History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 45

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 45
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 45
USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 45

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NATHANIEL A. SHURTLEFF, prominent in Middleboro as a lumberman for many years, but now retired and carrying on just enough agricultural work to give him pleasure, was born on October 13, 1867, in Middleboro. He is a son of Nathaniel F. and Cynthia E. (Smith) Shurtleff, both now deceased. Nathaniel F. Shurtleff was born in Middleboro; he was a farmer and lumberman of note in his com- munity, and died in 1916. Cynthia E. (Smith) Shurtleff was born in Rochester Township, Plym- outh County, Massachusetts; she died in 1910. The Shurtleff family are direct descendants of William Shurtleff who came to this country from England on board the good ship "Ann" during the early part of the seventeenth century.

Nathaniel Shurtleff received his early education in the public schools of Middleboro, and graduated from the Easton Preparatory School. After the completion of his studies he became a helper to his father on the farm and in the lumber business, work in which he remained until 1903. At that time he took over his father's lumber business, and forming a partnership with his brother, Harrison F. Shurtleff, under the firm name of N. A. & H. F. Shurtleff, he carried on a most successful trade. Purchasing lumber in the raw and in various other stages of completion, they trans-shipped it to their mill on France Street, in Middleboro, where the work upon it was completed and it was ready for sale. So remunerative did this enterprise prove, that, in 1915, Nathaniel A. Shurtleff was able to sell out his share of the business entirely, and leaving his brother in full command, retired front commercial endeavor. He has since made his home upon the farm in South Middleboro, where he is gen- erally spoken of as a "gentleman farmer." Mr. Shurtleff has ever found time in which to contribute to the civic and community affairs of the township in which he resides. In his political preferences he is, like his father before him, strongly inclined toward the Republican party.

Nathaniel A. Shurtleff married, in 1917, Annie F. Fournier, who was born in Quebec, Canada. Mr.

and Mrs. Shurtleff reside in South Middleboro, in which township they attend the Methodist church.

ELWELL H. SMITH, Chief of Police of Ware- ham, Massachusetts, and who has long been a part of the township and county constabulary at various points in that State, was born July 30, 1876. He is a son of Isaac F. and Nancy J. (Pease) Smith, both now deceased. Isaac F. Smith was born in New York State, although he spent most of his life as a farmer in Massachusetts, where he died in 1912. Nancy J. (Pease) Smith was born in Weston, Vermont, and died in 1899.

Elwell H. Smith received his education in the grammar and high schools of the community in which he was born, Weston, Vermont. Immediately upon the completion of these courses of study, he returned to his father's farm where he worked for about two years. He then obtained a position with the Lexington & Boston Street Railway Company, where he remained for about seven years, resigning to accept work with the Middleboro, Wareham & Buzzards Bay Street Railway Company out of Ware- ham, Massachusetts; work in which he remained for about five years. Removing to New Bedford, he was employed, during the following year, by the Union Street Railway Company of New Bedford; after which he made a complete and definite change in the course of his life's work. He received the appoint- ment of special officer at the Bridgewater State Farm, where he remained for six years. In 1901, however, he removed to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he was appointed to the office of Chief of Police, a post which he held for more than thirteen years. In 1914 he was transferred to a position of equal trust as a member of the staff guard at the Plymouth County House of Correction where he remained for about a year. He was then associated with the Massachusetts State Police at Monument Beach, where he remained for another year. Then, in 1916, he came to Ware- ham to accept the appointment of Chief of Police, a post which he has continued to conduct with ability and dispatch. Since it is a well-known fact that the element of politics enters largely into the filling of appointments of the type of work in which Mr. Smith has been so long engaged, it is noteworthy that, in his political preferences, he is strongly in- clined toward the Republican party.

Mr. Smith has retained his membership in those organizations which pertain to the offices he has filled, being a member of the Massachusetts Police Chiefs' Association, and the Wareham Police As- sociation, of which organization he fills the office of president. He also has given generously of his time to the club and social life of his community. He is affiliated with Social Harmony Lodge, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Plymouth Lodge, Knights of Pythias.

Elwell H. Smith married, June 6, 1906, Florence Louise Perry, who was born in Bourne, Massachu- setts. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of one daughter, Barbara E., and they attend the Methodist Episcopal church of Wareham, the township in which they reside.

WALTON S. DELANO-Wareham's most sub- stantial business interests, and the foremost financial institutions of this part of the county are represented in the business career and activities of Walton S. Delano, bank president and proprietor of the A. S.

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Gurney & Company grain business, whose gifts and abilities, in their development and faithful application, have secured his influential directorship of affairs that in themselves are fundamental in the progress of community and county. Mr. Delano is a direct de- scendant of Phillipe de Lannoy, who came to Plym- outh in 1621, and whose descendants have always been prominent in the civic and business life of Southeastern Massachusetts, the name having gradu- ally received the present form of spelling. Mr. De- lano's great-grandfather was James. his grandfather, John Delano, both residents of Marion. His father, John W. Delano, was also a native of Marion, in Plymouth County, and for twenty years he held the position of fish and game commissioner for the State of Massachusetts. He was employed by A. S. Gurney for about eighteen years. A Republican in his political views, Mr. Delano served as a member of the Marion Board of Selectmen for several years, and he represented his district in the State Legis- lature for two years. His death took place in 1921. John W. Delano married Estella L. Gurney, also a native of Marion, daughter of Ansel S. Gurney, founder in 1852 of the present A. S. Gurney & Com- pany.

Walton S. Delano was born March 6, 1877, at Mar- ion, where he attended the public schools and was a student for two years at Tabor Academy. As an office boy in the employ of A. S. Gurney, dealer in hay, grain, and cement, at Wareham, he started out upon his business career in 1894, and in 1902 he was received into partnership with the firm. Since 1904 he has held active management of the company, the largest dealers in grain and feeds in this part of the county; in the year 1906, Mr. Delano was made a member of the board of trustees of The Wareham Savings Bank. About 1918 he was elected vice-presi- dent of this bank, and in 1924, he succeeded to his present office of president; he is also treasurer of the Buzzards Bay Grain Company, Incorporated, and president of the Planting Island Association, Incor- porated.

In political matters, Mr. Delano favors the Repub- lican party, and his political beliefs range themselves on the side of good government. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Pythagorean Lodge, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Wareham Chapter, Royal Arch Ma- sons: Sutton Commandery, Knights Templar, of New Bedford; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church, and he is chair- man of the board of trustees of that church at Marion.

Walton S. Delano married, June 27, 1900, Hattie F. Hathaway, who was born in Rochester, and their children are: Mary Lewis, and Ruth Hathaway.

DONALD W. NICHOLSON-Chosen to public office because of his excellent qualities as a citizen and his intelligent comprehension of the civic needs of community and district, Donald W. Nicholson has received the approbation of his constituency and of the general public, his services to Wareham Township and to the State in behalf of his district being those of the practical and thoroughgoing representative of the people in this section of the, State. He is a son of Angus Nicholson, a blacksmith, who was born in Cape Breton Island, and of Annie (McLeod) Nichol- son, also a native of Cape Breton, who died in 1917.

Donald W. Nicholson was born August 11, 1888, in Wareham, where he attended the public schools,

and was graduated at the high school in the class of 1906. Mr. Nicholson entered the employ of the tele- phone company and continued therewith for four years; and during the following fourteen years he was in the employ of the New Bedford & Onset Street Railway Company. In 1921, Mr. Nicholson was elected selectman for the town of Wareham, and from that date to the present, also, he has faithfully served as tax assessor and overseer of the poor. In 1925-26, he was a representative to the General Court; and in 1926 he was elected, as a Republican candidate, Senator from the Wareham-Plymouth District

A veteran of the World War, Mr. Nicholson en- listed in the United States Army with Headquarters Company, Three Hundred and Second United States Infantry, and he was afterwards with Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-third Infantry, P. W. E. Company, No. 236. He served overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, and was discharged as a sergeant.

Fraternally, Mr. Nicholson is a member of the American Legion, as Past Commander; Social Har- mony Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, with the office of Past Noble Grand, and is now District Deputy Grand Master, Middleboro Lodge, No. 1274, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Agawam Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star; and he is a member of the Lo- tus Club. He attends the Congregational church.

Donald W. Nicholson married, in 1921, Ethel Patten, of Marion. Their children: Malcolm McLeod, and Mary Patten.

BENJAMIN WATERS, owner of the well-known Waters' Drug Store, at Wareham, Massachusetts, and long a leader in his township, was born on October 1, 1864, at Digby, Nova Scotia. He is a son of Captain Thomas and Amaret (Dakin) Waters, both now deceased. Thomas Waters was born at Surbiton Hills, England. He went down with his ship "Wealth of Nations," off Callao, Peru, in 1871. Amaret (Dakin) Waters was born in Digby, Nova Scotia, and died in 1908.

Benjamin Waters received his education in the public schools of the community in which he was born, and attended Digby Academy. Immediately after the completion of his studies, Mr. Waters en- tered the work he was destined to follow all of his days, the drug business, which was interrupted by two years of life at sea. Much of his experience was obtained in Digby, where he remained until 1885, when he journeyed southward to Wareham and there bought out an old-established drugstore. That Mr. Waters has achieved a substantial and well-earned success is obvious, for few men can remain in any of the medium-sized townships of the United States for more than forty years without winning the con- fidence of their fellow-men and holding their respect. And Mr. Waters has more than won the respect of his neighbors, the men and women with whom he comes in daily contact through the nature of his business. His store, one of the best-equipped in the section, carries a full line of Rexall products, having been a key-point in the vast Rexall system of drug distribution for the past twenty-six years. When Mr. Waters first opened his store, he installed a tele- phone, the first instrument of its kind to be used in Wareham. As time went on, and the telephone became a thing of universal value, a telephone

Charles E. Lynch, Sr.

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switchboard was installed in the rear of his store. At that time the entire telephone "system" of this part of the country was owned by one man who was then living in New Bedford. Mr. Waters' establish- ment was razed by a devastating fire during the late part of 1906, and he was almost literally forced to begin life anew. He did not despair, however. On the contrary, he took extra heart, and purchased a piece of nearby land in the same township. Here he erected a store of his own, building a larger and finer edifice, and equipping it on a more gen- erous scale. Among the other innovations of that time, he ceiled his store with metal, the first in this vicinity so finished. In 1916, he doubled the floor- space and erected what is now known as the Wan- kinco Block, an entire business block in the heart of the commercial section of Wareham.

In his political preferences, Mr. Waters is strongly inclined toward the Republican party. Fraternally, he is a member of Social Harmony Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, in which organization he holds the rank of Past Master, and he is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Ware- ham, and the exclusive Lotus Club.

Benjamin Waters married, in 1887, Cassie M. Den- nison, who was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, and passed away in April, 1926. Mr. and Mrs. Waters' children: 1. Benjamin Percy, of whom further. 2-3. Edith and Elsie Waters, twins.

Benjamin Percy Waters, first child of Benjamin and Cassie M. (Dennison) Waters, was born on August 20, 1888, in Wareham. His early education was received in the grammar and high schools of the community in which he was born, and he graduated from Tabor Academy in 1904. He then studied phar- macy at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. graduating with the class of 1908, when he received the degree of Pharmaceutical Chemist. Immediately thereafter he returned to Wareham and went into business with his father, and he is now a member of the firm of Waters' Drug Store. He has been active in the ranks of the Republican party; has been chair- man of the Republican Town Committee for several years; has served the people of his community as town auditor, clerk, and treasurer, of the Wareham Fire District, and chairman of the board of Water Commissioners for the Wareham Fire District. He is affiliated, fraternally. with Social Harmony Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he holds the rank of Past Master; Wareham Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, a Past High Priest; and he is a Past Patron of Agawam Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star He is also an active member and treasurer of the Lotus Club. Benjamin P. Waters married, in 1913, Flor- ence M. Smith, who was born in Bournedale, Barn- stable County, Massachusetts.

The elder Mr. Waters. his two daughters, and the younger Mr. and Mrs. Waters reside in Wareham.

CHARLES E. LYNCH, Sr .- Among those who are successfully engaged in the shoe manufacturing business in this section of the State of Massachusetts is Charles E. Lynch, Sr., president of the Charles E. Lynch Shoe Manufacturing Company of Brockton. Under his able supervision and management the concern has enjoyed increasing volume of business and expanding marketing and distribution of its products, attaining a position of potent force in the trade. Associated with Mr. Lynch, Sr., is one son,

Charles E., Jr., and a daughter, Eleanor A., both of whom have shown keen discernment and sound judgment in the tasks appointed to them.

Charles E. Lynch, Sr., was born in Ireland, Janu- ary 1, 1849. After the completion of his education he became associated with various enterprises until 1885, when he engaged in the shoe industry in as- sociation with George M. Hine, forming a partner- ship known as Hine and Lynch, manufacturers of men's high-grade shoes, at Poughkeepsie, New York. This partnership continued until the death of Mr. Hine in 1911, when the firm was incorporated as the Charles E. Lynch Shoe Manufacturing Company, with Mr. Lynch, Sr., as president; Charles E. Lynch, Jr., vice-president, and Margaret A. Lynch, as treas- urer. In 1919 the business was removed to Brock- ton, Massachusetts, where it has since remained. Upon the death of Margaret A. Lynch, in 1924, Charles E. Lynch, Jr., was made vice-president and treasurer of the firm, holding these offices until March, 1926, when Eleanor A. Lynch was made vice-president, and Mr. Lynch, Jr., continued in the capacity of treasurer, which office he now holds (1928). The enterprise has experienced a steady, gradual growth since 1919, and now has reached proportions which require the services of about one hundred hands, its product be- ing sent to various parts of the Eastern States and making for itself an enviable reputation for excellent workmanship and fine quality of materials. The fac- tory is equipped with all the modern appliances for making high-grade shoes and covers a floor space of over 18,000 square feet.

In his political affiliations, Mr. Lynch, Sr., gives his support to the principles and candidates of the Republican party. He is a member of the Brockton Chamber of Commerce, and of the Benevolent and. Protective Order of Elks. His religious preference is with St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, of which he is a communicant.

Charles E. Lynch, Sr., married Margaret E. Con- way, and they are the parents of three children: 1. Mary A., married J. J. Strassel, of Brooklyn, New York. 2. Eleanor A., associated with her father as vice-president of the Charles E. Lynch Shoe Manu- facturing Company. 3. Charles E., Jr., treasurer of the Charles E. Lynch Shoe Manufacturing Company; married, February 5, 1919, at Brooklyn, New York, Ethel Reigelman, of Montclair, New Jersey, daughter of Harry and Elizabeth (Stolte) Reigelman. They are the parents of one daughter, Virginia Eleanor.

CARROLD D. HOWLAND-One of the well- known contractors and builders of Plymouth is Car- rold D. Howland, whose office and shop are located at No. 3 Pleasant Street, in Plymouth. Mr. How- land specializes in the building of dwelling houses, but he has also built several business blocks, and in addition to his general contracting business he also does a complete line of mill work, and manufactures special furniture.

Carrold D. Howland was born in Plymouth, Mas- sachusetts, January 31, 1873, son of Charles H. How- land, a native of Plymouth, who was engaged as a carpenter to the time of his death, and who was also a veteran of the Civil War, serving as master mate on the flagship "Powhatan," and of Nancy G. (Ray- mond) Howland, a native of Plymouth, also deceased. Mr. Howland received his education in the public schools of his birthplace, completing his high school course with the class of 1892, and then learned the

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carpenter's trade. In 1899 he engaged in business for himself as a contractor and builder, and in this line of business activity he has continued to the present time (1928). His business has grown stead- ily until he is handling a volume of work which requires the services of about thirty-five employees. While he has specialized in the construction of resi- dential buildings, he has also built several business blocks in Plymouth and in surrounding towns. He has his office and shop at No. 3 Pleasant Street, in Plymouth, as has already been stated, and here, in addition to all his other contract work he also does a complete line of mill work and takes orders for the making of special furniture. He is known as a skill- ful builder and as a reliable business man, and his reputation for integrity is one of his most valuable business assets. Politically, Mr. Howland gives his support to the principles and the candidates of the Republican party. During the World War he served as chairman of the food committee for the town of Plymouth, and he is one of the citizens of the place who can always be counted upon to contribute his full share for the furtherance of the general welfare of the community. Fraternally, he is identified with Plymouth Lodge, No. 1476, Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. He is also a member of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, and of the Fox Hunters' Club. He served on the building committee which had charge of the erection of Memorial Hall and was inspector on that building. His religious affiliation is with the Unitarian church.

Carrold D. Howland was married, at Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Lucy F. Hadaway, who was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Howland are the parents of two children: Eleanor Bradford, and Jeanette Allen. The family home is located at No. 67 Warren Avenue, in Plymouth.

RUSSELL J. FIELDS, M. D., a rising young physician of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was born on October 17, 1900, at Dalton, Massachusetts, a son of Joseph W. and Catherine (O'Brien) Fields, both of whom are living in Athol. Joseph W. Fields was born in Vergennes, Vermont, and he is a mechanic by trade. Catherine (O'Brien) Fields is a native of Dalton, Massachusetts.

Russell J. Fields received his preliminary education in the public schools of Athol, Massachusetts; he graduated from Athol High School with the class of 1919, and entered Dartmouth College, where he remained for two semesters. At the end of that time he transferred to Georgetown University, graduating from this institution with the class of 1925, when he received the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Doc- tor of Medicine. He obtained his practical training as a physician when he served over a period of a year and a half as an interne at the Municipal Hos- pital in Washington, District of Columbia. In May, 1926. Dr. Fields began the practice of his profession in Plymouth, Massachusetts, maintaining his office in the Howland Block. Although he has been prac- ticing for a comparatively brief period, he has already built up quite a clientele, and the promise of a dis- tinguished career in the future. In his political views, he is an Independent. The hobbies of this indefatig- able young physician, it is interesting to note, are music and writing. He resides at No. 58 Samoset Street, Plymouth, where he attends St. Peter's Ro- man Catholic Church.

Dr. Russell J. Fields married, February 5, 1927, Christine Margaret Deegan, of Washington, District of Columbia.

WENDELL F. GURNEY-The postmaster at Whitman, Wendell F. Gurney, was connected for many years with the shoe manufacturing industry in Whitman and Abington, Massachusetts, prior to accepting the position of assistant postmaster, which logically led to his being proffered the postmaster- ship, due to the marked ability he had displayed in the duties of the office. The late Elbridge F. Gur- ney, father of Wendell F. Gurney, was engaged as a tackmaker until his death, and married Maria J. Contrell, a native of Nova Scotia, who is also de- ceased.

Wendell F. Gurney, son of the late Elbridge F. and Maria J. (Contrell) Gurney, is a native of Whitman, born May 12, 1868. He was a student in the local public schools and was graduated from Whitman High School. His education completed, the youth applied to the Commonwealth Shoe & Leather Com- pany in quest of a position, with the result that he became employed by that company in the capacity of shoe cutter, and thus continued, with his original employers, for a period of six years. Seeking to im- prove his position, he went to the town of Abington, where he made a satisfactory connection with the King Brothers Shoe Company, which concern also retained Mr. Gurney as a shoe cutter, and he con- tinued with that company for ten years. Desiring to return to the town of his birth, Mr. Gurney re- signed his position with the Abington firm, returned to Whitman, and accepted a local position in the factories of the Regal Shoe Company, being con- nected with that firm for the following three years. In 1906, having been offered the position of assistant postmaster at Whitman, Mr. Gurney tendered his resignation to the Regal Company and entered upon his new duties. In 1924, efficient administration of the duties of assistant postmaster resulted in the ap- pointment of Mr. Gurney to the postmastership at Whitman, for which responsibility he is well fitted.

A staunch Republican in political belief, Mr. Gur- ney consistently supports the candidates of that party at the polls, and furthermore is active in assisting the cause of Republicanism in every way within his power. Aside from rendering an efficient postal serv- ice to his fellow-citizens, Mr. Gurney is most active in philanthropic, religious, and fraternal circles, being a member of the board of trustees of the Rogers Home for Aged Women, a consistent member and one of the board of trustees of the First Baptist Church of Whitman, and a popular fraternal brother of Puritan Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. One of his outstanding hobbies, from which Mr. Gurney derives much pleasure, consists in lingering by the seashore, noting the moods of the waves and tides.

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History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 45

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