History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 99

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 99
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 99
USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 99

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Doctor of Medicine. He then returned to West Har- wich, where he has continued to make his residence and to follow the profession of medicine. He is an ex-member of the local School Board and is at pres- ent the school physician. In the session of 1915 to 1916 he represented West Harwich in the Massachu- setts Legislature. He is a member of the Mount Horeb Blue Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Sylvester Baxter Royal Arch Masons Chapter, and he is a Past Master and a Past High Priest. He is also a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and of the American Medical Society.

In Boston, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1901, Dr. John Peter Nickerson married Ruth M. Covelle, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Doane) Covelle of Barrington, Nova Scotia. They have one child: Esther Gray.

MILTON H. CROCKER-Born in West Barn- stable, Barnstable Township, August 1, 1894, son of William H. and Isadora (Taylor) Crocker, Milton H. Crocker is one of the forward-looking men of the community of Cotuit, here conducts a general store, and is accounted prominent in the advancement of Cotuit interests. His acquaintances in Hyannis and Barnstable are numerous, and his many connections wide, commercially and fraternally. His father, who was for thirty years employed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, as sec- tion foreman, is now (1928) in semi-retirement, in West Barnstable. There he occupies a portion of his time in the carrying of mail, regularly, from the post office to the railway station, and like Milton H. Crocker of Cotuit takes an interest in general affairs of the community.

Mr. Crocker received his academic education in the elementary and high schools of Barnstable, and upon completion of studies entered the employment of Frederick W. Parker, owner and proprietor of a gen- eral store, in Cotuit, not far distant. Under Mr. Parker he worked as clerk, but when the store became the property of the Cotuit Cooperative Groc- ery Company his value to the organization was attested to in promotion to the position of manager, and as manager he continued until the store was destroyed by fire, in 1924, when, in association with Grace Dottridge, he founded a general store under his own direction, with himself as its president and Miss Dottridge as treasurer. The partnership has been most prosperous, and the store fills advantage- ously to its proprietors and the townspeople a need felt when the fire wiped out the Parker establish- ment. Mr. Crocker's other interests also are ef- fective, and include membership on the board of directors of the Hyannis Co-operative Bank, where his judgment in finance is courted for its proven worth. Politically he professes no adherence, but his influ- ence in local questions is considerable, though .he exercises it without fanfare, quietly, to the good con- stantly of the community-at-large. Fraternally, he is active in the Free and Accepted Masons, and is a member of Mariner's Lodge, Cotuit, as well as its Past Master; member of Orient Chapter, Hyannis, of the Royal Arch Masons; and in the nearby center of Osterville is a member of the Trowel Club. Mr. Crocker is a member of the Federated Church, and in matters of charity deals generously, contributing readily to any worthy cause before his attention.

On May 1, 1914, in Sagamore, Mr. Crocker was united in marriage with Nellie G. Crowell, daughter

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of George H. and Josephine (Sturgis) Crowell; and they are the parents of four children: Ruth, Harry C., Isadore, and Lee.

DR. ERNEST SUMNER OSBORNE, M. D .- Since 1902 Dr. Ernest Sumner Osborne has been successfully engaged in medical practice in West Dennis. He is a graduate of New Hampshire Univer- sity and of Tufts Medical School, and during the quarter of a century in which he has been located here he has won in a high degree the respect and esteem of his associates.

Dr. Ernest Sumner Osborne was born in Rochester, New Hampshire, October 18, 1875, son of Benjamin E., a farmer, and Alice F. Osborne. After receiving his early and preparatory education in the public schools, he became a student in New Hampshire University, and when his course there was completed, entered Tufts Medical School, where he completed his professional course with graduation in 1902, receiv- ing at that time the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He came at once to West Dennis, where he has since been continuously engaged in general practice. He has made for himself an enviable reputation as a skilled and faithful family physician and has built up a very large practice, the responsibilities of which are shared now by his son, Dr. Carver Haines Osborne, an account of whose life accompanies this. In addition to his responsibilities as a physician, Dr. Osborne is a member of the board of trustees of the Bass River Savings Bank. He is a member of the volunteer medical service corps. Fraternally, he is identified with, and is a Past Master of, the local Blue Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. His relig- ious membership is with the West Dennis Methodist Episcopal Church.

Dr. Ernest Sumner Osborne was married, in Rochester, New Hampshire, December 25, 1895, to Mattie Belle Haines, daughter of Charles T. and Lydia Anna Haines. Dr. and Mrs. Osborne have two children: 1. Dr. Carver Haines Osborne, who is associated with his father in medical practice in West Dennis (see a following biography). 2. Ruth Francis Osborne.

DR. CARVER HAINES OSBORNE-One of the very well-known physicians and surgeons of West Dennis, Massachusetts, is Dr. Carver Haines Osborne, who is taking care of a large and steadily growing practice, drawing his patronage from a large section of territory surrounding West Dennis. Dr. Osborne has had the advantages of study in three universities and in the famous Mayo Clinic, and has served as resident surgeon in the Truesdale Hospital.

Dr. Carver Haines Osborne was born in Dover, New Hampshire, February 13, 1897, son of Dr. Ernest Sumner, a physician, and of Mattie Belle (Haines) Osborne (see a preceding biography). He received his early education in the public schools and then studied in the New Hampshire University, in Boston University, and in the University of Minnesota. He gained valuable experience in the Mayo Clinic, and served his interneship in the Boston Homoeopathic Hospital, at Boston, Massachusetts. As resident surgeon at the Truesdale Hospital he further added to his experience, and since coming to West Dennis has built up a very satisfactory practice. He is a member of the Medical Reserve Corps of the United States Navy. Fraternally, he is identified with Alpha Tau Omega College Fraternity; also with Phi Chi, and with Sigma Xi.

RALPH H. SNOW-A career of highly merited success in banking is that of Ralph H. Snow, who, as treasurer of the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, at Harwich, is one of the foremost factors in financial matters in Barnstable County, and has won his position of trust through his personal integrity, pronounced abilities and recognized attainments. The well-being of Harwich institutions, both of finan- cial and general business, have in Mr. Snow a sup- porter and director whose intelligent and practical counsel have done much for their success.

Ralph H. Snow was born November 12, 1888, at Harwichport, a son of Augustus C. Snow and Isa- dora M. (Sears) Snow. Augustus C. Snow, whose death occurred in April, 1919, was president of the Cape Cod National Bank, chairman of the board of investments of the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, and a member of the board of directors of both banks. After attending the Harwichport public schools, and graduating at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, with the class of 1908, Ralph H. Snow entered into the employ of the firm of Esta- brook and Company, in Boston, Massachusetts, and he continued with that well-known firm of bankers for seven years. In 1914, Mr. Snow came to Harwich in the capacity of assistant treasurer of the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, and in 1918, he was elected to his present position as treasurer of that institution. He is also a member of the board of trustees of this bank, director of the Cape Cod Trust Company, and director of the Old Tuck Cranberry Company, of Wareham.

Fraternally, Mr. Snow is affiliated with St. John's Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, of Boston, and with Pilgrim Lodge, of Harwich; with the Order of the Eastern Star; and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and he is treasurer of the Harwich Golf Association. His religious faith is that of the Congregational church.

Ralph H. Snow married, April 26, 1911, at Attle- boro, Grace H. Briggs, daughter of Seth R. Briggs, hotel proprietor and deputy sheriff at Attleboro, and Martha (Sheppard) Briggs. They have one son, Ralph B. Snow, who was born November 27, 1914, at Harwichport.

AMBROSE EVERETT PRATT - Accounted among the foremost of public-spirited citizens inhab- iting Sandwich is Ambrose Everett Pratt, born Feb- ruary 5, 1860, at Freeport, Maine, son of Josiah N. and Harriett Louise (Corliss) Pratt, of Freeport, both deceased and interred at Freeport. Josiah N. Pratt was for a number of years a building contractor in Boston. He was a veteran of the Civil War, in which he served the Union with distinction, in the Navy; and while resident in Somerville, Massachusetts, holder of public office, for a time chairman of the Board of Aldermen. His career was long and honorable, devoted in large measure to works for the well-being of the section in which he resided. Especially was he known and respected in Somerville.

Ambrose Everett Pratt removed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, with his parents while in early youth, and there attended the public schools. He developed his talent in literary lines, and, though his first posi- tion was in a drug store, he soon gave proof of his ability at writing, and became associated with Henry Cabot Lodge, as his secretary, during the Spanish- American War, while Mr. Lodge was Senator. He was engaged as secretary to other prominent personages: Congressman John Simpkins, William S. Greene,

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Charles F. Sprague, Henry Hornblower (a banker, of Boston), and Mrs. E. D. Brandegee, of Brookline. Quite naturally, with his secretarial duties, his taste was sharpened for journalism; and since 1881 he has corresponded for newspapers in New York City and Boston, and for the Associated Press. He represented the latter organization the four years President Cleve- land summered at Buzzards Bay. As correspondent for large journals in these cities and for the press association, he continues to engage, now (1928) be- ing, at the age of sixty-eight years, the possessor of a record of forty-six years of continuous news- paper correspondence, and with a reputation for long tried and genuine facility as a writer. For several years past he has engaged in the real estate and insur- ance business, and in this, too, he has achieved a suc- cess together with attendant prestige in the commer- cial circles of Sandwich. Constantly interested and actively engaged in public enterprises of worthy char- acter, Mr. Pratt was one of the founders of that extensive organization, the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, of which he was its first secretary, and for several years has been a director. Locally, in Sandwich, he served as a member of the Board of Selectmen, town assessor, and overseer of the poor; fraternally, his affiliations include membership in the DeWitt Clinton Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons. He is a communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church, and its senior warden, faithfully concerned in causes sponsored by it.

Ambrose Everett Pratt married, at Sandwich, May 29, 1883, Ida Louise Whittemore, daughter of Ebene- zer Stowell Whittemore, one time judge of the Dis- trict Court, and Mary Louise (Murray) Whittemore. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are the parents of two children, both of whom have reached their majority: 1. Lora W. (Pratt) Merritt, born October 1, 1884, at Sand- wich, residing with her husband, in Newtonville, moth- er of two children, Madeleine P., born in 1916, and Brooks P. Merritt, born in 1919. 2. Everard S. Pratt, born March 23, 1887, at Sandwich, residing at South: Orange, New Jersey, married, father of one child, Everard S., Jr., born in 1916.

PHILIP L. NICKERSON is president of the Nickerson Drug Company, Incorporated, of Harwich and Harwichport, Massachusetts. He served as an apprentice to the drug business, and was for twenty- five years continuously with one firm, the property of which eventually came into his hands.

Philip L. Nickerson was born at Harwich, Massa- chusetts, December 11, 1863, son of Philip and Melis- sa (Allen) Nickerson, of whom the father was a sea captain, boss carpenter, and master of other trades, sprung originally from old Cape Cod stock. Mr. Nickerson attended the public schools of Har- wich, and then served an apprenticeship to the drug business with Dr. D. B. Eldridge, and worked con- tinuously with him for twenty-five years. When Dr. Eldridge retired Mr. Nickerson purchased his drug- gist's business. This became incorporated as the Nickerson Drug Company, Incorporated, in 1926. Mr. Nickerson is president, Alexander Garshen is secre- tary, and Wilbur H. Crowell and Mervin E. Hill are directors. He is a Republican in politics. He belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, Pilgrim Lodge of Harwich; and the Exchange Lodge, Independent Order Odd Fellows of Harwich. He belongs to the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, and in church affiliations he is a Congregationalist.

Mr. Nickerson married, at Dennis, in June, 1886, Nellie B. Capron, daughter of Alonzo and Eleanor (Balsen) Capron. There have been no children to the marriage. Mr. Nickerson's chief hobby is sailing . boats, and he has a good opportunity of indulging his hobby around Harwich.

DAVID KELLEY-Engaged since 1892 in the same shop in South Yarmouth as jeweler, watchmaker and engraver, David Kelley occupies a position of sincere respect in that community because of the dili- gent and constant attention that he pays to his busi- ness, and because of his active participation in affairs of public character. For thirty-six years, until the present (1928) he has been a notary public, having occupied himself as such one year before the com- mencement of business as jeweler. He has served on the Town Board of Selectmen and Board of Assessors, and on the school committee, as moderator. Through- out his long and intensive connection with the civic affairs of South Yarmouth, Mr. Kelley has acted in the best interests of the community.

David Kelley is of the ninth generation in direct descent from David O. Kelley, of Ireland, and history relates that his executive career was an honorable one, his character irreproachable, and his friends legion. From generation to generation the house of Kelley has contributed intelligent and public- spirited members to the welfare and progress of New England. David Kelley, of South Yarmouth, was born at South Yarmouth, September 30, 1870, son of Seth, born in 1838, and Harriett C. Kelley, born in 1841, the father having completed an extended career as an engineer, and now (1928) retired at the age of eighty-nine years. Seth Kelley is a Quaker, the only member of the Society of Friends in South Yarmouth; while in other years the denomination had some following in the town, Seth Kelley is the last. Harriett C. Kelley, wife of Seth Kelley, is a Methodist, and despite her advanced age is constant in her devotion to the church. The family enjoys a very high standing in South Yar- mouth.

David Kelley maintains his career with high distinc- tion. Following his education in the grammar schools of South Yarmouth, he engaged himself as apprentice to his uncle, and learned the delicate craft of watch- making and engraving. In this capacity he served for a number of years, until he was intimately acquainted with the finest classifications of the craft, then went into business under his own name. Through his association with his uncle, Zeno Kelley, who was widely known among jewelers in town, county and this part of the State, of the firm of Sinclair and Kelley, Fall River, and who was held in high es- teem by those with whom his business matters con- nected him, David Kelley quickly came to the fore in the jewelry business under his management. He also took up the engraving of glass, mastering the delicate methods employed in the shops of the Sand- wich Glass Company; and he is one of the few jewel- ers and engravers in the county capable of working in that medium. Mr. Kelley is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, Cape Cod Lodge, No. 226, and of several local organizations, including the Owl Club, the Bass River Club, and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. In fraternal life, he is prominently identified.

David Kelley married, in Boston, April 22, 1916, Louise A. Chase, of West Yarmouth, daughter of

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Lysander A. and Eliza L. Chase. Mrs. Kelley is a member of Willing Hand Rebekah Lodge, No. 139, and an untiring worker in the Red Cross, church, hospital and community benefits.

GEORGE B. HENDRICK, prominent in the com- mercial world of the Eastern United States, and a man who is well known for his humorous stories, was born on September 23, 1879, at Springfield, Massa- chusetts. Mr. Hendrick is a son of William A. and Ellen B. (Codair) Hendrick, both of whom are now deceased. William A. Hendrick. the father, was a particularly prominent man in the building and contracting world of Massachusetts, for he is the constructor of a great many buildings in and around Springfield, and during his long and active life he had probably built more houses and general buildings than any other one man in that general district. Dur- ing the Civil War alone, he built more than a thousand houses, many of which are still standing to this day. He was born in South Wilbraham, Massa- chusetts, and he died during the year 1885. Ellen A. (Codair) Hendricks, the mother, was a native of Moncton, Vermont; and she died in 1908.

Their son, George B. Hendrick, received his early education in the public and high schools of the com- munity in which he was born, Springfield, and imme- diately after the completion of these courses of study he at once branched out for himself, receiving his first real contact with the world of commerce as secretary to the United States Custodian, at Springfield. He finally resigned from this office to accept a position with the J. D. Bates Advertising Agency. He later transferred to an entirely different world when he became the advertising manager of the "New Haven Register," a newspaper published daily in New Haven. He later filled the same office for the Boston "Travel- er;" from which he later designed to become the gen- eral manager for the Pittsburgh "Post and Sun." He then became sales manager for the A. Mumford Com- pany at Hartford, Connecticut, from which he once more resigned to accept the position of assistant sales manager of the Fiske Rubber Company. However, during the year 1922, he changed once more, this time to become the sales manager of the W. L. Douglas Shoe Company, and such was the success with which he met in this type of work that he was later raised to the position of director of sales for this same con- cern.

During the turbulent period of the World War, Mr. Hendrick was connected with the Ordnance Department of the United States Army, at Bridge- port, Connecticut. He was later placed in charge of western New England for the stimulation of labor in that district; and in that capacity he was instrumental in the placing of some eight thousand women in vari- ous positions of general employment. For this he was highly commended by the chief of the Labor Department, in Washington. He was also active in the various Liberty and Victory Loan drives instituted by the Treasury Department of the United States, and he is today well known through practically all of Massachusetts and Connecticut for his work as a "four-minute" speaker.

Mr. Hendrick has been active in the club and social life of his community, for he is affiliated, fraternallv, with the Springfield Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; the Coun- cil, Royal and Select Masters; the Massachusetts Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; the

Commandery, Knights Templar; and the Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a vice-president of the local Kiwanis Club; vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce; member of the Commercial Club; member of the International Board of Governors Advertising Agencies for two years; past vice-president of the Massachusetts State Chamber of Commerce; and he is also a member of the Oxford Country Club, at Chicopee Falls.

George B. Hendrick married, in 1924, Winifred M. Taylor, a daughter of Walter E. and Emily C. (Chamberlain) Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick re- side in Brockton, Massachusetts, in which township they attend the Congregational church.

EDWARD T. CHASE-Prominently identified with the public life of Yarmouth and holder of office in the civic corporation since 1913, Edward T. Chase is one of the most public-spirited men in the town, respected, high in the estimation of his associates, commercially, fraternally, and politically.

Edward T. Chase was born at West Yarmouth, on August 22, 1880, son of Lysander A. and Eliza R. (Gillon) Chase, both deceased, interred in the ceme- tery at Hyannis, the father having been for many years a painter and paper hanger in West Yarmouth, where he was well-liked because of his pleasing per- sonality, and conscientious application of ability to his trade. Edward T. Chase received his education in the public schools of Yarmouth, and graduated from the high school, after which, without loss of time, he entered commercial life. His first position was with the H. L. Handy Company, at Springfield, Massachu- setts, dealing in beef, at wholesale. Here he applied himself for three years, and acquired a comprehensive understanding of wholesale trade generally and of the wholesale meat business particularly. Next he under- took to learn the wholesale methods in the handling of groceries; he accepted a place in the organization of Cobb, Bates and Yerxes, of Boston, and continued in this connection for one year. Then, with an exten- sive experience in foodstuffs, Mr. Chase opened a retail business of his own, a grocery store, in Yar- mouth. He conducted this enterprise with sound prosperity for seven years, until 1913, when he was elected to the Town Board of Selectmen, assessor, and overseer of the poor of Yarmouth, and subse- quently has devoted the whole of his time to the pub- lic duties involved in maintenance of these offices, together with the conduct of a general business in insurance, which he started prior to election. As a business man, Mr. Chase receives the admiration of associates, who value his advice in commercial mat- ters, and his friendship for its own sake; as an office- holder he gives his services conscientiously, and is counted among those who are most efficient and worthy of confidence in matters of civic control. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Lodge No. 5 and Cape Cod Lodge, No. 226; member of the Owl Club, of South Yarmouth, and of the Congregational church. He contributes liber- ally to the causes supported by the church.

Edward T. Chase married, at Hyannis, November 6, 1907, Marjorie Davis Baxter, daughter of Benja- min D. Baxter, who was born in Yarmouth, and Elizabeth (Webber) Baxter. Mr. and Mrs. Chase are the parents of four children: 1. Norman E., born September 22, 1908. 2. Edward T., Jr., born Novem- ber 3, 1909. 3. Ruth, January 6, 1911. 4. Lysander A., September 6, 1914.

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WILLIAM HENRY ARMSTRONG-As vice- president of the Bliss Hardware Company, Incorpor- ated, William Henry Armstrong is included in the roster of the successful business men of Plymouth, Massachusetts. For some seven years previous to his identification with the concern of which he is one of the organizers and in which he holds the official position of vice-president, Mr. Armstrong was engaged in the plumbing business.

William Henry Armstrong was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, July 22, 1902, son of John Armstrong, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, who is now chief of the police department of Plymouth, and of whose life a fuller account is found elsewhere in this work, and of Florence (McLean) Armstrong, who was born in Marguerite Harbor, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; and grandson of Henry Armstrong, who was born in Belfast, Ireland. William Henry Armstrong received his early and preparatory education in the public schools of Plymouth and then continued his studies in Northeastern University. Upon the completion of his studies he learned the trade of the plumber, at which he had begun to work when he was fourteen years of age, and he continued in that business until 1923. In that year he became associated with Edgar F. and Frederick A. Bliss and under the name of the Bliss Hardware Company, Incorporated, engaged in the hardware business in Plymouth. He was made vice-president of the concern, and that official posi- tion he still holds. The Bliss Hardware Company is conducting a prosperous business and each year brings a substantial increase in the volume of its sales. Mr. Armstrong is well known in Plymouth, where practically all of his life has been spent, and, like his father, he has a host of friends, both in Plymouth and in the section of the county surrounding Plymouth. He is a member of Plymouth Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and an interested member of Plym- outh Chamber of Commerce. Politically, he gives his support to the principles and the candidates of the Republican party, and he is one of the public-spirited citizens who can be counted upon to stand behind any project which seems to him to be well planned for the advancement of the interests of Plymouth. In 1919 he enlisted as a member of Company D, Fifth Regi- ment, Massachusetts National Guard, and served until 1922, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of first class private. His religious interest is with the Congregational Church of the Pilgrimage, of which he is an attendant.

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History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Part 99

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