USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 10
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Charles Henry Hartshorn was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, February II, 1859, and his education was obtained in the local public schools. By nature a student of affairs and conditions, and gifted with an acquisitive and retentive mind, Mr. Hartshorn has gained from every experience in life, knowledge which he has made of value to himself or those with whom he has come in contact. At the age of nineteen years, in 1878, Mr. Hartshorn entered the employ of Heywood Brothers & Company, and continued with this concern for about thirteen years, later establishing in business for himself. He began on a very modest scale, but with good credit and a host of friends. The quality, fine workmanship, and attractive designs of the product soon made a demand for Hartshorn furniture, while the sterling principles upon which the business was conducted so won the trade that not many years passed before larger quarters were required. More employees were added, a variety of new patterns were brought out, and later reed baby carriages, which proved exceed- ingly popular, became a part of the product of the plant. In 1907 a new four-story building was begun and com- pleted in 1908, and at that time the factory force num- bered about thirty people. That building proving utter- ly inadequate after a few years, additions were made in 1914, 1916, and 1920, and at the present time (1923) the factory contains more than 50,000 square feet of floor space, the product now comprising an extensive
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY
variety of reed and fibre furniture and children's baby carriages. On July I, 1923, the business was incorpor- ated as C. H. Hartshorn, Incorporated, with Charles H. Hartshorn, president; Stanford H. Hartshorn, treas- urer and general manager; and Charles Henry Harts- horn, Jr., clerk.
It would be difficult to point out so definitely the be- ginning of Mr. Hartshorn's interest in public life, but his progress in the service of the people is readily traced. Offices have sought him, for he had no leisure or inclination to go about seeking them. But when a practical, energetic man is needed in public life, the people have come to look for a busy man. From the time of attaining his majority, Mr. Hartshorn has sup- ported the Republican party, and as early as 1888 he was made chairman of the Republican Town Commit- tee, an office to which he has been repeatedly elected. For six successive years he filled the office of Selectman, two years of which he was chairman of the board, and for nine years he served as a member of the Town Ad- visory Board, three years of which he was chairman. Perhaps the most remarkable record in the public ser- vice is the fact that for twenty-one consecutive years he has been chosen moderator of all regular and special town meetings, every one of the sixty-eight elections to this office being made without opposition. In 1916, by the vote of his fellow-townsmen, Mr. Hartshorn took his seat in the House of Representatives of the State of Massachusetts, and so praiseworthy has been the record of his work as a legislator that by reelections he has been retained in the House until the present year, when he was advanced to the higher legislative body as Sen- ator from the Third Worcester District. During the seven years of his service in the House, he was for five years a member of the important Committee on Ways and Means and also served on the Rules Committee. For two years he was active on the Committee on Street Railways, and also was appointed to the Committee on Public Service, of which he was made chairman. Another important committee with which he did commendable work was that on taxation. As a Senator he is show- ing the same broadly useful qualities which were so conspicuous in the House, and his constituents feel that he is reflecting honor upon them and upon the city of Gardner.
Mr. Hartshorn has been a member of the Gardner Chamber of Commerce since its organization, and in 1922 was elected president of that body. He is affili- ated with the Gardner Trust Company as a member of the board of directors, and is also a director of the American Fibre Corporation of Gardner, and of the Kobert Machine Company, Inc., of Worcester. He is one of the prominent men of Gardner in fraternal circles, being affiliated with Hope Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Gardner Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Ivan- hoe Commandery, Knights Templar, 'of which he is Past Commander ; Massachusetts Consistory, Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Boston; Gardner Lodge, No. 1426, Benevolent and Protective .Order of Elks; and William Ellison Lodge, No. 185, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a Past Noble Grand. He has been an Odd Fellow for forty-two years, and belongs to the encampment and to the
Rebekahs. Mr. Hartshorn also seeks out-of-door in- terests, and he holds membership in the Gardner Boat Club, the Oak Hill Country Club of Fitchburg, and the Worcester Country Club of Worcester. He is active in religious and charitable work, and an attendant and supporter of the First Congregational Church of Gardner.
Mr. Hartshorn married, on April 25, 1889, Lilian May Sawyer, of Gardner, daughter of James and Mary Ellen (Harding) Sawyer. James Sawyer was a successful chair manufacturer and a direct descendant of Thomas Sawyer, who came from Lincolnshire, England, to this country in 1635, at the age of twenty-one years, and married Mary Prescott. Mary Ellen Harding was a direct descendant of Stephen and Catharine (Iddenden) Hosmer, of Hawkhurst, Kent, England, the date of whose marriage was July 8, 1600. Their son, James Hosmer, came to America in April, 1635.
Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn are the parents of four chil- dren: I. Stanford Harding, a sketch of whom follows. 2. Dorothy Frances, a graduate of the Gardner High School, Lasell Seminary, Auburndale, and Miss Wheel- ock's Kindergarten Training School of Boston. She married Clinton J. Underwood, a prominent business man of Gardner, and is an important factor in Gard- ner's public life. Mrs. Underwood is a leader of the Girl Scout movement, and in 1922 was elected a mem- ber of the Gardner School Board. 3. Charles Henry, Jr., now a senior at Dartmouth College, class of 1924. 4. Edward Hosmer, a beautiful little boy of much prom- ise, who was killed in an automobile accident on Sep- tember 3, 1915, shortly before his fifth birthday.
STANFORD HARDING HARTSHORN, member of an old and honored family of Massachusetts, is now counted among the representative young men of Wor- cester County. Trained for his career in a leading Massachusetts educational institution, he has gained experience of value in the twelve years since his grad- uation, and has now for some time been active as gen- eral manager of the C. H. Hartshorn plant, in the manu- facture of reed furniture and baby carriages.
Stanford Harding Hartshorn was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, February 21, 1890, and is a son of Charles Henry, a sketch of whom precedes this, and Lilian M. (Sawyer) Hartshorn. His education was begun in the public schools, and he was graduated from the Gardner High School in the class of 1907. Later, entering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston, he was graduated in the class of 19II, with the degree of Bachelor of Science in chemical engi- neering. For two years following his graduation he was engaged as chemist with the Great Northern Paper Company in Millinocket, Maine, the largest independent paper company in the United States. In 1913 he re- turned to Gardner to become associated with his father in the manufacture of baby carriages and reed furni- ture, where he soon became general manager, and owing to his ability, energy, and faithfulness, the business has continued to succeed and prosper. On July 1, 1923, the business was incorporated with Charles H. Hartshorn, president ; Stanford H. Hartshorn, treasurer and gen- eral manager; and Charles Henry Hartshorn, Jr., clerk. Stanford H. Hartshorn is connected with the Gard-
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BIOGRAPHICAL
ner Savings Bank as a trustee, is a director of the Chairtown Cooperative Bank, a member of the Cham- ber of Commerce, and is deeply interested in all that pertains to the progress of the city and to the welfare of the people. A Republican in politics, he has never accepted public honors, but lends his support to all party activities. Fraternally he is affiliated with Hope Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is Past Master; Gardner Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Ivan- hoe Commandery, Knights Templar, of which he is Past Commander; and of Massachusetts Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, of Boston; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Gardner Lodge, No. 1426, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His clubs are the Gardner Boat Club, of which he is president; the Oak Hill Coun- try Club of Fitchburg; and the Worcester Country Club of Worcester. He and his wife are both members of the First Congregational Church of Gardner.
Stanford H. Hartshorn married, in 1916, Julia Ellen Elizabeth Krantz, of Washington, District of Colum- bia, a graduate of Emerson College of Oratory, and they are the parents of a daughter, Barbara Ellen.
THOMAS P. LINDSAY-Among the younger men of Worcester County, Massachusetts, who, after actively serving throughout the period of the participation of the United States in the World War, are now devoting their energies to scientific agriculture and stock raising, is Thomas P. Lindsay, who is cultivating a 300-acre farm in Southboro, and is caring for a herd of sixty pure- bred Guernsey cattle. Mr. Lindsay's experience has been a most adventurous and interesting one, and his military record is a distinguished one.
Mr. Lindsay was born in Washington, District of Columbia, April 12, 1881, son of Rev. John S. and Caro- line (Smith) Lindsay. For many years he was rector of St. Paul's Church, the present cathedral, and was chairman of the general convention of the Episcopal church. After receiving his early education in the local public schools, he prepared for college in St. Paul's Preparatory School at Concord, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated in 1899. He then became a student in Harvard College, from which he was grad- uated in 1904 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then taught in a private schools in Boston for two years, and for one year was traveling salesman for a wholesale dry goods house in New York City. He then entered the Law School of Boston University, where he com- pleted his legal studies with graduation in 1910, at which time he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He at once became associated with the law firm of Choate, Hall & Stewart, which connection he maintained until the time of the entrance of the United States into the World War. He then, May 1, 1917, handed in his resig- nation and enlisted for service. He was sent to Plattsburg, New York, where he graduated from the training school with the rank of first lieutenant of infantry, National Army, in August, 1917. He was then assigned to duty at Camp Devens with the 303d Infantry, but later was transferred to act as aide to the commanding general at headquarters. Later, in 1918, he was commissioned captain, and in June of that year he sailed for France. Landing in Liverpool, he went to France, and in July of
the same year was promoted to the rank of major in the regular army and assigned to assist the chief of staff of the 76th Division. After a time he was detached from the 76th Division, and assigned to duty as brigade ad- jutant of the 156th Brigade in the 88th Division, Second Army Corps, which rank he held until the time of the signing of the armistice, in November, 1918. In Decem- ber, 1918, he was detailed to special duty at Rome, in command of the guard of honor which accompanied President Wilson during his visit there. In February, 1919, he sailed for home on the "Leviathan," and arrived at Camp Dix, Wrightstown, New Jersey, in February, 1919, from which place he was mustered out of ser- vice in March, 1919. Upon his return to civilian life he at once returned to the firm of Choate, Hall & Stewart, with whom he remained until 1920. He then resigned in order to engage in agricultural pursuits. Since that time he has been continuously and successfully engaged in cultivating his 300 acres and in taking care of his splendid herd of pure-bred Guernsey cattle. He plans to make the breeding of pure-bred live stock a special feature of his agricultural enterprise, and has care- fully prepared for that field of activity. His success during the more than three years in which he has been devoting his time to agriculture and stock raising gives evidence of a successful and prosperous future. Mr. Lindsay has always been fond of out-of-door life, and his military experience did not mark the beginning of his out-of-door adventures or even of his experience with the German Army. In 1914 he was in Africa collecting specimens for the Smithsonian Institute at Washington, and when the World War began he narrowly escaped capture by the German authorities there. He walked for more than 1,000 miles in order to escape capture, and finally succeeded in making his way back to the United States.
Fraternally, Mr. Lindsay is a member of the Hasty Pudding Club of Harvard College; of the D. K. E. college fraternity; Delphic Club of Cambridge; Somer- set Club of Boston; Tennis and Racket Club; New York Harvard Club; Metropolitan Club of Washington; Southboro Golf Club; Framingham Golf Club; also of St. Bernard's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Southboro, Massachusetts; Houghton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Marlboro; and of Southboro Grange. He is a member of the Episcopal church of Southboro.
On July 1, 1905, at York Harbor, Maine, Thomas P. Lindsay married Florence Field, daughter of Henry Field, of Chicago's family of Field, and of Florence (Lathrop) Field, a member of the Alexandria, Vir- ginia, family of Lathrop. Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay are the parents of three children, all born at Southboro: Minna, who was born May 27, 1908; Florence, born June 1, 1911; and John, born December 12, 1917.
ELMER A. MacGOWAN-Among the broadly use- ful and progressive men of Worcester County, Massa- chusetts, Elmer A. MacGowan holds a position of prom- inence in the financial world as assistant treasurer of the Worcester County Institute for Savings which is lo- cated in the city of Worcester. A native of this city, Mr. MacGowan was reared in its traditions and educated in its institutions, and from the completion of his studies has been active in banking. He is a son of
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John and Harriet Augusta (Miller) MacGowan. His father, who was born in Canada, was for many years identified with railroad interests as a stationary engi- neer, and was thus active until his death, which occurred in 1922. The mother, who was born at South Ryegate, Vermont, died in 1916.
Elmer A. MacGowan was born at Worcester, Massa- chusetts, March 27, 1881. He covered the elementary and grammar grades in the local schools, and is a grad- uate of the Worcester High School class of 1901. His first business experience was in the employ of the City National Bank, but he remained with this institution for only a short time, in 1903 becoming identified with the Worcester County Institute for Savings. He was first employed here in the capacity of clerk, but has risen throught the various grades to the position which he now holds, as assistant treasurer, winning his way up- ward entirely on his merit. He is counted among the really substantial men of the day in Worcester County, and enjoys the esteem and confidence of his associates and the business men of the city. Mr. MacGowan is a member of the Exchange Club of Worcester, and is a member of the Baptist church.
Mr. MacGowan married, on December 5, 1908, Mabel E. Brissette, who was born in Putnam, Connecticut, and they are the parents of two children: Elmer Allison, Jr., and Barbara.
ALBERT FAY LOWELL, A. B., M. D., F. A. C. S .- A leading physician and surgeon not only of Gardner, but of Worcester County and the State of Massachusetts, Dr. Lowell is doing much for the people of Gardner and vicinity as the senior surgeon of the Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital of Gardner, with which he has been connected since its opening in the year 1907. His private practice is very extensive, and he is considered one of the most successful surgeons of the day.
Dr. Lowell comes of an old Vermont family, and is a son of Albert P. Lowell, who was born at Derby Line, Vermont, February 10, 1836, and died in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, August 8, 1911. He was for many years located in Burlington, Vermont, where he was engaged as a building contractor. He married, in Wolcott, Ver- mont, on May 27, 1867, Alma Whitcher, who was born in Westfield, Vermont, October 30, 1847, and is still living, residing with another son, Dr. Alverne P. Lowell, of Fitchburg.
Albert Fay Lowell was born in Burlington, Vermont, November 5, 1875. His education was begun in the pub- lic schools of Burlington, and he is a graduate of the Burlington High School, class of 1894. His choice of a profession early determined, he entered the Univer- sity of Vermont for the classical course, and was grad- uated from that institution in 1898, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. During the latter years of his aca'- demic studies he also attended medical lectures at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, from which institution he eventually received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in the year 1900. Upon his graduation, Dr. Lowell did out-patient work in connection with the Bos- ton City Hospital, and also the Children's Hospital of Boston. In October, 1900, he went to Winchenden, Massachusetts, where he served as interne at "The
Highlands," a private sanitorium. He came to Gardner in December, 1901, and has since been located here, carrying forward general practice of medicine and sur- gery with great success. He was attending surgeon of the Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital when that in- stitution was opened to the public, and has continued without interruption as a member of the surgical staff, now being senior attending surgeon, in point of age, in the hospital. Dr. Lowell is also consulting and op- erating surgeon of the State Colony for the Insane, in Gardner, and consulting surgeon in the Peterboro Hos- pital, Peterboro, New Hampshire; he stands very high in his profession. He is a member of the American Medical Association; a fellow of the American College of Surgeons; a member of the Medico-Legal Society of Massachusetts; the Massachusetts Medical Society ; and the Worcester County North Medical Society. He served on the medical examining board during the World War, and also as a member of the Volunteer Medical Service. A member of the Gardner Chamber of Com- merce. Dr. Lowell served as associate medical exam- iner of the Second District of Worcester County, of which Gardner is the centre, from 1910 until his resig- nation, which took effect in 1921. He is a member of the Greek Letter Academic Society, the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and the Delta Mu fraternity (Med- ical). He is a member of Gardner Lodge, No. 1426, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; of the Gard- ner Boat Club; and the Gardner Riding and Driving Club; and also of the Levi Heywood Memorial Library Association. He is also a member of the Chair City Lunch Club, and North Worcester County Fish and Game Club.
Dr. Lowell married, on June 2, 1903, Helen Louise Cann, daughter of George Wade and Ella V. (Derby) Cann. George Wade Cann was a prominent attorney and counsellor-at-law, a member of the New York and Massachusetts State bars, but in his later years was identified with the chair manufacturing of P. Derby & Company, and acted as the New York representative of this internationally famous concern. Philander Derby, the founder of this concern was Mrs. Lowell's grandfather, and was one of the pioneer chair manufac- turers of Gardner. Dr. and Mrs. Lowell are the parents of three children, of whom two are living: Sidney Cann, and Alberta, both of whom are students in the Gardner High School.
Mrs. Lowell is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, through Richard Sanger, the sixth generation removed on the paternal side, who served in the Second Provincial Congress from Sherborn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. This Congress con- vened February 1, 1775, and Richard Sanger was made a member of the committee. Mrs. Lowell holds her membership also through Josiah Jackson, a maternal ancestor, five times removed, who served as a sergeant under Colonel Bridges in the Worcester County Militia, at East Hoosick, New York, and as a private in Colonel John Whitcomb's company. Mrs. Lowell is very ac- tive in many branches of civic, benevolent, and welfare work. She is a charter member and was the first presi- dent of the Gardner Women's Club; is a trustee of the Levi Heywood Memorial Library; and for two and a half years served on the Gardner School Committee.
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She is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce. During the World War Mrs. Lowell was active on the executive board of the Gardner Chapter of the Ameri- can Red Cross, to which she was elected shortly after the intervention of the United States in European affairs, and served until November, 1922. Dr. and Mrs. Lowell are members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
CHARLES HUNT TYLER-A career like that of Mr. Tyler is an inspiration to every thoughtful man, for in his breadth of usefulness both as a business man and a' citizen, he gave to his day and generation the countless daily services which make up the sum of human happiness. Added to these his honorable record as a soldier of the Civil War places his name among those of the heroes of his country and completes the history of a worthy and honored life. Mr. Tyler was a man of the people, who rose to a position of suc- cess and influence entirely through his own efforts. One of a family of thirteen children, he was a son of J. Warren Tyler, who was born at Hinsdale, New Hamp- shire, and was a school teacher by occupation. Teaching in the district schools of Chesterfield and Hinsdale, in his native State, he was a' man of lofty ideals and forward-looking spirit, although perhaps somewhat lack- ing in those practical gifts which are so necessary to the accumulation of personal wealth. He instilled into his pupils lessons of honor and right purposes together with the three "Rs" and a due respect for Webster's rules of spelling. J. Warren Tyler married Eleanor Thomas, of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and both are now long since deceased.
Charles Hunt Tyler was born at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, December 19, 1838, and died in Athol, Massachusetts. His education was begun in the district primary schools of his birthplace and completed at the grammar schools of Athol, when he was assisting his elder brother in the latter's grocery store. When still a child Mr. Tyler became a member of his brother's household in Athol. This brother, Pitts Tyler, owned and managed a grocery store on Main Street, which had formerly been conducted as a union store many mem- bers of the community holding ownership. Pitts Tyler bought up the various shares as he was able, eventually becoming sole owner of the interest. Charles H. Tyler worked for his brother until the outbreak of the Civil War, when he enlisted in the 53d Massachusetts Volun- teer Regiment, and served throughout his enlistment. During his absence in the army Pitts Tyler sold his Athol store and going to Royalston, Massachusetts, opened a similar enterprise there, but the venture proved less profitable than he had anticipated. Upon receiving his honorable discharge from the service of his coun- try, Charles H. Tyler returned to Massachusetts and joined his brother in Royalston. Shortly thereafter both returned to Athol permanently, the elder brother again purchasing the store which he had formerly owned. Eventually the younger brother bought the store from him and Pitts Tyler retired. Charles H. Tyler re- mained at the head of the enterprise for a quarter of a century, when ill health compelled him to retire. Meanwhile, Mr. Tyler had received his son, E. Warren Tyler, into partnership, and for a number of years the
latter carried forward the interest, which was finally sold to A. H. Bowker.
During all these years Charles H. Tyler had prac- ticed thrift, and with the energy and business ability which he had given to his activities along mercantile lines, he became a prosperous man. His great faith in the future of Athol as a business and residential center led him to invest heavily in real estate in this community. Frequently buying and selling, constantly improving the property which he held, Mr. Tyler did much, not only for his own profit, but for the upbuilding and advance of the town, and through his willingness to extend to them the opportunity, many working people of this sec- tion became the owners of homes. His real estate in- terests comprised his entire activity after retiring from his store, but his health failed steadily, and for some time before his demise he was confined to the house. Mr. Tyler was also prominent in the public life of the community, and by political affiliation was a staunch Re- publican. Always standing for all that contributes to the welfare of the community, feeling the interest of the people to be the paramount consideration in all advance, Mr. Tyler gave to the community of his best and among those who remember him, his genial spirit and kindly face are recalled as a benediction. Fond of social ac- tivity, he made countless friends, but never cared to assume a position of leadership or command in any circle or in working for any cause. He was one of the finest examples of the self-made American, capable, always alert to progressive effort, always sharing in any good work. He was very prominent in the Masonic order, being a member of all bodies, and one of the best loved men in his local lodge and chapter. His years of ill health necessarily segregated him from ex- tensive social or fraternal activities during the latter par of his life, and then his chief recreations were euchre and whist, with a few close friends. He was a member of the Poquaig Club of Athol, and his religious convic- tions were those of the Unitarian. He supported this church generously, as he did all Christian work, but was not actively affiliated with it.
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