USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume IV > Part 24
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HON. FRANK H. PUTNAM-As a mem- ber of the firm of George E. Putnam and Son, of Lowell, Massachusetts, Hon. Frank H. Putnam is well known in business circles in Lowell, but he is still better known as a legis- lator who has served three terms in the House of Representatives, and five in the State Sen- ate, his last election to that office having oc- curred in 1923. He is a member of the Com- mission on Administration and Finance, in which capacity he served with credit to him- self and satisfaction to his constituents.
Hon. Frank H. Putnam was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, August 30, 1880, son of George E. Putnam, who has for many years been en- gaged in the grocery and produce business in Lowell, and of Mary R. (Hurd) Putnam. He attended the public schools of Lowell, and then further prepared for an active business career by taking a course in Burdett Business Col- lege, in Boston. Upon the completion of his commercial training, in 1897, he became asso- ciated with his father in the grocery and prod- uce business, becoming a partner under the firm name of George E. Putnam and Son, and his connection with that concern has been continued to the present time (1929). He is treasurer of the firm. Along with his business responsibilities, however, he has become deeply interested in political affairs, and the greater part of his time is now devoted to public serv- ice. In 1917, he was elected to represent his district in the State Legislature, where he served from 1917 to 1919, inclusive. In 1920 he was elected to the Senate, and there he served most creditably from 1920 to 1924, inclusive. In October, 1924, he was made a member of the Commission on Administration and Finance, during which incumbency he had his office in the State House at Boston. Mr. Putnam is a member of the board of directors of the Mid- dlesex National Bank of Lowell, and is well known both in financial and legislative circles. He is a Republican in his political affiliations, and is also a public-spirited citizen who can always be depended upon to contribute a full share to the advancement of the interests of
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the community in which he resides. During the period of the participation of the United States in the World War, he was active in all the local drives and campaigns in Lowell and did all in his power to carry that community "over the top" in its home war work. Fra- ternally, he is affiliated with all the bodies of the Masonic Order, both Scottish and York, up to and including the Consistory, in which he holds the thirty-second degree. He is a mem- ber of the Lowell Chamber of Commerce, and of the Vesper Country Club, of Lowell, and his religious affiliation is with All Souls' Church, of Lowell.
Hon. Frank H. Putnam was married, at Low- ell, Massachusetts, October 27, 1903, to Ethel Lyman, daughter of Edward and Caroline H. (Brinsmade) Lyman. Mr. and Mrs. Putnam are the parents of one daughter, Elaine B.
JULIUS CAROL MORSE-Throughout the entire period of his active career, Julius C. Morse has been identified with the men's clothing and furnishing business, going into his father's store before he was through with his school training. He is now president of the Leopold Morse Company.
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, June 6, 1875, one of the seven children of Jacob and Rachel (Hirschfield) Morse. He attended the public schools of the city until he had completed his grammar school course, and then continued his high school studies in the English High School of Boston, from which he was graduated in 1912. Upon the com- pletion of his high school course he became associated with his father in the men's cloth- ing business. In 1914 he was made vice-presi- dent of the Leopold Morse Company, and in 1922 he became president of the concern. Since that time he has continued the business with increased success and has not only continued the high standards set by his father but has also greatly increased the business.
Leopold Morse Company is one of the old- est clothing manufacturing, wholesale and re- tail concerns in the country. It was estab- lished in 1852 and of all the clothing concerns now in existence there is probably less than five that antedate this concern throughout the country. The business was originally con- ducted on North Street, where the trade was with sailors and seafaring men, because in those days the better-dressed people had their clothing made to order. It afterwards moved to Dock Square in 1875, when Washington Street was cut through to Haymarket Square, and the present block at the corner of Brattle Street and Washington Street was built and owned by the founder of Leopold Morse Com- pany, Leopold Morse.
Leopold Morse represented various dis- tricts of the city of Boston in the National House of Representatives and was reëlected four times. He also established an enviable career as a member of the Naval Affairs Com- mittee.
The business at the present time owns and occupies a large factory building at No. 217 Friend Street, Boston, where they employ from 750 to 1,000 people, and all the clothing is manufactured under high-class labor condi- tions, being the only company of its kind in New England affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The company makes about 150,000 garments a year and is one of the largest concerns of its kind in the entire country.
This concern was incorporated in the year 1904, and Julius Morse, who is a nephew of the original founder, is now president, and Leon Strauss, the son of one of the original incor- porators, is treasurer.
In addition to his responsibilities in connec- tion with this prosperous business, Mr. Morse is also vice-president of the Nichols and Morse Company, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and treasurer of the Leopold Morse Home. Politi- cally he gives his support to the principles and candidates of the Democratic party, and fra- ternally he is identified with Columbia Lodge,
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Free and Accepted Masons, of Boston. He is a member of the Boston Chamber of Com- merce and of the Boston City Club, also of the Kernwood and Elysium clubs, of Salem and Boston. His religious affiliation is with Temple Israel.
Julius Carol Morse was married, in Albany, New York, September 2, 1914, to Jeska Swartz, a former member of the Boston Opera Company, daughter of Charles J. and Caroline (Silvester) Swartz. Mr. and Mrs. Morse are the parents of two children: Richard F., and David L.
VERNON MASON-The city of Boston can be proud of the members of the legal profession who have done so much to place this municipality in the front rank for superi- ority in affairs of jurisprudence. Prominent among the younger lawyers of this city is Vernon Mason, who is associated in legal prac- tice with Fred L. Norton, having offices at No. 918 Tremont Building, where he conducts a large and substantial practice in law. Mr. Mason has been active in affairs of litigation since being admitted to the bar of this State in 1921, and he has established a favorable reputation for himself for his knowledge of his profession and for the important cases he has handled and won through the exercise of his ability.
Mr. Mason was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, April 1, 1897, son of Charles Aus- tin Mason, born in Bethel, Maine, and Lilla Augusta (Webster) Mason, born in Amherst, New Hampshire. Charles Austin Mason is at present a resident of Milford, New Hampshire, where he is engaged as a stationary engineer. Mr. Mason's parents had three children: 1. Vernon, of whom further. 2. Eva Lillian, who married Clayton Russell Ingraham, of Ports- mouth, New Hampshire. 3. Leland Perley, of Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
The Mason family is one of the oldest in New England, the original progenitors having
come from England in early Colonial days, and succeeding generations have contributed in a large measure to the upbuilding and advance- ment of their commonwealths and country.
Vernon Mason was educated in the public schools of Milford, New Hampshire, to which town the family moved when he was a child, graduating from the Milford High School with the class of 1916. From there he proceeded to Bates College, at which institution he remained for two years, and then applied himself to the study of law, receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1921, from Boston University Law School. He was admitted to the bar of New Hampshire and to the bar of Massachusetts that same year. He at once began to practice in Boston and has ever since been associated in his present connection with Fred L. Norton. In politics, he is a staunch Democrat and is at the present time a member of the Demo- cratic State Committee and assistant secretary of same, having had some active campaigning experience. His fraternal affiliations are with the Free and Accepted Masons and the Delta Theta Phi Fraternity, also Woolsack fraternity of Boston University Law School. His social activities are confined to the University Club of Boston. In religious attendance, he gives adherence to the Congregational church. For recreation, Mr. Mason finds great pleasure in hiking and mountain climbing and all outdoor activities.
Vernon Mason married, in June, 1925, at Portland, Maine, Theresa Hope Whittemore, born in Dover-Foxcroft Maine, daughter of Hubert W. and Nellie E. (Cram) Whittemore, her father being deceased, and her mother still living. They are the parents of one daughter, Hope, born October 15, 1926. The family reside at No. 1 Beech Street, Norwood. Mr. Mason's grandfather, James P. Webster, was a veteran of the Civil War.
GEORGE LEWIS WILSON-For upward of thirty years George Lewis Wilson has been
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steadily rising to his present place of promi- nence in the legal ranks of Massachusetts and is considered one of the most progressive prac- titioners of Boston, with offices at No. 40 Court Street. Although operating in general practice, he has given much consideration to corporation and probate matters and in these he is held to be an authority. He is a man of fine citizenship, of exemplary character and possessed of a keen perception of the details of his exacting profession, which attributes have resulted in an ever-growing practice and the accumulation of a host of sincere friends and admirers.
He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, on the edge of the Mirimichi timber portage in York County, June 16, 1870, a son of George and Mary (Bird) Wilson. He attended the elementary and collegiate schools and then completed the course at the University of New Brunswick, graduating in 1888, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. Wilson then studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began prac- tice in Fredericton in 1892. He made a trip to the western part of Canada, and, returning in 1897, came to Boston in February of that year and established himself professionally, when he was admitted to practice before the Su- preme Judicial Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association and affiliated with the Order of the Free and Accepted Masons.
George Lewis Wilson married (first), Oc- tober 2, 1900, Adeline Eunice Durham, of Bel- mont, Massachusetts, who died childless, Au- gust 11, 1901. He married (second), October 28, 1903, Margaret Elinor Henderson, of Ar- lington, Massachusetts. They are the par- ents of three children: George Lewis, Jr .; Mary Elinor, and William Malcolm Wilson. The family home is in Framingham, Massachu- setts.
GEORGE FRANKLIN WENRICH- Among the outstanding members of the legal
profession in Boston whose general practice of law has gained for him a wide reputation of carefulness, dependability and thorough train- ing in preparation of cases is George Franklin Wenrich, of the firm of MacKusick, Hoe and Wenrich, located at No. 6 Beacon Street.
Mr. Wenrich comes from an old and promi- nent family, the American progenitor being Matthias Wenrich, who emigrated from Ger- many and settled in Schoharie, New York, in 1710. Members of this family later moved to the Tolphohocken section of Lebanon Valley, Pennsylvania. Matthias Wenrich had two sons: Matthias, who was an ensign in the Fourth Battalion, Sixth Company, under Colo- nel Nicholas Lotz, in service May 17, 1777; and John, who was a captain under General Anthony Wayne at the battle of Long Island, and was either captured or killed in action, as no further record is given of him.
Samuel Edward Wenrich, father of George Franklin Wenrich, is a native of Wernersville, Pennsylvania, and during his lifetime has en- gaged in agricultural pursuits in his native place. He married Sallie R. Hain, also a native of Wernersville, and to them have been born the following children: 1. Laura, now the wife of Frank Klinedinst, of Cove, Pennsylvania. 2. George Franklin, the subject of this review. 3. Edward S., of Wernersville, Pennsylvania. 4. Bertha S., now the wife of Dr. Ralph K. Miller, of Washington, District of Columbia. 5. Katie Elizabeth, the wife of George H. Free- man, of Wernersville. 6. Luther Hain, of Wernersville. 7. Alfred Benjamin, of Werners- ville. 8. Josephine Edith, a nurse, of Wash- ington, District of Columbia. 9. Marguerite.
George Franklin Wenrich, son of Samuel Edward and Sallie R. (Hain) Wenrich, was born in Wernersville, Pennsylvania, January 29, 1886. His early education was obtained in the public schools of his native place, gradu- ating from the high school in 1902. Five years later he came to Boston, Massachusetts, and in 1911 completed a course in the Central Eve- ning High School, after which he matriculated at the Northeastern University and was sub-
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sequently graduated from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1915. Be- ing admitted to the bar in 1917, he immediately entered upon the practice of his profession and for the ensuing years has been a member of the well-known law firm of MacKusick, Hoe and Wenrich. His untiring zeal and diligence as a student is also noted in his graduate work at Boston University, where he took a Master's course in law.
Mr. Wenrich has been a resident of Malden for many years, and has, during that time, taken a keen and active interest in its civic affairs. For two years he was a member of the Housing Commission there, and has never failed to give his support to all progressive movements. Professionally, he is a member of the American Bar Association; the District Court of the United States Bar Association; the Massachusetts Bar Association; Boston Bar Association and the Law Society of Mass- achusetts. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Lodge of Sterling, Free and Accepted Ma- sons of Malden; Chapter of the Tabernacle, Royal Arch Masons; Melrose Council, Royal and Select Masters; Commandery No. 41, Knights Templar, all of Malden; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Boston, also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also at this writing (1929) president of the Wenrich Family Association of America. He has been for the past ten years a director of the Progressive Workmen's Credit Union of Malden. He is a member of the Boston City Club; Kernwood Club, and the Woodland Ten- nis Club, the latter two of Malden. His hobby is traveling, of which he has done a great deal, among his various trips being one to the West Indies.
On August 29, 1913, at Malden, George Franklin Wenrich married Amelia Hammerle, a daughter of the late Francis and Maria (Lud- wig) Hammerle, the latter a resident of Mal- den. Mr. and Mrs. Wenrich are the parents of one child, Homer Franklin, born October 16, 1921.
FRANK A. RUSSELL was born in Boston, Massachusetts, November 6, 1867, a son of Daniel Webster and Antoinette (Axtel) Rus- sell. His father was a member of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons and affiliated with the Supreme Council, having held the honorary thirty-third degree. His death occurred in De- cember, 1895, interment being in Forest Hills cemetery. The son acquired his education in the Brookline public schools and was gradu- ated from the high school. Acquiring stenog- raphy, he first became associated with Hollings & Company, of Boston, later entering the serv- ice of his father, who was the first general agent to be appointed for New England by the New York Life Insurance Company. He left this berth, went to Denver, Colorado, and later became secretary to D. F. Longstreet, then cashier of the Denver Paper Mills, but his father's serious illness recalled him to Boston, where he took charge of the estate. In 1893 he established himself in the real estate and insurance business in Brookline. He is a trus- tee of the estate left by his father, and has been a member of the Town Meeting of Brookline. During the three years beginning in 1888, he was a member of the First Corps of Cadets, and in the World War served as a member of the Home Guard of Brookline. He belongs to the Harvard Congregational Church and is a member of the Charles River Country, Com- monwealth Country, University, and Art clubs. His offices are at No. 1315 Beacon Street, and his residence at the Hotel Beacons- field, Brookline.
EDMUND WINCHESTER-For nearly half a century the insurance field of Boston has been vivified by the activities of Edmund Win- chester, who began in that work when a boy and has never deviated from its business at- tractions. In that period he has erected for
Estinchester
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himself an edifice among his fellows that is the mould which encourages many of the young men constantly entering the field to cast their own commercial metal likewise. His work in the ranks of such an army of high-grade men has been an inspiration to youth and a refresh- ing spectacle to his associates, his clear record of upstanding citizenship bringing to him a host of friends and a clientele of great value.
Edmund Winchester is a direct descendant of the Puritan pioneers of New England and was born in Boston, February 26, 1865. His father was Stephens Stearns, and his mother, Elizabeth (Bartlett) Winchester, the first- named of Boston nativity, the mother born in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Stephens Stearns Winchester was a member of the soap manu- facturing firm of E. A. and W. Winchester un- til his death.
Edmund Winchester was educated in the public schools of Brookline, Massachusetts, and graduated from the high school. When he was fifteen years of age he became asso- ciated with the John C. Paige Company, con- ducting a general insurance business. He re- mained there for sixteen years, then going to the Boston Insurance Company as assistant manager of its Fire Department. In 1922 he was chosen vice-president of this company, a post which he still administers, with headquar- ters at No. 87 Kilby Street. He attends the Protestant Episcopal church at Waban, Mass- achusetts, of which he is senior warden. He belongs to the Insurance Exchange, Waban Social Club; Insurance Society of Massachu- setts; is a trustee of the Insurance Library and a member of the Boston Board of Fire Underwriters. In politics he is a Republican.
Mr. Winchester married, in 1890, Ruth Den- ison Dana, of Newton Lower Falls, Massachu- setts. Their children are: Dorothy, and Helen,
F. Robjent. Following his school days in Albany, New York, and this vicinity, he worked for a short while in the city of New York, where he was engaged in the fancy leather goods business. Life insurance took his fancy, and of it he has made a conspicuous success, and a wide coterie of business and social friends and acquaintances.
George F. Robjent is a native of Bristol, England, where he was born, March 10, 1888, his father being Thomas S., who was a Uni- tarian minister for more than forty years. His mother was Mary L. (Davis) Robjent, also of Bristol. Both are living. After his essay in commercial business, George F. Robjent be- came associated with the State Mutual Life Insurance Company in Lawrence, where he acted as a solicitor. In 1918 he was made gen- eral agent of that company for Essex County, and in 1924 became general agent for Essex County and the Metropolitan Boston District, a post which he has continuously administered since. His recreational hobbies are golf, fish- ing and horseback riding. He is a member of the Merrimac Valley Country Club, of which he was for four years the treasurer; the Andover Country Club, the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, the Lawrence Auto- mobile Club; chairman of the executive com- mittee of the Boston Life Underwriters' Asso- ciation, is past president of the Lawrence Life Underwriters' Association, past president of the Lawrence Lions Club, and is treasurer of the Twinas Club, of Lawrence, and of the Universalist Men's Club, of which church he is a member. He is a Republican in politics, and has served on the Republican State Com- mittee.
Mr. Robjent married, in 1910, Mary W. Bick- ford, of Salem. Their children are: 1. James F., born in 1917. 2. Barbara, born in 1924.
GEORGE F. ROBJENT-English born, American educated and trained, one of the leading life insurance men in Boston is George
HAROLD FULLER REED-Well known as an attorney of Boston, Harold Fuller Reed, in the practice of his profession, has displayed
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legal talent of an unusual order. His thorough knowledge of the principles of the law and their application, together with a quick intelli- genee, ready tact, and the utmost diligence on behalf of his clients, has resulted in an envi- able growth in his reputation and practice throughout Eastern Massachusetts.
Mr. Reed was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 25, 1888, son of Alanson Henry Reed, a piano manufacturer in Chicago, who was born in Boston on March 1, 1841, died January 8, 1924, and of Flora (Lancaster) Reed, born in Henry, Illinois, October 10, 1849, died Sep- tember 7, 1922, in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The Reed family is an old one in America, and has played a distinguished part in the country's history. Thomas Reade, the Amer- ican progenitor, born in Colchester, England, in 1627, came to Massachusetts as early as 1655 and settled in Sudbury. Colonel Reuben Reed was a soldier of note in the Revolution.
Harold Fuller Reed attended the Chicago public schools, and was graduated from the Douglass Grammar School there in 1901. Com- ing with his parents to Wellesley Hills, Mass- achusetts, he attended, and was graduated from, the local high school, and then entered Williams College, where he was graduated in 1908, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Thereafter he undertook the course of study in Harvard Law School, from which he re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Arts. There- after he undertook the course of study in Har- vard Law School, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1912. In the years 1908 and 1909, he taught in a private school in Providence, Rhode Island, but since his admission to the Massachusetts bar on September 17, 1912, he has devoted himself entirely to the practice of law. Mr. Reed was also admitted to the bar of the United States District Court, on September 30, 1913. Rapidly winning the confidence of his clients, he was immediately successful, building up a large and prosperous practice, which has constantly increased over a period of years.
Politically, Mr. Reed is a member of the
Republican party, occupying high place in the party councils in Massachusetts. He is affilia- ted, fraterually, with the Free and Accepted Masons, in which organization he is a mem- ber of the Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; the Commandery of the Knights Templar; and a member of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Reed held a com- mission as major on the Division Staff of the Massachusetts State Guard, serving as execu- tive secretary of the Massachusetts Soldiers' Information Bureau. At Newton, where he makes his home, his family attends Grace Pro- testant Episcopal Church.
On January 6, 1915, at Boston, Harold Ful- ler Reed married Sara Procter Smith, daugh- ter of Bryant G. Smith, who died on April 2. 1927, in his seventy-fourth year, and of Anne (Procter) Smith, who is living in Brookline. Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Reed are the parents of two children: 1. Harold Fuller. Jr., born September 24, 1915. 2. Sara Lan- caster, born March 5, 1927.
JAMES WINTHROP PICKERING-The city of Boston may well be proud of the long list of its able and prominent professional men. In the legal profession the roster con- tains many names of eminence and distinction, and many who are just beginning to make their way through the first years of the diffi- cult task of laying the foundations of a suc- cessful practice. There are many, too, wh belong to the rank and file of legal practition- ers, who are well established, able, and sub- stantially successful without ever having achieved any special distinction, attending faith- fully to the everyday professional business that comes to them and building up a local repu- tation for worth and dependability. Still others have served through long years here in the "Hub City," and are familiar with every phase of its development and of its legal history through more than a half century. The num-
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