USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 22
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175
BOSTON.
W HEN Governor Russell, in May, 1892, appointed John William Corcoran as associate justice of the Superior Court, the Democracy of Massachusetts lost one of its most influential workers, but the bench gained a useful and honored member. Judge Corcoran has probably led more forlorn hopes than any other man in Massachusetts politics, having been a candidate for State senator once, for district attorney of Worcester County twice, for attorney-general twice, and for lieu- tenant-governor four times. His promi- nence as a candidate on the Democratic State ticket involved an immense amount of campaign service, and has made his name as familiar throughout New Eng- land as those of Rus- sell, Collins, Prince or Matthews. He never became so fas- cinated with politics, however, as to let it impede his progress in the legal profes- sion, in which, by close attention to work, he attained high rank. Gifted with versatile talents, the practical side of his character has won for him the large measure of respect that is felt by all who have been brought into either business or political association with him. He was born, June 14, 1853, at Batavia, N. Y., whither his parents had gone from Clin- ton, Mass. His family returning to Clinton, he attended the public schools in that town, afterwards taking a preparatory course at Holy Cross College, Worcester, then continuing his studies at St. John's, Fordham, in New York, and graduating from the Boston University Law School in 1875. Having been admitted to the bar, he opened an office in Clinton, and later formed a part-
JOHN W. CORCORAN.
nership with Herbert Parker. Since 1889 he has had an office in Boston. Mr. Corcoran was appointed in January, 1886, receiver of the Lancaster National Bank, whose president had absconded, leaving the bank bur- dened with worthless paper, and its vaults rifled of the most valuable securities. In the following July Mr. Corcoran declared a dividend of fifty per cent, and dividends periodically thereafter until the creditors received one hundred and nine per cent, in full of their claims, including in- terest, for all of which he was the recipient of special mention by the comptroller of the currency. His fellow-citizens in Clinton have made him school commit- teeman, town solic- itor, secretary and treasurer of the Water Board, and president of the Board of Trade. He was a member of the Democratic State Committee from 1883 until his resig- nation in 1892, and its chairman two years ; delegate to the National Demo- cratic conventions of 1884 and 1888, be- ing chairman of the Massachusetts dele- gation in the latter year ; judge-advo- cate general on Gov- ernor Russell's staff, and chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Managers of the World's Colum- bian Exposition, resigning on his appointment to the bench. As candidate for lieutenant-governor in ISSS, 1889, 1890 and 1891, he ran ahead of all the other Dem- ocratic candidates except the head of the ticket in the three years last named. He was married in ISSI to Margaret J., daughter of Patrick and Mary McDonald, of Boston. They have two daughters and one son. Judge Corcoran resides in Clinton.
176
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
N TO State in the Union has more effective laws to prevent the adulteration of foods than has Mas- sachusetts. A good share of this legislation owes its origin to Professor James Francis Babcock, a chemist of national reputation, and also known as the inventor of the Babcock Fire Extinguisher. In an eminent de- gree he combines scientific attainments with practical ability, and has been successful as an original investi- gator and as a man of business. He was born in Boston, Feb. 23, 1844, the son of Archibald D. and Fanny F. (Rich- ards) Babcock. Graduating from the Quincy Grammar School in 1857 and from the English High School in 1860, he matriculated at Harvard, where, in the Lawrence Sci- entific School, under Professor E. N. Hors- ford, he took up the special study of chemistry. Complet- ing the course, he began the practice of chemistry in Bos- ton, where he has since lived. As a chemical expert he soon acquired a rep- utation which has steadily grown with the years. The di- rectors of the Mas- sachusetts College of Pharmacy called him to the chair of chem- istry in that institution in 1869. He held this position until 1874, when he resigned to accept the professorship of chemistry in Boston University, and remained there until 1880. As an instructor, Professor Babcock had the faculty of inspiring those who came under his guidance with his own enthusiasm for science, and his treatment of obscure problems in the laboratory is said to have been remarkably lucid. In 1875 Governor Gaston appointed him State Assayer and Inspector of
JAMES F. BABCOCK.
Liquors, and he continued in this office through every administration until 1885, having been re-appointed by Governors Rice, Talbot, Long, Butler and Robinson. Among the services which Professor Babcock rendered to the Commonwealth during his long tenure of office as State assayer, is to be noted his successful advocacy of legislation defining the term "intoxicating liquor," and setting the three per cent. limit (subsequently re- duced to one per cent.), which was incorporated into the Statutes of 1880. In 1885 Mayor O'Brien appointed Professor Babcock inspector of milk for the city of Boston. He held this office four years, and greatly increased its efficiency by im- proving the methods of carrying out the details of the work of the office. Pro- fessor Babcock suc- ceeded in almost wholly suppressing the use of arnotto and other coloring mat- ter in milk, which had previously been universal among the dealers. This diffi- cult task Professor Babcock accom- plished by the dis- covery and applica- tion of new methods for the detection of coloring matters in milk. These meth- ods have since been adopted by milk analysts in many other cities. As a chemical expert Professor Babcock has frequently been called upon to testify in important court cases in this and other States, and his opinions are accepted as final in matters connected with his profession. He is also well known as a lyceum lecturer on scientific subjects, which he treats in a popular style and with great clearness. In 1865 he married Mary Porter Crosby, of Boston. They have three children.
177
BOSTON.
A NDREW JACKSON BAILEY, city solicitor, has charge of Boston's interests in the courts. As attorney and as legislator he had given ample proof that they would be safe in his keeping, and he has fully justified the predictions that were made at the time of his election in 1881. Mr. Bailey was born in Charles- town, Mass., July 18, 1840, the son of Barker and Alice (Ayers) Bailey. He was educated at the public schools and at Harvard, being a member of the class of 1863. He enlisted in 1861 in the Charlestown City Guards, Com- pany K, Fifth Regi- ment, and was in the first battle of Bull Run. In 1864 he again enlisted, and was commissioned lieutenant in Com- pany H, Fifth Regi- ment. At the close of the war, Mr. Bailey began the study of law, and in 1866 was elected clerk of the police court in Charles- town, holding that office until 1871. He was admitted to the bar in 1867. A ser- vice of four terms in the General Court gave him a wide ex- perience in legisla- tive matters, and he made a most credit- able record in the House as chairman of the Committee on Mercantile Affairs, and of the Committee on Elections. In the Senate he served on the Committee on the Hoosac Tunnel Railroad, and was instrumental in the legislation which resulted in the State's parting with the tunnel. In the Senate, as chairman of the Commit- tee on Labor Matters, he secured the passage of the first bill regulating the employment of women and children in manufacturing establishments. Mr. Bailey was a member of the Common Council of Charlestown in 1868
ANDREW J. BAILEY.
and 1869, and of the School Committee from 1869 to 1872, and was president of the Council in 1869. He was a member of the Common Council of Boston in 1880 and 1881, and was president of that body in the latter year. He resigned in November, and was sub- sequently elected city solicitor, which office he has since held continuously by election or appointment. Mr. Bailey has always taken an active interest in the welfare of the veterans, was one of the promoters of the Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts, and has been on the Board of Trustees since its incorporation. He is a member of Post II, G. A. R., and was for two years judge-advocate of the Department of Massachusetts. Mr. Bailey is one of the charter members of Faith Lodge of Free Masons, and a mem- ber of Hugh de Payen Commandery. He is a member of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Loyal Legion, and of the Bunker Hill Monument Associa- tion. In 1869 Mr. Bailey was married to Miss Abby V. Getchell, of Charles- town. As city solici- tor Mr. Bailey has been singularly fortu- nate in his trial of causes for the municipality, and not the slightest criti- cism has ever been passed upon his management of the city's interests entrusted to his care. That he enjoys the implicit confidence of all his fellow-citizens, irre- spective of party, and is well liked in social as well as in legal circles, shows better than anything else the fine qualities of the man. Mr. Bailey is regarded as a man of sound judgment, whose opinion is sure to be the result of careful consideration.
178
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
T THE youngest of the leading New England financiers is Dwight Braman. He is the eldest surviving son of the late Colonel Jarvis Dwight Braman, and was born in Boston, March 6, 1861. He comes from a family which for six generations has been noted for its public spirit. Impatient to enter the financial world, Mr. Braman declined to go to college with most of his associates, but went into business instead. He was the youngest member ever elected to the Boston Stock Exchange. One of his first, as well as one of his greatest, financial undertak- ings, which had pre- viously caused the collapse of other financiers, was the absorption, single- handed, of the East- ern Railroad. The stock was practically worthless as a divi- dend-paying invest- ment, but by for- mulating plans to remove the obstacles and appealing to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts on one of the finest points of law ever made, Mr. Braman won the case, the debt of the road was reduced from sixteen to ten million dollars, and the stock was made a dividend-paying one. And this when Mr. Braman was only twenty-five years of age. He next planned the consoli- dation of the Eastern with the Boston & Maine, and in this made several millions for himself and his associates. This consolidation was effected after the necessary legislation in various States had been secured. Mr. Braman's next great plan was the uniting of all the street railway lines in Boston under one management, which was successfully accomplished. He next opened negotiations for the control and purchase of the Pough-
DWIGHT BRAMAN.
keepsie Bridge and the connecting roads into New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which he regarded as of vital importance to Boston interests. Mr. Braman got control of the bridge, but owing to the sudden death of the manager of the Boston & Maine, it was turned over to the Reading, which made possible the formation of the famous coal combination. Mr. Braman then set to work to get the Reading interested in the Boston & Maine, so that the two combinations could be operated together in harmony under one management, the Reading controlling the coal fields and the Boston & Maine supplying the mar- ket. This great con- solidation of interests was finally effected, bringing under one head nine thousand miles of track and one hundred and twenty thousand em- ployees. Mr. Bra- man is president of the San Diego Land and Town Company and of the National City & Otay Railroad Company, and trus- tee or director in many large corpora- tions. His ambition has always been to see Boston have a great through trunk- line of its own, inde- pendent of rival in- terests, and this has now, in great measure through his efforts, been accom- plished. He is fond of athletics and is an accomplished horseman and yachtsman. He is also a patron of music and art. Mr. Braman is unmarried. His vast financial interests, his deeds of service to others, inelud- ing the gift of a library, the endowment of a hospital for consumptives and numerous other useful acts of charity and benevolence quietly administered, have kept him fully occupied.
179
BOSTON.
C RGANIZED effort, directed by a liberal and far- seeing public spirit, has always characterized the leading business men of Boston, and has accomplished much for the general good. In no city of the country is there to be found a more efficient and influential body of business men than the Boston Merchants' Association. It has been more prominently identified than any other organization with the work of securing national legislation in the interests of trade, its influence having been most po- tent at Washington in behalf of a na- tional bankruptcy law and many other measures. Upon the shoulders of Beverly K. Moore, secretary of the Boston Mer- chants' Association, has fallen no small share of the burden and responsibility of bringing these weighty matters to a successful issue. By natural ability, and by a varied experi- ence in legal, finan- cial and commercial affairs, he has been handsomely equipped for his du- ties. Mr. Moore has probably had more experience in Wash- ington than any other New Englander who is not a legislator. He was born in Bid- deford, Me., Nov. 25, 1847, the son of Jeremiah and Juliet Kendal Moore. Coming to Massachusetts in early life, he read law in Bos- ton in 1869 and 1870, and then for several years travelled throughout the West and South in the interest of a leading mercantile agency of New York. In 1876 he returned to Boston, where he established a branch of the agency and remained in charge of it about two years. The two following years he was superintendent of the Louisville (Ky.) branch of Bradstreet's Agency.
BEVERLY K. MOORE.
Returning again to Boston, in 1881, he opened a law and collection business, which has ever since been remark- ably prosperous, growing to such proportions that it was found necessary to incorporate it. This was done in 1889, under the name of the Mercantile Law Company, with Mr. Moore as its president. The company has entire charge of the collection department of the Bos- ton Merchants' Association, and has associate offices in all the large cities. The collection department of the Merchants' Associa- tion was established by Mr. Moore in 1883. In commer- cial circles through- out the country Mr. Moore is widely known. At the an- nual meeting of the Associated Law and Collection Offices, in June, 1891, he was chosen president of the organization. He has also been treas- urer of the Home Market Club for a number of years, and has contributed much, in connection with Colonel Clarke, toward the effective- ness of that organi- zation. Mr. Moore's manifold duties, as secretary of the Bos- ton Merchants' As- sociation (an office which he has held since 1883), as treas- urer of the Home Market Club, and as president of the Mercantile Law Company, are sufficient to tax the energies of ten ordi- nary men. But in addition to these he has important private business interests. He finds at his beautiful home in Newtonville - the Governor Claflin estate - his only rest and relaxation from business cares. Mr. Moore was married in 1876 to Miss Annie T. Hooper, daughter of Colonel E. H. C. Hooper, of Biddeford, Me. They have five children.
180
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
T "HE fortune of George Fordyce Blake, the head of that great enterprise, the George F. Blake Manu- facturing Company, was founded on his invention of a steam pump, many years ago. He was born in Farm- ington, Me., on May 20, 1819, being the son of Thomas Dawes Blake. Mr. Blake is descended from a famous New England family, one of his ancestors being William Blake, who came to this country in 1630 from Little Baddow, Essex, England, to settle in Dorchester. When the War of the Revolution broke out, Increase Blake, grandfather of George F., was liv- ing in Boston, where he was engaged in the manufacture of tin-plate goods. He refused to supply the British troops with canteens, and in retaliation they de- stroyed his shop and other property. Thomas Dawes Blake was born in Boston, studied medicine, and after a time set- tled in Farmington, Me. George F., at the age of fourteen, was apprenticed to the trade of house- building, and in 1839 left Farm- ington and went to Peabody, Mass., where he worked at his trade seven years. Then he entered the employ of l'eter Hubbell, at Cambridge, Mass., as mechan- ical engineer at Mr. Hubbell's brick-yards, where he had general charge of the works. In 1862 he was granted a patent for a water meter. In time, the brick-yards having been removed to Medford, it was found that the clay there could not be worked with the ordinary machinery. Mr. Blake, therefore, planned and con- structed a new machine for pulverizing the clay, and patented this invention in 186r. The clay pits con-
GEORGE F. BLAKE.
stantly filled with water, and Mr. Blake set to work to overcome this difficulty. The result was the Blake steam pump, which is perhaps his greatest mechanical triumph. The pump was put to severe tests in the clay pits to keep them free of water, and the new invention was found to be a nearly perfect thing. In 1864 Mr. Blake, in association with Job A. Turner and Peter Hubbell, began the manufacture and sale of these pumps and water meters in a little shop on Province Street, Boston. Growing business caused sev- eral successive removals, until, in 1873, the firm occu- pied a large build- ing at the corner of Causeway and Friend streets. The foundry for large castings was at East Cambridge. In 1874 a joint stock com- pany was formed, under the title of "The George F. Blake Manufactur- ing Company," with George F. Blake as its president. In 1879 the plant of the Knowles Steam- pump Works at War- ren, Mass., was pur- chased, and in 1890 the Blake Company removed its manu- factory to East Cam- bridge, where it now occupies works covering four acres, and with a main building four hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide. The business was recently purchased by an English syndicate, but Mr. Blake still retains an interest in it. The company has built some of the most notable steam pumps in use, some having a capacity of twenty million gallons of water in twenty- four hours. Mr. Blake possesses, in a high degree, the rare combination of inventive talents and great business ability.
181
BOSTON.
A MONG the manufacturers of New England none stand higher in the estimation of their fellows than John Hopewell, Jr., who was born in Greenfield, Mass., in February, 1844. When he was one year old his parents moved to Shelburne Falls, where he lived until 1861. He attended school until he was fourteen ; he then went with Lamson, Goodnow & Co., and learned the cutlery trade. During a part of this tinie he at- tended night school at the academy. He then studied at a private school until he went to Spring- field to live, where he procured employ- ment with the Wason Manufacturing Com- pany. During the war young Hopewell worked in the United States Armory, and at the close of the Rebellion he was dis- charged, owing to an order from Wash- ington to get rid of all the single men. During this time he thoroughly mastered book-keeping, and procured a position as accountant, but his active tempera- ment made the work distasteful to him. He next engaged in the publishing busi- ness in Albany. As a new venture he sold L. C. Chase & Co.'s robes and blankets for Josiah Cummings, of Springfield. During this time he made arrangements to handle Chase's goods on the road, and then came to Boston as their representative. He thus came in close contact with the Chases, L. C. and H. F., who were at the head of their business in this country. They, in company with Thomas Goodall, had just formed a partnership in the erection of the Sanford Mills. The business grew rapidly from the time Mr. Hopewell connected himself with the concern, and in a
short time he succeeded the Chases, between whom and himself the most pleasant friendship has continued to exist. Mr. Hopewell is an ardent protectionist, and he believes that the permanent good of the country depends upon the protective principle. He has been a director, and one of the most active members, of the Home Market Club since its organization, and on more than one occasion has given public utterance to his views in an able manner In 1891 Mr. Hopewell was elected to the Mas- sachusetts Legisla- ture, but owing to ill health he was un- able to attend its sessions, or take an active part in its de- liberations. Re- garded as one of the foremost business men and financiers of the East, it is not surprising that his support is usually sought in behalf of important commer- cial ventures. Direc- torships innumerable have been tendered him, but his firm's interests have pre- vented his accept- ance thereof, and beyond a seat at the board of one impor- tant bank, and sev- eral other organiza- tions, he has hitherto declined all such offers. Three years ago Mr. Hopewell became interested in Southern enterprises, and became vice-president, and on the death of General Fiske was elected president, of the company that created Harri- man, the new city of Tennessee. The latter office, which has since been assumed by Ex-Postmaster Thomas L. James, of New York, he declined. Mr. Hopewell is a member of the Cambridge, Colonial and Union clubs of Cambridge, and of the Art Club of Boston.
JOHN HOPEWELL, JR.
182
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
T' HE history of the Old Colony Railroad forms an integral part of the history of Massachusetts, not only of to-day, but of the past, and the career of its president, Mr. C. F. Choate, is of interest to all who are interested in the welfare of the State. That he came to his present position well equipped for the duties of the office is evidenced by the giant strides that the company has made, showing an enterprise well and wisely directed which has made itself felt all over the country. Charles Francis Choate, son of Dr. George and Marga- ret (Hodges) Choate, was born in Salem, Essex County, May 16, 1828. He is a lineal descendant of John Choate, the common ancestor of this distinguished family in Massachu- setts. John Choate came from the west of England to the colonies about 1641, and settled at Che- bacco, now Essex. The early education of Mr. Choate was received in the pub- lic schools of Salem, ending in the Salem Latin School, where he prepared for col- lege. He was grad- uated from Harvard in the class of 1849. He then became a tutor in mathematics, and while discharg- ing the duties appertaining to his position also attended the law and scientific schools of the university. Hle was admitted to the Suffolk County bar in September, 1855, and at once opened a law office in Boston. His legal practice was largely devoted to railroad interests, including those of the Old Colony Railroad Company, of which he was counsel. The knowledge and experi- ence thus gained in twenty-two years of professional life eminently qualified him for the position he now holds.
C. F. CHOATE.
Mr. Choate's primary asssociation with the Old Colony Railroad was in the capacity of counsellor to the corpo- ration, having been employed as such since 1865. In 1872 he was elected to membership in the board of directors, and in 1877 was chosen the president of the company by a unanimous vote. Since that time he has been honored with consecutive annual re-elections. Since his administration began, the record of the road has been one of continuous and remarkable prosperity and growth. Simul- taneously with his election to the pres- idency of the Old Colony Railroad Company he was elected to the pres- idency of the Old Colony Steam- boat Company. Mr. Choate has been a director and vice- president of the New England Trust Com- pany for several years, and is vice- president of the Mas- sachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Com- pany ; but with these exceptions he has de- clined to accept any office in addition to those in which he has won so much dis- tinction, and the du- ties and responsibil- ities of which are sufficiently exacting for the abilities of any one adminis- trator. Mr. Choate was married in Utica, N. Y., Nov. 7, 1855, to Elizabeth W., daughter of Edward and Hannah (Thompson) Carlile, of Providence, R. I. Of this union were five children : Edward C., Sarah C. (wife of J. Montgomery Scars), Margaret M. (wife of Nathaniel 1. Bowditch), Helen, and Charles F. Choate, Jr. The last-named is a successful lawyer in Boston. Mr. Choate lives on Beacon Street, and his country residence is in Southboro.
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