USA > Massachusetts > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Massachusetts > Part 13
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On August 14, 1862, George Washington Warren was united in marriage with Sarah Boynton Warren, a daughter of Nehemiah and Sally (Wyman) Warren. Nehemiah Warren was born in Weston, Massachusetts, a son of Na- than and Elizabeth (Smith) Warren. His wife was the daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Wyman, of Woburn, Massachusetts. The union of Mr. and Mrs. George Washington Warren was blessed with one child, George Frederick, who was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1865. He attended the public school of Waltham for his education, and later the Bryant and Stratton Busi- ness College in Boston. He has been connected with the Waltham Watch Fac- tory for a quarter of a century, andhas served his home city as an alderman. On October 30, 1890, he was united in marriage with Anna Turnbull McCabe, of Belmont, Massachusetts, a daughter of James W. McCabe. Mr. and Mrs. George Frederick Warren are the parents of three children, as follows: Rob- ert Atherton, who is connected with the Bureau of Statistics in Boston ; Sally Wyman, who became the wife of Reginald D. Thomas, December 17, 1917, Mr. Thomas an instructor in the Aviation School at Miami, Florida; George James. The family relations of George Washington Warren were particularly happy, and as a husband and father he was all that the terms imply.
The following is taken from the Memorial Tribute which was adopted by Monitor Lodge of the Masonic Order, in memory of their brother, Mr. War- ren :
To his sorrowing family we extend a most tender and brotherly sympathy. We realize that while our loss has been a grievous one, theirs has been even a harder to bear. We can only commend them to the care and protection of an all-seeing and all-wise God.
"We know His way is always best, Though darkly falls a cloud about our way, Although the shadow of an angel's wing Has shut the golden sunlight from the day."
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George Miashington Mtarren
Our faith teaches us that He looks down with infinite compassion upon the widow and the fatherless in the hour of their desolation, and that the Great Architect of the Universe will fold the arms of His love and protection around those who put their trust in Hin.
The funeral services of Mr. Warren were held from his home on Weston street, in Waltham, Massachusetts, and were conducted by the Rev. Freder- ick 11. Page, the pastor of the Congregational church. Mr. Warren's passing away called forth a remarkable expression of feeling from the community-at- large, and from friends and admirers in various parts of the country. This proved the depth and sincerity of the devotion and affection in which Mr. War- ren was held. It was said of him that he was a man of sterling public worth, of strict integrity, and his success in life was largely due to these admirable traits of character. He was a liberal, tolerant, broad-minded gentleman, whom it is neither adulation nor exaggeration to call a "great man."
Sylvester Brown Fuller
T HERE are times when in the perusal of the records of promi- nent men, especially those who have won their success early in life, we are inclined to feel that destiny has her favorites with whom she deals with partiality, conferring upon them favors of all kinds which she withholds from other men, tal- ents, abilities, qualities of mind and spirit, which make smooth to their feet paths which are the roughest to others, and which help them with comparative ease to achievements of which the average man often entirely despairs. Yet a closer examination generally dispels this illu- sion. Men indeed are given talents above the ordinary, but none are reprieved from the necessity of using them, and we have it upon the highest authority that in proportion as we receive so we must render again in the final account. No, the man of talent is not commonly the one who works the least, but rather the most, and his accomplishments are more generally the result of efforts from which we would be apt to shrink, than the spontaneous fruits of uncultivated abilities, for there is a very great element of truth in the pro- nouncement of Carlyle that genius is merely an "infinite capacity for taking pains." A splendid example of the strong and capable men of New England, whose careers, meeting with a high degree of success, seemed to contribute proof to Carlyle's dictum, was the late Sylvester Brown Fuller, who became one of the most prominent business men of Lynn, Massachusetts, and the owner of the firm of S. B. Fuller & Son, shoe manufacturers. His death, which occurred at his summer home on Shirley Hill, Goffstown, New Hamp- shire, July 14, 1893, marked the passing of an important factor in the gen- eral life of Lynn, Massachusetts, and an influence for good in the business world of Eastern Massachusetts.
Sylvester Brown Fuller was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, April 17, 1829, the son of Samuel and Hannah Chipman ( Howland) Fuller. His father, Samuel Fuller, was a sea captain, and his mother a descendant of an old "Mayflower" family. The pioneer ancestor of this family was Edward Fuller, who came in the "Mayflower" to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the Pil- grims in 1620, accompanied by his famous brother, Dr. Samuel Fuller. He was one of the signers of the compact on board the ship before landing. Thus from these worthy and illustrious ancestors the late Sylvester Brown Fuller inherited all those strong and admirable characteristics which were so predominant throughout his entire life. He passed the years of his childhood in his native town, where he attended the local public schools and added to the somewhat meager educational advantages by a course of independent reading. His was one of those receptive minds which absorb knowledge easily from the
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environs, and perhaps it may be said of him that his chief teacher was experi- ence. When he had reached the age that he felt was the ripe time to make his start in life, Mr. Fuller learned the trade of shoemaking, and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, where he became identified with the great shoe manu- facturing industry of that city. During the year 1870 he began his career as a shoe manufacturer, as a partner in the firm of Haskell & Fuller. After the withdrawal of his partner, he admitted his son, the late Charles S. Fuller, to partnership, under the firm name of S. B. Fuller & Son. This name was changed later to that of Charles S. Fuller & Company, and in 1908 was con- ducting business under the firm name of The Fuller Shoe Company. The busi- ness grew most rapidly, from a modest beginning to large proportions, with factories located at Essex, Salem and Gloucester, Massachusetts. In Salem there was a large plant on Cousins street, where they manufactured exclusive- ly a medium Mckay shoe, and later opened an office on Lincoln street in Bos- ton. About this time Mr. Fuller had retired from business life, and his son, Charles S. Fuller, assumed entire charge of the business, later being asso- cited with his brother, Fred P. Fuller, but subsequently Charles S. Fuller was compelled to relinquish all active business affairs on account of failing health, and the affairs of the large concern were then taken in charge by Fred P. Fuller. Sylvester Brown Fuller continued to reside in Lynn, Massachusetts, where he had a most attractive home on Herbert street, and it was there that his pleasing personality was best seen in his gracious hospitality. His beauti- ful home was always open to his large circle of friends and business associates, as was also his summer residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
In his political life, Mr. Fuller was a Republican, and was often called upon by his fellow-citizens to run for office. This honor, however, he refused and consistently declined, though he worked no less hard for the advancement of all public matters of importance. He was in the fullest sense a Christian, translating the terms of his belief into a guide for every-day conduct. He was a faithful and prominent member of the North Congregational Church of Lynn, Massachusetts, of which he was one of the founders, and we quote from the eulogy of his pastor, the Rev. Dr. Hadley :
"You all know what he was in the world of business, the home and the Church. His memory you will cherish and his good works will live after him. He has laid down the work; let us take it up with his largeness of heart and sympathy. He was always faithful in his Church work, as you can all testify. You also know better than I of the happy home life, his life and friend- ship being so rich. It seems as if a dark cloud has come over us, but we must say, 'Thy will be done.' The impress of his character and goodness was felt in the home, the Church and the city."
The reputation of Mr. Fuller for probity and integrity was second to none, and he stood for the very highest type of citizenship in the community where he dwelt for so many years. A thoroughly upright and conscientious man,
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it was only natural that he was well beloved in the community and respected by all those who knew him.
On September 25, 1851, Sylvester Brown Fuller was united in marriage with Mary C. Pomeroy, of Hadley, Massachusetts, a daughter of Ansel and Sally (Johnson) Pomeroy. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller became the parents of five children, as follows: I. Charles S., now deceased. 2. George A., who was united in marriage with Lucy A. Burnham, and they are the parents of two children, Sarah E., who died in 1889, and the other child died in infancy. 3. Henry H., who died in 1881. 4. Sarah E., who became the wife of Charles S. Crosman, of Haverford, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of four children, namely, Marion, Charles H., Elizabeth and Lincoln Holway, who died in 1894. 5. Fred P., who was united in marriage with Harriet Ricker, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and their union was blessed with four children, name- ly, Henry H., Raymond, Morris Wiggin and Louise. Being extremely domestic in his instincts, Mr. Fuller gave much of his time to the intimate intercourse of his family in his home. It was there that he found his chief pleasure, and he was in every sense of the word and in the homely old phrase, a great "home man." He was always a most generous man in his domestic and per- sonal relations, and extremely charitable in his attitude for those less fortu- nate than himself.
To the fundamental virtues of honesty and simplicity Mr. Fuller added the graces of culture and refinement, so that among all his associates, whether in the way of business or the more personal relations of life, he was both loved and admired, and a complete confidence was felt in him that he would fulfill both spirit and letter of whatever he engaged to do. He was possessed of the most charitable nature, and could not bear to witness need without an attempt to alleviate its circumstances. Probably no one, certainly no one out- side of his immediate family, knew the extent of these benefactions, for he gave with that Christian humility which is recommended to us, and his one response to those who cautioned him against such liberality was to express re- gret that he had not more to give. He won a large degree of respect and af- fection from the community-at-large, which would gratify any man, and was especially welcome as the reward of real merit. His death was a loss not mere- ly to his immediate family and the large circle of devoted friends, which his good qualities had won for him, but to his fellow-citizens generally, none of whom had not benefitted in some way by his life and example.
Edmund Walright Clap
T HIE pages of this work contain and record the lives of many successful business men who have risen from obscurity to af- fluence, but of none can it be said more truthfully than of the late Edmund Wright Clap, of Walpole, Massachusetts, that his work was active, public-spirited and enduring. The memory of this distinguished gentleman is cherished by the city in which he was born, as one of those whom she delights to honor and remember. The death of Mr. Clap, which occurred in Walpole, Massachusetts, October 10, 1875, was sincerely mourned by all classes of the community, for by the nature and magnitude of his life-work, his large hearted benevolence and his very attractive personality, he was linked to them all with hoops of steel. He was a true citizen, interested in all those enterprises which meditated the moral improvement, and social culture of the community in which he lived, and actively aided a number of associates by his influence. His leading characteristics might perhaps be stated as indomitable persever- ance, untiring energy, unusual capacity for judging the motives and merits of men, strict integrity and unswerving loyalty. His self-reliance never failed him. Always willing to listen to and respect the opinions of others, when the time for action came he acted for himself and according to his own judg- ment. He surrounded himself with many faithful friends whose admiration for his abilities was surpassed only by the deep respect for his sterling qual- ities, and by the affection which his numerous lovable traits of character never failed to inspire. His methods in business were along the strictest lines of honesty and integrity, and were clear and concise, while the system and abil- ity which he displayed at all times would have been as equally as effectual if fate had decreed to place him in any other line of work.
Edmund Wright Clap was born in Walpole, Massachusetts, son of Har- vey and Nabby (Polleys) Clap, both highly respected residents of Walpole. His father, Harvey Clap, was an old-time and well known merchant, and was postmaster for many years, passing away at the age of fifty years during the year 1840. His grandfather was Jacob Clap, and the American branches of this family are descended in a direct line from six immigrants, who were brothers and cousins, and who settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, upon ar- riving in this country from England, and whence they and their descendants have scattered to all parts of the country, and formed one of the most promi- nent and influential families in the State of Massachusetts. The surname Clap, or Clapp, as it is sometimes spelled, had its origin in the proper or per- sonal name of Osgood Clapa, a Danish nobleman, in the court of King Ca- nute, as early as the year 1036. The site of his country place was known
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Comund Mairight Clap
as Clapham, County Surrey. The ancient seat of this family in England is at Salcombe, in Devonshire, where important estates were owned for many centuries. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Clap were the parents of five children, namely: Edmund Wright, the subject of this memoir; Dr. Harvey Erastus; Abbie P., who became the wife of Samuel Warren Bacon; Samuel; Angeline W., who became the wife of David E. Metcalf. On his maternal side, Ed- mund Wright Clap was descended from an old and well known family in Wal- pole, Massachusetts, who were renowned for their thrift and industry.
Mr. Clap obtained his early education in the public schools of Walpole, Massachusetts, the city of his birth, and received the best of training af- forded in those days. When quite young he helped in his father's store; as he was the oldest son, more was expected from him. During the year 1850, Mr. Clap left home and went to Boston, where he foresaw better and more opportunities ahead for himself. After several adventures in the business world, he engaged in the flour and grain business and located on State street, Boston. It was only a short time before he became known as one of the lead- ing commission business men in that locality, and he was greatly admired for his rugged honesty. The goal of his ambition was to meet with success, and he was one of those rare men who would succeed only by fair dealing and living up to the unwritten laws of integrity. He possessed a broad mind of unusual sagacity, and was a quick discerner of human nature. He had won the favorable regard of all classes by his genial manner, his unfailing humor and his versatility in adapting himself to others. His practical sense and clear discernment made his counsels of great value and much sought after. His business was successful, and a few months prior to his death Mr. Clap had retired from all active affairs in the business world. Although his entire bus- iness interests were in Boston, he continued to reside in Walpole, making the trip between the two cities daily. His advancement in business life was due to the exercise of his own individual powers, and to the possession of a close study of business conditions. He made excellent use of all the oppor- tunities afforded him, and it was in the utilization of those opportunities that he won his way to success. He was one of Massachusetts' representa- tive sons, and all who knew him can testify that he was a man of the most pleasing manners, and well known as a man of very well trained mind.
Edmund Wright Clap was united in marriage in Walpole, Massachusetts, with Achsah Barbour Hawes, a daughter of John Holebrook and Achsah (Barbour) Hawes. Her father, John Holebrook Hawes, was a native of Wal- pole, and was a farmer by occupation, being the owner of a large farm in Rox- bury, Massachusetts, whither he and his family had moved. At the death of his wife, in 1887, he returned to Walpole when Mrs. Clap was a girl of about seven years of age, and there he passed away, in the city that had given him birth. Mr. and Mrs. Clap were the parents of one child, a daughter, Abby Frances, who resides in Walpole, Massachusetts, at No. 973 Main street.
Mr. Clap was a member of the Unitarian church, and was devoted to its
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interests. Nothing seemed too great for him to do were the church to be ben- efited by his efforts, and his support was never requested that it was not given most cheerfully. He had a host of friends, and it may be truly said of him that he was not only a friend in need, but if once a friend always a friend. And this trait of character could not but gain him many admirers and true friends. Of such a man as Mr. Clap it should be recorded that he belonged not only to one community but to the entire nation. Despite his close atten- tion to business affairs, he always held that every citizen should interest him- self keenly in the public affairs of his own community, and in all matters af- fecting the welfare and growth of Walpole Mr. Clap faithfully cooperated.
His manner was frank and cordial, and he possessed in an eminent de- gree the faculty of making and retaining friends, his characteristics being those of a cultured gentleman, and a member of the old school. His home was the frequent resort of choice circles of his friends, to whom his hospitalities were gracefully extended. His wide experience of men and events through a long life made his companionship a delight to all who were thus privileged to be with him. Always considerate and dignified, Mr. Clap never failed to consider the feelings of others in action and speech, and in his life there were elements of greatness, because of the good use he made of his opportuni- ties. He has shown to the world most strikingly what a man of energy, kind- liness and purpose, combined with absolute integrity, can accomplish, and to him must go forth our unlimited praise.
The Clap family did much for the city of Walpole, Massachusetts, as the Public Library now stands upon part of what was the original land of the Claps, and the Public Common and one of the principal residential sections were at one time owned by them.
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Edward Albert Carpenter
Edward Albert Carpenter
T 'HE career of Edward Albert Carpenter, a prominent merchant, is indeed a worthy example of commendation and should serve as an object lesson to young men who are ambitious and desire to succeed in the business world of to-day. Mr. Carpenter was a man of many sterling characteristics, with strict regard to commercial ethics, and with a high standard of citizenship which rendered him popular with a wide circle of friends who sincerely mourned his passing away, November 12, 1914, at his home in North Reading, Massachusetts. The shock of his death was sudden and numbed the senses of all, for he was a man of honor, integrity and high standing in the business and social community. His character was stainless in every rela- tion of life, his motives unquestioned, and all his actions were influenced by kindly consideration for others. Probably the greatest compliment that can be paid a man is that he has made himself an honor to his Nation in the great commercial world, as well as a credit to the mercantile community in which he dwelt. Such a man was Mr. Carpenter, who by his own honorable exertions and moral attributes gained for himself all that a man could desire, namely, friends, affluence and position. Public-spirited in the highest degree, he was ever forward in encouraging those enterprises which would in any way advance the interests of his adopted town of North Reading, Massachu- setts, and he was classed among the prominent citizens of that community, whose memory it is a delight to honor.
Few American families have been traced so thoroughly and accurately in America and England as that of the Carpenter family. The line is traced back for a period of over six hundred years. John Carpenter, the first progenitor to whom the line is definitely traced in the English records, was born in 1303, and was a member of Parliament in 1 323. William Carpenter, in the ninth generation from John Carpenter, was the immigrant ancestor of the family, and was born in London, England, in 1576. He was a carpenter by trade, and came to America in the ship "Bevis," in 1638. He was a Puritan and on this account was obliged to leave London. Edward Albert Carpenter, whose name heads this memoir, was in the seventeenth generation from John Carpenter, and was born in Walpole, New Hampshire, July 22, 1846. His parents were Albert H. and Mary (Wilder) Carpenter, most estimable people of sturdy New England stock, with an ancestral record extending back into early pio- neer history. His father, Albert H. Carpenter, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1815, and removed with his family to Walpole, New Hampshire, where he succeeded his father in the business of hotel keeping there. Later
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Coward albert Carpenter 1
in his life he purchased a farm on which he lived the remainder of his life. He died in 1866, at the age of fifty-one years.
Edward Albert Carpenter, the eldest son, loved the liberty and variety of the tasks of the farm, and early learned how to rise through them to the mastery of the more serious problems of life. From them he gleaned the value of punctuality and steadfastness that he magnified in his daily life. His edu- cation was acquired in the public schools of his native town of Walpole, and in Bellows Falls, Vermont. In 1862, when President Lincoln called for vol- unteers, the patriotic ardor of Mr. Carpenter was stirred to the deep and he enlisted, giving efficient service in Company H, Fifteenth New Hampshire Vol- unteer Regiment. Filled with a desire to help his beloved country, he filled out the term of his enlistment in the valiant service of this heroic regiment dur- ing the Vicksburg and Port Hudson campaign. After serving his country, and receiving an honorable discharge, Mr. Carpenter returned to Massachu- setts and became engaged in the manufacture of shoe pegs in Athol, where he had located. The manufacturing of shoe pegs was at that time an impor- tant industry, and Mr. Carpenter worked for his uncle, George Wilder. Two years later he removed to South Royalston, Massachusetts, an adjacent town, where he was employed in the Brush and Shoe Peg Factory of Caleb W. Day, for twenty-one years, and became the superintendent of the factory. In the disastrous fire of 1884, the factory was destroyed, but being able to weather this difficulty, Mr. Carpenter engaged in the grocery business with Deacon Jo- nas M. Turner, during the following year. In 1886, in company with F. S. French, who had been a close business associate for many years, Mr. Car- penter removed to North Reading, Massachusetts, where the general store of Obediah Walker was bought and the firm of Carpenter & French became a synonym for fair and just methods of dealing. For nineteen years an in- separable partnership existed between these two men, years of faithful working into all the various details of business life, and a large measure of success and a widespread influence fell to their lot. Owing to the ill health of Mr. French, on October 1, 1905, Mr. Carpenter bought out his interest and conducted the business alone until the time of the closing of his eventful career. It is not too much to say that it was due to the genius in business of Mr. Carpenter dur- ing his business life in North Reading, shown by his executive ability and prac- tical sagacity, industry and hard work, that his success in life was warranted. Throughout his tireless efforts he developed a large and growing trade in hay, grain, lime, cement and agricultural implements, as well as a general line of groceries and small wares.
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