USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 29
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GEORGE A. CLOUGH.
231
BOSTON.
T HAT a man has displayed exceptional ability in the management of his own business is by no means a certain proof that he will succeed in the management of public affairs. But when to an unusual degree of business sagacity are added invincible integrity and a thorough understanding of public needs, you have the making of a most useful public servant. The intricate problems of municipal government have had in Boston no better master than Charles Varney Whitten, ex- president of the Board of Aldermen. Conscientious atten- tion to detail has been the key to his success in both pri- vate and public life. He comes of Quaker stock, having been born in Vassalboro, Me., May 10, 1829, the son of Robert Towne and Dorcas H. Whitten. Mr. Whitten has one brother, Henry C., and his sister, Anna S., now deceased, was once a celebrated soprano singer. The early years of his life were spent in his native town, where he attended the pub- lic schools, finishing his studies at Kent's Hill Academy. At the age of eighteen he came to Boston as book-keeper for the firm of Kimball & Fisk, retail clothiers. He remained with this firm nine months, and then associated himself with John Gove & Co., wholesale clothiers. He was with them for a number of years. In 1858 the firm of Whitten, Hopkins & Co. was established, Mr. Whitten becoming the senior partner. In 1862 the firm of Whitten, Bur- dett & Young was founded and began business in the old Cathedral building. In 1872 the great fire cleaned out the establishment, and the firm took temporary
quarters on Chauncy Street. The Beebe block on Winthrop Square having been completed, Whitten, Burdett & Young moved in and took possession, the firm name having since been changed to Burdett, Young & Ingalls, and Mr. Whitten remaining as special partner. He was also special partner in the firm of Simonds, Hatch & Whitten, wholesale dealers in furnishing goods. Mr. Whitten has been a director in the Commonwealth and Mechanics National banks and a trustee in the Home Savings Bank ever since its incor- poration. In 1880 Mr. Whitten, at the earnest solicitation of his friends, became a candidate for alder- man, was elected and re-elected the two following years. When he again ran for office, in 1884, his victory was a most pronounced one. For two years he was chairman of the board, and was regarded as pre-emi- nently the business man in that body. His election in 1884 as a Democrat, by over two hundred majority, in a district that gave Mayor Martin over twelve hundred majority, shows the great hold he had upon the peo- ple of his district. Mr. Whitten is a member of a large number of societies and clubs, in- cluding the Eastern and Hull Yacht clubs. Of the latter he was commodore for several years, and has done much to advance the interest in amateur yachting. He is a prominent fancier and grower of roses, and on his spacious grounds in Dorchester he has raised some of the rarest and most beautiful varieties. He is an active member of the Horticultural Society and of the Mas- sachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association.
CHARLES V. WHITTEN.
232
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
IN the hands of a young, wealthy and energetic man was placed the management of the Republican cam- paign of 1892 in Massachusetts, and the results, consid- ered as a whole, amply justified the State Committee in its choice of Eben Sumner Draper as chairman. He was born in that part of Milford, Mass., which is now Hopedale, June 15, 1858, the youngest son of George and Hannah (Thwing) Draper. His early education was obtained in public and private schools, and at the age of fifteen years he began a course of instruction in me- chanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech - nology. Graduating from this institution in 1880, he went to work in the draught- ing department of the manufacturing concerns at Hope- dale. The technical and scientific train- ing which he had received was of great value to him in later years, and he soon became a prominent figure in his father's extensive machine shops at Hopedale. He learned thor- oughly the practical part of the manufac- ture of machinery and cotton goods. At the age of twenty- one he was admitted as partner in the firm of George Draper & Sons, consisting of his father and his two brothers, General W. F. and G. A. Draper. He has other business interests, being director in over a dozen manufacturing companies, among them being the Hopedale Machine Company, -manufacturers of the finest cotton machinery in the country, -the Sawyer Spindle Company, the Dutcher-Temple Company, the Hopedale Machine Screw Company, the Globe Yarn Mills, the Continental Mills of Lewiston, and the Glas-
EBEN S. DRAPER.
gow Thread Company. In addition to these corpora- tions, he is a director in several railroad companies. Business interests have not engrossed the whole of Mr. Draper's attention, however, for he has been a diligent student of political problems. He was present at the first meeting of the organizers of the Home Market Club, was chosen on its first board of directors, and is still a member of the board. In politics Mr. Draper is a strong Republican and a stanch advocate of protec- tion, but he has never sought political of - fice, although having served on several im- portant committees, and several times been elected a dele- gate to conventions. After a spirited con- test he was chosen to the office of chairman of the Republican State Central Com- mittee in January, 1892. He is con - nected with several social organizations, among them the Boston Athletic, the Union and Algonquin clubs. For three years he was a mem- ber of the First Corps of Cadets, and is now in the Veteran Corps. Mr. Draper took a prominent and influ- ential part in the long contest which resulted in the estab- lishment of the town of Hopedale, and has a strong hold upon the esteem and gratitude of his fellow-townsmen. In 1883 Mr. Draper was married to Miss Nannie Bristow, daughter of Gen- eral Bristow, ex-secretary of the treasury. They have two children, and their pleasant home is in Hopedale. In recognition of his management of the Republican campaign of 1892 the leading members of his party in Massachusetts united in giving him a banquet in Boston in December of that year.
233
BOSTON.
IN Massachusetts politics of recent years it is the young man who has played the most important parts. He has shaped the policy of the party, controlled the management, and filled the offices. Of no young man has the rise been more rapid than of Abraham C. Rat- shesky, the brilliant secretary of the Republican State Central Committee. He was born in Boston, Nov. 6, 1864, the son of Asher and Bertha Ratshesky. He at- tended the public schools, and graduated with high honors from the Rice Train-
ing School, as num- ber one in his class, and won the medal offered in competi- tion for scholars of. any grammar school in the United States for the best essay on the battle of Lexing- ton. He then en- tered the Boston Latin School, and pursued his studies there until going into business with his father and brother. The firm of A. Rat- shesky & Sons was succeeded in 1891, upon the death of his father, by I. & A. C. Ratshesky, who now carry on one of the largest wholesale and retail clothing establishments in the city, in the magnifi- cent building erected by them on the cor- ner of Blackstone, Hanover and North Centre streets. Mr. Ratshesky has charge of large estates, and occupies many positions of trust in the financial world, being treasurer in no less than ten institutions, and president and director in as many more. In the political field he has been singu- larly successful, his career having begun in 1889, when he was elected to the Boston Common Council from Ward 18, and served in that body for three successive terms. In 1892 he was the Republican leader in the 1 1
ABRAHAM C. RATSHESKY.
Council, and made a most creditable record as an able and honest legislator, being always in the front rank of the best speakers on all important questions. He has served on every one of the important committees of the City Government. He was elected to the Republi- can State Committee for 1891 and 1892, and was unan- imously chosen secretary of the committee for 1892, the choice being regarded as a most fortunate one. He was re-elected to the committee for 1893. In 1891 he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention of Re- publican League Clubs, held in Cin- cinnati, and in 1892 was a delegate to the National Republican Convention in Min- neapolis, being sec- retary of the Massa- chusetts delegation, and one of President Harrison's warmest supporters. In 1892 he was unanimously nominated for sena- tor by the Republi- can party in the Seventh Suffolk Dis- trict, and although the district is one of the Democratic strongholds of the State, and was repre- sented by a Demo- crat whose plurality was over twelve hun- dred, Mr. Ratshesky overcame this im- mense vote, and was elected by about five hundred plurality-a striking proof of his popularity. Mr. Ratshesky was one of the organizers of the Republican Club of Massachusetts, is a member of the Home Market Club, the Boston Mar- ketmen's Republican Club, the Mercantile Library As- sociation, Past Noble Grand of Montezuma Lodge, I. O. O. F., Past Chief Patriarch of Buckingham En- campment, I. O. O. F., and a member of many leading social clubs of the city.
234
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
REV. JOSHUA P. BODFISH was born in Fal- mouth, Mass., March 29, 1839. His ancestors were among the first settlers on Cape Cod, and were largely engaged in shipbuilding, an industry that was extensively carried on in that section of Massachusetts in the early days. One of his ancestors, Robert Bodfish, was one of five who purchased from the Indians all the land now embraced within the limits of the town of Sandwich. Another, William Bodfish, represented Sand- wich in the General Court for nine years, and took an active part in the exciting events immediately preceding the Revo- lution. Father Bod- fish was raised in the Orthodox church, but when the matter of studying for the ministry was seri- ously entered upon, he became dissatis- fied with what he terms "the incon- sistencies of Calvin- ism," and, therefore abandoning the creed of his fathers, stud- ied and took orders in the Episcopal church, officiating for some time as as- sistant minister at All Saints' Church, Philadelphia. While here, from a study of the works of the late Cardinal Newman and others, he be- came satisfied that the orders of the Anglican church were not valid, and the result of this study was that he turned to the Catholic church. He was baptized a Catholic by Bishop Domenec, of Pittsburg, Penn., in 1863, pursued his initial theological studies with the Lazarist Fathers at the Seminary of Our Lady of the Angels, Niagara, and when that institution was destroyed by fire he went to Seton Hall, New Jersey, where he finished his preliminary course. He then joined the
late Father Hecker's Paulist community in New York, and was ordained priest Nov. 30, 1866. Father Bod- fish remained with the Paulists for ten years, engaged in missionary work, lecturing and preaching throughout the country. While with this energetic band of mission- aries he organized and built up the Young Men's Cath- olic Society, connected with the church of the com- munity in New York, which became a large and devoted band of earnest young men. Coming to Boston in 1876, he was sta- tioned at the cathe- dral, where he occu- pied for some years the positions of chancellor of the archdiocese and sec- retary to Archbishop Williams. Later he became rector of the cathedral, and in ISSS he was ap- pointed to the pas- toral charge of St. John's Church, Can- ton, Mass., over which parish he still presides, having ren- ovated and beautified the church and im- proved the church property by the erection of a fine residence. In No- vember, 1891, he observed the twenty- fifth anniversary of. his ordination to the priesthood. Father Bodfish is of digni- fied and command- ing presence, a brilliant lecturer and controversalist, a man of decided intellectual and social tastes, and an enthusiastic son of New England. He was one of the founders of the Antiquarian Society, afterwards incorporated as the Bostonian Society, and a director in it for many years. He is also a director in the Bunker Hill Monument Association, a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and of the Thursday Evening and St. Botolph clubs.
JOSHUA P. BODFISH.
235
BOSTON.
C HARLES ENDICOTT, tax commissioner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and also com- missioner of corporations, has been in public life for nearly fifty years, with only short interruptions. He was born in Canton, Norfolk County, Mass., Oct. 28, 1822, being the son of Elijah and Cynthia (Childs) Endicott. His early educational advantages were only those which could be obtained in the public schools of Canton, and he was from the first trained to a life of practical en- deavor, being re- quired to work on his father's farm and at boot making in his early days. In 1846, when only twenty-four years of age, he was called upon to begin what has proved to be a unique career in the service of his fellow- citizens, being ap- pointed deputy sher- iff of Norfolk County, an office, which in those days carried with it much local distinction. In the early fifties he took up the study of the law, entering the office of the late Ellis Ames, of Can- ton, and in 1857 he was admitted to the bar to practise as an attorney and coun- sellor-at-law. The citizens of Canton early recognized the worth of Mr. Endicott, and he was from time to time called upon to fill nearly all the offices of local trust. He was a county commissioner for a period of six years, and was also commissioner of insolvency, being first appointed by the governor and subsequently elected by the people ; was a representative in the General Court in 1851, 1857 and 1858; was sent to the State Senate in 1866 and 1867; was a member of the executive council in 1868 and 1869; was State auditor in the
CHARLES ENDICOTT.
years 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874 and 1875, and was elected treasurer of the Commonwealth in 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879 and 1880, a rare political compliment. He held the office of State treasurer as long as any man is permitted to hold it under the Constitution. In 1881 he was made deputy tax commissioner, and later com- missioner, and also commissioner of corporations, offices of much responsibility and labor. In financial and corporate circles Mr. Endicott is looked upon as a high authority, and the annual reports of his departments form valuable additions to the statistics of the State. He is a di- rector in the Nor- folk Mutual Fire Insurance Company, a director in the Neponset National Bank, and was for forty years a trustee of the Canton Insti- tution for Savings, of which institution he is now president. Mr. Endicott has been twice married, his first wife being Miriam Webb, whom he married in Can- ton, Sept. 30, 1845. Of this marriage there was one child : Charles W. Endicott. His second wife was Augusta G. Dins- more, and the wed- ding was in Charles- town, N. H., Oct. 2. 1848. Two children were born of this marriage : Edward D. and Cynthia A. (Endicott) Field, wife of R. M. Field. Having been for so many years in the offices of State auditor, treasurer and tax commissioner, Mr. Endi- cott is probably as well versed as any other man in Mas- sachusetts on all matters relating to the finances of the State. Mr. Endicott resides in Canton, where his early successes were made and his career as a public servant commenced.
236
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
"THE "Puritan," "Mayflower " and "Volunteer " are household words. The man who wrested yachting laurels from all comers and placed them on Columbia's brow belongs to Massachusetts. Charles Jackson Paine, yachtsman, was born in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 26, 1833. He is a great-grandson of Robert Treat Paine, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Charles Jackson Paine was graduated from Harvard in the class of 1853, among his classmates being Charles W. Eliot, Robert S. Rantoul and Justin Winsor. Subse- quently he studied law with Rufus Choate and was ad- mitted to the bar, but has not practised since the war. He married the daughter of John Bryant, Jr., and by inheritance and successful ven- tures in railroad en- terprises became in early life the posses- sor of a large fortune. On Oct. 8, 1861, he entered the Union Army as captain in the Twenty-second Massachusetts In - fantry, and served with it until Jan. 14, 1862, when he was promoted to major of the 'Thirtieth Massa- chusetts Regiment. On Oct. 2, 1862, he was commissioned as colonel of the Second Louisiana Regiment, and served with it until March 4, 1864, when he resigned. He commanded a brigade during the siege of Port Hudson in the summer of 1863. In March, 1864, he joined General Butler in Virginia, and in the following month took part in the battle of Drury's Bluff. On July 4, 1864, he was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and led a division of colored troops in the attack of New Market, Va., Sept. 29, 1864. He partici- pated in the capture of Fort Fisher in January, 1865.
Subsequently he served under General Sherman in North Carolina, and after the surrender of Lee com- manded the district of Newbern. He was brevetted major-general of volunteers for his services at Fort Fisher, and on Jan. 15, 1866, was mustered out of the service. General Paine from earliest boyhood took an ardent interest in yachting, and became a master of yacht designing and sailing. In 1877 he purchased the " Halcyon," and so improved her that she became one of the fastest sailing craft of her kind, ranking with the "Grayling" and "Montauk." In 1885 General Paine formed the syndicate that built the " Puri- tan," and also served at the head of the committee which had charge of her during the races of the year. Later he be- came sole owner of the " Puritan," but soon after sold her to Commodore Forbes. In 1886 he built the " May- flower," which de- feated the "Galatea," and, in 1887, the " Volunteer," which successfully de- fended the Ameri- ca's cup against the "Thistle." The "Puritan," "May- flower " and " Volun- teer" were all de- signed by Edward Burgess, but that gentleman during his lifetime frequently testified to the generous and helpful part which General l'aine took in their construction. In February, 1888, the New York Yacht Club, of which General Paine is a member, in recognition of his triple successful defence of the America's cup, presented him a silver cup commemorating his victories. General Paine lives in Boston, and has a summer residence at Weston, Mass.
CHARLES J. PAINE.
237
BOSTON.
IN the development and use of the great inventions which have especially marked the world's progress during the nineteenth century, - the steamboat, the railroad, the telegraph and the telephone, - America has taken the lead. Unknown less than twenty years ago, the telephone has already brought about such radical changes in commercial methods and social life that it easily takes equal rank with its three predeces- sors. To-day no place in the United States of more than five thousand inhabitants is without its telephone ex- change, and every year a quarter of a million exchange subscribers carry on more than five hun- dred million conver- sations. These ex- changes are so knit together by connect- ing lines that towns and cities very widely separated talk to- gether with ease. Indeed, all the great cities of the United States north of Wash- ington and east of Chicago intercom- municate readily by telephone, the open- ing of the line from New York to Chi- cago, on the eigh- teenth day of Octo- ber, 1892, marking an event in the de- velopment of long- distance lines. This work is wholly carried on by companies licensed by the American Bell Telephone Company, and using its instru- ments. In this achievement Massachusetts may well take a peculiar pride. The telephone was invented by one of her citizens, and its usefulness has been devel- oped and its business built up by Massachusetts men. Prominent in the councils of the company from the begin- ning has been its present president, John E. Hudson. Mr. Hudson was born in Lynn, Essex County, Aug. 3, 1839,
JOHN E. HUDSON.
the son of John and Elizabeth C. (Hilliard) Hudson. He was educated at the common schools of that city, and after graduating from the High School he prepared himself for college. He was admitted to Harvard in 1858, and was graduated in the class of 1862, valedictorian summa cum laude. From 1862 to 1865 he remained in the university as tutor in Greek, Latin and ancient history, and, while attending to these duties, took the regular course of the Law School. He finished his studies in the office of Messrs. Chandler, Shattuck & Thayer, at old No. 4 Court Street, Boston, and in the fall of 1866 was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. In February, 1870, upon the re- tirement of Mr. Shat- tuck, he became a member of the firm (Chandler, Thayer & Hudson until 1874, and afterwards Chandler, Ware & Hudson), and so re- mained until 1878, when the firm was dissolved, and he re- turned to his own practice. In 1879, with George Fred Williams, he edited Vol. 10 of the United States Digest, intro- ducing a substantially complete change in the classification adopted in that work. In 1880, on the for- mation of the American Bell Telephone Company, Mr. Hudson became general counsel of the company and gradually withdrew from other practice. In 1885, upon certain changes in the executive offices, he took up the duties of the general manager, to which were added in 1887 those of the vice-presidency. In 1889 he was made president. Mr. Hudson is also president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company- the Long Distance Company.
238
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
A SUCCESSFUL merchant and business man, Mr. George L. Stevens has acquired an enviable and honorable position in Boston circles, whether in the lines of manufacturing and trade or in a social way. He is the president of the Warren Soap Manufacturing Company, the largest manufacturers of textile soaps, wool scourers and chemicals in America, a position which he fills with great energy and ability. Possessed of great personal magnetism, he forcibly illustrates in his personality the power of self-control and of convincing argument in what- ever he seeks to ac- complish, and has therefore been suc- cessful in a high degree. Magnani- mous, just and gener- ous to a fault, he wins friendship in every sphere of ac- tion, and commands a healthful influence wherever he is known. Though he holds membership in several important clubs, social and oth- erwise, he rarely avails himself of their privileges, preferring as a rule the quiet of the home circle after the active and ardu- ous duties of the day are closed. Mr. Ste- vens was born in the State of Maine forty years ago. On ac- count of a complication of adverse circumstances, after receiving his education, he began his business life with very little aid from any one. Concerning his early life, Mr. Stevens says : " I knew it would be a hard struggle, but I determined like Richelieu that there should be no such word as fail." His ancestry was of the best old Puri- tan stock that, according to the old family genealogy, came to this country from England between the years $620 and 1700. One of these, his maternal ancestor,
GEORGE L. STEVENS.
was John Coolidge, who came from Cambridgeshire and settled in Watertown in 1630. The subject of this short biographical sketch is the seventh generation in descent from Colonel John Phipps, a nephew of the famous Sir William Phipps, who was governor of New England in 1690, and whose life was written by his personal friend, Cotton Mather, in his celebrated "Magnalia." From his revered mother Mr. Stevens early imbibed the pride of birth, and a spirit of patriotism and love of country, having heard from her lips thrilling ac- counts of the perils which his ancestors -one of whom was in the French and Indian wars, and an- other, his great- grandfather, an officer in the Revolu- tionary War for seven years - had under- gone in their heroic efforts to lay the foundations of our government. Pos- sessed of the strictest commercial integrity, Mr. Stevens's motto through life has been, " Pay every man what thou owest," and the high standing of the company, of which he is the head and chief factor, is a monument to his judgment, un- tiring energy and industry in its build- ing up. The works of the Warren Soap Manufacturing Company are in Watertown, Mass., the headquarters are in Boston, and there is a branch office in Philadelphia. The Boston office of the company is on Federal Street. Mr. Stevens is a member of Colum- bian Lodge Free and Accepted Masons, St. Paul's Royal Arch Chapter, Boston Commandery, Knights Templar, Boston Council of Royal and Select Masters, and of Massachusetts Consistory. He resides on Alaska Street, Boston Highlands. -
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