USA > Massachusetts > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Massachusetts > Part 35
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For five years Mr. Bates was a member of the Massachusetts State Board of Health, which controls all waterworks established by the towns and cities of the State. Under his direction and encouragement, North
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Brookfield in 1890 installed a water system so perfect in detail and plan that it outranks all others in the State. He continued his interest in this branch of public health conservation, and for many years was a member of the New England Waterworks Association. He always retained his residence in North Brookfield, and was more than devoted to the interests of his home town. He was president of the board of water commissioners for the first seven years after the installation of the waterworks; founded the Free Public Li- brary and Reading Room, and was president of its board of trustees for its first eighteen years. While serving as representative and State Senator, he donated his salary to the town for the purchase of books for the library and was ever its generous friend.
During the last five years of his life, being in such poor physical condi- tion and finding it impossible to continue his active business life, but not yielding to disease or suffering, his thoughts turned to the ancestral home in North Brookfield and he lavished upon it almost affectionate care. There in the fall of 1910 he harvested from an acre of ground more corn than had ever been raised on an acre anywhere in the United States, and at the New England Corn Exposition was awarded a gold medal for his perfect display of corn products. That all might benefit by his methods he published at the request of many New England farmers a carefully prepared and illustrated pamphlet giving in detail his experience in producing his wonderful crop. He did not rest with making the ancestral acres highly productive, but spent time and money in beautifying his estates, which included not only the home- stead acres but an adjoining park of chestnut and oak trees cut by roads connecting the Bates with the Duncan estate, a family heritage belonging to his wife. There was found on his desk after his death an article of value and interest he had written concerning his native town. He was an ardent Republican, and from the casting of his first vote took an active part in pub- lic affairs. From 1870 to 1880 he was chairman of the North Brookfield Re- publican town committee, was chairman for many years of the Twelfth Dis- trict Republican Club, the Worcester County Republican Committee, the Worcester Congressional District Committee, and for ten years was chair- man of the executive committee of the Massachusetts Republican State Cen- tral Committee. In 1879 he was elected from North Brookfield to the Mass- achusetts House of Assembly, was chairman of the committee on claims and a member of the famous "retrenchment committee," appointed during the administration of Governor Talbot. In 1883 he was elected State Senator, serving on committees on railroads, as chairman, and as a member of pris- ons and State house. His vote is recorded yea or nay on every measure which came to vote in either House or Senate during his legislative career. He will long be remembered for the determined fight he made for the reëlec- tion of Senator Benjamin F. Hoar as United States Senator against Gen- eral Benjamin F. Butler, then Governor of Massachusetts. The contest was long and bitter, and with a less determined organizer and leader than Mr.
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Bates it is generally admitted Senator Hoar's valuable services would have been lost to the State. This was a most critical period in Mr. Hoar's ca- reer, but the tactful and strenuous leadership of Senator Bates, who was then chairman of the executive committee of the State Central Committee, as well as State Senator, carried him through to a second term and others followed. Mr. Bates not only threw his entire personal strength into the contest, but also paid all the expenses of the campaign. In 1884 he was elected a delegate to the National Republican Convention, held in Chicago, which nominated James G. Blaine for the presidency, and previously had been appointed by President Hayes as commissioner to a proposed World's Fair to be held in New York in 1883, General U. S. Grant having been ap- pointed president.
It is not perhaps generally known that Mr. Bates was one of the three manufacturers to found the famous Home Market Club and was one of its first officers. The idea of the club first took form in his office in Worcester when George Draper, of Hopedale, and Timothy Merrick, of Holyoke, met with Mr. Bates to consider the organization of such a club. From that meet- ing came the powerful and influential club which has been such a bulwark of strength to the cause of Protection, a cause in which Mr. Bates believed with all his heart and did so much to support. Only a short time before his death, at the urgent request of prominent members of the club, he prepared a valuable article for the "Protectionist Magazine" and remained firm in the faith until the last.
Broad in his sympathies and interests, Mr. Bates was associated with many national societies, including the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the American Forestry Association, the American Antiquarian Society, and others. He was a member of the New England Historic-Gen- ealogical Society, the Bunker Hill Monument Association, the Hooker Asso- ciation, and the Worcester Society of Antiquity. His ancestry opened the doors of many patriotic societies to him, and of these he held membership in the Massachusetts branch of the Society of Colonial Wars, New York So- ciety of Patriots and Founders of America, Massachusetts Society, Sons of the American Revolution (which he served as manager) and the Massachu- setts Society of the War of 1812. He was a prominent member of the Ma- sonic order; a Master Mason, life member and a past master of Quinsiga- mond Lodge, a companion of Morning Star Chapter, a sir knight of Wor- cester Commandery, and corresponding secretary of the Grand Lodge, Mass- achusetts, Free and Accepted Masons. In Scottish Rite Masonry he at- tained the thirty-two degrees of Massachusetts Consistory. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and for many years was chairman of the First Congregational Society of North Brookfield.
So "what he had dune for others" he could "think on most pleasantly," but the foregoing only indicates the extent of his usefulness. He delighted in helping young men to an education, and there are twenty-seven young men
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of New England whom he sent to college who otherwise could not have gone. To them he was the known benefactor, but there were hundreds to whom he extended encouraging words and sympathetic kindness, who perhaps did not realize how greatly they were indebted for the advice and helpful word which determined their future. He was of open genial disposition, kindly and generous, with a personal magnetism which attracted men and ever held them as friends. He was richly endowed with those qualities of mind and character which mark the manly man, but above them all possessed the spirit of courage and persistency which would not admit of failure. He was true to himself and true to every trust committed to him.
Mr. Bates married, December 24, 1868, Emma Frances Duncan, daugh- ter of Charles Duncan, of North Brookfield, also of distinguished Colonial ancestry. Mrs. Bates is also of Revolutionary descent, and in 1906 was vice-president general of the Daughters of the American Revolution, re- elected in 1908, and in 1913 was elected honorary vice-president general for life, there being only thirteen in the United States. Mr. Bates, a most de- voted husband, was keenly interested in the executive work performed by Mrs. Bates and in her charitable and literary interests. Their only daugh- ter, Tryphosa Duncan Bates, a young lady of decided musical and literary talent, was educated at Radcliffe College, which she entered very young. A most affectionate father, Mr. Bates took the deepest interest and pride in his daughter's career, gave her every advantage and his personal encouragement, especially in the development of her voice, which later was to bring her fame in both the United States and abroad, although he preferred she should sing but for charity, which wish she respected. He aided her in every way in the beginnings of her literary career, and was deeply gratified with the suc- cess of her published books and the splendid recognition she received from abroad, especially from royalty. Miss Bates married Francis Batcheller, of Boston, Massachusetts.
There came to Mrs. Bates after her honored husband's death many reso- lutions of respect and letters of sympathy. These came from personal friends, from the Society of Colonial Wars, the Society of 1812, the Sons of the Revolution, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Free and Accepted Masons, and other Masonic bodies, from various banks of which he was a director, from the Worcester Board of Trade and from the governing body of the town of North Brookfield.
Samuel Horton Colton
FOR many years in the nineteenth century, Mr. Colton was among the leading citizens of Worcester, filling a number of important public stations and working for the promotion of the general welfare. He was a scion of one of the old American families of English origin, and possessed in marked degree the qualities that led men to cross a wide ocean and settle in the wilderness for conscience' sake. With right impulses and a self-control born of correct training, he was ever found on the side of justice and right, and set to his contemporaries an example which those coming later might well follow.
The immigrant ancestor of this family was George Colton, who was born 1610-20 in England, and came from Suttan Coldfield, Warwickshire, to America. After a short time at Windsor, Connecticut, he located among the first settlers in that part of Springfield, Massachusetts, which is now Long Meadow, as early as 1644. He subscribed to the oath of allegiance in 1665, and was freeman in 1669. In 1671 and 1677 he was representative of Springfield in the General Court; he was on a committee to lay out lots and organize the town of Suffield, then supposed to be a part of Massachu- setts, and in 1672 to lay out the bounds of the town. In 1722 fifty acres were laid out in Suffield to his assigns on account of his services. He mar- ried Deborah Gardner, or Goodner, of Hartford, who died September 5, 1689. Their descendants have always been numerous in Enfield and Long Meadow, and have borne no mean part in the development of American civ- ilization.
Samuel Horton Colton was born November 24, 1802, in Long Meadow, a son of Reuben Colton and grandson of George Colton, both of whom were natives of the same town. Reuben Colton reared a family of four sons and one daughter, and died in 1825 at Chicago, Illinois. Samuel H. Colton learned the printer's trade and followed it until 1825, when he set- tled at Worcester, and joined John Milton Earle in the publication of the Worcester "Spy." They probably did most of the composition and printing themselves in that early day, and by close application to business was suc- cessful. Owing to failing health Mr. Colton retired from the firm of S. H. Colton & Company, publishers of the "Spy" and found restoration in outdoor occupation. For some time he conducted a nursery business, having grounds at the corner of Austin and Main streets, Worcester, where are now busi- ness blocks. He also cultivated ground in South Worcester, and after a time engaged in the insurance business in the city. He was universally esteemed and respected, and was often called to the service of his fellows in positions
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of responsibility. He died in Chicago in 1871, while on a business trip to the west.
He married (first) October 6, 1830, Anna K. Earle, born October 12, 1806, died March 28, 1842, daughter of Timothy and Ruth (Keese) Earle, of Leicester, Massachusetts. Their only child, Samuel, died in early infancy. Mr. Colton married (second) Ann King, a native of New York, daughter of John A. and Mary B. King. John A. King was a London banker, came to New York in 1791, and became treasurer of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, continuing until his death. He married, in 1801, Mary B. Bowne, born 1777, in Flushing, Long Island, daughter of James and Caroline (Rod- man) Bowne. She was the mother of three sons and seven daughters. All the daughters married and lived in New York, where the last survivor died in 1898, at the age of eighty-three years. The only son to grow to maturity was John Bowne King, long a prominent physician at Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel H. Colton were the parents of a number of children, four of whom grew to maturity, namely: I. John Bowne, was long active in managing the Bay State Shoe Company, from which he re- tired in 1895. 2. Mary, unmarried, resides in Worcester. 3. Reuben, re- sides in Boston. 4. Samuel H., educated at the Friends' School at Provi- dence, and was long engaged in business at Worcester; for fourteen years he was treasurer of the Wright & Colton Wire Company, now known as the Wright Wire Company, from which he retired in 1899; since then most of his time was devoted to outdoor experiments at his estate called Red Farm, in Millbury, Massachusetts; he attained success in rearing a herd of Angora goats, and continually engaged in agricultural developments ; he made plans to accompany Donald B. McMillan on his expedition to Greenland, as a hunter in the interest of the American Museum of Natural History, but circumstances forced him to abandon the trip; he died July 3, 1913, at Red Farm; he was a member of the Worcester Club and a member of All Saints' (Protestant Episcopal) Church; he married Elizabeth Slater Howe, of Wor- cester, daughter of the late James H. Howe; children, all of whom survive him: Katharine, married Lorin Coes; Samuel H .; James Howe; John Bowne; Sydney; Rodman; Susanna B .; Eleanor K.
John M. Bemis
D R. J. MERRICK BEMIS, son of Samuel Flagg and Betsey ( Bar- rett) Bemis, was born May 4, 1820, at Sturbridge, Massa- chusetts, and died October 3, 1904. He practiced his pro- fession for fifty-six years, and was one of the most eminent physicians that ever resided in Worcester. Almost to the day of his death he retained his faculties and health. It was often said of him, during the last score of years that he practiced, that he was one of the most active aged men of Worcester, carrying on a busi- ness that would tax the energies of a man of fifty. Through his entire pe- riod of practice, Dr. Bemis confined his study and attention to his specialty, nervous and mental diseases, and he was for many years recognized as one of the leading alienists of the country. The wide range of knowledge and ex- perience in cases of insanity, coming under his observation and care during his long connection with large institutions for the insane, gave him an advantage over most of the specialists in this line of study. He was called often as an expert in consultation and by the courts. His record of twenty-five years of continuous service in the State Insane Asylum, at Worcester, was in itself a remarkable record, and evidence of his ability and powers of endurance.
His parents moved from Sturbridge to Charlton when he was quite young. He was brought up on a farm, getting what educational advan- tages the district schools of his day afforded. He sought a higher education and worked his way through Dudley Academy. He walked each way every week from his home to the academy, a distance of twelve miles, teaching school in winter to pay his way in the academy. He went to Amherst Academy for two years with the expectation of going to Amherst College. A long and severe illness caused him to abandon his plans for a college education, and for several years he taught school in Brookfield, Massachusetts. At the age of twenty-one he began the study of medicine, and entered the office of Dr. Winslow Lewis as a student, but continued to pay his way by teaching school in the winters. He attended medical lectures at Pittsfield, Massachu- setts, Medical College, where he received the first half of his medical educa- tion, and later went to Castleton Medical College, of Vermont, where in 1848 he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. On November 14, 1848, he came to Worcester to take the place, temporarily, of one of the physicians in the lunatic asylum, and soon afterward received an appointment as assistant physician to Dr. George Chandler, the superintendent. When, eight years later, in 1855, Superintendent Chandler resigned, the attention of the trustees was at once turned to Dr. Bemis as the most capable man for the position, and he was elected to the office. . Being given a leave of absence for the pur-
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pose of travel and study in Europe, he made an extended tour, lasting eight months. He returned to Worcester in the summer of 1857 and took charge. Immediately he began to put into operation the reforms and new methods he had learned. For seventeen years he filled the position of superintendent to the satisfaction of the State authorities, and developed the institution until it stood among the foremost American hospitals for the insane. Radical changes in the methods of treating insanity were made during his administration. One of the innovations due to Dr. Bemis was the employment of compe- tent female physicians in lunatic asylums. It is difficult to understand now how these institutions got along without women physicians. The custom has now become general. One of his last and most important duties in the State institution was the establishment of the hospital at Bloomingdale, the land for which was bought during the last years of his superintendency of the Summer street institution. He submitted plans for the buildings, and again visited Europe in 1868 to inspect hospitals for the insane and study the treat- ment for the insane and the treatment of lunatics. The Massachusetts insti- tution was kept in the front rank of progress. The example set by this Com- monwealth has been exceedingly useful and beneficent, because it has been fol- lowed in other States, and by private institutions generally in this country.
Dr. Bemis resigned his position in 1872 to establish a private hospital for the care and treatment of patients afflicted with the various forms of mental and nervous diseases. He located the hospital on Salisbury street, Worcester. The main building is the mansion built in 1857 by the Rev. Na- thaniel Bent for a young ladies' seminary. This property, which includes ten acres of land, is very favorably located for its purpose. The hospital is known as Herbert Hall. The large, handsome mansion is cheerful, airy and well furnished; there are spacious verandas surrounding the buildings; the view from the hall is one of the most picturesque in a country abounding in fine scenery; there are attractive walks under the stately old shade trees in the spacious grounds, and altogether it is an ideal place for an invalid and convalescent. It has been successfully conducted ever since its foundation, first by Dr. Merrick Bemis, then by him and his son, Dr. John M. Bemis, and from the founder's death by his son alone until his death. No mention of Dr. Bemis' professional career would be complete without referring to his prominence as a specialist in psychiatry. He was frequently consulted both by medical brethren and by the courts in difficult cases of insanity or alleged insanity. He wrote many monographs upon hospital work among the insane and on the general subject of insanity.
He was a man of large heart and generous impulses and gave freely to charities. Few have equaled him in proportion to his means in the num- ber of gifts judiciously distributed among a variety of worthy objects. His patriotic service during the Civil War deserves special mention. When, in 1861, the president's proclamation calling for a force of 75,000 men to take the field immediately was made, Dr. Bemis earnestly desired to enter the serv-
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ice. He was unable to pass the physical examination, however, but he gave freely of his means to support the Union cause. He organized and equipped a company and sent it to the front. He took an active interest in their wel- fare while they were in the field, and contributed freely to the support of the families of the boys in that company while the war continued. It was due largely to his efforts that the public subscription to purchase the organ for Mechanics' Hall was successful. In 1864 the organ, which cost nine thou- sand dollars, was dedicated, and it has proved to be one of the finest instru- ments of its kind. It has been one of the factors in making the Musical Fes- tivals there so successful, from a musical point of view.
Dr. Bemis collected one of the most valuable and interesting private li- braries in the State. Much of the library is, of course, devoted to medical works, and some of the volumes are very old and rare. He found some time to devote to public affairs, and was a member of the Worcester Board of Alderman in 1861-62-63, serving at the same time on the School Board. This was a particularly important period during the early and darker years of the Civil War. He was a director of the Mechanics' National Bank; a member of the Worcester Horticultural Society, the Worcester Society of Antiquity, the Natural History Society, of which he was president until his death, the Massachusetts and Worcester District Medical societies, the Ameri- can Medical Association, the New England Psychological Society and the American Medico-Psychological Association. He was connected with vari- ous Masonic bodies; was a member of the Church of the Unity, and a life member of the American Unitarian Association. For about fifteen years he was one of the State trustees of the Baldwinville Hospital Cottages for Chil- dren, in the management and development of which he had taken a leading part, and was president of the corporation at the time of his death. He was the first American physician to take a stand for the division of hospital buildings for the insane into separate cottages or pavilions.
Dr. Bemis married, January 1, 1856, Caroline A. Gilmore, whose father was for thirty years a successful practitioner at Brookfield, Massachusetts. In his office, in fact, Dr. Bemis received his first lessons in medicine, and was started on his professional career while a school teacher at Brookfield. They had one child, John Merrick.
Dr. John Merrick Bemis was born in the old Summer Street Insane Hospital, Worcester, of which his father was superintendent, February 14, 1860, and died September 22, 1915. The life work of Dr. Bemis was so completely merged and identified with that of his father at Herbert Hall Hospital that what has been said as to the attainments of the father as a physician and specialist applies equally well to the son. He was educated from the start as a specialist, and had unusual opportunities for practice and hospital study. After his course at the Worcester High School, he became a student at Phillips Andover Academy, but was obliged, owing to poor health, to leave the academy, and he studied at home for three years under
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private tutors. He then entered the medical department of the University of Vermont, at Burlington, from which institution he received his diploma in 1893, that of Doctor of Medicine. Later he did special work at the Harvard Medical School, and upon completing his education, he returned to Worcester and became associated with his father in the management of the Herbert Hall Hospital, which his father founded in 1872, and upon the death of his father, in 1904, he assumed the duties of superintendent of the hospital, serv- ing in that capacity until his death. He was ever a student, studying from time to time at Harvard and Clark universities, and frequently he wrote pa- pers for various learned societies. His specialty, of course, was mental dis- eases. Herbert Hall is the only private hospital in the State devoted to in- sane patients exclusively, except the McLean Hospital, which is in a class by itself. Herbert Hall is chartered by the State and under the State super- vision. It ranks high among the institutions of its kind. Dr. Bemis devoted his time almost exclusively to the hospital. He was trustee of the Baldwin- ville Hospital Cottages for Children, on the education committee of the High- land Military Academy of Worcester, a member of the Massachusetts Medi- cal Society, the Worchester Medical Society, the American Psychological So- ciety and the New England Psychological Socety. In religion he was an Epis- copalian.
Dr. Bemis married, June 25, 1887, Fannie Bishop Brown, of Andover, Massachusetts. Children of Dr. and Mrs. Bemis: Annie Merrick, born Oc- tober 1, 1888, married William Wood; Caroline Gilmore, born May 25, 1891, married William Seach, naval officer in the United States navy.
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