USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 41
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itor of the Worcester Mechanics' Savings Bank in 1880, clerk of the corporation in 1882, and a trustee of the institution in 1888. He succeeded his father in 1888, on the decease of the latter, as director, and in April of that year was chosen president of the Mechanics' National Bank. He is also a director of the Worcester Gas Company, of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad Company, a director and the treasurer of the proprie- tors of the Bay State House, and holds the same posi- tions in the Worces- ter Theatre Associa- tion. In the last- named corporation he took an active part in the reorgani- zation of two years ago, which resulted in giving the city its present beautiful theatre. Mr. Dewey is chairman of the Board of Assessors, of the Second Parish (Unitarian) Church, and superintendent of the Sunday school. He is also much in- terested in charitable work, being a direc- tor of the Associated Charities of Worces- ter. Though often urged to accept polit- ical office, he has felt obliged, on account of the business in- terests with which he is identified, to de- cline. He is a mem- ber of the American Antiquarian Society, of the Worcester Fire Society, the Worcester Club and the Quinsigamond Boat Club. Among other positions of a fiduciary character he includes the trusteeship of numerous estates. Mr. Dewey married, Dec. 12, 1878, Lizzie D. Bliss, daughter of the late Harrison Bliss, of Worcester. They have one son and one daughter. Few men of his years carry on their shoulders such a load of important and diver- sified interests as Mr. Dewey.
FRANCIS H. DEWEY.
326
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
A LFRED S. PINKERTON, president of the Mas- sachusetts State Senate, was born in Lancaster, Penn., March 19, 1856. After the death of his father, he accompanied his mother to Worcester, where he was employed as book-keeper in a manufacturing establish- ment. Being ambitious to enter the legal profession, he utilized his spare hours in study, and by dint of close application, aided by the advice and assistance of the late Hon. Peter C. Bacon, he was enabled to fit himself for the bar, to which he was admitted in 1881. He immedi- ately began the prac- tice of law, and soon rose to a position of recognized promi- nence. In 1887 he was elected to the House of Represen- tatives, and was re- elected in 1888 and 1 889 by increased majorities. He served on the com- mittees on the Judici- ary and on Constitu- tional Amendments, and was house chair- man of the Commit- tee on Water Supply. In 1890 he was elected to the Senate, where he was chair- man of the Commit- tee on Constitutional Amendments and served on the com- mittees on the Judi- ciary and on Probate and Insolvency. Re- elected in 1891, he was appointed chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, the highest honor in the gift of the president, and upon the creation of the Joint Special Committee, to consider the organization of the various State boards and commissions, was made its chairman. In this year he was also a member of the Committee on Probate and Insolvency. The further consideration of the subject of State commissions being referred to a Joint Special Committee, to sit during the
ALFRED S. PINKERTON.
recess, Mr. Pinkerton served as its chairman, presenting to the next Legislature a report of its findings. In 1892 he was elected president of the Senate by the unani- mous vote of his associates, Republicans and Democrats alike. As the presiding officer of the Senate, he has commanded respect and admiration for fairness, careful rulings and knowledge of parliamentary law and proced- ure. Mr. Pinkerton was elected to the Senate for 1893, and was again chosen as the president of that body. He has been secretary and chairman of the Worcester County Republican Commit- tee. In appearance, Mr. Pinkerton is pleasing, and while he has a somewhat stern countenance, is genial and warm- hearted. He is a . member of Worces- ter Lodge, No. 56, 1.O. O. F., and of Wachusett Encamp- ment. In 1882 he entered the Grand Lodge and Grand Encampment, where he at once took rank, and was a member of the committee which in 1887 re- ported in favor of the establishment of a " home for aged and infirm members of the fraternity." He has been grand mas- ter of the Grand Lodge of Massachu- setts- the youngest man who ever occupied that ex- alted chair, and has for a number of years been chairman of the Finance Committee of that body. Since 1889 he has represented this jurisdiction in the Sovereign Lodge. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, belong- ing to Athelstan Lodge, of which he is past master; to the council and chapter, and to Worcester County Com- mandery of Knights Templar. Mr. Pinkerton is a pub- lic speaker of established reputation.
NEWBURYPORT
N JEWBURYPORT dates its existence as a city from its grant of charter, May 24, 1851 ; as a town, from its incorporation, Jan. 28, 1764 ; but it had been settled for nearly one hundred and twenty years previously, as a part of Newbury, which was incorporated as a plantation May 6, 1635. The original settlement of Newbury was along the banks of the river Parker, and its people were mainly agricultural. Within a few years several fami- lies migrated four miles further to the north, to the shore of the larger stream, the Merrimac, and formed a fishing settlement.
From this grew a mercantile and commercial community, which for a period formed the third seaport town in wealth and importance in the colonies. For over two hundred years Newburyport depended for its prosperity upon the sea. Along the river banks a ceaseless activity pervaded its score of ship-yards. Its vessels sailed to every quarter of the globe and brought home the products of nature or the results of the industry of every people. It was a market for the whole Merrimac valley, the farmers of New Hampshire and Vermont as well bringing the fruits of their farms to exchange for the necessities or luxuries which were daily piled upon its wharves or stored in its warehouses. When wars with the mother country came, from peaceful sailors its mariners and shipmasters became naval heroes, and privateering, according to the established methods of warfare of the times, made many rich. But ill-fortune did not overlook the rich and prosperous place. In 1811 a fire, greater in extent, more widespread in its results, than either those of Boston or Chicago, in later years, in proportion to wealth and population, dealt a withering blow to its people. The embargo and non-intercourse acts left ships rotting at its wharves, the general hard times of the first quarter of the century were felt with cruel force, and Newburyport's commercial greatness was destroyed. The shipbuilding art continued, with varied degrees of pros- perity, reaching its highest mark in the fifties, but since then it has steadily declined, until now no ship rests on the stocks. Its commerce has been wholly obliterated, and its once great fishing industry is a tale which is told.
Towards the middle of the century Newburyport began to experience its new birth, that of a manufacturing community. Four large cotton mills were built. Later, at about the period of the war, the shoe industry was inaugurated. Its growth was slow at first, but in the past dozen years has been rapid, until now Newburyport ranks among the important shoe centres of the State. Other industries have been established, among which are the manufacture of silver ware, of street railroad cars, horn combs, and a half dozen different products, and to-day Newburyport's prospects as a manufacturing community are encouraging. Its population numbers some 15,000, its taxable wealth is about $10,000,000. A bare list of the names of those men claimed by Newburyport who have become eminent in their country's history would more than fill the space alloted to this article. Caleb Cushing, the statesman ; Theophilus Parsons, the jurist ; William Lloyd Garrison, the philanthropist ; William Wheelwright, the cosmopolitan ; Tracy, Marquand, Brown, Bartlett, Lunt, the Cushings, great merchants, all ; Titcomb, Lunt, Nichols, Moses Brown, Greely, warriors by land or sea, the last named of Arctic fame-these are but a few of the many. In "times which try men's souls," the patriotism of Newburyport has never been questioned. With a population of but about 2,500, there were 717 enlistments from the town during the seven years of the Revolu- tionary War. In the War of the Rebellion there were 1,343 enlistments in the army and 242 in the navy, a total of 1,585, and the war debt of the city reached $123,000. While Newburyport is proud of its history, it is not unmindful of the demands of the present, nor lacking in faith for the future. It is not the fate or fortune of many communities to experience so radical and far-reaching a change as that from a town wholly commercial to a city entirely industrial. The transformation could not be accomplished without a wrench, the adjustment could not be reached and the march of progress resumed at the waving of a wand. If the gain has not been so rapid as that of sister cities, there have been good reasons, but with her face to the future she awaits its unfolding with confidence.
328
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
O RRIN J. GURNEY, mayor of Newburyport, was born in that city in 1849. He received his edu- cation in the common schools, and in 1873 engaged in business for himself as a manufacturer of paper and wooden boxes. He has carried on this industry to the present time. In 1880, desiring more commodious quarters for his business, he purchased a church building on Congress Street, it having fallen into disuse by a con- solidation of two societies. This he fitted up to meet his wants, but with- out changing the exterior, even the steeple being left standing, so that the stranger, as he passes along and pauses to look at an old church building, is startled and amused on read- ing a sign affixed to the wall to learn that the building is not devoted to the usual purposes the style of architecture is wont to proclaim, but that instead it is the home of a busy industry. Mr. Gurney was elected to the Com- mon Council of 1883. He entered that body with a mission, which was to reform the unbusiness-like and careless way of assessing taxes, which, in the course of years, had come to be a great evil. At the May mecting, on his motion, an order was passed instructing the assessors to follow strictly the public statutes relating to the exemption of property from taxation. This was followed, against strong oppo- sition, by a vote, carried in September, ordering printed a list of all real and personal property in the city, the amounts taxed thereon, the owners' names, with a list of exemptions accompanied by reasons therefor. The appearance of this "Doomsday Book " created a great
ORRIN J. GURNEY.
sensation, but its objects were accomplished. When every man could see just what every other man's prop- erty was valued at, with the opportunities for compari- son, a sentiment was created which led the boards of assessors thereafter to use the utmost care in their work, and the benefits therefrom prevail to the present time. That the people appreciated Mr. Gurney's efforts was patent in the fact that they elected him to the Board of Aldermen at the election following. In 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890 and 1891 he again was a mem- ber of the Common Council, and was honored with the presidency of that board in 1888, 1890, 1891. At the mu- nicipal election in 1891, he was chosen mayor for the ensu- ing year. Mayor Gurney's inaugural address showed at once that his admin- istration would be no mere formality. It was incisive and out- spoken, and through- out the year he gave his best endeavors to the city's interests. Mayor Gurney is a prominent Freema- son, a member of the Knights of Honor, the United Order of the Golden Cross, and the New- buryport Veteran Ar- tillery Association. Since identifying himself with the affairs of the city he has been untiring in his efforts to accomplish what he deemed best for the city's good, and though some have differed with him as to methods, he has maintained the respect of all. There is no disputing the fact that Mayor Gurney is thoroughly alive to the best interests of the city. The same fearless energy that characterized his course in the Common Council and in the Board of Aldermen has marked his administration as mayor.
329
NEWBURYPORT.
G ENERAL ADOLPHUS W. GREELY, the Arctic explorer, was born in Newburyport, March 27, 1844. He was fitted for college in the public schools, graduating in 1860 from the Newburyport High School. In July, 1861, he enlisted as private in the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment, and served in the battles of Ball's Bluff, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Freder- icksburg, and many other engagements. He was wounded three times. In February, 1863, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regi- ment (Shaw's colored regiment), and in March of the same year was mustered a second lieutenant in the Fourth Regi- ment, United States Volunteers, serving through the siege of Port Hudson. Pro- moted to be first lieutenant in April, 1864, and to be cap- tain in March, 1865, he was breveted major, "for faithful and meritorious ser- vices during the war." He served with the Thirty-sixth Regular Infantry from March, 1867, until August, 1868, when he was ordered to duty with the chief signal officer of the army, under whose orders he served, with the exception of a few months, until, upon the illness of General Hazen, in 1886, he was appointed acting chief, and upon the latter's death was made chief signal officer, with the rank of brigadier-general. That is a bare outline of his military career, but it gives scarcely a hint of his achievements in the realm of science. These are too vast and multifarious even to be catalogued in a brief biographical sketch. His suc- cessful command of the international polar expedition
to Lady Franklin Bay, undertaken in 1881 and com- pleted in 1883, during which he solved geographical problems involving the progress of mankind in science and civilization, and advanced the name of America to the foremost rank of Arctic research ; his services for meteorology, while at the head of the Weather Bureau, - these are familiar to all. General Greely personally invented a new telegraphic weather code which saved the government about forty thousand dollars a year, and so reorganized the business methods of the Bureau as to reduce the annual expenditures more than one hundred and seventy-four thousand dollars. Since the civil duties of the Signal Corps were transferred to the Department of Agriculture, General Greely has resumed his strictly military duties as chief signal officer of the army. He is an honorary member of the Royal Swedish and Scottish Geographical socie- ties, and of the British Science Asso- ciation, and has been 1 the recipient of many honors at the hands of scientific bodies the world over. He is the au- thor of many me- moirs, mostly of a scientific character. The most important of these are "The Climate of Oregon and Washington," "The Rainfall of the Pacific Coast and Western States," " The Climate of Nebraska," "Climatology of the Arid Regions, with reference to Irrigation " and " The Cli- mate of Texas." He is also the author of "Three Years of Arctic Service," " American Weather " and the " Narrative and Observations of the International Polar Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay."
ADOLPHUS W. GREELY.
330
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
E LISHA P. DODGE was born in Ipswich, Oct. 5, 1847, received his education in the public schools, and at the age of sixteen years began his business career as an assistant in the survey for the Schenectady & Catskill Railroad, in New York State. He then became a clerk in the shoe store of his brother, M. W. Dodge, at Troy, a retail dealer and manufacturer, where he obtained his first insight in that industry to which he was afterwards to devote the best endeavors of his life, and in which he was destined to occupy so prominent a posi- tion. Mr. Dodge, in 1 865, returned to Massachusetts, and became a partner with his brother, Na- than D. Dodge, in the manufacture of shoes at Lynn. Af- ter some months he sold his interest to the latter, who re- moved to Newbury- port, and to the same city came Elisha P., May 24, 1866, enter- ing the employ of Dodge & Balch as foreman. A year and a half later he was ready to estal)- lish a business of his own, and Dec. 1, 1867, at the age of twenty, he com- menced the manu- facture of ladies' shoes in a building on Pleasant Street, employing about thirty hands, and doing a business the first year of some fifty thousand dollars. From that time on Mr. Dodge has seen his business steadily in- crease. In 1884 the firm, of which he was the head, erected a four-story brick building on Pleasant Street. Additions, extensions and factories built or purchased became necessary from time to time, and in 1889 the firm was changed to a corporation - the E. P. Dodge Manufacturing Company being formed. A year later
ELISHA P. DODGE.
the Newburyport Shoe Company was established. Mr. Dodge is president of, and the principal owner in, these two corporations, and in the group of factories on Pleas- ant Street, Tracy and Prince places, directs the largest industry devoted to the manufacture of women's boots and shoes in the country. The floor space of these buildings covers some one hundred and seventeen thou- sand square feet of surface, the yearly product of manu- facture approximates one million five hundred thousand
dollars in value, and from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred individuals are given employment. Mr. Dodge's public life dates from 1872, when he served as a member of the Com- mon Council. For about ten years thereafter he was a member of the school board, and in 1890 and 1891 he was mayor of New- buryport. As chief executive of the city he will, perhaps, best be remembered from the fact, that largely through his efforts was inaugurated the relaying of the streets of the city in a per- manent and scien- tific manner, on a system which is now carried on without interruption. Mr. Dodge has been a director in the Mechanics' Bank since 1877, for many years a trustee of the Institution for Savings, and is ac- tively connected with other societies and organizations. Four brothers have also been prominent as shoe manu- facturers, and a new generation, in two sons of an elder brother, give promise of further honoring the family name in connection with this industry. As business man and as citizen, Mr. Dodge enjoys the highest respect of the community in which he lives.
331
NEWBURYPORT.
A NDREW F. ROSS, in common with not a few of the active business men of Newburyport, is a native of Maine. He was born in Shapleigh, York County, in 1842, where his ancestors had been settled for generations, and prominent in the business and social history of the county. Mr. Ross in his boyhood received the usual education accorded to the mass of youth in the country districts, and, at the age of four- teen years, engaged in work with his father, O. R. Ross, who was an extensive dealer in lumber. After a time he was led to seek his for- tune in city life, and removed to Boston, where for about a year he served as a clerk. Becoming convinced that suc- cess in life did not depend alone on location, and that country towns offered advantages which cities did not, he re- turned to Shapleigh, at the age of eigh- teen, to accept an interest in his fa- ther's business. He continued as a lumber merchant for about five years, when, looking for a promising invest- ment for what capi- tal he had accumu- lated, he came to Newburyport. Here he met the late John A. Hill, and, in 1867, with him formed a partnership as importers, jobbers and manufacturers of teas, coffees, spices and cream of tartar. By the death of Mr. Hill a year and a half later, Mr. Ross was left to carry on the business alone, which he has done since with unqualified success, increasing and building it up from a modest beginning, until the reputation of the "Hope Mills" has come to be a not unimportant factor in extending the name and fame of the old city of Newburyport.
Mr. Ross first engaged in business in a wooden building on Hale's Court. Outgrowing this, he removed to the Payne Block on Water Street, where he continued for a time, and later he purchased the brick building just below, erected some years previously for general manu- facturing purposes. Since occupying this building Mr. Ross has increased its capacity by adding a wing, and has also erected supplementary wooden buildings on the premises, so that the plant is not only ample for his own present and pos- sible future needs, but also affords quar- ters for a manufac- tory of fine shoes for ladies. Here are unloaded spices in their crude state, coffee as it comes from the plantations, cream of tartar in its crystal form. The spices are ground, purified, and packed in boxes and cases ready for the grocer to handle. The coffee is roasted and ground, the cream of tartar pulverized and put in the form famil- iar to the housewife. In connection with this branch of the trade Mr. Ross conducts a gen- eral wholesale busi- ness, dealing in teas, tobaccos, and vari- ous household sup- plies. His attention has always been given almost wholly to his business interests. For this reason he has had neither the time nor inclination to seek political honors, but for many years has been a director in the Ocean National Bank, and a trustee of the Institution for Savings. Mr. Ross has made one of the most conspicuous business successes in Massachusetts- a success that is due solely to his own industry and ability and to his faculty of recognizing opportunities as they presented themselves.
ANDREW F. ROSS.
332
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
A LBERT C. TITCOMB was born in Newburyport in 1831, of a family celebrated in the annals of the town, the son of Francis and Sallie D. Titcomb. Receiving a common-school education, he commenced business life as a clerk in a dry goods store, serving later in the same capacity in Boston. The California gold fever found him thus, earning scanty wages, but with $50 he secured a passage on the brig "Charlotte," from Newburyport, working out the balance of his fare as a sailor before the mast. On July 23, 1849, he landed at San Francisco and spent two years in mining, but without meeting with sudden fortune. Removing to Relejo, Central America, he built up a business as a ship- per, but as this town was soon left off the main line of travel and was speedily de- populated, he found his investments of little value. In 1852 he returned to his native city, learned the machinist trade, and worked at that for three years. In 1855 he started as a salesman for a jewelry house, and in a short time was established for himself at Mobile, Ala. The breaking out of the Civil War again ruined him. He left Mobile and abandoned a property of $20,000 to confiscation, besides owing large sums to his New York creditors. At St. Thomas and Curacoa, in the same business, he retrieved his fortune and met all of his former obligations in full, paying gold when gold was at a heavy premium. In 1868 he again journeyed to San Francisco. For seven years he was of the firm of Titcomb & Williams, wholesale jewelers, and for twelve ycars conducted the business alone, retiring in 1887
with an ample fortune, and returning to his native place to spend the balance of his life. Since 1849 Mr. Titcomb has travelled to and from California upwards of forty times, once going by way of Cape Horn, six times through Central America or by way of Panama, and thirty-five times by railroad. At the municipal election of 1887 he was honored by being chosen an alderman. Three months after taking his seat he was elected mayor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William H. Huse, and at the election the next fall the peo- ple endorsed his ad- ministration by an overwhelming vote. At the close of his term he declined fur- ther political and public honors to give his whole attention to the duties of the treasurership of the Lamson Consoli- dated Store Service Company, to which he had been called. Mr. Titcomb's suc- cessful business ex- perience and rare judgment have been of great value to this company, which, since his connection with it, has reduced its indebtedness nearly half a million dollars and has placed its affairs on a solid basis. Recently Mr. Titcomb has pur- chased one of the historic old mansions of Newbury- port, and is putting it into a condition for a comfortable and elegant home, in which to spend his remaining years, surrounded by his family and honored by his hosts of friends, who admire no less than they respect him. Few men in Newburyport have suffered so many vicissitudes of fortune as has Mr. Titcomb, or have so often risen superior to difficulties that have come be- tween them and success.
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