USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume V > Part 20
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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
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Laws degree by the same law school, and in 1912 his alma mater honored him with the de- gree of Doctor of Laws.
His experience has been both broad and fruitful. At the age of nineteen he joined the City Staff of the "Boston Post," and as a re- porter until the age of twenty-four, his experi- ence covered all essential departments of daily newspaper work, including the political editor- ship, Washington correspondent, and Assistant Sunday Editor. While Washington correspond- ent he acted as secretary to the late Con- gressman Henry F. Naphen of Boston. In 1906 he was secretary to Mayor John F. Fitz- gerald of Boston. He was admitted to the bar of the State of Massachusetts in 1908, and eventually became associated with his brothers as a member of the firm of J. F., J. E. and D. T. O'Connell, with offices at No. 11 Beacon Street, Boston. The firm was at that time unique among its kind in Massachusetts, com- prising, as it did, three brothers engaged in the same profession. During the years of his law practice, Judge O'Connell tried many im- portant cases and attained the reputation of a successful trial lawyer.
In 1911, Judge O'Connell was appointed by Governor Eugene Noble Foss a member of the Commission on Inferior Courts of Suffolk County. At present (1929) he is a member of the executive committee of the Massachusetts Bar Association and assistant vice-president of the Law Society of Massachusetts. He continued in the practice of his profession in association with his brothers, having served as assistant district attorney of Suffolk County in 1923. On December 19, 1928, he accepted the appointment by Governor Alvan T. Fuller to a justiceship on the Superior Court of Mas- sachusetts. His colleagues, clients and friends were especially pleased when the Governor conferred upon him this signal and merited honor. The judge enjoys high standing in the American Society of International Law, the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Bar Association of the City of Boston, and the Boston University Law School Association. He is a former presi-
dent of the latter body, also former president of the Bigelow Association of Masters of Law.
A military record of patriotic and profes- sional services in behalf of the Federal Govern- ment stands to the credit of Judge O'Connell. During the World War period he held the commission of a captain in the Army Serv- ice Corps, Judge Advocate General's Depart- ment, and was stationed at Camp Upton, Long Island, New York. Since the war he has held the commission of major, judge-advocate-gen- eral, in the United States Officers' Reserve Corps.
His fraternal alliances are with the Ameri- can Irish Historical Society, the Ancient Or- der of Hibernians, the Friends of Irish Free- dom, the Knights of Columbus, the Royal Arcanum, the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters, and the Military Order of the World War, Francis G. Kane Post of the American Legion, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, and the Army and Navy Club of Boston. His social organ- izations, in which hé is also deservedly popu- lar, are the Harvard Club of Boston, the Har- vard Club of New York, the Wollaston Golf Club and the Boston City Club. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, esteemed one of the most distinguished lay- men of the Boston Diocese.
Hon. Daniel Theodore O'Connell married, June 21, 1922, at Boston, Mary Esther, daugh- ter of Stephen J. and Julia (Bird) Moran. They are the parents of a daughter, Mary Julie, born February 7, 1924. Judge O'Con- nell and his family have their residence at No. 36 Upland Avenue, Dorchester, within easy access of his chambers in the Suffolk County Court House in the city of Boston.
WILLIAM J. MULVIHILL-The entire active life of William J. Mulvihill, of Waltham, Massachusetts, with the exception of four
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years, has been spent in public employ, first with the water department of Belmont, Mas- sachusetts, and since 1919 as superintendent of Calvary Cemetery, of Waltham. He has done much to improve the grounds and is giving en- tire satisfaction to the management and to those who are interested in individual plots in the cemetery.
Martin Mulvihill, father of William J. Mulvi- hill, was born in Ireland. At twenty-one years of age he left his native land and came to Amer- ica, locating in this section of the State. He en- gaged in contracting, and after a time took charge of Calvary Cemetery, which he assis- ted in laying out in 1880. It had been organ- ized as far back as 1867, and from time to time burials were made here, but very little work had been done, and it was not until Mr. Mul- vihill took charge that the work of building roads, staking out plots, and making general improvenients was undertaken. Martin Mul- vihill remained in charge until 1890, making many improvements and sparing no labor in the task of putting the burying ground in con- dition. He then resigned, and from that time until his death, at the age of eighty-eight years, he lived retired. He married Ann Finan, who was born in Ireland and came to America as a child, a sister of Colonel Finan, of the cele- brated 9th Regiment of Massachusetts. She lived to be ninety-four years of age, her death occurring in September, 1926. Martin and Ann (Finan) Mulvihill had seven children, of whom only two are now (1929) living: Agnes, who was the youngest daughter; and William J., of whom further.
William J. Mulvihill was born, April 22, 1872, in Waltham, Massachusetts. He received his education in the local public schools, including the high school. After leaving school he found employment in the Waltham Watch Factory, where he remained for four years, and then became associated with the water department of Belmont, which connection he maintained until September, 1919, when he took charge of Calvary Cemetery, as superintendent. Since that time Mr. Mulvihill has devoted his time and energy to keeping up and improving the
acreage which his father helped to lay out. The cemetery includes fifty-seven acres, thirty of which are developed and laid out in burial lots, and several sections of the developed part have been laid out and put in shape by Mr. Mulvi- hill. In the nine years he has been associated with the cemetery he has built roads, cut down trees, planted shrubbery, graded, and put the grounds in excellent condition. So active has he been in disposing of lots that during his incumbency as many lots have been sold as had been disposed of in the previous thirty- five years. There are now about 2,800 lot own- ers, and in addition to the graves made in those lots there are also some four thousand single graves. The first floor, or basement, of the building in which Mr. Mulvihill was born, is now used as the cemetery office, and in methods of handling and recording, as well as in construction features, vast improvements have been made. About eight hundred burials are made here each year, and in the work of up-keep and improvement, Mr. Mulvihill super- vises the activities of about twenty men. Mr. Mulvihill is a member of the Knights of Co- lumbus and of Waltham Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; and he and his fam- ily are communicants of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
William J. Mulvihill was married, Jan- uary 31, 1899, to Ann Hogan, who was born in West Newton, Massachusetts, and whose father was in the employ of the city of New- ton, and they became the parents of two chil- dren: 1. Ann, married Fred C. Leonard, pro- prietor of the Leonard Fuel Company, and they have three children, Frederick, Richard, and Ruth. 2. Agnes, a graduate of St. Joseph's School, is in the employ of Comstock & West- cott, research engineers of Cambridge.
EDWARD J. O'NEIL-Native of Boston, born August 22, 1866, Edward J. O'Neil is a son of John and Mary (Vaughan) O'Neil, both
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of whom were born in Ireland, now deceased.
Edward J. O'Neil received his academic train- ing in the public schools of Boston, and gradu- ated from Roxbury High School. Without loss of time he entered upon a career in the world of commerce. His first employment, of long duration, for he continued the connection until 1907, was with the John C. Paige and Com- pany, for whom he acted as adjuster and spec- ial agent, and in which he obtained a full and rounded commercial experience that has been of great use to him in later years. In 1907 he became associated with the United States Fidel- ity & Guaranty Company, as manager for all of New England. The year following he asso- ciated himself with General James P. Parker, and the firm of O'Neil & Parker have been managers of the United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company since 1908. Their New England offices are at No. 43 Kelly Street, Boston, and the firm has enjoyed sound pros- perity from its inception. Mr. O'Neil is member of the local advisory board of the United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company; a trustee of the Union Savings Bank of Bos- ton; an honorary member of the New England Insurance Exchange; and member and former president of the Massachusetts Casualty Un- derwriters' Association. His non-commercial affiliations include membership in Mt. Pleasant Council of the Knights of Columbus, of which he is Past District Deputy and Past Grand Knight, the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters, and past president of the Catholic Union of Boston. He is a member of the Bos- ton City Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and other societies, in all of which he is active, particularly as pertaining to enterprises directed toward the public good. He is treasurer of St. Mary's Infant Asylum and Lying-in Hos- pital, and participates wholeheartedly in works of charity, contributing generously to all worthy causes regardless of race or creed or other limiting and restricting consideration. Mr. O'Neil is a communicant of St. Theresa's Ro- man Catholic Church.
In 1891, Mr. O'Neil was united in marriage
with Mary L. Hennessey, like himself a na- tive of Boston; and they are the parents of six children: Helen R., Madeline, Edward J., Jr., Mary L., Elizabeth L., and Lillian C. One child, Gertrude, is deceased.
PAUL A. WATERS-Operating in the greatest wool market in America, the traders of Boston have long since come to specializa- tion in their business, an important representa- tive of the class being Paul A. Waters, with headquarters at No. 184 Summer Street, Bos- ton, from which he conducts his extensive deal- ings in foreign and domestic wool for women's wear. Although one of the younger element in this line of commerce, Mr. Waters has made rapid advances in his profession and is consid- ered to be well on his way to an enviable po- sition.
He was born in Newton Centre, Massachu- setts, June 14, 1895, a son of Patrick J. and Annie M. (Higgins) Waters, both natives of Dublin, Ireland, the father now being en- gaged as keeper of an estate and both parents living. He was educated in the public schools of Newton Centre, graduating from high school there and then attending Boston College, from which he was graduated in 1917 with the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts. He then attended the Harvard Business School for six months, at the conclusion of which he entered trade in asso- ciation with the wool brokerage firm of L. J. Moylan & Company. In 1921 the death of Mr. Moylan occurred and Mr. Waters took over the business, continuing it under the original name until 1923, when the firm of Paul A. Waters and Company was formed to replace it. The firm deals in wool waste and similar materials and specializes in wool for women's garments, dealing with the great New England textile establishments. Mr. Waters belongs to the Newton Chamber of Commerce, Boston Trade
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Association and the Sandy Burr Country Club, of which last he is a director. In politics he is a Democrat and in religion a Roman Catholic, being a member of the Sacred Heart Church of Newton Centre. In 1917 he enlisted in the United States Army and was attached to the 13th Company of the 4th Battalion of the Sev- enty-sixth division, being discharged with the rank of first sergeant.
Paul A. Waters married, in 1924, Eileen O'Kane, of Brookline, Massachusetts. They are the parents of one child: Paul A., Jr.
FRANK J. BURNS-The city of Boston is proud of its rank as center of the leather trade of the country, and as the years pass the num- ber of well-known and progressive concerns engaged in the leather business here is stead- ily increasing. Bags, upholstery, and shoes of all kinds in all parts of this great country owe their existence to leather which was either tanned, cut, bought and sold, or manufac- tured into the finished product here in Boston, and the popular "Boston" bag represents but a small fraction of the vast array of leather articles which have their origin in the "Hub City." Among the numerous leather concerns here which specialize in leather for some one
or two definite uses, is the Way Leather Com- pany, Incorporated, of which Frank J. Burns is president and one of the founders. This concern, which occupies the fourth and fifth floors of the building at No. 121 Beach Street, is one of the foremost in the cut sole trade, put- ting out about two hundred thousand pairs of soles each month. Mr. Burns is a native of the Hoosier State, but has been a resident of Massachusetts since boyhood, and has been identified with the leather business in Boston since 1904, a period of twenty-four years.
Frank J. Burns was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, May 29, 1889, son of Joseph Burns, a native of England, who is in the employ of the New England Telephone Company, and of
Annie (Fleming) Burns, also a native of Eng- land, now deceased. Mr. Burns received his education in the public schools of Everett, Massachusetts, and then, in 1904, as a lad of fifteen years, began his life as a wage earner in the employ of the American Oak Leather Company of Boston. For two years he con- tinued that connection, and then associated himself with the Bay State Cut Sole Company, with whom he remained for a period of five years. At the end of that time he made an- other change, entering the employ of the Armour Leather Company, and with that con- cern he remained until he engaged in business for himself in 1916. Associating himself with Edward Cohen, he organized the Way Leather Company, Incorporated, locating the business on Kneeland Street, in Boston. There it con- tinued until 1921, when it was moved to larger quarters on Atlantic Avenue, and in 1926 it was again moved in order to secure better and larger accommodations for the greatly enlarged business, this time to its present location at No. 121 Beach Street. The company now (1928) occupies the whole of the fourth and fifth floors of the building and is rapidly grow- ing. It specializes in cut soles for the shoe trade, and is putting out about two hundred thousand pairs of soles per month, or nearly two and a half million pairs annually. Edward Cohen is treasurer of the company and both men are able and reliable business men. Dur- ing the period of the participation of the United States in the World War, Mr. Burns served as a member of the Coast Artillery Corps of the United States Army. He is a member of Everett Lodge, No. 642, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks; and of Everett Council, Knights of Columbus; and he is also a mem- ber of the Boston Rotary Club and of the Scituate Country Club. He finds his favorite pastime and recreation on the golf links.
Frank J. Burns was married, in 1922, to Bes- sie McCrillis, who was born in Gardiner, Maine, and they have four children: Justine Anne, Frank, J., Jr., and Patricia and Lettia (twins).
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THOMAS BRENNAN-For more than a score of years Thomas Brennan has been en- gaged in legal practice in Boston. He is located at No. 640 Tremont Building, where he has for many years cared for a large and important clientele. He is a graduate of Harvard Col- lege and of Harvard Law School, and is in- terested in social welfare work.
Thomas Francis Brennan, father of Mr. Brennan, was born in Northfield, Vermont, January 27, 1849, and died in Boston, Massa- chusetts, December 28, 1921. He received some education in the public schools and for many years of his active life was superinten- dent of a woolen mill in New Hampshire. He married Bridget T. Moriarty, who was born in Chestnut Hill, Connecticut, and now lives in Boston. They became the parents of six chil- dren, five of whom are living: William; Francis, deceased; Frederick; Thomas, of further mention; Eleanor, and Rachel.
Thomas Brennan, son of Thomas Francis and Bridget T. (Moriarty) Brennan, was born in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, December 23, 1878. After attending the Dedham Grammar School, from which he was graduated in 1894, he entered Dedham High School, where he completed his course with graduation in 1898. After work- ing for two years to save money he matricu- lated in Harvard College, from which he was graduated in 1904, receiving at that time the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He had decided upon the legal profession as his future field of activity, and in 1906 he was graduated from the Harvard Law School, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar that same year and since that time has been engaged in general prac- tice here in Boston and in New York. His of- fices are located at No. 640 Tremont Build- ing, and he is taking care of a large and important clientele. Throughout his active ca- reer, Mr. Brennan has continued to be a stu- dent, interested in geology, and for some years devoted much of his spare time to study in Harvard University. He is also interested in social work, being active in several lines of
settlement work. Politically, he gives his sup- port to the Republican party, but classes him- self as an Independent Republican, regard- ing personal fitness for office as of more importance than party affiliation. Upon the en- trance of the United States into the World War Mr. Brennan enlisted for service, but later was engaged in Young Men's Christian Association work at Camp Devens, at Ayer, Massachusetts. His religious affiliation is with the Roman Catholic church.
Thomas Brennan was married, at Marion, Massachusetts, September 15, 1908, to Mary H. Lowe, who was born in Ireland, daugh- ter of Henry and Martha Mary (Dixon) Lowe, her father an attorney and prosecuting attorney of County Tipperary, Ireland, who died in Ireland in 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Bren- nan have no living children.
C. FREDERIC BENT-Of the young men who have achieved distinction in Boston com- mercial circles, there is none who has shown greater energy and enterprise than C. Fred- eric Bent, who is one of the outstanding men in the wool business as the sole proprietor of the well-known firm, the Bent Wool Com- pany, which was founded by himself in 1922. Mr. Bent has attained his present high position by constant application and study, having been connected with the wool industry since he was fifteen years of age, with the result that he has a thorough understanding of every detail concerning this important trade in which New England maintains the position of world supremacy.
Mr. Bent was born in Dorchester, October 23, 1899, son of Charles F. Bent, born in South Boston, and Mary E. (Mace) Bent, who was born in Newton. Charles F. Bent has been engaged in the wholesale fruit and produce business in this city for many years and is one of its most esteemed and respected busi- ness men.
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C. Frederick Bent was educated in the pub- lic schools of this city, and in the Boston English School. He also attended the Evening Central High School and took a special law course in the Boston Young Men's Christian Association. In 1914, he entered the world of business and took his first position with the Crimmins & Pierce Company, with which concern he remained until 1921, having ad- vanced consistently through devotion to his duties, gaining invaluable experience which has been of the greatest aid in the promotion of his own enterprise. In 1921, Mr. Bent formed a partnership under the firm name of Bent & Wiley, which conducted business until 1922, when it was dissolved and he established his present organization, the Bent Wool Com- pany, with offices located at first at No. 136 Federal Street, where he remained until 1924, when he moved to offices at No. 170 Summer Street, and in 1927 took over the present loca- tion at No. 184 Summer Street. Mr. Bent's concern conducts a general wool business, specializing in wool waste and noils, handling both domestic and foreign products, while most of his customers are engaged in the tex- tile business here in New England. His suc- cess has been due to the reputation that he has ever held for absolute dependability and strict integrity in every commercial deal, and by his faithful adherence to these qualities he has built up a thriving, prosperous trade.
Mr. Bent is an active member of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, and is affiliated, fra- ternally, with the John B. DeValles Council, Knights of Columbus. In politics, he is a mem- ber of the Republican party; and he attends St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church, in Dorches- ter. His hobbies are golf, football, and base- ball, while he is fond of all athletics and out- door sports, which give him an opportunity for recreation from active business cares.
JAMES L. DUNN-Although James L. Dunn has been engaged in the practice of law
for a comparatively short period of years, he already has won considerable note in Allston, Massachusetts, the city which he has chosen for his work. He has handled a number of im- portant cases, and has demonstrated to the sat- isfaction of his clients and those who know his work that he possesses a keen analytical ability, as well as a marked talent for pleading at the courts of law.
Mr. Dunn was born in Boston, Massachu- setts, September 28, 1893, a son of James Dunn, a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who was an electrician throughout his active career, and who served in the Spanish-American War with the Ninth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, and is now deceased; the mother of James L. Dunn is Catherine McDermott, also born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. James L. Dunn received his early schooling in the pub- lic schools of Boston and Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, went to the Cambridge High School, and then became a student, attending the night classes, at the Suffolk Law School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1925 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Since that year he has practiced law in Boston, with offices sit- uated at No. 153 Brighton Avenue, where he is engaged in general legal practice. Although Mr. Dunn is now well established in his pro- fession, he worked hard to reach his present situation, having been a very busy man in the days when he was taking his professional school work. Upon completion of his high school courses, he went to work for the Boston Ele- vated Railroad Company, of Boston, with which he remained for about seven years. He then was associated for a time with the Ginter Company, of Boston. Only in recent years was he able to complete his law courses and take up the professional work which he had aimed at since early youth; but his determination has been rewarded with success, so that he now has a large number of loyal supporters, clients who like his work and thoroughly trust his judgments and legal opinions, and promises to be one of the leading lawyers of this part of Massachusetts.
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Along with his legal work, Mr. Dunn has at all times been interested in the affairs of his city. A keen observer of political developments, he is himself a member of the Democratic party, whose policies and candidates he reg- ularly supports. Mr. Dunn also has a number of fraternal affiliations, being a member of the Knights of Columbus, in which he is identified with the Allston Council; the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters; and the Kiwanis Club. He is an active participant in a number of sports, baseball and golf among his chief hobbies. In addition to being a lawyer with a very busy practice, Mr. Dunn is manager of the Prindeville Building, situated at No. 53 Brighton Avenue, Allston.
In 1915, he married Emma Evans, born in Medway, Massachusetts. By this marriage there have been four children: Mary, Cath- . erine, Frances, and Anne.
FREDERICK J. DRISCOLL-With the distinction of having spent the entire period of his business career in Boston in insurance work, Frederick J. Driscoll has achieved a position of prominence in the field of his chosen endeavor as an independent broker with offices located at No. 15 Central Street. Mr. Driscoll came to Boston in 1911 and has since continued to be an active factor in the busi- ness life of this city, having been successful from the first by his firm adherence to the estimable principles of fairness and courteous treatment, with which he began his career and which have proved the splendid and substantial foundation of his prosperous achievements. In municipal affairs, he takes an active and inter- ested part, being ever anxious to lend his sup- port to the advancement of his community's prestige and progress, while in the organiza- tions connected with his profession, he is a popular and valued member.
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