USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Vol. III > Part 20
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BIOGRAPHICAL
year, he took up post-graduate work in the fall of 1923, in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Business Administration, where he is now (1924) a student.
HON. RODNEY WALLACE-The Fitchburg Paper Company with its immense output and far- reaching economic influences is a worthy memorial to the energy and ability of its founder, Hon. Rodney Wallace, who at the age of twelve years, began his ac- tive career by hiring himself to a farmer for forty dollars a year and the privilege of attending school for eight weeks during the winter term. Ability, tireless effort, and sound principles brought large rewards, and fifty years after receiving his forty dollars for the labor of twelve months Hon. Rodney Wallace, presented to the city of Fitchburg the Wallace Library and Art Building, erected by him at a cost of $100,000. Later, he presented the town of Rindge, New Hampshire, with a public library building. These gifts, beautiful and useful as they are, however, do not represent the vital part of Mr. Wallace's contribution to the welfare of his fellow-citizens. He took an active part in local public affairs, was a generous supporter of all well-planned projects for the advancement of the public good, and was chosen to represent his district in the National Congress.
(I.) John Wallis (as the name was formerly spelled) and his wife Elizabeth were residents of Stow, Massa- chusetts, as early as 1721. He removed to Townsend, Massachusetts, previous to November 12, 1731, at which time he purchased land there. He was one of the six- teen original members of the church there, and in 1747 served as Selectman of the town. He died May 20, 1763, aged eighty-seven years, survived by his second wife, Elizabeth, whose death occurred January 25, 1765, at the age of seventy-two years. His children were: John, of further mention; Susannah; Elizabeth; Mat- thew ; Jonathan; Isaac; William, died young; William, and David.
(II.) John Wallace (or Wallis), son of John Wallis, was born 1694 (or 1695 according to gravestone) and died September 30, 1777, aged eighty-three (or eighty- two) years. He removed with his father from Stow to Townsend in 1731. He married (first), February 15, 1722, Sarah Wheeler, daughter of Zebediah Wheeler, of Stow. She died March 25, 1752. He married (sec- ond), February 15, 1753, Mary White, of Groton. He married (third), November 6, 1759, Mrs. Martha (Stevens) Pudney. Children of John and Sarah (Wheeler) Wallace (or Wallis) were: William; Sarah; Benoni, of further mention; Zebdiah; and Relief.
(III.) Benoni Wallace (or Wallis), son of John and Sarah (Wheeler) Wallace (or Wallis), settled in Lunenburg, and died there. The records show that he was in Lunenburg two years before his marriage, when he objected to the manner in which a highway was laid over his land in Lunenburg, and later the highway was relaid, apparently to his satisfaction. He is the im- mediate ancestor of the Ashby and Ashburnham families of this surname. He died March 15, 1792. His wife died August 25, 1790. He married, July 22, 1755, Re- becca Brown, of Lynn. Their children, born in Lunen-
burg, were: Benjamin; Curwin; David, of further men- tion; Molly; Ebenezer, Frederick, died young; and Rebecca.
(IV.) David Wallace (or Wallis), son of Benoni and Rebecca (Brown) Wallace, was born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, October 16, 1760, and died January 12, 1842. He served three terms of enlistment in the Rev- olution, and in 1786 removed to Ashburnham, where he was a farmer, and enjoyed the rewards of a peaceful, well-ordered life. He married, April II, 1797, Susannah Conn, who died March 24, 1847, daughter of John and Ruth (Davis) Conn, of Ashburnham. Their children were: David, of further mention; James Parks; Ruth Davis; John Wyman; Lucy Spalding; and Frederick.
(V.) David Wallace, son of David and Susannah (Conn) Wallace, was born July 14, 1797, and died May 29, 1857. He established the "Wallace" form of the family name, and his descendants have followed his ex- ample. He was in early life a clothier in Fitchburg, and owned land and a mill near the Cushing Mill, on Laurel Street. Later he was a farmer in New Ipswich, and in Rindge, New Hampshire. He was a worthy man and a good citizen. He died May 29, 1857. He married Roxanna Gowan, of New Ipswich, who died in Fitch- burg, February 27, 1876. Their children were: Harriet; Rodney, of further mention; David K .; John A .; Charles E .; George F .; Romanzo A .; and William E.
(VI.) Rodney Wallace, son of David and Roxanna (Gowan) Wallace, was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, December 21, 1823, and died February 27, 1903. In his youth his parents removed to Rindge, New Hampshire. At the age of twelve he left his home to work for a farmer for a year for forty dollars, with the priv- ilege of attending school during the term of eight weeks. At the age of sixteen he began to drive freight from. Bellows Falls, Vermont, and Rindge, New Hampshire, to Boston, taking lumber and produce and bringing back merchandise from the city. In 1843, when he was twenty years old, he entered the employ of Dr. Stephen Jewett, of Rindge, New Hampshire, the proprietor of Jewett's famous patent medicines, and subsequently trav- eled as the doctor's agent, selling the medicines through five of the New England States. In 1853 he removed to Fitchburg and actively engaged in business in the whole- sale trade in books, stationery, and paper stock, which was conducted under the firm name of Shepley & Wal- lace, and later of R. Wallace & Company, his partner being Stephen Shepley. In 1865 he organized the Fitch- burg Paper Company, and the former partnership with Mr. Shepley was dissolved July 1, 1865, Mr. Wallace retaining the cotton waste department, which has since grown to large proportions and become very profitable. The Wallace interests now handle several hundred thou- sand dollars' worth of this waste annually. The Fitch- burg Paper Company, which was made up of Mr. Shepley, Mr. Wallace, and Benjamin Snow, bought the Lyon Paper Mill and Kimball Scythe Shops at West Fitchburg, and began the manufacture of paper there. Stephen E. Denton was later admitted to the firm and took charge of the manufacturing. In July, 1865, when the business was just getting under way, Mr. Shepley sold his interests to Mr. Wallace and Mr. Snow. In June, 1866, Mr. Denton died, and on January 7 1869,
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY
Mr. Wallace purchased Mr. Snow's interests. On
January 23, 1869, Mr. Wallace purchased the interests of the Denton estate, and since then he and, later, his sons have had the sole ownership of the business of the Fitchburg Paper Company. Mr. Wallace soon made improvements in his mill whereby the output was doubled. In 1876 he built a substantial stone dam and improved the water power. In 1878 he built a new brick mill and increased the product to six tons of paper daily. In 1887 he built another large brick mill near the junc- tion of Phillips Brook and the Nashua River, and since that time numerous improvements have been made. The Fitchburg Mills manufacture card and lithograph paper and similar high-class products. Many cottages have been built by Mr. Wallace and his company for the ac- commodation of employees, and a' village built by the company has grown up about the mills. The mills have their own freight house and freight yard.
Mr. Wallace by no means confined his energies to the paper business. He was interested in many lines of busi- ness and all were successful. He became the leading citizen of the town, a position he unquestionably occu- pied for a number of years. He was a man of great public spirit. He was president and director of the Fitchburg Gas Light Company from 1864 'until his death in 1903; a director of the Fitchburg National Bank, 1866-1903; was for many years a trustee of the Fitchburg Savings Bank; director of the Parkhill Man- ufacturing Company, and the Putnam Machine Com- pany ; director of the Fitchburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company; partner in the Fitchburg Woolen Mill; a di- rector in the Fitchburg Railroad Company and Spring- field Trust Company; a trustee of Smith College, North- ampton. He has been entrusted with the settlement of several large estates. His ambition in the political world was restrained by the exacting burdens of business ·and the magnitude of the interests claiming his atten- tion. He was Selectman of the town of Fitchburg in 1864, 1865, and 1867; in 1873 represented Fitchburg in the General Court, and was unanimously renominated the following year, but declined reelection on account of his health; was in the Governor's Council through the entire administration of Governor Long. In 1884 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1889 and 1890 he represented his district in Congress.
The Wallace Library and Art Building is an enduring monument to Mr. Wallace's interest in educational and literary affairs. In 1881 he purchased a site suitably located on Main Street for a public library. Here he erected a substantial building at a cost of nearly $100,000, and presented it to the city of Fitchburg for a free pub- lic library, reading rooms and art galleries. The Wal- lace Library and Art Building was dedicated July I, 1885, the exercises being held in the library, Mayor Alonzo Davis presiding. In presenting the building Mr. Wallace said :
The best materials of all kinds were selected, the best mechanics employed, and more faithful service could not have been rendered had each man employed been the sole owner of the building. Our best thoughts have been given to have the building adapted to the purposes for which it was intended, and I have found pleasure in giving it my personal attention. No pains or expense have been spared to make the build- ing first-class in all respects, and it is nearly or quite fireproof. Cost of building $70,000; cost of furniture $2,000; cost of land $12,000; total $84,000.
In the hands of the city government and under the management of the trustees, I have perfect confidence that the building will be well cared for, and as a home for the Library, Works of Art and Free Reading Rooms it will be of increasing value to our people. With pleasure and the most earnest wish that to many of our people these rooms may prove to be a place of rest and profit, and help make the journey of life more pleasant and useful, I now present to you the deed of this property and keys of the building.
The dedicatory address of Governor John D. Long was appropriate, eloquent, and impressive. The manu- script is preserved in the Relic Room at the Library. A poem by Mrs. Caroline Mason was read by Ray Greene Huling, principal of the high school. The city has an excellent collection of books and pictures, and the library is growing constantly better, owing to additions by gift and purchase. The Fitchburg Public Library, which was founded in 1859, is one of the finest institutions of the city since it has had its new home. Among the trustees who have been interested in having the purposes of its donor carried out are Herbert Ingalls Wallace, son of Rodney Wallace, and Ezra S. Stearns, formerly Secretary of State of New Hampshire, a distinguished historian and genealogist, and a close personal friend of Mr. Wallace, who in his "History of Ashburnham" wrote :
Mr. Wallace is courteous and affable in manner and loyal in his friendship. In the reserve of his nature he is restrained from impetuous demonstration, but, in every social and public duty his friendship, his in- fluence and his assistance are put forth with command- ing effect. If his activities are circumscribed by rea- son and prudence, his conclusions are deliberately formed and founded upon a comprehensive study of the attending facts. In him are combined diligence and sagacity, and above all a lofty standard of honor and integrity.
He also gave the town of Rindge, New Hampshire, a public library building in 1894.
Mr. Wallace married (first), December 1, 1853, Sophia Ingalls, born May 5, 1828, daughter of Thomas and Sophia (Shurtleff) Ingalls, of Rindge, New Hampshire. She died June 20, 1871, leaving two sons. He married (second), December 28, 1876, Sophia F. (Billings) Bailey, of Woodstock, Vermont, born November 1, 1826, died November 9, 1895, daughter of Oel and Sophia W. Billings, of Royalton, Vermont, and widow of Hon. Goldsmith F. Bailey. The children of Rodney and Sophia (Ingalls) Wallace were: I. Herbert Ingalls, born in Fitchburg, and graduated from Harvard Uni- versity in 1877. Upon the completion of his college course he became associated with his father's business, and later was head of the Fitchburg Paper Company and his father's successor in various other important enterprises. As trustee of the Wallace Library and Art Building he has gathered an excellent musical li- brary for the institution. He married, October 23, 1879, Amy Louise Upton, daughter of John and Louise (Willis) Upton, and their children are: Fred; Rodney, deceased ; Sophia I .; Amy L., deceased; and Robert S. 2. George R., born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, June 29, 1859, studied in Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, and then became associated with the Fitch- burg Paper Company, of which he took charge upon the death of his father. He married, November 10, 1886, Helen (Nellie) M. Howland, of Fitchburg, and has four children: Helen S., George R., Jr., (q. v.); Elizabeth, and Rachel.
Exciby wumpbe". Era ars IlY
DaviaHale Fanning
157
BIOGRAPHICAL
MAJOR GEORGE RODNEY WALLACE, JR .- A leading executive in the paper industry in New England is Major George Rodney Wallace, Jr., vice- president of the Fitchburg Paper Company, whose energy and efficiency have carried him to a noteworthy position in the business world. Mr. Wallace comes of a prominent and highly honored family of Fitchburg, and is a son of George R. and Helen M. (Howland) Wallace, his father the president of the Fitchburg Paper Company and for many years one of the principal forces in the development and present eminence of the con- cern. The maternal line also traces back through a prominent family of Massachusetts to pioneer origin.
George Rodney Wallace, Jr., was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, October 2, 1889. His early education was received in the public and high schools of his native city, and his higher studies were mapped out with di- rect relation to his future responsibilities as an exec- utive of the Fitchburg Paper Company. He covered a comprehensive course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Received into the firm immediately fol- lowing his graduation, Mr. Wallace mastered the prac- tical application of his technical knowledge and con- tinues with the concern in his present official capacity. He is further affiliated with the business world of Fitch- burg as a director of the Fidelity Cooperative Bank and as a director of the Fitchburg Bank & Trust Company. He also serves on the board of investments of the Fitch- burg Savings Bank. Major Wallace is a veteran of the World War, having enlisted in the 2d Regiment, Massa- chusetts Field Artillery, United States Army, on July 19, 1917. He was promoted to sergeant on September I of the same year, then on the 23d of the following No- vember was promoted to captain and transferred to the regular army. Nearly a year later, on November I, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of major while on the field in France. He sailed overseas in July, 1918, and was active in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, receiv- ing a citation from General Pershing. Returned to the United States the following spring, Major Wallace re- ceived his honorable discharge from the service on April 22, 1919, and returned to the interests of civilian life. He is a Republican by political affiliation, and chairman of the Republican City Committee, also par- ticipating in the activities of the Republican State Com- mittee as a member of that body. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and his clubs are the Oak Hill Country, and the Fay. He is identified with the Unitarian church.
Major Wallace married, on May 24, 1923, in Fitch- burg, Massachusetts, Alice G. Wellington, daughter of Arthur J. and Susan (Lloyd) Wellington, of Fitchburg. His son by a former marriage, George R. Wallace, third, was born August 29, 1915.
DAVID HALE FANNING-The city of Worcester, Massachusetts, takes a very proper pride in the great industries which have developed the municipality, and which provide for the economic security and well being of the people as well as for the permanence and dig- nity of the civic body. Back of every industry, as the force which brought it into existence and governs its progress, stands some man or group of men, whose
breadth of vision and ceaseless energy have made pos- sible these monuments to human endeavor. There is no name of greater significance to this city than that of David Hale Fanning, and no product more universally known the world over than the Royal Worcester Corsets, of which he is the originator. For sixty-two years Mr. Fanning has stood at the head of this enterprise, from the time when his force of employees numbered two women, to the present day when he presides over the greatest industry of its kind in the world, although he has nearly reached the ninety-third anniversary of his birth. The life story of this aged man with the spirit of youth still animating his being, reads like one of those industrial romances in which the old and young take equal delight.
David Hale Fanning was born in Jewett City, Connec- ticut, August 4, 1830. Left an orphan at the age of seven years, he was cared for by older brothers and sis- ters, and attended public school until he was fifteen years of age. He was then placed in a small factory owned by a brother, who manufactured twine and cotton batting. But the lad was urged to higher endeavors by some ambition hidden within himself. Lacking the mature counsel and unselfish love of father or mother, it re- mained for him to strike out blindly when the time came that he determined upon independent action. A graphic word picture of the boy was included in the handsome brochure published by the company on the sixtieth an- niversary of the founding of the business :
One bright Sunday morning while he stood at the well-curb drawing a pail of water, listening to the church bells ring the hour of 9.30, notifying the people to get ready for the service an hour later, his vague dreams suddenly blossomed into a definite resolution to strike out for freedom. This was on August 9, 1846, and was the first important decision in the career of a man noted for quick and sound decisions.
With only a few dollars in his pocket, the lad walked the eighteen miles or thereabouts to Danielson, Connec- ticut, and spent the night at a country inn. Taking a train to Worcester the next day, he searched for work in this city, but found no opening. Could the business men of that day have pre-visioned the mental power and constructive energy of the plain, direct-spoken lad who applied for the means of mere existence, the his- tory of the Royal Worcester Corset Company might never have been written, for his energies would have been directed into existing channels, rather than, as transpired, cutting new paths. Shortly after he se- cured work in Clinton, operating the picker and lapper in a cotton mill. Remaining there for two years, he then decided to learn the trade of machinist, but event- ually, upon completing his apprenticeship, he returned to mill work. By this time the young man was accus- tomed to think and act for himself, and one day aston- ished his overseer by declaring his intention never to do another day's work in a cotton mill. He had accumu- lated a little capital and started a grocery store at Groton Junction, near Ayer, Massachusetts, but his did not sat- isfy his ambition, even as a stepping stone to higher achievement. Horace Greeley's famous advice to "go west" reached him, and selling his store, Mr. Fanning went to Chicago, then a crude municipality of some 80,000 population, situated on low, marshy ground. The hills of New England called him back, but stopping at
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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY
Cleveland, Ohio, en route, he was employed there for a time as bookkeeper. In 1861 Mr. Fanning returned to Worcester, and his desire to serve his country in her time of need proved futile, for upon enlistment he was refused on account of disability. He formed an un- shakable purpose to embark upon his own responsibility in some productive enterprise. Keenly practical at all times, he settled upon the popular hoop skirt of the day as the opportunity of the moment, and began its man- ufacture. Procuring the rental of a room fifteen feet square, Mr. Fanning made his start, employing two women and doing his own designing, cutting, and so forth. It is interesting to note in passing that one of these original employees is still living. Quality of product was an unvarying policy of this manufacturer from his earliest venture, and the hoop skirts found a brisk sale in the dry goods stores of Worcester. Then Mr. Fanning's keen vision comprehended the probable changes of fashion and branched out along a line which, throughout all the vagaries of the modes, had for cen- turies been a staple article of apparel, and would in all likelihood continue such-corsets. He personally made the first corset in his plant, shaping and combining five pieces of cloth, a few steels and eyelets, but daily keep- ing in touch with what was being accomplished in his field, and always seeking a higher degree of perfection in his own product, Mr. Fanning's rise was a matter of his own achievement alone. Co-partnerships he tried, when he felt the need of more numerous executives, but they proved fetters to progress, and he at length organ- ized a corporation, keeping thenceforward in his own hands all executive responsibility. During the thirty-five years which have since elapsed the regular quarterly dividend to the stockholders has never failed.
Meantime, the growth of the interest, the original capital for which was practically nothing but business ability and courage, was steady and great. The plant outgrew such structures as had been available, and in 1895 land was bought at the corner of Wyman and Hollis streets, where a factory, very large for that day, in Worcester, was erected. It has been necessary since, however, to increase enormously the original space, and from that time until the present a large addition has been erected every five years, the last being completed in the year 1921. Throughout the great plant every de- partment is equipped in the most approved manner, and the product of the factory to-day, comprising the Royal Worcester and Bon Ton corsets, goes to all parts of the civilized world. But perhaps the more noteworthy feat- ure of this great enterprise is the happy cooperation that exists between the executive and production forces, and the paternal benevolence of the revered and ven- erable man whose interest is as keen in the welfare of his employees as in the success of his business. With the first establishing of the little shop more than sixty years ago, he looked ahead to a time when he could make special provision for the comfort and recreation of his employees, and in the newest building he realized his dream to the full, although during all his previous his- tory this had been a special phase of the progress of the business. The building completed in 1921 has a great dance floor and a complete stage and footlights, also a most charming and attractive rest room with luxurious
wicker furniture upholstered in gay cretonnes, with writing desks conveniently placed and a large library close by. The plant occupies an entire city block, 222X158 feet, and the large lawn is always kept in per- fect order. In short the Royal Worcester plant is one of the show places of the city, and the pride, not only of those connected with it, but of every citizen of Wor- cester.
HERBERT PARKER-Prominent among the men of the legal profession in Worcester County is Herbert Parker, who has been successfully engaged in legal prac- tice in Worcester and in Boston since 1884, principally as a trial lawyer. In addition to caring for his large private practice he has served as Associate Justice of the District Court, as District Attorney, and as Attorney General of the State of Massachusetts. He is also officially connected with an important business organiza- tion, and has been active in organizations not connected with his profession.
Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, March 2, 1856, Mr. Parker is a son of George A. and Harriet Newell (Felton) Parker. After completing his preliminary and preparatory work he became a student in Harvard Col- lege as a member of the class of 1878, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1905 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Tufts College. In the meantime, he had been admitted to the Massa- chusetts bar in 1883, and immediately thereafter was pri- vate secretary at Washington to Senator G. F. Hoar. In 1884 he entered into the practice of his profession. He was well prepared for his work and possessed ability and energy, qualities which soon brought the reward of growing patronage. He took an active interest in local public affairs, and in 1886 was made Associate Justice of the Second District Court of Eastern Worcester. In 1887 he was appointed Assistant District Attorney, and later elected District Attorney of the Middle Massa- chusetts District, the latter of which official positions he held until 1899. In 1901 he was elected to the im- portant office of Attorney General of the State of Massachusetts, the duties of which office he efficiently discharged until 1905. Mr. Parker was counsel for Police Commissioner Curtis, his term including the period of the famous police strike in Boston. He was also a member of the Massachusetts State Constitutional Convention during 1917-1919. He was fortunate in his direct personal association with the late Senator Hoar of Massachusetts, in whose office he conducted his studies for admission to the bar. In addition to the numerous professional activities already mentioned, Mr. Parker has served as trustee of the State Mutual Life Insurance Company of Worcester; of the Clinton, Massachusetts, Hospital Association, of Clark College; and of Clark University since 1907. He is a member of the Medico-Legal Society of Massachusetts; of the American Ornithologists' Union; was vice-president of the Military Efficiency Association; and vice-president of the Massachusetts League for Preservation of Amer- ican Independence. He is also a member of the Union Club, and of the Tavern Club of Boston. Politically, he gives his support to the Republican party, and his re- ligious affiliation is with the Unitarian church.
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