Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 66

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 66

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new school. He was engaged in this work when, in February, 1894, he was appointed secretary of the State Board of Education; but he did not assume the duties of this office until the ist of May following. In every station to which he has been called he has won commendation for the ex- cellence and thoroughness of his work. When he retired from the Chelsea High School to take the Cambridge appointment, a public reception was given him, at which the Hon. Eustace C. Fitz spoke for the citizens, expressing their apprecia- tion of his services and their regrets at his de- parture ; and he and his wife were both presented with substantial gifts. And in Cambridge, when the announcement of his call to Boston was pub- lished, the Tribune made an earnest appeal for his retention there, declaring that his departure would be "a great blow to the educational interests of the city." Mr. Hill is a member of the Schools Examination Board of Harvard University, of the corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and of the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He has served as president of the Worcester County Teachers' Association. of the Massachusetts Classical and

FRANK A. HILL.

High School Teachers' Association, of the Massa- chusetts State Teachers' Association, of the Mas-

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

sachusetts Schoolmasters' Club, and was for three years chairman of the New England Asso- ciation of College and Preparatory Schools to con- fer with the Commission of Colleges in New Eng- land. He has contributed numerous articles to the press and to educational magazines, and has been associated with Professor Holmes, of the University of Virginia, in editing the Holmes series of school readers, and with John Fiske, the historian, in preparing his " Civil Government " and his " History of the United States " for the use of schools. At one time he did considerable lecturing on the lyceum platform, and he has given many educational and other addresses. In 1894 Bowdoin College, upon the occasion of its hundredth anniversary, conferred upon him the degree of Litt. 1). In politics Mr. Hill has voted the Republican ticket in State and national elec- tions, but has ignored party lines in local elections. He inclines, under present conditions, to moderate protection, but holds that protection as a principle should be gradually but steadily elim- inated from the policy of the government, in the belief that ultimately the country can get along with little or none of it. He belongs to the Psi Upsilon fraternity, the Phi Beta Kappa, the Mas- sachusetts Schoolmasters' Club, the Cambridge Club, the Colonial Club of Cambridge, and several organizations of a less public character. He was married February 28, 1866, to Miss Marga- retta S. Brackett, of Parsonsfield, Me. They have three children : Myron Francis (H.C. 1890), Lewis Dana (H.C. 1894), and Frederick Brackett Hill (H.C. 1895).

HUTCHINGS, GEORGE SHERBURN, of Boston, church organ manufacturer, was born in Salem, December 9, 1835, youngest of a family of six, four boys and two girls, children of Ebenezer and Harriet (Symonds) Hutchings. He is on both sides of English ancestry. His education was ac- quired in the Salem public schools. Losing his parents when little more than a child, and not wishing to be a burden upon his relatives, he set about gaining his livelihood at an age when most lads are engaged in the absorbing occupation of kite-flying and other boyish games. He had a decided aptitude for mechanics; but, being too young to find an opening for his talent, he spent the first two of his working years in a store. He then apprenticed himself to his brother, who was a carpenter and builder, and, while thus engaged,

attracted the attention of William Hook, the well- known furniture manufacturer of Salem, by a re- markable piece of cabinet work. This work so pleased Mr. Hook that he wrote to his sons, E. E. and G. G. Hook, the celebrated organ-builders of Boston, calling their attention to him ; and an offer followed to enter their factory as a case-maker, which he gladly accepted. This was in 1857. When he had been in the factory but a few months, the foreman of the case-makers left, and the position was offered to him. He at first de- clined it, feeling that it belonged to one of the older employees ; but his employers insisting, and

GEO. S. HUTCHINGS.

the men in the department joining in the request, he finally accepted. He continued as foreman until 1861, when, upon the first call for men at the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and went to the front. He remained with the army for two years ; and then, after a long illness caused by exposure and the privations of army life, he re-entered the factory of the Messrs. Hook. Starting this time in the action department, he went rapidly through every department, and was then made superintendent of the entire fac- tory, which position he held until 1869, when (in October) he engaged in the business on his own

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

account, in connection with Dr. J. H. Wilcox, M. H. Plaisted, and G. V. Nordstrom, forming the firm of J. H. Wilcox & Co. In 1872, Dr. Wilcox retiring on account of failing health. and the interest of Mr. Nordstrom being purchased by the two remaining partners, the firm name became Hutchings. Plaisted, & Co. ; and since 1884, when Mr. Plaisted left the East to settle in California, and the latter's interest was purchased by him, Mr. Hutchings has continued the business alone under the firm name of George S. Hutchings. In the twenty-five years during which the business has been running Mr. Hutchings and his asso- ciates have built over three hundred and sixty-five organs, which are scattered over the United States from Maine to California. The number includes some of the most noted instruments in this coun- try, among which may be mentioned those in the Old South Church, the Church of the Advent, St. Paul's, Park Street Church, Second Church, Em- manuel Church, the Spiritual Temple, and the Mt. Vernon Church on Beacon Street, and that in the private residence of J. Montgomery Sears (besides many smaller instruments), all in Boston ; a very large instrument in the New York Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, N.Y., and that in St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City. one of the four or five largest instruments in the world, completed during the summer of 1894. From small beginnings Mr. Hutchings has built up a very extensive business, and he has now the largest and best equipped organ establishment in the country. Mr. Hutchings is connected with numerous fraternal orders, being a member of the Amicable Lodge, Free Masons, the Warren Lodge, Odd Fellows, the Franklin Council, Royal Arca- num, the Dana Council, American Legion of Honor, and the Plymouth Rock Commandery, United Order Golden Cross ; and he is also a mem- ber of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association. In politics he is a Republican. He has been twice married : first, December 25, 1856, to Miss Lydia Augusta Foster, the issue of which union were two daughters, Alice Augusta and Susie Mabel Hutchings ; and second, January 18, 1872, to Miss Mary Elizabeth Cook, of Salem. They have one daughter : Florence Cook Hutchings.

HUTCHINSON, JOHN FREDERICK. of Lexing- ton, real estate broker, with office in Boston, is a native of New Hampshire, but for more than

twenty-five years has been a resident of Lexington. He was born in the town of Brookline, Hillsbor- ough County, N. H., January 6, 1856, son of John Q. A. and Amanda R. (Wadsworth) Hutchinson. He was educated in the public schools of Lexing- ton, the Lawrence Academy, Groton, and at the Bryant & Stratton Commercial College, Boston. For about twenty years he was in the wholesale produce business in Boston, and then entered the real estate business, in which he is still engaged, his present office being at No. 7 Water Street. He is now (1895) president of the Boston Fruit and Produce Exchange. In Lexington affairs he

J. F. HUTCHINSON.

has for some years had a prominent part. In ISS9 he represented the town in the Legislature. He is president of the Senior Finance Club of Lexington called the Lexington Associates, a member of the Old Belfry Club, and marshal of Simon W. Robinson Lodge of Masons in Lexing- ton. In politics he is a Republican. He was married March 8, 1882, to Miss Mary W. Lund. They have two children : John Chester and Bertha May Hutchinson.

JENNINGS, CHARLES EDWIN, of Everett, real estate operator, was born in Andover, August 13.

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

1853, son of Alexander E. and Clarissa A. (Stone) Jennings. His education was acquired in public schools in West Andover and Charlestown and

C. E. JENNINGS.

at a private school in Charlestown, attending the latter while engaged in selling newspapers in Bos- ton. He became a newsboy when he was twelve years old, and continued to sell papers for seven years. Before that, however, he was at work, at the age of eleven employed as helper on a wagon of Niles & Co., Dover, N.H., express. He re- mained in the express business for twenty-five years, early occupying positions of responsibility. At eighteen he was agent in Boston for Morrill & Penniman's Lowell and Nashua Express, and afterward was president and manager of the International Express Company, operating be- tween St. John, N.B., and New York, until the sale of its franchise and property to the United States Express Company. During his manage- ment of the International Company its business so extended and expanded that the property, for a half-interest in which, at the beginning, he paid $300, was sold out for about $50,000. Mr. Jen- nings moved to Everett in 1871, and since his re- tirement from active participation in the express business he has been engaged in the real estate business in that city and in Boston. He has

taken an influential part in both town and city affairs in Everett, and held numerous local offices. He was for four years auditor of the town (1879- So-81-82) and water commissioner (1891), served as the first president of the Board of Aldermen when the town became a city in 1892, was a member of the board of 1894, and a candidate for mayor of the city for 1895, coming within ninety- eight votes of election. He is treasurer of the Everett Co-operative Bank, and one of the largest tax-payers of Everett. Mr. Jennings was married August 13, 1874, to Miss Florence Waters, of Chelsea. They have had three sons, two of whom are now living : Charles Edwin, Jr., aged nineteen years, and Fred Everett Jennings, aged seventeen years. He resides on Pleasant Street, in one of the most attractive residences of the place, a house in the colonial style with the most modern improvements.

KELLOGG, FREDERICK TUCKER, of Spring- field, manufacturer, was born in Palmer, May 7, 1859, son of Philo Pratt and Seraph Caroline

F. T. KELLOGG.

(Henshaw) Kellogg. He is of Scotch descent, the Kelloggs tracing their ancestry to two fami- lies, partisans of James VI. of Scotland, who

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

followed that prince to England when he ascended the throne as James I. They came to New Eng- land in 1639. His father, Philo Pratt Kellogg, belonged to the Connecticut branch of the family which settled in Hartford and Colchester, being a direct descendant of Joseph Kellogg, a captain in the Revolutionary army under General Wash- ington. Frederick T. went through the public schools of Springfield, graduating from the High School in 1876, fitted for college at the Adams Academy. Quincy, and passed examination for Harvard in 1877, but, preferring business to pro- fessional life, did not take the college course. In 1878 he entered the employ of the National Papeterie Company of Springfield, and remained there five years, learning the business of making envelopes and papeteries in the various depart- ments of that concern. In 1883 the firm of P. P. Kellogg & Co. being established for the manu- facture of envelopes, he at once became a part- ner, and has since devoted his time and attention to this business. He is now principal owner of the establishment. P. P. Kellogg, his father, having died in 1892. He is also a director of the Columbian Paper Company of Buena Vista, Va., and of the Second National Bank of Spring- field. He is a member of the Nyasset and Winthrop clubs of Springfield. In politics he is not interested. Mr. Kellogg is not married.

KITSON, HENRY HUDSON, of Boston, sculp- tor, was born in England, near the town of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, son of John and Emma (Jagger) Kitson. The Kitsons were for many generations concerned in the woollen trade, and originally came from Halifax. He was one of a large family of which several members have displayed marked ability in the arts, in sculpture, painting, and literature. As a child, he disclosed a talent for drawing and carving ; and, being am- bitious to learn, he was sent to the evening class of the Mechanics' Institute in Huddersfield, when he was but eight years old. At twelve he had won several prizes, among them the first prize given by the Mechanics' Institute for design. At thirteen he came to this country, and, joining his brother, John William, in New York, who was there engaged in stone carving, went to work on the Astor Memorial for Trinity, then building. He had a hand also in other and the best work of his brother's shop, including the friezes and

panels for the Vanderbilt houses, most of which he modelled. Thus he gained valuable knowl- edge and experience in the handling and use

HENRY H. KITSON.

of the carver's tools before he had got far in his teens. In 1882 he went to Paris, and there entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the École des Arts Décoratifs. In the former he studied in the ateliers Dumont and Bonnassieux, and in the latter with Millet and Ganter. In the Salon of 1883, his second year in Paris, he exhibited his first bust from life, that of Angelo Schütze. musician and painter. The same year he exe- cuted a bust of " Amour," which was much praised. Then he opened a studio of his own, and broadened his studies and work. His " Music of the Sea," first exhibited in the Salon of 1884, and bringing him fame, subsequently receiving the gold medal of honor at the Prize Fund Exhibition in New York in 1885, and a gold medal at the Charitable Mechanic Associa- tion Exhibition in Boston, was here produced. And soon after the " Fisherman's Wife " and the "Singing Girl" appeared. In the autumn of 1884 Kitson returned to New York. His first work after his return was a bust of John McCul- lough, the actor, for which he took a death-mask at Philadelphia. Then followed the delicate bas-

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

relief of " Easter," a three-quarters head and arms of a maiden, the portrait of Miss Theo Alice Ruggles, exhibited in marble in the Salon of 1888, and the statue of the late Mayor Doyle of Providence now in Providence. In 1888 he was commissioned by the Roumanian govern- ment to execute a portrait bust of Queen Eliza- beth, "Carmen Sylva," and upon its completion received the decoration of commander of the Royal Order of Bene Merenti and the queen's medal. Among his later most notable works are a figure of " Christ on the Cross," life size, mod- elled for the Drexels of Philadelphia; the foun- tain for the Dyer Memorial in Providence; and the bronze statue of Farragut, for the city of Boston, now in the Marine Park, South Boston, pronounced one of the best portrait statues in pose, finish, and likeness in the city. He has since been commissioned by the government to make a statue of Robert Fulton for the Congres- sional Library at Washington. Mr. Kitson has received, besides the gold medals for his " Music of the Sea," the only medal awarded for sculpt- ure in the American Section in the Universal Exposition at Paris in ISS9. He exhibited four works at the World's Columbian Exhibition at Chicago, and was awarded four gold medals. He is a member of the Ethnographical Society, and of the Société Américaine de France. He first 'es- tablished his studio in Boston in 1887. Mr. Kitson was married June 29. 1893, to Miss Theo Alice Ruggles. They have a daughter : Dorothy Kitson.

LANSIL, WALTER FRANKLIN, of Boston, ma- rine painter, is a native of Maine, born in Bangor, March 30, 1846, son of Asa P. and Betsey T. (Grout) Lansil. He is a descendant of Charles V. Lansil, a native of Havre, France, who came to this country in 1792, and settled in Chatham, Mass. ; and, on the maternal side, of Captain John Grout, a Puritan, who came here in 1637. Ances- tors of his served in the Indian, colonial, and Revolutionary wars. He was educated in the public schools of Bangor, and there also first studied art, taking lessons from J. P'. Hardy. He came to Boston in 1870, opening his first studio in Studio Building. He at once became identified with the art life of the city, and painted a number of canvases which attracted attention. In 1883 he was one of the jury of awards for the Dominion of Canada at the Fine Art Exhibition at St. John's,

N.B. In 1884 he went to Europe and entered Julien studio in Paris, studying under Boulanger and Lefebvre, then visited Holland, Belgium, Ger- many, and Italy, devoting considerable time to painting in Venice. He has been a frequent ex- hibitor, and his work appears in many private col- lections and in various institutions. "Crossing the Georges," one of the earliest of his important paintings, is owned by the Boston Marine Insur- ance Company. " Fishermen Becalmed " is at Smith College, Northampton ; "In Vineyard Sound," at Wellesley College, Wellesley ; " Trawl- ers Making Port " and " Midnight Arrival " hang in the Adams House, Boston ; " Dutch River Crafts " is owned by the Boston Art Club ; " Vet- eran of the Heroic Fleet," by the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association : engagement be- tween the " Enterprise and Boxer, 1813." owned by the State of Massachusetts, is on the United States nautical training ship " Enterprise "; " Waiting for the Tide" is in the private collec- tion of ex-Governor Oliver Ames ; "Becalmed," in that of the Hon. Frank M. Ames, and " A Dead C'alm" in that of Amos W. Stetson, of Bos-

WALTER F. LANSIL.

ton ; "Sunset, Vineyard Sound," is the property of Mrs. General Landor, of Salem. Three of his earlier works were owned by the late John Quincy

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

Adams ; "Coming Storm, Dordrecht Harbor," is owned by the Old Colony National Bank. Plym- outh ; " Nantasket Beach," by ex.Secretary Vilas of the Interior Department; "Departure of the Fishing Boats," by the Hon. Jonathan A. Lane, of Boston ; " In the Harbor of Venice," by Captain George H. Perkins, United States Navy. of Boston; " The Enterprise at Sea," by Com- mander John F. Merry, United States Navy ; - Off Portland," by Charles G. Wood, late president Boston Art Club; " Near Dordrecht, Holland," by Colonel A. A. Pope, of Boston. He received medals in 1878, 1881, and 1884. Mr. Lansil is a member of the Boston Art Club, Boston ; presi- dent (1894-95) of the Unity Art Club, Boston ; and is prominently connected with the Masonic order, having been master of the Lodge of Eleusis of Boston. 1892-93, member of St. Paul Royal Arch Chapter, of St. Bernard Commandery Knights Templar, and of Worshipful Masters' As- sociation. He is also a member of the Sons of the Revolution. Mr. Lansil is unmarried. His studio is at No. 56 Studio Building, Boston ; and his home in the Dorchester District of Boston.

LANSIL, WILBUR HENRY, of Boston, cattle painter, was born in Bangor, Me., February 24. 1855, youngest son of Asa P. and Betsey T. (Grout) Lansil. (For ancestry, see Lansil, Walter Franklin.) He was educated in the Bangor pub- lic schools. In 1872 he removed to Boston, and first engaged in mercantile pursuits, entering the employ of Lewis Coleman & Co., commission merchants. But his inclinations were all toward a professional rather than a business life ; and, after twelve years' service with Messrs. Coleman & Co. he withdrew, and went abroad for study, sail- ing in August, 1884. He studied cattle painting exclusively, first in France, and afterward in Hol- land, and also visited Belgium, Germany, and Italy. Returning, he established his home and studio in the Dorchester District of Boston. Here he has kept a fine herd of cattle for several years, for subjects for his works. His paintings are owned principally in Boston and its neighborhood. Among his best known pictures are "Sundown on the Coast," " Repose near the Sea," and " The Hillside Pasture," in the private collection of L. C. Conant, Brookline; "Stable Interior," in the collection of Mrs. B. F. Sturtevant, Jamaica Plain ; "Resting near the Seacoast," in that

of J. L. Grandin, Boston: "On the Seacoast," owned by B. C. Clark, Boston ; "The Return at Sundown," owned by Henry E. Wright, Charles-

W. H. LANSIL.

town ; " The Return of the Herd," owned by Will- iam B. Kimball, Bradford : " Banks of the Nepon- set," in the collection of H. D. Dupee, Dorchester. Mr. Lansil is a member of the Lodge of Eleusis, Freemasons, of the Boston Art and Unity Art clubs, and of the Sons of the Revolution. He is unmarried.

LEWIS, ISAAC NEWTON, member of the Suf- folk bar. was born in Walpole. December 25. 1848, son of William and Judith M. (Whittemore) Lewis. He comes of a family honored and re- spected from earliest colonial times, which has fur- nished one signer of the Declaration of Indepen- dence and a number of jurists, statesmen, and military generals. His direct line is as follows : William and Amy Lewis from England, 1635, to Roxbury, Mass .; John and Hannah Lewis, Lan- caster, Mass., 1653 ; Captain Barachiah and Judith (Whiting) Lewis, Dedham, 1690; Isaac and Mary (Whiting) Lewis, Dedham, 1734; Isaac and Abi- gail (Bullard) Lewis, Walpole, 1774; and Isaac and Susannah (Ware) Lewis, Walpole, 1803. His early education was acquired in the Walpole High

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and Classical School and the Eliot High School, Boston. He graduated A. B. from Harvard in 1873, LL.B. from the Boston University Law School, and was the first person honored by Boston Uni- versity with the degree of A.M. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar on January 31, 1876. Imme- diately after his graduation from Harvard College he went abroad for further observation and study, and after graduation from the law school took a second foreign trip. Upon his return he estab- lished himself at No. 82 Devonshire Street, Bos- ton, his present office, and entered upon the active practice of his profession. In 1887 he made an

ISAAC NEWTON LEWIS.

extended tour around the world, scenes from which were made well known in his " Pleasant Hours in Sunny Lands," published on his return. He is a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines, and author of several quite popular books. He is also known as an enthusiastic artist, which led him to search after and find in England a portrait of Sir Robert Walpole, a life- size copy of which he presented to his native town at its first anniversary celebration, one hundred and sixty-eight years after it received Walpole's name in December, 1724, arousing by his presen- tation address a healthy and active public spirit in the whole community. Besides occupying

numerous trust positions, Mr. Lewis is president of two corporations. His first office was that of justice with power to hear cases, to which he was appointed in 1876; and for twenty years he has been justice of the peace, notary public, and in other like positions to which he has been appointed by Governor Alexander H. Rice, down to the present time. He has also often served as com- missioner, auditor, and on the School Board of his town, and has been active as teacher in high school, professor in academy, and in various other ways in the cause of education. He was of the original members of the Norfolk Bar Association, is president of the Middlesex Tribune Publishing Company, president of the Maple Grove Cemetery Association, member of the Forest Hills Cemetery Association, Boston ; president of the Lyceum and Reform Club, Metropolitan Artist Club ; and member of the Historic Genealogical Society, especially interested in genealogy and historical matters since publishing his family history, "In Memoriam," in 1872, and the first book of the Records of Deeds of Suffolk County. In politics he has been a life-long Republican, as his father was a Free Soiler, but inclined to reform and progress in political affairs. He was married in 1895 to his cousin, Miss Etta A. Lewis, of New- ark, N.J. His attractive home in Walpole, of stone and brick, and ornamental grounds sur- rounding, was of his own design, and is filled with portraits, paintings, and other artistic work of his own hands.

LINDSAY, REV. JOHN SUMMERFIELD, of Bos- ton, rector of St. Paul's Church, is a native of Virginia, born in Williamsburg, March 19, 1842, son of Thomas and Caroline (Martin) Lindsay. His father was of an ancient Scotch family, and his mother of English deseent, some of her ances- tors bearing the name of Durham. His early education was acquired in the schools of Will- iamsburg, taught by graduates of American or English colleges; and he entered William and Mary College, but left in 1860 without graduating, on account of ill-health. Afterward he was a student at the University of Virginia and at the Theological Seminary of Virginia. He was or- dained to the deaconate (Episcopal Church) in 1869, by the Rev. John Johns, D.D., LL. D., bishop of Virginia, and to the priesthood in 1870 by the Rt. Rev. F. M. Whittle, D.D., Bishop Johns's assistant. From 1869 to 1871 he was

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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 66

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