Men of progress one thousand biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Part 67

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 67

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

assistant minister in Trinity Church. Portsmouth, Va., and then became rector of St. James's Church, Warrenton. Va. Here he remained until 1879, when he was called to the rectorship of St. John's Church, Georgetown, Washington, D.C. From 1883 to 1885 he was chaplain of the Na- tional House of Representatives, as well as rector of St. John's Church. While at Georgetown he received from his Alma Mater - William and Mary College -the degree of D.D. (in 1881). In 1887 he was elected bishop of the diocese of Easton, in the State of Maryland, but declined the office. The same year he accepted the call

JOHN S. LINDSAY.

of St. John's Church, Bridgeport, Conn., to its rectorship, and here remained until his call to St. Paul's Church, Boston, in 1889. In 1890 he was elected assistant bishop of Alabama, which position he declined. In 1892, when Dr. Phillips Brooks was elected bishop of Massachu- setts, he was chosen to the place in the standing committee of the diocese of Massachusetts made vacant by Dr. Brooks's elevation to the episco- pate ; and in 1893 he was elected by the Dio- cesan Convention one of the four clerical deputies to the General Convention, which offices he still holds. He has had great success in holding to- gether a strong parish in the down-town business

section of the city, a task by no means an easy one. Dr. Lindsay is a man of excellent judgment, and therefore of influence in council. He has much tact, good nature, and common sense, and is a hater of strife. Under his rectorship St. Paul's has set the example to the whole diocese of maintaining a religious service of great beauty, dignity, and simplicity, thoroughly churchly, and yet in no way "ritualistic." There is a fine vested choir of thirty-six men and boys under the direction of Warren A. Locke, who is also choir-master at Harvard University. In contribu- tions for charitable objects and to maintain church work, St. Paul's parish stands second only to Trinity Church. Dr. Lindsay has published ser- mons, reviews, and other papers, and has been for many years a contributor to the periodical press. He was married June 14, 1877, to Miss Caroline Smith, of Baltimore. They have three children : Mary Fitzhugh, Thomas Poultney, and Annie Berkeley Ward Lindsay,

LORD, HENRY GARDNER, of Boston, editor of the Textile World, was born in Boston, May 30, 1865, son of Henry and Rebecca (Greenleaf) Lord. His paternal ancestors came to this coun- try from England in 1630, first settled in Ipswich, and afterward moved to Kennebunk, Me. His great-grandfather was a captain in the Continen- tal army at Burgoyne's surrender, and his pater- nal grandmother was a direct descendant of Roger Conant. His mother was a daughter of the late Gardner Greenleaf, of Boston. He was educated in the Boston public schools, graduating from the English High in 1881. It was his intention to follow a professional career, but circumstances were such that at the time he should have fitted for college he took a different course. Accord- ingly, he entered business instead, beginning as a clerk for J. W. Field & Co., in the leather trade. Here he remained for over two years, much against his inclinations, which were all for profes- sional work of some sort, but, nevertheless. rap- idly advancing in the business. In October, 1883, he entered the employ of Wade & Miller, a bro- kerage firm that year formed. And Joseph M. Wade, the senior member, who had formerly been connected with textile journalism, soon founding a new trade journal in Fibre and Fabric, he was engaged from the start on that paper. A few months later, Mr. Miller retiring, a new firm was

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formed, in March, ISS4, under the firm name of Joseph M. Wade & Company, in which Mr. Lord had a half-interest. Thereafter, in order thor-

HENRY G. LORD.

oughly to acquaint himself with the practical de- tails of the manufacturing business, he spent much time among the cotton and woollen mills. Fibre and Fabric proved successful; but, believing that a textile trade journal on radically different lines would also meet success, he finally sold out his interest to his partner, and in September, 1887, formed a new partnership with Walter B. Guild, under the name of Guild & Lord, for the publica- tion of the Textile World, an illustrated monthly magazine in which were to be incorporated a number of new features in trade journalism. Mr. Guild undertook the work of " outside man," and Mr. Lord that of editor and inside manager. The enterprise was successful from the beginning, and gained rapidly in circulation and advertising pat- ronage, early becoming a recognized leader in the field. It has always made a special feature of textile statistics, and is frequently quoted as au- thority in such matters. The firm of Guild & Lord also publish daily industrial news reports, the Textile Advance News, textile directories, and kindred publications. They have branch offices in New York and Philadelphia, and in the latter

city a fine chemical laboratory. Mr. Lord was one of the originators of the Trade Press Club, an association of publishers and commercial journal- ists, and has been its secretary since its establish- ment. He is also a member of the Puritan Club of Boston. He is interested in politics as a Re- publican, and when living in Boston was active in ward work, holding minor offices in committees. He was married June 8, 1893, to Miss Adelaide Fargo, daughter of Charles Fargo of Chicago, and then established his residence in Brookline.

LORING, GEORGE FULLINGTON, of Boston, architect, is a native of Boston, born March 26, 1851. son of George and Harriet A. (Stoodley) Loring. His father was a native of Barnstable, born February 24, 1824, second son of David (born April 14, 1792) and Elizabeth Kelley) Loring, and grandson of David (born 1750) and Mary Gray Loring, also of Barnstable. His mother was a daughter of James Stoodley, a native of Berwick, Me., and Sarah (Waldron) Stoodley, a native of Newington, N.H. He was educated in the Boston public schools. After leav-

GEORGE F. LORING.

ing school, he entered the city surveyor's office, City Hall, as draughtsman, and was the head draughtsman there for many years. He began

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the systematic study of architecture in 1880, and three years later opened an office, and engaged in its practice. In 1889 he formed a partnership with Sanford Phipps, of Watertown, under the firm name of Loring & Phipps, with office in Boston, which association has since continued. Among the more important buildings which Mr. Loring has designed are the Havemeyer School, Green- wich, Conn. ; Everett High School; Athol High School; Montclair, N.J., High School; Miner Hall, Tufts College; the Glines and the Pope School, Somerville; and school buildings at Nashua, N. H., Braintree, Mass., Hingham, Mel- rose, Brookline, and Ware. Mr. Loring is a member of the Boston Society of Architects, a Freemason, an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and belongs to the C'entral Club of Somerville. He was mar- ried July 16, 1873, to Miss Sarah Frances John- son, of Charlestown, daughter of the late John B. Johnson, a descendant of Captain Edward John- son, Kent, England, who died at Woburn, Mass .. in 1699, and of Jotham Johnson and Eunice Reed, of Burlington, her grandmother being Su- sanna Tufts of Charlestown, daughter of Samuel Tufts, and her mother, Sarah Ann (l'oor) Tufts, daughter of Samuel Poor, of Woburn, and Lydia Sprague, of Malden. They have four children : Ernest Johnson, Ralph Stoodley, Gladys, and Marjorie Loring. Mr. Loring resides on High- land Avenue, Somerville, and has been closely identified with the interests of that city since 1868.

MCDERMOTT, CHARLES HUBERT, of Boston, editor of the Boot and Shoc Recorder, is a native of England, born in Coventry, February 28, 1849. son of Hugh and Emma (Cox) McDermott. His father was Irish, and his mother English. The family came to this country in 1850, when he was a year old, and settled in Wisconsin, where his boyhood was spent. He attended the public schools at Kenosha, Wis., graduating at the high school, and studied three years at Michigan Uni- versity, Ann Arbor, in the class of 1868. He first engaged in the tanning business at Kenosha, which he entered in 1868. Four years later he moved to Chicago, and there was employed on the daily press as a reporter for the Chicago Times and writer for other publications. In 1879 he began the publication of a trade paper, the Shoe and Icather Review. This he continued until 1884.

when he sold out his interest and moved to Boston, where he joined with William L. Terhune in the publication of the Boot and Shoe Recorder, now

CHAS. H. MCDERMOTT.

the largest weekly trade paper in the world. In politics Mr. McDermott is a Republican. He is a member of the Algonquin, Old Dorchester, and Chickatawbut clubs. He was married April 1, 1877, to Miss Carlotta Gonzalez de Susini. They have two children living: Juanita Isabel and Charles Susini McDermott.

MACDONALD, REV. LOREN BENJAMIN, of Boston, pastor of the New South Church, Tremont Street, is a native of Nova Scotia, born in the town of Newport, January 21, 1857, son of Ed- ward and Matilda ( Mosher) Macdonald. His paternal grandparents were Scotch; and on the maternal side he is also Scotch, but farther back. He came to Massachusetts when he was a lad of seven, and has lived in the United States ever since. When he was about ten years old, his father died : and from that time he was obliged to make his way by his own efforts. By persistent effort and much self-teaching he managed to ob- tain a liberal education, while supporting himself through work of various kinds. He first attended

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the public schools of Newton, afterward the llar- vard Divinity School, and finally Harvard College, which he entered after preaching three years,

LOREN B. MACDONALD.

beginning in the junior class and graduating with the .A. B. degree in 1886. From the age of sixteen to twenty-one he was clerk in a wholesale boot and shoe house in Boston, and during that time prepared himself to pass the examinations for ad- mission to Harvard by studying evenings ; and he entered the Divinity School the next day after leaving the store. He graduated there with the degree of B.I). in ISS1. The next three years, 1881 to 1884, he was settled over the Unitarian church at Ellsworth, Me. While a student in college he supplied the pulpit at Shirley, Mass., and continued there until 1887, his service cover- ing two years. After graduation in 1886 his health gave out ; but he soon recovered, and has been in good physical condition since. From ISS8 to 1891 he was settled over the Unitarian church at Wolfeboro, N.H. Then he came to Boston to take charge of a new society on Hunt- ington Avenue, called the Church of the Good Samaritan ; and in 1892 minister and people went to the New South Church, on the corner of Tre- mont and Camden Streets, where he has since continued as pastor. This church has been in ex-

istence for thirty years, and before he took charge of it had had but two pastors,- the Rev. William P. Tilden and the Rev. George H. Young. The church itself is under the control of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches. It is a free church and aims to meet the needs of people in moderate circumstances. Under the present pastorate the congregations have slowly increased ; and it has made its presence felt in the neighbor- hood, in charitable work among the needy. Mr. Macdonald is a member of the Boston Association of Ministers, and is secretary of the Suffolk Con- ference of Unitarian Churches. Ile is a Royal Arch Mason, but belongs to no clubs. In politics he is an Independent. He is unmarried, and lives with his mother, who has kept house for him for twenty years.

MEEHAN, PATRICK, of Boston, large real es- tate owner and operator, is a native of Ireland, born in County Fermaugh, March 15, 1834, son of Thomas and Katharine ( McMorrow) Meehan. He was educated in the national schools in the town of Garrison, and also through private instruc-

PATRICK MEEHAN.

tion. Coming to this country in 1846, his first work here was on a Connecticut farm. After- wards he was some time employed on the old

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Boston, Hartford, & Eric Railroad, now part of the New York & New England system, and then went to New Orleans, where he followed steam- boating for several years. Sympathizing with the Union cause and desiring to vote for Abraham Lincoln for President, he returned to Massachu- setts in 1860. Subsequently he engaged in the contracting business in Boston, in which he pros- pered, retiring in the early eighties with a compe- tence. Since that time he has been an extensive operator in real estate, largely in the Roxbury District of Boston, and is counted among the heavy tax-payers. He was one of the original owners of the Boylston Brewery. In politics he is classed as an independent Democrat, and he has been especially interested of late years in municipal politics. Mr. Mechan was married April 5, 1864. to Miss Mary Sheehan. They have nine children : Katie A., Thomas F., Minnie E., John J., William P., Annie G., Helen F., Alice M., and Florence C. Meehan.

METCALF, ERASTUS LOVELL, of Franklin, mer- chant and manufacturer, is a native of Franklin. born July 4, 1814, son of Preston and Lucretia (Hill) Metcalf. He is of one of the early families of Norfolk County. His earliest known ancestor was Leonard Metcalf, bishop of Tetterford, Eng- land, born in 1545. Persecution caused Leonard's son Michael, born 1586, and wife, with nine chil- dren, to emigrate in 1637 ; and they settled in Dedham. In 1684 Ebenezer, son of Michael, Jr., settled in North Franklin on the banks of the Charles River, on land granted for services in the Indian wars. This grant was held entire in the family until 1830, and a portion still remains in its possession. Erastus L. was brought up on the farm, and his schooling was confined to the common country schools of his day. His training for what has proved to be a most active life was obtained in work on the old farm for his father until he was sixteen years old, and in the cotton mills for three years. Then he engaged in the building, lumber, and grain trade, which was his business for a long period. In 1840 his brother, Otis F., joined him under the firm name of E. L. & (). F. Metcalf ; and this remained without a change or a break for forty years, when in ISSI he sold his interest to Otis F. and sons. During the partnership with his brother he took the outside business of the firm, and advanced a number of enterprises. What is now a village of Franklin

was in 1840 a cow pasture, which the brothers bought at a low price, built upon, and sold when they could. In 1846-47 he took an active part in

ERASTUS L. METCALF.

the promotion of the Norfolk County Railroad. In constructing the road and the extension to Putnam, Conn., he furnished the sleepers to Black- stone, built the stations and wooden bridges, and the engine-house at Thompson Junction. In 1854 he bought the Frost water privilege in Franklin, rebuilt the dam, and filled the mill with wood- working machinery, which greatly advanced the work of his firm. It being too far from his home, however, in 1867 he built the steam mills, still standing, in his village, embracing log-sawing and grain mill (the only ones in town), box, planing, sash, blind, doors, moulding mills, and a carpenter shop for all work. These have been a financial suc- cess, and a great benefit to the public in building up Franklin and adjacent towns. After the com- pletion of the railroad the town became a central point, and his business rapidly increased. In 1857 Mr. Metcalf engaged in a more distant enterprise, joining others in erecting a steam mill for building steamboats on the Ohio River in West Virginia. In 1861 this was entirely destroyed by the Con- federates. From 1864 to 1867 he was engaged in town affairs, and again in 1874 and 1875 as select-

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man and otherwise. In 1874. being vice-president of the Massachusetts & Rhode Island Railroad Company, he took an active part in building that road. In 1879, when president of the Farmers' Club, he conceived the idea of building a beet sugar mill in Franklin, similar to the one in Port- land, Me., which was said to be a success. He was instrumental in forming a company, of which he became president, built the mill, and fitted it with German machinery. But, after working the first crop of beets, the farmers refused to cultivate them. Consequently, the enterprise was a failure. The excellent machinery, which had cost $60,000, was useless here; and, thinking it might be of some value in the cane region, in 1884 Mr. Met- calf went to Baton Rouge, La., organized a com- pany there, built a brick mill, 50X100, seven stories high, and placed the machinery in it. Then he returned home. In 1882 he went to Hampton County, South Carolina, and bought twelve thousand acres of pine and cypress lands, intending to cut the wood for the market. Having an opportunity to sell, he embraced it, and bought five thousand acres in Southern Georgia. This he also sold soon after. In 1861 he was chosen secre- tary and treasurer of the Franklin Cemetery Asso- ciation (a corporation), which position he still holds. In politics he began a Jackson Democrat, but, when Lincoln became a candidate, voted for him and gave him his hearty support. He is now a Prohibitionist. Mr. Metcalf was first married April 28, 1838, to Miss Emeline Fisher, daughter of Perez Fisher, of Franklin. She died in 1873, leaving no children. His second marriage was in 1875 to Miss Eliza H. Sawyer. They have two children : Herbert L. and Ernest L. Metcalf.

MORGAN, ERNEST HALL, of Boston, editor of the Roxbury Gasette, is a native of Connecticut, born in South Coventry, October 11, 1854, son of Miles Chandler and Eliza Philura ( Hall) Morgan. He is of English ancestry on his father's side, a descendant of James Morgan, who came over in 1692, and settled in New London, Conn., and of Welsh on the maternal side. His paternal grand- father was one of the best of the old-time district schoolmasters ; and it was his custom during the long winter evenings to drill the grandchildren visiting the old farm, and gathered before the great fireplace, in mental arithmetic, spelling, parsing, and reading. Both he and his wife lived

to a great age, the latter reaching upward of ninety-eight years. She was a reader to the day of her death, and had a marvellous memory. 'They lived for seventy-five years in an isolated val- ley, out of sight of neighbors ; but they managed to keep well abreast of the times through thor- ough reading of many newspapers and magazines of that period, which they carefully preserved, neatly bound. Mr. Morgan's father was also at one time a school-teacher, and subsequently be- came a fine mechanic and an inventor. He was a wide reader, and possessed an excellent library. Ernest H. was educated in district schools. At the age of eleven he went to work in the mills in Willimantic, whither he had moved, and thereafter worked winters in the mills and summers on the farms, by the month, until he was seventeen years old. In January, 1872, he came to Boston, and entered the employ of John H. Wilcox & Co., manufacturers of church organs. For the next few years he worked at various mechanical pur- suits, devoting all his spare time to reading and study. Then, in 1890, he drifted quite acciden- tally into newspaper work. Thomas W. Bicknell,

ERNEST H. MORGAN.

having come into possession of the Dorchester Beacon, and having no time personally to attend to it, was casting about for a manager or a lessee,

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and, casually meeting Mr. Morgan, suggested that he should take hold of it. He thought over the matter one night, and the next morning, abso- lutely without newspaper experience or capital, hired the paper, and went to work. Within a few months he established a job office, and two years later purchased the entire outfit. Then he branched out beyond his capital, met reverses, and was forced out of the business, leaving it, however, in good shape for his successor. Dur- ing his management the Beacon was one of the best of suburban newspapers, and few could boast a better list of contributors. Numerous valu- able historical papers by writers of repute were published in it, many original articles from Mr. Morgan's own pen, and a History of Dorchester, which has since appeared in book form. Its tone was dignified, and its columns clean. Immedi- ately after his retirement from the Beacon Mr. Morgan was given the sole management of the Roxbury Gasette by ex-Congressman M. J. Mc- Ettrick, who had just come into possession of this property ; and the singular spectacle of a paper owned by a Democrat, managed by a Republican, and run without friction, is the result. The policy is the same as that adopted for the Beacon. The paper is something more than a vehicle for local gossip. Broad questions are discussed briefly, and cheap sensationalism is avoided. Mr. Morgan is a member of the Dorchester Historical Society, of the Roxbury Military Historical Society, of the Bostonian Society, of the Boston, Suburban, and Massachusetts Press clubs, and of the order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is an independent, with Republican tendencies. He has never held nor sought office. He was married January 29, 1874, to Miss Amelia Blois, a native of Nova Scotia. They have had two children : Mabel Ernestine (living) and Alice Lincoln Morgan, who died at the age of seven. Mr. Morgan has two brothers : one, J. F., a Western business man ; and the other, Forrest Morgan, editor of the Travellers Record, the clever little publication of the Travel- lers Insurance Company of Hartford, Conn., who came into wide notice a few years ago through his work as editor of the seven-volume edition of the works of the late Walter Bagehot, the English writer on political economy.

MORTON, JOHN DWRHIT, of Boston, merchant, is a native of Athol, born October 3, 1830, son of

Jeremiah and Olive ( Morse) Morton. He is a descendant of one of the Pilgrim families, his first ancestor in America having been George Morton.

J. D. MORTON.

who, as financial agent of the Pilgrims in Eng- land, purchased the " Mayflower," and took an active part in sending over that colony that landed at Plymouth in 1620, coming to Plymouth himself in 1623. Mr. Morton's great-grandfather, Richard Morton, was one of the first seven settlers of Athol. He was educated in the country schools, and at the age of fifteen began his business life in a country store in the adjoining town of Royalston. He came to Boston in 1853, entering the counting-room of Stimson & Valentine, dealers in paints, oils, and varnishes, remaining there until 1859, when he became connected with the house of Banker & Carpenter, in the same line of business, becoming a partner in that house in 1864. In 1868 the firm name was changed to Carpenter, Woodward & Morton, which continued until January 1, 1893. when the business was or- ganized into a corporation under the name of Carpenter-Morton Company, Mr. Morton becom- ing treasurer and general manager. This com- pany has become one of the largest paint and oil establishments in the country, largely engaged in both the manufacture and importation of paints,

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varnishes, and artists' materials. Mr. Morton was also for many years, and until the formation of the National Lead Company, the New England manager of the St. Louis Lead & Oil Company. He has been especially prominent in the estab- lishment of business organizations, local and national, which have become institutions of wide influence and importance, having been one of the founders of the Paint and Oil Club of New Eng- land (formed in 1884), and serving as its president during 1886 and 1887 ; also one of the founders of the National Paint, Oil, and Varnish Associa- tion, organized in 1888, of which he has also been president. He first suggested the formation of the Boston Associated Board of Trade, calling the first meeting of the representatives of its constitu- ent bodies, and taking an active part in its organ- ization, serving as its first vice-president, and, as chairman of its committee on postal affairs, was largely instrumental in securing improved mail service between Boston and New York. He is also a member of the Boston Chamber of Com- merce, of the Bostonian Society, of the Boston Art Club, and a trustee of the Boston Penny Sav- ings Bank. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Morton was married October 7, 1862, to Miss Maria E. Wesson, daughter of William C. Wes- son, of Hardwick, and grand-daughter of the Rev. William B. Wesson, a well-known Massachusetts clergyman in his day. They have three children ; Arabel (now wife of J. H. Goodspeed, treasurer of the West End Railroad Company), George C. (now associated with his father in business), and Clara Morton.

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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 67

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