USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume V > Part 36
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George E. Lane was married, in 1902, to Annie A. Annable, a native of Canada, and they have three children: 1. Leon, employed in an Atlantic and Pacific store in Winthrop. He married Ella Wensley, and they have two children, Everett Arthur, and Doris. 2. Wilbur A., who is employed as a shipper for the General Elec- tric Company. 3. Alwilda, at school.
HARRY P. CAHILL, M. D .- Specializa- tion in diseases of the ear, nose and throat has brought Harry P. Cahill, M. D., prominent- ly to the front rank of Boston surgeons. In addition to his very large private practice, he serves as professor of otology in a well-known medical school, as surgeon-in-chief of the de- partment of his specialities in Boston's prin- cipal hospital and as a member of the surgical staffs of other important institutions in this city and the vicinity. He is esteemed one of the most skillful exponents of his profession in a city where medical practice is not ex- celled anywhere in the country.
Dr. Cahill was born in Worcester, Mass- achusetts, October 4, 1884, the son of William J. and Catherine (Magone) Cahill, the former a native of Ireland, and now deceased, and the latter born in Worcester. His public school training was received in his native city, and he then entered Holy Cross College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1903, magna cum laude with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. His degree of Doctor of Medicine, (cum laude), was received from Harvard Medi- cal School on his graduation in 1911. There followed a year of post-graduate study at Basle University, Switzerland. On his return to the United States, he served in Boston City Hospi- tal, 1911-12, and in the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital, 1913-14.
Dr. Cahill entered on private practice, in 1915, giving exclusive attention to practice in diseases of the ear, nose and throat, having his offices at No. 520 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. He has not only built up a very large practice but has also attained a wide reputa- tion for the signal advance he has made in ear, nose and throat surgery. In addition to his large and exacting office practice, Dr. Cahill occupies the post of surgeon-in-chief of the ear, nose and throat department of Boston City Hospital, membership on the surgical staff of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospi- tal, the position of consultant to the Lawrence Hospital, of Medford, and the chair of otology at Tufts Medical School, and the position of instructor in otology at Harvard Medical School.
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All these professional associations bear testi- mony to Dr. Cahill's worth and standing as an expert practitioner. He is held in the highest esteem by his medical brethren, while enjoy- ing the implicit confidence of his large body of patients. His affiliation with learned or- ganizations includes the American Medical As- sociation, the American Otological Society and the New England Otological and Massachu- setts Medical societies.
Dr. Cahill was commissioned, June 20, 1917, as first lieutenant in the United States Army Medical Corps, and attached to the aviation sec- tion. On September 1, 1917, he was promoted
% to captain. Having served ten months with the American Expeditionary Forces in France dur- ing the World War, he received his honorable discharge in May, 1919, with the rank of cap- tain. He is a member of the Harvard Club, Alhambra Council, Knights of Columbus; St. Aidan's Roman Catholic Church. He retains his interest in the general sports, being a former coach in football at Worcester Academy.
Dr. Harry P. Cahill married, in 1922, Anne Ryan, born in Bradford, Massachusetts, who served in the World War as a Red Cross nurse in France for fourteen months. Children: Philip Ryan, and John Mosher.
EDWARD JOHN FEGAN-A member of the Massachusetts bar for almost a quarter of a century, Edward John Fegan is well known in legal circles and has been for many years an important and familiar figure in the life of Boston and of Quincy, where he maintains his residence. The same talents which brought him distinguished success at the bar, have been given freely in the public service, and Mr. Fegan is honored for his high conception of civic duty quite as much as for the material success which he has attained.
Mr. Fegan was born at Quincy, Massachu-
setts, on June 26. 1880, a son of Walter Rich- ard and Mary Josephine (Hernan) Fegan, and one of five children: 1. Edward Joseph, who died at the age of six. 2. Walter Aloysius, priest in the Roman Catholic Church, who died at the age of forty-nine. 3. Marie D., a resident of Washington, District of Columbia. 4. Edward John, of this record. 5. Zita M., who lives in Quincy. The paternal grandfather, Edward Fegan, came from Ireland in the early years of the nineteenth century, and after settling at Quincy, built the old Fegan homestead, which is still standing at No. 165 Crescent Street. Walter Richard Fegan, father of the family, was born in Quincy on February 20, 1848, and his death occurred in that city on August 30, 1917. He was a granite manufacturer there for many years, later engaged in the insurance business, and for a period was a member of the Quincy Board of Assessors. His wife, Mary Josephine (Hernan) Fegan, was born in Bos- ton, on April 1, 1849, and died at her home in Quincy on March 23, 1929.
Edward John Fegan received his preliminary education in the Quincy schools, later attending Boston College Preparatory School, where he was graduated in 1898. Thereafter he entered Boston College, was graduated from that insti- tution in 1902 with the Bachelor of Arts de- gree, and studied for a year at Georgetown University, taking the Master of Arts degree. During the same year and in the following two years he undertook the course of study in the Georgetown University Law School, from which he was graduated in 1905 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Returning to Boston, Mr. Fegan was admit- ted to the Massachusetts bar in August, 1905, and began the practice of his profession im- mediately afterwards with offices in Boston and Quincy. His thorough preparation for his career gave him a sound knowledge of all legal principles together with their application in modern court procedure, and he was quick to win the confidence of those who came to con- sult him professionally, building his practice to prosperous proportions through the years. Mr. Fegan has scored notable victories in the courts
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of the State for the causes which he has espoused, and his appearance in any case is a guarantee not only of an able presentation of its merits, but also of his own confidence in the justness of the cause which he supports.
In politics a Republican, Mr. Fegan has done much campaigning for its candidates and prin- ciples, standing high in party councils through this part of the State. He has always been interested in public affairs and the successful solution of governmental problems, and in 1914 and 1915 was a candidate for mayor of Quincy. Later he was also a candidate for the House of Representatives. Mr. Fegan has given his ability and experience generously in his party's cause and in the public interest, serving during 1923 and 1924 as chairman of the Quincy Board of Assessors.
In other phases of community and State life Mr. Fegan has been equally active. He is a member and past president of the Catholic Alumni Sodality of Boston; past president of the Georgetown University Club of New England; in 1915 was president of the Quincy Board of Trade, now known as the Quincy Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Charitable Irish Society of Boston; of the Boston College and Georgetown University Alumni associations; and past president of the Georgetown Law School Debating Society. He has given gen- erously of his time and substance in many charitable causes, both organized and unor- ganized, and his hearty support of every worthy movement for advance and progress is always assured. Mr. Fegan is affiliated with the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks. During the World War he gave generously of his time and services as a member of the Legal Advisory Board of the city of Quincy. .
On October 17, 1923, at Dorchester, Massa- chusetts, Edward John Fegan married Elsie Beatrice McVey, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, a daughter of Joseph A. and the late Alice Elizabeth (Machugh) McVey. Mr. and Mrs. Fegan maintain their residence in Quincy. They worship in the faith of the Roman Catholic church, attending St. John's Church of this denomination at Quincy.
WILLIAM J. GORMLEY-In the days when the war cries of the Irish rang over the hills and the valleys of Connaught, the Gormleys were among the foremost to carry the fight to victory or to die gallantly, if need be, in the defense of their loved country. From the shores of the Shannon to the coasts of Galway and Mayo, their daring and their indomitable spirit of gallantry inspired their fellows. Among the fifty chosen because of valor to serve as a body- guard to King Roderick O'Connor, six were of this family. Among the eleven heroes whose blood stained the waters of the Shannon when, during the siege of Athlone, in June, 1691, the heroic attempt was made to check the advance of the English Army by destroying, under the very guns of the English, the Leinster end of the bridge they were building, there were three of the Gormley name. Many of the family are laid to rest in the historic burial grounds at Roscommon Abbey, and at the Castle of Rin- down, in the Parish of St. John. When gal- lantry and courage could no longer avail and the hand of oppression fell heavy upon Ireland, there were many of the Gormley family, in com- mon with others of their countrymen, who sought freedom and opportunity in the New World. And the New World was the richer for their coming.
Among those who, though far from the scenes of the heroic deeds of their ancestors and from the land of their hero ancestors, still cher- ish the hope of a renewed and freed Ireland, is one of the prominent citizens of Roxbury, Massachusetts, William J. Gormley, widely known in Greater Boston, prominent in church and social affairs, who has for a number of years served most faithfully and efficiently as financial secretary of the Roscommon Benevo- lent Association. Few living citizens have won more sincere esteem and more generous ex- pression of that esteem during life than has Mr. Gormley, and few have given more abun- dant cause for that esteem than has he. William J. Gormley, who, since 1911, has been engaged in the embalming and funeral directing busi- ness in the Tommy Rock district, is one of the well-known undertakers in the city.
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The maternal grandfather of Mr. Gormley, Frank Fahey, was the first Irish settler in the Tommy Rock district, which received its name from an Indian chief of this section. Frank Fahey came about 1825, when this was a thinly settled district on the old Washington Street route to Providence, and the old homestead, known as the "Oregon," is still standing on the corner of Washington and Cedar streets, and in the possession of the Gormley family, being the property of W. J. Gormley and his aunt. Frank Fahey was the first dairyman to serve what is now old Roxbury, and he was also one of the original directors of the Boston Catholic Cemetery Association, which includes in its jurisdiction the old Catholic Burial Ground at Dorchester, Calvary Cemetery, and Mount Bene- dict, in West Roxbury. Patrick Gormley, father of Mr. Gormley, was a builder, born in Ire- land. He married Ellen Fahey, who was born in Roxbury, daughter of Frank Fahey.
William J. Gormley, son of Patrick and Ellen (Fahey) Gormley, was born in Roxbury, Massa- chusetts, December 13, 1875, and received his early school training in the Dudley Street Gram- mar School. Mr. Gormley early in life became interested in public affairs, and in 1895 he was made an inspector in the street department of Boston, having under his special jurisdiction sewers and garages. He was one of the cem- etery trustees of the city of Boston, serving during the term of office of Andrew J. Peters as mayor. He was the only man to do this work, covering the entire city, and he filled the position from 1895 to 1910, a period of fifteen years. During this time he performed two special services for the city, making permanent contributions to the equipment, in the way of records, of the engineering department of the city of Boston. During a period of about two years, beginning in 1906, he made a house to house survey in order to trace the home sewer outlet and determine in each case whether the sewer was laid out into the back alley or into the street in front of the building. The district in question was the old South End district of Boston. Mr. Gormley visited every house, and the results of his survey were used to Bos.ii-15
chart the records and plans for modern sewerage system of today. These records are now in the form of blue prints in the sewer engineer's office in Boston. The work of Mr. Gormley in this connection was very minute and pains- taking. Frequently he was obliged to go to the owner of the property and find out the name of the plumber who had installed the sewer, then hunt up the plumber and find out where the pipes had been laid.
The second piece of work performed by Mr. Gormley was the survey of Beacon Street, be- tween Brimmer Street and Massachusetts Ave- nue, a portion of the fashionable Back Bay sec- tion, all homes of wealthy families. He made the survey to ascertain whether the rain water outlets from the homes were of brick, tile, or pipe, and also whether such drainage ran from the back of a house into the Charles River at the rear of Beacon Street, or into the front and into the trunk sewer on Beacon Street. This, too, was a task requiring the most painstaking care, and the results of the work were afterward plotted by the engineer of the sewer depart- ment for permanent record. Mr. Gormley spent six months in this work, and completed it in such a manner that City Engineer Dole, of the sewer department, complimented him upon the fact that the work was accomplished with one hundred per cent efficiency. Mr. Gormley did this work, too, alone, attending to every detail himself, and it is worthy of note that not one complaint was made either by the owners of the homes surveyed or by members of the city government. Both these pieces of work re- main as a permanent contribution to the records of the department.
After fifteen years of the most faithful and efficient service as inspector in the street de- partment of the municipal government, Mr. Gormley retired from office, and in 1911 estab- lished at No. 2698 Washington Street, the mod- ern and well-equipped embalming and funeral directing business, which he has since operated. As has been stated, he is the only business man in this district who was born here, and he has built up a business which gives expert service. Not only the Roxbury section of the city, but
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all parts of the metropolitan district are served by Mr. Gormley, and his establishment has won a reputation for quality of service and for hon- est business methods. Few men of this section are better known than Mr. Gormley. He is a member of the Massachusetts Funeral Direc- tors' Association, and active in its affairs. He has been financial secretary of the Roscommon Be- nevolent Association for a number of years, and so popular is he in that association that a tribute paid to him at Deacon Hall, in Roxbury, January 16, 1916, in a speech delivered by John J. Donnelly, has been engrossed in printed form as a permanent expression of the esteem in which he is held, and stresses the outstanding characteristics of Mr. Gormley in the following words:
One cannot fail to be impressed with the honesty of purpose, the true spirit of friendship, the genial bear- ing, and the quiet unassuming ways that are his. But if there is one characteristic that predominates in his mental make-up, it is his honesty; it is this trait that has endeared him to thousands, irrespective of race or religion, throughout Roxbury and Boston.
Mr. Gormley is a member of the Balfe Realty Company, of Boston, and of the National Fu- neral Directors' Association of the United States. Fraternally, he is identified with the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Order of Foresters, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is president of the Irish Roscommon Club, and has always been deeply interested in the cause of Irish freedom, the cause for which so many of his forebears fought and bled. He was a delegate to the Central Council of Irish County Clubs, is vice-president of the St. Vin- cent de Paul Society, of the St. Joseph's Parish Church, and is active in all of the various or- ganizations with which he is identified.
William J. Gormley married, in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1907, Mary McDonald, who died in December, 1924. They became the par- ents of one son, William J. Gormley, Jr., who was born in May, 1908, and for the past two years has been associated with his father in the undertaking business.
JOHN G. GRAY-Union Cemetery, of Brockton, Massachusetts, is a convincing ex- ample of what the modern interest in the beau- tifying of burying grounds has accomplished all over the country. A year after the revival of interest in Union Cemetery the board was pondering the question of ways and means and decided that certain questions, such as how the general grading should be done, and what plantings should be made in changing the ceme- tery from a collection of burying grounds to a harmonious and unified landscape, was a matter for an expert landscape gardener to decide. It was a happy idea which induced the new board of trustees to combine their superintendent and their landscape gardener in the person of one man by engaging John G. Gray to supervise the entire cemetery, and how well this task has been performed by Mr. Gray is indicated by the fact that he has now (1929) been superin- tendent of Union Cemetery for a period of twenty-seven years. Another pertinent fact is the appearance of the cemetery, which is gen- erally conceded to be one of the most beautiful in the State. Long years of skillful planning and of hard work have brought about the transformation, and both plot owners and the members of the board of trustees are proud of what has been achieved.
David Gray, father of Mr. Gray, was born in St. Albans, Vermont, where he attended the public schools and where for some years he was a landscape gardener in charge of the grounds of Governor Smith. Eventually, he removed to Middleboro, Massachusetts, and took charge of the greenhouses on the Kingman estate, located on and around the present site of St. Luke's Hospital, where he remained until 1888. In that year he resigned, and, coming to Brockton, he built a large greenhouse and founded a florist business, the first of its kind in Brock- ton, which he continued until his death, since which time it has been conducted by his widow. It is probably one of the best-known establish- ments of its kind. He died at the age of fifty- nine years, one of the best-known men in the State in his special field. He was city forester
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for some time, and, fraternally, was identified with the Knights of Pythias, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, Knights of Malta, and Hancock Veteran Firemen's Association. He married Agnes Livick, who was born in Swan- ton, Vermont, and is living (1929), aged seventy years, and, as noted above, is still conducting the business founded by her husband. They be- came the parents of two children: John G., of further mention; and Nellie, who married Sum- ner Duckworth, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
John G. Gray was born in Middleboro, Mass- achusetts, October 16, 1886. He received his education in the public schools, including the high school, and in Brockton Business College, and then learned the landscape gardening busi- ness with his father, with whom he remained until 1902. In that year he entered the em- ploy of Union Cemetery, in Brockton, and his connection with this burial ground has been continuous since that time, a period of twenty- seven years. He was a lad of sixteen years when he came to Brockton Union Cemetery, but he had already learned very thoroughly the art and the business of landscape gardening, and eventually he was made superintendent, which responsible position he has filled to the satisfaction of all concerned.
Brockton Union Cemetery has had a varied history and a somewhat checkered existence. After it had been organized and started on its career there was evidently a severe slump in interest on the part of those who might have been expected to give it closest attention. At any rate, an old report made by the president of the association to the board of trustees, a copy of which is still in existence, states that "as it is now about a year since the beginning of the revival of interest in the cemetery, it is proper to submit to the lot owners a report of the progress which has been made thus far, and a statement of the plans for future em- bellishment of the grounds." A résumé of what has been done states that a change in the organization and by-laws of the corporation was of first importance, a change which combined the old board of directors and the old board of trustees into a single board of trustees, who
control the funds, the treasurer giving deeds only under their direction. The report also cites the fact that "an act of the last Legislature provided that the corporation might give con- tracts for perpetual care," and that while plans for the fund for perpetual care are being de- veloped and realized the generous attention of lot owners to the payments for annual care is very desirable. On the second page, the report gives ample proof of the fact that there had been a grievous lack of interest in the cemetery by the simple statement that when, the spring before, the trustees began the work of clearing up the cemetery, they had to remove the ac- cumulated rubbish of years, about one hundred and fifty cart loads, and that after that had been done it became evident that they must go further and "clean up the cemetery in all its parts, caring, to a certain degree, for all the lots, whether we expected a return from the owners or not." For the purpose of giving such care the board had borrowed six hundred dollars, which they trusted that they would receive in the fall by subscriptions from lot owners. The matter of deeds, too, was troublesome to this early board intent upon improvement, for the ownership of lots, precise location of graves, and the names of those interred, was a difficult one to determine. All this shows how different, how hit or miss, were the old methods of or- ganization and management, compared with later developments there and elsewhere. The report cites the fact that a very hopeful sign is the interest of the ladies, and that a com- mittee of both men and women had made a visit to Swan Point Cemetery, in Providence, to view "a renovated cemetery which has passed from a comparatively abandoned and neglected cemetery to one of the most beautiful in New England," by a slow transition made by the greatest care on the part of the superintendent. The committee of twenty-five decided that Union Cemetery was "susceptible of marvelous development."
And so it has proved to be. Since Warren A. Reed made that report a gradual and complete transformation has taken place, and Brockton Union Cemetery is now one of the very beau-
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tiful burial grounds of the State. In this work of change from haphazard unloveliness to har- monious beauty, John G. Gray has had the most important and the greatest part. He has laid out several miles of roads and paths, has done a vast amount of grading, and has sold a large number of lots. His knowledge of landscape gardening has been invaluable to him and to the association during the twenty-six years of his service here, and he has made many im- provements which have increased the value of the property greatly. One of the outstanding improvements brought about by Mr. Gray was the taking of an enormous amount of muck from the bottom of an old lake and using it for fertilizer, and converting the space from which it was taken into level land upon which two thousand lots, and also a very beautiful park, have been laid out. Since Mr. Gray has been here more than eighteen hundred people have been laid to rest, and the fund for permanent care has increased from $5,000 to $18,000. Mr. Gray is a member of the National and also the New England Association of Cemetery Super- intendents; the Knights of Malta; and the Com- mercial Club of Brockton. He has the respect of his associates both in his business relations and as a citizen.
John G. Gray was married, June 8, 1902, to Ethel M. Whitehouse, who was born in North Abington, Massachusetts, and they have one son, Charles D., who is a student in the Nor- wich Military School, at Northfield, Vermont, class of 1930.
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