USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume V > Part 37
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DANIEL P. JAQUES-Insurance protection of every kind is the main purpose in the busi- ness activities of Daniel P. Jaques, well-known representative of the Hartford Fire, the Home Fire, the Liverpool and London, and Globe, Rutgers, and other financially strong insurance companies, giving the various kinds of protec- tion required by the public, and to which he devotes his personal attention. His standing
and experience have been acquired over a period of thirty-seven years.
Born in Elgin, Illinois, December 12, 1875, Mr. Jaques is the son of Daniel D. Jaques, a native of Newbury, Massachusetts, engaged as watchmaker until his death, and Georgianna (Allen) Jaques, who was born in Newburyport, and is now deceased.
He has resided in Boston nearly all his life, attended the public schools and finished his education at the English High School. On leaving school he set himself to learning the insurance business, entering the employ of one of the leading firms, Lorenzo Burge, Hayes and Company, then located in the Mason Building, on Kilby Street, which was succeeded by the firm of Crain, Jones, Bixley and Company, which was later taken over by another concern.
In politics he gives his allegiance to the Re- publican party. Sports that claim his major attention in the way of diversion are bowling and baseball. He has a large following of friends both in business and social circles.
Daniel P. Jaques married, in 1916, Alice L. Doherty, who was born in Boston. He is lo- cated at No. 24 School Street, Boston, as man- ager of the insurance office of Albert E. Duffill.
CHARLES L. READE-One of the well- known undertaking establishments in the city of Waltham, Massachusetts, in Reade's Fu- neral Home, located at No. 22 Common Street. The business was founded by Patrick Reade in 1873, and has been conducted by Charles L. Reade, son of the founder, since 1906. Mr. Reade is one of the best-known funeral direc- tors in this section of the State, and he has served as secretary of the Massachusetts Fu- neral Directors' Association for the past eleven years.
Patrick Reade, father of Mr. Reade, was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, but came to this country as a young man and located in Milford, Mas- sachusetts, where he became a wood carver and a manufacturer of coffins. Later, he was
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employed by his brother, John Reade, in the undertaking business until 1873, when Patrick Reade ,vithdrew and established an undertaking business of his own. He was successful and remained in that line until the time of his death, in 1881. The business was then continued by his widow, who successfully conducted it un- til 1906. In that year her son, Charles L. Reade, took over the business, which he has since con- tinued. The mother died in 1909. She reared a family of eight children, of whom five are still living: 1. Sister Maria Agatha (S. N. D.), who was educated in the New England Conservatory of Music, and is now in Notre Dame School at Peabody, Massachusetts. 2. Francis L., paying teller of the Waltham National Bank. 3. Catherine, married Charles L. Quigg. 4. Pat- rick, now deceased, was formerly associated with his father and brother in the undertaking business. 5. Charles L., of whom further. 6. Vincent J., in the bond business in New Haven. One of the paternal uncles of Charles L. Reade was at one time mayor of the city of Woburn, Massachusetts, and another, John Reade, served five years as a captain in the Civil War, and was later elected to the State Senate from the Charlestown district.
Charles L. Reade was born in Waltham, Mas- sachusetts, February 21, 1877, and as a boy attended the local public and parochial schools. Later, he became a student in Boston College, where he continued his studies until 1897, when he became associated with the business which his father had founded and which his mother had been operating for a period of twenty-five years. In 1906, three years prior to the death of his mother, he took full charge of the busi- ness, and since that time he has been devoting his interest and ability to the development of one of the best-known undertaking establish- ments in the city. He has equipped it with every modern convenience for the most effi- cient and skillful handling of the scientific busi- ness of embalming, and the Reade Funeral Home is one of the attractive ones in this sec- tion of the State. His offices are appropriately furnished, and his chapel is so arranged that it makes a most convenient place for conduct-
ing funerals. He includes among his patrons a large number of the old and prominent fam- ilies of this section. Mr. Reade has served as chairman of the fence viewers commission, also has been a member of the Board of Health and the Chamber of Commerce for five years. He is a member of, and for the past eleven years has been secretary of the Massachusetts Funeral Directors' Association. Fraternally, he is iden- tified with the Knights of Columbus, the Mas- sachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters, of which he is a Past Chief Ranger and also a Deputy; and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is a member of the board of directors of the Watch City Co-operative Bank, and formerly served both as vice-president and as president. He is also a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. His religious affiliation is with St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and he is past pres- ident of its Holy Name Society; also past pres- ident of the Boston College Club of Waltham; and a member of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks, of Waltham. Mr. Reade has a fine baritone voice and for a number of years he has served as baritone soloist in his church.
Charles L. Reade married, September 28, 1911, Lucy Philipps, a native of Boston, Mas- sachusetts, and they are the parents of two chil- dren: George Philipps, who is a student in the St. Mary's High School, and Ellen Marie. Mrs. Reade's father was superintendent of the sewer division of Boston, a well-known man in this section.
JAMES HENRY VAHEY-An attorney of national reputation and a leader for many years in the political life of Massachusetts, James Henry Vahey rose to preëminent position in the field of his chosen occupation. His pro- fessional record was one of distinguished suc- cess, and he was always ready to devote his brilliant talents and energy to any service in
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the public interest which lay within his power. Mr. Vahey's life was one of great usefulness, reflecting credit upon himself, upon his State and upon the profession which he adorned.
James Henry Vahey was born in Water- town, Massachusetts, on December 29, 1871, a son of James and Mary (Rattigan) Vahey. Af- ter graduation from the local high school in 1888, he matriculated at Boston University School of Law and in 1892 received from that institution the degree of Bachelor of Laws, cum laude. In the following year he was admit- ted to the Massachusetts bar, and immediately thereafter formed a law partnership with Charles H. Innes for the practice of his pro- fession at Boston. Later, his brother, Thomas F. Vahey, was admitted to the firm, and in 1904 Philip Mansfield became a partner under the firm name of Vahey, Innes and Mansfield, with offices at No. 18 Tremont Street, Boston. In this year Mr. Vahey first came conspicu- ously before the public attention when he was assigned by the Judge of the Superior Court as senior counsel for Charles L. Tucker, then charged with the murder of Mable Page, which case at that time was the most famous in the annals of the commonwealth.
Early in his career, Mr. Vahey became in- terested in politics and in 1893 he entered this field actively, being elected a member of the Watertown School Committee, on which he served with distinction. Two years later he became a member of the Board of Health, and in 1897 was elected to the Board of Select- men, serving as chairman of the board for two years of his four year term. In 1907 Mr. Vahey was elected State Senator on the Demo- cratic ticket, representing the First Middlesex District of Massachusetts, and it is worthy of note that his nomination for this office was endorsed by over four hundred Republicans in the Western end of the district. The con- fidence reposed in him by the electorate was more than justified by the high character of his service in the State Legislature, and here he was constantly alert to advance the best in- terests not only of his constituents, but also of the people of the entire State. During his
term of office in 1907-1908, he worked most earnestly for the passage of his bill abolishing capital punishment. He served on several com- mittees during that interim, including the ju- diciary, education, and military affairs, and on these he was a recognized leader. In 1908 and 1909 he was the Democratic nominee for gov- ernor of the State, and through all this period he stood high in party counsels, both in Mas- sachusetts and throughout the nation. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Con- vention in St. Louis in 1904, and again in 1924 at New York. After retiring from public office, Mr. Vahey took an active part in union labor affairs, particularly those affecting wages, hours and working conditions of street rail- way employees in Massachusetts and through- out the country. In 1918 and 1919 he repre- sented all the street railway employees of America before the National War Labor Board, and tried approximately one hundred cases be- fore that body. In his long legal career he also tried about fifteen capital cases of the first im- portance, and any number of prominent civil cases. In all of these he revealed a deep knowledge of legal principles and procedures, and a masterly grasp of court room tactics. His services on behalf of his clients were dis- tinguished by the greatest diligence and the successes he won were thoroughly deserved.
Professionally Mr. Vahey was a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court; the United States Court of the District of Co- lumbia; the Middlesex County Bar Association; the American Bar Association, and other asso- ciations. He was one of the incorporators of the Massachusetts Bar Association, and a mem- ber of the Bar Association of the City of Boston. He was affiliated fraternally with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus, the Royal Arcanum, and was also identified with the Social Law Li- brary; the American Academy of Political and Social Science; the Charitable Irish Society; the Bostonian Society; the Law Society of Massachusetts; the American-Irish Historical Society; the Boston City Club; the University
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Club; the Belmont Spring Country Club; the Boston Athletic Association; the Wood's Hole Golf Club, the Boston Chamber of Commerce; the Pocassett Golf Club; and the Unicorn Country Club. His favorite recreations were golfing and reading.
On February 18, 1887, James Henry Vahey married Margaret White, of Concord, Massa- chusetts, and to them six children were born: Dorothy, James H., Jr., Margaret, John, Rosa- mond, and Virginia. The family home is con- tinued at No. 96 Russell Avenue, Watertown.
Mr. Vahey's death occurred on April 7, 1929, after a long illness. His passing was a severe shock throughout the State and a source of very deep sorrow to the wide circle of his friends and acquaintances. Personally he was a man of great warmth and charm, always con- siderate of others and kind, drawing friends to him easily and retaining their affection through the years. Though death came to him at the full tide of his mature powers, he had accomp- lished much in the years of a career which was always distinguished by material success, by moral strength and courage, and by a warm and never-failing humanity.
THOMAS J. LYONS-Few men in the city of West Newton have been longer engaged in the undertaking business or have been more active in local public affairs than has Thomas J. Lyons, whose embalming and funeral direct- ing business is located at No. 1435 Wash- ington Street, in West Newton. Mr. Lyons graduated from the Boston School of Anat- omy and Embalming in 1902, was one of the first of his profession to pass the State board of examination, and has been continuously engaged in business here for twenty-six years. In addition to the successful management of his large and still growing business, he has served on most of the committees and com-
missions of the community, and served in numerous local public offices, including that of alderman, and has been a member of the play- ground commission for twenty-one years.
James Lyons, father of Mr. Lyons, was born in Ireland, but came to this country before the Civil War. When the war broke out, he en- listed in the First Massachusetts Cavalry, with which he served throughout the entire period of the conflict, from 1861 to 1865. When the war was over he took a position with the Bos- ton & Albany Railroad Company, with which he remained for a period of thirty years, in charge of the tracks between Boston and New- ton. It is a matter of record that he kept those tracks in such excellent repair that he won all the prizes offered by the company and held so high a place in the esteem of the officials that he was named as road master for this section, an honor which he declined. He was a member of the Irish Land League, which he served as treasurer and in the work of which he took a very active part for many years, and in all his associations he was a factor to be reckoned with, and a man to be honored by those with whom he was asso- ciated. When he came to this country as a young man he brought with him a sister, who opened a school. This school was the begin- ning of what later became well known as St. Elizabeth College, and still later developed into Seaton Hall College, but which is now (1929) devoted to the "finishing education" of Jewish girls. Mr. Lyons' sister was as- sistant to the Reverend Mother and remained in the institution for more than sixty-five years, continuing there to the time of her death at the age of eighty-seven years. An aunt of Mr. Lyons is in the Lady of Grace Convent, in Hoboken, New Jersey, where she has been for the past thirty-five years. James Lyons and his wife were the parents of twelve children, ten boys and two girls, of whom only three are living: Benjamin F .; Mary, who was formerly secretary to the president of the First National Bank of Newton, but has for the past twenty-eight years been in a convent in Sum- mit, New Jersey; and Thomas J., of further
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mention. The mother of the family died at the age of sixty-five years.
Thomas J. Lyons was born in West New- ton, Massachusetts, January 3, 1873, and was reared in this section of the State, receiving his education in the public schools. When he was fifteen years of age he secured a posi- tion as clerk, and later served as a bookkeeper in the employ of a contractor, but in 1890 he began his connection with his present line of business by entering the employ of an under- taker. Later, he entered the Boston School of Anatomy and Embalming, where he com- pleted his course with graduation in 1902. In 1903 he established his present business, and in 1906 he passed the examinations of the State Board of Examiners, being one of the first to take and successfully pass those ex- aminations. Throughout his career Mr. Lyons has been a man who is thorough and pains- taking in whatever work he undertakes, and while he was studying in the School of Anat- omy and Embalming he was made the pro- fessor's assistant. In the management of his own business he has been dependable and skillful, and the long period of years during which he has been engaged in this line of business has made him one of the most ex- pert and one of the best-known morticians in New England. Though his present business has been established for only twenty-six years, he has been personally engaged in this profes- sion, as an employee and as owner of his estab- lishment, for nearly forty years, by virtue of which he ranks as one of the oldest, in point of length of service, of the undertakers in this vicinity.
His success in his business has not been won at the expense of other obligations, however, and throughout his active life Mr. Lyons has been very active in local public affairs. For three years he served as a member of the Board of Aldermen. He was a member of the Board of Public Works for sixteen years, and for the past twenty-one years has been an in- terested member of the playground commis- sion. In addition to his business and civic activities he has also served as treasurer of
the Ancient Order of Hibernians for the past twenty-five years. He assisted in the organi- zation of Newton Council, in 1896, and is still a member of that body, and he is also a member of Newton Lodge, No. 167, Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a charter member and assisted in the organiza- tion of the Newton Catholic Club, and was manager of the Newton baseball team for a period of ten years. For the past thirty-five years Mr. Lyons has made an annual visit to the Convent of Our Lady of Grace, in Hoboken, where an aunt is living and serv- ing the Church, and to the convent in Sum- mit, New Jersey, where his sister Mary is located. When the grounds of these institu- tions were opened he took an active part in the landscape gardening which beautifies both places, and he has always taken a keen in- terest in the activities and services of both those members of his family.
Thomas J. Lyons was married, February 22, 1911, to Mary C. Caliss, of West Newton, and they have one son, Thomas, who was born January 29, 1912. He is a graduate of Auburndale School, where he was president of his class, and also president of the class of 1929, Boston College High School. The family home is located at No. 122 Auburn Street, in Auburndale, Massachusetts.
WALTER N. LEWIS-Since 1917, Walter N. Lewis has been associated with Forestdale Cemetery, in Malden, Massachusetts, and was appointed superintendent in 1923. He also has under his care the Bell Rock and Salem Street cemeteries. Since Mr. Lewis came to Mal- den, innumerable changes for the better have been made, and today (1929) this fine seventy- acre burying ground ranks as one of the beautiful ones of this locality.
Walter N. Lewis was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, December 25, 1879. His fath-
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er, who was one of a family of three boys and a girl, was a native of Boston, where he was engaged in the wholesale fish business, and where he spent his life, his death occurring at the age of sixty-nine years. The mother, Almira (Smith) Lewis, was born on Cape Cod, and died at the age of seventy-four years. Mr. Lewis received his education in the public schools of Charlestown and of Stoneham, grad- uating from high school. He then found em- ployment in a shoe factory, where he learned the trade of shoe cutting. He followed this occupation until 1917, when he came to Malden to work in the cemeteries for a period of two weeks. At the end of this time he was en- gaged for a year, and since that time he has continued in this work, having been made su- perintendent in 1923. In eleven years he has made notable changes in the burying ground, and more lots have been sold since his coming than in all the previous history of the cemetery. In 1927 one hundred lots were sold at a price of $10,000. He has laid out roads and supervised their construction, also numer- ous walks and paths, and has done much ar- tistically and scientifically, to beautify the place and materially increase its value. The cem- etery comprises about seventy acres of land, and at the present time (1929) thirteen thou- sand people have been buried here, to which total an average of from three hundred and fifty to four hundred interments are added each year. Land is constantly being devel- oped and transformed into burial lots, and during the past fifteen years more of this has been done than in all previous time since the organization of the cemetery. A most effec- tive system of drainage has been established, and walks next to the burial plots have been dug to a depth of six feet and filled for three feet with stone for drainage before filling in with the materials of which the walks are composed. A perpetual care fund was es- tablished some years ago and is steadily ac- cumulating, amounting at the present time to nearly $200,000. As a result of Mr. Lewis' faithful and efficient care Forestdale Cemetery is classed as one of the most lovely of the
burying grounds in this section of the State, and it is said that not even Mount Auburn Cemetery excels it in landscape gardening and in attractiveness of plan.
In addition to the care of Forestdale Cem- etery, Mr. Lewis has the care of two smaller cemeteries of Malden, namely, Bell Rock Cem- etery, a plot of about three and a half acres, and Salem Street Cemetery. Bell Rock Cem- etery was founded in 1640, being one of the oldest cemeteries in the State, and in it are buried several Revolutionary heroes. Salem Street Cemetery was established in 1830 and here also are the remains of a large number of prominent citizens of early days. Both cem- eteries are well cared for and are objects of interest to visitors in this locality.
Mr. Lewis is a member of the New Eng- land Association of Cemetery Superintendents, and fraternally he is identified with Mount Vernon Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Malden; and with Middlesex Lodge, No. 17, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a Past Noble Grand. He is also a mem- ber of the Kiwanis Club, of Malden; and of the Malden City Club.
Walter N. Lewis was married, in 1907, to Pearl Boyd, who was born in Monckton, Prov- ince of New Brunswick, Canada.
THOMAS B. KELLY-For more than thirty years the funeral directing business of Bernard Kelly & Son, of Dorchester, has been taking care of a large and important patron- age. Founded by the father of the present owner, in 1897, the business has steadily grown and prospered, and since the death of the father in 1917, it has been operated by the son, Thomas B. Kelly. The establishment is located at No. 310 Bowdoin Street, and is one of the oldest in Dorchester, including among its patrons many of the old and exclusive families of this section. Mr. Kelly is a mem-
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ber of the board of trustees of Meeting House Hill Co-operative Bank, and is one of the well-known and progressive citizens of Dor- chester.
Bernard Kelly, the founder of the business, was born in Ireland, but came to this country just after the close of the Civil War, locating in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in April, 1866. He was a shoemaker by trade, and after fol- lowing his trade here for some time he be- came interested in the retail shoe business. Later, he opened a retail shoe store of his own in Dorchester and this he conducted until 1897. In that year he entered the Garcia School of Embalming, where he completed the course with graduation. After completing his training he established a business of his own in Dorchester. Careful and painstaking, he gave close attention to the task of building up his new enterprise, and met with well-deserved success. In 1902 he admitted his son, Thomas B., to partnership, under the firm name of Bernard Kelly & Son, and father and son con- tinued the business until the death of the former, March 10, 1917, at the age of seventy years. Bernard Kelly was one of the best- known of his profession in Dorchester, and his establishment, located on Bowdoin Street, in the Meeting House Hill section of the city was always kept thoroughly abreast of the times. He and his wife, Sabina Kelly, also a native of Ireland, became the parents of four children: Sabina; Thomas B., of further men- tion; Margaret B .; and Dr. John M. Kelly, one of the well-known and prominent physi- cians of the city, who died in April, 1928. The mother died in April, 1906, aged fifty-nine years.
Thomas B. Kelly, son of Bernard and Sa- bina Kelly, was born in Dorchester, Massa- chusetts, November 8, 1873, and spent his early years in that city, attending the public schools and later becoming a student in Comer's Com- mercial College. When his commercial train- ing was finished he secured a position in the employ of a printer and that connection he continued until 1902, when he became his fath- er's associate in the undertaking business un-
der the name of Bernard Kelly & Son. The death of the father on March 10, 1917, left Mr. Kelly in charge of the business, which has been continued under the old name. Twenty- six years of continuous and expert service to the people of this district have firmly estab- lished Mr. Kelly in the business world and have placed him among the foremost in the ranks of the successful men of his calling. The concern is one of the oldest in Dorchester, and the associations of long years bind Mr. Kelly to many of the families of this section. Skill in managing funeral services, honorable busi- ness methods, and tactful service have made for Mr. Kelly a warm place in the hearts of many of those whom he serves, and as the years have passed, his patronage has steadily grown larger.
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