USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > South Boston > Illustrated history of South Boston > Part 12
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Mr. {Souther's capacity for business has never been equaled by any Bos- ton manufacturer; and now, long past the octogenarian mark, he is still active.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
THE LATE DAVID HALE.
In sketching the life of the late David Hale, it is not necessary to dwell at length on a number of facts. The events of this old South Bostonian are few, but they cover an honorable period of a little over sixty-six years. David Hale was born in South Boston, at 391 Broadway, October 21, 1833, and was the son of Aaron and Mary Ann (Dean) Hale. From the father he inherited his in- ventive genius, and from his mother the sterling qual- ities of business ability and broad comprehensive ideas. Mr. Hale was well known as a rubber manufacturer and was the son of a manufac- turer of that line of goods. Way back in the "fifties " Aaron Hale engaged in the rubber business in this dis- trict. He had four sons, three of whom went into the business of the father, Al- fred dying some twenty years ago and George two years ago. After the de- cease of the sons the busi- ness was still continued under the firm name of Alfred Hale & Co. David Hale lived simply, dealt justly, had moderate busi- ness ambition, and left a comfortable fortune. He entered the business when but eighteen years of age, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the rubber business. Besides this he manufactured diving armor, on which he made a world-wide reputation. His factory was in this district and his store on School street. With this he was content and was never tempted to branch out in the manner followed by younger concerns. He was a frank, hearty, kindly gentleman, with strong likes and dislikes. He was a firm be- liever in the old-fashioned, uncompromis- ing honesty, and, while having little to say
about trade in general, he was a keen ob- server and kept well in touch with the market. Some two months prior to his death, January 11, 1900, he was taken ill with dropsy. He appeared to be getting better when stricken with paralysis of the brain from which he never recovered. Ile made his home in South Boston with his two sisters who now survive him. Mr. Hale was a popular man in his line
THE LATE DAVID HALE.
of business, and after his decease, a meeting of the representative rubber con- cerns was held in this city and resolutions on his death immediately passed. Mr. Hale was active in the affairs of South Boston. Ile was at home with his fellow- members of the Old Hawes School Boys' Association and took a deep interest in the affairs of the South Boston Citizens' Association. He was also a member of the Boston Yacht Club. One of
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
the pioneers in the rubber business, Mr. Hale lived to see wonderful improve- ments take place, in which he himself, took no small part. He was loved by all and his demise cast a gloom over the entire district.
THE LATE BENJAMIN DEAN.
THE LATE DAVID CLAPP.
This well-remembered deceased resi- dent of South Boston, was born February 6, 1806, in the house on Stoughton street, Dorchester, built by his father in 1790. Ilis father at the age of eighteen, was en- gaged with the grandfather of the subject of this sketch in throwing up the fortifica- tions on Dorchester Heights. in March, 1776, and was also his father's sub- stitute in the Dorchester company which took part in the Revolution. David Clapp attended school in Dorchester, and resided there until about 1840, when he removed with his family to South
Boston and lived nearly all the rest of his life at the corner of F and Gold streets. His death occurred May 10, 1893, at the ripe old age of eighty-seven. He was chosen warden of 'St. Matthew's church in 1846, and annually reelected to that office, closely identifying himself with that church and its affairs, during the remainder of his eventful life. With others he was one of the most instrumen- tal in the erection of the present handsome edifice now occupied; the original building on Broadway below E street, being abandoned for the new one in the fall of 1860. During the later years of his life, Mr. Clapp wrote various articles for publication in the local church paper on the " Early Days of St. Matthew's." Although he never sought nor held public office, he was deeply interested in all matters affecting the wel- fare of the district. He will be remembered as a particularly active member of St. Matthew's parish, to which he devoted many years of his life. From 1839, he was a member of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association and from 1860 of the New Eng- land Historic Genealogical Society, in which he took a deep and sympa- thetic interest. He was also a member of the Old School Boys of Boston. In business he was a printer, commencing to learn his trade in the office of John Cotton in 1822. Later, engaging in business for himself he continued unin- termuptedly until 1892, when he retired from active business on account of failing strength.
Although his life could not be called a public one, he was regarded with the deepest respect and love by the many who were brought under his influence, and who labored with him in the church.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
His mind was remarkably well-balanced, and his judgment, such as to inspire the confidence of all those with whom he was connected. His death, even at his ad- vanced age, was felt to be a loss to the church and to the community.
FRANCIS E. BLAKE.
Francis E. Blake is a descendant of the eighth generation from William Blake, one of the early set- tlers of Dorchester, and one who in 1637 shared in the division of lands at the Neck. The second house on the peninsula was built and occupied about 1681 by Deacon James Blake, grand- son of the first settler, and succeeding generations, un- til within a comparatively short period, have resided upon the old homestead lands. At least six genera- tions of this family have been closely related to the interests of the Neck and of South Boston, and at one time more than one eighth of the whole territory was held in this family. Mr. Blake, a son of Pynson and Sarah (Dana ) Blake, was born in Princeton, Mass., but moved to South Boston when quite young. lle at- tended the public schools, and with his twin brother, now Rev. Frederick D. Blake, graduatedin 1852 from the Hawes grammar school. Hle married Elizabeth C. Richardson, daughter of John D. Richardson, a prominent and highly esteemed resident of South Boston.
Mr. Blake was closely identified with the South Baptist church, holding many responsible positions, retaining his con- nection with the church for forty-six years.
He has made exhaustive researches in relation to the grants of land on the Neck, has published many historical
notes in the local papers, and lately has issued a pamphlet giving an account of the British raid on Dorchester Neck in 1776 with important and interesting facts re- lating to the first settlers. The map in this publication showing the location of the dwellings in the first part of the last century, was prepared by him. In a genealogical publication relating to one branch of the family, he has given many facts about his ancestors who resided here.
FRANCIS E. BLAKE.
Hle prepared and published in 1899 a history of the South Baptist church, and during the last twenty-five years has contributed many articles to historical and genealogical magazines.
In 1856, being obliged on account of ill health to suspend his studies at the Boston Latin school, Mr. Blake, as a boy entered the employ of George W. Wheelwright, a paper manufacturer and
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
dealer, and until the present has retained his connection with that business, being now the treasurer of the Geo. W. Wheel- wright Paper Company. He is identified with many philanthropie and religious enterprises, and is prominent in various societies connected with the Baptist de- nomination. He now resides in the city proper.
GEORGE W. ARMSTRONG.
The life of George W. Armstrong oc- cupies a brilliant spot in the history of
GeoStormstrong.
South Boston. He comes from sturdy ancestry that inhabited the lowlands of Scotland in the carlier centuries ; a body of men who, as a clan, made history and
showed great power. This worthy de- scendant of distinguished ancestors has sustained the reputation of his fore- fathers, and has fought the battle of life in a manner reflecting much sunshine on his fellowmen. In 1898, he presented the town of Windham, N. H., with the Armstrong Memorial building for the Nesmith library, in memory of his pa- ternal ancestors, descendants of Gil- nockie, a famous border chieftain of Canobie, Scotland, who immigrated to this country in the eighteenth century. Windham, N. H., was the ancestral home of his family from 1722 or before, when his migrating ancestor, Char- ter Robert Armstrong first landed on American soil. His parents were David Armstrong, who married Ma- hala Lovering. His father became a resident of Bos- ton in 1825, and died in 1851. The subject of this sketch was born in South Boston, August 11, 1836. Ile was a scholar of the fam- ous Hawes grammar school. In 1850, he was thrown on his own resources, and some of the older residents remember him as the penny postman. Ile afterwards be- came a newsboy and was employed on the old " South Boston Gazette" and the "Sunday News." He also had charge of filing the papers in the Democratic reading room on Congress Square. This was in 1851. The following year he be- came a newsboy on the Worcester railroad, and worked from five in the morning until late at night. In 1861 be obtained em- ployment in the Boston sta- tion dining room. He after- wards secured a position as brakeman on the same railroad. Two months later he was made a baggageman, which posi- tion he held for one year. In 1870 he
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
bought the newspaper business and added to it the dining room of the Boston station. In 1865 he bought King's Express, con- fined to the Boston & Worces- ter railroad, changing the name to Armstrong's Transfer. In 1872 he organized the Armstrong Transfer Company and became its president. New England has seen its worth. In 1869 he bought the news business of the Fitchburg Railroad, and in 1877 extended it over the entire line, and afterwards over the Eastern and Boston & Albany railroads, securing control in time of the two entire systems, with a few excep- tions on the line of the Boston & Maine railroad.
The news departments of the Fitchburg, the restaurant and news business of the Boston Revere Beach and Lynn, and the restaurant business of part of the Old Colony, afterwards united in broadening his territory, which now includes hundreds of miles. Hle is a member of several associations, including the Bostonian Society, Beacon Society and the Hawes School Boys' Association, of which he is a past pres- ident. He is a director of the United States Trust Company.
In claiming as one of its sons this eminent business man and philanthro- pist, South Boston's product of notable men has been made more notable.
Mr. Armstrong has pleasant recollec- tions of his boyhood days in South Bos- ton. In 1889 he had published a book, entitled the " Hawes School Memorial " which he caused to be distributed gratis among the members of the Hawes School Boys' Association. He has for several years resided in Brookline, and also pos- sesses a magnificent summer place, at Center Harbor, N. IL., of about five hun- dred acres, known as Gilnockie. Ile was married December 10, 1868, to Miss Louise Marston of Bridgewater, N. IL., who died : December 12, 1882, he mar- ried Miss Flora E., daughter of Dr. Reuben Green of Boston.
THE LATE ADAM BENT.
W. E. L. DILLAWAY.
One of the best known of South Bos- ton boys is William Edward Lovell Dil- laway, who was born here February 17. 1852. He was educated at the grammar schools of the district and then at the English high school, after leaving which he was placed under private tutors and graduated from the Dane Law School, Harvard University, in 1871, at the age of nineteen, with the degree of LL. B. Hle studied law with Messrs. A. A. Ran- ney and Nathan Morse, who, in their day. were two of the leading lawyers of the Boston bar. He was a favorite student with both of these gentlemen who pushed him rapidly in the practice of the law ; and while a student with them, beginning when only about eighteen years of age, he began the trial of cases in court alone, or associated with these gentlemen as his seniors. Mr. Dillaway's early career in this regard was unusual and remarkable. Hle argued his first case before the full bench of the supreme court while yet a
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
student at the early age of nineteen. As he could not be admitted until he was twenty-one years old, he worked dili- gently as a student and in the trial of cases, so that when he was admitted to the bar, on his twenty-first birthday, he had had a more active and varied experi- ence than the majority of lawyers in the first ten years of their practice. Mr. Dillaway immediately took high rank as
W. E. L. DILLAWAY.
a jury lawyer and chamber counsel and built up a large and extensive practice. Hle continued in general practice until about thirty-three years of age, when he was engaged as counsel for the Bay State Gas Company which entered into the gas business of this city. It is needless to refer to Mr. Dillaway's able and success- ful service for this corporation. He was for many years its brains and master, and, unaided by other counsel, he brought
about a combination of the gas com- panies of Boston which was remarkable for its scope and completeness. Its securities were all put upon a paying basis, and for some eight years he was the managing director and general coun- sel of the whole combination. Unfortu- nate complications arose, not, however, due to Mr. Dillaway's management, and he withdrew from all connection with the business, retaining how- ever, a large pecuniary in- terest. He was at the same period counsel for Henry M. Whitney in the consoli- dation of the street rail- ways of Boston, and it is well known that the pres- ent consolidation of these systems was the conception and plan of Mr. Dillaway. While these projects were being carried through, Mr. Dillaway was forced to give up the general practice of his profession, much to his own regret and the regret as well of his friends and associates at the bar. He had accumulated a very large fortune at a very early age, and the care of this and allied interests engrossed his whole attention. He purchased the control of the Mechanics National Bank, the oldest and most prosperous banking institu- tion South Boston ever had, and selected his brother, Charles O. L. Dillaway as its president. Together they manage its affairs. Ile took up the subject of pneumatic tubes for carrying mail and parcels under- ground with greater despatch and built the system that carries the United States mail from the General Post Office to the North Union station. His ability as a business man and lawyer was soon ex- hibited in this new field, as he brought about a large combination of nearly all the pneumatic tube companies of the country, under the name of the Ameri-
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
can Pneumatic Service Company, with a capital of ten millions dollars. This corporation is the largest of its kind in the world and has been a dividend earner from the start, and of it Mr. Dilla- way is the president. Associated with him as directors are Henry M. Whitney, George W. Armstrong, John Shepard, Oakes Ames, Ubert K. Pettingill and many of Boston's best known business men. He has many large and varied business interests which make him an exceedingly busy man. He is a director in many corporations. Recently he was appointed as one of the trustees of the Robert B. Brigham estate, and with his brother and Sylvester G. Willey they have the management and control of an estate amounting to more than five mil- lions dollars which was left by Mr. Brig- ham for the establishment of a hospital for incurables in the city of Boston. This is a large and liberal charity which promises to be of great benefit to the poor and sick of Boston, and to the proper establishment of it the trustees will be called upon to devote much time and ability. Mr. Dillaway is a forceful and eloquent speaker, one of Boston's hundred orators, having been selected by the mayor to deliver the Fourth of July oration in 1888. He is the author of many papers and addresses and is the first to be thought of for such work by South Boston people. He is a great student and lover of art and has a large collection of oil paintings, the finest of etchings, bronzes, satsuma ware and the like. He has lived for many years at No. 80 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston and summers at Newport, Rhode Island. Hle is an enthusiastic lover of South Boston, and his speeches on this subject always arouse his hearers to a lofty feel- ing of pride and admiration for the old peninsula.
ROBERT PROVAN, M.D.
A well-known member of the medical profession of Boston is Dr. Robert Pro- van. He was born in New Brunswick, and received his early education at Fredericton in that province. He came to Boston and received his degree of
M.D. at Harvard College. In July, 1860, he came to South Boston to practice medi- cine and in forty years he has built up a practice, probably as large as any physi- cian in South Boston. In 1892 he moved his family to the city proper, tore down his building on Broadway and erected a business block, now one of the most fre- quented on that thoroughfare. Two years ago he moved his residence to Coolidge's Corner, Brookline. He has continued practice in South Boston but has an office at Hotel Nottingham. During his long practice he has devoted much time and
ROBERT PROVAN, M.D.
attention to the study of obstetrics, in the skilful treatment of which he has acquired a wide reputation. As a former citizen he has taken his full share in public life. He served in the Common Council of 1865- 66, when he was elected as a Republican, gaining over five hundred Democratic votes. He is a member of St. Omer Commandery, Knights Templar and is a thirty-two degree Mason. He is a mem- ber of the British Charitable Society and was for three years its president.
Although his residence is removed from South Boston, he still retains an office practice and real estate interests here.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
JUDGE JOSEPH D. FALLON.
Hon. Joseph D. Fallon, justice of the South Boston municipal court, has made a national reputation since ascending the bench in the local court. A student of the old school of law, he has served the commonwealth in an upright, fearless manner, winning even the praise of those who have come under his judicial re- sponsibility. He is a native of Ireland,
JUDGE JOSEPH D. FALLON.
born in the village of Doniry, County Galway, December 25, 1837, the son of Daniel and Julia (Coen) Fallon. He was reared on a farm and attended the national and private schools of his neigh- borhood. At the age of fourteen, he came to this country and shortly after his arrival in 1852, entered the college of the Holy Cross, Worcester. He graduated with distinction in 1858, and soon after received his degree of A. B.
from Georgetown University, Holy Cross then not being a chartered institution. After leaving college he taught school successively in Woonsocket, R. I., Salem and Boston. While in Salem, he com- menced the study of law under the late Judge Perkins, and in 1865 was admitted to the bar. When the South Boston court was established in 1875 he was appointed by Governor Talbot as first special justice ; and upon the death of Judge Burbank in 1893, he was made justice of the court. His career on the bench has been one of suc- cess, as during his long and honorable term scores of new laws have had to be interpreted. For nearly twenty years he was a mem- ber of the school commit- tee, being first elected in 1864. During this service he was in accord with the broadest men among his associates, supporting all measures intended for the advancement of Boston among the educational cities of the world. He sought additions to the course of training and is in part re- sponsible for the addition of manual training, sewing and kindergarten courses for younger children. Judge Fallon has for several years been one of the examiners for the State Civil Service Commission. Since 1887, he has been vice-president of the Union Savings Bank and its counsel for some years. In politics he is a Democrat. He was married, August 9, 1872 to Miss Sarah E. Daley. They have four chil- dren : Enphemia M., Catherine M., Jo- sephine S. and Joseph D. Fallon. Since assuming law practice in Boston, Judge Fallon has entered upon a lucrative practice. and as executor and trustee has undertaken the care of numerous important interests. For many years he has been the legal adviser of clergy-
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
men and corporations in various parts of the commonwealth. He is one of the most devoted of South Boston's public men, and time and again his voice has been raised in the interest of South Bos- ton. He is charitable in the extreme and has exercised this function many times during his judicial career. He re- sides in one of the handsomest of South Boston residences.
HON. JOSIAH S. DEAN.
Josiah Stevens Dean, associate justice of the South Boston Municipal Court, was born in Boston, May 11, 1860. His father was the late Benjamin Dean, who represented the dis- trict of which South Bos- ton was a part, in the Forty- fifth Congress. Mr. Dean was educated in the Bos- ton public schools, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His legal studies were pursued at the Harvard Law School, the Boston University Law School, and in his father's office. Hle was admitted to the bar in 1885. Mr. Dean has been prominently identified with Democratic politics. In 1891 and the following year he was a member of the common council from Ward 14. In 1893, Mr. Dean was nominated by the Demo- cratie party for register of probate and insolvency for Suffolk County. He car- ried Boston, but was de- feated by the votes of Chel- sea, Revere and Winthrop. This was the first time a new candidate had gone out of Boston with a majority of votes over the incumbent of the office, and was con- sidered a remarkable political victory. He was a member of the board of aldermen in 1897. In 1893 Mr. Dean was honored with the appointment as associate justice of the South Boston
Municipal Court, by Governor William E. Russell, which office he continues to fill, with credit to himself and to the district. He is one of the incor- porators of the South Boston Savings Bank, is secretary of the Federal Trust Company, and a public administrator for the County of Suffolk. He is a member of the Union Club, the Boston Athletic Association, the Boston Bicycle Club, a director in the Annisquam Yacht Club, and has a summer cottage at Annisquam. Judge Dean was married August 2, 1888, at Bradford, England, to Miss May Lilian Smith, daughter of the late Professor
HON. JOSIAH S. DEAN.
Walter Smith, a former director of draw- ing in the Boston public schools. They have four children : Benjamin, born Sep- tember 2, 1890; Kemerton, born August 20, 1894; Russell, born June 8, 1896; Sidney S., born August 4, 1899.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH BOSTON.
HENRY J. BOWEN. Henry James Bowen, elder son of
HENRY J. BOWEN.
Hosea Ballou and Mary Dana Bowen, was born in Charlestown. September 11, 1853. Seven or more of his maternal ancestors came to this country in the Mayflower in 1620, among whom were Elder Brewster, John Alden and Richard War- ren. His paternal ancestor came from Wales, landing at Rehoboth in 1640, and becoming one of the settlers of the town of Swan- sea. Mass., so named from the native place of the emigrants in Wales. He is the grandson of Henry Bowen, publisher of the first Universalist magazine ever issued, and the grand- nephew of Abel Bowen, the well-known engraver, and pub- lisher of " Bowen's Picture of Boston " in 1829. When he was about a year old his par- ents removed with him from Charlestown to South Boston, where he has ever since resided. Mr. Bowen graduated and took a Franklin medal at the Lincoln grammar school at the age of twelve, and entered the English high school. While there, at
the head of the graduating class at the age of fifteen, he received an offer of .a position in a wholesale lumber house on State street which he accepted. He re- mained in the lumber business for ten years filling various responsible positions and then took charge of the books of a wholesale grain and commission house. He was admitted to the Boston Chamber of Commerce of which he is still a mem- ber. Upon the death of his father in 1882, he succeeded to the latter's real estate and insurance business in South Boston and greatly increased it. He is a large owner of real estate in that sec- tion and has charge of many properties for clients. He is trustee for a number of large estates and is regarded as author- ity on all matters pertaining to South Boston real estate. He was for three years a director in the Boston Real Estate Exchange and Auction Board and in the Mattapan Deposit & Trust Com-
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