USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume IV > Part 50
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
William E. Brown, son of William Henry Brown, was born in East Boston, Massachu-
setts. Here he attended the local public schools, and then learned the embalming and undertak- ing business with his father. He became one of the well-known undertakers of the place, but he died at the age of fifty-eight years, leaving his sons to continue the business. He was prominent in numerous fraternal organizations, a member of all the Masonic bodies, including William Parkman Commandery, of which he was Eminent Commander; also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias. He married Emily Gould, a native of East Boston, whose father was a prominent cit- izen and a member of the first Board of Alder- men of East Boston. Mr. Gould was a builder of bridges and erected the first East Boston bridge. The Gould family were pioneers of East Boston, and in the days of Emily Gould's parents a part of one of the Indian tribes was living upon a hillside known as Eagle Hill, overlooking a part of the present town of East Boston. Wil- liam E. and Emily (Gould) Brown had two children, both boys, and both of them learned the undertaking business and became their fath- er's associates. Edward, the elder, continued in the undertaking business for some years after his father's death, and then withdrew to enter the real estate business which he continued to the time of his retirement from active business life. Frank E., the younger son, has continued in the business to the present time. The mother of these sons died at the age of forty-six years.
Frank E. Brown was born in East Boston, on Bennington Street, December 20, 1875, and re- ceived his education in the public schools of his birthplace. When he was eighteen years old he became his father's helper in the embalm- ing and funeral directing business, and in 1895 he entered the Massachusetts School of Em- balming, from which he was graduated May 18, 1897. His older brother, Edward, was al- ready associated with his father in the business, and Mr. Brown continued with his father and his brother until the death of the father. Then the two brothers continued the business until the elder withdrew to enter the real estate busi- ness, since which time Frank E. Brown has conducted the business alone. His establish-
1
318
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
ment, at No. 286 Meridian Street, is one of the best-known establishments of its kind in the city, and thirty years in the same place have made it one of the landmarks of East Boston. As one of the three oldest undertak- ers in the entire city of Boston, Mr. Brown has a very large clientele, and in some cases the Brown establishment has served four genera- tions of descendants of the pioneer families of the place. Mr. Brown is an enthusiastic Mason, a member of all the bodies, including the Blue Lodge; the St. John's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Winthrop Council, Royal and Select Masters; William Parkman Commandery, Knights Templar; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of which he is Quartermaster. He is also a meni- ber of the Masonic Club, and of Winthrop Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His religious membership is with the Unitarian church, in the Sunday school of which his mother taught for many years.
Frank E. Brown was married, in 1896, to Malvina Hatt, a native of East Boston, whose family has been engaged in the bakery business here for many years. The Hatt family is one of the old families of East Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of two children: 1. Edwin E., who is an electrical engineer in the employ of the Quincy Cold Storage Com- pany. He and his wife, Ethel, have one child, Dorothy. 2. Frank W., who was educated in the public schools, and like his brother, gradu- ated with high honors. He then entered the Massachusetts School of Embalming and after graduation became his father's assistant in the undertaking business, in which he is still (1929) engaged. He and his wife, Grace, have two children, Dorothy, and Florence.
HENRY S. ADAMS-Familiar with the problems of landscape architecture, Henry S. Adams is well known as treasurer and superin- tendent of the Forest Hills Cemetery, of Forest Hills, Massachusetts. From early youth he has
specialized in the subject in which he has per- haps been most interested-landscape work; and since 1910 he has held his present position. Under his care the properties of Forest Hills Cemetery have been markedly beautified and have been made into a more fitting home and resting-place for the bodies of those who have passed on from the scenes of their worldly en- deavors.
Mr. Adams was born in Boston, Massachu- setts, August 9, 1875, a son of Charles Clark Adams, who was born in Orleans, a descend- ant from Henry Adams. He is a member of the Founders and Patriots, and the Sons of the Revolution, in Massachusetts. Mr. Adams' fa- ther, Charles Clark Adams, was engaged for many years in the hardware business in Boston, in which he continued up to the time of his death in 1905 at the age of sixty-one years. His mother, Ellen E. (Bullard) Adams, a native of Holliston, Massachusetts, was a descendant of some of the oldest and most noted families in Medway and Medfield.
Henry S. Adams spent the early years of his life in Boston, his native city, and attended the public and high schools. Subsequently he took a course at the Bussey Institution of Harvard University, where he specialized in landscape architecture and from which he was graduated in the class of 1896. He then took a position with B. W. Watson, and became a member of the firm of Watson and Adams, and at the same time gave instruction in horticulture and landscape architecture at Wellesley College un- til 1910, when he accepted the position which he now holds as superintendent of the Forest Hills Cemetery. In 1923 he was made treas- urer and now occupies both positions. This cemetery was consecrated June 28, 1848, and in 1928 it contained two hundred and sixty acres of land and more than sixty thousand bodies, about 14,500 of which had been interred during Mr. Adams' term of service. The num- ber of lot owners has increased from 5,705 to 7,206. Mr. Adams has performed a vast amount of work in directing the beautifying of the lands and planting of shrubbery, trees, and flowers and general landscape designing, and is well
3
Torace a. Dersay.
319
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
known throughout the country as one of the leading cemetery experts. The lot owners are justifiably proud of the artistic beauty of the grounds in all parts of the cemetery.
The cemetery, situated in what was formerly known as West Roxbury, was taken over by the lot owners, when Roxbury became a part of Boston, and given the name of Forest Hills. It is five and one-half miles south of the State House on the new Southern Artery. With Franklin Park and Arnold Arboretum as its closest neighbors, it occupies a sequestered spot in which it is possible to retain the utmost simulation of natural beauty. In it are lots to meet with all tastes, high and splendid, or secluded among tall, stately pines. In 1925 the cemetery took over the crematory formerly owned by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, and has entirely renovated and improved the crematory so that it is one of the finest in the country.
Mr. Adams is a member of various profes- sional, social, and fraternal organizations in Boston and vicinity and is frequently called in professionally on cemetery and landscape prob- lems.
Henry S. Adams married Mabel Barrett, and they have two sons, Barrett and Charles Clark.
FREDERIC CLARK HOOD-President of the Hood Rubber Company in which he has been active since its establishment over thirty years ago, Frederic Clark Hood has guided this enterprise to its present position of preëminence in the New England rubber industry.
Mr. Hood was born at Chelsea, Massachu- setts, on March 11, 1865, a son of George H. Hood, who was president of the Boston Rubber Company, and of Henrietta (Janvrin) Hood. Completing his preliminary education, he en- tered Harvard College and was there graduated in 1886 with the Bachelor of Arts degree, work- ing meanwhile during vacations in his father's company, the Boston Rubber Company.
Following his graduation, he entered the em- ploy of the company and in 1887 became its sec-
retary, while during the next ten years he oc- cupied the positions of superintendent and treas- urer of the firm. In 1892 this enterprise was taken over as one of the constituent companies of the United States Rubber Company, and in 1896 the Boston Rubber Company was closed. It was in July of that year that the Hood Rubber Company was established, with Mr. Hood as its executive head. Its record has been one of continued progress and growth, and there are now in the company's employ about eight thousand persons. Over seventy-five thousand pair of rubber footwear are produced daily at its plant, besides the automobile tires and other rubber products for which it is famous.
Mr. Hood's personal position in American industrial life is as distinguished as that of his company. He has been president of the Rubber Association of America and of The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and is now treas- urer of the National Industrial Conference Board. During the period of American participa- tion in the World War he was a member of the National War Labor Board, and a member of the Council of National Defense. Mr. Hood is a member of several Boston associations and of many clubs, including the Kittansett Club of Marion, the Harvard Club of Boston and New York, the Country Club of Brookline, the Al- gonquin Club and the University Club of Bos- ton, the Eastern Dog Club, and the Beverly Yacht Club.
On November 24, 1891, at Providence, Rhode Island, Frederic Clark Hood married Myra Tucker, daughter of William A. and Josephine Tucker. Of this marriage there is one son, Donald Tucker, born on February 13, 1893. The offices of the Hood Rubber Company are maintained at No. 98 Nichols Avenue, Water- town, Massachusetts, while Mr. Hood's resi- dence is situated in Brookline, Massachusetts, at No. 77 Warren Street, and he has a summer liome in Marion, Massachusetts.
HORACE A. DERRY-Thirty years of con- scientious and painstaking work on the part
320
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
of Horace A. Derry and his assistants have transformed Glenwood Cemetery, of Everett, Massachusetts, into an acreage of notable beauty. When Mr. Derry took charge some thirty years ago the cemetery was undevel- oped and had much the appearance of a deserted farm. Now (1929) it ranks among the emi- nently beautiful and well-kept burying places of this part of the State, and its landscape gardening is notable not only in the vicinity where it is located but also throughout a State where there are many well-kept and attractive burial places.
George R. Derry, father of Mr. Derry, was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and received his education there. He was a seafaring man who as a boy made his first voyage, and in time rose to be a captain, taking command of many different vessels during his active life and, be- cause of his skill, winning a high place and a splendid reputation among "those who go down to the sea in ships." After a quarter of a cen- tury spent on the high seas he retired, at the age of fifty-five years, and settled in Everett, Massachusetts, where he died at the age of seventy-seven years. He married Mary Leon- ard Murdock, and they became the parents of four children, of whom three reside in Everett, where the mother died at the age of seventy- eight years. The children are: George L .; Thomas G .; and Horace A., of whom this is a record.
Horace A. Derry was born in Quincy, Massa- chusetts, October 21, 1861, and attended school there until he was nine years of age. The fam- ily then removed to Sharon, Massachusetts, and in the schools of the last-named town Horace A. continued his studies. When school days were over, he secured a position making razor straps, and followed this business until he rose to the position of foreman. Eventually, he re- signed that position, took the civil service ex- aminations, and was appointed a letter carrier in Boston. After a time he again made a change, leaving Uncle Sam's eniploy to take a job as fireman on the Old Colony Railroad, where he remained for a period of seven years, rising to the responsible position of engineer.
In 1898 he resigned, and in August, 1899, re- ceived his appointment as superintendent of Glenwood Cemetery, in Everett. Here he has done a vast amount of work. The cemetery at that time was a part of an abandoned farm and resembled the typical neglected country bury- ing ground. Business was transacted in an old barn on the place, and roadways, walks, land- scape gardening, and even grading, were non- existent. Today, after nearly thirty years of continuous planning, a beautiful office building has replaced the old barn, and the entire acreage has been transformed into a place of beauty. A unique entrance beautifies the approach to the burial ground, giving place to a double roadway, the parts of which separate to a dis- tance of one hundred feet enclosing a strip of land several hundred feet in length upon which most careful and artistic formal landscape gar- dening has worked a miracle. Beautiful flowers and ornamental plants have been set here in the forms of a diamond, a star, and a huge anchor, all of great beauty of line and proportion, the last-named being more than sixty feet wide. Throughout the cemetery winding gravel roads and paths give access to perfectly graded lots which are kept in the most perfect condition. No effort is spared in making this a place of beauty and of peace, and the work which Mr. Derry has done is greatly appreciated both by the trustees and those who are interested in individual lots. When Mr. Derry took charge there was a debt of about $27,000, which has been practically wiped out, and improvements to the amount of many thousands of dollars have raised the value of the entire acreage. Mr. Derry has sold in the three decades of his incumbency here a very large number of lots. About fourteen thousand people are now (1929) buried here. Twenty men are employed in the work of keeping the grounds in condition, un- der the supervision of Mr. Derry. He is a mem- ber of the New England Association of Ceme- tery Superintendents, which he has served as secretary and treasurer since 1904, and he has done a vast amount of work in this connection, not only attending the State and national con- ventions for many years, but has been very ac-
IS med have ices BOB i
Jen
ally ing Acce ter. Roya ery. Rite sisto degr Anci Shri Club. The ! in the Vis als He tecti Veter
activ Derr in E of all H to E ols. born,
in 19
scatte is pr fessi the
2450C
Asso
321
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
tive in outlining the policies under which this association has reached its present high stand- ing. He is also a member of the American Association of Cemetery Superintendents, which now has a membership of over five hundred, scattered throughout the United States, and he is probably the best-known man of his pro- fession in New England. He is a member of the Everett Board of Trade, and is well known among the business men of that city. Fratern- ally, he stands high in the Masonic Order, be- ing a member of Palestine Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Everett; of Everett Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; Galilean Council, Royal and Select Masters; Everett Command- ery, Knights Templar; and of all the Scottish Rite bodies, including the Massachusetts Con- sistory, in which he holds the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and of the Boston Square and Compass Club. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, he holds membership in the local lodge, also in the Uniform Rank and in the Canton, and is also a member of the Daughters of Rebekah. He is a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and of the Sons of Veterans, and in all these organizations is actively interested in all their affairs. Mr. Derry has a host of friends and acquaintances in Everett and vicinity, and has the high esteem of all his associates.
Horace A. Derry was married (first), in 1878, to Elizabeth Harlow; (second) to Louisa Nich- ols. To the first marriage three children were born, of whom only one, Horace, Jr., was living in 1928; he was then employed as an engineer on the Boston & Albany Railroad; married Jennie Taylor.
ISAAC KLEIN, M. D .- Widely known in medical circles and highly esteemed by all who have occasion to know him or employ his serv- ices, Isaac Klein, M. D., is one of the leading
physicians of Boston, Massachusetts, where he has for a number of years been practicing his profession. There is scarcely any phase of social or civic life in his city in which Dr. Klein is not keenly interested, with the result that he is regarded not only as a man accomplished in his own line of work, but as an outstanding public-spirited citizen.
He was born in Austria on May 22, 1883, a son of Israel and Annie (Herkowitz) Klein. His father was born in Austria, the native land of the Klein family for generations, and came to the United States in 1888, took a position with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in 1890, and still remains with this company after a period of forty years, being considered at the present time (1929) as one of the organization's oldest and most trusted employees. Israel and Annie (Herkowitz) Klein, the latter of whom died in 1927, had three children: 1. David, who is a locomotive engineer. 2. Joseph, now deceased, who was a locomotive engineer. 3. Isaac, of whom this is a record.
Isaac Klein was educated in the common schools of Boston, and subsequently studied at the Boston English High School and the Tufts Medical College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1906 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately he entered his profes- sional practice in the South End of Boston, where he continued his work until 1915. In that year he came to his present offices, situated at No. 1059 Blue Hill Avenue, where since that time he has been engaged constantly in a grow- ing practice and where he is well and favorably known. Possessing a thorough skill and knowl- edge of medicine, together with marked talents for diagnosis and treatment, Dr. Klein com- bines with these qualities an amiability of char- acter and a friendly disposition that readily stamp him as a man ideal for work with ill and afflicted ones who require his care.
Although his practice keeps him ever busy, Dr. Klein takes a lively part in the social and fraternal life of his city. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, in which order he is affiliated with the Blue Lodge; Saint An- thony's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; all the
Bos.i-21
322
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
bodies of the Scottish Rite up to and including the thirty-second degree, and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is Past Chancellor in the Knights of Pythias and has represented this order in the grand lodge for a number of years, and is highly regarded among his many friends and acquaintances in the brotherhood. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, in which his affiliation is with Boston Lodge. He is member of Temple Israel. Active in all the newer developments and investigations of his professional colleagues, Dr. Klein is identified with all the organizations of his profession, including the American Medi- cal Association, the Massachusetts State Medi- cal Society, and the local group. He also is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, and is a member of the medical staff of the Massachusetts Boxing Com- mission. His popularity as a physician is thoroughly tested and proved by the number of organizations to which he belongs and in which he has for many years taken a very active part and interest.
He married, on January 4, 1910, Bertha I. Adolph, who was born in Liverpool, England, and by this marriage there were three children: 1. Ethel Inez. 2. Josephine Helene. 3. Geraldine Muriel.
FRANK L. COBB-On December 30, 1893, the Massachusetts Cremation Society opened a crematory at Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, just opposite the Walk Hill Street gate of Forest Hills Cemetery. Three and a half months later, Frank L. Cobb was made superintendent of the place, and at the present time (1929) he is still associated with it.
Frank L. Cobb was born in Dansville, Maine, January 8, 1857, descendant of a very old fam- ily tracing back to Sylvanus Cobb, who was one of the early pioneers of that section of
Maine. His father, Granville Lawrence Cobb, was born in Alfred, Maine, where he spent his early years as a farmer, and later entered the employ of a lightning rod firm, with which he remained for some years. He then entered the hotel business, first in Lynn, later in Woburn, and continued active in this work for a num- ber of years, but finally retired, and died in Lewiston, Maine. He married Mary M. Woodward, who was born in Greene, Maine, and died in Lewiston, Maine. They became the parents of three children: Frank L., of further mention; Jennie E., who married Free- man Ross; and Nellie M., who married a Mr. Newton. Both parents were active in the Methodist church.
Frank L. Cobb spent his early years in the town of his birth, attending the local public schools. Later, he went to Royalston, Massa- chusetts, and asociated himself with the Fitch- burg & North Adams Railroad Company, and finally rose to the position of engineer. After having served in that connection for some time he resigned and entered the employ of the Boston, Revere & Lynn Railroad, as engineer. Later, he accepted a position as stationary engineer on the Deer Foot Farm, and there he remained for six years. At the end of that time, April 15, 1894, he came to the crematory which had just been opened by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, on Walk Hill Street, just opposite the Forest Hills Cem- etery. When Mr. Cobb came here he found much to be done. Part of the present build- ing had been erected and two retorts had been installed, but there was scarcely a path lead- ing to the building, and the surrounding acre- age was unimproved and unkempt. Mr. Cobb set about the task of changing the grounds into loveliness and of improving the property in every possible way. How well he has ac- complished that task is revealed at a glance, for there is no more beautiful tract of ground to be found than that surrounding the crema- tory.
The Massachusetts Cremation Society, founded in 1886, is a stock company organized for the purpose of building and maintaining
323
METROPOLITAN BOSTON
a crematory for the people of New England. After purchasing four acres of ground on the western side of Walk Hill Street, they began the erection of its present buildings, of Rox- . bury felsite. In 1893, a chapel and an annex containing the sarcophagi used for incinera- tion were built. In the construction of the chapel, provision was made for the building of a columbarium, or series of niches, for the safekeeping of the ashes of the dead. By 1900 these buildings, including the first sec- tion of the columbarium, were completed. The columbarium is entered by a stairway descend- ing from the rear of the chapel, with a screen between it and the part of the chapel used for services. Commencing upon this stairway and continuing in bays or alcoves upon either side of a central aisle, are tiers of niches suitably constructed of cement. These niches hold from one to twenty urns each and are sold at reasonable prices. By 1908 one pair of bays only had been completed, but since that time the niches in all of the bays of the first section of the columbarium have been completed and some sections of the chapel walls have been reserved. In 1919 the buildings were enlarged by the erection of a new office, a robing room, and a reception and ladies' retiring room. Also within the grounds is a handsome house erec- ted by the Society, where the superintendent and his assistant reside.
When Mr. Cobb came to Forest Hills in April, 1894, there had been only two crema- tions, but since that time there have been more than eleven thousand, and Mr. Cobb has been present at nearly all of them, except when on vacation. Instead of two retorts there are now four, and the annual number of cremations is steadily increasing. In 1928 there were five hundred and eleven bodies cremated. The process of incineration, as now practiced, is reverent and dignified. Upon ar- rival at the crematory if there are to be serv- ices in the Chapel, the casket is placed on a catafalque in front of a platform. . After the services it is wheeled noiselessly into the ad- joining room and the metal plates and handles, which would interfere with the cremation, are
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.