously given in this article.

Holbrook's fire department consists of one steamer, one hand-engine (the latter located at Brookville), and a hook-and-ladder truck. The chief engineer is Mr. George W. Wilde.

Statistics .- The following table shows, under the appropriate headings, the most important statistical in- formation relative to the town of Holbrook since its incorporation, compiled from official sources :

1872.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, John Adams, E. Wales Thayer, Lemuel S. Whitcomb; town clerk and treasurer, Frank W. Lewis; school committee, Frank W. Lewis (three years), Barton Howard (two years), Charles H. Paine (one year); auditors, Ludovicus Wild, New- | ton White, Nathaniel E. Hobart ; constables, Samuel L. White, S. R. Hodge, Z. P. Jordan; fence-viewers, Hiram Belcher,

436

HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Thomas West, Royal Thayer; sealer of weights and measures, Warren Thayer; engineers of fire department, Edward Belcher, Samuel D. Chase ; collector of taxes, Jacob Whitcomb.

Appropriations .- Schools (including repairs and incidentals), $4300 ; highways, $1300; general town expense, $5200; State aid, $1000 ; State and county tax, $3500; total, $15,300.

Valuation, May 1 .- Personal estate, $722,060; real estate, town hall building committee gives the entire cost of the new · $647,490 ; total, $1,369,550.

Tax Rate, $10 on $1000.

Net Indebtedness, $14,038.21.

1-73.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, E. Wales Thayer, John Adams, Charles H. Belcher ; town clerk and treasurer, David Blanchard ; road commissioners, E. Wales Thayer .(three years), Thomes West (two years), Washington L. Bates (one year). (Minor officers here omitted.)

Appropriations (including $5436.08 for schools and $1800 for highways), $19,236.08.

Net Indebtedness, $12,446.70.

1874.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, same as 1873 ; town clerk and treasurer, David Blanchard. (Minor officers here omitted.)

Appropriations (including $5645.16 for schools and $1800 for highways), $20,845.16.

Net Indebtedness, $8575.05.

1875.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, same as 1873 ; town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here omitted.)

Appropriations (including $5643.94 for schools and $1500 for highways), $21,593.95.

Net Indebtedness, $16,277.86.

1876.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, C. H. Belcher, Newton White, W. F. Gleason; town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here omitted.)

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools and $1000 for highways), $23,000:

Net Indebtedness, $13,065.51.

1877.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, Newton White, W. F. Gleason, R. T. Pratt; town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here omitted.)

Valuation .- Real estate, $769,435 ; personal property, $185,- 550 ; bank and corporation stock owned by residents of Hol- brook and taxed by the State, $577,500 ; total, $1,532,485.

Tax Rate, $11 on $1000.

Appropriations (including $5250 for schools and $1600 for highways), $19,250. (At the close of the fiscal year there was a balance due the town, over all indebtedness, of $10,100.61, of which $10,000 was due from the Franklin and Boylston Insur- ance Companies-$5000 each.)

1878.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, Henry Newcomb, E. Frank Hayden, Samuel D. Chase ; town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here omitted.)

Valuation .- Real estate, $809,845 ; personal estate (not in- cluding bank and corporation stock), $185,750; total, $995,595. Tax Rate, $16.50 on $1000.

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $1600 for highways, and $6000 for fire department), $24,600.

Orders Drawn on Treasurer (including $7116.24 for fire de- partment, and $21,783.92 for town house and fixtures), $44,- 596.71.

Net Indebtedness, $19,780.62. (An itemized report of the

hall, to replace the burned structure, as $28,499.81.)

1879.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, J. T. Southworth, Samuel D. Chase, E. Frank Hayden ; town clerk and treasurer, John Underhay. (Minor officers here omitted.)

Valuation .- Real estate, $829,550 ; personal (not including stock), $182,145 ; total, $1,011,695.

Valuation of Town Property, $53,750. Tax Rate, $14 on $1000.

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $2200 for highways, $4000 for paupers, and $2000 for fire department), $19,400.

Net Indebtedness, $18,156.11

Miscellaneous Statistics .-- Number of voters, 551 (an increase of 47 over 1878) ; number of polls assessed, 653 (increase of 63 over 1878); houses, 385 (increase of 38 over 1878).

1880.

Town Officers .-- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, Samuel D. Chase, John Adams, E. Frank Hayden; town clerk and treasurer, J. T. Southworth. (Minor officers omitted here.)

Valuation .- Real estate, $834,740; personal estate (not in- , cluding stock), $230,125; total, $1,064,865.

Tax Rate, $15 on $1000.

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $2000 for high- ways, and $3500 for paupers), $24,475.

Net Indebtedness, $11,480.83.

1881.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, overseers of the poor, town clerk and treasurer, same as 1880. (Minor officers here omitted.)

Valuation .- Real estate, $836,765; personal (not including ; stock), $219,670 ; total, $1,056,435.

Tax Rate, $16 on $1000.

Appropriations (including $5000 for schools, $4000 for. steamer-house, and $3500 for new school-house), $33,475.

Net Indebtedness, $17,631.80.

1882.

Town Officers .-- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, John Adams, Samuel G. Chase, Abram C. Holbrook ; town clerk and treasurer, J. T. Southworth. (Minor town officers here omitted.)

Valuation .- Real estate, $831,490; personal (not including stock), $152,805; total, $984,295.

Tax Rate, $19 on $1000.

Appropriations (including $5500 for schools, $2000 for high- ways, and $3800 for paupers), $27,015.

Net Indebtedness, $20,942.99.

1883.

Town Officers .- Selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, Abram C. Holbrook, Willard F. Gleason, Samuel D. Chase ; town clerk and treasurer, J. T. Southworth. (Minor town officers here omitted.)

Valuation .- Real estate, $855,120; personal (not including stock), $164,211 ; total, $1,019,331.

437

HOLBROOK.

Tax Rate, $16.50 on $1000.

Appropriations (including 85800 for schools, $2000 for high- ways, and $3500 for paupers), $23,550.

Net Indebtedness, $20,000.

1884.

Town Officers .- Moderator, Francis Gardner; town clerk and treasurer, J. T. Southworth ; selectmen, assessors, and overseers of the poor, Willard F. Gleason, Abram C. Holbrook, C. H. Bel- cher; road commissioners, J. W. Paine, Charles W. Paine ; trus- tee public library, John Underhay ; school committee, M. Anna Wood; constables, S. L. White, W. O. Crooker, C. W. Wilde, Newton Hollis, S. A. Allen, Patrick Reardon, G. F. Nickerson. Vote on License .- Yes, 103; no, 212.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 92

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534