USA > Massachusetts > Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts > Part 65
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137
HARDING, HERBERT LEE, of Boston, mem- ber of the Suffolk bar, was born in Lancaster, May 10, 1852, son of Samuel Lee and Catherine (Bond) Harding. His early education was ac- quired at well-known private schools - the Allen
H. L. HARDING.
English and Classical School, West Newton, and W. N. Eayrs's school in Boston -and under a private tutor ; and he graduated from Harvard,
484
MEN OF PROGRESS.
A.B., in the class of 1874. From college he entered the Harvard Law School, from which he graduated LL. B. in 1876, and .V.M. in 1877. His physical as well as mental training for active life was admirable. as he was devoted to the best of athletic sports and at college given especially to rowing. After graduating from the law school. he studied in the office of Morse, Stone, & Greenough, in Boston. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar in November, 1877, and the same year formed a partnership with Richard H. Dana, 3d, as Dana & Harding, with office at No. 30 Court Street, Bos- ton. . \ year later this partnership was dissolved; and he returned to Messrs. Morse & Stone, with whom he made a business connection. This con- tinued till 1886, when he took the office with George Wigglesworth which had been vacated by Judge Bishop upon the latter's appointment to the bench. He is at present in the same office with Mr. Wigglesworth, in Fiske Building, No. 89 State Street. In 1887, upon the formation of the C'iti- zens' Association of Boston, Mr. Harding became the secretary and counsel of that influential organ- ization, which positions he has since held, in his official capacity taking a leading part in advanc- ing municipal reforms and in checking unwise or questionable legislation. He has been actively interested in municipal affairs since the early eighties, and from 1884 to 1886 inclusive served as a member of the Common Council. In politics he is Republican, with independent principles and practices. He is a member of the Union. Ex- change, Country, and Tiffin clubs, of the Hull Yacht Club, and of the Eliot Club of Jamaica Plain, where he resides. He was married October 13, 1886, to Miss Lucy Austin, daughter of F. B. Austin, of the Charlestown District. They have one child: Frank Austin Harding, born October 1, 1887.
HARRIS, ELBRIDGE NELSON, of Malden, with office in Boston, manufacturer, was born in Ash- burnham, October 23. 1828, son of William and Hepsebeth ( Flint) Harris. His education was obtained in the public schools of his native town and at the Winchendon Academy, where he spent three terms, and graduated in 1848. He began the making of water wheels when twenty years of age, and has been in this business ever since, with the manufacture of all kinds of machinery pertaining to mill-work. During this period he has been treasurer and is now president of the
Rodney Hunt Machine Company, manufacturers of turbine water wheels, horizontal and vertical, and other mill machinery, with shops in Orange
ELBRIDGE N. HARRIS.
and one of the business offices in Boston. Their shops and foundry were all built new and equipped with new machinery since 1882. Mr. Harris is also a director of the Miller's River National Bank of Athol. In politics he is a Re- publican. He was married March 19, 1851, to Miss Luellyn L. Merriam, of Princeton. They have had two sons and one daughter: Nelson E., William O., and Bertha A. Harris (now Mrs. F. B. Annington, of Providence, R.I.). His sons are both associated with him in business, Nelson E. being treasurer of the Rodney Hunt Company, and residing at Orange, and William O. secretary. Mr. Harris resides in Malden.
HARRIS, JAMES GREENWOOD, of Boston, treas- urer of the Union Pacific Railway System and constituent companies, was born in Boston, No- vember 1, 1843, son of James Watson Harris and Elizabeth Andrews (Nevers) Harris. He is of New England descent, and several of his ancestors were early settlers of Boston and adjoining towns. lle is a lineal descendant of Thomas Urann, one
485
MEN OF PROGRESS.
of the " Boston Tea Party," who was a prominent member of St. Andrew's Lodge and of the " Sons of Liberty." He was educated in the public grammar school. In 1859, at the age of sixteen, he entered the service of the Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and remained there until June, 1861, when he made a short trip to sea before the mast. returning in December of the same year. On January 29. 1862, he enlisted in the United States Navy, and was in that service during and after the Civil War, receiving his dis- charge in June, 1865, when he returned to Boston. Soon after this he entered the employ of Low. Hersey, & Cary, leather merchants, Boston, and a few months later engaged with another firm in the same business. His connection with the Union Pacific Railroad Company began in 1869. In July of that year he took the position of " office boy " in the company's Boston office. After a few weeks, however, he was promoted to a clerk- ship. and on September 15 of the following year was elected transfer agent. He became assist- ant treasurer on October 1. 1885, and on April 25. 1888, was elected treasurer of the entire Union
JAMES G. HARRIS.
Pacific System, which position he still holds. A.s treasurer of this system, he is also treasurer of fifty-eight constituent companies. Mr. Harris
has held office in a number of secret and benevo- lent societies. He is a past president of the Brimmer School Association, a member of the Sons of the Revolution, of Edward W. Kinsley Post, No. 113. Grand Army of the Republic, of the United States Navy Veteran AAssociation, of the Union and Cambridge clubs of Cambridge, and of the Algonquin Club of Boston. He has always been a stanch Republican, but has in- variably declined to accept political office. Ile was married December 31. 1872, to Miss Sarah Louise Roberts, of Cambridge. They have no children.
HARRIS, NELSON ELVIRUS, of Orange, manu- facturer, was born in Athol. January 20. 1852, son of Elbridge N. and Luellyn L. ( Merriam) Harris. He was educated in the public schools of Athol and at the Eastman College, Poughkeepsie. N. Y., where he graduated March 24. 1868. He served the next five years in the hydraulic and civil engineering office of the Essex Company at Law- rence, and left that office, on the ist of October. 1873. to engage in the water wheel and mill engi- neering business. Five years more were spent in practical mill work in its various branches with the long-established Rodney Hunt Machine Company, manufacturers of turbine water wheels and woollen machinery at Orange; and then on December 20, 1878, he entered the office of the company to take charge of the draughting and to do general office work, removing his family from Lawrence to Orange a few days previous. In January, 1882. a fire nearly destroyed the shops of the company. and he was given the charge of making plans for new buildings of brick. These were erected on a new site alongside of the tracks of the Fitchburg Railroad, the designing, construction, and equip- ment being under his supervision. After the com- pletion of the new works he became superintend- ent, and so continued until the ist of January. 1890, when he was elected treasurer and superin- tendent, which office he has since held. In 1886 he received a patent on a new water wheel. which has been manufactured by the Rodney Hunt Ma- chine Company exclusively since that time. Other patents have since been received by him. two being for a system of mounting horizontal shaft water wheels: and the wheels of the company have been mounted in quite large and growing numbers from year to year in accordance with his
486
MEN OF PROGRESS.
system. In 1892 Mr. Harris superintended the building of a large addition to the shops and equipment, having supervised previous additions to the machinery at different times. Although the water wheel made by the Rodney Hunt Com- pany previous to Mr. Harris's patent was held in high esteem by manufacturers, and sales had been quite large, the new wheel soon took a leading rank among the other makes of wheels, and sales increased from year to year, in a few years amounting to more than double the number per year over sales of the old wheel. Mr. Harris, while a resident of Orange, has served on various town committees, but has declined to be a candi- date for any town office. He is not a member of fraternal orders or of clubs. In politics he is a Republican, and in religious faith a Congregation- alist, a member of the Congregational church of Orange. He was married January 25, 1873, to
NELSON E. HARRIS.
Miss Evie Sophia Sawyer, of Boxford. They have had five children : Herbert N., Edward E. (died August 3, 1894), Evie L., Carl C., and Philip T. Harris.
HARRIS, WILLIAM ORLANDO, of Malden, manu- facturer, was born in Athol, May 19, 1855, son of
Elbridge Nelson and Luellyn (Merriam) Harris. His education was begun in the common schools of his native town, and completed in a grammar
W. O. HARRIS.
school and at a business college in Lawrence, to which place the family moved when he was a boy of twelve, after living two years in Boxford. Ile began work at the age of seventeen with the Rodney Hunt Machine Company, and has been connected with it ever since. Beginning as an apprentice at the trade of mill-work, and serving an apprenticeship of five years, he next became foreman on outside work. Then, after a service of five years in this capacity, he travelled a num- ber of years as salesman for the concern, and on the ist of January. 1894, was elected secretary of the company, the position he now holds. He is connected with the order of Odd Fellows as a member of the United Brothers Lodge of Law- rence. In politics he has been a steadfast Repub- lican, always voting the "straight " ticket. He was married September 5, 1876, to Miss Elizabeth Gemmell, of Lawrence. They have had five chil- dren, four of whom are now living : Mertie, Bertha, Raymond, and Elmer Harris. After a residence of twenty-five years in Lawrence Mr. Harris moved to Malden in the summer of 1894.
487
MEN OF PROGRESS.
HARRISON, FRANK, of Boston, publisher and teacher of shorthand, is a native of Ohio, born in Springfield, June 13, 1857, son of Edward and Virginia Frances (Gelwicks) Harrison. He is of the Harrison family of Virginia. His education was begun in the common schools, and developed in the printing-office and by self-teaching. He started at the age of ten as " printer's devil," studied shorthand, and at thirteen was employed as a stenographer ; and at eighteen, moving to New York, became there a general verbatim re- porter. His first regular work as a stenographer was with the Hon. John W. Bookwalter, of Ohio, in whose office he remained three years, 1870-73. In 1874-75 he was stenographer for James Leffel & Co., Springfield, Ohio. After his removal to New York he was some time in 1876 stenographer to the late Hon. Leon Abbett, of New Jersey; in 1877-78-79 was stenographer in General Chester A. Arthur's office ; in 1880 was private secretary to A. M. Palmer, theatre manager ; and in 1881 private secretary to James Redpath, journalist. From 1882 to 1888, while continuing work as a general verbatim reporter, he was also much in-
FRANK HARRISON.
terested in journalism, printing, and publishing. In 1891 he moved his business from New York to Boston, where he has since been established. He
has published Frank Harrison's Shorthand Maga- zine since 1888, and Frank Harrison's Family Magasine for two years, both publications being successful and enjoying large circulations. Since 1886 he has also been largely engaged in conduct- ing shorthand schools in New York, Newark, N.J .. and Boston, and at present conducts one in the latter city. He has trained upward of three thousand stenographers. He enjoys excellent health, vigor, and energy, as a result, he is satis- fied, of the plain, simple life he leads, as much as possible in the country, and of his activity. He works at many things each day, is an optimist, and thinks the world is getting better every second. In politics he is an Independent. He is a member of the Orange, N.J., Lodge of the order of Elks, of the Boston Press Club, and hon- orary member of shorthand societies in all parts of the world. He has never married.
HAYNES, STILLMAN, of Fitchburg, member of the bar, is a native of Townsend, born April 17, 1833, son of Samuel and Eliza (Spaulding) Haynes. He is of Puritan and Revolutionary ancestry, whose religious belief was thoroughly evangelical, all firm adherents of Orthodox Con- gregationalism, his father and mother, brothers and sisters, also being members of that church. After a preliminary training in the public and private schools of his native town he attended Leicester Academy, the Normal School at Lancaster, and Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N.H., where he graduated in 1859, ranking well, and excelling particularly in mathematics. During the years of preparatory study he taught advanced village schools at several places to obtain funds to en- able him to acquire a thorough education in lan- guages, literature, higher mathematics, and engi- neering; and, whenever the earnings from this occupation fell short of the needed sum, he re- sorted to manual labor. He was also some time an associate teacher at New Ipswich Academy. and a student with Elihu T. Quimby, afterward professor of mathematics and civil engineering at Dartmouth College. After reading some of the elementary works upon law, he entered the office of Bonney & Marshall at Lowell, in 1859. as a law student, and on the 19th of June, 1861, was admitted to the Middlesex bar. He remained with Messrs. Bonney & Marshall several months longer, and then began practice in Ashburnham.
488
MEN OF PROGRESS.
A year later, in 1863. he returned to Townsend, and opened an office there, continuing in practice until 1868, when he removed to Fitchburg, where he has since been steadily engaged, retaining many of the same clients through the entire period. His business has been largely conveyancing, pro- bate, and insolvency, being especially well versed in everything that pertains to bankruptcy and in- solvency practice. Thoroughly honorable in all his dealings, and indefatigable in his efforts for those who intrust their affairs to him, he has at- tained a good standing and rank in his profession. He is devoted to his family, and of the cleanest private life, and has the moral courage to stand up for his convictions, regardless of popular clamor. Mr. Haynes has always taken an interest in the highest welfare of the community, especially in all things working for the general intelligence. He was elected to the School Board in his native town when twenty-one years of age, at the first annual meeting when a voter, and was rechosen several times thereafter : and since his removal to Fitchburg he has served nine years on the School Board of that city. In Townsend also he was
STILLMAN HAYNES.
frequently chosen as moderator at annual and other town meetings, served as a member of the Board of Selectmen, and on the Board of Over-
seers of the Poor. He is thoroughly loyal to the heritage which has come down to the Congrega- tional Church from Puritan forefathers, holding the Puritan faith as it has been broadened and lib- eralized by the remarkable scholarship of that church. He was very active in the founding of the Rollstone Congregational Church in Fitch- burg, being one of the provisional board of mana- gers and upon its committee for pastoral supply, and also prepared and obtained the charter for the society. He is a member of the Fitchburg Con- gregational C'lub. In politics he has always been an adherent of the Republican party, and has fre- quently been a delegate to and chairman of its cau- cuses and conventions. He was married October 8, 1863, to Miss Harriet M. Kimball, of Temple, N.H. They have five children, in whose education he has taken the greatest interest. The eldest, John, is a graduate of Williams College, has studied economics and sociology at Johns Hopkins Univer- sity, and is now a professor of sociology in the Woman's College of Baltimore. The Rev. Charles S., the second son, is now studying theology in the University of Berlin in Germany, being the holder of the Dwight Fellowship of the Yale Divinity School, from which he graduated in 1894 at the head of his class. William K., the youngest son, is still in the city schools at home; and the two daughters, Frances E. and Harriet T. Haynes, are now students at Mt. Holyoke College.
HAYNES, TILLY, resident proprietor of the United States Hotel, Boston, is a native of Sud- bury, Middlesex County, born February 13, 1828. son of Lyman and Caroline ( Hunt) Haynes. He is a lineal despendant of Walter Haynes, who came to America in 1635 from the parish of Sutton-Mandeville, Salisbury, County of Wilts, England, and was one of the founders of Sud- bury ; and on the maternal side he is descended from William Hunt, who came from England also in 1635, and was one of the founders of the town of Concord. When he was a child of two years, the family moved to Billerica ; and there he re- ceived his education in the public schools. At the age of fourteen he had begun active life as a boy in a country store at North Reading. Three years later he became a clerk in the first and for some time the only store in what is now Lawrence, kept by one Josiah Crosby ; and at twenty-one he embarked in business for himself, opening a store in
489
MEN OF PROGRESS.
Springfield for the sale of men's goods. In this en- terprise he prospered, and subsequently engaged in manufacturing. He was one of the original stock-
TILLY HAYNES.
holders of the Indian Orchard Mills ; in connec- tion with others he built a small button factory in Springfield, manufactured fax machines at Mill River, and made sewing machines at Chicopee. In 1857 he built a music hall and theatre in Springfield: and, when this was destroyed in the great fire of 1864, he replaced it by the larger music hall and the Haynes Hotel, which was opened in less than twelve months after the fire. While a citizen of Springfield, he was prominent in local affairs and in State politics. He served in the first city government of Springfield in 1852 ; was a member of the lower house of the Legislature four terms, 1867-70 ; a State senator four terms, 1875-78 : and a member of the executive council two terms, 1878-79, during the administrations of Governors Rice and Talbot. When in the Legis- lature, he served on a number of important com- mittees, and was a business member. He was chairman of the committee on the State House in 1869, when the interior of the structure was largely reconstructed, and in 1876 was chairman of the committee on railroads. In 1890 he was appointed by Governor Ames a member of the
Metropolitan Sewerage Commission. In 1876 he sold out his hotel and music hall in Springfield, which he had successfully conducted since the opening, and temporarily retired from business. After spending some time in travel, and estab- lishing himself in Boston, he accepted the invita- tion of the directors of the United States Hotel to take charge of that property, and in the autumn of 1880 began his prosperous career as a Boston hotel manager. Under his management the value of the property considerably increased, and the house was early enlarged. In 1892 he extended his operations to New York, taking the old Grand Central Hotel and reopening it, reconstructed and modernized, as the Broadway Central Hotel. Mr. Haynes was married in 1853 to Miss Martha C. Eaton, daughter of Archelaus and Elizabeth (Hacket) Eaton, of Salisbury. They had no chil- dren. Mrs. Haynes died in 1876.
HECKMAN, JOUN FRANKLIN, of Boston, mer- chant, was born in Kennebunkport. Me., De- cember 25. 1846, son of Jacob and Mary Ann
JOHN F. HECKMAN.
(Hutcheson) Heckman. The Heckman family from which he descends originally came from Amsterdam, Holland, in the sixteenth century and
490
MEN OF PROGRESS.
settled in New York. On his father's side he is also a direct descendant of Ambrose Allen, cousin of Ethan Allen of Revolutionary fame, and Han- nah Lee, of Salem. On his mother's side he in- herits the Scotch blood of the Huteheson family and the Cook family of Haverhill. He was edu- cated in the public schools of his native town. At the age of fourteen he left home, and went to work in a grocery store in Biddeford, Me. Com- ing to Boston in 1864, he entered the employ of Horace Billings & Co., leather merchants, as a boy. Not long after he became book-keeper and then salesman, and in the latter capacity speedily developed his business talent. He remained with the several successors of this firm until 1882, when he was admitted to partnership in the firm of Billings & Eaton. In 1890, the firm of Billings & Eaton having dissolved, he became senior partner in that of Heckman, Brown, & Co., which succeeded to the business of Billings & Eaton : and on the ist of January, 1893, on the retire- ment of Mr. Brown, the firm was reorganized under the present name of Heckman, Bissell, & Co. From 1869 to 1874 Mr. Heckman resided in Medford, and since the latter date his home has been in Newton Highlands, where he has become prominent in local, municipal, and church affairs. He has served two terms (1883-84) in the Newton city government ; was elected to the vestry of St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church, Newton Highlands, in 1883, and is still serving ; is presi- dent of the Highland Club, first elected in Jan- uary, 1893, and member of the Newton Club; and director of the Newton Co-operative Bank. He was married in Boston, August 16, 1869, to Miss Anna W. Currier, of that city. Their children are : William Wallace and Mary Alice Heckman.
HENDRY, GEORGE HENRY, of Boston, wool merchant, is a native of Connecticut, born in En- field, May 1, 1861, son of Joseph and Mary (Fox- well) Hendry. He removed with his parents to Boston in 1863. He was educated in the Boston public schools, graduating from the Roxbury High School in 1877. Upon leaving school, he entered the office of a boot and shoe manufacturing house as clerk, and remained there four years. Then he became book-keeper for an oil house. He en- tered the wool business in 1885 on his own account, and has been so engaged ever since. Ile is an active member of the Boston Municipal
League, as a representative of the Christian En- deavor Society. In politics he is a Republican.
GEO. H. HENDRY.
He was married July 8, 1892, to Miss Hilma M. Ekman, of Boston. They have one son : Arthur Ekman Hendry.
HILL, FRANK ALPINE, secretary of the Massa- chusetts State Board of Education, is a native of Maine, born in Biddeford, October 12, 1841, son of Joseph S. and Nancy (Hill) Hill. On his father's side he traces back to Peter Hill, planter, who came from Plymouth, England, to what is now Maine, in 1633, and was a member of the court of the short-lived province of Lygonia in 1648, several of whose descendants in Biddeford figured conspicuously in church and town affairs, in the Indian wars, in the General Court at Boston, and in the Revolutionary War; and on his mother's side he is a descendant of the Hills of Stratham, N. H., whose ancestors also came from England. Both of his parents were teachers before their marriage. After marriage his father was for several years a manufacturer of woollen goods, with mills on Spring's Island, Biddeford, where he enjoyed a prosperous business. His father dying young, the boy was left at the age of six
49I
MEN OF PROGRESS.
under the care of his mother. She was a culti- vated and ambitious woman, who took great pains to set before him worthy ideals. His early train- ing was in the schools of Biddeford. At the age of eleven he entered the High School there under Horace Piper, a graduate of Bowdoin College, as principal, and graduated at the age of fifteen. He entered Bowdoin in 1858, and graduated in 1862, near the head of his class. Since gradua- tion he has been secretary of his class. When he was ready to enter college, his share of his father's money was about exhausted. During his college course he managed to earn money enough by teaching schools through the long winter vacations to keep himself largely, but not wholly, out of debt. During his freshman vacation in the win- ter of 1858-59, and again during the fall term and winter vacation of his sophomore year, 1859-60, he served as an assistant teacher in the Biddeford High School. In the winter vacation of his junior year, 1860-61, he had charge of a district school in Biddeford, and in his senior vacation, 1861-62. of a district school in Calais. After graduation, in the autumn of 1862, he became principal of the Limington Academy, Maine. In the winter of 1862 he was elected principal of the Biddeford High School, from which he had grad- uated a little over four years before. In 1864 he resigned this position to study law with the Hon. John M. Goodwin, of Biddeford. He prepared himself for admission to the bar, but never entered upon the practice of the profession. In 1865 he was selected by the city government of Biddeford to pronounce a eulogy upon Abraham Lincoln. That year he resumed teaching, coming to Massa- chusetts as principal of the Milford High School. In 1870 he resigned this charge to become prin- cipal of the Chelsea High School. After sixteen years of service in Chelsea he was appointed head- master of the new English High School in Cam- bridge. Here he was closely associated with the establishment and development of the Cambridge Manual Training School for Boys, founded by the public spirit of Frederick H. Rindge, and con- ducted by Harry Ellis, its superintendent .- a school whose wealth of advantages Mr. Rindge generously offers to the boys of the English High School without expense to them or to the city. In July, 1893, the head-mastership of the Mechanic Arts School of Boston having been tendered to him, he resigned the Cambridge position to enter upon the work of organizing and equipping the
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.