USA > Massachusetts > Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts > Part 41
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CHAS. E. GRANT.
perintendent of transportation from Charleston, to Columbia, S.C., in May and June, 1865 ; and post quartermaster at Orangeburg, S.C., from July to August 29, when he was mustered out. Imme- diately after the war he engaged in the Hour and grain business in Boston, in which he continued till 1872, when he entered the office of the Boyl- ston Insurance Company, Boston. Three years later he established himself in Worcester, pur- chasing a small fire insurance business there. This gradually increased, partly by absorption of other agencies, until now he is at the head of the largest Worcester city agency. Mr. Grant is a member of the Commonwealth and Hancock
clubs of Worcester, a director in the latter. In politics he is a Republican, but has never taken active part in public affairs. He was married November 29, 1877, to Louella M. Howe, daugh- ter of John W. Howe, wire-goods manufacturer of Worcester. They have a daughter and three sons : Stephanie, Barton Howe, Malcolm Mason, and Harold Grant.
GREEN, SAMUEL SWETT, of Worcester, libra- rian of the Free Public Library, was born in Worcester, February 20, 1837. Ilis father was James Green, son of the second Dr. John Green of Worcester, and brother of the third Dr. John Green of the same place. His mother is Elizabeth (Swett) Green. Through his father he is descended from Thomas Green, of Malden, who came to this country about the year 1635 or 1636, and from Thomas Dudley, the second governor of the col- ony of Massachusetts Bay. Through his mother he is descended from Ralph Sprague, who came to Charlestown in 1629, from Upway, Devonshire, England. Mr. Green graduated from the Worces- ter High School in 1854, and from Harvard Col- lege in 1858. In 1859 he visited Smyrna and Constantinople. Remaining two years in Worces- ter on account of ill health, in the autumn of 1861 he entered the Divinity School of Harvard University, and graduated from that institution in 1864. He took the degree of Master of Arts in 1870 at Harvard, and in 1877 was chosen an honorary member of the chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society connected with the same univer- sity. In 1864 Mr. Green became book-keeper in the Mechanics' National Bank, Worcester, and, a few months later teller of the Worcester National Bank, in which position he remained several years. He declined the place of cashier of the Citizens' National Bank, Worcester, as suc- cessor to John C. Ripley, and a position in the Worcester County Institution for Savings. He became a director of the Free Public Library, Worcester, January 1, 1867, and four years later, January 15, 1871, librarian of the same institution. The latter is the position which he now holds. The library has grown rapidly in size and influ- ence under his care; and a remarkable feature respecting its use is the very large proportion of books that is employed for study and purposes of reference. Mr. Green is one of the distinguished librarians of the country, and is regarded as an
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authority in regard to the use of libraries as pop- ular educational institutions and in respect to the establishment of close relations between libraries and schools. He has held various offices in the American Library Association, of which he was one of the founders. Having been elected presi- cent of the association in 1891, he presided at the meetings held in San Francisco October 12-16 of that year. In May, 1892, he was chosen one of the original ten members of the new council of the association. Mr. Green was a delegate of the American Library Association to the International
SAMUEL S. GREEN.
Congress of Librarians held in London in October, 1877, was a member of the council of that body. and took an active part in the discussions carried on in its meetings. Before the close of the C'on- gress the Library Association of the United King- dom was formed. Mr. Green was chosen an hon- orary member of that association in 1878. He was for many years a member of the committee ap- pointed by the overseers of Harvard University to make an annual examination of the library, and gave annual courses of lectures, as lecturer on pub- lic libraries as popular educational institutions, to the students of the School of Library Economy. when that school was connected with Columbia
College, New York City. In October. 1890, Mr. Green was appointed by the governor of Massa- chusetts an original member of the State Board of Free Public Library Commissioners for a term of four years, and in 1894 was re-appointed for a full term of five years. In November, 1890, he assisted in the formation of the Massachusetts Library Club. and was elected first vice-president of the club. He was a member of the Advisory Council of the World's Congress Auxiliary of the World's Co- lumbian Exposition. on a Congress of Librarians. and presided over that congress during the pro- ceedings of the second day. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, a member of the American Antiquarian Society, a member of the council of the latter body, and a member of the American Historical Associa- tion, of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, and of the Colonial Society of Massa- chusetts. He is a trustee of Leicester Acad- emy. and a trustee of the Worcester County Institution for Savings. He was the first presi- clent of the Worcester High School Association, and has been president of the Worcester Indian Association and of the Worcester Art Society, and treasurer of the Worcester Natural History Soci- ety. He is a member of the Art Commission of the St. Walstan Society, Worcester, and of the Sons of the Revolution, and lieutenant governor of the Society of Colonial Wars. Mr. Green has written constantly for the Library Journal since its establishment, and has made many contribu- tions to the proceedings of the American Anti- quarian Society. He has also contributed to other magazines and periodicals in the United States and England. He has written two books and several pamphlets on questions in library economy, which have been widely circulated and have exerted a great influence. lle has made many addresses, and read a number of papers on library and other subjects, and has prepared monographs. which have been published by the Massachusetts Board of Education, the United States Bureau of Educa- tion, and the American Social Science Association. He was chairman of a committee of three gentle- men who supervised the preparation of the por- tion of the latest history of Worcester County which relates to the town and city of Worcester. He has printed several pamphlets, embodying the results of historical investigations. He belongs to the Worcester Club, Worcester, and the Univer- sity Club, Boston. Mr. Green is unmarried.
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GRIFFIN, SOLOMON BULKLEY, managing editor of the Springfield Republican, was born in Will- iamstown. August 13, 1852, son of the Rev. Nathaniel Herrick Griffin, D.1)., and Hannah E. (Bulkley) Griffin, daughter of the late Major Solo- mon Bulkley, of Williamstown. He is of sterling ancestry, descended on his father's side from Jasper Griffin, of Southold, L.I., who was born in Wales about the year 1648, and died at Southold in 1718, and on his mother's side from the Rev. Peter Bulkley, the founder of Concord, Mass., and its venerated first minister. His father was long connected with Williams College.
S. B. GRIFFIN.
He was prepared for college by his father, but, owing to ill-health, took a partial course only, with the class of 1872, Williams. In 1881 he was given the degree of A.M., and enrolled with his class. His studies were conducted directly with a view to journalism ; and in college he was one of the editors of the college weekly journal. the Vidette. Upon leaving college, he took a place upon the local staff of the Springfield Republican, and received a thorough training under that master in journal- ism, the late Samuel Bowles. He did all kinds of work in the editorial department, " proved apt in catching " Mr. Bowles's " methods and principles, and rich in the newspaper instinct" (Merriam's
"Life and Times of Samuel Bowles "). Subse- quently he became local editor, and in 1878 man- aging editor, which position he has since held, doing constant editorial writing. From the day he entered the Republican office he has devoted himself entirely to his profession, and is now one of the veterans in Massachusetts journalism. As an editor, he is progressive, alert, quick to adopt the best of new methods, while holding fast to the best of the old and tried ones. He is familiar with every detail of the newspaper, and in the work of supervision of departments, which falls to the professionally trained managing editor, lives up to the Bowles principle to " make every department such that everybody will want to read it." He has done excellent service also as a special correspondent for the Republican at na- tional and State political conventions ; and in 1885, spending some time in Mexico, he wrote a series of notable letters to his paper, which were later collected and published in book form in " Mexico of To-day " (New York : Harper Broth- ers, 1886). Mr. Griffin is a member of the Authors' Club of New York, of the University Club of Boston, and of the Nyasset and. Win- throp clubs of Springfield. In politics he is an Independent of the most independent sort. He was married November 25, 1892, to Miss Ida M. Southworth, of Springfield, daughter of the late John H. Southworth. They have one son : Bulk- ley Southworth Griffin.
HAILE, WILLIAM HENRY, of Springfield, man- ufacturer, lieutenant governor of the Common- wealth in 1890-91-92, is a native of New Hamp- shire. born in the town of Chesterfield, September 23, 1833, son of William and Sabrana (Walker) Haile. His father was a successful merchant and manufacturer, and the first Republican governor of New Hampshire (1857-58). His early educa- tion was acquired in the public schools of Hins- dale, to which the family removed when he was a child ; and he was fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden. N.H. He first entered Amherst, but after a year spent there went to Dartmouth, where he was graduated with high honors in 1856. Immediately after gradua- tion he went to Springfield, and began the study of law in the office of Beach & Bond. Admitted to the bar in 1859, he established himself in Bos- ton, and practised for a short time. But his tastes
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were for business rather than for the law ; and in 1861 he returned to Hinsdale and engaged there in the manufacture of woollen goods, forming a partnership with his father and the late Rufus S. Frost, of Chelsea, under the firm name of Haile, Frost, & Co. Subsequently the business was in- corporated as the Haile & Frost Manufacturing Company, with Mr. Haile as treasurer ; and upon the death of Mr. Frost he became president. which office he at present holds. He continued his residence in Hinsdale until 1872, when he removed to Springfield, which from that date has been his home. Mr. Haile early took an interest
WILLIAM H. HAILE.
in politics as a Republican, and not long after his return to Hinsdale he was elected as a repre- sentative of the town in the New Hampshire Leg- islature. He served there three terms, 1865-66- 71, taking a prominent part in the proceedings of the sessions. In Springfield he was elected mayor of the city for 1881, and the next two years was a State senator for the First Hampden Senatorial District. In the senate he served on the com- mittees on military affairs (chairman), mercantile affairs (chairman), banks and banking, and man- ufactures, and was counted among the leading men on the Republican side of the chamber. He was first nominated for lieutenant governor in the
autumn of 1889, on the ticket headed by John Q. A. Brackett, for the term 1890. Renominated for the next election, again with Mr. Brackett, he was elected, the head of the ticket being defeated by William E. Russell, the Democratic candidate. In the next election he was associated with Charles H. Allen, of Lowell. and again elected. the head of the ticket being again defeated by Governor Russell. In each of the three years that Mr. Haile was elected lieutenant governor his vote was larger than that of the Republican candidates for governor. In 1892 Mr. Haile was placed at the head of the Republican ticket with Roger Wolcott for lieutenant governor, and in this contest was defeated, Mr. Wolcott being elected with the Democratic Governor Russell. It will be remembered, however, that in this election a con- fusion arose in the marking of the ballots because of the presence of the name of Wolcott Hamlin on the tickets. In this way very many votes in- tended for Mr. Haile were negatived by wrong marking, and the number of such is believed by many of Mr. Haile's supporters to have been sufficient to lose him the election. Besides his interest in the Haile & Frost Manufacturing Com- pany, Mr. Haile is connected officially with numer- ous manufacturing and financial companies. He is president of the Springfield Gas Light Company ; director of the Springfield Fire and Marine Insur- ance Company, of the Massasoit Paper Company. the Chester Paper Company, the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in Adams; director of the Pynchon National Bank and of the Winchester National Bank; and trustee of the Springfield Institution for Savings. He is a member of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, of the Home Market Club, of the Winthrop Club of Springfield ; a member of the Board of Fire Com- missioners, a director of the Springfield Library Association, and a trustee of the Springfield Cem- etery Association. Mr. Haile was married on the Ist of January, 1861. to Amelia L. Chapin, daughter of Ethan S. and Louisa B. Chapin, of Springfield. They have had three children : Will- iam C. (died August 14, 1864), Alice (now Mrs. Calkins), and Henry Chapin Haile.
HALL, CHARLES, of Springfield, merchant, is a native of Vermont, born in Bennington, November 18, 1832. Through his father, Hiland Hall, he is a descendant of John Hall, who was born in
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England in 1584, came from Kent County to Bos- ton in 1633. went thence to Hartford, Conn., about 1636, and was one of the first settlers of Middletown, Conn .. in 1650. Through his mother, Dolly Tuttle (Davis) Hall, he descends from Henry Davis, who was under General Stark at the line of rail fence in the battle of Bunker Hill; served three years during the war, and was at West Point when Arnold treacherously at- tempted to surrender it to the enemy. His father, Hiland Hall, was also a native of Bennington, born July 20. 1795. and distinguished as a states-
CHARLES HALL.
man and jurist. He represented Vermont in C'on- gress from 1833 to 1844: was judge of the Su- preme Court of Vermont from 1846 to 1849; second comptroller of the United States Treasury in 1850; from 1851 to 1854 chairman of the Board of Land Commissioners to settle land claims in California ; and governor of Vermont from 1858 to 1860. After his retirement from the governorship he wrote and published the early history of Vermont ; and he was largely in- strumental in accomplishing the erection of the Bennington Battle Monument. He died Decem- ber 18, 1885, in his ninety-first year. Charles Hall was the youngest of eight children. He
attended the district school, and was one year at the academy at North Bennington. At the age of eighteen he went to California, returning to Ben- nington in 1853. He then studied law, was ad- mitted to the bar, and in 1856 opened an office in Oshkosh, Wis. Within two months after, however, he disposed of his law library, and entered mer- cantile business, in which he has ever since been engaged. At the election of President Lincoln he was appointed postmaster of Oshkosh; and he held this commission till President Johnson called upon the office-holders to adopt his policy, which he declined to do. In 1867 he removed to North Bennington, Vt., and was made president of the North Bennington Boot and Shoe Company. In the spring of 1871 his company opened a whole- sale house in Chicago, and he went there to take charge of it. In the following fall the store and stock were totally destroyed in the great Chicago fire. Ten days after the fire the Chicago "Chris- tian Union " was organized through the exertions of William H. Baldwin, president of the Boston Young Men's Christian Union of Boston, Charles W. Wendte, Professor David Swing, Robert Coll- yer, George M. Pullman, and others, - seventeen in all of the originators,-and Mr. Hall was made vice-president of the organization. After closing up the business of the North Bennington Boot and Shoe Company, he moved to Springfield, Septem- ber 6. 1873, and opened a wholesale and retail crockery store, in which he has since continued, enlarging his store and business from year to year. He has been a Republican since the party was organized, voting for Colonel Fremont in 1856. He has never missed casting his vote at any mu- nicipal or general election, but beyond this he has refrained from participating in politics, confining himself entirely to business ; and he has held no office in Springfield except that of president of the Springfield Board of Trade. Mr. Hall was married first to Miss Jane E. Cady, daughter of Lewis Cady, at Bennington, Vt., September 20, 1856, and by this marriage was one daughter : Laura V. Hall, born at Oshkosh, Wis., March 14, 1858. He married second Mrs. Mina C. Phillips, widow of John F. Phillips, of Lake Mills, Wis., at Oshkosh, April 19, 1864. By this marriage three children were born : Trenor Park (born at Osh- kosh. June 26, 1865, died at North Bennington, Vt .. April 24. 1870), Mary D. (born at Chicago, 111 .. December 31, 1871), and Charles Hiland Hall (born at Springfield, August 12, 1874).
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MEN OF PROGRESS.
HAMMOND, JOHN CHESTER, of Northampton. member of the bar, is a native of AAmherst. born August 15. 1842, son of Salem and Julia A. (Johnson) Hammond. He is a lineal descendant of Thomas Hammond, born in Lavenham, Eng- land. in 1583, who came to this country and was settled in Hingham before 1636, and moved to Newton about the year 1650. Ilis son Nathaniel was born in llingham in 1643: Nathaniel's son Nathaniel was born in Newton in 1676; his son Ebenezer was born also in Newton in 1714, set- tled in Charlton 1741 ; his son Moses, in Charl- ton in 1758 : and his son Salem, the father of John
JOHN C. HAMMOND.
C., in Charlton in 1803. All of these ancestors were owners and tillers of New England farms : and up to the age of sixteen he was himself a New England farmer boy, securing through the farm life a stock of experience and health of the highest value. He attended the public schools of Amherst, was fitted for college at the Williston Seminary, Easthampton, graduating in 1861. entered Amherst, and graduated there in 1865. He studied law with the Hon. Charles Delano, of Northampton, and was admitted to the bar October 22. 1868. then becoming Mr. Delano's partner. Since that time he has been continuously in practice at Northampton, from 1868 to 1883
under the firm name of Delano & Hammond, from 1883 to 1888 alone, and the last six years in association with Henry P. Field, under the firm name of Hammond & Field. He was admitted to the bar of the United States Circuit Court on the ed of November. 1876. While pursuing his pro- fession, he has been much interested in public improvements. He has largely promoted by his influence the Northampton Street Railway and its extensions, and been concerned in other under- takings. In connection with his brother. Lyman 1). Hammond, he has also become interested in Chicago real estate ; and a block owned by them, at the corner of La Salle and Monroe Streets, bears the name of their native county, being called " Hampshire Block." Mr. Hammond's public service has been confined to one year in the Northampton Common Council -the year of the organization under the city charter ( 1883) - and six years on the School Committee ( 1887 to 1892 inclusive). He is a trustee of the Williston Seminary, of the Hopkins Academy, Hadley, and of the Clark Institution for Deaf-mutes. North- ampton, and one of the overseers of the Chari- table Fund of Amherst College. He was married November 16. 1871, to Miss Eliza M. Brown, of Oxford. They have had five children : Robert B. (born September 19. 1874, died September 11. 1875). Thomas J. (born December 22. 1876). Maud and May (twins, born September 19. 1879). and Ethel Hammond (born September 6. 1884).
HARKINS. JAMES WILLIAM. Jr., of Worcester. dramatist, was born in Toronto, Canada, June 3. 1863. son of James W. and Mary (Smith ) Harkins. both of Worcester, who were visiting in Toronto at the time of his birth. His education was ac- quired in the Worcester schools. He was gradu- ated from Hinman's College in 1882, and during the succeeding six years taught school, from 1882 to 1884 teaching in private schools in Little Rock. Ark., and in Texas, and from 1884 to 1888 in the Curtiss College. Minneapolis, Minn. The latter year he went upon the stage to study its tech- nique, and requirements for playwriting, and in 1890 produced his first play. "The Midnight Alarm." Next brought out was " The Fire Patrol " in 1891, and in 1892 " The White Squad- ron " appeared. He has since written, for pro- duction during the season of 1894-95. " The City beneath the Sea." " Under Sealed Orders." " The
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Twentieth Century," " God or Casar? " and " The Sugar King." He also has in publisher's hands, for early issue, a novel entitled " Raolian." He
JAS. W. HARKINS, Jr.
is co-author of the comedy " The Substitute," and of " The Northern Light " now ( 1894) in prepara- tion. His plays have become widely known in American cities, and he has contracted with Aus- tralian managers for their production in Australia and in England. He is a member of the Ameri- can Dramatists' Club of New York, and of the Washington and Commonwealth clubs of Worces- ter. Mr. Harkins is unmarried.
HARRIS, HENRY FRANCIS, of Worcester, member of the bar, was born in the village of Harrisville, West Boylston, August 19, 1849, son of Charles Morris and Emily (Dean) Harris. On the maternal side he is a descendant of Governor Thomas Dudley of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His early education was begun in the common schools, and continued at the Green Mountain Institute, South Woodstock, Vt., where he spent four terms, at the Worcester Academy, Worcester, two terms, and at the Lancaster Academy, two years, where he was fitted for college. He en- tered Tufts, and graduated in 1871, first in the
class. He began his law studies in the Harvard Law School, spending half a year there, then read a year in the law office of the Hon. Hartley Williams in Worcester, and from January to June, 1873, attended the Boston University Law School, and graduated in the first class of that institution : during the same period and until Christmas, 1873, reading in the law office of John A. Loring in Boston. He was admitted to the bar in Suffolk County in December, 1873, and on the first of January following opened his office in Worcester, where he has continued in active practice to the present time. As a boy and young man, during the time between attending school and fitting for college, and during the college vacations, he learned all the details of manufacturing cotton goods, acquiring a practical acquaintance by actual work thereon with every machine in the cotton factory, and also had some experience in a woollen factory ; and since 1880 he has been connected with manufacturing interests in addition to his legal practice. That year he was elected a direc- tor and assistant treasurer of the West Boylston Manufacturing Company, and in May, 1889, was
HENRY F. HARRIS.
chosen treasurer, succeeding his father at the latter's decease, which position he still holds ; and since February, 1894, he has been president of
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the L. M. Harris Manufacturing Company, having been a director since its organization in 1890. lle has also been a director of the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company since the early part of 1891. and a director of the First National Fire Insurance Company since 1892. In West Boyl- ston he was a member of the School Committee in 1882 and some years prior to that date, and was master of the Boylston Lodge of Masons in 1889- 90. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of the Hancock Club of Worcester, at present one of the executive committee and chair- man of the committee on admissions. Mr. Harris was married May 17. 1883, to Miss Emma Frances Dearborn, of Worcester. They have two children : Rachel (born December 11, 1887) and Dorothy Harris (born March 22, 1890).
HAWKINS, RICHARD FENNER, of Springfield, iron bridge builder and manufacturer, was born in Lowell, March 9, 1837. son of Alpheus and Celia ( Rhodes) Hawkins, both descendants of old Eng- lish stock, of the earliest Rhode Island families. one of the ancestors on the Hawkins side being Roger Williams. When he was a child. the family moved to Springfield, where he was educated in the public schools, and has since lived. At the age of sixteen, having graduated from the High School, he went to work, beginning as an office boy for Stone & Harris, bridge builders, and origi- nal railroad builders of the country. Here he steadily advanced, learning every detail of the business, until he became a partner in the con- cern. In 1862 Mr. Stone retired; and he con- tinued in partnership with Mr. Harris till 1867. when the latter retired. Since that date he has been alone, conducting the business under the name of R. F. Hawkins' Iron Works. He was one of the earliest to engage in the construction of iron bridges, and was also among the earlier pro- moters of the general use of iron as building mate- rial in New England. Of the many large bridges he has built, one of the most notable is the North- ampton bridge of the Central Massachusetts Rail- road. an iron structure fifteen hundred feet long : and another is the Willimansett bridge, near Hol- yoke, eight hundred feet in length. Examples of his iron work for buildings are shown in the jails of Springfield and New Bedford. both of which are constructed largely of iron. At his works. besides material for bridges and building, a large
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