Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 135

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 135

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

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Dodge, of Harvard, Mass. Their children are : Gertrude, Philip Henry. Helen Louise, and Max Sands Savage.

SCOFIELD, HENRY BURRITT, of Boston, man- ager of the furniture business of H. R. Plimp- ton & Co .. is a native of Connecticut, born in Bridgeport, March 29, 1854, son of Cornelius and Betsy (Selleck) Scofield. His father was a manufacturer and an inventor, having devised many improvements in carriage construction, and originated and patented the sofa bed which was

H. B. SCOFIELD.

added to by H. R. Plimpton, and is now widely known as the Plimpton Sofa Bed. He was educated in the public schools of Bridgeport. At the age of eighteen, after some useful experi- enee in the office of the Bridgeport Daily Stan- dard, he entered the employment of H. R. & J. L. Plimpton, furniture dealers, in New York City. Here the real work of his life began. He was rapidly promoted until in March, 1875, he was called to the management of the Boston business of H. R. Plimpton & Co., then established at No. 872 Washington Street. In January following the firm removed to the new Plimpton Build- ing, No. 1077 Washington Street. Later on Mr.

Plimpton, failing in health, retired, thus leaving the large establishment in the sole management of Mr. Scofield. Under his direction the busi- ness has since grown to large proportions in both its retail and wholesale departments, the trade of the latter extending into all parts of the country and abroad. Mr. Scofield is a Freemason, mem- ber of Aberdour Lodge, and Lafayette Lodge of Perfection ; and is connected with the Royal Arcanum, the Ancient Order of United Work- men, and other organizations. He was married June 7, 1876. to Miss Emily L. Winters of New York. Their children are: Frank Plimp- ton, Harry Cornelius, Grace L., Joseph L., and Josephine L., the last two being twins, born in March, 1888. Frank, the eldest son, is captain in the regiment of the English High School of Boston, class of 1896.

SHATTUCK, GEORGE Oris, of Boston, mem- ber of the Suffolk bar, was born in Andover, May 2, 1829. son of Joseph and Hannah ( Bailey) Shat- tuek. He is of sterling Puritan stock, his first ancestor in New England on the paternal side having been William Shattuck, an early settler of Watertown, where he died in 1672 ; and on the ma- ternal side being also from an early New England family. Both of his grandfathers were soldiers of the Revolution, and his great-grandfather Bailey was killed at Bunker Hill. Mr. Shattuck was ed- ucated at Phillips (Andover) Academy and at Harvard College, where he graduated in the class of 1851. He began his law studies in the Boston office of Charles Greeley Loring, and spent two years at the Harvard Law School, graduating with his LL. B. in 1854. He was admitted to the Suf- folk bar on February 1, 1855, and shortly after began practice in Boston, in association with J. Randolph Coolidge. In May the following year he became associated with the late l'eleg W. Chandler, at that time one of the leaders of the Suffolk bar. This relation continued until 1870, when he withdrew, and formed a partnership with William A. Munroe, under the firm name of Shattuck & Munroe, which still exists. In 1873 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was admitted to the firm, when its name was changed to Shattuck, Holmes, & Munroe ; and he remained a member until his appointment to the bench of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1882. Upon his withdrawal the original firm name was restored. In his practice

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Mr. Shattuck has been especially successful in the conduct of large commercial cases, notably of cases affecting the interests and rights of cor-

GEO. O. SHATTUCK.

porations, manufacturing, railroad, and business. Among many important matters which he has car- ried to successful issue may be mentioned the Sayles bleaching case in Rhode Island and the Sudbury River water cases. He was counsel for the trustees of the Andover Theological Seminary in the famous Andover "heresy " cases. He has long taken an active interest in public affairs, and has been identified with important political reform movements ; but with the exception of one term in the Boston Common Council, - 1862,- he has held no public place, declining all invitations, however urgent, preferring the station of a private citizen and the uninterrupted pursuit of his profes- sion. He has served as a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard College since 1871. He is a member of the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety, of the American Unitarian Association, and of the Union and St. Botolph clubs of Boston. Mr. Shattuck was married October 15, 1857, to Miss Emily Copeland, daughter of Charles and Susan (Sprague) Copeland, of Roxbury. They have one daughter; Susan, now the wife of Dr. Arthur T. Cabot, of Boston.

SHERWIN, THOMAS, of Boston, president of the New England Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany, was born in Boston, July 11, 1839. His father was the distinguished scholar and instruc- tor, Thomas Sherwin, long and widely known as principal of the English High School of Boston, which under his direction became one of the lead- ing educational institutions of the country. His mother was Mary King Gibbens, a daughter of Colonel Daniel L. Gibbens, of Boston. On his father's side Mr. Sherwin is descended from the New Hampshire family of that name. His grandfather, David Sherwin, served in Stark's Brigade during the Revolution, and was at the battle of Bennington. He fitted for college at the Dedham High and Boston Latin schools, and graduated at Harvard College in 1860. During the college course he taught a winter school at Medfield, and for the year after graduation was master of the Houghton School in the town of Bolton. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted, with other young men of Bolton, where he was then engaged in teaching, and the adjoining towns. A company was formed for

THOMAS SHERWIN.

service during the war, of which Mr. Sherwin was elected captain. Ile was later commissioned adjutant of the Twenty-second Massachusetts

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Regiment, and took part in most of the battles of the Army of the Potomac with that regiment, until the expiration of its term of service in 1864, re- ceiving promotions to the rank of major and lieu- tenant colonel. He received the commissions of colonel and brigadier-general of United States Volunteers by brevet, for gallant service at Gettys- burg and for meritorious service during the war. Mr. Sherwin resumed for a time the profession of teaching, and was for a year an instructor in the Boston English High School. In 1866 he was appointed deputy surveyor of customs at Boston, and held that position till 1875, when he was elected to the newly established office of city col- lector of Boston. In 1883 he became auditor of the American Bell Telephone Company, which office he now holds. He has been president of the New England Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany since 1885. General Sherwin is a member of the Union, St. Botolph, and other clubs. He was elected commander of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion for the year 1892-93. He was married in 1870 to Miss Isabel Fiske Edwards, a daughter of the Hon. Thomas M. Edwards, of Keene, N. H. Their children are: Eleanor, Thomas Edwards, Mary King. Robert Waterston, Anne Isabel, and Edward Vassal Sherwin.

SINCLAIR, CHARLES A., connected with the Boston and Maine Railroad interests, is a native of New Hampshire, born in Bethlehem, son of the Hon. John G. and Tamar M. (Clark) Sinclair. He was educated in Newbury, Vt., and at Exeter, N.H. His business career was begun as a clerk in a store in Lexington, Mich., in 1867 ; and he entered the railroad field in 1881. His first notable operation was in stock of the Worcester, Nashua, & Rochester Railroad, which he began quietly purchasing until early in 1884, when it was found that he had secured the control of that property. He was elected a director of the road that year, and was subsequently made president ; and in October the following year the line was leased to the Boston & Maine Railroad. He then began, early in 1886, purchasing the stock of the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad, and, speedily securing control, was elected president of that corporation at the annual meeting in December. Subsequently, on June 1, 1887, this line also was leased to the Boston & Maine Railroad, Mr.

Sinclair retaining the presidency, which he still holds. His next move was on Eastern Railroad holdings : and early in 1889, after some time spent in quietly buying stock, he succeeded in purchasing, with others, in the open market, the control of the road, whereupon he was elected at the annual meeting in December a director. On May 9 following the Eastern was consolidated with the Boston & Maine Railroad. Meanwhile he had, in company with others, built the Upper Coos and Hereford railroads (1887-88), and be- come a director of both of these roads; and on the first of May, 1890, both roads were leased to

CHAS. A. SINCLAIR.

the Maine Central Railroad, a majority of the stock of which is owned by the Boston & Maine corporation. On December 11, 1890, Mr. Sin- clair was elected to the directory of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and a week later to that of the Maine Central. He served through one term in each, and in December, 1894, was again returned to the Boston & Maine directory. Besides his railroad interests, he is concerned in numerous other enterprises. He is the largest owner of the Morley Button Machine factory ; the largest owner of the Portsmouth Shoe Company, which employs upward of twelve hundred hands ; a director of the Frank Jones Brewing Company, Limited ; a di-

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rector of the Massachusetts National Bank ; and a proprietor of the Quincy House and the Moulton Café in Boston. He also owns the Portsmouth Times, the leading newspaper of New Hampshire. He has served in both branches of the New Hampshire Legislature, a member of the House in 1873, and twelve years after of the Senate, to which he was re-elected in 1888, and again in 1890. He served on the staff of Governor Weston, with the rank of colonel, in 1871 and 1872. He was married November 27. 1873, to Miss Emma I. Jones, daughter of the Hon. Frank Jones, of Portsmouth. They have four children.

SMITH, REV. SAMUEL FRANCIS, D.D., of New- ton, author of the national hymn, " America," was born in Boston, October 21, 1808, son of Samuel and Sarah (Bryant) Smith ; died in Boston, No- vember 16, 1895. He attended the Boston pub- lic schools, winning a Franklin medal at the old Eliot School and a gold medal for a poem at the Latin School, and graduated from Harvard Col- lege in the famous class of 1829, which included among its exceptionally brilliant members Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Freeman Clarke, and Benjamin Peirce. After leaving college, he took the regular course of the Andover Theological School, graduating in 1832, and soon after was licensed to preach. In 1834 he was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist church in Waterville, Me., and for the succeeding eight years was pastor of the Baptist church in that place. It the same time he held the professorship of modern languages in Waterville College (now Colby Uni- versity). In 1842 he became pastor of the First Baptist Church of Newton, and, removing to New- ton Centre, made that section his permanent home. The same year he was appointed editor of the Christian Review, published in Boston ; and for some time thereafter he successfully performed the double duties of pastor and editor. He re- mained in the Newton pastorate until 1854, when he withdrew from regular pastoral work, to devote himself more fully to literary pursuits. His editor- ship of the Christian Review continued till 1848 ; and in 1854 he became editor of the various pub- lications of the Baptist Missionary Union, which position he filled for fifteen years. His verse- making was begun when a boy of twelve, and very early took the form of hymns. His " My Country, 'tis of thee," the most noted of his compositions,

was written in 1832, when he was a theological student, one of a number of hymns and songs produced at that time, and subsequently published in the " Juvenile Lyre." It was written with no thought of producing a national lyric, and its great popularity in after years as a national hymn was a surprise as well as a pleasure to him. His own account of its birth and history is as follows. Lowell Mason, the celebrated Boston composer and introducer of music in the schools, had re- ceived from a gentleman, who had been sent from New York to Germany to study the school system of that country, a number of German music books used in the German schools, which were sent to Mr. Smith for examination. "One dismal day in the month of February, 1832," he continues, " while I was a student at the Theological Semi- nary in Andover, I stood in front of one of the windows of the room in which I resided. In turn- ing over the leaves of one of the books, 1 at length came upon a tune which instantly impressed me as being one of great simpleity; and I thought that with a great choir, either of children or older per- sons, such a tune would be very valuable, and that something good might come out of it. I just glanced at the German words at the foot of the page, and saw, without actually reading them, that they were patriotic. It occurred to me to write a patriotic hymn in English adapted to this tune. I reached out my left hand to a table that stood near me, and picked up a scrap of waste paper,- for I have a passion for writing on scraps of waste paper : there seems to be a kind of an inspiration in them,- and immediately began to write. In half an hour, as I think,- certainly, before I took my seat,- the words stood upon the paper sub- stantially as you have them to-day. ] did not think very much of the words. I did not think I had writ- ten a national hymn. I had no intention of doing such a thing, but there it stood. I dropped it into my portfolio, and it passed out of my memory ; and for a long time it did not come into my mind that I had done any such thing. Some time afterward, while visiting Boston, I took with me a collection of hymns and songs which I had written for my friend Mason, -. Murmur, Gentle Lyre,' was one of them,- and placed them in his hands. I think this little waif must have found its way into that collection ; but I was none the wiser for it, and never asked what he had done or was going to do with it. On the following Fourth of July, however, while passing Park Street Church,

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where a celebration by children was going on. I discovered that Mr. Mason had put my hymn on the programme ; and at the close of the ceremony the piece was sung." The hymn was put into a collection of songs for use in schools, published by Mr. Mason, and soon became known in other cities and countries. Subsequently it was repro- duced in various foreign languages. The same year, 1832, when at Andover, Dr. Smith wrote his famous missionary hymn, " The Morning Light is Breaking," which also has been translated into sev- eral languages : and he translated from the German most of his pieces in the " Juvenile Lyre " published

S. F. SMITH.

that year. He wrote in all some six hundred sacred, patriotic, and miscellaneous poems. which were published in various collections, under the title of "Lyric Gems " (Boston, 1843). "The Psalmist" (1843), and "Rock of Ages " (1866, second edition 1877); and hymns from his pen are found in the hymn-books of nearly all Chris- tian denominations. He also published in 1848 a "Life of Rev. Joseph Grafton." from 1879 to 1883 " Missionary Sketches," in 1880 the " His- tory of Newton, Mass .. " and in 1884 " Rambles in Mission Fields ": and he was a quite constant contributor to periodicals. He was an accom- plished linguist, being well acquainted with fifteen

languages. The work of Christian missions oc- cupied the larger part of his later years : and he made two journeys abroad. the first in 1875 and the second in 1880, visiting the chief missionary stations in Europe and Asia. He received the honorary degree of D.D. from Waterville College in 1854. Dr. Smith was married at Haverhill. September 16, 1834, to Miss Mary White Smith, grand-daughter of Dr. Hezekiah Smith, a minister in Haverhill for forty years. They had six chil- dren, three sons and three daughters. The sons were : S. Francis, now a banker of Davenport, la. : Ewing Underwood, a druggist in Chicago; and Daniel Appleton White Smith, a missionary in Burmah, where he has charge of the school for native preachers ; and the daughters : Mary White (deceased), the wife of the Rev. H. M. Jones, of Cedar Falls, la. ; Sarah B., widow of J. D. Can- dee, late editor of the Bridgeport (Conn.) Stan- dard: and Carrie E., wife of Professor J. F. Morton, of Andover. On April 3, 1895. Dr. Smith was given two publie testimonials in Boston, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. in honor of his authorship of "America "; and on that day the hymn was sung by school children in all parts of the country, from Maine to California.

STEARNS, WILLIAM SAINT AGNAN, of Salem, member of the bar, was born in Salem, September 27, 1822, son of Richard Sprague and Theresa (Saint Agnan) Stearns. His grandfather, William Stearns, graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1776. His education was acquired in the Salem Latin School. at Dummer Academy, and at Harvard College, graduating in the class of 1841. He studied law in the office of Emory Washburn in Worcester, and with Nathan Hazen at Andover, and at the Dane Law School at Cambridge; and he was admitted to the Essex County bar at Ipswich in 1846. He began practice in Prince- ton, Ill., where he remained two years. Return- ing to Massachusetts, he practised for a year in South Reading, then for a while in Malden, finally settling in Charlestown, where he continued in active practice, with an office also in Boston part of the time, till the annexation of Charles- town to Boston in 1874. During the last three years of the corporate existence of Charlestown he was city solicitor, and ably performed the cluties of that office. He was associated for a number of years with John Q. A. Griffin : and in

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1868, two years after the death of Mr. Griffin, he formed a partnership with John Haskell Butler, which continued till January, 1892, when he re-

W. S. A. STEARNS.

tired from practice. He has since been devoted to his private affairs and his real estate in Malden, Charlestown, Everett, Somerville, Salem, and Mar- blehead, the development of which he began some years ago, and which has much enhanced in value under his prudent management. Mr. Stearns was married in Malden, May 10, 1849, to Miss H. Em- ily Whitman. His home in Salem is in the house built by his great-grandfather, Joseph Sprague, in 1750.

STEVENS, I HERBERT ELLIOTT, of Boston, manager of the Mercantile Mutual Accident Asso- ciation, was born in North Bridgewater, July 27, 1870, son of George W. and Sarah J. (Elliott) Stevens. He was educated in the public schools of Brockton and at a Boston commercial college. After leaving school, he became a page in the State Senate, serving through the sessions of 1888 and 1889 ; and from that position he was promoted to the assistant clerkship of the Senate, in which station he served four years,- 1890-93. He be- came connected with the Preferred Accident In- surance Company of New York, N.Y., in 1893, as

the New England manager, and is now secretary and general manager of the Mercantile Mutual Accident Association of Boston. He is promi- nently connected with the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the American Legion of Honor, and is a past commander of the Sons of Veterans. In politics he is an active Republican, and is connected with numerous party organiza- tions, among them the Plymouth County Repub- lican Campaign Committee, of which he was secre- tary until his resignation upon removing from the county, and the Plymouth, Norfolk, and Middle- sex clubs. He is a member of the Highland Club

H. E. STEVENS.

of West Roxbury, where he resides. Mr. Stevens was married September 15, 1891, to Miss Marie Wales Nash, of Whitman. They have one son : Charles Dexter Stevens.

TUCKER, GEORGE FOX, of New Bedford and Boston, member of the bar, was born in New Bedford, January 19, 1852, son of Charles Russell and Dorcas (Fry) Tucker. The family have been members of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, since 1660, since which period seven successive generations have lived either in New Bedford or in the adjoining town of Dartmouth.

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He was educated at the Friends' Academy in New Bedford. the Friends' School in Providence, R.I., and at Brown University, graduating in 1873. He studied law in the office of George Marston and William W. Crapo. New Bedford, and at the Boston University Law School, where he gradu- ated LL.B. in 1875. He was admitted to the Bristol County bar the following year, and began practice in New Bedford. He continued there till 1882, when he removed his office to Boston, and became associated with his former preceptor, the Hon. George Marston, who was at that time attorney-general of the Commonwealth. In 1892 he was appointed reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court. Mr. Tucker has pub- lished a number of legal works which have given him a wide reputation in the profession. His first volume was " A Manual of Wills." published in 1884, a book of Massachusetts law accepted as an authority on the subject. This was shortly followed by a monograph on the " Monroe Doc- trine." In 1888 " A Manual of Business Corpo- rations " appeared, and in 1889 "Notes on the United States Revised Statutes." brought out

GEORGE F. TUCKER.

jointly with John M. Gould, which has had a cir- culation almost unprecedented in legal literature. He is also the author of a novel entitled "A

Quaker Home," the scene of which is laid in New Bedford. In that city, where he has always re- sided, with the exception of two or three years, Mr. Tucker served on the School Committee in 1881 : and he was a representative for the city in the State Legislature for 1890-91-92. In the latter body he served on the committees on bills in the third reading, rules, and constitutional amendments. He has received the degree of Ph.D. from Brown University in recognition of his literary productions. He is a member of the St. Botolph, University, and Press clubs of Boston and of the Wamsutta Club of New Bedford. He is unmarried.

WADE, LEVI CLIFFORD, of Boston, member of the Suffolk bar and second president of the Mexican Central Railroad, was born in Alle- gheny, Penna., January 16, 1843 ; died in New- ton, March 21. 1891. He was of early New Eng- land ancestry, his father Levi Wade, born in Woburn, being descended from early settlers in Medford, where they were large land-owners, and his mother. A. Annie (Rogers) Wade, being a descendant of the Rev. John Rogers, of Ipswich, president of Harvard College from April, 1682, to the date of his death, July 2. 1684. Mr. Wade's father was a successful merchant, and his mother was widely esteemed for her musical and literary attainments and her benevolent works. He was educated at home and in the public schools until he reached the age of thirteen, and after that, until his nineteenth year, under private tutors and at the Lewisburg University, Pennsyl- vania, now Bucknell University, where he passed through the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. Then he entered Yale College, and grad- uated in the class of 1866 with special honors. While in college, he was one of the editors of the Vale Literary Magasine, and took several prizes in debate, declamation, and composition. After his graduation he studied Greek and Hebrew ex- egesis for one year under Dr. H. B. Hackett and theology for a year under Dr. Alvah Hovey. of Newton. From 1868 to 1873 he taught school in Newton, and at the same time studied law. Admitted to the Suffolk bar September 11, 1873, he at once began professional work, employed in the law practice of J. W. Richardson. He re- mained with Mr. Richardson for two years, and then opened an office of his own. From 1877 to 1880 he was associated with John Quincy Adams

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Brackett, under the firm name of Wade & Brack- ett ; and after 1880 he confined himself exclui- sively to railway law and management, becoming counsel for the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe, the Atlantic & Pacific, the Sonora, and the Mexi- can Central Railway companies. He was one of the four projectors and original owners of the property now embraced in the Mexican Central Railway, and was president and general counsel of the corporation at the time of his death. He was also a director of the railroad companies above mentioned, and of the Cincinnati, San- dusky, & Cleveland Railroad. He served in the

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Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 135

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