History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 11

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 11
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 11
USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 11

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He is particularly happy in his horizontal tablet forms in which he displays a remarkable sense for lovely rectangles and beautiful lines. Here, as in his larger compositions, he employs low, platform-like bases, together with a skillful and resourceful use of panels and recesses conservatively en- riched with carving which obeys without exception the fun- damental laws of good design.

Classical compositions are cited as revealing Mr. Whitehouse at his best in the use of refined and ad- mirably studied mouldings, in the eloquent restraint he exercises in the use of ornament, and in his mani- fest feeling for the refinements of ancient architect- ure. The critique ends thus:

And these qualities are dominant in all his work. There is a singular simplicity without severity or plainness-a sustained note of studied refinement which lingers in the most modest marker and prevails in his more important compositions.

As a letterist, Mr. Whitehouse has done much to demonstrate the superiority of incised lettering. He uses the Roman alphabet very largely, and his work is singularly legible, though refined and delicate. Early in his career, he used pencil for the most part; later, ink; and finally water-color, though in his charmingly finished wash-drawings, he continues to use pencil technique in his shaded surfaces. His landscape settings are beautifully composed and distinguished by a skillful and pictorial interpretation of trees and shrubs in a variety of lights and shadows. Here, as in architectural composition, Mr. Whitehouse is careful and studied, displaying remarkable draughts- manship and fine art in effecting distance, middle dis- tance, and foreground. Deliberate and painstaking, but not stilted, he is rapid and decisive with the brush, pen, or pencil, and invariably his backgrounds are subordinate to the central object. His consum- mate knowledge of perspective has been a potent factor both in his work as a designer and as an instructor, and so perfect has become his sense of this quality that a hasty esquisse or thumbnail sketch is almost perfect in position of lines. In 1912, the State of Massachusetts, through the Board of Education, appointed Mr. Whitehouse to direct and conduct the first public institution for instruction in memorial art, and for six years he conducted with great success this school, situated in Quincy, continuing until a shortage of coal during the World War made it nec- essary to close.

As a lecturer and writer, as well as consummate artist, Mr. Whitehouse has contributed to the devel- opment of the art of memorial design. An authority on design and a student of general affairs in the in- dustry, he is a forceful and effective writer and speaker, constructive along both lines. On Decem- ber 1, 1920, he became a partner in the long estab-

lished retail firm of Kavanagh Brothers, of Quincy, in the official capacity of treasurer, with which he continues to date (1928).

This firm was established by Edward H. and Henry Kavanagh, in 1882, the partnership continuing until 1905, when the business was incorporated under the name of Kavanagh Brothers Company. When both brothers died in 1922, the concern was taken over by Angus D. Martin, with Mr. Martin as president and Mr. Whitehouse as treasurer. The company manu- factures a complete line of memorials of all kinds, in- cluding monuments and mausoleums, and World War memorials as a specialty. This branch of their serv- ice is directly under the supervision of Mr. White- house, who gives his personal and exclusive attention to the requirements of localities contemplating the erection of war memorials. Such statuary as he may deem necessary to the ultimate perfection of design is conceived in preliminary sketches and the sculptor subsequently cooperates with him. Entering com- petitions of design in this manner affords the firm uncompromised recourse to the best sculptural talent, chosen at their discretion, and results in a harmony of architecture and sculpture that stamps their ac- complishment as unique in this difficult field. In addition to numerous other public memorials, Mr. Whitehouse designed the Masonic Memorial at Haver- hill, the Civil War memorials at Bridgton, Maine, and Wrentham, Massachusetts, the Robert Burns memorial pedestal at Quincy, and the tercentenary memorial in that same city, the war memorials at Hull and Winthrop, Massachusetts, and Pawcatuck, Connecticut, and the Immaculate Conception war memorial at Salem, Massachusetts. In the plant, which is located at No. 88 Penn Street, in South Quincy, New England granite is exclusively used. but about ninety per cent of the output is in Westerly granite.

For three years Mr. Whitehouse was editor of the "Monument Retailer," a magazine for the granite trade. Politically, he gives his support to the Repub- lican party. He is a member of Baalbec Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Granite Manu- facturers' Association, being decidely popular with his associates in both bodies.

Louis A. Whitehouse married, August 28, 1916, Mabel Whitehouse, born in East Boothbay, Maine. Mr. and Mrs. Whitehouse are the parents of one son, Frederick E. Whitehouse, born December 1, 1918.

WILLIAM C. DROHAN, successful attorney with a most excellent practice in Brockton, Massachusetts, was born on January 15, 1882, in that city, a son of Thomas and Agnes L. (Moore) Drohan, both now deceased. Thomas Drohan was born in County Tray- more, Ireland, and died in Brockton, in 1926. He was first to hold the office of Probation Officer in Brock- ton; and he was noted for being particularly well versed in the history of the twin counties, being a veteran of the Civil War. Agnes L. (Moore) Drohan was a native of Brockton, Massachusetts, and died there in 1923.

William C. Drohan received his early education in the public and high schools of Brockton, and attended Brown University, graduating with the class of 1905, when he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He obtained his legal training at the Law School of Harvard University, and he graduated from there with the class of 1909, with the degree of Bachelor of

PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE

Laws. He was admitted to the bar in that year, and began practicing in New York City, where he was retained for about one year by the Title Guarantee & Trust Company. At the end of that time he re- turned to Brockton where he began practicing for himself.

In his political preferences Mr. Drohan is a Dem- ocrat. He has given freely of his time to civic and community affairs of Brockton. He is a member of the Plymouth County Bar Association; the Brockton Bar Association; the Knights of Columbus; the An- cient Order of Hibernians, and the University Club.

William C. Drohan maintains his office at No. 106 Main Street, Brockton, where he resides and is a devotee of the St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church.

THEODORE N. WOOD-A native and lifelong resident of Middleboro, Plymouth County, Massa- chusetts, and a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of this town for almost a quarter of a century, Mr. Wood has been connected with of the Middleborough Savings Bank. Of this impor- tant financial institution he has been treasurer since 1911, succeeding in this office his father at the time of the latter's death. In this responsible position he has shown great ability and conscientiousness and has made important contributions to the prosperity of the bank and of his community. He is also promi- nently active in the civic, fraternal, social and re- ligious life of the town, where he enjoys to an un- usual degree the respect and confidence of his fellow- citizens.

The founder of the Wood family in this country was Henry Wood, who came over in the "May- flower," and of whom the subject of this article is a direct descendant in the ninth generation. Mr. Wood is also a descendant, either on his father's or his mother's side of ten other of the "Mayflower" Pil- grims, John Jenny, William Mullins, Peter Browne, George Soule, Myles Standish, William Bradford, Richard Warren, Isaac Allerton, Francis Cook, and Francis Eaton.

Henry Wood, the founder of the family, married Abigail Jenny, the daughter of John Jenny. From them the line descends through their son, David Wood, and his wife, Mary (Coombs) Wood; through their son, also named David Wood, and his wife, Jo- anna (Tilson) Wood; through their son. Edmond Wood, and his wife, Patience (Farnham) Wood; and through their son, Peter Wood, and his wife, Sarah (Tinkham) Wood, the great-great-grandparents of Theodore N. Wood. It is through his great-great- grandmother. Sarah (Tinkham) Wood, that Mr. Wood traces his descent to four "Mayflower" Pilgrims, other than Henry Wood and John Jenny. She was the daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (Standish) Tinkham. The great-grandfather of Ephraim Tinkham, also named Ephraim Tinkham, married Mary Browne, daughter of Peter Browne, one of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims. The great-grandfather of Sarah (Stand- ish) Tinkham was Alexander Standish, who was the son of Myles Standish, another "Mayflower" Pilgrim. Alexander Standish married Sarah Alden, a daughter of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Al- den and a granddaughter of William Mullins, still another "Mayflower" Pilgrim. The mother of Sarah (Standish) Tinkham was Rachel Cobb, who was the great-granddaughter of George Soule, the latter also a "Mayflower" Pilgrim.

From Peter and Sarah (Tinkham) Wood the line

descends through their son, David Wood, and liis wife, Olive (Cobb) Wood, to their son, Andrew C. Wood, and his wife, Lucy A. (Miller) Wood, the grandparents of Theodore N. Wood. Mrs. Lucy Ann (Miller) Wood was the great-great-granddaughter of Edward and Jerusha (Bradford) Sparrow, the latter being the daughter of William Bradford, still another "Mayflower" Pilgrim and second governor of Plym- outh Colony.

Andrew M. Wood, the father of the subject of this article, was born in Middleboro, Plymouth County, in 1853, a son of Andrew C. and Lucy Ann ( Miller)" Wood. He was a successful banker in his native town and for twenty-six years, to the time of his death in 1911, was treasurer of the Middleboro Savings Bank. He married L. Ardelle Perkins, likewise a native of Middleboro, and a daughter of Isaac and Betsey B. (Pratt) Perkins. Mrs. L. Ardelle (Perkins) Wood is a descendant in the tenth generation from Richard Warren, the latter a descendant of William the Con- queror, and also one of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims. She is also a descendant in the ninth generation from Isaac Allerton, likewise a descendant of William the Conqueror, and a "Mayflower" Pilgrim; a descendant in the tenth generation from Francis Cook, another "Mayflower" Pilgrim; and a descendant in the ninth generation from Francis Eaton, still another "May- flower" Pilgrim.

Theodore N. Wood, son of Andrew M. and L. Ar- delle (Perkins) Wood, was born in Middleboro, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, March 9, 1881. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1901 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. After leaving college he was connected for one year with the Boston offices of the Union Pacific Railroad. At the end of that period he returned to Middleboro. where he has since continued to make his home. At that time in 1902, he became connected with the Middleborough Savings Bank, of which his father was then the treasurer. In 1911, upon the death of his father, he was elected treasurer, an office which he has continued to fill. In 1924 he was elected vice- president of this bank and he is also a director of the Middleborough Trust Company. Ever since returning to his native town from college, he has taken an active and useful part in public affairs and since 1911 he has been a trustee of the Public Library, and served for nine years on the Middleboro School Board and for five years as a member of the Board of Selectmen. During the World War he did very helpful work as chairman of various Liberty Loan and Red Cross campaigns. He is a member of Mayflower Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is a Past Master: Old Colony Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he is a Past High Priest: Bay State Command- ery, Knights Templar: Aleppo Temple, of Boston, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; Middleboro Commercial Club, of which he is a past president; Massachusetts Savings Banks Officers' Club; and Old Middleboro Historical Society, of which he is president. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party and its principles, while his re- ligious affiliations are with the Congregational church, and more particularly with the Central Congrega- tional Church.

Mr. Wood married, in 1905, Isabelle M. Briggs, a native of Carver, Plymouth County, and they are the parents of one son, Andrew M. The family residence is located at No. 16 School Street, Middleboro.

PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE

REV. HENRY HERBERT SMYTHE, one of the best-known and most highly beloved men of Barn- stable County, and a man who has devoted his en- tire life to the welfare of his neighbors at large, was born July 12, 1854, at Columbus, Ohio. He is a son of Henry Parmele and Sarah (Knowles) Smythe, and a descendant of nine of the first settlers of Cape Cod. These names, ringing clear in Pilgrim history, are Sparrow, Hopkins, Knowles, Sears, Doane, Bangs, Crowell, Lathrop and Scudder. Surely few men are of such estimable lineage in this country. Henry Parmele Smythe, the father, was born in New York State; while Sarah (Knowles) Smythe, the mother, was born in Granville, Ohio.

Henry Herbert Smythe received his early educa- tion in the public schools of the community in which he was born, and graduated from the Kenyon Col- lege, receiving there the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then pursued his theological training at the Cam- bridge Theological Seminary, graduating from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. His first church was in Adams, Massachusetts, and it was there that he spent the first nine years of his ministerial career. In 1890, when the St. Barnabas Memorial Church was consecrated, he was transferred to Falmouth to take charge of the St. Barnabas par- ish there. And thus he continued, as rector, until 1922, when he was officially retired from active serv- ice. As it turned out, however, the Rev. Mr. Smythe continued in charge until late in 1923, when he was relieved by the Rev. James Clement Sharp. And thus ended a long and devoted career of a man who was the prime spiritual leader of his entire com- munity. Not ended, for the Rev. Henry Herbert Smythe is as active in a general way as he was in religious matters. And to say that he served for thirty-two years as the rector of St. Barnabas Church is to tell less than a half of the great work he ac- complished during that period of time. An indefatig- able worker, and an earnest, upright man, he is al- ways at the fore in every matter that pertains to the welfare of his community. It is safe to say that no other one individual has ever had a more potent effect upon the real destinies of a community than has the Rev. Mr. Smythe. Non-political, non-partisan, he is a remarkably clear-thinking man, and his sermons, his informal meetings with the folk of Falmouth, his very presence in that community has alreay born fruit which is in every way toward the betterment of all Falmouth. His words have always urged peace and good will, his every action has been to raise the whole standard of living to the highest possible point of an idealized civilization-and he has come to hold a position of love and esteem in the hearts of his fel- low-man. On every hand are the visible manifesta- tions of his good works, the library, the hospital, the parks, the commemoration and restoration of historic events and historic scenes, the cleanliness, peace and happiness that exists in Falmouth. These are things and impressions that even the most casual and hasty traveler cannot help but note about this community. And at the bottom of each of the many separate movements and processes of thought that have gone to achieve these fine results, stands the Rev. Henry Herbert Smythe, a man who will always be remembered in Falmouth.

The many exacting duties of his church have not prevented this man from taking a keen and active in- terest in general affairs. He has long been connected with the civic life of the town, and he holds offices in

many different organizations which pertain to the town and all that it implies. He has been a trustee of the Falmouth Public Library since 1898; he is president of the Falmouth Historical Society, having served this organization for more than twenty-five years; he is president of the Village Improvement So- ciety; the Lawrence High School Scholarship Fund; he is a member of the Town Planning Board; and he is chairman of the Junior High School Building Com- mittee. He was one of the organizers of the Succa- mussett Club, and he has been active in this club ever since its inception. He has also been active in many outside clubs and organizations, all of which claim him as an active and keenly interested worker. Among the more important of these are the Society of Mayflower Descendants, for he is a direct descend- ant of Stephen Hopkins and John Lathrop, both early settlers of the Cape, and the latter being the founder of the First Congregational Church on the Cape, at Barnstable. He is a member of the Boston Twenty Club; Theta Delta Chi Fraternity, of New York City; and he was one of the first members at the founding of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. And as a final mark of the unending esteem in which he is held, he has been named as a director of the Cape Cod Hospital, which is located at Hyan- nis. Indeed, with his long record of administering to the needs of his parish, his devotion to his church, his long and arduous service to his town and the many organizations thereof, he must needs be especi- ally remarked as a man of great and good influence among the people of Falmouth, by whom he is still recognized as a leader.

The Rev. Henry Herbert Smythe married, July 12, 1882, Lydia Charlotte Wilbor, of Sandusky, Ohio, who died November 5, 1900. By this union two chil- dren were born, both of whom are daughters: 1. Evelyn Smythe, who married Ralph Homer Grinnell, of Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. 2. Helen Smythe, who married Edward B. Hamlin, of Fal- mouth, Massachusetts. The Rev. Henry Herbert Smythe maintains his residence in Falmouth.

LEMUEL CLARENCE HALL-Among the newspaper men who have been brought up in the craft from experience in the mechanical, as well as the literary side, is Lemuel Clarence Hall, of Ware- ham, Massachusetts. Like many of his associates in the profession of owner and editor of different publi- cations, Mr. Hall has also given some of his time to public office, thus augmenting the good an editor can do by molding public opinion. He is the son of Gershom and Sophia L. (Parker) Hall. His father was a ship captain and owned ships plying in the West Indies and South American trade, and during the war between the States in 1861 to 1865, he was in the merchant marine. After retiring from the sea, he settled at Harwich, a village in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and was at one time tax collector of the town.

Lemuel Clarence Hall was born at Harwich, Mas- sachusetts, on December 13, 1874. Here in the little coast village he attended school and was promoted year by year until he reached the high school and completed his school work in that institution. At the age of sixteen years he entered the printing trade and was among those who are fortunate enough to choose a lifelong calling with the first choice of occupation.

Terry Herbert Amen The

PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE

His progress in acquiring the trade of a printer showed he had not only aptitude for the trade, but also for carrying it out in a managerial way, for five years after his beginning in this business, at the age of twenty-one, he established a printing office in Wareham, Massachusetts. This led to further devel- opment and it was not long before he helped to establish the Wareham "Courier," a weekly news- paper, and became the editor of the publication. His energies have been concentrated on the newspaper and printing business ever since and in the line of the newspaper he has extended his operations over a considerable territory. In 1915, he established and published the "Cape Cod Magazine." In 1920, he found it to his advantage to dispose of the controlling interest in this publication and did so, but remained as editor for two years. At the present time his business activities are confined to printing and pub- lishing the "Wareham Courier" and its several branch editions, the "Marion Courier," the "Mattapoisett Courier," and the "Onset Courier." In addition to these papers he carries on a general printing business. He has taken active interest in the advancement of the press as a whole and in that work he has been presi- dent of the Massachusetts Press Association; and is also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Editorial Association. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and has been a Past Sachem and Past District Deputy; and of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons. In 1927 to 1928 he represented the First Plymouth District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. His clubs are the Boston City Club; the Canopy Club of Boston (Masonic), and the Lotus Club of Wareham. For the past ten years he has been the secretary of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, and one of its directors. In politics, Mr. Hall is a Republican, and he attends the Congregational church.

At Harwich, Massachusetts, on December 25, 1897, Lemuel Clarence Hall married Lettice M. Foster, daughter of Josiah F. and Lillian L. (Maker) Foster; Mrs. Hall is now deceased. They had three children: 1. Clarence J. F. 2. Lillian L. 3. Roger Parker, who died in infancy.

JOSEPH W. WHITCOMB, cashier of the Ware- ham National Bank, and for some years associated with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road, was born March 18, 1883, at Provincetown, Massachusetts. He is a son of Joseph and Levenia C. (Mullens) Whitcomb, both descendants of well- known New England families. Joseph Whitcomb was born in Yarmouth, Maine, and removed to Barn- stable County, Massachusetts, while he was still a young man. He was an undertaker by profession, and he served for more than twenty years of his active life as sheriff. He died in 1897; Levenia C. (Mullens) Whitcomb was a native of Provincetown.

Joseph W. Whitcomb received his education in the public schools of the community in which he was born, and graduated from Provincetown High School. Immediately upon the completion of these courses of study, Mr. Whitcomb entered the employ of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, with which system he remained for more than seven years, first working in Middleboro, and later in Brockton. In 1907 he became associated with the North Easton

Savings Bank of North Easton, Massachusetts. He remained with this financial institution for about two years; and then, in 1909, he became a member of the staff of the Middleborough National Bank, holding, with this organization, the position of cashier. He continued thus until June, 1912, when he resigned to accept the position of cashier with the Wareham Na- tional Bank, at Wareham, Massachusetts, where he has since remained. He now not only holds the office of cashier, but is also a trustee of this well-known banking institution.

Despite the many varied and exacting duties of the work in which he is engaged, Mr. Whitcomb has always given generously of his time to the affairs of the township in which he resides. In his political preferences, he is a Republican. He is a member of the Massachusetts Cashiers' Association, and in club and social life he is quite active, being affiliated with Social Harmony Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Wareham Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; New Bed- ford Council, Royal and Select Masters; and with Marine Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Provincetown. He is also a member of the Lotus Club.

Joseph W. Whitcomb married, in 1904, Elsie Maxim, who was born in Middleboro, Massachusetts, a daughter of C. W. Maxim, of that township. Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb are the parents of two sons: Joseph C., and Robert M. Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb and their family reside in Wareham, where they attend the Congregational church.

WILLIAM S. KYLE, born July 12, 1851, was educated in the public and in private schools, and for many years his home was in Portland, Maine, where as clerk, and later partner, he was engaged in the wholesale drug and chemical business. May 1, 1890, he came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, and became a member of the firm of Bradford, Kyle & Company to engage in the business of manufacturing insulated electrical wire under a newly patented process.

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History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 11

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