USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume III > Part 25
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In April, 1917, at the outbreak of the World War, Mr. Northrop was appointed secretary and business manager of the Army Young Men's Chris- tion Association and was stationed at Camp Greene, North Carolina. Here he remained until Decem- ber, 1917, when he enlisted as a private in the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry and was subsequent- ly transferred to the intelligence department and soon promoted to battalion sergeant-major. Receiv- ing his honorable discharge from the service in March, 1918, Mr. Northrop was appointed auditor in the income tax department of the Internal Rev- enue at Washington and was here until January, . 1920, when he resigned. Returning immediately to Lynn, he opened an office on his own account in the Talbot building, but a short time later, how- ever, he formed a partnership with Frank A. Le- gro (see following sketch).
Mr. Northrop is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He affiliates with Bethlehem Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Beloit Chapter, No. 9, Royal Arch Masons; Old Essex Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution; Post No. 6, American Legion; Acacia fraternity; and is a steward in the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Lynn. He is also deputy commissioner of the Boy Scouts of Lynn, and his clubs are the Oxford and the Swamp- scott Masonic.
On September 10, 1919, Harry Clifford Northrop was united in marriage with Bertha C. Christen-
bury, daughter of Dr. Sidney J. and Frances (Can- non) Christenbury, of Davidson, North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Northrop are the parents of one child, Frances Edith, born October 11, 1920.
FRANK ALBERT LEGRO, a member of the firm of Northrop & Legro, public accountants and tax advisors, with offices at No. 333 Union street, Lynn, Massachusetts, was born at Lynn, August 4, 1891. the son of Frederick W. and Mary (Elizabeth) Legro, both natives of Lynn.
The elementary portion of the lad's education was obtained in the public schools of his native city, and after graduating from the local high school he entered the Salem Commercial School where he took a course in law and accounting. Immediately after graduating, he secured a position with the Sor- osis Shoe Company as bookkeeper, but resigned from this position the following year and became associated with the Consolidated Electric Lamp Company of Danvers, Massachusetts, as manager. He remained with this concern for five years and during this time was transferred many times, once to the position as manager of the Western ter- ritory, covering the ground from the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean and to Northwestern Canada. His connection with this company ter- minated at the beginning of the World War, when he became senior cost accountant under civil ser- vice in the bureau of aircraft production. But he was not destined to remain at this post long, for his efficiency being readily proven, he was appointed special assistant to the United States District Aud- itor of the Shipping Board and the Emergency Fleet Corporation. At the expiration of the war he secured a position as auditor for the Garfield & Procter Wholesale Coal Company of Boston, Mas- sachusetts, subsequently resigning to establish himself as a public accountant. He opened an office on Union street, Lynn, having in the mean- time determined to begin his private business career in his native city, but he later discontinued this and engaged in partnership with Harry C. North- rop, under the firm name of Northrop & Legro (see preceding sketch).
Mr. Legro is a member of the Chamber of Com- merce, and as a citizen is held in the highest re- gard by the community. He is a charter member of the Lynn Kiwanis Club, and also affiliates with Ark Lodge, No. 176, of Minnesota, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Royal Arch Chapter, No. 53, Royal Arch Masons; the Swampscott Masonic Club; and Victory Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, of Swampscott.
On July 26, 1915, Frank A. Legro was united in marriage with Edith T. Haines, daughter of Robert and Hannah (Trefry) Haines, of Marblehead, Mas- sachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Legro are the parents of three children: Mary Elizabeth, born October 16, 1916; Edith Haines, born December 22, 1917; Wil- mer Somers, born April 18, 1919.
ARTHUR E. LEACH, city auditor, and former- ly associated with the Haverhill "Bulletin," was
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born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, November 25, 1855, the son of James and Ellen (Carlton) Leach, both originally of Derry, New Hampshire. His father, who died in 1890, was identified with the shoe manufacturing industry, which connection ex- plains why the family took up residence in Haver- hill, where Arthur E. was born.
Arthur E. Leach attended the common schools of Haverhill, and eventually the high school, which after passing through he seems to have decided upon a pharmaceutical career. For three years he was employed in a local drug store, but then be- came connected with the local newspaper, the Haverhill "Bulletin." He learned the printer's trade, and for twelve years was foreman of the "Bulletin" plant. He was elected auditor and assist- ant city clerk in 1892, holding these positions until 1896, when the offices were divided and he has held the office of auditor ever since.
Fraternally, Mr. Leach is affiliated with the local lodge of Red Men, and religiously is a Congre- gationalist, a member of the Congregational church of Haverhill.
Mr. Leach married, in 1880, Annie M. Flanders, daughter of Burton and Mary Elizabeth (West) Flanders, of Haverhill. They have two children: Roland E., and Harland E.
HERBERT W. MANAHAN, M. D., for the past twenty-eight years a prominent physician of Law- rence, Massachusetts, has attained a leading posi- tion in the medical profession of Essex county.
Dr. Manahan was born in Lawrence, on February 11, 1868, and is a son of Mark and Emily Manahan. Mark Mapahan was born in Deering, New Hamp- shire, and lived there until he was about twenty years of age. He was reared on a farm, but later engaged in the grocery business on his own ac- count in Lawrence, being thus engaged from 1866 until he retired in 1884. He died May 31, 1921, aged eighty-six years. In his earlier years he took an active interest in politics; he was a Republican, and served in the City Council in 1869 and 1870. His wife, Emily Manahan, now (1922) resides in South Lawrence.
Beginning his education in the public schools of his native city, Dr. Manahan later entered Harvard University Medical School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1893. He began the general practice of medicine in the same year at his present address, and has practiced continuously there since, with excellent success, now holding a prominent position in the profession, as well as enjoying the confidence of the people.
Dr. Manahan is a member of Phoenician Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Massachu- setts Medical Society, and the Lawrence Medical Club. He is senior visiting surgeon at the Law- rence General Hospital.
Dr. Manahan finds his greatest relaxation in music. For three years after leaving high school he studied the organ and related subjects at the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston. He has been church organist for more than thirty-
four years, now serving the South Congregational Church of South Lawrence in that capacity. He is the author of "Four Sacred Songs." During the World War Dr. Manahan served on the Draft Board in District No. 1.
On September 18, 1893, Dr. Manahan married Wilhelmina Hanson, daughter of Jacob Hanson, of Wolfboro, New Hampshire, and they have one son and one daughter: Ralph, who is a student at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; and Emily, now a high school student in Lawrence.
HARRY RHEESE LAWRENCE is a self-made man of the sort that is the life blood of a com- munity. The fact of being self-made may mean little, as the job done may be the work of a poor artisan; but when one, having simply the advantages of a public school training, so educates himself as to be fitted to teach in the schools of his youth, when a boy, who has no high school preparation, yet prepares himself for a university graduation and degree, and when a man, by sheer grit and persevering use of his own native ability, becomes a distinguished lawyer, a leader of men, a power for uplift and good fellowship throughout a State, then esteem and honor must be, and is, given to this self-made man.
Mr. Lawrence had a father of whom he may be justly proud and from whose life no doubt he drew inspiration in his own career. His mother, Mary Farwell (Patterson) Lawrence, who was born in South Merrimack, New Hampshire, and died in 1915, was one of those fine homelovers whose quiet influence means so much in the lives of their chil- dren. His father, Charles Alva Lawrence, born in Claremont, New Hampshire, August 9, 1829, and dying in 1894, was interested in the photographic profession in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was a well known veteran of the Civil War, having en- listed at its very beginning in the Seventh New Hampshire Infantry. He saw active service almost from his enlistment, for the regiment was hurried into line and Mr. Lawrence fought in the major- ity of the great battles of the war. He rose step by ste pto the rank of captain, and how dashing a leader of his men he was, may be judged from the fact that the most noted possession of Needham Post, No. 39, Grand Army of the Republic, of the city, is the enemy flag taken by Mr. Lawrence at the time of the assault at Wagner. On the far south battlefield of Olustee, Florida, he was in command of the regiment that covered the Union retreat, having less than fifty men of his own regi- ment when he got in that night. Before Peters- burg, he received a wound in his left hand that nearly incapacitated him. Recovering, however, he was in until the end, being mustered out at Con- cord, New Hampshire, in 1866, Captain of Company D, 7th New Hampshire Infantry. He was also wounded on two other occasions.
Harry Rheese Lawrence was born at Nashua, New Hampshire, November 18, 1873, and received his schooling in the public schools of Lawrence. The greater part of his education, however, was
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the self-taught one that came later. To such good end did he educate himself, that from 1897 to 1900 he was a teacher in the evening schools of his city. From 1894 to October, 1897, he was con- nected with the editorial department of the Law- rence "Sun," and continued with that paper until 1901. Meanwhile he was making ready for his real aim in life, that of practicing law, and the year 1897 found him in Boston University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1900. Admitted to the Bar at Boston in 1900, he opened an office in Lawrence, Massachu- setts, the same year, later changing his offices to the Bay State building. Mr. Lawrence, in the years that followed, built for himself a constantly en- larging practice by his many-sided abilities, his strict integrity and conscientious devotion to the cause of his clients.
He is a member of the Bar associations of Essex county and Lawrence. Mr. Lawrence is well known throughout the State by reason of his interest in the Knights of Pythias. He is not only a member of the Black Prince Lodge, but is grand chancellor for that organization for the State of Massachu- setts. This is not, however, the limit of his fra- ternal interests as he belongs to Phoenician Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Mt. Sinai Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Lawrence Council, Royal and Select Masters; Bethany Commandery, Knights Templar; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Some of his other memberships are in The Home Club and the Lawrence British Society. He was chair- man of Republican City Commission for a year, was a member for a number of years, and also served as its secretary. He also served on the commis- sion to assess taxes on the Essex county dam-the first time it was ever taxed. He with his family are members of the Baptist church. During the World War he served on the legal advisory board and did the work of a stalwart as one of the famous "four-minute" speakers who did so much to give, and make clear, truths and facts needed by the people.
In 1908 Mr. Lawrence married Cora B. Smith, daughter of Charles Henry and Clara Belle (Knowles) Smith. All are natives of Lawrence and for many years Mr. Smith has been in the express business there.
ARTHUR DEXTER FOWLER, of Salem, Massa- chusetts, whose law practice is demanding constant attention, was born in Salem, September 26, 1897, and is a son of Arthur B. and Carrie (Ashby) Fow- ler.
Receiving his early education in the public schools of his native city, he was graduated from the Salem High School in the class of 1915, then entered Bos- ton University, from which institution he was grad- uated in 1918, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar in 1919, he immediately there- after became associated with Hannigan & Fox, a prominent firm of attorneys in Boston, in the prac- tice of law, with offices at Barristers Hall, later,
however, taking up practice in Salem, at No. 2561% Essex street, the firm name being Coffey & Fowler.
In May, 1918, Mr. Fowler enlisted in the United States navy, receiving his discharge before the end of the same year. He was stationed on Submarine Patrol Boat No. 581.
Mr. Fowler is a member of Essex Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and of the Now and Then Club, of Salem. He finds his favorite relaxation in music, and his religious faith is the Universalist.
HARRY B. THOMAS-One of the leading manu- facturers of shoes in the great shoe center of Lynn, Massachusetts, is Harry B. Thomas, of the widely- known firm of V. K. & I. H. Jones & Thomas Com- pany.
Mr. Thomas was born in Haverhill, Massachu- setts, September 24, 1876, and is a son of John H. and Mary (Tyler) Thomas, long residents of that city.
Gaining a practical education in the public schools of his native place, and the English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Thomas chose the shoe industry as his field of endeavor, and started to learn the business. He was employed first as office boy in a shoe factory, then went into the packing department, and one after another mastered the problems of each department by the method of ac- tually handling the work. Thereafter, he spent ten years as a shoe salesman, following this experi- ence with fifteen years in association with the A. E. Little Company, having been a director in this com- pany.
With this comprehensive and thorough training Mr. Thomas became a member of the present firm in 1920, and is taking an active part in the man- agement of the long established and constantly growing business.
In fraternal circles Mr. Thomas is prominent, be- ing a member of many bodies of the Masonic order. He is also a member of the Swampscott Masonic Club. His religious convictions place his member- ship with the Universalist church.
On June 16, 1902, Mr. Thomas married Ruth A. Medlar, daughter of James and Elizabeth Medlar, of Rockford, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have three children: Russell P., born August 16, 1906; Norman C., born February 8, 1910; and Harriet, born February 7, 1914.
CHARLES SUMNER BATCHELDER --- Work- ing up to a position of broad responsibility in the financial world of Peabody, Massachusetts, Charles Sumner Batchelder has become one of the solid men in the banking field, and a leading citizen of this town.
Mr. Batchelder is a son of Cyrus Tucker and Clarissa Batchelder, long residents of Essex county. He was born on May 22, 1858, and received a prac- tical education in the public schools of Salem, his birthplace. Looking forward to a business career since early boyhood, he started life as clerk at the Warren National Bank of Peabody. He entered the
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employ of this institution in 1874, when only six- teen years of age, and is now cashier of this bank.
Thus briefly is a life-history outlined, but in such a review the sterling qualities which go into the structure of success may not always be set forth in detailed estimate. Tenacity of purpose, clarity of judgment, tireless industry, unimpeachable integ- rity, all these are the elements of success by which the ambitious youth achieves a position of honor and trust, and as a man of mature years, holds the respect and esteem of his associates and the public at large. Since 1905 cashier of the Warren Na- tional Bank, the institution in which he has spent his lifetime, Mr. Batchelder is looked upon in Pea- body as one of the leading financiers of the day. As such he was some years ago elected director of the Peabody Co-Operative Bank, one of the most progressive institutions of this nature in Essex county.
In fraternal circles Mr. Batchelder is well known. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Batchelder married Mabel S. Pierce, daugh- ter of George and Almira G. Pierce, of Peabody. Mr. and Mrs. Batchelder have four children, two sons and two daughters: Arthur P., now a certi- fled public accountant, of Boston; Alice, the wife of Tracy Thomas, wholesale produce dealer of Lynn, their two children being Ruth and Charles Batchel- der; Harold Porter, now in the employ of the Gor- ham Manufacturing Company, of Providence, Rhode Island; and Ruth, at home.
JAMES KIRTLAND SELDEN was born on Jan- uary 1, 1894, at Lawrence, Massachusetts, and is a son of George Lord Selden, the founder of the Sel- den Worsted Mills, and Mabel (Kidder) Selden. George Lord Selden was born at Hadlyme, Connec- ticut, on August 12, 1845. He served as an officer of the United States navy for a period of six years. Upon his retirement from the navy he became as- sociated with the management of the Amoskeag Mills at Manchester, New Hampshire. He later be- came connected with the Arlington Mills as super- intendent of the worsted department, and in 1903 established the Selden plant at Methuen, Massachu- setts, for the manufacture of high grade worsted cloth. He died at Andover in 1919. He was a meni- ber of the Masonic order at Norwich, Connecticut, and a member of the Army and Navy Club of New York City.
James Kirtland Selden received his early educa- tion in the public schools of Massachusetts. He proceeded to Phillips Academy at Andover, and from there to Harvard University. He graduated from Harvardd in 1916, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After leaving the university Mr. Selden joined the First Massachusetts National Guard. In 1916 he enlisted in the Fifth Field Artillery, United States army, and was sent to the Mexican border, where he served under General Pershing. When his service in the artillery came to an end he spent a year at the Lowell Textile School. During the
World War, he served as an instructor in the Army Aviation Corps for two years. He was assigned to duty in the United States, and was not sent over- seas.
In 1918 Mr. Selden became connected with the Selden Worsted Mills, of which he became treasurer shortly afterwards, and also takes an active part in the management of its affairs. Mr. Selden is a member of the American Legion; and St. Matthews Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Andover. Mr. Selden married Ann Holton Everett, daughter of Edward Everett, of Bennington, Vermont.
JOHN P. STEVENS-Among the leading shoe manufacturers of Massachusetts must be included John P. Stevens, of the firm of Burley & Stevens, of Newburyport, the plant of which company finds employment for about four hundred of the people of that place, and which plant is distinctive for an- other reason. In addition to, or perhaps because of, its being one of the most modern factories in New England, it is stated that the working condi- tions therein cannot be surpassed by those of any other shoe factory in Essex county, light and air and congenial working conditions being the aim of the management and extreme cleanliness the motto of all employees at the Burley & Stevens plant.
Mr. Stevens was born in Peabody, Massachusetts, on June 8, 1867, son of Jacob B. and Elizabeth S. (Burley) Stevens, both of Wakefield, New Hamp- shire. The father was a farmer, and died in 1917, but the mother is still living.
John P. Stevens spent his early life in Peabody, there attending elementary school, and later enter- ing Dummer Academy for a period of two years. Soon thereafter he found employment in the shoe factory of his uncle. The plant was originally at Milton, New Hampshire, and when established was a partnership, the trading name being Burley & Usher. After Mr. Usher withdrew the firm name became Burley & Stevens. Mr. Stevens was ad- mitted into the firm in 1890, and the plant was then removed to Newburyport. In 1906 the company was reorganized, then taking corporate powers, Mr. Burley becoming president and Mr. Stevens treas- urer. Thus constituted, the company continued op- erations until 1909, when Mr. Burley died. His place as president of the company was taken by Jacob B. Stevens, father of John P. Stevens. A further change became necessary eight years later, in 1917, when Jacob B. Stevens died. The elections then made have held to the present, John P. Ste- vens being president and treasurer; Charles A. Morin, vice-president; and George N. Foster, assist- ant treasurer and secretary.
The plant is one of the largest in Essex county, having a capacity production of 3,500 pairs of shoes a day and an estimated floor space of 100,000 square feet. The company specializes in men's and girls' welt shoes, and, as before stated, the condi- tions that prevail between employers and employees at that factory are as co-operative and congenial as they can be made.
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George R. Leden
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Mr. Stevens has given clear indication that he is a business man of enterprise and ability, and of late years his place as a capitalist has brought him into connection with several other enterprises. He is a director of the First National Bank of New- buryport, and of the following named Boston com- panies: The Cotton and Woolen Mutual Insurance Company; the Industrial Mutual Insurance Com- pany; and the Rubber Manufacturing Company. Fraternally he is a Mason, a member of all bodies up to and including the Shrine.
Mr. Stevens gives close attention to business af- fairs, but he nevertheless finds time to devote to other matters. His main hobby is the breeding of blooded cattle. He owns a valuable herd, and finds pleasure in following that hobby. The incentive probably came to him from his father, who years ago was a well known cattle dealer.
GEORGE N. FOSTER has for more than twenty- five years been responsibly connected with a lead- ing shoe manufacturing concern of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and has made many friends in that place.
Mr. Foster was born on December 18, 1863, at Gloucester, Massachusetts, the son of John F. and Mary A. (Norris) Foster, of that town, and his genealogy connects with the famous Foster family of that seafaring center.
John F. Foster, father of George N. Foster, was also a man of worthy Civil War record. Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he naturally followed maritime occupations, both before and after the Civil War. He was a captain of a Gloucester ves- sel for many years prior to his death, which came in 1886. Since the battle of Fredericksburg, in 1862, he had to get along as well as he could with only one arm, his right arm being amputated at the shoulder soon after that battle. He was wounded while valiantly stepping into the breach to act as color bearer in place of the regimental bearer, who had turned up missing. In later life he was well known and esteemed in Gloucester, and he and his wife were the parents of eight children, seven of whom were sons, George N. being the sixth-born. Their mother survived her husband for more than thirty years, death not coming until 1918.
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George N. Foster was educated in the public schools of Gloucester. After leaving school, how- ever, he seems to have had no inclination for the sea. For four years after leaving school he worked for Preston Friend, a grocer of Gloucester, after which he went to Brockton, Massachusetts, and en- tered a shoe factory. There for a year he worked for Howard Rainolds, and for two years for W. L. 'Douglas. For a further two years he was foreman in the plant of F. M. Hoyt, at Raymond, New Hampshire. After a year as foreman for N. B. Thayer, at Milton, New Hampshire, he came to Newburyport. That was in 1895, and he has ro- mained in the town ever since, being associated for the whole of the time with the firm of Burley & Stevens (see preceding sketch of John P. Stevens),
first as foreman, later as superintendent, and even- tually as secretary and assistant treasurer, which are his present capacities. He is a man of strong reliability, and has many firm friends among those who know him well. He does not enter much into public affairs, but he is identified with a couple of fraternal orders, the Ancient Order of United Work- men, and the Knights of Pythias.
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