Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 132

Author: Herndon, Richard; Bacon, Edwin M. (Edwin Monroe), 1844-1916
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Boston : New England Magazine
Number of Pages: 1036

USA > Massachusetts > Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts > Part 132

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).

S. C. LAWRENCE.

Regiment in 1860. When the Civil War broke out, his regiment was one of the first in the coun- try to volunteer for service, being tendered by him to Governor Andrew on April 15, 1861. Under orders received just before midnight April 18, it reported for duty with full ranks the next morning, and, being sent to the front. fought with credit in the first battle of Bull Run, in which engagement Colonel Lawrence was wounded. In June, 1862, he was commissioned brigadier-gen- eral in the Massachusetts militia, which rank he held till August, 1864, when he resigned. In 1869 he was elected commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and served

983

MEN OF PROGRESS.

the customary term. He has been connected with the Masonic order since early manhood, and has risen to high position in the organization, having served as grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island the past year. He was made a master Mason in Hiram Lodge of West Cambridge (now Arlington) in 1854, and became a charter mem- ber of Mount Hermon Lodge, founded by him- self and associates in Medford. He was elected junior warden in 1858, shortly after senior war- den, and in 1862 worshipful master, in which position he continued till 1865. In 1870 he was elected grand senior warden of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and he has served as one of the board of directors of that body since 1869. He became a member of St. Paul's Royal Arch Chap- ter in 1855, and a charter member of Mystic Royal Arch Chapter of Medford in 1864. In the latter chapter he has served as captain of the host, excellent scribe and king, and most excellent high priest. In 1879 he was appointed district deputy grand high priest for the eighth capitular district of Massachusetts, in which office he served through 1880. He received the degree of royal and select master in Boston Council. The orders of knighthood were conferred on him in De Molay Commandery, Knights Templar, of Boston in 1856; and he became a member of the Boston Commandery in 1858. He served one year as sword-bearer, two as generalissimo, and in 1873 became eminent commander. In 1875 he was elected an honorary member of Joseph Warren Commandery of Boston, and later an hon- orary member of St. John's Commandery of Phila- delphia and of Apollo Commandery of Chicago. In 1875 he was elected deputy grand commander of the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Rhode Island ; and since October, 1879, he has served as one of the trustees of its grand fund. He received the degrees of the Royal Order of Scotland in May. 1878, and became one of the original members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of the order for the United States of America. and a member of the mother body of the royal order in Scotland. At the same time he was ap- pointed junior grand warden of the Provincial Grand Lodge of H. R. M. for the United States. He was invested with the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite to the thirty-first de- gree inclusive May 9. 1862, with the thirty-second degree a week later, and with the thirty-third de-

gree in December, 1864. Ile was a charter mem- ber of Lafayette Lodge of Perfection, Giles F. Vates Council of Princes of Jerusalem, Gourgas Chapter of Rose Croix, and of DeWitt Clinton Consistory, and was elected an honorary member of each of these bodies ; also an honorary member of Mount Calvary Chapter of Rose Croix, Lowell, and of Sutton Lodge of Perfection, Salem. From 1862 to 1867 he served as deputy commander- in-chief of the Grand Consistory of Massachusetts. From 1881 to 1883 he was grand master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and it was largely through his efforts that the heavy debt on the Masonic Temple in Boston was paid in full. He was made an active member of the Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Northern Masonic Jurisdiction United States, in 1866, and in 1888 was elected minister of state. which position he still holds. A feature of his Masonic labor has been the establishment of permanent charitable funds in every body with which he has been associated in working offices. He has given much attention to the literature of the order, and he possesses one of the most com- plete Masonic libraries in the country. General Lawrence has always been keenly interested in the welfare of Medford; and he has done much in various ways, without ostentation, for its advance- ment. When the old town became a city, in 1892, he was called to the chair as its first mayor by a spontaneous movement of the citizens ; and. although he had previously repeatedly declined other public positions offered him, he accepted this office as an especial honor. General Law- rence was married April 28, 1859. at Charles- town, to Caroline Rebecca Badger, daughter of the Rev. William and Rebecca Badger. They have two children : William Badger and Louise Law- rence.

LOCKHART, WILLIAM LAWSON, of Boston, manufacturer of undertakers' goods. is a native of Nova Scotia, born in the town of Horton. July 20, 1829. son of David and Lucy ( McNutt) Lockhart. He is of Scotch descent. He was educated in the public schools of his native place. He began work as a ship carpenter when yet a boy, and afterward became a house carpenter, working successfully at that trade for a number of years. He left home at the age of nineteen, and came to Boston, where he has since been estab- lished. He entered his present business in 1856,

984

MEN OF PROGRESS.

at East Cambridge, and within a comparatively few years became one of the leading manufact- urers and wholesale dealers in caskets, coffins,

١٠٠

W. L. LOCKHART.

and undertakers' goods in this part of the coun- try. His extensive factory is still in East Cam- bridge, with warerooms in Boston. Mr. Lockhart is a veteran yachtsman, and is a member of the Massachusetts, Hull, and Boston Yacht clubs. In politics he is a Democrat. Ile was married in 1857 to Miss Lucy O. Smith, of Kennebunk, Me.

LONG, ROBERT JAMES, of Boston, editor of the British American and the American Citizen, is a native of Nova Scotia, born in the town of Liverpool, January 18, 1849, son of John and Mary ( Firth ) Long. He is of Scotch-Irish ances- try. He received his education in the common schools and through private tuition after business hours, being at work in his boyhood earning his living. His first work was in a newspaper office in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, which he entered at the age of thirteen. He remained there for five years, and then engaged in the general printing business as an employee in the establishment of Rand, Avery, & Co., at that time on Cornhill. Boston. His work here covered a period of

seven years. In 1875 he engaged in the printing and publishing business on his own account, establishing himself on Bromfield Street ; and he has continued in this business and on this street since that date. He has been editor of the Brit- ish American and the American Citizen since 1887. In 1895 he was elected president of the Boston Daily Publishing Company, the proprietors of the Boston Daily Standard. He is chiefly interested in patriotic, temperance, and charitable work, and in woman suffrage. In politics he is classed as a Prohibition-Republican. He has neither held nor sought public place, and is not connected with any of the numerous societies and clubs in Bos- ton. He was married June 25, 1878, to Miss Julia M. Smith, of Port Huron, Mich. They have

R. J. LONG.

had five children : Wesley R., Robert J .. George R. (deceased), Cedric B., and Edelweis Searles Long.

MASTERS, EZEKIEL WOODWORTH, of Boston, master of dancing, was born in Nova Scotia, May 14, 1833, son of Ezekiel and Frances Eliza- beth (Hays) Masters. His paternal ancestors were English, and, being Loyalists in America, at the time of the Revolution fled to the province of Nova Scotia, where they took up large tracts of

985

MEN OF PROGRESS.

land, and turned their attention to farming. His paternal grandfather settled in Cornwallis, near Grand Pré, the home of Evangeline, Gabriel Lajeunesse, and the rest of the "simple Acadian farmers." On the maternal side he traces his ancestry back to the Huguenots; and to that strain is credited the desire of his parents that he should become a clergyman,- an idea that they were reluctantly obliged to abandon; for he in- clined to a more active life. His early education was obtained in the schools of Nova Scotia, and later in Boston. Finding the course of study in the public schools here different from that which he had pursued in Nova Scotia, attendance at the public school was discontinued after a short time ; and he received private instruction as preparatory for a business career. Natural taste turned him toward mechanical pursuits, which he followed for several years. Later on the study of music led to the train of the twin sister, danc- ing ; and in 1850 he entered the school for dancing conducted by H. N. Huston, where he took a two years' course. The style of dancing practised here was that of the " old school"; and, having a desire for perfection, he next arranged for a course of lessons under Professor William Napoleon Bell. Within a few weeks the professor, admir- ing his proficiency as a dancer, offered him the position of assistant, promising that at the end of a three years' course he would make him the best teacher of dancing in the United States. The prospect was alluring, and soon led to contract to enter upon professional duties. At that time round dancing was a new feature, and the young disciple of Terpsichore entered upon the work of acquirement with zeal. The rotary work lent such a charm to practice that the small hours of the night often found him diligently employed in the study and practice of rhythmical motion. All the technicalities of the art of dancing were faithfully studied, and this necessitated the ac- quirement in part of the French language. Jete, coupe, Rond de Jambe, and Pas de Basque became loving terms to him as soon as their definitions were acquired. Subsequently the more classical work of fancy dancing was attained under the tutelage of some of the most celebrated masters of England and America. In 1858 Mr. Masters became principal of a school of his own; and from that time to the present, with the exception of the Civil War period, he has maintained his school, which is recognized by many as the lead-

ing school for dancing in New England. A feat- ure in his professional life has been composition ; and many of the exhibition dances now in general use by the dancing fraternity of this country are his invention, while many of the ordinary dances of society have originated with him or have been largely improved by him. The glide waltz, the redowa schottische, the Yorke, the waltz-lanciers, may be included in the list of his works. Realiz- ing the necessity of reform both in methods of teaching and style of society dancing, Mr. Masters in 1883 founded an organization known as the American National Association, composed of mas- ters of dancing of the United States and Canada. He filled the office of president for ten years ; and, declining re-election at the Chicago convention of the association in 1893, he was elected secre- tary, which position he still retains. This organi- zation is accomplishing much by its efforts to make social dancing more umform throughout the country. Mr. Masters has frequently delivered historical lectures on dancing and kindred sub- jects in different cities, and has also contributed articles on the same subjects to magazines and

E. WOODWORTH MASTERS.

periodicals. In 1883 he began the publication of the Galop, a paper devoted to the interests of dancing and the profession, of which he is at

986

MEN OF PROGRESS.

present editor and proprietor. He is a member of a number of social orders, including the Sons of Temperance, the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Honor, and the Knights of Malta. In military life he has been a member of the Boston Fusiliers, from which he was drawn as a non-commissioned officer on the staff of Colonel Henry W. Wilson of the First Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and he organized the first regimental band for that corps in 1873, which band filled a contract for thirty-seven public concerts for the city of Boston during the summer seasons. The duties of his profession have prevented any participation in politics or public life, although well fitted for political work as an experienced speaker. He was married to his present wife (Clara A. Whitten) in 1880, the ceremony taking place at Odd Fellows' Hall, Boston, on the night of his annual party of that year, the service being performed by the Rev. Minot J. Savage. He has five children : Ethel- ston Moore, Earle Woodworth, Deane Whitten, Grace Grayle, and Parke Hayes Masters. He has resided in Roxbury for several years, his academy being in Park Square, Boston.

McLAUTHLIN, GEORGE THOMAS, of Boston, manufacturer, was born in Duxbury, October 11, 1826, son of Martin and Hannah (Reed) Mc- Lauthlin ; died in Boston, July 20, 1895. He was of Scotch-English ancestry. His first an- cestors in New England on the paternal side settled in Pembroke, the next town to Dux- bury, in the early part of the seventeenth cent- ury; and through his mother he descended from the Reeds, who settled in Weymouth in 1635. His father's family name was originally Maglathlin, and underwent several changes before that of McLauthlin was finally adopted. His maternal grandfather was Colonel Jesse Reed, an inventor of distinction, whose inventions included the nail machine, which is to-day used in practically its original form wherever " cut nails " are made, also a line of machinery for making and preparing the nail plates for that machine, and various other mechanical devices, many of which are in general use. His father was a machinist. Mr. Mc- Lauthlin inherited his grandfather's inventive genius, and, with his brother, Martin P., was brought up by his father under strict industrial training. He attended the public schools of East

Bridgewater, to which place his parents removed when he was a child of two years, and subse- quently took courses at the Adelphian Academy, meeting his board and other expenses from his own earnings. At sixteen years of age he undertook shoemaking, without instruction; and the next year began to employ help in his modest business. Thus, working mornings and evenings, while at- tending school the greater part of the day, and Jonger hours between school terms, he earned the means through which he obtained his academic training. His eagerness for knowledge led him to continue his studies while at his work, the work-

GEO. T. McLAUTHLIN.

bench serving the purpose of a desk for the open books. At the age of eighteen he was unexpect- edly solicited to teach a public school, and, accept- ing the offer gladly, followed teaching through four winters, first in Hanson, then in Pembroke, and the last two terms in the North Marshfield graded school, with exceptional success, mean- while continuing his shoemaking and studies. At the age of twenty he conceived the plan of running his shoe shop on the system of subdivision of work, giving each workman employed a special part of the work on each shoe; and this, it is be- lieved, was the origin and beginning of the " gang system " in shoe manufacturing. In the execu-

987

MEN OF PROGRESS.

tion of his plan he was joined by a schoolmate, James S. Barrell (who became in later years mas- ter of a Cambridge school), and they employed three other boys (each of whom afterward became a successful business man), the five boys consti- tuting the "gang." All soon became experts in their parts of the work, and the profitableness of the new system was quickly demonstrated. The rolling-machine, which was then slowly super- seding the lap-stone, and the shoe-jack in place of the knee-strap, were used in the shop. Upon at- taining his majority, Mr. McLauthlin, led by his mechanical taste, sought a wider field, and, enter- ing into partnership with his brother, Martin P., began, almost without means, the manufacture of shoe machinery at Marshfield. At that time this was a new industry in which few were engaged ; and shoemakers were slow to drop the old lap- stone for an inexpensive rolling-machine, or add to their modest " bench kit" of tools a cheap leather skiving and welt-splitting machine, al- though these machines would save their cost in a short time. Consequently, the new business at the beginning proved too limited for two; and George T. soon after bought out his brother's in- terest. In 1850 he moved to Plymouth, and there added to his shoe machinery manufacture the making of water-wheels and general machinery. In this business he prospered, and through the ex- tensive introduction of his wheels, which early found market in nearly every State and Territory in the United States, in Canada, South America, Turkey, and Africa, became widely known as the " water-wheel man." In 1852 he opened a Boston office on State Street, and two years later moved his works to Boston, establishing them on Albany Street. In 1858 he removed to East Boston, leas- ing the machine works there of the East Boston Iron Company, which he added to his own. In 1861 his works were destroyed in the destructive fire of the Fourth of July that year caused by fire- crackers, when fifteen acres of property were burned over; and before the fire had ceased he had purchased the works of William Adams & Co., at No. 120 Fulton Street, Boston. Here his factory has since been established, and his office from 1864. After his purchase of those premises he added the manufacture of steam-engines, eleva- tors, and other machinery along the lines which had been followed by William Adams & Co. In 1878 he made further additions, purchasing a con- siderable portion of the stock of portable engines

of the J. C. Hoadley Company, and becoming the successor to its portable engine business. Mr. Hoadley was at the same time secured by him as consulting engineer, and was retained in that capacity until his death in 1886. Mr. McLauthlin was much engaged in labor-saving inventions, ex- periments, and tests. His most extensive work in the latter class was a series of comparative model tests on water-wheels, begun in 1860 and finished in 1868. Requiring a testing apparatus for absolute accuracy, he perfected an ingenious automatic affair which maintained the water at one exact level, accurately recorded the time of the test, recorded to a fraction the pounds of water used for each test, and the exact distance the weight was raised,- all during the time only that the wheel was in regular working operation. The operator had only to prepare the wheel, set the apparatus for the test, hoist the gate, and close it after the finish of the test. He could then take off the automatically noted records, and with slight mathematical calculations compared with those formerly necessary determine the result to within one-twentieth of one per cent. of absolute accuracy. Mr. McLauthlin was a director in various companies in which he held interests. He was married in 1854 to Miss Clara M. Holden, daughter of the late Freeman Holden, of Boston. She died in 1882.

MIXTER, SAMUEL JASON, M.D., of Boston, was born in Hardwick, May 10, 1855, son of William and Mary (Ruggles) Mixter. He was educated at Towers Park Latin School and the Brimmer School, Boston, and at the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology, where he took a course in physics, and graduated in 1875. He studied medicine in the Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1879. After leaving the medical school, he spent a year in the Massachusetts Gen- eral Hospital as house officer, and then, going abroad, further studied for two years in Vienna. He has since practised in Boston. He was for seven years demonstrator of anatomy in the Har- vard Medical School, and has served as surgeon to the Massachusetts General Hospital. surgeon to the Carney Hospital, and consulting surgeon to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He is a member of the American Surgical Associa- tion, of the Massachusetts Medical Society, of the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, of

988

MEN OF PROGRESS.

the Boston Society for Medical Sciences, of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of the M. P .. St. Botolph, and Athletic clubs. Dr.

S J. MIXTER.

Mixter was married, August 12, 1879, to Miss Wilhelmina Galloupe, daughter of Charles W. and Sarah A. (Kittredge) Galloupe, of Boston. They have had five children : William Jason, Charles Galloupe, Roger Conant (deceased), George, and Samuel Mixter.

NIELSON. CARL S., of Boston, builder, and operator in suburban real estate, is a native of Denmark, born in Aarhus, June 12, 1856, son of Severine Sorenson and Niels (Jargen) Nielson. He was educated in the public schools of his native city. After leaving school, he served five years an indentured apprenticeship at bricklaying, and, receiving a diploma from an examining board created for that purpose, became a journeyman. During his apprenticeship he also studied archi- tecture and drafting as a building engineer. He came to this country in 1880, and at first worked at his trade of bricklaying for some of the leading builders in Boston, among them Woodbury & Leighton and Connery & Wentworth. In 1889 he formed a partnership with A. E. Blanchard, of

Everett, and began building extensively in that suburban city. They erected about two hundred and fifty dwellings for sale and to order, and during the same time built a large brick business block for W. F. Fitzgerald on Chelsea Street, a large school-house for the city on Beacham Street, three large business blocks on Broadway and Ferry Street, and several brick and wooden houses in Chelsea. The partnership was dis- solved in 1892 ; and since that time Mr. Nielson has continued the business alone, building a large number of houses in Everett. In 1892 he ex- tended his operations into the Dorchester District of Boston, purchasing there a tract of thirty-six acres, bounded by three streets and the New York & New England Railroad, and beginning on an extensive scale the building of modern dwell- ings for the market. He then opened a Dor- chester office on the corner of Norfolk Street and Mountain Avenue, and also a main office in the city proper at No. I Beacon Street. In 1895 he acquired an interest in a car company, and was made president of the company. In politics Mr. Nielson generally acts with the Republican party,

CARL S NIELSON.

but takes no active part in political work. He belongs to no clubs or other organizations, finding his time fully occupied by his business and his

MEN OF PROGRESS.

989

home. He was married March 31, 1877, to Miss Marie Jansen. They have an adopted daughter : Mena Nielson. The family now reside in Dor- chester, where Mr. Nielson has built his house within the large tract of land which he acquired for development in 1892.

NILES, WILLIAM HARMON, of Cambridge, pro- fessor of geology and physical geography in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wellesley College, and Boston University, was born in Northampton, May 18, 1838. His father was the Rev. Asa Niles, and his mother, Mary A. (Marcy) Niles. He inherited from his father a quick, re- tentive memory, and from his mother a genuine love of nature. In boyhood he was fond of col- lecting and studying minerals and plants, and his subsequent career was clearly foreshadowed by his youthful recreations. His early education was received in the public schools of Worthington, where he then resided ; and later he went to Wes- leyan Academy at Wilbraham. His love for natu- ral science was there developed by the instruc- tions and encouragement of his uncle, Oliver Marcy, LL. D., now professor at the North-western University. Acting under his advice, he went to Cambridge to become a student of the late Pro- fessor Louis Agassiz at the Museum of Compara- tive Zoology, where he remained four years, and where he was intimately associated with young men who have since become distinguished in science. To extend his scientific education, he became a member of the junior class of the Shef- field Scientific School, Yale College, and gradu- ated Ph.B. in 1867. He received the honorary degree of A.M. from Wesleyan University, Mid- dletown, Conn., in 1870. He began teaching in public schools at seventeen years of age, and be- fore his graduation he frequently delivered pub- lic lectures. He was also early employed by the Massachusetts State Board of Education as in- structor in natural sciences, and as evening lect- urer at "State Teachers' Institutes," in which work he continued for ten successive years. In 1867 he began giving courses of public lectures and lyceum lectures upon geological and geo- graphical subjects, sometimes speaking from sev- enty to one hundred times in a single season. He was repeatedly called to give full courses of ten or twelve lectures each. The Lowell Institute in Boston, the Peabody Institution in Baltimore,

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.

Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 132

Author: Herndon, Richard; Bacon, Edwin M. (Edwin Monroe), 1844-1916 Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Boston : New England Magazine Number of Pages: 1036

Author: Herndon, Richard; Bacon, Edwin M. (Edwin Monroe), 1844-1916
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Boston : New England Magazine
Number of Pages: 1036