USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 75
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ORRIN P. ALLEN.
poetry, history and various sciences. He commenced writing for the press at the age of fifteen and has con- tinued to contribute to numerous publications since. He has been engaged for several years in preparing genealogies of the Allen, Cady, Doolittle, Scott and allied families, soon to be published. He is a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society of Boston, the Potumtuck Valley Memorial Association of Deerfield, and local secretary of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society of Springfield. He has never sought office, yet has been called to fill many places of trust. He is secre- tary and treasurer of the Eastern Hamp- den Agricultural So- ciety, which position he has held for sev- enteen years, and he has been for many years a trustee of the Palmer Savings Bank. He was for several years superintendent of the Sunday-school connected with the Second Congrega- tional Church of Palmer, and contin- ues to be clerk of both the same church and parish. He was one of the prime mnovers in the found- ing of the Young Men's Library Asso- ciation of Palmer, having since been one of its trustees, and for many years its librarian. In 1883, when the history of Palmer was projected, he was selected by the town as one of the Publishing Commit- tee, of which he was the chairman, and devoted much time to the collecting of material for the same until its completion in 1889. Mr. Allen takes a lively interest in all the progressive movements of his town, in the futherance of which he is always ready to lend a help- ing hand.
591
PALMER.
C' HARLES L. GARDNER, son of Elisha and Elvira (Sprague) Gardner, was born in Cummington, Hampshire County, Mass., May 27, 1839, where the early years of his life were spent. He attended the public schools of that town and the academy at Ashfield. After studying law in the office of the late Judge S. T. Spaulding, a leading lawyer of Hampshire County, at Northampton, he was admitted to the bar in that city, in 1867. He entered upon the practice of his profes- sion at Palmer, where he has since resided, having become asso- ciated with the late Judge James G. Allen, under the firm name of Allen & Gardner. This firm was dis- solved in 1870, since which time Mr. Gardner has prac- tised alone, his field covering many of the towns of Hampden County, including Springfield, the county seat. He was appointed a trial justice for Hampden County soon after his admis- sion to the bar, and held that position until the establish- ment of the district court at Palmer in 1872. He has a large and successful practice and is con- sidered one of the leading lawyers in the county. Mr. Gardner is a Republican in politics and or years has been prominent in the councils of that party, having been called to many positions of honor and trust. In 1875 and 1876 he was a member of the lower branch of the Legislature serving from the Second Dis- trict. During both years he was a member of the Judiciary Committee and, the second year, of the Joint Special Committee on Constitutional Amendments. In 1878 and 1879 he was a State senator, serving both
CHARLES L. GARDNER.
years on the Judiciary Committee, where his legal train- ing was of great value. On retiring from the Senate he was elected a member of the Republican State Com- mittee and continued in that office two years, acting on the Executive Committee. He received the appoint- ment of assistant internal revenue assessor and held that office until it was abolished. In 1886 he became a member of the Board of Trustees of the State Primary and Reform schools, but declined a re-appointment at the expiration of his term on account of the demands of pri- vate business. In the general election of 1892 he was elected to the dis- trict attorneyship of the Western District, comprising the coun- ties of Hampden and Berkshire, an office with a term of three years. In lo- cal affairs Mr. Gard- ner has always been quite prominent. He has been an officer in the Palmer Savings Bank most of the time since its organization and was for several years its president. For a score of years he has been closely identi- fied with the inter- ests of the town and has always been influ- ential in promoting its growth and pros- perity. Soon after taking up his residence in Palmer, Mr. Gardner married Esther E. Gilmore, of Monson, a daughter of Nathaniel Gilmore, formerly a leading citi- zen of Stafford, Conn., now deceased. They have two children, Charles Gilmore Gardner and Edwin Sprague Gardner. Mr. Gardner's services to his district and to the Commonwealth have been of such value as to gain for him the attention and the respect of men of all political parties.
592
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
W ILLIAM WILSON LEACH was born in Mon- son, Mass., Feb. 22, 1856, and resided there during his youth and school-days. Since his graduation from college, in 1880, he has been a resident of Palmer, Mass. His parents were Willard and Lavilla M. Leach, the former being a native of Vermont and the latter a descendant of one of the very earliest settlers of Mon- son. Mr. Leach spent the care-free days of boyhood on a small farm, and his early life was that of the average New England farmer boy, with the usual advantages for edu- cation that are afforded by the com- mon schools of the neighborhood. After a course in the com- mon schools of the town he entered Monson Academy, from which he was graduated in 1876. His course in the academy was fol- lowed by a course of study in Tufts College at Medford, from which institu- tion he was gradua- ted in 1880. Upon the completion of his college studies he entered the law office of Charles 1 .. Gardner, in Palmer, and was admitted to practice at the [ bar of Hampden County in March, 1883. He has been associated with Mr. Gardner since that time, and has been very successful in his profession. In his political affiliations Mr. Leach is a stanch Republican, and is one of the most prominent members of the party in Hampden County. In the course of his work for the party he was chairman of the Republican Town Committee of Palmer for the five years from 1883 to 1888, and again in 1890. His work as the head of the working wing of the party, in this town, was especially successful, and
WILLIAM W. LEACH.
won much favorable commendation. In 1889 he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Massa- chusetts Legislature, and during his membership in that body he did excellent service for the people on a num- ber of important committees. He was House chairman of the Committee on Labor, a member of the Com- mittee on Rules, and also of the special committee appointed during the session to investigate the publica- tion of the Province laws. During his term in the House Mr. Leach proved himself to be a ready debater and one of the ablest representatives which the district, that had chosen him as its standard- bearer, ever pos- sessed. Indeed, he was so highly re- garded that, in 1892, when the Republi- cans of the Second Senatorial District wanted a candidate to run for senator against one of the most popular Demo- crats in this section, they turned to Mr. Leach, and he, un- doubtedly, could have had the nomi- nation, but he with- drew from the field because his law part- ner was a candidate for the office of dis- trict attorney. He also holds several important civil offices. He is president of the Palmer Co-operative Bank, and secretary and trustee of the Palmer Savings Bank. He is also secretary and trustee of the Young Men's Library Association. Mr. Leach was married, on Aug. 12, 1884, to Ellen E. Sutcliffe, a very popular teacher in the public schools of Monson and Palmer, Mass., and his home-life is as attractive to contemplate as has been his public and professional record. 1
593
PALMER.
W ILLARD HADLEY STOWE was born in Mor- ristown, Lamoille County, Vt., June 22, 1844, the son of Solomon and Ursula G. Stowe, his early boy- hood being spent on his father's farm, while his school- ing was attained by attendance at the district schools. Later he entered the People's Academy in Morrisville, where he paid for his tuition by taking care of the building and ringing the bell, and, like many other scholars, he boarded himself in order to save expense. During the winters he taught school to provide himself with books and clothes, the first term, during the winter of 1862 and 1863 receiving seventeen dollars per month and the priv- ilege of "boarding around " as payment for his services. His life, up to the age of twenty -one, was passed in this man- ner. At that age he entered the Univer- sity of Vermont, where he spent two years in the study of medicine, and then graduated from the Bellevue Hospital College, of New York, on March 2, 1869. Having thus acquired the title of M. D., he began prac- tice in Gilbertville, Mass., and remained there for six years, giving up a lucrative business to establish himself in Palmer, where he has since practised his profession with eminent success, being considered one of the best physicians in that section. Dr. Stowe is not wedded, save to the profession he so ably represents, but man- ages to extract a great deal of pleasure out of life. He is a Prohibitionist, and has often had the honor of an offer of election to various civil and political offices, but has steadfastly refused them all, preferring to devote his 1
WILLARD H. STOWE.
entire energies to the alleviation of human suffering. He has been a member of the Eastern Hampden Med- ical Association since its organization in 1880, and was its president at one time. He is also a Mason, having joined the order in 1865. Dr. Stowe is a close and progressive student, and takes much pleasure in his books and considerable pride in the fact that he has the largest private library in the town of Palmer. He is a liberal thinker and ready writer, and has contributed many papers to the local press on ques- tions of the day and on natural history. Outside of his pro- fession he devotes considerable time to the Young Men's Li- brary Association, of which he is president at the present time and of which he is a charter member. This organization is one of the leading features of the town, and has comfortable and spacious quarters in the recently erected memorial hall, which, by the way, Dr. Stowe was largely instrumental in having built. He has bestowed a great amount of time and no little money on this association, which has helped to bring it to a very flourishing condition from an exceedingly small beginning. He has done even more than that, for he has recently given to the society his large and valuable collection of Indian relics, historic crockery, pamphlets, books and curios, among which are many choice things of local interest that can- not be duplicated. Dr. Stowe's reputation as a man of science is regarded in Palmer as public property, of which the citizens of the town have every reason to be proud.
MONSON
T THE fame of the town of Monson rests literally upon a foundation of granite, for while the town is essentially a manufacturing community the name Monson has become inseparably associated with the crystalline mineral which finds its way to all parts of the country. The stone is of several distinct varieties and is used almost entirely in the construction of buildings and walls, although latterly it has become very popular for monu- mental work. It is found in various tints. There is a beautiful light mottled grey, that resembles marble when finished, a mottled white and a handsome dark blue. The stone is largely used in Hampden County and neighbor- ing sections, while nearly all of the public buildings in Monson are constructed of it.
Monson is located in the southeastern part of Hampden County, and covers a territory about forty miles square. The town was originally a part of Brimfield, and its first stated settlement was in October, 1657, when Richard Fellows was granted a tract of two hundred acres along the Chicopee River, in the northern part of the present town. With the grant there was a condition-that Fellows should establish, and run for a period of seven years, a tavern for the entertainment of man and beast. He did not keep the latter agreement, however, for the Indians became so troublesome that he had to take his departure from the place, although for some reason or other he did not forfeit his claim. This settlement by Fellows was fifty years prior to the permanent one, which was made by Robert Olds, one of the original proprietors of the town of Brimfield. Others were gradually attracted to the place on account of the richness of the soil, and the settlement became so strong that on June 7, 1757, the people petitioned to be set off as a district. The district was incorporated April 25, 1760. Monson was incorporated as a town Oct. 20, 1775, starting in upon its new life with forty-nine families within its precincts. The growth of the town since that time has been slow but healthy, until in 1890, according to the United States census, there were 3,650 people in the town.
The present town is one of those pretty New England villages whose praises are so often sounded. It lies in a narrow valley with low ranges of hills on its eastern and western boundaries, which give it just enough of the rural to offset the manufacturing of the town proper. Outside of the quarrying of granite the principal industries of the town are in the manufacture of woollen and straw goods -industries that have thrived for many years. There are many points of interest in the town, not the least of which are its several memorial buildings. The largest of these is the Memorial Hall, which was erected in 1884 at a cost of $40,000. The hall is used also as a town hall, and was jointly built by public and private subscription. In the hall are memorial tablets on which are inscribed the names of the one hundred and fifty-five townsmen who enlisted in the War of the Rebellion, while they are again honored by a handsome granite monument, which stands on a green plot in the centre of the town. The other building referred to is the Horatio Lyon Memorial Library, a handsome building, erected at a cost of $35,000, and having an endowment from the donor of $20,000 more. Other features of town are the memorial fountains presented by S. F. Cushman and W. N. Flynt, and the fine park that is being developed by the latter. 'The town is particularly strong in its banking institutions also. The Monson National Bank was incorporated in 1854 and reorganized in 1864, while the Monson Savings Bank, which was incorporated in 1872, had deposits of nearly $700,000 in 1892.
The churches and schools of the town have also attained a very high standard. As early as 1765 the town appropriated $100 for educational purposes, an amount that has been greatly increased in these later years. The principal educational institution of the town is the Monson Academy, which enrolls among its alumni many of the prominent men of the State and country. The academy was incorporated June 21, 1804, with the endowment of a half township in Maine under the act relating to academies, passed by the Legislature of 1797. The town erected the building, and private parties have since contributed a liberal endowment.
595
MONSON.
S OLOMON FRANCIS CUSHMAN, one of the leading woollen manufacturers of the Bay State, was born in Monson, Me., Nov. 18, 1826, although more than half of his life has been spent in the town of his adoption. His parents were Solomon and Har- riet (Adams) Cushman, who were among the earliest settlers of the town of his birth. Mr. Cushman himself is a direct descendant of Robert Cushman, being of the Mr. Cushman's early school-days
eighth generation. were spent in the public schools of the town, and later in the academy in the same place, although he is not a graduate of any institution. As a young man he worked on a farm and in the lumber camps of his native State, but upon at- taining his majority accepted a place in a store in the town of his birth. For the next five years he retained this clerk- ship, following with two years of similar work in the village of Three Rivers, a part of the town of Palmer, Mass. In 1856 he took up his residence in Mon- son, Mass., and has resided there contin- uously since that time, being one of the most important factors in the development of the town. During the first ten years of his residence there he acted as book- keeper for the Monson Woollen Manufacturing Com- pany, but in 1866 he acquired an interest in the business, and the partnership thus formed was con- tinued with eminent success for twelve years. In 1878 Mr. Cushman became the sole proprietor of the con- cern, and he has since conducted its affairs in company with his sons, the business being run under the title of
SOLOMON F. CUSHMAN.
S. F. Cushman & Sons. The same |ability to manage and improve, which characterized Mr. Cushman's work for the old Monson Company, shows itself only to a greater degree in the new concern and also seems to be inherent in his sons. So successful has been the business that the original mill has been supple- mented by another, both being engaged in the man- ufacture of woollen goods. Mr. Cushman has been an ardent promoter of Monson's weal, and is prominently identified with the town's leading in- stitutions and all matters of local importance. Mr. Cushman is a public- spirited citizen of unusual calibre, and among other things presented the town with a handsome granite drinking fountain. Mr. Cush- man has always been a steadfast Republi- can and has often been elected to office. His latest honor was his elec- tion to the State Senate over one of the most prominent Democrats in his district. He was also a member of the State House of Rep- resentatives in 1881 and in 1883. In both branches of the Legislature Mr. Cushman was a very useful member. He also served as selectman. He is now president and director of the Savings Bank, vice- president of the National Bank, treasurer of the Public Library, and a trustee of the academy. In 1852 he married Candace Brown Packard, of Monson, Me., who died in 1890. They had seven children, Edward D., Rufus P., Solomon Fred, Hattie F., Thaddeus L. and Robert H., who still live, and Francis A., who died in childhood.
596
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
E DWARD FRANKLIN MORRIS, eldest son of Deacon George Flynt Morris and Sarah (Morse) Morris, was born in Monson, July 25, 1840. He comes of an ancient and honorable English family, being of the eighth generation in lineal descent from Edward Mor- ris of Waltham Abbey, County of Essex, England, who emigrated to this country and settled at Roxbury, Mass., in 1652. Mr. Morris was married at Easthampton, Mass., Oct. 25, 1865, to Louise J. Clapp, adopted daughter of Isaac K. Clapp of that town. Four children have been born to them, of whom three are living. They are Alice Amelia Morris, Louise Morris and Edward Lyman Mor- ris. Mr. Morris re- ceived his education in the common schools of his native town and at Monson Academy, pursuing at the latter the Eng- lish and scientific courses. For a short time after leaving the academy he taught in one of the outside districts of the town. In 1857, then being nearly seventeen years of age, he was employed as a clerk in the Monson Bank, which was at that time under the cash- iership of Jonathan Ralph Flynt, where he remained over six years, leaving there to become book-keeper in the Agawam Bank, Springfield. The cashiership of the Monson Bank becoming vacant soon after, he was chosen to the position and entered upon his duties April 1, 1864, a position he still holds. Early in 1864 the bank was re-organized under the National Currency Act, it being one of the first banks in this vicinity to take that step. In 1872 the Monson Sav- ings Bank was incorporated, and the directors of his
EDWARD F. MORRIS.
own bank consenting, he was persuaded to accept the treasurership of the new institution, to which position he was elected and which he still holds. For twenty- one years the two banks occupied the same quarters, but the Savings Bank will soon occupy separate banking rooms. Mr. Morris has always given close attention to the demands of business, social and family life, and while seeking to be a useful citizen, has never been an aspirant for public honors. Aside from his bank con- nection, he has filled many private posi- tions of trust. He has been a faithful alumnus of Monson Academy, having been a trustee for about twenty-four years, the most of the time being treas- urer, a member of its Standing Committee and secretary of its alumni association. He has also been a member of the Con- gregational Church for thirty-seven years, thirty as treas- urer, twenty-three as a deacon, and seven as Sunday-school superintendent. In all movements calcu- lated to advance the moral and material interests of Monson, Mr. Morris has been a prominent factor. He was instrumental in the establishment of a free public reading room and in its development later into a free public library, at present one of the prominent features of the town. He was also largely instrumental in securing the fine memorial building, which the library occupies, and its endowment. He has been a trustee of the library since its organization. Mr. Morris was for years an active Mason, being wor- shipful master of Day Spring Lodge for two years, and is also a Royal Arch Mason.
MELROSE
T THE town of Melrose was incorporated in 1850. The territory originally belonged to Charlestown, which was settled in 1629, and was a very extensive region in those days, for it included Malden, Woburn, Stoneham, Burlington, Somerville, a large part of Medford, and a small part of Cambridge and Reading. Difficulties con- cerning the boundaries of the several towns arose early, and were settled by the General Court. When Malden became a town, in 1649, all its northern part (now Melrose) was a tract of over two thousand acres of undivided land, and it came to be known as the "Commons." It was very desirable both as woodland and pasturage. This land was divided among seventy-four freeholders of Malden, and the choice of lots was drawn by lot, from which method of procedure in early days arose probably the expression "a lot of land." In later years this territory became known as North Malden, and so remained until 1850, when, after several legislative hearings, and a long struggle, an act incorporating the town of Melrose was approved by Governor George N. Briggs. Three years later, in 1853, after another severe contest, a part of Stoneham was set off to Melrose, giving the town the greater part of what is now known as the Highlands, and making Melrose to comprise about three thousand five hundred square acres. The name Melrose was adopted at the suggestion of William Bogle, a native of Melrose, Scotland, who claimed that the town much resembled the one across the Atlantic, celebrated for its Abbey and made famous by Sir Walter Scott.
Although Melrose is a young town, her territory has been occupied for more than two centuries, and there are houses there, or parts of them, more than two hundred years old. Among the ancient families were the Lyndes, the Greens, the Uphams, the Barretts, the Spragues, the Howards and the Vintons. The Lyndes formerly owned nearly all the southerly part of Melrose, and were descended from Ensign Thomas Lynde, who came to Malden soon after its incorporation. The old Lynde homestead is now more than two hundred years old. The ancestor of all the Greens in Melrose was Thomas Green, who settled in Malden as early as 1651, and who owned a farm of sixty-three acres at the Highlands. The Barretts are also one of the oldest Melrose fami- lies. Deacon Jonathan Barrett, son of James, who was born in Malden in 1644, and grandson of James, who first settled in Charlestown in 1635, came to Melrose about the year 1705.
About the year 1813 the first preaching service was held in the old district school-house, which stood on what is now Lebanon Street. In 1815 a Methodist Episcopal church was formed, and in 1848 the Orthodox Congregational church was organized. The Universalist church was organized in 1849, and Trinity Church in 1857, and ten years later the Unitarian Congregational church was formed. In 1873 a Roman Catholic church was established, the pastor having purchased the old Baptist church edifice. The Catholics have recently erected a very beautiful church in Wyoming.
The first town meeting was held May 10, 1850, and the officers elected were Jeremiah Martin, Isaac Emer- son, Jr., and Artemas Barrett, selectmen ; Elbridge Green, town clerk; Isaac Emerson, treasurer and collector : Aaron Green, S. L. Taylor and William J. Farnsworth, assessors ; Henry A. Norris, Caleb Howard and Elbridge Green, School Committee. The town then had a population of only 1,260, and the valuation was $483,446. Within the past ten years, however, the town has made rapid strides in wealth and population, the population being nearly, if not quite, 10,000, and there is some talk of its becoming a city within the next five years. It is not a manufacturing town, but a place of residence for men who do business in Boston, and they find it a quiet and healthy locality in which to make their homes. The town has fine public schools, a handsome town hall and beautiful churches. The supply of water is taken from Spot Pond, and the streets and public buildings are lighted witli electricity. There are more than one hundred trains to and from Boston each day, and there are horse and electric street railroads. The town will soon have a complete system of sewerage, and the citizens have shown their truly progressive instincts by voting that the town"should own and operate its electric light plant.
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