USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 67
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 67
USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 67
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a member of the University Club of Brockton, and his religious affiliation is with the Temple Israel of Brockton. He is also a member of the Massachu- setts Medical Society and Brockton Medical Society.
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Dr. Fred F. Weiner was married, August 12, 1923, to Frances Galer, of Boston, Massachusetts, daugh- ter of Morris and Mary (Sloan) Galer. They are the parents of one son, Alan David Weiner, who was born November 1, 1925.
HARRY F. ZAHN-The postmaster in one of the smaller towns, like the "village blacksmith," enjoys a measure of popularity which is granted but few persons in any community; the prompt handling of the incoming and outgoing mail is a vital matter to hundreds of people, for deep disappointment may grow out of delay, while joy and hope spring out of service with despatch. Harry F. Zahn, postmaster at Hingham Center, has had the post office (which he conducts in connection with his general store) since 1915. He began with an appointment by the Wilson Democratic administration, and has had no trouble continuing through the Harding and Cool- idge administrations, without regard to party or partisanship. The way he maintains his popularity is explained by the fact that he treats everyone courte- ously and gives them real service.
Harry F. Zahn was born April 30, 1883, at Sand- wich, the son of Fred J. and Crescentia Zahn, his father having been a farmer of that neighborhood. He received his education at the public schools of Sandwich and Hingham, graduating from Hingham High School in 1900, and early went to work because he did not intend to go to college for more theoret- ical learning. Preferring to obtain his lessons from the hard school of experience, he entered the busi- ness world as an employee in the meat market of L. H. J. Sears at Hingham. Later he went to Chicago with Swift & Company, being transferred to their Cambridge, Massachusetts, plant. Shortly after his marriage he came back to Hingham and entered the employ of W. S. Cushing, at South Hingham. On the death of Roswell Litchfield he bought out Mr. Litchfield's meat market, later buying out Benton Sprague's grocery store at Hingham Center. Upon appointment as postmaster in 1915, he moved his candy and cigar business into the quarters connected with the post office which had been used by Seth Sprague, former postmaster, and in this place he has remained since. He is a member of the Republican party, but when President Wilson was looking for a man to take the post office at Hingham, he refused to be influenced by the fact that Mr. Zahn was a member of the opposite party, and appointed him, because he was the best man for the place. Presidents Harding and Coolidge did likewise. These testimonials of his efficiency came as the reward of merit, and it is said that Mr. Zahn can keep the Hingham Center Post Office as long as he wants it, and he is yet a young man. So much for the high regard in which he is held by his neighbors. Mr. Zahn is a leading and popular member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and is a warm supporter of every movement for the improvement and prosperity of Hingham.
The marriage of Harry F. Zahn to Gertrude A. Holt took place February 15, 1907, and two daugh- ters have blessed their union: Viola, and Crescentia.
WILLIAM HOWARD STEDMAN-Prominent citizen of Brockton, Massachusetts, William Howard Stedman spent his mature years in wholehearted and unstinted service to his fellow-man and to his com- munity. He gave his strength and his support to the advancement of every good cause and spent his efforts for others. A splendid type of leader, he was an illustrious example for the young people of Brock- ton and an inspiration to all who knew him. Mr. Stedman was vice-president of the V. and F. W. Filoon Company.
William Howard Stedman was born in Prince Ed- ward Island, December 21, 1869, son of Prince A. and Margaret Stedman, who were residents of Prince Edward Island and later made their home in Brock- ton. The son, educated in the schools of his birth- place, was seventeen when he came with his parents to Brockton. After a short period of association with the men's furnishing store of Chester O. Willey, at Campello, a suburb of Brockton, he became sales- man for the W. L. Douglas Shoe Company. It was in 1899 that Mr. Stedman, an experienced salesman and business executive, entered the employ of the V. and F. W. Filoon Company as a salesman, cover- ing the territory assigned him on the Atlantic Sea- board. His capabilities were such, however, that the firm summoned him to a higher place in its system, and when the enterprise was incorporated, some fif- teen years before his death, he was elected to the board of directors and later to the position of vice-president of the company. In that position he continued the rest of his life, of increasing impor- tance to the business and to the community.
His interest in public institutions of a philanthropic nature was generous and untiring. He was a trustee of the Brockton Hospital, and from his sick-bed he worked to secure ten thousand dollars for that in- stitution as his share of a thirty-thousand dollar cam- paign. Success came to him in that effort, as in what- ever he attempted to do. As president of the Brock- ton Rotary Club during its drive, he made a personal canvass of its entire membership and registered the organization one hundred. Among his particular en- thusiasms were the boys and young men of Brockton. He was president of the Boy Scout Council and or- ganizer of their camp at Buzzards Bay. He was president of the Rotary Club, at one time vice- president of the Algonquin Club, and a member of the Commercial Club. He also served as chairman of the committee that put on several of the operas which for a time formed a feature of the social life cf the city. His fraternal affiliations were those of Revere Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and the higher Masonic bodies, including the Royal Arch Chapter; Brockton Council, Royal and Select Masters; Bay State Commandery, Knights Temp- lar, and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His religious alliance was with the Porter Congregational Church, of which he had been a member for many years, and which, for three years, he served as one of its trus- tees. He belonged also to the Men's Fellowship Club and was the first in the church to suggest the honor roll for the boys who gave their lives in the World War.
In 1906, William Howard Stedman married Adelia Tapley Carleton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dexter Carleton, of Rockport, Maine, the ceremony taking place in that city. After some years of residence on
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Prospect Street in Brockton, Mr. Stedman purchased the beautiful home built by Governor Douglas for his daughter, Mrs. Harry B. Russell on West Elm Street, and there the Stedman family lived in after years. Surviving Mr. Stedman are his wife, three children: Elinor Carleton; Carleton Dexter; and William How- ard Stedman, Jr .; Mr. Stedman's aged father, Prince A. Stedman; two brothers, Robert J. and George W. Stedman, of Brockton; and a sister, Mrs. Bradford A. Gay, of Youngstown, Ohio.
Death came to Mr. Stedman at the early age of fifty-two years, cutting short a career of fine accom- plishment and rich promise. The whole city mourned him. Before him were broad opportunities for suc- cess in the business world, honors in civic life, a beautiful home and happy and loving family. He was a man of great heart, of a warm and sunny disposi- tion which endeared him to all. Cheerfulness ac- companied him wherever he went, and sympathy and comfort for sorrowing and suffering fellow-men.
CHARLES H. STARR-For more than a quarter of a century Charles H. Starr has been in the leather business in Brockton, as organizer and proprietor of the Starr Leather Company, engaged in the buying and selling of leather. Mr. Starr began his career as a shoe worker, and his active career to the present time (1928) has been associated with leather indus- try.
Born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, September 16, 1874, Mr. Starr is a son of James Starr, now de- ceased, who for many years was engaged as a tube maker in Bridgewater, and of Theresa (Lavery) Starr, who survives her husband and resides in Bridge- water. Mr. Starr received his education in the public schools of Bridgewater, and when his school train- ing was completed found employment in the local shoe factories, as a shoe worker. Steady, industrious, and frugal, he continued steadily at his work in that connection until 1900. In that year, then being twenty-six years of age, he decided to engage in busi- ness for himself. He accordingly organized the Starr Leather Company, of Brockton, and engaged in the business of buying and selling leather. Accustomed to the handling of leather in the manufacture of shoes, from boyhood, he had early become thoroughly fa- miliar with the needs of the shoe trade in that line, and from the beginning he displayed sound judgment and acumen in the handling of his wares. Skilled in discriminating between the various kinds and qualities of leather, he bought wisely and sold to advantage, and steadily his business grew, until at the present time he regularly employs the services of about fif- teen hands. His establishment is located at No. 63 North Montello Street, and he has made himself well and favorably known to the shoe trade in this section of the county. He is a Republican in his political sympathies and convictions, and his fraternal affilia- tion is with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Brockton Chamber of Commerce and of the Commercial Club, and is rec- ognized as one of the substantial business men of Brockton. His religious affiliation is with the Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter.
Charles H. Starr was married, at Bridgewater, No- vember 24, 1896, to Morena B. Murphy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Murphy. Mr. and Mrs. Starr are the parents of three children: 1. Gertrude, who married Raymond White. 2. Frank, who is in the
employ of his father; married Helen Donovan of Rockland. 3. Dorothy.
KENNETH L. RICE-In the great finishing de- partment of textile manufacturing, Kenneth L. Rice has been associated throughout his industrial career, and with some of the foremost firms in Eastern Mas- sachusetts. He is one of the best-equipped and most thoroughly and accurately informed men in his line, and in his superintendency of the East Wareham Branch of the New Bedford and Agawam Company, he successfully directs the increasing business of that company. He is a son of Charles L. Rice, engaged in life insurance agency, and of Ella (Smith) Rice.
Kenneth L. Rice was born October 8, 1891, at Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he attended the public schools. He then took the liberal arts course at Cornell University, where he was graduated in the class of 1919, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He entered the employ of the Southbridge Finishing Company, at Southbridge, Massachusetts, where he continued until 1926, when he was appointed to the superintendency of the New Bedford and Agawam Finishing Company, at East Wareham, where he con- tinues to the present.
Mr. Rice is a Republican in his political views, and with his vote and influence he supports the princi- ples of that party. During the World War, he served as a chief machinist's mate in the United States Navy, and was in France for a year. He is a member of the Congregational church.
Kenneth L. Rice married, December 8, 1917, Helen O'Grady.
PAUL C. PETERSON, of Duxbury, Massachu- setts, long a commercial leader in that vicinity, and who has the honor of operating the oldest pharmacy in that community, was born there, April 25, 1883. He is a son of Alonzo and Hulda (Watson) Peterson, both of whom, now deceased, were descended from New England pioneer stock.
Paul C. Peterson received his education in the local schools of the community in which he was born, and, later in 1907, took the Massachusetts State exam- ination in pharmacy and is now a registered phar- macist. Mr. Peterson engaged in his calling in Dux- bury and such has been the success with which he has met that it is in Duxbury he has since remained, carrying on with a goodly share of success and happi- ness. He is considered one of the most progressive men in his neighborhood, exerting a strong influence for the commercial and general good of his township.
Despite the numerous duties of the work in which he has been engaged, he has found time in which to serve the people of his community in other than a private capacity. In his political views, he is a staunch supporter of the Republican party, and was elected to membership upon the Board of Health for Duxbury Township. Mr. Peterson is especially noted for the excellent manner in which he stands behind any movement designed for the general advancement of Duxbury. He has been quite active in the social life of his community, as well, for, aside from those learned organizations which pertain to his profession, such as the National Drug Association, the Massa- chusetts State Drug Association, and the Boston City Drug Association, Mr. Peterson also holds member- ship in the Blue Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Duxbury.
Harstaterson
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Paul C. Peterson married, October 24, 1907, Eliz- abeth Sampson. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson maintain their residence in Duxbury, in which community they attend the Unitarian church.
PHILIP H. SULLIVAN-Born December 5, 1874, at Braintree, Philip H. Sullivan is the son of Thomas and Margaret (Good) Sullivan. Thomas Sullivan, native of Ireland, died in that year, having engaged for many years prior thereto as an engineer. Margaret (Good) Sullivan, who was born at Ran- dolph, is also deceased.
Mr. Sullivan attended the public schools of Brain- tree, studied at Thayer Academy, and matriculated in Boston University Law School, Boston, whence he graduated in 1898, aged twenty-three years, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar, he set up in practice in Boston, remaining there until 1912, when he removed to Quincy, where he has practiced through the years succeeding to the present time (1928), with offices in the Adams Building. Mr. Sullivan practices before all State and Federal courts of Massachusetts, and is a member of the Quincy Bar Association. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he belongs to Lodge No. 943, Quincy, and is Past Exalted Ruler. He is a charter member of the Gridiron and Raspberry clubs, a Republican, and attends St. Francis Roman Catholic Church. During the World War he served as an adviser on the Legal . Advisory Board of Norfolk County.
Mr. Sullivan married, in 1905, Rose M. Starkey, of Boston; and they are the parents of four chil- dren.
LARS PETERSON-A native of Sweden, Lars Peterson came to this country and has become firmly established in the business world of Brockton, where he located. He is identified with the shoe industry and is widely known throughout the trade. In choos- ing Brockton as his headquarters, he followed the work in which he was most experienced, for his father before him had been a shoemaker in Sweden. Mr. Peterson is very actively engaged in various enterprises of community welfare and is an enthu- siastic sponsor of civic affairs. He is the son of Pehr and Christina (Larson) Peterson, both of whom are now deceased.
Mr. Peterson was born October 17, 1864, in Sweden. He went to the public schools of his home country, and was apprenticed in his early manhood, as was the custom for young boys. In 1890, he came to this country and settled in the city of Brock- ton, Massachusetts, where he started in business in the sole leather industry. He soon became asso- ciated with the Co-operative Shoe Company of Brock- ton. For many years he served as treasurer and general manager of the organization. It was formed in 1886 by a group of enterprising business men of Brockton for the purpose of manufacturing a high- grade shoe at a cost within the reach of the middle and lower classes. The concern was very success- ful, and in 1891 moved from its original location to its own building on Clinton Street, Campello. The products are internationally known and more than three hundred men are employed. Mr. Peterson is a member of the board of directors of the Home National Bank of Brockton and of the Campello Co- operative Bank. He is a member of the Commercial
Club, the Chamber of Commerce of Brockton, and is a Republican in politics.
Mr. Peterson married, in 1886, Beata Larson of Sweden, and they have one daughter, Olga, who was graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music, and one son, Conrad, married Signe Pearson of North Easton, Massachusetts; children: Warren, and Verna.
LINUS H. SHAW, one of the older citizens of Brockton, Massachusetts, was born on August 23, 1851, at Raynham, Massachusetts. Mr. Shaw is a son of Francis M. and Mary (Leonard) Shaw, of Raynham. His father, Francis M. Shaw, was con- nected with the shoe industry. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the United States Navy as Assistant Paymaster of the United States Ship "San Jacinto" and died in 1900. His mother, Mary (Leonard) Shaw, died at the age of thirty-three years.
Linus H. Shaw received his education in the public schools of the community in which he was born, Raynham. He is, fraternally, affiliated with the Paul Revere Blue Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Shaw married, in 1871, Abbie P. Dunham, a daughter of Lysander and Sarah T. (Simmons) Dun- ham, of Plympton, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw are the parents of three children: 1. Mary L. Shaw. 2. Chester Lysander. 3. Frank Elmer. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw are members of the Unitarian church.
A. ROGER PERKINS-His lifelong activities in the hardware business and his adaptability to its requirements have cooperated to secure for A. Roger Perkins his recognition as a hardware merchant. The C. A. Noyes Company Corporation, of which he is president and treasurer, is well known as one of the oldest hardware concerns in Brockton.
A. Roger Perkins, son of Aaron Perkins, a station- ary engineer, who died in 1877, and Ellen (Pope) Perkins, who died in 1906, both parents natives of Bridgewater, was born February 24, 1871, at Bridge- water, where he attended the public schools. He started out upon his business life in the hardware store of E. O. Noyes, and he has been connected with the same store to the present time. This concern was founded by E. O. Noyes and Henry Southworth under the firm name of Southworth and Noyes in 1861, at No. 155 Main Street. In 1875, Mr. Noyes bought out Mr. Southworth's interest, and in 1895 he received his nephew, C. A. Noyes, and Charles S. Packard, as partners, under the firm name of C. A. Noyes Company. In 1906, this business was incorpo- rated, with C. A. Noves as president and A. Roger Perkins as treasurer, this association continuing until April 24, 1924, when, upon the death of Mr. Noyes, Mr. Perkins was made president and treasurer of the firm, with B. L. Moore and J. Walter Giles the other executive officers. Mr. Perkins is also vice-president of the Brockton Savings Bank, and a member of the board of directors of the Montello Co-operative Bank.
In his political views Mr. Perkins is affiliated with the Republican party. He is a member of Paul Re- vere Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Brockton Council, Royal Arch Masons; Bay State Command- ery: and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Commercial Club, Rotary Club, and on the board of directors of the Brockton Agricultural So-
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ciety. His religious faith is that of the Congrega- tional church.
A. Roger Perkins married, in 1888, at Bridgewater, Edith M. Howe, daughter of T. Lyman and Mary A. (Paine) Howe. They had one son, Fred N. Perkins, who died in 1918.
FORREST I. NEAL was not of the manor born, but on the contrary, he first saw the light of day (1884) in the humble surroundings peculiar to those whose bread is earned with dampened brow. At an early date, he grappled with chores-and chores. Gingham dresses were still worn on Sundays and photograph albums with plush covers were the center of attraction in all parlors. Aside from toe stubbings, measles and occasional trips to the swimmin' hole, Forrest's early boyhood was no more eventful than other boys of the day in Braintree, Massachusetts.
After high school, Forrest I. Neal joined his father, James G. Neal, a maker of bowling alleys. At seventeen, a year later, he went to work for the Old Colony Laundry in Quincy.
Here, as a clerk, he was no better than other good clerks. He did, however, have the capacity for work as if the more was allotted to him, the more he could do. At any rate, five years later, the laundry which was then on Granite Street, included him as one of the firm. Twelve months later, he took over the management and was elected treasurer As this is being written (1928) it transpires that the new Old Colony Laundry will occupy soon, the most modern plant (Quincy Avenue) in New England.
Intimates know that Mr. Neal's tendency is to shrink from public gaze, but when one has a business requiring constant guidance besides a home, Destiny may take to unexpected and trying pranks. Until 1919, "Forrest I. Neal" was little known to the mas- ses excepting as the name of a man often linked to this and that fund campaign or civic movement. This obscurity gave way when he was elected (1920-22) president of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce. The public began to "sit up" and take more notice.
The Fates, or whoever hurls the retiring and un- pretentious into the arena of civic activity, then took a hand and so we find Mr. Neal in 1923 with scant lo- quacity, driving public support in favor of an armory. In the end the Quincy Armory was built at a saving of ten thousand dollars to the State and of no negli- gible amount of taxes to the municipality, thanks to our man's hard work and persistence.
The Fates willed again, whereupon Forrest I. Neal entered another fight. The rickety bridge across the Neponset River was the bone of contention. This eyesore was crossed by more vehicles than any bridge in the commonwealth; some maintained, in New England. That Mr. Neal's efforts were fruitful, is evidenced by the sturdy concrete span at the north end of Quincy.
Quincy was beginning to discern the man's ability to organize and drive incessantly to a definite goal, however discouraging the odds.
The city was in the tight grip of a problem, so formidable as to give rise to considerable apprehen- sion. Through its main thoroughfare flowed a thick stream of automobiles hying their way from North Shore points clear to Cape God. This stream could not be dammed; it had to be diverted. The number of motor cars kept increasing. Nowhere, between New York and Maine, was there a more traveled
highway than the principal one of Quincy. Some- thing had to be done, and so Mr. Neal was drawn into the vortex of dire need.
Under his leadership, public interest was brought to focus on the need of immediate relief from its danger- ously congested Hancock and Washington streets. Representatives and Senators were unceremoniously pressed for support. The fight continued day in and day out. Month upon month of constant agitation followed until victory ended it. At the "Old Colony" office, in a frame, is a copy of the bill providing for the now well-known Southern Artery, the quill with which it was signed by Governor Fuller and a letter (1925) from this official expressing his appreciation of our Quincy man's leadership.
Later he emerged defeated but not dismayed from a mayoral skirmish.
There are many who believe that his work is but half completed, and that the Southern Artery is not the last milestone in Forrest I. Neal's career.
W. EVERETT SHAW-The privilege of work- ing along progressively in the interests of the one concern throughout his industrial career is that of W. Everett Shaw, who as the head of the order de- partment of the George E. Keith Company, has been the means of making that section of the great busi- ness of the manufacturers of the Walk-Over shoe one of the most important, as it is one of leading respon- sibility in the business of the corporation. Mr. Shaw is a son of William C. Shaw, also a shoe worker, and of Charlotte H. Shaw.
W. Everett Shaw was born October 22, 1878, in Brockton, where he was graduated at the public schools, and became associated with the G. F. Green Coal Company for one year until 1897. Since that time he has been associated with shoe manufacturing. Entering the employ of the George E. Keith Com- pany, Mr. Shaw has so continued to the present, and he is now a member of the board of directors of the firm, and the head of the order department. He is a Republican in his political convictions, but has not sought public office.
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