USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 58
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78
THOMAS H. McDONNELL.
yards. In addition to the extensive works at Quincy and Barre, they have three yards at Buffalo, N. Y., viz. : Main Street, Pine Hill Branch and the Limestone Hill Granite Company at West Seneca, and also offices at Indianapolis, Ind., and Albany, N. Y. They recon- structed the Soldiers' Monument at Buffalo, a most difficult and delicate undertaking, and were highly com- plimented by the committee for the thorough manner in which the work was done. Their more noted pro- ductions include the Blocher canopy at Buffalo, costing twenty-five thousand dollars ; General George B. McClel- lan's monument, at Trenton, N. J .; the C. W. Mackey family monument, at Frank- lin, Pa .; the Shoe- maker monument, at Spring Grove, Cin- cinnati ; the Seventy- seventh Regiment Monument, at Sara- toga, while nearly every cemetery of note in the country contains specimens of their superb work- manship. They were the first firm in Quincy to intro- duce the American Pneumatic Tool Company's apparatus for carving and cut- ting stone, to super- sede hand labor, Mr. McDonnell being a large stockholder in the company. He was one of the promoters of the Quincy & Boston Electric Railway, and has been a director since its incorporation ; he was also one of the originators of the Security Live Stock Insurance Company of Boston, and has been its president since it was formed. In 1892 Mr. McDonnell, accompanied by Rev. T. J. Danahy, enjoyed a European trip, and while in Rome they were accorded the rare privilege of a private audience with Pope Leo XIII.
AWRENCE
THE city of Lawrence is twenty-six miles north of Boston and twenty-three from the mouth of the Merrimack River. It ranks to-day as one of the most flourishing manufacturing cities in New England. Early in 1843, Daniel Saunders conceived the idea of building a dam across the Merrimack River, and two years later the desired privilege was granted by the Legislature. The first stone of the dam was laid Sept. 19, 1845, and the total cost of the structure was $525,773.36. Canals have been built on both sides of the river, and furnish water power for all the mills and smaller industrial establishments located on the banks. The Bay State, now the Washington, mills were organized in 1845, with a capital of $1,000,000, which has since been increased to $2,500,000. The same year the Atlantic Cotton mills were incorporated, with a capital of $2,000,000. Early in 1853 the Pacific mills were built, and later two others, known as the Central and Lower Pacific mills, with a capital of $2,500,000. The mill of the Lawrence Duck Company was built in 1853. In the same year the old Pemberton mill building was erected, which fell on the afternoon of Jan. 10, 1861, burying in its ruins six hundred persons, of whom eighty- seven were killed outright, forty-three others severely injured, and two disabled for life. The mills were promptly rebuilt, and are doing a flourishing business. In many respects the Arlington mills have proved a greater success than any of the others in the city. They were incorporated in 1865, with an original capital of $200,000, in a wooden structure, which was totally destroyed by fire the following year. The plant since built is valued at $2,300,000.
Besides the above there are nearly forty other manufacturing establishments, valued at over $13,670,000 in all, which with other taxable property in the city in 1892 was valued at $32,527,937. In all, one hundred and forty-three standard mill-powers, or eleven thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine gross horse-power, are developed by the dam spanning the Merrimack River, of which one hundred and thirty and one half are sold, and the remain- ing twelve and one half mill-powers will be granted appurtenant to some one thousand feet of canal frontage, which is unoccupied in South Lawrence.
There are five lines of railroads centering in Lawrence, with eighty-four trains arriving or departing daily. The total capital of the local national banks is $1, 125,000, while the deposits in the savings banks exceed $7,500,- 000, mainly the earnings of the mill operatives or mechanics.
The city is supplied with two reservoirs, with a capacity of forty-one million gallons of water ; lighted entirely throughout the streets, avenues and parks by electricity. There are twenty-nine churches, twenty-one school-houses, and a public library containing thirty-three thousand volumes. The fire department is admitted to be as efficient as any in New England, the insurance rates being lower than in any other city in Massachusetts. During the year 1893 the tracks of the Merrimack Valley Street Railroad are to be extended so as to connect with those in Lowell, Haverhill and Newburyport.
The mill operatives and laboring classes, which form the mass of the population, are generally reliable, efficient and but little inclined to resort to strikes. There is little disturbance of the relations between employers and employees.
Lawrence is one of the shire towns in Essex County, girt around with hills, free from any taint of malaria, with wide streets, and from a comparatively recent birth has grown with remarkable rapidity. An armory for the use of the two local military organizations was completed in 1892, its cost being upwards of $100,000. In short, there are but few places in New England which afford so good an opening for additional manufacturing enter- prises, owing to the unsurpassed water supply, excellent railroad facilities, and favorable atmospheric conditions. The population of Lawrence is about 50,000.
461
LAWRENCE.
H ENRY PLUMMER DOE is one of the best- known and influential men of Lawrence, in which city he has passed nearly all his life, and by it been honored with the highest gift in its possession, - that of mayor, which office he is filling the present year (1892). Born in October, 1841, in the little town of Methuen, Mass., he attended the public schools of that town, and afterwards the schools of Lawrence. When twenty years of age he went to Boston and secured employment in a jewelry firm. For six years he re- mained in the store, İ and acquired a thor- ough knowledge of the business. He then returned to Lawrence, and estab- lished himself in the business which he has since carried on with eminent suc- cess. His jewelry store is conceded to be the finest in the city. Mr. Doe is married, and has one daughter. He re- sides at 336 Haver- hill Street. He is a prominent member and attendant at the Universalist Church. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and has served his party with distinc- tion. He made his entrance into public life in 1872, being elected to the Common Council from Ward Three, and he did good service on several important committees. His natural enthusiasm drew him so far into public matters, and he performed whatever he undertook with such thoroughness, that he found the duties of the office took too much of his time, and he declined a re-election. Several times during succeeding years he was earnestly solicited to allow his name to be used, but all these offers were declined until 1881, when he acceded to the
HENRY P. DOE.
great pressure brought to bear upon him, and became a candidate for the Board of Aldermen for Ward Four. His competitor on the Republican ticket was a member of the Board of Aldermen, and was considered an almost invincible candidate, but when the votes were cast and counted on election day, it was found that the people had elected Mr. Doe with a plurality rising one thousand over his opponent. He served the term with credit to himself and the city, and gained a good insight into municipal methods. His party tendered him a unanimous re- nomination the fol- lowing year, but again Mr. Doe found himself compelled to decline the honor. In 1891 he con- sented to become the candidate of his party for mayor, and was elected by a handsome vote. His administration was vigorous, pro- gressive and able, and another term was offered him, but following his previous policy, he retired after serving one year. Mayor Doe is a director in a num- ber of the financial and charitable insti- tutions of Lawrence. He is popular in so- ciety. Heis a prom- inent and active member of many secret and fraternal societies, among which are Adelphic Lodge, Knights of Honor ; Monadnock Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows ; Security Lodge, Knights and Ladies of Honor ; Lawrence Council, Royal Arca- num ; the Order of United Friends, and the New Eng- land Order of Protection. Being a liberal Democrat. and not a strict partisan, Mayor Doe has hosts of friends in both political parties, and received many Republican votes in the municipal contest.
462
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
A MONG the active and public-spirited citizens of Lawrence, there are but few who have done mere than John K. Norwood to promote the prosperity of the city, where he has resided more than thirty-three years. From a comparatively humble start in a business career, he has succeeded in building up the largest insurance agency in the city. Mr. Norwood was born in East- port, Me., Aug. 6, 1837, and after the death of his father, which occurred in 1858, he contributed for many years to the support of the family. Go- ing to Lawrence, he went into the insur- ance business, taking the agency at first of the Citizens' Mutual of Boston and of the Merrimack Mutual of Andover. At the present time, how- ever, he is the Law- rence agent for the following stock com- panies : Ætna of Hartford, Home of New York, Fire Asso- ciation of Philadel- phia, North British and Mercantile of England, Williams- burg City of New York, Merchants of Newark, Phoenix of London, Westchester of New York, Han- over of New York, American of Newark, Girard of Philadel- phia, United Fire- men's of Philadel- phia, Providence-Washington of Providence, Caledonian of Scotland ; also of these mutual companies : 'The Merrimack of Andover, Traders and Mechanics of Lowell, Worcester of Worcester, Quincy of Boston, Merchants and Farmers of Worcester, Lowell of Lowell, Cambridge of Cambridge, Dedham of Dedham, Nor- folk of Dedham, Dorchester of Dedham, Citizens of Boston, Fitchburg of Fitchburg, Travellers' Accident of Hartford, Connecticut Mutual Life of Hartford.
During the war Mr. Norwood enlisted in the Ninth Massachusetts Battery, and was severely wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. The following justly deserved tribute has been paid him by Major Bigelow : "When I joined the battery, I brought a colored servant with me, who, a few days after reaching camp was pros- trated with a fever. For a week the boy lay insensible from the effects of the fever; and yet Mr. Norwood tenderly watched over and cared for him. At Gettys- burg, his horse's head was shot away by a canon ball. He freed himself, cut the dead animal loose, and then coolly mounted an- other, which in turn was soon shot, as were all the others attached to his gun. He then joined the only person left on his gun unhurt, and remained fighting until he himself was well-nigh fatally wounded." Mr. Nor- - wood was president of the Board of Trade two years, and made herculean efforts to inspire energy in the citizens to the end of pro- moting the pros- perity of the city. He joined the Law- rence fire depart- ment in 1858, and is president of the
JOHN K. NORWOOD.
Lawrence Veteran Firemen's Association. Besides these, he is an active member of the Old Residents' Association, Home Club, Pine Tree State Club, Need- ham Post 39, Grand Army of the Republic, Ninth Massachusetts Battery Association and the Gettysburg Pilgrim Club. He is married, and has two children. Although a Republican of the more conservative type, he has been frequently mentioned as a candidate for the highest municipal office by men of all parties.
1
1
463
LAWRENCE.
A LEXANDER BERN BRUCE, the youngest mayor Lawrence has ever had, has been three times elected to that high office. Higher honors still would have been bestowed upon him, if he could have been induced to accept them. His popularity is not confined to the limits of the city which he has so faithfully served, but extends thoughout the congressional district. From his boyhood Mr. Bruce has displayed a remarkably alert and self-reliant disposition, which has stimulated him to self-culture and suc- cess. He is emphat- ically a self-made man. He was born in Brechin, Scotland, Sept. 17, 1853, and at an early age came to this country with his parents. They were residents of Andover, where he lived until reaching the age of fifteen years. He then went to Lawrence and se- cured a position as workman in the bak- ery of the late Jona- than P. Kent. Com- mencing at the foot of the ladder, he rose to the upper round before working there six years, being pro- moted to the position of foreman of the es- tablishment. After Mr. Kent's death 1 Mr. Bruce managed the business affairs until 1881, when he purchased an interest in the concern, which until Feb. 3, 1891, was known by the firm name of Kent & Bruce. On the latter date Mr. Bruce became the sole proprietor of the largely-increased plant, which is with one exception the largest cracker and biscuit bakery in New England, throughout which the excellent quality of its products are well known. At the time of the Johnstown disaster, as quickly as news was received that assistance was needed, Mr. Bruce secured a large-sized freight car, and filling it
ALEXANDER B. BRUCE.
with the best brand of crackers and other goods manu- factured by his firm, he shipped it as quickly as possible to the mayor of Johnstown as a gift from his firm. Few persons blessed with an abundance of worldly wealth have given more liberally to the poor in every worthy cause, and the inmates of charitable institutions have on many occasions been made glad through his generosity. He is a member of several of the leading secret and social organizations, and in several of them has been honored with the highest offices. Dur- ing his political ca- reer Mr. Bruce won additional laurels each successive year. He was elected an alderman from Ward Five in 1884, and mayor of Lawrence in 1886-87. During his administration the Union Street bridge, an iron structure, costing $65,000, was built, and it was largely due to his persistent efforts by appealing to the higher courts, that the city was relieved of paying the sum of $25,000, which was originally assessed on it, and that sum was pro- vided for by the other towns in the county. The new protective wagon and other apparatus of the fire department were purchased under his adminis- tration. Mr. Bruce is president of the Lawrence Board of Trade, director of the Lawrence National Bank, trustee of the Wildey Savings Bank of Boston, director of the Lowell, Lawrence & Haverhill Railroad, and a director of the New England North Western Invest- ment Company. He is also a director of the Odd Fellows' Hall Association. Mayor Bruce is popular with men of all parties.
464
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
M AJOR GEORGE S. MERRILL was born in Methuen, Mass., March 10, 1837. He learned the printer's trade in the Lawrence American office, of which he became part proprietor in 1856. In early life he took an interest in public affairs and earnestly es- poused the cause of the Republican party. He has advocated its principles for more than thirty-five years, and during nearly all that period he has been sole editor and proprietor of the only Republican newspaper in Lawrence. He has filled numerous offi- cial positions since 1861, having been appointed postmas- ter in that year, and remaining twenty- four years in the office. During his administration, mainly through his persistent efforts, a new post-office build- ing was provided, of greatly increased capacity, the carrier system enlarged, and much-needed mail accommodations provided. Being an able public speaker, his voice was fre- quently heard on the platform during the political campaigns until within a few years, and he has de- livered numerous Me- morial Day addresses in various parts of New England since the organization of the Grand Army. Major Merrill was a member of the Common Council in 1859-61, and again in 1865-66, when he served as president of that branch of the city government. He assisted in raising Com- pany B of the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, of which he was commissioned first lieutenant and was soon after promoted to the captaincy, serving eleven months with General Banks in Louisiana, from Sept. 18, 1862, to August, 1863. To enter the service he tendered his
GEORGE S. MERRILL.
resignation as postmaster, but this was declined and leave of absence granted by the post-office department. From 1866 to 1869 he was adjutant of the Sixth Regi- ment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, which position he resigned to accept the commission of captain of the Fourth Light Battery, serving in that capacity four years. Two years later, when the militia was reorganized, he was commissioned major of the First Battalion of Light Artillery, which office he has since filled. Major Merrill is one of the past commanders of Needham Post 39, Grand Army of the Republic, of Law- rence. He was State commander in 1875 and national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1 88 1, and has held several offices in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He was sec- retary of the Massa- chusetts Republican State Central Com- mittee from 1869 to 1877, and president of the Massachusetts Press Club from 1869 to 1878. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the First Baptist Church of Lawrence, the Home Club and several political organiza- tions. He has been State insurance commissioner since 1888, and has ren- dered valuable public service in causing the suspension of numerous irresponsible insurance organizations, which had robbed the people of the State of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Major Merrill disposed of his interest in the Lawrence American in 1892. He was married in Concord, N. H., Dec. 29, 1855, to Sarah J. Weston. Of this union are two children, -Winfield G. and Genevieve Merrill (now Mrs. Magce).
465
LAWRENCE.
AMES R. SIMPSON is the only one of the many J
ex-mayors of Lawrence who has held the highest municipal office four terms. He was born in Canada in 1832, and his early years were passed on a farm. Dur- ing the winter months he was frequently compelled to walk six miles daily over unbroken roads to attend school. When fifteen years of age he graduated from the Stanstead Academy, and then for four years he taught a country school. At the age of nineteen, he came to Boston and secured a position in a furniture store. Later, he worked in one of the mills in Lowell, and in the print works at Man- chester, N. H. Here he rose to the posi- tion of overseer and remained there till the works were de- stroyed by fire. In the spring of 1853 he went to Lawrence and after working for the Pacific and Atlantic mills entered the employ of Shat- tuck Brothers, gro- cers. He subse - quently formed a copartnership with Alfred A. Lamprey, now president of the Lawrence Lumber Company, and for twenty years they conducted the gro- cery business under the firm name of A. A. Lamprey & Co. In 1878 Mr. Simpson purchased Mr. Lamprey's interest in the firm, and has since carried on the business alone, assisted by his son, James E. Simpson. The latter is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Simpson has been inter- ested in various business enterprises. He was one of the most active promoters of the erection of the Mer- chants' National Bank Building and the United Order of Pilgrim Fathers' Building, two of the finest structures 1
JAMES R. SIMPSON.
on the main business street. He also owns much other valuable property in the city. Mr. Simpson is president and director of the Merchants' Bank, which, during the four years of its existence, has done a larger business than any other bank in Lawrence. Mr. Simpson's political career has been distinguished by the uniform favor with which he has been received when a candi- date for public office. He served as a member of the Common Council in 1863, but took no part in political matters again until 1878, when he was elected mayor. He was re-elected the succeeding two years. He was again chosen to the same office in 1885, and at the close of that year he de- clined a re-nomina- tion. Since then, however, he has served as trustee of the water loan sink- ing fund, but has uniformly declined to accept other posi- tions tendered him. He is president of the Pilgrim Fathers' Hall Association, Past Master of Gre- cian Lodge of Ma- sons, and has been elected for twenty- six consecutive years its treasurer ; he is a member of Mount Sinai Royal Arch Chapter and Beth - any Commandery, Knights Templar. Mr. Simpson has been for many years one of the most active members of the Lawrence Board of Trade. As private citizen, as business man and as public official, Mr. Simpson has acquired a personal popularity which has stood the test of time, and his career has been marked by a strict integrity which has gained for him the confidence and esteem of his fellow- citizens, to whom he has repeatedly rendered such valu- able public service.
466
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
W ILLIAM S. JEWETT was born in St. George, New Brunswick, March 10, 1862, and though yet a young man of thirty-one years, he has ably admin- istered the affairs of three national banks as their presi- dent. His father, residing temporarily in New Brunswick, returned to the United States, and to Massachusetts again in 1865, and thus from his third year, Mr. Jewett has made the city of Lawrence, in that State, his home. He attended the public schools and took a partial course in the high school. Leav- ing school, he worked for his father in the house furnishing business and for ten years devoted himself wholly to this line of trade. In 1888 he began banking. He studied the business thor- oughly and was care- ful, aggressive and a tireless worker. These qualities shaped his career. He became a direc- tor and subsequently president of the Essex National Bank in Haverhill, Mass., when the deposits of the bank amounted only to fifty-nine thousand dollars. After a year and a half the deposits, under his manage- ment, increased to four hundred thous- and dollars. In 1890 he founded the Arlington National Bank of Law- rence and became its president. This position he resigned in 1891 to become vice-president and acting president of the National Pemberton Bank of Lawrence, next to the oldest institution in the city, and than which none was more prosperous. It had an invested capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, undivided profits of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and deposits of over four hundred thousand dollars. He
later became president of this bank and retained this position until the bank was consolidated with the Arlington, which he had founded three years before. Mr. Jewett has been a busy man even outside the bank- ing business. His most important business stroke in this particular was his purchase in June, 1892, of the entire plant of the Lawrence American, the leading news- paper of the city. He formed a stock company, and the paper is now being conducted more successfully than ever before. It is Republican in pol- itics, circulating among a population in Lawrence and sur- rounding towns, of over sixty thousand inhabitants, and is a successful and influ- ential journal. Per- sonally, as well as in business relations, Mr. Jewett is a most agreeable man to meet. He has in his business rela - tions the sharp, de- cisive way of arriving at conclusions that stamp men of execu- tive ability, but when no business cares op- press him, he is a most agreeable com- panion. He is mar- ried and has two children. He at- tends Grace Episco- pal Church. Mr. Jewett's banking cx-
WILLIAM S. JEWETT.
perience has ex- tended over a few years only, but it has been full of brilliant successes and marks him as one of the ablest financiers of the city. The secret of his success lies in the fact that he thoroughly mastered all the details as well as the principles of the business, and that all his transactions have been characterized by the strictest integrity. His record as the successful president of three national banks is one to which but few men of his years can point and is an carnest of a brilliant carcer,
Somerville
OMERVILLE, one of Boston's bed-chambers, is built on seven hills, three miles from the capitol. Although S
it celebrated its semi-centennial as a town June 17, 1892, its life has the respectability of antiquity. Its early history is closely identified with the events which made the record of colonial times, and it points with pride to many landmarks of national interest. The title of the original site came from Chief Webcowit of the Pawtucket Indians, and his queen, Squa Sachem. The very first hostile demonstration made by the British in the Revolution was the voyage up Mystic river from Boston to Ten Hills Farm, landing at a wharf, the decaying timbers of which can still be seen. The objective point was the famous old Powder House, still standing, from which they took two hundred and fifty casks of powder belonging to the towns of the vicinity. Somerville was included at that time with the present district of Charlestown, under the latter name. After Bunker Hill the retreating Americans threw up hasty fortifications on Winter and Prospect Hills, where, during the siege which followed, the Union flag, consisting of thirteen stripes, was first unfurled in the face of the foe Jan. 1, 1776.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.