USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 50
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396
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
R' EV. GEORGE H. REED, pastor of the North Church in Haverhill, was born in Worcester, Mass., March 24, 1858. His father, Samuel G. Reed, who married Clara E. Harlan, of Shrewsbury, Mass., a lineal descendant of John Alden, was for fifty years a manufacturer of carriage wheels and an inventor of a tire heater now extensively used in heating carriage and locomotive tires with gas. His son George attended the Worcester schools until the age of sixteen, when he engaged in business for five years. He then renewed his in- terest in his studies, and prepared himself for his present call- ing in accordance with a most cher- ished desire of his father. He there- fore entered Phillips Exeter Academy in the fall of 1879, and was graduated in the centennial class of 1883, of which he had the honor of being class orator. - On account of the uncertain condition of his father's health, Mr. Reed deemed it wise to take his the- ological course at Bangor Seminary before entering upon his studies at Boston University. While at the university he accepted a unani- mous call to become pastor of the Winslow Church, in Taunton, Mass., and was ordained and installed June 3, 1887. During his successful pastorate over this church Mr. Reed married Miss Nellie V. Deane, daughter of Dr. A. S. Deane, a prominent physician of that city. Mrs. Reed at once proved herself eminently fitted in every way for the delicate duties of a minister's wife. One daughter has been born to them, Margaret Reed. While in Taunton, he was elected trustee of Bristol Academy, president of
GEORGE H. REED.
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, president of the Board of Associated Charities, presi- dent of the Taunton Congregational Club, and for three years was scribe of the Taunton Conference of Congregational Churches. After four years of fruitful service as a beloved pastor in this field, a unanimous call was extended to him by the North Church of Haverhill to be its minister, and upon its acceptance he moved to Haverhill. He was installed Nov. 10, 1891, in his new field of labor, where his knowledge of men acquired in his bus- iness career together with his studious habits and pleasing address have emi- nently qualified him to meet the demands of one of the strong- est churches outside of Boston in Eastern Massachusetts. The North Church em- ploys a pastor's assistant, who, being a sensible and de- voted woman, finds access to the hearts and homes of the young women em- ployed in the large shoe shops. The Young Women's Reading Room, sus- tained by the church, attracts nearly five thousand visitors each year. Classes in book - keeping, type-writing, painting, elocution and singing enable young women to obtain more lucrative positions than they could otherwise command. One of the sewing societies connected with the church, the Bethany Asso- ciation, is a chartered organization, whose charities amount to one thousand dollars each year. The large sewing-school and the ably-conducted Chinese Mission School indicate the vigor and practical spirit of this church under the guidance of its popular pastor.
397
HAVERIIILL.
J. OTIS WARDWELL, son of Zenas C. and Adriana S. Wardwell, was born in Lowell, Mass., March 14, 1856. His parents moved to Groveland in 1860. He was educated in the common schools, at the George- town High School, at the New London Academy and at the Boston University Law School, where he graduated with the degree of LL. B. in the class of 1879. He then studied law with Samuel J. Elder in Boston and with J. P. and B. B. Jones in Haverhill, and was ad- mitted to the Essex bar in 1879. He then took up his res- idence in Haverhill and formed a law partnership with Henry N. Merrill, under the firm name of Merrill & Ward- well. This partner- ship continued until Dec. 1, 1891, when Mr. Wardwell retired from the firm and is now practising in Boston, with his office at No. 53 State Street, although residing in Haverhill. He has always taken an active interest in politics, and was elected a member of the Com- mon Council in 1882. In 1887 he
was elected to the lower branch of the Mas- sachusetts Legisla- ture as a Republican, and was honored with five consecutive terms in that body. Early in his first session he was prominent in debates, and at the close of the session was regarded as one of the leaders of the House. At the beginning of his second year he was recognized as the Republican leader upon the floor, which position he held during the remainder of his legislative service. He was twice a candidate for speaker of the House, and was defeated in the second contest by only two votes, after one of the hardest contests in the history of
J. OTIS WARDWELL.
the Commonwealth. While a member of the Legisla- ture he served upon the following committees : Elec- tions (chairman), Probate and Insolvency, Mercantile Affairs (chairman), Judiciary, Rules (chairman), and was a member of the special committee to investigate the charges of corrupt use of money in the passage of the bill to incorporate the town of Beverly Farms. He was also chairman of a committee to investigate similar charges as to the bill for granting franchises to elevated railroads in Boston. Both these investiga- tions attracted wide- spread attention, and Mr. Wardwell was highly complimented for the manner in which he presided over them. During his entire legislative service he was always prominent in debates upon all public ques- tions, particularly those relating to the right of suffrage, such as the abolishment of the poll-tax qual- ification as a pre- requisite to the right to vote. As a mem- ber of the "No Tax League," he joined with some of the most prominent Re- publicans in the State in asking for the amendment to the constitution in favor of the abolition as above stated. He always favored progressive temperance legislation and all legislation for protecting the ballot. He has not only been active in the Legislature, but upon the stump during the campaigns of the last six years, in which he was very prominent. For several years Mr. Wardwell has been an active member of the Republican State Committee, and served as assistant secretary two years and secretary three years. He has a wide acquaintance with contemporary public men and measures.
398
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
A LDEN P. JAQUES, one of the successful business men of Haverhill, is a native of Bowdoin, Me., where he was born, March 4, 1835. He is the eldest son of Stafford and Harriet Jaques. In 1858 he mar- ried Harriet, daughter of John Carr, of Bowdoin. She died in 1865. Mr. Jaques married, in 1871, Miss Marci L., daughter of Leonard R. Avery, of New Hampton, N. H. They have had one son, Walter H. Jaques. Mr. Jaques lived in Bowdoin and Richmond, Me., until 1859, when he took up his residence in Haverhill, and soon after formed a part- nership with his brother-in-law, Ran- dall A. Potter, in the shoe business, the name of the firm be- ing Potter & Jaques. In 1870 Mr. Jaques, in company with John B. Nichols, purchased a build- ing on Washington Street, and in it in- augurated an enter- prise that has done more than any other to revolutionize the shoe industry in Haverhill, namely the application of steam power for making shoes. This movement was re- garded at first as impracticable, but it was soon gener- ally adopted. Mr. Jaques was also the first to succeed in making shoes in what is known as a string shop. In this he has been followed by others, until now nearly every manufacturer has adopted this method. Mr. Jaques continued in the shoe business until the great conflagration in February, 1882, when his factory and other buildings were totally destroyed. He afterwards had more substantial buildings erected, but retired at this time from the shoe business, and became engaged in real estate and other enterprises,
ALDEN P. JAQUES.
with now and then a vacation for travel in all parts of his own country, and a trip abroad. His unquestioned integrity has been a large factor in his successful busi- ness career, as he never experienced any difficulty in obtaining large loans of money from banking institu- tions and private citizens. In addition to his large business interests Mr. Jaques has always found time to devote to the welfare of the city and State where he resides. His fellow-citizens, recognizing his talents and ability, have honored him by placing him in positions of trust and responsibility. Mr. Jaques has served two terms as a member of the Haverhill School Board. He is a Republican in poli- tics, a loyal supporter of his party, and has done much personal work, besides con- tributing liberally to campaign funds. In 1885 and 1886 he was a member of the Board of Aldermen, and served on its important commit- tees. In 1887 and 1888 Mr. Jaques rep- resented his district in the lower branch of the Massachusetts Legislature, and in 1882 was elected to the Senate, where he was honored with a membership of the Joint Special Committee on County Affairs and Criminal Costs. He was also chairman of the State House Com- mittee, chairman of the Woman Suffrage Committee, and a member of the Committee on Libraries. Mr. Jaques is a member of Haverhill Commandery, Knights Templar ; Saggahen Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons , Mutual Relief Lodge, Independent Order of Odd F'el- lows, and of the North Church Society, and is active in all these organizations.
HOLYOKE
H JOLYOKE, like Venice, is famous for her canals, or perhaps more properly for the many and immense con- cerns which have had their birth on account of them, and which have given to the city a world-wide reputation, and have raised her from an insignificant and almost unknown town, to the position of eighth city in the State, within a generation. Her growth has been phenomenal, similar in some respects to that of some West- ern cities, but vastly more stable. The city is yet young, still lacking three years of her majority, but she is alive to every issue and fully able to meet all of the requirements made upon her. In fact there are few cities more progressive than Holyoke, as her rapidly increasing population and valuation attest, and few Bay State municipali- ties have a brighter future.
Holyoke's history is a brief one. In the early years of the present century no such place appeared upon the map, although her progenitor, Ireland, a little colony of less than twenty families, was designated as early as 1745. The people were agriculturalists, and not even their most Utopian dreams pictured the handsome city of to-day. In 1825 the place was sparsely settled, and only two small mills were in operation ; neither one repre- senting the big industry of the present, which has given Holyoke her sobriquet of the "Paper City." Holyoke owes her existence to her water power, but it was not until 1831 that any attempt was made to utilize it. At that time the Hadley Falls Company built a wing dam, obliquely, into the river, to obtain power to run a cotton mill of four thousand spindles. This mill, with another small one, was the only manufacturing establishment there as late as 1847. It was in this year that the Holyoke of to-day really had its birth, for it was at this time that the water was measured and found to represent thirty thousand horse-power. Had a gold mine opened before the gaugers they could not have been more surprised or delighted, and the negotiations of several capitalists for a certain tract of land were quickly concluded.
In the following year a new company conceived the plan of damming the river, and at once purchased eleven hundred acres of territory ; the work was begun and the great structure stood completed the morning of Nov. 19, 1848. The water was turned in, but the dam was not strong enough to resist the strain, and at two o'clock in the afternoon it gave way, and the waters swept on to the sea untrammelled. Nothing daunted, the promoters of the scheme again set to work, and a second and more lasting structure was completed in October, 1849, which was further strengthened some years later by the construction of a massive apron in front of it. The water is con- ducted through the city by three great canals, all being on different levels ; the main water-course utilizing the second level canal as a race-way. All are well lined with mills.
Paper making is the great industry of the city, and represents an invested capital of about five million dollars, while the daily output represents one-twentieth part of the entire manufacture of the country. Other manufactures of importance are pumping machinery, wire goods and silk and woollen textiles, bringing the total capitalization in the city up to about twelve million dollars, while hundreds of cars of freight are monthly shipped to and from the busy place.
Holyoke was set off as a town March 14, 1850, and the bill to establish her as a city was signed by Gover- nor Washburn twenty-three years later. The city's valuation has increased very rapidly, and so have her improve- ments, until to-day she stands well up with her sister municipalities in the onward march. She spends money freely but not extravagantly in permanent improvements, such as asphalt and granite block paving, and besides, supports excellent police and fire departments, and fine schools. The city has many elegant churches, business blocks and residences, and a system of electric street cars that is first class, while every portion of the town is well lighted by electricity or gas. The city also has one of the finest city halls in the State, and the veteran is remem- bered by a handsome monument. Among the important institutions are the Board of Trade and the public library, with fifteen thousand volumes, that have materially aided the growth of this young, but in many ways remarkable, city of inland_Massachusetts.
400
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
JEREMIAH FRANCIS SULLIVAN, mayor of Hol- yoke, of whom a short life sketch is herewith given, claims the United States as a home by adoption. His residence here has extended over a period nearly cov- ering his entire life. Mayor Sullivan was born in Dur- sey Island, County of Cork, Ireland, Feb. 14, 1840, his parents being Mortimer and Mary (Sullivan) Sulli- van. For two or three years young Sullivan attended school in the Emerald Isle, but in 1849, when only nine years old, he came to this country and has since been loyal to L. the stars and stripes. During his long resi- dence in this country, with the exception of a few months spent at Providence, R. I., he has lived in Holyoke, the city which has often honored him, and to which he has brought honor. Upon arriv- ing in Holyoke he went to school and passed his time with his books until he was thirteen years old, when he was compelled to give up his schooling and go to work. He worked in a cotton mill until he reached the age of sixteen, when he went into the meat and provision busi- ness, in the employ of James F. Allyn, for whom he worked nine years, or until Mr. Allyn took him into partnership. This partnership existed for nine- teen years, when Mr. Allyn retired from business, and he has since conducted it alone, increasing it to very prosperous proportions. In his political belief Mayor Sullivan is a true-blue Democrat, and has been exalted to several positions of honor and power by the party to which he belongs. His official life began in 1874, when he was elected overseer of the poor, which position he
JEREMIAH F. SULLIVAN,
held for two years. He gave up the place in 1876, when he was elected an assessor. To the latter office he was elected for five consecutive terms of three years each, being chairman of the board for the last eight years of his incumbency. In the year 1889 he resigned from the board and was elected mayor, and made such a good record for himself and his party that he was unanimously renominated the following year and was again elected. For a third time the Democrats chose him as their standard- bearer, and he went into the office with an increased major- ity, although he had received an unusu- ally large majority the year before. He has been a conscien- tious and hard work- ing executive and has relegated self- interest to the back- ground in his desire to give the city good government. He has received the indorsement of members of both parties in many of his official acts, and his regime has been char- acterized by a spirit of progress and im- provement. Mayor Sullivan's life is not wholly taken up with the trials and vexa- tions of his official or business cares, however, for he finds an opportunity to devote some time to the amenities of domestic and social life. He was married in November, 1863, to Catherine E. Dower. Seven children have been born to them, five of whom are living. Mayor Sullivan is an excellent example of what a fine graft can be made on American ideas and American life by foreign stock. While remaining loyal to the cause of his native land and sympathizing with her struggles, he is nevertheless a thorough-going American.
40I
HOLYOKE.
C OLONEL EMBURY P. CLARK, while closely in touch with all sides of Holyoke life, cannot be exclusively called a Holyoke citizen, for his long and honorable service for this State, both on the field of battle and in the militia, give him a broader citizenship than is afforded by the environment of any city or section. Colonel Clark is the son of Chandler and Joanna (Woodward) Clark, and first saw the light in the town of Buckland, Franklin County, Mass., March 31, 1845. His early education was re - ceived in the public schools of the town, but in 1858 he re- moved with his par- ents to Holyoke, where he has since resided. He spent some time at school andworking in a store, but in 1862, when only seventeen, he enlisted in Com- pany B, Forty-sixth Regiment, Massa - chusetts Volunteers, and served with credit in North Caro- lina and with the Army of the Potomac. After his return from the war he was for several years in the drug business and afterward paymaster for a large manufac- turing concern. In July, 1876, his fellow- townsmen gave out- ward recognition of the service he had rendered and the esteem in which they held him, by electing him water registrar, a posi- tion he has since held. The honor is all the more marked, when it is remembered that Holyoke is intensely Democratic, while Colonel Clark is strongly Republican. Colonel Clark has always taken a lively interest in educa- tional matters and has been a member of the School Board for the last fifteen years. In harmony with his educational interest is his interest in music. He
has sung in various church choirs, was one of the origi- nators and president, for several years, of the Holyoke Choral Union, and, later, president of the Connecticut Valley Musical Association. In matters military Colonel Clark takes a ranking position. He has been very prominent in the militia since the war. In 1868 he was sergeant of Company K, Second Regiment, and was elected captain a year later. In 1871 he was made major, and a little later, lieutenant-colonel, but upon the reorganization of the militia, in 1876, was honorably dis- charged with all other officers rank- ing above captain. He re-entered the service as captain of Company D, Dec. 23, 1878, and was pro- moted to the lieu- tenant-colonelcy of the Second Regiment in 1879, which posi- tion he held until Feb. 2, 1889, when he was made colonel. Although a strict disciplinarian he is very popular with both the officers and men under him. Colonel Clark is also a member of the Military Service In- stitution of the United States, be- sides being a charter member, and for eight years comman- der, of Kilpatrick Grand Army Post of Holyoke. He was nominated in 1892 for sheriff of Hampden County by the Republicans. He was married in 1866 to Eliza A., daughter of Perley and Julia M. Seaver. Of this union there are four chil- dren : Kate E., Edward S., Frederick B. and Alice M. Clark, and his home life is very pleasant. Colonel Clark has rendered valuable services to the militia of the Commonwealth, and to the causes of education and of music in the community in which he lives.
EMBURY P. CLARK.
402
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
W ILLIAM WHITING was born, May 24, 1841, in Dudley, Mass., his parents being William B. and Elizabeth B. Whiting, the former a descendant of an old English family which had settled in Lynn, Mass., in 1636. He was married in 1862 to Annie M., daughter of Luther M. Fairfield, of Holyoke, and they have two children, William F. and Raynor S. Whiting. After completing his studies in the public schools, including the high school, he entered upon his mercantile career by becoming book- keeper for the Hol- yoke Paper Company in 1858, but re- mained with that concern for three months only, resign- ing to purchase the wire mill, which he converted into a paper manufactory, and which was after- ward known as Whiting No. I. It was devoted to the manufacture of fine writing paper, and was so successful that Mr. Whiting pur - chased a tract of land alongside the second level canal, and erected the magnifi- cent paper mill, called Whiting No. 2. At one time the mills had the largest output of any in the country, and their product has a rank- ing position. Mr. Whiting has also been prominently connected with other mercantile interests in Holyoke, both in real es- tate, banking and manufacturing. In 1877 he added to the buildings of the city the Holyoke Opera House and the Windsor Hotel, two of the finest structures in the city, the buildings costing about $125,000. He has also been closely identified with the history of banking in his city, and was one of the organizers and for many years the president of the Holyoke National Bank. He
was likewise at one time connected with the Holyoke Savings Bank, and is now a director of the Chapin Na- tional Bank of Springfield. In a different line of busi- ness is his connection with the Connecticut River Rail- road, of which he is a director, while he was for years the vice-president of the Holyoke & Westfield Railroad. In everything that pertains to the public weal he is one of the leaders, and is connected with many local insti- tutions, including the public library, of which he is the president. Mr. Whiting was one of the organizers of the Board of Trade, and was its president until 1892, when he declined re-election. In politics Mr. Whit- ing is a Republican, and has had a full share of political hon- ors. In 1873 he was elected to the Mas- sachusetts State Sen- ate, and in 1877 was chosen mayor of Holyoke, being re- elected the following year. Previous to becoming mayor he was in 1876 and 1877 elected city treas- urer, being chosen to both positions by heavy majorities, al- though the city was strongly Democratic. In the Centennial year he was chosen a delegate to the Republican National Convention that nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for the presidency. So popular was he with his party that he was elected to the National House of Representatives, serving in the Forty-eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth congresses from the same district, filling out in a measure a very eventful and successful public career. Mr. Whiting's attainments are of such a nature as to ensure for him an ever widen- ing field of usefulness in the future.
WILLIAM WHITING.
403
HOLYOKE.
W TILLIAM B. C. PEARSONS, who enjoys the distinction of being the first mayor of the city of Holyoke, that prosperous and enterprising muni- cipality in the Connecticut valley, has been a resident of the "Paper City" for more than forty-three years, and has seen the place grow from a very small town into a large and important city. Judge Pearsons is a Ver- monter by birth, the little town of Fairlee in that State being the scene of his advent into the world. The date of the event was Dec. 19, 1825, and his parents were John and Hannah (Putnam) Pearsons, the latter being a near relative of Gen- eral Israel Putnam of Revolutionary fame. When he was very young his parents removed to Brad- ford, in the same State, and it was in this town that the education of the boy was begun. His first experience was in the common schools, and later he entered the academy and be- gan preparations for his future profession. After leaving the academy he entered upon a course of study in the law school of Harvard University, and was graduated with the degree LL.B. in 1849. He immediately located in Holyoke, and during all these forty-three years has practised his profession in that city. His legal business early became a large and lucrative one and still continues so, although his position as police justice of the city takes so much of his time that he cannot devote himself to pleading as extensively as in former years. Judge Pearsons has witnessed many important changes in the city, and has himself been an important factor in some of its reforms.
WILLIAM B. C. PEARSONS.
When Holyoke was yet in its teens, as a town, he was one of the leading citizens, and was called upon to fill many offices in the town government. At various times he was an assessor and member of the School Com- mittee, both offices being held for a number of years. In 1863 and 1864 he was first selectman of the town, but previously, in 1859, he was a representative to the lower branch of the Massachusetts Legislature, and had been a senator from the Western Hampden district in 1862. In 1864 Judge Pearsons entered the army as paymaster, with the rank of major, and served during that year and the one following. When Holyoke adopted municipal government in 1873, an eye was cast about for a suitable man for the mayoralty, and Judge Pearsons was nominated and easily elected. His legal training made him particularly valuable to the young city, and he spent a great deal of time and la- bor in drafting the city's ordinances, while his far-sighted and dignified method of conducting the city's affairs was ad- mired by all. Con- sequently he was re- elected the two years following. His ad- ministrations were singularly able in every respect. He has been police court justice since 1877. He married Sarah E. Taylor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Taylor, of Westfield, in February, 1857, and has a family consisting of one son and two daughters, the latter being married. Judge Pearsons's eminent legal attain- ments and his honorable and highly successful career in public service and on the bench place him among the truly representative men of the Commonwealth.
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