History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 21

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 21
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 21
USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 21

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Calm, serene, master of himself, His code of conduct well thought out He went his gentle way through life; A stabilizing, stimulating influence To those about him. Yet beneath that placid surface Deep currents ran. Never swerving from the truth and right As he had charted their course. He loved his life-work, Though never quite content With aims accomplished. Always he dreamed of something finer For the enterprise into which he wove The fibre and spirit of himself. A life of singular usefulness, Of tolerance and kindly ways, Comes to a close. "A H .. " has gone To test the Great Adventure. Peace be his! As we are sure it will For one who never wished another ill.

CHESTER L. WILLS-Although financiers are not usually recruited from the ranks of journalists, it has become the good fortune of a talented writer, Chester L. Wills, of Brockton, to have embarked on a promising career as a banker.

Mr. Wills was born September 20, 1890, at Easton, the son of Frank and Emma M. (Darling) Wills. His father has retired from active business pursuits; his mother was from Medford; both are liv- ing (1928) and sharing happily in his success. In his earlier years, Chester L. Wills showed ability as a newspaper man. He took up corresponding for Brockton newspapers. Undoubtedly he would have attained prominence in this line, but a bent for busi- ness led him to accept a position with the Ames Shovel & Tool Company at North Easton. He put in seven valuable years there, during which he be- came a master of figures and detail. Then he changed to the People's Savings Bank of Brockton, and served in various capacities, notably as paying and receiving teller; and in 1922 he was rewarded with the position of assistant treasurer, which he now holds. His high school training had qualified him to handle figures and arithmetical problems, and his rapid calculations made him a decided asset to the institution.

Mr. Wills comes into contact with so many people at the bank that he has found it a service to act as a justice of the peace and notary public. He is a Republican, a member of the Easton Evangelical Congregational Church, and the Chamber of Com- merce. He is a member of Paul Dean Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, having taken his thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite, and is prominent in Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the

Mystic Shrine; he is also a Past Presiding Officer of the New England Order of Protection.

Chester L. Wills married, in 1926, Mary E. Phelan, of Brockton, Maine.

ELMER R. NIGHTINGALE was born November 18, 1899, the son of Louis P. and Lydia M. (Reynolds) Nightingale, and received his early education in the public and high schools of Brockton. Immediately upon his graduation, he accepted a position with the United States Government at Washington, District of Columbia. Here he was employed for over two years. In 1920 he entered the employ of the Peoples Savings Bank as a teller. In 1922 he was placed in charge of the Insurance Department of that institu- tion, as manager, and in 1925 was made assistant treasurer, a position which he is holding at the date of the writing of this biographical history (1928).

Despite his varied duties, Mr. Nightingale has still found time in which to take an active interest in the club and social life of his community. He is af- filiated, fraternally, with Paul Revere Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Satucket Chapter of Roy- al Arch Masons; Brockton Council, Royal and Select Masters; and Shedad Grotto, Mystic Order Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm. Mr. Night- ingale resides in Brockton.

KENNETH McLEOD-To the widespread popu- larity, as well as the increased business rating and mer- cantile value of the F. B. Washburn Company and its product, in Brockton, Kenneth McLeod has contrib- uted his well-known qualifications of organization and resourcefulness, and as the president of this, one of the largest manufacturers of confectionery in New England, Mr. McLeod has continued to maintain its indubitably high standing and acknowledged leader- ship. His identification with all that has to do with the progress of Brockton is inclusive of his valued association not only with his immediate business in- terests, but also with the city's leading financial and benevolent institutions. He is a son of Kenneth Mc- Leod, a farmer and one-time sea captain of Scottish birth, whose death occurred in 1876, and Catharine (McIntyre) McLeod, who died in 1895.

Kenneth McLeod was born November 1, 1845, in Prince Edward Island, Canada, where he attended the public schools. He entered upon his active ca- reer as a carriage maker, and he afterwards estab- lished himself in business in his own name as a man- ufacturer of carriages in High Street, Brockton, and he continued along and successfully in that line until 1888.

It was in 1888 that Mr. McLeod first became asso- ciated with the firm of F. B. Washburn Company, in Brockton, when the concern was incorporated, and he has remained with that firm as one of its enterprising promoters, and today as its executive head. This firm was first established in 1859 by F. B. Washburn for the purpose of manufacturing confectionery and bak- ery products, and its incorporation was brought about in 1888, with Captain R. B. Grover as its president, who was succeeded by William Rapp, and he by G. R. Washburn; and in 1917, Mr. McLeod was elected to that office, which he continues to hold. A grad- ual and sure growth is the record of this concern from the date of its organization to the present, and it is now a very large bakery and confectionery in New England, employing over three hundred people, while its products have become national in their scope.

PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE

The plant has its own refrigeration department, which is used in the manufacture of chocolates, using many cooling rooms, and the company is probably the largest user of green cocoanuts in the United States. A very efficient system of keeping track of the ac- tivities of the various departments has been installed and put into operation by Mr. McLeod, and the bak- ery department is the largest in this section, produc- ing the highest grade of goods. The concern operates thirty-nine trucks, and the railroad siding at the plant has a capacity of twelve cars. Much of the credit of the success and high standing of this man- ufactory may rightly be attributed to the coopera- tion of Stewart D. McLeod, vice-president and coun- sel, Norman N. Sampson, treasurer, Kenneth G. W. McLeod, superintendent, and Warren McLeod, man- ager of the candy department.

Mr. McLeod is a member of the boards of di- rectors and trustees of the Peoples Savings Bank, and vice-president of the Security Co-operative Bank in Brockton. He is a past president of the Brockton Hospital, and has always been identified with the city's leading institutions. A Republican in his po- litical views, with his vote and influence he supports the principles of that party.

Fraternally, Mr. McLeod is affiliated with Paul Revere Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; a life- member of Bay State Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and member of the Commandery, Knights Templar. His religious affiliation is with the Porter Congre- gational Church.

Kenneth McLeod married (first), in 1873, Ella E. Washburn; and their children were: 1. Stewart B., at one time mayor of Brockton. 2. Ella T., who married Norman Sampson. Mr. McLeod married (second) Jane Heatherington. Their children: 3. Kenneth G. W. 4. Warren C. 5. Ralph C., now surgeon of God- dard Hospital, Brockton. Children of the second mar- riage are all veterans of the World War, and were members of the American Expeditionary Forces.

ELMER MARSTON TABER, descendant of one of the oldest and best-known families of New Eng- land, tracing his genealogy to the American Revolu- tion, was born January 17, 1877, at Brockton, Mas- sachusetts, a son of George Elmer and Anne B. (Marston) Taber. His father was born in Randolph, Massachusetts, and was for many years connected with the shoe industry in this State. Anne B. (Mar- ston) Taber was a native of Chatham, Massachusetts, and died in 1922.

Elmer Marston Taber received his education in the public and high schools of Brockton, and began his business career in that portion of the banking world with which he has been identified ever since. He entered the Home National Bank of Brockton, as a young man, serving in various capacities in that in- stitution until his knowledge of finance was so com- plete that he was placed in positions of the highest responsibility. He was finally appointed vice-presi- dent of the Home National Bank, a position which he now holds (1928). He is a director and clerk of the Morris Plan Bank of Brockton. During the World War, Mr. Taber gave freely of his services to the duties of the home forces. He took a notable part during the Liberty and Victory Loan drives in- stituted by the United States Treasury Department; and he was also active in campaign work for the bene- fit of the American Red Cross.

Mr. Taber has found time in which to partic-

ipate in the civic and community affairs of the township in which he resides. In his political pref- erences, he is a Republican. He has been active in social life, and is affiliated, fraternally, with Paul Revere Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; is a member of the Brockton Chamber of Commerce; the Kiwanis Club; and an active member of the Plym- outh Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.

Elmer Marston Taber married, in 1907, Alma H. Kent, daughter of Frank H. and Anne (Hobart) Kent, of Whitman, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Taber are the parents of two sons: 1. Elmer Marston Taber, Jr., born July 13, 1909. 2. Russell Kent Taber, born May 3, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Taber and their sons are members of the South Congregational Church, and they reside at No. 18 Keith Avenue (Campello) Brockton, Massachusetts.

ALBERT R. EWELL-Associated in the banking business for twoscore and six years, Mr. Ewell has attained a position of great responsibility in the work of banking. As cashier of the Brockton National Bank, he has had a most romantic career in reach- ing that office after starting as a messenger for the bank. His faithful service and recognized ability were rewarded by the various promotions he has re- ceived in reaching his present position.

Albert R. Ewell was born March 8, 1878, at Ash- land, Massachusetts. His parents were Henry and Clara E. (Dyer) Ewell. The son went to the public school and high school of Brockton and upon the completion thereof came to Brockton, where he found work as a messenger in the Brockton National Bank. His career is marked with unity, he has had one occupation and has been with one institution. Mr. Ewell assumed his first position of an official capacity when he was appointed assistant cashier of the bank in 1915. He continued in that work until 1925, when he was made cashier, and he is serving ably in that capacity. During the World War, Mr. Ewell was a member of the State Guard in I Company, Fourteenth Regiment, in which he was commissioned second lieutenant. Mr. Ewell is a member of the board of directors of the "South Shore Magazine" and is af- filiated with the Commercial Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He is a Republican by political persua- sion, and attends the New Jerusalem Church of Brockton.

Albert R. Ewell married Bertha E. Dunbar, daugh- ter of Alonzo T. and Elizabeth W. (Wheeler) Dun- bar, of Brockton, in 1905. They make their home in Brockton and have the following children: Elizabeth W., Richard W., John H., and Nathalie W.

EDWARD M. THOMPSON-In active coopera- tion with the most important of Brockton's civic and financial institutions, from the beginning of his busi- ness career, Edward M. Thompson has rendered that high standard of service to the community that is productive of the popular confidence and respect. Whether as bank president, financial official in other organizations of large interest and influence, or the head of his own extensive book and stationery busi- ness, Mr. Thompson is a representative and a leading citizen of one of the most flourishing of Eastern Mas- sachusetts cities. He is a son of Henry Thompson, a carpenter, native of Boston, whose death occurred in 1906, and of Anne (Thayer) Thompson, of Randolph, who died in 1881.

Edward M. Thompson was born December 31, 1856,

PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE

in Brockton, where he attended the public schools. He was employed for ten years in his early youth in the store of H. W. Robinson; and in 1881 he entered into business on his own account, when he opened a book and stationery store on Centre Street, where he has continued to the present. Mr. Thompson is con- nected with many of the foremost of Brockton's busi- ness affairs, his treasurership with the Brockton Agri- cultural Association, the institution that has the di- rection of the nationally known annual Brockton Fair, having continued since 1888, and proving one of the outstanding reasons for the success of its projects. For a number of years, also, he has held the office of president of the Brockton Savings Bank; he is a mem- ber of the board of directors of the National Bank; and he is the oldest living member of the Security Co-operative Bank of Brockton.

In his political views a Republican, Mr. Thompson with his vote and influence supports the principles of his party. During the World War, he was a pro- motive influence in all of Brockton's activities in be- half of the United States Army and Navy. Frater- nally, he is affiliated with Paul Revere Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; and with Baalis Sanford Lodge, Free' and Accepted Masons; and he is a thirty- second degree member of the Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Mr. Thompson is a member of the Rotary Club, the Commercial Club, and the Brockton Chamber of Commerce; and his religious fellowship is with the Porter Congregational Church.

Edward M. Thompson married Mattie M. Allen, of Brockton, who is now deceased, daughter of Ben- jamin and Matilda (Sylvester) Allen.

JOHN JOSEPH QUINN-The career of John Jo- seph Quinn, of Quincy, president of the Citizens' Gas Light Company, has been full of action and worthy accomplishment. Mr. Quinn engaged in the sale of silk and braid, became a soldier during the World War, and finally engaging in public service utility work, was advanced to high position as an executive of rare ability.

Mr. Quinn was born in New York City, October 25, 1893, son of John and Catherine (Healy) Quinn. His father was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, in May, 1863, came to the United States in 1883, and engaged in the livery business at New York City until 1917, when he retired. His mother, born in County Wick- low, died in 1921.

Mr. Quinn attended the New York grammar schools and the High School of Commerce. On July 1, 1911, he entered business with the Pittsfield Coal-Gas Com- pany, and served in various capacities and remained with the concern seven years. In September, 1918, he went with the A. H. Rice Company, silk thread and braid manufacturers at Pittsfield, as traveling representative. In November, 1918, he was assigned to Camp Sevier, South Carolina, as an enlisted man of the United States Army, and shortly thereafter was discharged, and returned to civil life. On May. 20, 1919, he removed to Quincy on being offered the su- perintendency of the Citizens' Gas Light Company, and on May 26, 1923, was elected vice-president. On April 28. 1927, he was elected president of the com- pany. He has since been elected president of the New England Gas Association and is a member of the operating, sales, and industrial division of this organization. He is a member of the American Gas Association, the Guild of Gas Managers, the Commer- cial Gas Managers' Association, and chairman of vari-

ous committees active in the manufacture of gas. In addition to being an officer and director of the Gas Company he was vice-president, and for several years director, of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce; is a past president, former secretary and is a director of the Quincy Rotary Club; member of the Quincy Post of the American Legion; and Quincy Council of the Knights of Columbus; and vice-president of Granite City Club. He attends St. John's Roman Catholic Church. His business address is No. 7 Granite Street, Quincy, and his home address No. 15 Glendale Road.

John J. Quinn married Katheryn I. Scanlan, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and they have three chil- dren.

ERNEST LEON COLLINS-It is unusual that a school principal remains in one position for sixteen years with complete satisfaction to the authorities, parents and children, but this was the record in 1928 of Ernest Leon Collins, headmaster of the Quincy High School since 1912. In this time Mr. Collins has seen hundreds of boys go forth to wage the battle of life, and he has had the satisfaction of seeing many of them attain an artistic and commercial success. His learning is deep, his methods thorough and he has been rewarded with gratifying results.

Ernest Leon Collins was born at Lewiston, Maine, May 21, 1875, son of Chellis O. and Lizzie N. (Che- ney) Collins, his father, engaged in the textile busi- ness, having been born in Stowe, Vermont, now deceased; and his mother, still living, a native of Bar- net, Vermont. He graduated from the High School of Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1894, and from Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, in the class of 1898. He next attended the Delaware Literary Institute at Franklin, New York, for a year, then entered upon his career as teacher at the High School of Win- chester, Massachusetts, where he brought about good results for four years. Then he was elected principal of the North Brookfield High School in the same State. For two years he served as principal of the Braintree High School, then for four and a half years at Athol High, also as principal. For a year and a half he was sub-master of the Everett High School. In 1912 he was offered the principalship of the Quin- cy High School; he accepted and has satisfactorily filled the office since.

Mr. Collins is a deacon of the Bethany Congrega- tional Church, in whose work he has taken an abid- ing interest. In politics he is a member of the Re- publican party. He is a valued member of the Na- tional Education Society, the Massachusetts Teach- ers' Federation; while in fraternal order circles he belongs to Manet Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Quincy Commandery, Knights Templar, and Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he is Past High Priest. His hobbies are fishing and outdoor life, and he is chairman of the Court of Honor of the Quincy organization of the Boy Scouts of America.

Mr. Collins married Bessie Porter, member of an old family of this section, and two children have blessed their union: 1. Porter Collins, now a student of Bowdoin College, Brunswick. Maine. 2. Eleanor Collins.

THOMAS H. ARDEN, Jr .- One of those to whom is accounted the distinction of being an out- standing figure industrially on Cape Cod is Thomas

PLYMOUTH, NORFOLK AND BARNSTABLE

H. Arden, Jr., more familiarly and affectionately known to his many associates, friends and admirers as "Tom" Arden, who has been endowed by nature with large talents in commercial direction, salesman- ship, a genial personality, a hearty manner, and the ability to tell a story as it should be told. Mr. Arden was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, April 22, 1887, son of Thomas Hill and Jane Elizabeth (Bay- ley) Arden, both natives of Fall River. In Taunton, Massachusetts, where he has resided for a number of years, Thomas Hill Arden, Sr., is prominent in general affairs, and over a long period held office as sewer commsisioner. He is manager for the Taun- ton district of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com- pany of New York City, and is the oldest on the staff of the company in point of years of service, third oldest of the entire staff in point of actual age and oldest in point of age of all that staff now actively employed in the company's business. Himself pos- sessed in liberal measure of those fine qualities of character which endear a man to his fellows, this her- itage from father to son is most apparent in Thomas H. Arden, Jr.

Thomas H. Arden, Jr., received his academic train- ing in the public schools of Taunton, and began without delay his career in the business world. His first employment was as bookkeeper, with the Fall River Rubber Company, of Fall River; his next with the Gay Head Brick Company, of Somerset, Mas- sachusetts, in which organization he began as book- keeper, and through force of ability advanced him- self to the position of superintendent. It was in the Gay Head Brick Company that he attained knowl- edge of great use to him in later years, as will be seen. Mr. Arden left the brick company, however, and became associated with Mt. Hope Finishing Company, of North Dighton, starting as lot-balancer and advancing to the rank of assistant foreman, then transferred to the James Marshall & Brothers Hat Company of Fall River, of which he was paymaster, and there, too, he acquired experience of significance in later years. But he severed his connection with the hat company, in which he had learned many phases of apparel manufacture in principle and prac- tice, and had become accustomed to the handling of felt; and next went into business for himself, selling insurance under his father's direction, in Taunton, remaining in his father's offices fourteen years.

In 1921, abandoning the insurance business for one which he believed to be and which has proved to be of greater profit, he purchased an interest in the E. L. Gowdy Company, box toe manufacturers, in Brockton, Massachusetts, of which he became gen- eral manager. In 1922 the plant was destroyed by fire, caused when a quantity of industrial alcohol ex- ploded, and Mr. Arden purchased the business and box toe patents from the company. He organized his own company over the wreckage, so to speak, of the Gowdy manufactory, that same year, under the style of the Arden Box Toe Company, with a charter under the corporation laws of the State for the man- ufacture of felt box toes, for use in the toes of shoes. The Arden Box Toe Company is located with plant and offices in Watertown, Massachusetts, and is one of the principal enterprises of the vicinity. Mr. Ar- den is its president.

Meanwhile, in the summer of 1925, in association with Charles S. McCall. Mr. Arden purchased the West Barnstable Brick Company, with yards, plant and railroad siding at West Barnstable, Massachu- setts; and when Mr. McCall died, in March, 1926, he

took over control. The date on which the West Barnstable company was founded is unknown, but it is considered one of the oldest brick yards in the United States. Years ago bricks manufactured here were transported to Plymouth and other parts of the Cape; and it was thought that at one time the brick yards were given over to the making of pottery, and, although there are no records available proving or disproving this, certain it is that a number of pieces of pottery were unearthed by investigators, who dug in and around the yard while the new structure was being erected, and this would seem to indicate that the establishment at one time had been a pottery works, antedating the memory of Cape Cod's oldest inhabitants. At present, the West Barnstable Brick Company as conducted by Mr. Arden, supplies' build- ers on the Cape with materials in design and fabrica- tion comparable with the finest produced in the United States. The yard, which has gone through all the changes in periods of manufacturing from the primitive hand block-made bricks to bricks made by the largest of automatic machines of this mechanical age, is one of the most extensive industrial concerns of the Cape. It supplies work for many hands, thereby contributing to the support of many families, and benefiting the community to that extent.

An interesting story that has received much pub- licity throughout the country regarding Mr. Arden, has to do with Henry Ford. In the summer of 1926, while Mr. Arden was in the brick yards of his West Barnstable plant overseeing the erection of an ad- dition, two men walked up, and one of them asked Mr. Arden's permission to look around. They returned a few minutes later and asked about a certain piece of old machinery on the property. It seemed that one of the men wanted to buy it, an old steam engine that had been in the brick yards many years, for a long time unused. Mr. Arden offered to give away the machine if the gentleman would pay for its re- moval. But the gentleman insisted on paying for the machine; and as he insisted upon paying, so Mr. Arden insisted with equal firmness that he should not, maintaining that he would be pleased indeed to be rid of the piece of "junk." Then Mr. Ford intro- duced himself, and explained that the steam engine was one of only four that had been made; it had a peculiar vibration which was of value to engineers in the study of engines. Mr. Ford wanted it for his museum and laboratory at Dearborn, so that engi- neers and students actually could see and study the machine. Upon this Mr. Arden told Mr. Ford to take the machine, with his compliments, and Mr. Ford finally did. He has placed it in the museum, and before it a plate bearing the name of the donor. Mr. Ford, probably the wealthiest man in the world, was so surprised to find a man who wanted to give him something, when he was prepared to pay a big price, that he spent the whole morning in getting acquainted with Mr. Arden-"Tom" Arden. They exchanged experiences in manufacturing and discussed Colonial history. The next day, Mr. Arden was called from his home to the yards, and was there presented with a Fordson tractor, the gift of Henry Ford, to show his appreciation, gratitude and delight at meeting one who forgot that he was Henry Ford, and treated hint as he would any other man.

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History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 21

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