USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 42
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ALBERT C. TITCOMB.
333
NEWBURYPORT.
E DWARD P. SHAW was born in Newburyport, Sept. 1, 1841. At an early age he developed a keen business instinct, and when but fifteen years old commenced his career as a hack driver. In a few years he was proprietor of an express route between Newburyport and Boston, in 1870 was a partner in the old mercantile house of Sumner, Swasey & Cur- rier, succeeding them in 1878. In 1879 Mr. Shaw turned his attention to the possibilities of summer pas- senger traffic on the Merrimac River, and established the Peo- ple's Line of steam- ers. When the government decided on building jetties at the mouth of the Merrimac, Mr. Shaw took a contract to deliver eighty thou- sand tons of stone, opened a new quarry on the Merrimac, and successfully ac- complished the building of the first instalment of the un- dertaking. At that time a short railroad line connected Salis- bury Beach with the Merrimac River. This railroad Mr. Shaw bought, and thus found that branch of business to which he is pecul- iarly adapted. The Newburyport & Amesbury Street Railway, in which the city held a large majority of the stock, coming into the market by the expiration of leases, Mr. Shaw bought it. He at once increased its efficiency and value, and after operating it for a time sold it to a syndicate. He then turned his attention to his summer traffic property, confident that it had not yet been developed to its full worth. The Black Rocks & Salisbury Beach Railroad had proved one of the best paying lines in the Commonwealth in proportion to capi-
EDWARD P. SHAW.
tal invested. This line he took as a nucleus for a system. It was extended up the beach nearly to Hamp- ton River. Then he built a line back into Salisbury. From that point Amesbury was soon tapped, Seabrook at the New Hampshire line, and later, Newburyport. Meanwhile he had constructed a line to Plum Island on the other bank. Recently the system has been further extended by connecting Amesbury and Merrimac with Haverhill, making a line thirty-three miles long. Nor has Mr. Shaw con- fined his efforts to street railroad lines near the mouth of 7 the Merrimac alone. He is president of : the Haverhill & Amesbury, Winches- ter (at New Haven), Hull, and New Lon- don street railways ; a director in the Gloucester, Norwich, Plymouth & King- ston ; and a large owner in the Worces- ter, Leicester & Spen- cer, Worcester & Millbury, Natick, Danbury & Bethel, Augusta, Hallowell and Gardner, New Haven & West Haven railways. He organized the New- buryport Car Com- pany, manufacturers of street cars, one of the important indus- tries of the city, and is its president, and he assured the success of other projects by prompt action and readiness with financial assistance. Mr. Shaw has taken a prominent part in public life. He was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in the years 1881, 1882, 1888, 1889, of the Senate in 1892, and has been re-elected for 1893. He is president of the Newburyport Board of Trade, and a director of the First National Bank, and a large owner in real estate throughout the city.
SPRINGFIELD
N population Springfield ranks eighth among the cities I
of Massachusetts. It is not going beyond the bounds of truth, however, to state that the city ranks second only to Boston in importance. Situated as it is in the western part of the State, it has become the metropolis of the Connecticut Valley. It is one of the most progressive cities in New England and is one of the prettiest and best governed. With a population of 44,179, Springfield has an assessed valu- ation of $48,329.634, and a net funded debt of only $196,- 500. The percent- age of the indebt- edness to the valuation is only .40, and the tax rate is $12.50. Statistics recently gathered show that Springfield ranks first in muni- cipal and financial prosperity. The United States Ar- mory, located in this city, is the repre- sentative institution of the kind in the country, and it is to this, with the excep- tion, perhaps, of the railroads, that the city is most in- debted for its prosperity. The Armory was established by act of Congress in 1794, and the government now owns the title to three hundred acres on and surround- ing the site where the Armory stands. Several hundred hands are employed here by the government. There are two manufacturing interests located in Springfield which have a national reputation. These are the Wason
LAWSON SIBLEY.
Manufacturing Company, which name is familiar to everybody who has ever travelled on a steam railroad, and the Smith & Wesson revolver manufactory. The Board of Trade, the Improvement Association and the Christian Industrial and Technical School are three of the most recent in- stitutions which are doing the greatest work for the Spring- field of to-day. By the former, with every representative busi- ness man on the membership roll, no opportunity is al- lowed to pass unim- proved that is likely to tend toward the city's increased finan- cial or industrial prosperity. The Im- provement Associa- tion has a member- ship of nearly four hundred of the best citizens of the town, and its object is just what its name im- plies. The effective- ness of its work is best illustrated by the beautiful parks which are springing up all over the city. 'The Christian Indus- trial and Technical School is a free institution and is doing a good work in giving a thorough scientific and industrial education to students in the high school who wish to learn certain trades, to kindergarten teachers, to manual training-school teachers, and to those desiring to become mechanical or electrical engineers. In other respects Springfield offers advantages in the matter of educational and literary ac- quirements that are second to none in the country. The
335
SPRINGFIELD.
city library is recognized as one of the best equipped of libraries for students, and the public and private schools of the city rank high. The school for Christian Work- ers, the French Protestant College and the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School are located here. The first white men to see that portion of the Connecticut Valley in which Springfield is located were John Oldham and Samuel Hall, two adventurous colonists who came westward from Boston in 1630. These men returned with glowing descriptions of the country through which they had passed, and in 1633 William Pynchon received the consent of the General Court to remove to the Connecticut River. The follow- ing year he came to this section, accompanied by his son-in-law, Henry Smith, and by Mathew Mitchell, Jehu Burr, William Blake, Edmund Wood, Thomas Ufford and John Cable. They formed a municipal organization and from that organization grew the present municipality. The settlement was known as "the Plantation of Agawam " until 1640, when it was given the name of Springfield in honor of Mr. Pynchon, who had formerly lived in a town of that name in England. The date of the incorporation of the town is shrouded in obscurity, if, in fact, it was ever incorporated. Mr. Bliss, in his address delivered at the opening of the town hall in 1828, said : "After searching thoroughly in Massachu- setts and Connecticut I have come to the conclusion that the town was never incorporated." The town was first recognized as a municipality in 1641, from which time it was known as " the town of Springfield " by the Legislature. Hon. Lawson Sibley was the mayor of Springfield in 1892. Springfield took a prominent part in the War of the Revolution, and no more patriotic citizens were to be found in any part of the then young country than in this city. Prominent among the num- ber who figured conspicuously in the affairs of Western Massachusetts at that time was Hon. John Worthington, whose name has been perpetuated in the history of the city. He was a member of the governor's council, colonel in the militia, and a magistrate of distinction and ability. As a lawyer he won a name and wealth, and was called one of the "Gods of the Connecticut Valley." Colonel Worthington owned the first umbrella in the town - not, however, for use in the rain, but as a sunshade. A prominent representative of that time
and about the last of the "silk stocking, short breeches and silver shoe-buckled gentry," was Jonathan Dwight. He was the chief mover in the organization of the Unitarian Church, and built the church edifice and pre- sented it to the society. One of the ablest lawyers prior to the Revolution was Jonathan Bliss, who studied his profession with Colonel John Worthington. He represented the town at Boston several times, and in 1768 was stigmatized as one of the famous "rescinders." A measure which had been regarded as revolutionary in its character had been passed by the General Court, and when the king and council called for the rescinding of the action seventeen voted aye, Bliss among the number, to ninety in the negative. This course ren- dered him somewhat unpopular, and he went to England and subsequently to Fredericktown, New Brunswick, where he was chosen king's attorney and afterwards chief justice of the Court of King's Bench. Among the prominent men who have been residents of Springfield, other than those whose names have already been men- tioned, were Enos Hitchcock, D. D., Calvin Chapin, D. D., William Harris, D. D., Hon. Benjamin F. Wade, United States senator from Ohio, Francis Warriner, an able writer, Worthington Hooker, M. D., and Hon. David A. Wells. Slaveholders lived in Massachusetts during the revolutionary period as well as in the South, but in fewer numbers. Jonathan Dwight was a slave- holder to the extent of one full-blooded negro named Andrew. Mr. Dwight, it is said, was among the number who doubted the policy of arming against Great Britain, and hearing that his cattle were to be seized by the colonists, he dispatched the negro Andrew with them to Stafford, Conn. In the early part of the nineteenth century a runaway slave woman from Schenectady, N. Y., came to Springfield, bringing her son, then a small boy. She subsequently married Old Jack, who had been a slave at Longmeadow. In February, ISoS, her old master, Peter Van Geysling, hearing of her whereabouts, came and arrested her. The case caused considerable excitement, as a subscription was raised and her liberty purchased from Mr. Van Geysling for $100. The spirit of abolition, which manifested itself at such an early period, assumed definite shape about the year 1840, when an abolition organization was formed.
336
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
R EV. SAMUEL GILES BUCKINGHAM, D. D., Since that day he has been in continuous service as the head of the parish, and has seen and helped its growth from a young and feeble organization to one of the largest, most powerful for good, and wealthiest parishes in the State. Under his guidance the spiritual and material interests of the church prospered, and instead of the three Congregational churches which were in Springfield when he came to the city, there are now nine. In 1885 it was decided to give him an assistant, and Rev. Edward G. Selden was installed as associate pastor, since which time he has taken charge of the greater part of the active work of the church. Dr. Buckingham re- ceived his degree of D. D. in 1869 from Yale. For many years he has been one of the trustees of Williston Semi- nary at Easthamp- ton, and he is one of the corporate members of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He has also been active in many chari- table and religious bodies, and has held office in many of them. In 1867 he SAMUEL G. BUCKINGHAM. gave an address en- titled "A Memorial of the Pilgrim Fath- ers," in which he gave a splendid exposition of the ideas, religious and temporal, which animated the set- tlers who landed at Plymouth Rock. Dr. Buckingham has also delivered many addresses before religious bodies on various topics, religious and secular. May 10, 1837, Dr. Buckingham married Harriet, daughter of Rev. Dr. Nathaniel W. Taylor, professor of theology at the Vale Seminary. In 1863 Mrs. Buckingham died. They had one daughter, Harriet Taylor Buckingham.
is not only the eldest clergyman, in point of service in Springfield, but he is one of the oldest Con- gregational ministers in the country, his term of service as a minister having extended over a period of fifty-five years. He was born at Lebanon, Conn., Nov. 18, 1812, the son of Deacon Samuel Buckingham and Joanna (Matson) Buckingham. His father traced his descent from Thomas Buckingham, one of the original members of the colony of New Haven, and also from Rev. Thomas Buck- ingham, of Saybrook, who was one of the founders of Yale Col- lege and one of its rectors during the period it was located at Saybrook. Dr. Buckingham studied in the public schools of his native town and at the academy at Plainfield, Conn. On completing his course there he en- tered Yale College, graduating in 1833, and then entering Vale Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1836. In May, 1837, he was ordained and settled as pastor of the Second Congre- gational Church at Millbury, Mass., where he remained ten years. In 1842 the South Congregational Church was organized at Springfield, and Rev. Mr. Buckingham was invited to become its pastor. Feeling it his duty at that time to remain at Millbury, he declined. Rev. Noah Porter, L.1 .. D., afterwards president of Yale College, and a brother-in-law of Dr. Buckingham, accepted the charge, but resigned four years later, when another urgent call was extended to Dr. Buckingham. This time he accepted, and was installed as pastor June 16, 1847.
337
SPRINGFIELD.
F REDERICK HUNTINGTON GILLETT, elected a member of Congress in 1892, is a young man with a remarkably good political record behind him and with a brilliant future ahead. He was born at Westfield in 1852, and is the son of Hon. E. B. Gillett, one of Massachusetts' most distinguished lawyers, and an orator of no little ability. His mother was a daughter of James Fowler, a prominent citizen of Westfield. He was named after Bishop Frederick D. Huntington, of Syracuse, N. Y., and Hadley, Mass., who was a classmate of his father at Am- herst, and a life-long friend of the family. Mr. Gillett's early education was ob- tained in the public schools of Westfield and at home under the guidance of his father, who took a deep interest in his progress. The young man early developed a talent for graceful oratory which he in- herited from his father. After leaving the public schools Mr. Gillett entered Amherst College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1874. Mr. Gillett then attended the Harvard Law School, from which he was graduated with honors in 1877. On being admitted to the bar Mr. Gillett began the practice of law in Springfield in partnership with Judge E. B. Maynard. Mr. Gillett at once manifested a deep interest in political affairs, and during his residence in Springfield has been one of the most active workers in the ranks of his party. In 1879 he was appointed assistant attorney-general by the late Judge Marston. On receiving this appointment Mr. Gillett removed to Boston, where he remained until 1885. He resigned
his position as assistant attorney-general in 1881, after having made a brilliant record. During the last four years of his residence in Boston he practised law in partnership with Judge A. L. Soule. On his return to Springfield Mr. Gillett took an office with his father, and owing to the latter's advanced age gradually took charge of the entire practice. Mr. Gillett did not have to win prominence at the commencement of the second period of his life in Springfield. It had already come to him. He was honored with an election to the Springfield Common 1 Council, on which board he served two terms. He was then elected representa- tive to the General Court, in which he also served two terms. He was a recognized leader in both offices. In the Legislature of 1892 Mr. Gillett was chair- man of the Judiciary Committee, and has probably had more influence than any other Republican in shaping legislation. In 1892 Mr. Gillett was nominated by the Republicans as their candidate for Congress from the second district, and he was elected by a large majority. Mr. Gillett is a very able lawyer, an eloquent speaker, and is destined to shine in any public position. On his retirement from the attor- ney-general's office Mr. Gillett was commended by the judges of the Supreme Court bench for the care and ability with which he prepared and presented his cases. Mr. Gillett's friends all predict for him an active and useful congressional career. He will certainly maintain the high standard which his predecessors in the district have set, and reflect credit upon his constituents.
FREDERICK H. GILLETT.
338
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
JAMES KIRKHAM is the oldest bank president in Springfield. There are, perhaps, others who have been identified with banking interests as long or longer, but none who have been continuously in harness at the head of a bank for so many years. He is considered one of the safest financiers in New England. Mr. Kirk- ham was born at Newington, Conn., April 24, 1821, the son of William and Sophia (Leffingwell) Kirkham. He came to Springfield with his parents when he was ten years of age, and at- tended the public schools. He was graduated from the high school, and in 1837 took a position as clerk with Henry Sargent, a prominent jeweller. Mr. Kirk- ham remained in this position until 1845, when he went into the business in partnership with Earl Woodworth. In 1852 Mr. Woodworth retired from the firm, and Mr. Kirkham continued the busi- ness, with his brother William for a part- ner, until 1857, when, in midst of the mem- orable panic he was called to the presi- dency of the Pynchon Bank, of which he had long been a stock- holder and director. He remained at the head of this bank for five years. In 1863 the First National Bank was formed, Mr. Kirkham being elected president of the new insti- tution. He has since remained the president of the First National. The First National was the first bank to apply for a charter under the new provisions that went into effect through the war, and was the fourteenth to receive its charter. Although Mr. Kirkham's finan- cial history did not really begin until he became presi- dent of the Pynchon Bank, he had long before won a
reputation as a capable and sound financier. In politics Mr. Kirkham is a Democrat. He was president of the Common Council in 1856, an alderman in 1883, and is at the present time a member of the Park Commission. He has often been urged to take other offices, but, while always taking a deep interest in affairs, has preferred to attend closely to his private business. Mr. Kirkham has been one of the most prominent factors in the busi- ness growth and prosperity of Springfield. He is con- nected with several local business con- cerns, being a di- rector of the follow- ing, among others : The Mutual Fire Assurance Associa- tion, the Springfield Street Railway Com- pany, the City Library Association, and the Springfield Gas Company. He is also vice-president and director of the Chemical and George C. Gill Pa- per companies of Holyoke. Mr. Kirk- ham was a prime mover in the estab- lishment and incor- poration of the Oak Grove Cemetery As- sociation, and has been its treasurer since its formation. He is treasurer of the French Prot- estant College, and president of the Ag- awam Woollen Company, of Agawam. He is now (1892) associated with John Olmsted in the ownership of Kirk- ham & Olmsted's block, and has been prominently iden- tified with the advance of real estate interests in the city. In 1846 Mr. Kirkham was married to Frances Kirkham, daughter of John B. Kirkham. They have one son,- J. W. Kirkham, of Springfield. Mr. Kirkham is con- sidered one of the best authorities in Springfield on all questions relating to commerce and finance.
JAMES KIRKHAM.
339
SPRINGFIELD.
H ENRY STANLEY HYDE, one of the best-known financiers in New England, has been president of the Agawam National Bank for over twenty-two years, and it is in a large measure due to his shrewd and able management that the institution has taken the place it has among the national banks of New England. The Agawam was incorporated as a State bank, with a capital of $100,000 in 1846, but was reorganized under the National Banking Act in 1865, with a capital of $300,- 000, since increased to $500,000. In 1869 Mr. Hyde was called to the presi- dency, and he has filled the position with great ability ever since. Mr. Hyde was born at Mt. Hope, N. Y., Aug. 18, 1837, the son of Oliver M. and Julia Ann (Sprague) Hyde. In 1840 he accompanied his parents to Detroit, Mich., where he was educated in private schools and began work in a banking house. Afterwards he studied law for a while, but abandoned that profession. In 1 862 he went to Springfield, where he immediately became connected with the Wason Manufactur- ing Company, rail- way car builders, with which he has been connected ever since. In 1864, two years after his advent into the company, he became treasurer of the concern, which position he still holds. Mr. Hyde is also connected with a number of the lead- ing business concerns of Springfield, being president of the E. Stebbins Brass Manufacturing Company, and of the Springfield Printing and Binding Company, vice- president of the Hampden Savings Bank, and of the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company,
director of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Mr. Hyde is also treasurer of the Spring- field Steam Power Company, and a director in several manufacturing corporations in and out of the State. He has been actively interested in the Springfield Hospital since its establishment as a city hospital, and since its incorporation in 1883 has been the president of the Board of Trustees. In politics Mr. Hyde is a Repub- lican, and has been a member of the Common Council and Board of Alder- men at various times, and has represented his district in the State Senate. He has also been a member of the State Central Committee, and of the Republi- can National Com- mittee. In 1884 and 1888 Mr. Hyde was delegate to the Na- tional Republican Convention at Chi- cago. Mr. Hyde has been prominent in social life, being a member of several fraternal and social organizations. In his business affairs he has been particu- larly identified with the Agawam Bank and the Wason Manufacturing Com- pany, having paid less attention to the numerous other con- cerns with which he is connected. Mr. Hyde has been married twice, the first time in Springfield, in 1860, to Jennie S. Wason, daughter of Thomas W. and Sarah Longley Wason. Their children are Jerome W., Henry S., Thomas W. and Fayolin Hyde ; and, in 1892, to Ellen Trask Chapin, daughter of Hon. Eliphalet Trask, of Springfield. His residence is at Brush Hill Farm, in West Springfield. His honorable success in life makes him one of the representative men of Springfield.
HENRY' S. HYDE.
340
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
C OLONEL A. H. GOETTING, chairman of the executive committee of the Republican State Central Committee, is a young man who has already won a reputation for political shrewdness and clever management. He is to-day one of the best-known Republicans in the State, and is one of the most able workers. In addition to his duties as chairman, he paid especial attention to the campaign in the western part of the State in 1892, and it is owing to his untiring energy and zeal that the State was carried for Harrison by so large a majority. Colonel Goetting has had good training in the political school. Before he became a citizen of Springfield he was a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y., where he took a most prominent and active part in the campaign, which resulted in the election of Seth Low, now president of Co- lumbia College, as mayor of the chief city of Long Island, and he was a mem- ber of the New York State delegation to the Republican Na- tional Convention of 1880, which included such men as Ex-Pres- ident Chester A. Ar- thur, who was the choice of that con- vention for Vice- President, and Roscoe Conkling. When he removed to Springfield he lost none of his interest in politics. In every campaign in which he has taken part, his business affairs are attended to after he has attended to his pub- lic duties. Colonel Goetting was elected a member of the Republican City Committee soon after he became a citizen of Springfield, and was secretary of that organi- zation during the Blaine campaign. In 1889, when William H1. Haile was nominated for lieutenant-governor,
Colonel Goetting succeeded him as member of the Republican State Committee. It was a tribute to the ability of the new member that he was placed on the executive committee of the State Committee immedi- ately after his election. He at once proved his fitness for the place and filled the position so well that he has been made chairman of the Executive Committee, and has from the first been recognized as a leader. At the opening of the campaign of 1892 there was a strong movement to induce him to accept the chairmanship of the State Committee, but he was too mod- est to accept. When Colonel Goetting went to Springfield he engaged in the paper and leather goods business, which is at this time a large and rapidly growing business. He won his military title as a member of the staff of Governor John Q. A. Brackett in 1889. During his service in that capacity he was elected a member of the Ancient and Hon- orable Artillery. Colonel Goetting is not only prominent in the political affairs of the State, but also in the business and social life of Spring- field, and, in fact, of the entire State. He is a member of nearly all the leading institutions of the city in which he resides, as well as of the principal politi- cal and social organizations of the State. Both as politi- cal manager and as business man, Colonel Goetting enjoys the confidence of his fellow-citizens, and his name has been frequently mentioned in connection with higher political honors than any which he has thus far been in- duced to accept. His friends anticipate for him a long continued career of honorable activity and usefulness.
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