History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 101

Author: Thompson, Elroy Sherman, 1874-
Publication date: 1928
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 642

USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 101
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 101
USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 101

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).

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Massachusetts, February 6, 1871, the son of Andrew and Avis Ann (Reynolds) Harding, both parents also natives of Chatham. His mother was born in Janu- ary, 1837, and died December 1, 1896. His father, born November 20, 1836, and died November 23, 1911, was a general storekeeper, a painter and a fish- erman.

Heman A. Harding attended the public schools of Chatham, the Nichols Latin School, Lewiston, Maine, the College of Liberal Arts, Boston University, and graduated from Harvard University, in 1896, with the Bachelor of Arts degree, and in 1898, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He immediately began a gen- eral practice of law at Chatham, remaining there for eight years, when he removed his law offices to Barn- stable in 1906, where he has since carried on a well- established practice, still retaining his residence in Chatham.

Mr. Harding is a Republican by political faith, and many honors have been accorded him in the political arena, which demonstrates the confidence his people had in his ability to represent them in the various capacities in which he served. He was chosen to represent the Second Barnstable District in the House of Representatives, 1903-1904, was State Sen- ator 1905-1906, and served as Harbor Land Com- missioner, 1908-1911. Previous to this while still engaged in the practice of his profession in Chatham, he was elected to various local offices, having been selectman, assessor, and was overseer of the poor for the years 1899 and 1900, serving as chairman in the latter year. Throughout his tenure of office he has fully justified the confidence placed in him by the voters of his section. Mr. Harding was chairman of three successive committees which, after strenuous efforts, succeeded in building the Chatham High School, and the Town Hall and town office building, the latter being completed in 1926, at a cost of more than $135,000. While a member of the State Senate, Mr. Harding was on the Ways and Means Commit- tee for four years, acting as chairman a portion of the last year; he was a member and chairman of the committee on Constitutional Amendments; member of the committee on Fisheries and Game, and on Harbors and Public Lands. Since February, 1920, Mr. Harding has been serving as Special Justice of the Second District Court of Barnstable, Massachu- setts.

Fraternally, he holds membership in the Masonic Order, and is a member of the Sylvester Baxter Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of West Harwich, Massachusetts. He also belongs to the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Barnstable Bar Association, and the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity. He is a communi- cant of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Heman A. Harding married, at Chatham, Massa- chusetts, February 14, 1907, Edith Crowell Farmer, daughter of John Pond Farmer, Jr., a native of Massachusetts, now deceased, and Mary (Crosby) Crowell, born in Chatham, and is a resident of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Harding have one daughter, Virginia Avis, born October 20, 1908, a graduate of Bradford Academy, Bradford, Vermont, in the class of 1926, and now a student at Mt. Holyoke College.

ROBERT F. KEENE-Few men have enjoyed a more varied or colorful career than has Robert F. Keene. As a young man he harkened to the call of the West, and went to North Dakota, where he set- tled down upon a large ranch. There he remained until the desire for commercial conquest claimed him.

He returned to the East, and has since been a sales- man, manufacturer, and operator of a theatrical en- terprise by turn.

The late Aaron H. and Rebecca (West) Keene owned, and for many years lived upon, a large sheep ranch in the State of North Dakota, the same upon which Robert F. Keene spent a portion of his earlier life.

Robert F., son of Aaron H. and Rebecca (West) Keene, was born at Franklin, Massachusetts, and re- ceived his education in the public schools of South Abington, now the town of Whitman, Massachusetts. When he had attained his thirteenth year, the youth located upon the far Western ranch of his parents, as before stated, and there remained for a period of five years. When he reached his eighteenth year, he returned East to Whitman, Massachusetts, in which town he had formerly lived. He first became as- sociated with the Commonwealth Shoe Company, at Whitman, with which concern he remained for about three years. His connection with the shoe manufac- turing industry prompted Mr. Keene to undertake the same on his own account, and with his brother as a partner, he entered the leather business, which en- terprise was later succeeded by that of the manu- facture of cowboy boots. In 1911, he went on the road as a salesman of shoes, and thus continued for a period of two years. In 1915, Mr. Keene leased the property of the Colonial Theatre, located at Brackton, Massachusetts, and subsequently pur-

chased the same outright. He has continued to own and operate this enterprise to the present time.

Mr. Keene is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, and has passed through the successive de- grees up to the Commandery. He holds membership in the Brockton Rotary Club; and has been a stead- fast member of the First Congregational Church of Brockton for many years, during the past fifteen years of this membership having been a singer in the church quartette.

Robert F. Keene married, on September 8, 1903, Lena H. Land. Their children are: Marion Louise, a graduate of the Leslie Normal School, who is now a teacher in the first grade classes of the Brockton public schools; Robert E., their son, is at the pres- ent time a student in Dartmouth College.

L. FRANK PAINE-Born in Harwich, Massachu- setts, March 16, 1870, L. Frank Paine is a son of Lucius Kingman and Rebecca Chase (Wood) Paine. At an early age he removed with his parents to the neighboring village of Hyannisport, and here attended the public school. At the age of fourteen, however, he discontinued his studies to work for his father, who was a building contractor. Some time later he secured a place with a firm of contractors in Boston, and during the tenure of his employment there at- tended classes in architecture, finding in this all of those pleasing aspects which tend to make an inter- esting career. After completion of the architectural courses he secured work with a Boston firm of ar- chitects, and for them supervised outside projects during several years. By this time he was versed in every phase of construction, through the practical experience acquired in association with his father in contracting as well as through the more extensive and theoretical experiences in Boston, and so formed a partnership with his father, in Hyannis, wherein they engaged in general contracting with good success. This partnership endured some six years, and then

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Mr. Paine went into offices of his own, as contractor and designer of buildings, specializing in homes. Such was his fortune in the rendition of design that within a few years he thought best to discontinue that branch of the business which had to do with con- tracting, and through the years succeeding he has de- voted his whole time to architecture alone. By 1922 his clientele had grown to large proportions, larger than he could care for without assistance, and Mr. Paine became associated with J. William Beal's Sons, Boston architectural firm, whose draftsmen have re- lieved him of a mass of detail, and whose other agen- cies have been of benefit. He was responsible for the designing not only of many of the finer residences of Cape Cod, but also for the architectural results achieved in the new town hall, the Masonic Building, the Johnson Building, and the Hyannis Bank Building, all of Hyannis.

While as architect, and as builder too, Mr. Paine has been in the strictest sense concerned in the de- velopment of Hyannis, he has also been interested in all other affairs of the village, and is known as one of its public-spirited and substantial citizens. In this direction his membership on the Town Planning Board is beneficial to the community-at-large. Among the positions of trust which he holds are the follow- ing: Treasurer and director of the West Beach Bath- ing Company, of Hyannisport; treasurer and trustee of the Hyannisport Associates; director of the Hyan- nis Trust Company; director of the Massachusetts Ma- ternity and Foundling Hospital of Boston; and mem- ber of the advisory council of the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Paine was one of the organizers of the Hyannisport Club, and was its first treasurer, serv- ing as such from 1909 until 1924, when he was elec- ted its president; and he is now (1928) incumbent in that office, and a member of the board of directors. Fraternally, he is especially interested in the Free and Accepted Masons, in which Order he holds several degrees. He is interested in the Federated Church of Hyannis, and in matters of charity deals with large heart.

L. Frank Paine married, in Roxbury, Massachu- setts, January 17, 1900, Sarah E. Leonard, daughter of Joseph and Eleanor Leonard. Mr. Leonard, of English birth, was a prominent and successful auc- tioneer. Upon coming to Boston he established him- self in the theatrical business, maintaining himself in business as auctioneer at the same time, under the firm style of Leonard & Company. To him is widely accorded the credit for bringing E. H. Sothern, noted actor, from England to play upon the stage in Bos- ton. Mr. and Mrs. Paine are the parents of two children: 1. Leonard, born December 28, 1911. 2. Hendrick, born July 1, 1915.

EDWARD I. PETOW-An unusually interesting varied career has characterized the life of Edward I. Petow, artist, musician, and at the present time, a leader of prominence in the artificial pearl industry of the United States. His "Essence d'Orient," the arti- ficial pearl liquid which he produced and perfected through his discoveries and experiences, has gained great fame in both Europe and America and is in demand by all important concerns in this line. Mr. Petow achieved fame as an artist in this country, when in 1915, he became accidentally interested in the manufacture of artificial pearls, and he began ex- perimenting to make an essence to be used in the manufacture of pearls. The experience gained from his art studies in the chemistry and composition of colors

was of the greatest value. Laboring long and dili- gently he refused to be disheartened, and, in 1917, perfected his formula, although that did not end his research and labors which he has carried on ever since, in his desire to make new discoveries and im- provements.

Mr. Petow was born in Odessa, Russia, October 3, 1877, son of Abraham and Rebecca Marie Petow, both of whom are now deceased. Abraham Petow came to the United States in 1890, settling in Boston where he engaged in the jewelry business. Edward I. Petow was educated by private tutors and in the schools of Odessa, studying painting at the Art Acad- emy there and later in the Art Academy at Moscow from which he proceeded to the Roval Academy in that city. In addition to his scholastic and art stud- ies, he devoted a great part of his time to the mastery of the violin, and it was his intention to become a finished musician as his teachers encouraged him greatly to continue. Although quite young, he taught a small class of his own pupils, one of whom was the daughter of a professor at the University of Odessa, and she later became his wife. From the time he was about twelve, he had taken a particular interest in art, and deciding in favor of a career in fine arts, continued his studies at the Imperial Academy in Munich, Germany, where he remained two years, af- ter which he studied in France and in Switzerland, where he established a studio at Geneva. Much fa- vorable attention was attracted by his work at the various exhibitions, one painting, the "Seamstress," receiving particularly high praise. This picture was later exhibited in this country at the Boston Art Club, where it was considered a masterpiece.

Responding to his father's repeated urging, Mr. Petow, his wife and infant son, came to America, in 1906, and shortly after established a studio in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and while there, painted the portrait of Governor Higgins. After some years, he moved to New York and later to Jersey City, and it was in his studio there that he first became inter- ested in discovering the secret of artificial pearls. Up until 1914, the United States imported a small amount of pearl essence from France, which was the only source of the world's supply. The secret formula for this essence had come down from generation to gen- eration, a small amount only being manufactured, and chemists had for years tried to duplicate it, much time and money having been spent in this country in experiments and research but without success. When the World War began, the supply of pearl essence formerly received here from France was cut off and it was this cessation which gave Mr. Petow the in- centive to pursue his experiments and the opportun- ity to discover this valuable secret. He experimented repeatedly and made exhaustive researches, continu- ing with tireless energy towards the realization of his dream. In 1917, he finally produced an essence which was superior to the French product, which he has ever since continually improved. Today his for- mula has been perfected and there is but one stand- ard, called "Essence d'Orient." The preparation is manufactured from the scales of certain fish which are sent to Hyannis where they go through a secret process and the essence is produced which is used in the manufacture of artificial pearls and for many other purposes. The business has had a meteoric rise, for since 1917, when the "Essence d'Orient" was introduced, the volume of trade in the artificial pearl business in America has increased from $50,000 an- nually to many millions of dollars worth yearly, and

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has given employment to many thousands of people throughout the world. In 1919 Mr. Petow bought the old Hyannis Yacht Club property in order to have access to the streams, and in 1920, began the manufacture of artificial pearls, calling them "Cape Cod Pearls." Since 1923 he has been the sole owner of both these operations, carrying on the essence trade under his own name, and the jobbing and re- tailing of "Cape Cod Pearls" under the name, Cape Cod United Products Company.

In his fraternal affiliations, Mr. Petow is a member of the local lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, holding life membership. He is also a member of Orient Chapter, Royal Arch Masons of Hyannis, being also a life-member; the New Bedford Council of the Royal and Select Masters, the Sutton Commandery of Knights Templar of New Bedford, and the Massa- chusetts Consistory the of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, holding the thirty-second degree, and a member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Boston. He is prominent in the local Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club and the Board of Trade of Hyannis. In politics he is a Republican, and in his religious association attends the Protestant church. Mr. Petow still plays the violin in a masterful fashion and intends to resume his painting, and should be a greater artist than ever before due to his many hardships and his understanding of life.

Edward I. Petow married in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1902, Henriette Marie Calzado, daughter of Joseph Calzado, born in Spain, professor of languages at the University of Odessa, and Celestine Marie (Trouin) Calzado, born in France, both of whom are now deceased. To this union were born the following children: 1. Ernest Joseph, born August 25, 1903, at Geneva, educated at Worcester Academy, Pittsburgh Academy, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Gettys- burg College, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, and now associated with his father. 2. Thelma Rose, born in Jersey City, 1916. 3. Irvine, born at Hyannis, in August, 1922.

WALTER D. SHURTLEFF, M. D., who is prom- inently identified with professional, civic, social and political affairs of the city of Plymouth, has con- secrated his life to this city where, nearly three hundred years ago, an early ancestor of his family came to take his place among the hardy Plymouth colonists.

(I) William Shurtleff, first American ancestor of record, originally resided in Ecclesfield, County of Yorkshire, England, situated about five miles from Sheffield; and some twenty miles from the town of Scrooby, at which place the Pilgrims gathered prior to their departure for Holland. William Shurtleff is known to have been at the Plymouth Colony as early as 1634; and was one of those adjudged able to bear arms, in 1643. He subsequently removed from Plym- outh and took up residence at Marshfield, of which community he became a proprietor and town officer. He was killed during an electrical storm and was buried on June 24, 1666, his widow having acted in the capacity of administrator of his estate. He married, on October 18, 1655, Elizabeth Lettice, daughter of Thomas Lettice, who later remarried. Children: William, Thomas, and Abiel, of whom further.

(II) Abiel Shurtleff, son of William and Elizabeth (Lettice) Shurtleff, was born in 1666; married, in 1696, Lydia Barnes, daughter of Jonathan Barnes, of

Plymouth. Children: James, Elizabeth, Lydia, David, of whom further; Hannah, John, Benjamin, William, Joseph, and Abiel. The family resided in that part of the town which is now designated as Plympton; there the mother died on September 10, 1727, and the father on October 28, 1732.

(III) David Shurtleff, son of Abiel and Lydia (Barnes) Shurtleff, was born June 1, 1703; married, in 1731, Bethiah Lucas, daughter of Benoni Lucas. Children: Abiel, of whom further; David; and perhaps others.

(IV) Abiel (2) Shurtleff, son of David and Bethiah (Lucas) Shurtleff, was born in 1734; he married Mary LeBaron, born in 1737, daughter of James LeBaron, of Middleboro, Massachusetts. Children: Gideon, of whom further; David, James, Joel, Enoch, Abiel and Enoch (2). The father left three hundred and fifty descendants at the time of his death in 1826.

(V) Gideon Shurtleff, of Carver, son of Abiel (2) and Mary (Le Baron) Shurtleff, was born in 1762; he married Lucy Shaw. Children: Phebe, Lavina, Gid- eon, James, Sabra, Luther, Bethia, Malinda, Eunice, Robert, Levi, Lucy, Betsy, Alden, Albert, of whom further; Mary and Amanda.

(VI) Albert Shurtleff, son of Gideon and Lucy (Shaw) Shurtleff, was born March 4, 1809, and died on April 26, 1887. His wife was Lucy Thomas, of Middleboro. Children: Two, who died in infancy; Lucy Ann, born in 1839, married Job Cole Chandler, of Carver, and had children: Alton C., and Lydia M .; Eunice B., married Daniel Dunham, of Carver and had children: William B., Charles Otto and Teresa M. (deceased); and Albert Tillson, of whom further.

(VII) Albert Tillson Shurtleff, son of Albert and Lucy (Thomas) Shurtleff, was born in Carver, Massa- chusetts, on January 31, 1837. He followed the sea as a fisherman for four years, after which he went to Providence, Rhode Island, to learn the jeweler's trade. On April 17, 1861, he enlisted from Provi- dence in Company "D," First Rhode Island De- tached Militia, and was mustered into service at Washington, District of Columbia. He was present at the first battle of Bull Run, where, on July 21, 1861, he received a wound caused by a minie ball, which subsequently necessitated the ampu- tation of his right arm by Confederate surgeons who captured him among other prisoners and later placed him in Libby Prison, where he was confined until October 7, 1861, then being paroled and escorted to the Union lines at Newport News, Virginia. In later life, having determiend to acquire a legal train- ing, he studied for the profession most diligently, and was admitted to practice before the bar of the District of Columbia in 1879, where he was graduated with honors from the National Law School. He had been employed in the office of the paymaster general, War Department, for a number of years, but due to failing health, resigned his position and returned to Carver, where he entered the lumber business in association with the late Benjamin Ward and the late John J. Russell, of Plymouth. At a later period, he was engaged in the business of cranberry growing, and shipped his product to every section of the United States, thus continuing until the time of his death. Albert Tillson Shurtleff married Maria Young Davis, daughter of James and Sophia (Smith) Davis of Washington, District of Columbia, the date of their wedding having been August 8, 1871. Their children: 1. Mary Elizabeth, born June 28, 1872, married Alfred Allen Walker, of Washington,

District of Columbia, and had children: Ruth

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S. and Grace A. 2. Walter Davis, of whom further. 3. Lucy Thomas, born January 9, 1877, in Washington, married, March 4, 1896, Herbert F. Atwood, of Carver, where they reside and have chil- dren: Roy F., Charlotte M., Eunice, Carlton S., and Davis B. 4. Anna Kimball, born January 6, 1882, in Carver, married, July 9, 1904, Ellsworth Vernon Shaw, and they have: Marjorie Anna, born April 17, 1909, and resides in Pembroke, Massachusetts. 5. Carlton, born May 8, 1888, is unmarried. Albert Tillson Shurt- leff died on February 16, 1902, in Carver. He was a public-spirited citizen, ever seeking ways and means of benefiting his community. He was one of those responsible for the establishment of the Carver Free Public Library, of which institution he was chairman of the board of trustees until the time of his death. He was town clerk of Carver for fourteen years, and selectman, assessor, and overseer of the poor for eight years. Also, he served for a number of years as justice of the peace. He was affiliated with Col- lingwood Post, No. 76, Grand Army of the Republic, of Plymouth, and his funeral was attended by com- rades of the post, when he was buried with military honors in Carver Centre Cemetery. Mrs. Albert T. Shurtleff died in 1918.

(VIII) Walter Davis Shurtleff, M. D., son of Albert Tillson and Maria Young (Davis) Shurtleff, was born on May 31, 1875, in Washington, District of Columbia. He received his preliminary education in the public schools of Carver, attended the Eaton School at Middleboro, and the State Agricultural College at Amherst. Then, having determined to become a physician, he returned to Washington, where he matriculated at Howard University, from which institution he was graduated in 1897, with Doc- tor of Medicine degree. In the same year he engaged in the practice of his profession at Kingston, Massa- chusetts, and afterward practiced both in Kingston and Plymouth, but is now permanently engaged at Plymouth, with offices in the premises at No. 5 Town Square. During the World War, Dr. Shurtleff was a member of the medical advisory board at Plymouth. He has served for several years as assistant surgeon of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston; was for several years chairman of the Repub- lican Town Committee: served three years on the Plymouth School Board, during one year of which time he was chairman; and has been chairman and health officer of the Plymouth Board of Health, a commissioner of inland fisheries, member of the Fish and Game Commission, and as justice of the peace. He is now a member of the Southeastern Massachu- setts Board of Health; surgeon to the Plymouth Fire Department; charter member and Past Sachem of Acamac Tribe of Red Men; member of the Eagles, the Plymouth Masonic Lodge, the Sons of Veterans; the Calumet, Cape Cod, and Pilgrims' clubs, and the Massachusetts Association of Boards of Health.

Walter David Shurtleff married, in 1898, Helen E. Sleeper, a native of Lynn, Massachusetts, and to this union have been born three children, as follows: Flora G., born on October 6, 1899; Albert H., born Novem- ber 30, 1900, and who served with rating of first class gunner in the United States Navy during the World War; Francis LeBaron, born June 2, 1902. The fam- ily are attendants at the Presbyterian church.

JUDGE . FREDERICK CROSBY SWIFT-A prominent lawyer and judge of Barnstable County, is Frederick Crosby Swift, who is Judge of the Dis-

trict Court of Barnstable County. He was appointed special justice when the court was established in Barnstable County in January, 1890, and in 1893 appointed justice. During his long legal career, Judge Swift has been the trustee of a number of estates and has taken an active part in the civic and social life of this section of Massachusetts, as well as in the work of several companies and banks. For many years he was president of the Yarmouth Library Association.

Judge Swift was born in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, on December 18, 1855, a son of Charles Francis and Sarah A. (Monroe) Swift. His father, who was a prominent writer, edited and published the "Yarmouth Register" for many years and was also an historian, having written a history of Barnstable County and of Yarmouth. He was a Representative in the Massa- chusetts State Legislature, as well as a member of the State Senate, a member of the Governor's Coun- cil during the administration of Governor Banks, Col- lector of Customs for Barnstable County for many years and president of the Carlton Historical Society. As a boy, Frederick C. Swift attended the public schools of Yarmouth, received private tutoring and later attended Boston University. He was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts, in October, 1880, after which time he was connected for several years with the law firm of Blackmer and Sheldon, of Boston. When the Barnstable County court was established in January, 1890, Mr. Swift was appointed a special justice and in 1893 Justice of the First District Court. He has held an important place in the judicial sys- tem of this section of Massachusetts ever since that time, has been a trustee of many estates and has given advice in numerous important legal matters. He has been a member of the Appellate Division of the District Courts for the Southern District since establishment of that court in 1921. He is president of the Barnstable County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of Yarmouth Port; director of the First National Bank of Yarmouth, the Co-operative Bank, and for a number of years he was president of the Yarmouth Library Association. During the World War, he was an associate member of the Legal Advisory Board of the United States War Depart- ment, the function of which it was to give advice and assistance in the work of international negotiations. He has been president of the Barnstable County Bar Association since it was organized. Judge Swift has been active at all times in the fraternal life of his community, being a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he is affiliated with the Fra- ternal Lodge of Hyannis, Massachusetts. He also holds memberships in the Colonial Club of Yarmouth and in the Cape Cod Central Club of Yarmouth. His religious affiliation is with the Protestant Episcopal church, of which he has been senior warden.

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History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 101

Author: Thompson, Elroy Sherman, 1874- Publication date: 1928 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 642

Author: Thompson, Elroy Sherman, 1874-
Publication date: 1928
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 642