Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 48

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 48

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HARVEY B. WILDER.

ried October 21, 1862, to Miss Anna F. Chapman, of Ossipee, N.H. She died November 12, 1864. He married second, June 14, 1870, Mary J.,

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daughter of Dr. Jefferson Pratt, of Hopkinton, Mass. He has one son : Charles Pratt Wilder.

WINSLOW, SAMUEL, of Worcester, manufact- urer, was born in Newton, February 28, 1827, died in Worcester, October 21, 1894. He was son of Eleazer Robbins and Ann (Corbett) Win- slow. He was educated in the public schools, and immediately after leaving school went to work in a cotton machinery manufactory. In this occu- pation he displayed such inventive skill and gen- eral capacity that at the age of twenty he was made foreman of the shop. Eight years after, in 1855, he formed a copartnership with his brother Seth C. Winslow, and established a machine shop in Worcester, which was the beginning of the ex- tensive business of which he was long at the head. The firm first began the manufacture of skates in 1857. Upon the death of his brother Seth, in 1871, Mr. Winslow assumed the entire direction of the business ; and he continued alone till 1886, when the present corporation, under the name of the Samuel Winslow Skate Manufacturing Com- pany, was formed. In this he retained a majority of the stock, and remained president and treas- urer until his death. He was for many years in public life, his first public service having been rendered when he was but twenty-one, as a mem- ber of the prudential committee for the employ- ment of teachers and the charge of the schools in the village of Newton Upper Falls. In 1864-65 he was a member of the Worcester Common Council : in 1873-74 a representative from the Tenth Worcester District in the lower house of the Legislature ; in 1885 a member of the Worces- ter Board of Aldermen, elected to fill a vacancy ; and for the years 1886-89 mayor of Worces- ter, each year elected by large majorities. And, upon retiring from the office of mayor, he was elected a trustee of the Worcester Free Public Li- brary for a term of six years. In 1892 he was a delegate to the National Republican Convention held in Minneapolis. He was long a prominent member of the Worcester County Mechanic's As- sociation, a trustee from 1868 to 1871, vice-presi- dlent from 1884 to 1886, and president in 1886, declining a re-election on account of the pressure of his duties as mayor. From 1889 till his death he was president of the Citizens' National Bank of Worcester, during which period the deposits of the bank quadrupled. He was also a trustee of

the People's Savings Bank. In 1891 he organized the Worcester, Leicester, & Spencer Electric Street Railway, which, until recently, was the longest

SAMUEL WINSLOW.

electric street railway in the world. In the fol- lowing year he organized the Worcester and Mill- bury Electric Street Railway. He was president of these roads from their organization as well as of the State Central Street Railway Company, now preparing to build more than fifty miles of sub- urban roads, until his death. He was prominently identified with the public works and charities of Worcester for nearly half of a century. He was married November 1, 1848, to Mary Weeks Rob- bins, who died in June, 1893.

WINSLOW, SAMUEL ELLSWORTH, of Worces- ter, manufacturer, chairman of the Republican State Committee, was born in Worcester, April 11, 1862, son of Samuel and Mary Weeks (Robbins) Winslow. He is a descendant in the eighth gen- eration of Kenelm Winslow, brother of Edward Winslow, governor of the Plymouth Colony. He was educated in the public schools of Worcester, at Williston Seminary, Easthampton, and at Har- vard, graduating from the High School in ISSo. the seminary in 1881, and the college in 1885. In

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college he was a member of the Institute of 1770, of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Zeta Pi, Hasty Pudding, Harvard Union, and numerous other clubs for special purpose ; was prominent in athletics, the successful and winning captain of the Harvard Base Ball Club of 1885 ; and was chairman of the 1885 Class Day committee. During the year fol- lowing his graduation he travelled somewhat ex- tensively abroad, and in 1886 engaged actively in business in Worcester. Since that year he has been secretary and general manager of the Sam- uel Winslow Skate Manufacturing Company ; from 1888 to 1892 he was a member of the firm of The Winslow & Curtis Machine Screw Com- pany ; and subsequently became a director of the Citizens' National Bank. He is a director also of the Worcester, Leicester, & Spencer Street Railway Co., and of the Worcester & Millbury Street Railway Co. In ISgo he was aide-de- camp, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Governor Brackett. He early took an active part in Republican party affairs, local and State, and. displaying the qualities of a leader, was speedily advanced to executive positions. He was a mem-

SAMUEL E. WINSLOW.

ber four years and chairman three years of the Republican city committee of Worcester; mem- ber of the first executive committee of the Repub-

lican Club of Massachusetts ; and chairman of the Republican State Committee first in 1893, the year of the election of Governor Greenhalge, the first Republican governor of the State since 1890, and now holds the office. Colonel Winslow is a member of the Worcester, Commonwealth, and Quinsigamond Boat clubs of Worcester; presi- cent of the Worcester Athletic Association ; mem- ber of the Worcester Horticultural Society ; trus- tee of the Worcester Agricultural Society; member of the Boston Athletic Association and of the Harvard Club, New York. He was married April 17, 1889, to Miss Bertha Russell, daughter of Colonel E. J. and Lucenia Russell, of Worcester. Their children are: Dorothy, Russell, and Sam- uel E. Winslow, Jr. Samuel Winslow, 2d, died at age of ten months.

WOOD, ALBERT, M.D., of Worcester, was born in Northborough, February 19, 1833. son of Samuel and Elizabeth ( Bowman) Wood. He is descended from William Wood, who emigrated from England in 1638, and settled in Concord : William Wood's son Michael died in Concord in 1671 ; his son Abraham removed to Sudbury: his son Samuel lived in that part of Marlborough now North- borough ; his son Abraham married Lydia John- son, and their son Samuel was the father of Albert. On his mother's side he descends from the Val- entines of Hopkinton. He was educated in the schools of Northborough, the Classical School of West Newton. the State Normal School at Bridgewater, and Dartmouth College, graduating in 1856. From 1856 to 1859 he taught school, and then entered the Harvard Medical School. from which he graduated in 1862. He served in the hospitals one year. In the summer of 1862 he entered the army, and served throughout the Civil War. He was assistant surgeon of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, from July 7. 1862, to August 7, 1863 ; surgeon of the First Regiment, Massachusetts Cavalry, from August, 1863, to November 30, 1864; and acting staff surgeon, United States Army, till May 17, 1865, on duty mostly at City Point Hospital, Vir- ginia. He came to Worcester soon after, and was city physician for five years. Subsequently he was surgeon of the City Hospital for ten years, and is now one of the trustees. He has been treasurer of the Worcester Lunatic Hospital since 1874, and of the Worcester Insane Asylum since

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1877 ; was superintendent of the Washburn Free Dispensary for several years, and is now a trustee of the Memorial Hospital : has been one of the

ALBERT WOOD.

pension examiners for twenty-five years : and for one year served as a member of the State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity. Since January, 1889, he has been junior medical director of the State Mutual Life Insurance Company. In addi- tion to all this special service Dr. Wood has always had a good professional practice. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion; is con- nected with various medical societies and clubs : is a councillor of the Massachusetts Medical So- ciety, and member of the American Association of the Medical Directors of Life Insurance Com- panies. He was married July 7, 1868, to Emma Allen, of Worcester, daughter of William and Emily Chandler Allen, of Pomfret, Conn., by whom he had two children : Albert Bowman and Emily Chandler Wood. His first wife died Feb- ruary 26, 1892. He married second, July 13. 1893, J. Isabel Cleveland, of Worcester.

WOOD, OLIVER BROOKS, of Worcester. book and job printer, is a native of Ashburnham, born

February 7, 1857, son of Eliphalet S. and Susan Hudson ( Farrar) Wood. His education was ac- quired in the common and high schools of Win- chendon. He began work in a printing-office in Winchendon when a lad of twelve ; and, with the exception of about five years devoted to study, he has been actively engaged in the printing busi- ness from that time. At the age of seventeen he was occupying the position of foreman in a news- paper and job office,-that of the Franklin County Times, at Greenfield. Later he removed to Fitchburg. from there went to Chicago; and in January, 1878, returned East to take charge of the job printing establishment of Edward R. Fiske, at that time one of the most prominent and successful printers in Worcester. He remained with Mr. Fiske two years, and then on the first of May, 1880, entered the employ of Sanford & Co .. stationers and printers, as foreman of their print- ing department, then occupying quarters on Maple Street. On the first of May, 1882, he pur- chased a half interest in this department; and it was conducted under the firm name of Sanford & Wood for eleven months, when he purchased his

OLIVER B. WOOD.

partner's interest. Since that time he has carried on the business under his own name, and by close application and the production of good work has

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

so increased it that during the three years 1892- 94 it exceeded in volume that of any similar es- tablishment in Worcester. Having outgrown the old quarters, on the first of March, 1894, the business was transferred to the commodious brick block, No. 50 Foster Street. In his printing house is now executed every variety of job and book printing, from the small address card to the large volume; and since 1884 law printing has been a distinctive feature of the business. Mr. Wood has been president of the Worcester T'y- potheta since 1892. He is connected with the Masonic fraternity, a member of the Athelstan

Lodge, Goddard Council, Eureka Royal Arch Chapter, Worcester Lodge of Perfection, Law- rence Chapter, Rose Croix; is a member of the Worcester Light Infantry Veteran Association, of the Worcester Continentals, of the Worcester Driving Park Company, and of the Common- wealth Club. In politics he is a Republican. He was married October 19, 1881, to Miss Jennie Chase Flagg, of Grafton. They have had four children: Olive Marguerite, Roger Hamilton (died in infancy), Hamilton Brooks, and Gladys Jeannette Wood.

PART V.

ADAM, ROBERT WILLIAM, of Pittsfield, mem- ber of the Berkshire bar, and treasurer of the Berkshire County Savings Bank for upwards of a quarter of a century, is a native of Connecticut, born in Canaan, September 28, 1825. son of

ROBT. W. ADAM.

William and Charlotte (Lawrence) Adam. He is on the paternal side of Scotch ancestry, and on the maternal of English. He received his pri- mary education in the public schools of his native town, was fitted for college at Lenox Academy, entered Williams, and graduated in the class of 1845. His law studies were pursued in the office of Rockwell & Colt, of Pittsfield, and at the Yale Law School; and he was admitted to the bar on the 25th of April. 1849. From that time he was in active practice in Pittsfield until 1865, when he became treasurer of the Berkshire County Savings

Bank, which position he has held ever since. He has also been long connected officially with other local institutions, - president of the Pittsfield Coal Gas Company since 1857, and director of the Berkshire Mutual Fire Insurance Company since 1855. In town and city affairs he has been prominent since the fifties, and has held numerous public positions. He represented the town in the Legislature in 1860 ; from 1863 to 1865 he was town assessor; and in 1891 and 1892 a member of the Board of Aldermen, president of the board the second year. Since 1889 he has been presi- dlent of the Pittsfield Cemetery Corporation. He is much interested in historical matters, and has for a number of years been an active member of the Berkshire Historical Society. He is a mem- ber also of the Bostonian Society of Boston, and of the Monday Evening Club of Pittsfield. In politics he is an Independent Republican. He was married September 1, 1852. to Miss Sarah P. Brewster, of Pittsfield. They have a daughter and son : Mary L. and William L. Adam, both living in Pittsfield.

ADAMS, CHARLES ELISHA, of Lowell, mer- chant, president of the Massachusetts Board of Trade, is a native of Lowell, born April 16. 1841. son of Elisha and Sally Howe (Prouty) Adams. He is a descendant in the seventh generation of Rogers Adams, of Brookline, who came to New England between 1640 and 1650, married Mary, daughter of Thomas Barker, of Roxbury, in 1674. and died March 2, 1714. His great-grandfather. Smith Adams, of Newton, was in the battles of Lexington and Concord. He was educated in the Lowell public schools. He began business life as a clerk in a retail hardware store in Lowell, and after five years of this experience became a sales- man for a wholesale hardware house in New York City. He remained six years in New York, then was a year connected in the same capacity with a Cincinnati wholesale house ; and in August, 1868,

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returned to Lowell, opening there a retail hardware, paint, and mill supplies store at No. 185 Middle- sex Street. He now occupies the stores Nos.

CHAS. E. ADAMS.

404, 408, and 410 Middlesex Street, engaged in both the retail and wholesale trade. Mr. Adams has been especially interested in later years in concerted work of business men and in electrical matters. He suggested the idea of its formation, and was one of the founders of the State Board of Trade (now composed of thirty-eight boards of trade and business associations, representing the mercantile and industrial interests of the Common- wealth), and has been its president since it was organized, October 30. 1890. He is president also of the Bradley-Stone Electric Storage Com- pany (manufacturers of storage batteries) of Lowell, and director of the Lowell, Lawrence, & Haverhill Electric Street Railroad Company, of the Erie Telegraph and Telephone Company, of the North-western Telephone Exchange Company, Minnesota, of the Cleveland Telephone Company. Cleveland, Ohio, and of the South-western Tele- graph and Telephone Company in Texas and Arkansas. He has for some years been promi- nent in trade organizations, is an active member of the New England Hardware Dealers' Associa- tion, and of the New England Paint and Oil Club ;

and in 1889 90, immediately preceding the organ- ization of the State Board of Trade, was president of the Lowell Board of Trade. In 1887 and 1888 he represented Lowell in the lower house of the Legislature ; and in 1893 was United States alter- nate commissioner to the World's Columbian Ex- position from Massachusetts. He is a thirty- second degree Freemason, a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and of the Royal Arcanum. Other organizations to which he belongs are the Massa- chusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (member of the board of managers). the Massachusetts ('lub of Boston, and the High- land, Country, and Vesper Boat clubs of Lowell. He has been for a number of years connected with the directory of the Merrimack River Savings Bank of Lowell, and is now a member of the board of investment. He was married December 10, 1873, to Miss Ida Mary Barrett, of Antrim, N. H. They have no children.

ALDEN, GEORGE NEWELL, of New Bedford, fire insurance agent, is a native of New Bedford,

GEO. N. ALDEN.

born July 10, 1845, son of Silas and Emily ( How- land ) Alden. His paternal grandparents were Paul and Rebecca (Newell) Alden, and his mater-

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nal grandparents, Francis and Mary (Parker) Howland, his maternal grandmother a daughter of John Avery Parker. He was educated in the public schools of New Bedford, finishing in the High School under John F. Emerson and his suc- cessor, Charles P. Rugg. He began business life in the counting-room of James B. Wood & Co., which he entered in the spring of 1863. In June the following year he became book-keeper for J. & W. R. Wing, but five months later left his desk, and enlisted in the United States service, joining the Nineteenth Unattached Company. Massachusetts Volunteers. He served until the close of the war (mustered out June 27. 1865). and, returning to New Bedford, engaged in the insurance business with which he has ever since been connected. He began this business in Sep- tember. 1865, with Joseph S. Tillinghast. a well- known fire insurance agent in his day, and con- tinued with him till his death in January, 1876. Then he formed a copartnership with Mr. Tilling- hast's son Joseph, under the firm name of Tilling- hast & Alden, and this relation held until the death of this partner in September, 1889, since which time he has conducted the business alone and in his own name. In 1876 he was also elected secretary and treasurer of the Bristol County Mu- tual Fire Insurance Company, which position he still holds. Mr. Alden is a member and a trustee of the Acushnet Lodge. No. 41 of the Order of Odd Fellows, and adjutant of Post 190 of the Grand Army of the Republic, having held other offices in the post. He was married September 12. 1877. to Miss Clara Eaton Burdick. They have two children : George Newell, Jr. (born May 25. 1880), and Mary Hathaway Alden (born July 13. 1886).

ANTHONY, EDMUND, JR., of New Bedford. managing editor of the Daily Evening Standard. was born in Taunton, October 19. 1833, son of Edmund and Adaline (Soper) Anthony. On his father's side he is connected with the Anthonys of Somerset, Fall River, and Rhode Island, his grandfather being Nathan Anthony, of Somerset. and his great-grandfather. David Anthony, of Somerset. On the maternal side he is a direct descendant of Myles Standish, of Plymouth. He acquired his education in private schools and at Bristol AAcademy of Taunton ; and he was trained for active life in the printing-office of his father. His connection with the New Bedford Evening

Standard began with the establishment of the journal in 1850. He was the commercial and ship-news editor for years, until the importance

EDMUND ANTHONY, Jr.

and value of the whole fishery industry gave way to manufacturing. In 1863 he became a partner in the business with his father and brother, Benja- min Anthony, under the firm name of E. Anthony & Sons. The senior died in 1876 ; but the firm name has since continued. having become incor- porated in 1892. He has been managing editor of the journal for many years, and has maintained it steadily as a high-grade and trustworthy publi- cation. Mr. Anthony has been a Republican all his life : but he has held no political office, and has always declined to stand for public place. He was married first in 1857 to Miss Ann Fran- ces Willard, who died in 1876. Their only child. a daughter, died in 1865. His second marriage was in 1880, with Miss Sarah Cox. They have no children. His residence is in Fairhaven.

ARNOLD. HENRY, of Methuen, importer, is a native of England, born in Bradford, Yorkshire. March 2. 1837. son of John and Elizabeth (Myers) Arnold. He received a practical educa- tion in the schools of his native place. After

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serving an apprenticeship for pattern-making, ma- chinist, and draughtsman, he followed the voca- tion of a pattern-maker for a number of years.

HENRY ARNOLD.

Coming to America in the fifties, he has passed thirty-six years of business life in this country. Beginning here in work at his trade, in course of time he assumed the conduct of the industrial works of the machine shop. Subsequently he was for some time engaged in the manufacture of worsted yarns. Then, returning to his old occu- pation, he carried on the business of pattern-mak- ing in Boston for five years; and in 1887 he en- tered the business which he has since pursued, --- that of an importer of woollens. Mr. Arnold is widely known through his connection with British- American movements. He was one of the prin- cipal promoters of the celebration of Queen Vic- toria's Jubilee by the British residents of Boston and vicinity in June, 1887 ; and he was also one of the principal organizers of the British-American Association of Massachusetts, that year instituted. He has held some of the most important offices in the society,-treasurer, vice-president, and president,-and is now serving his second term as president. He is an ex-president, also, of the Sons of St. George. He is a member of the Ma- sonic order, and is identified with many interests

having the welfare of humanity in view. In pol- itics he is a Republican. He was married June 5, 1872, to Miss Hannah Albezette. They have one child : Gertrude M. Arnold.

ASHLEY, CHARLES SUMNER, of New Bedford, merchant, and postmaster of the city, is a native of New Bedford, born September 5, 1858, son of Joshua B. and Susan (Sanderson) Ashley. On the paternal side he is of the Ashleys of England, and on the maternal side a direct descendant of Ethan Allen. His father was a well-known citi- zen of New Bedford. He was educated in the public schools, finishing at the Friends' Academy. He entered business at an early age, and at seventeen was engaged on his own account in the meat trade. In 1883 he established a wholesale pork and provision business which is still flourish- ing ; and in 1890, forming a copartnership with Stephen D). Pierce, under the firm name of Ashley & Pierce, he opened a clothing and furnishing goods store, the trade of which has since grown to large proportions. For the past ten years he

CHAS. S ASHLEY.

has taken a prominent part in municipal affairs, and as citizen and official has been devoted to the interests of his city. . At the age of twenty-six he

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

was elected to the Common Council. In 1887 and 1888 he was a member of the Board of Alder- men, and in 1891 and 1892 mayor of the city, elected for his first term after two unsuccessful contests by one of the largest majorities ever re- ceived by a mayoralty candidate, and returned by a flattering vote. His administration as mayor was marked by the advance of the system of pub- lie parks and by other notable improvements. In politics he is an ardent Democrat : but, as a candi- date for municipal office, he received the indorse- ment and support of men of all parties. He was appointed to his present position as postmaster of New Bedford in March, 1894. Mr. Ashley is connected with numerous organizations, and is an official in several of them. He is a director of the New Bedford Board of Trade; a member of Vista Lodge of Odd Fellows, and was its treasurer for five years; a member of the Knights of l'ythias, master of the exchequer at present. hav- ing held the same position when the lodge was first instituted ; member of the Manchester Unity, (dd Fellows ; and member of the Wamsutta. Merchants', Dartmouth, and Hunters' clubs of New Bedford. He was married first in ISSo to Miss Anna B. Luce, by whom were three chil- dren : Ralph E., Hannah B., and Charles S. Ashley; and second, in 1891, to Mrs. Philip B. l'urrington.

BAILEY, HORACE PORTER, of Plymouth, mer- chant, was born in Kingston in 1839, son of Thomas and Cynthia (Chandler) Bailey. His paternal ancestors were Ward and Sarah Bailey, early residents of Kingston. His education was acquired in the public schools. After leaving school, he learned the metal worker's and plumb- ing trade ; and this occupation he followed from 1857 to 1860. Then he entered the hardware trade in Plymouth, and on the ist of February, 1869, bought the interest of John C. Barnes, and began the business at No. 18 Main Street. under the firm name of Harlow & Bailey, which has since continued. In 1882 he was elected a water com- missioner of Plymouth, and from that date he has served continuously as secretary of the board ; and since 1883 he has been chief engineer of the Plymouth fire department. He is a member of the Plymouth Lodge Freemasons, and was master of the lodge from 1866 to 1869; has been for ten years a member of the Knights of Honor, and some time a member of the Old Colony Club. In

politics he is a Republican, but has never taken an active part in political work. He was married in 1860 to Miss Elizabeth B. Foster, of Kingston.

HORACE P. BAILEY.

They have five children : Arthur L., Fred P., Mary F., Lizzie P., and Percy S. Bailey.

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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 48

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