USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 12
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Mr. Pearson married, on November 1, 1899, Fanny Holmes Kittredge, of East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and they have three children: Alfred Kittredge, gradu- ate of Phillips-Andover Academy, now in his soph- omore year at Yale University; Norman Holmes, now in the seventh grade of the Gardner public schools; and Eleanor, in the fourth grade.
FREDERIC CARLETON NICHOLS-For many generations the Nichols family has exemplified in New England that type of energetic, intelligent citizenship that leads in national growth and progress. This re- view considers in particular a son of the eighth gen- eration, a banker of Fitchburg, the city of his birth, and a descendant of William Nichols, one of the several men of the name who came to New England and New Am- sterdam in the first half of the seventeenth century.
(I.) William Nichols, born about 1599, was living in Salem, Massachusetts, as early as 1637. In 1651 he bought land in Topsfield, Massachusetts, where he re- sided until his passing in 1695. His will dated Febru- ary 17, 1693, made provisions for his wife, Mary, and children.
(II.) John Nichols, only son of William and Mary Nichols, was born about 1640 and was a resident of Topsfield until his death in 1700. He married Lydia -, who bore him nine children.
(III.) Thomas Nichols, son of John and Lydia' Nichols, was born in Topsfield, January 20, 1669. He married, in Salem, December 13, 1694, Joanna Towne, born January 22, 1677, in Topsfield, daughter of Joseph and Phebe (Perkins) Towne.
(IV.) Isaac Nichols, eldest son of Thomas and Joanna (Towne) Nichols, settled in Sutton, Massachusetts, but no record of his death is there found. He married, in Boxford, Massachusetts, February I, 1726, Sarah Wil- kins, born May 27, 1704, in Boxford, who survived him until April 9, 1779, remaining a widow.
(V.) Henry Nichols, eldest son of Isaac and Sarah (Wilkins) Nichols, was born at Sutton, Massachusetts, March 17, 1732, and died in Royalston, Massachusetts, November 19, 1814. He married (first), September 22, 1757, in Sutton, Elizabeth Towne, born May 13, 1704,
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died September II, 1781, daughter of John and Mercy (Towne) Towne.
(VI.) Elijah Nichols, fifth son of Henry and Eliz- abeth (Towne) Nichols, was born in Royalston, July 25, 1770, and there died May 2, 1856. He married (first), October 16, 1827, Asenath (Wilder) Fairbanks, born in 1785, died August 19, 1847, a daughter of Reuben and Mary (Pierce) Wilder, and widow of Jon- athan Fairbanks.
(VII.) Joseph Towne Nichols, second son of Elijah and Asenath (Wilder-Fairbanks) Nichols, was born in Royalston, Massachusetts, February 8, 1832, and there died May 20, 1915. He spent his boyhood at the home farm then, at the age of eighteen years, spent four years in Albany, New York, returning to Royalston, where, in 1861, he enlisted in Company I, 25th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Union Army. He served three years under this en- listment then was transferred to Company H, 55th Reg- iment, was commissioned first lieutenant and continued with that command until the war closed in 1865. He then returned to Royalston and for three years drove a stage, carrying mail, express, and passengers between Royalston Center and South Royalston. He sold that business and located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where, under M. W. Cummings, he learned the undertaker's trade and business. For a third of a century he served Royalston as undertaker, and to his work brought a tender, heartfelt sympathy and kindly consideration that earned him the respect and gratitude of his townspeople.
In connection with his undertaking he engaged in farming and served the town for ten years as Selectman, holding also in turn about every office in the town. He was a good business man, an efficient town official, his judgment and his executive ability earning him public favor. Joseph T. Nichols married, April 7, 1858, Martha G. Turner, born May 19, 1836, in Phillipston, Massachusetts, daughter of Leonard R. and Mary (Pierce) Turner. Children : Leonard, born April 17, 1869; Mary L., married S. Weston Wheeler; Frederic Carleton, of whom further; and Agnes A., married Cor- nelius Quinlan.
(VIII.) Frederic Carleton Nichols, second son of Jo- seph Towne and Martha G. (Turner) Nichols, was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, December 27, 1873, and there completed his education in the public schools. As a boy he served as page to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1891, 1892, and 1893, entering the employ of the Fitch- burg National Bank in 1893. He continued with that bank for three years, but in 1895 transferred his al- legiance to the Fitchburg Savings Bank, an institution with which he has now been connected for twenty-eight years, 1895-1923. He now holds the office of treasurer, to which he was elected in 1906, after two years of special preparation as assistant treasurer. He is the executive officer of the Savings Bank, director of the Fitchburg Bank and Trust Company, and member of the execu- tive committee of the board, also a director and member of the executive committee of the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company and of the Grant Yarn Com- pany. He is a trustee of the Fitchburg Home for Old Ladies, and chairman of its finance committee.
For. two years Mr. Nichols was president of the Massachusetts Savings Bank Treasurers' Club, for four
years was treasurer of the Massachusetts Bankers' As- sociation, and he is an ex-president of the Fitchburg Chamber of Commerce. He has been a member of the city government of Fitchburg, and for three years rep- resented Fitchburg in the Massachusetts House of Rep- resentatives. He is a member of Charles W. Moore Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Thomas Chapter, Royal .Arch Masons; Jerusalem Commandery, Knights Templar (now, 1923, serving as Generalissimo) ; Apollo Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Fitchburg Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (Past Exalted Ruler) ; former president of the Fitchburg Family Welfare Association; a member of the Fay Club, of Fitchburg; and the Algonquin Club, and Boston Ath- letic Association, of Boston; the First Parish Unitarian Church, of Fitchburg, and the Fitchburg Young Men's Christian Association.
Frederic Carleton Nichols married, in Plainfield, New Jersey, October 5, 1899, Ethel Holmes, born at Amelia Court House, Virginia, daughter of Augustus D. and Hannah M. (Perry) Holmes. Mr. and Mrs. Nichols are the parents of two children: Anna Holmes, born October 24, 1907; and Louise, born March 29, 1913. The family home is in Fitchburg.
ARTHUR JOHN BERRY-For several years now Arthur John Berry, president of the Lee Brothers Com- pany, has been one of the well-known and successful business men of Athol, Massachusetts. He has been identified with the business of manufacturing needles since the beginning of his active career, and is recog- nized as an expert in that line of business activity.
Mr. Berry is of English ancestry, his grandfather having been a manufacturer of various fancy articles in England, who made a specialty of fancy snuff boxes. On one occasion he presented one of his very finest de- signs of that article to the Lord Mayor of London.
John Berry, father of Arthur John Berry, was born in Manchester, England, and as a boy of ten years ac- companied his parents on the long six weeks' voyage in a sailing vessel to this country. He became a manu- facturer of skates, and was the inventor of the skates known as the Barney & Berry skates. Later he became superintendent of the National Needle Company, at Springfield, Massachusetts. He married Ellen Sullivan, of Boston, Massachusetts, and later became a resident of Springfield.
Arthur John Berry was born in Springfield, Massa- chusetts, June 15, 1868. He received his education in the public schools of his native city, where he graduated from the high school in 1886. He then found his first employment with the National Needle Company, for whom his father was serving as superintendent, and that connection was maintained for a period of eleven years. At the end of that time he removed to Orange, Massachusetts, where he organized and equipped a needle factory for the New Home Sewing Machine Company, and where he remained as superintendent of the factory for eighteen years. He then made a change, at the urgent solicitation of his brother-in-law, W. Starr Lee, and went to Athol, Massachusetts, to assist in the busi- ness of the Lee Brothers Company, manufacturers of shoes. He soon became president of that concern, Mr. Lee acting as business manager and treasurer. but
Edward A Strout
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shortly after his arrival in Athol Mr. Lee died. Mr. Berry has continued to be the efficient chief executive of the concern however, to the present time. He is a member of the board of directors of the Athol National Bank, and is well known among the business men of that city as a conservative and able business man. Mr. Berry gives his support to the principles of the Republican party, but generally takes no active part in political affairs. He did, however, serve on the City Board of Trade for a time. At the time of the Spanish-American War he enlisted for service and was made first sergeant of Company K, 2nd Massachusetts Regiment, United States Volunteers, the first company of Massachusetts to be mustered in for service in that conflict. During the World War he served actively in the work of the Red Cross, and on the Liberty Loan Committee. He was treasurer of the finance committee of the local chapter of the Red Cross, and was influential in the success of several of the campaigns for funds. Fra- ternally he is a member of Orange Lodge, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of Orange, Massachusetts; Crescent Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Orange Commandery, No. 45, Knights Templar; Harris Council, Royal and Select Masters; and Aleppo Temple, Mystic Shrine. He has also been a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, is a member of the Paquaig Club, of Athol, Massachusetts ; the Past Commanders' Association. of Boston, Massachusetts; and Athena Chapter, Order of Eastern Star. He has served for a number of years on the executive board of Camp Chenego Association, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Athol Pub- lic Library. His religious affiliation is with the Uni- tarian church.
Arthur John Berry married, on June 26, 1909, at Athol, Massachusetts, Marion Howe Lee, daughter of Charles Milton and Minnie (Howe) Lee, the father was a native of Athol, Massachusetts, and the mother of Post Mills, Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur John Berry are the parents of one son, Arthur Lee, who was born May 6, 1910, and is now a student in the public schools of Athol,
EVERETT W. COATES, M. D., in professional circles in Northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, holds a noteworthy position and is broadly represen- tative of present day advance in medicine. He is a son of Wallace Bruce and Alice (Walton) Coates, his father active in the shoe industry.
Everett W. Coates was born at Lynn, Massachusetts, in April, 1886. His education was begun in the public schools of his birthplace and following his course at the Lynn Classical High School, he entered the employ of the First National Bank, afterwards the Essex Trust Company. Here he remained for about three and one- half years, then worked for a banking house in Boston for a while, and later was associated with a business con- cern in Maine. After this experience he decided to study medicine, and entered the Boston University of Med- icine, from which he was graduated in the class of 1912 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His interneship was spent in three different institutions, the Massachu- sets Homeopathic Hospital, of Boston; the Westboro State Hospital, at Westboro, Massachusetts; and the Trull Hospital, of Biddeford, Maine. With this widely
comprehensive preparation Dr. Coates entered up his professional career, taking up the practice of medicine in Farmington, New Hampshire, where he was active for four years. Here he established his own private hospital and conducted it for three years, and there- after he was engaged in practice in Concord, New Hampshire, for one year, when his progress was inter- rupted by his military service. He enlisted in the United States Medical Corps on July 10, 1918, and' received his commission as first lieutenant. Stationed immediately at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, he was soon assigned to Base Hospital No. 133, Overseas Unit, later being trans- ferred to Camp Sheridan, at Montgomery, Alabama, and he was thence ordered to proceed to Hoboken for em- barkation overseas. Before the date of sailing arrived the armistice was signed and Dr. Coates remained on this side with his unit and received his honorable dis- charge from the service on December 10, 1918. Coming to Fitchburg a short time afterward, Dr. Coates opened his office in this city on January 6, 1919, and has con- tinued in general practice here since. He is winning recognition also in surgery, and is considered one of the thoroughly successful professional men of the city. He is a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, the Massachusetts Homeopathic Medical Society, the York and Cumberland (Maine) Medical societies, the Massachusetts Medical Society, Worcester North Med- ical Society, and the Fitchburg Medical Society. He is also a member of the Alpha Sigma, now the Phi Chi fraternity. Dr. Coates is affiliated fraternally with the Aurora Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Fitch- burg; Thomas Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Harris Council, Royal and Select Masters, of Athol, Massachu- setts; and Jerusalem Commandery, Knights Templar, of Fitchburg; also Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston. He helped to organize the Kiwanis Club, of Fitchburg, of which he is a director, and is broadly interested in all that counts for local advance in the civic life of the community.
Dr. Coates married, on October 23, 1913, Grace E. Robbins, of Ashby, Massachusetts, daughter of Fred E. and Julia E. (Fletcher ) Robbins. Mrs. Coates is a graduate nurse of the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hos- pital, of Boston, Massachusetts, and served as assistant superintendent and later as superintendent of the Buf- falo, New York, Homeopathic Hospital.
EDWARD S. STROUT-The State of Maine has given to the world many men of vigorous spirit and con- structive ability whose lives have been full of usefulness, and one of these men is Edward S. Strout, who for the past fifteen years has been associated with the Fiske- Carter Construction Company, of Worcester, Massa- chusetts. Reared in the atmosphere of the lumber in- dustry, it was perhaps but natural that Mr. Strout should have chosen the field of construction for the scene of his life work. Certain it is that his activities in the Worcester district are contributing in a marked degree to the general welfare. He is a son of Willis C. Strout, who was born at Alexander, Maine, and was active in lumbering and farming enterprises. He now lives retired at Grafton, Massachusetts. The mother,
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY
Almira (Towers) Strout, was born at Milltown, New Brunswick, Canada, and is also still living.
Edward S. Strout was born at Alexander, Maine, at the family homestead, September 7, 1879. After completing his studies in the public schools of Alex- ander, Baring, and Calais, Maine, he became identified with construction work in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he has remained permanently. In 1908 Mr. Strout became identified with his present associates in the or- ganization of the Fiske-Carter Construction Company, the incorporators of this concern being as follows: Bur- ton C. Fiske, president; William W. Carter, treasurer; Edward S. Strout, secretary and assistant treasurer. With offices at No. II Foster Street, this concern handles general construction work of all kinds. Their work is not confined to this locality by any means, but extends throughout the New England States, and with two branch offices in the South, they go throughout the Southern States east of the Mississippi River. They have done much important work of lasting significance to the people, and to the sections in which they have been active. The young men of this organization are still in the prime of life, progressive, forward-looking men of the day, and this enterprise is understood to be the most important in its field now centered in Worcester. The company specializes in building construction, and among the contracts which they have carried out may be mentioned the Pacolet Manufacturing Company of Pacolet, South Carolina, and New Holland, Georgia. In these two places villages were constructed, including the erection of houses, installation of sewers, water sys- tem, etc. Similar work has been done for the Wood- side Cotton Mills, of Greenville, South Carolina. Mr. Strout is a member of the Worcester Chamber of Com- merce, and fraternally holds membership in Quinsiga- mond Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Eureka Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a well-known member of the Worcester Automobile Club.
Mr. Strout married, in 1910, Emily Ashworth, who was born in Rochdale, Massachusetts.
JOHN LOVELL (J. LOVELL) JOHNSON- There may be men living who have never heard of the Iver Johnson firearms, nor the Iver Johnson bicycle, but where would one go to find them? At the head of the great works and company manufacturing and marketing these products of the inventive genius and mechanical skill of his father, Iver Johnson, who has passed away but lives in the memory of the men of the great plant at Fitchburg, stands John Lovell Johnson, manufac- turer, business man, and eminent citizen. He has gained his entire business experience with the manufacture and sale of the products of the Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, having other interests, but all subordinate in his life to the great interests whose destinies he guides as chief executive.
Iver Johnson, the founder, was a son of John John- son, a farmer of Nordfjord, Norway, the farm on which he was born was a family possession for cen- turies. Iver Johnson was born at the old homestead in Norway, February 14, 1841, died at his home in Fitch- burg, Massachusetts, August 3, 1895, and was buried at Worcester. At the age of sixteen he began an ap-
prenticeship at gunmaking in Bergen, Norway, serving five years until 1862, then for a year worked as a journeyman gunmaker in Christiana, Norway. In 1863 he came to the United States and settled at Worcester, Massachusetts, where for eight years he was employed in gunmaking shops. In 1871 he entered into partnership with Martin Bye, and as Johnson & Bye they started in a single room in a Church Street building, a gun shop from which grew the great Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works, of Worcester, now of Fitchburg, and The Iver Johnson Sporting Goods Company, of Boston, Wor- cester, and Fitchburg.
Two years after the founding of Johnson & Bye the business of the firm had outgrown the single room, and two rooms were rented in the Armsby Building, on Cen- tral Street. There fifty hands were employed, and two years later the firm bought the building, and by 1881 were using its entire floor space for their own purposes. In 1883 Iver Johnson bought his partner's interest and thereafter conducted the business under the firm name, Iver Johnson & Company. To the finest mechanical skill as a' gunmaker, Iver Johnson added fertile inventive genius, and he devised patterns for bicycles and small arms which he fully protected with patents. In his own plant he used the best and most modern machinery and was constantly devising new machines and implements. Within a few years he was shipping goods all over the United States, and agencies were established in Canada and Mexico.
In 1885 the Iver Johnson bicycle was placed on the market, and soon 1,000 bicycles of that pattern were being made annually, and in five years 15,000 was the annual output. More factory space than he could secure at his Worcester plant caused Mr. Johnson to purchase the Fitch- burg plant of the Walter Heywood Chair Manufacturing Company plant, and there with additions and new buildings he conducted one of the largest industrial plants in the city of Fitchburg. After moving his factory to Fitch- burg, Iver Johnson retained his home at Worcester until his later years, when he moved to Fitchburg to be near his factory. He built up a tremendous demand for Iver Johnson firearms and bicycles, and lived fully up to his business slogan, "Honest goods at honest prices." His sons became associated with him in the business, and when their honored father passed away they succeeded him, and an uninterrupted growth and prosperity has attended them.
Iver Johnson, while a resident in Worcester, was a di- rector of the Sovereign's Cooperative Store, and of three cooperative banks. For many years he was presi- dent of the Equity Cooperative Bank, and vice-president of the Home Cooperative Bank. He was a trustee of the Fitchburg Savings Bank, director of the Fitchburg National Bank, and of the Fidelity Cooperative Bank of Fitchburg. He toured Europe in 1884, visiting his native land and many manufacturing centers. He was a Republican in politics, a member of lodge, chapter, commandery, and consistory of the Masonic order, hold- ing the thirty-second degree; was a noble of the Mystic Shrine, and most charitable and philanthropic.
Iver Johnson married, April 9, 1868, Mary Elizabeth Speirs, daughter of John and Janet (Adams) Speirs, of Norwich, Connecticut. To them were born five chil- dren: Janet Bright, who died young; Frederick Iver,
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BIOGRAPHICAL
John Lovell, of further mention; Walter Olaf, and a daughter, Mary L. Otto.
John Lovell Johnson, son of Iver and Mary Eliza- beth (Speirs) Johnson, was born in Worcester, Massa- chusetts, June 26, 1876. He was educated in the public schools of Worcester and Fitchburg, grammar and high, and in Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Upon finishing school he entered the Iver Johnson plant, in 1896, and is now (1923) president of the Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works, of Fitchburg; president of the Iver John- son Sporting Goods Company, of Boston, Worcester, and Fitchburg; and of the Johnsonia Company, Incor- porated, of Fitchburg. The Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works now comprise five brick buildings and several wooden ones, with a floor space of about 200,000 feet, equipped with all modern machinery and appli- ances. Large wholesale depots are maintained in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, and with branches in England and Australia, practically the whole world is covered. Expert and skilled mechanics and metallur- gists are employed, and laboratories test all materials chemically and mechanically. Iver Johnson arms and bicycles have world-wide reputation, and it is claimed that the output of small firearms and shotguns from the Iver Johnson Works is greater than of all other small firearms manufactured in the country. J. Lovell John- son has given his entire business life to the business of which he is the capable head, and is complete master of its every important detail.
Mr. Johnson's other business interests are entirely financial, he being vice-president and director of he Fitchburg Bank & Trust Company, vice-president and director of the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany, trustee and member of the board of investment of the Fitchburg Savings Bank, all of Fitchburg; director of the Merchants' National Bank, of Boston; Mer- chants' National Bank of Worcester; Clinton Trust Company of Clinton; Boston Casualty Company of Boston; and Fitchburg Cooperative Bank.
In politics Mr. Johnson is a Republican, and has long been active in public life and in party councils. He has served as chairman of the Republican City Committee of Fitchburg, and as treasurer of the Republican State Central Committee of the State of Massachusetts. In 1916 he was a delegate to the National Republican Con- vention that nominated Charles E. Hughes for Presi- dent, and is one of the influential men of his party. In 1901 he was elected a member of the Fitchburg Board of Aldermen, serving three years, and as president of the board during the last two years of his term. In 1907 he was chosen State Senator for two years, and during 1909-10, he was State Councillor for the Seventh Dis- rict. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian. In the Masonic order Mr. Johnson is Past Master of Charles W. Moore Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; is a' com- panion of the Royal Arch; a Knight Templar, and a thirty-second degree member of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. He is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, a Past Exalted Ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a member of the Ancient and Hon- orable Artillery Company. His clubs are: The Algon- quin, Boston Athletic, and Boston City, of Boston; Worcester and Tatassit, of Worcester; Fay, Oak Hill Country, and Sportsman's, of Fitchburg.
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