USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
The public schools and St. John's Military Academy were the sources of Mr. Straker's early education, and at a very early age his aptitude for mechanical work was apparent. His first position was with the Massey and Sawyer Company, in Manitoba, Canada, and in 1898 he removed to North Andover, Massachusetts, where he was assistant master mechanic of the Suttons Mills. After four years he went to Lowell, as engineer of the Lowell Machine Company, remaining for five years.
For three years, from 1909 to 1912, Mr. Straker con- ducted a school for instruction in steam engineering, a subject on which he is a widely known authority, and he
has written several articles on the subject. His school was in Lowell, and he had 450 pupils enrolled; he con- tinued very successful for three years, but then dis- continued the school owing to ill health, finding it imper- ative to retire from active business for a long period. Many of the former pupils of this school have achieved recognition for their work in various parts of the county and Mr. Straker takes much pride in their suc- cess.
After recovering his health, Mr. Straker went to Plymouth, Massachusetts, and there obtained a position as master mechanic of the Standish Worsted Company, and in 1917 came to Methuen, where he accepted the position which he now holds. There is perhaps no man in Essex county better informed on his subject than Mr. Straker, and many of the articles which he writes are published in the technical magazines. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Loyal Order of Moose, and the National and International Association of Engineers.
Mr. Straker married, December 25, 1910, Agnes Ruth Murray, of Quebec, Canada, and they are the parents of a son, Camplin Murray Straker, born December 5, 1919.
JAMES E. SUTCLIFFE, who ranks as the second largest manufacturer of leather heels in Lynn and who during the World War was a United States Government contractor, was born in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England, on December 5, 1866, son of Joseph and Sarah C. (Hors- fall) Sutcliffe, the former a corduroy manufacturer in England, where he died in 1891, and his widow in the following year.
James E. Sutcliffe did not come to the United States until he was about twenty-one years old. He was edu- cated in English public schools, and crossed to this country in 1887. He settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, and for thirty-two years was in the employ of local firms, serving Rice & Hutchins, Littlefield & Moulton, Joseph Conant, Winch Brothers, and for each of these manufacturers he was for some time superintendent of their factory. On January 1, 1919, he became owner of the manufactur- ing business formerly conducted at No. 2 Box' Place (commonly known as Lucky Lane), Lynn, by the firm of Kenney & Besant. He stayed there, however, only a short time, for its quarters were altogether too small for his business, which grew very rapidly. He found more commodious quarters at No. 41 Wyman street, and he bought the building there situated. He quickly adapted it to his purposes, and installed fifty drying machines, or double the number he had been able to find room for in the old factory. Mr. Sutcliffe specializes in leather heels, and his new factory has a capacity of 30,000 heels a day. Altogether the plant nses 19,000 square feet of floor space, and the factory finds employment for forty per- sons, Mr. Sutcliffe fortunately being able to avoid labor troubles by drawing his help from the community, which plan effects an appreciable saving to the workers in car- fare, the saving giving them a higher rating than down- town factory hands have. Mr. Sutcliffe's operations are governed by a very effective motto "Quality Counts," and in consequence his product is not difficult to sell. It is said that no jobbers ever visit his plant, and during and immediately succeeding the World War Mr. Sutcliffe
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
John W. alexander
359
BIOGRAPHICAL
had more business almost than he could cope with. He had a large export trade, and made a large number of heels for United States soldiers.
Before coming to this country, Mr. Sutcliffe served for three years in the Volunteer branch of the British army, and, as will later herein be noted, two of his sons were in the United States service during the World War.
Mr. Sutcliffe married, in 1895, Sadie Caroline Cough- lin, of Prince Edward Island. She was the daughter of John and Caroline (MacWilliams) Coughlin. Her father was a sea captain, and later a farmer on Prince Edward Island, where he died in 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Sutcliffe have four children: Young Edward, who was born in 1895; Dean Cooper, who was born in 1898; Gladys Caroline, born in 1901; and Katharine Goodale, born in 1906. The elder son, Young Edward, was in the United States Naval Aviation Corps during the World War. He enlisted on January 5, 1918, and was sent to Charles- ton, South Carolina, and transferred from there to the Naval Observatory at Washington, D. C., later going to Key West, Florida, where he was stationed at the close of the war. He was honorably discharged in December, 1918, having then the grade of quartermaster. The other son, Dean Cooper, was accepted into the United States armed forces, but was not assigned to duty until the day of the Armistice, November 1I, 1918. The elder daugh- ter, Gladys C., has shown very promising talent as a vocalist. As a soprano soloist she is coming into inereas- ing notice, and in October, 1921, made her debut on the concert platform.
JOHN W. ALEXANDER, one of the most promi- nent officials in the mill industry in Lawrence, Massachu- setts, and also a leading citizen of that city, is highly esteemed among his contemporaries. He was born June 30, 1871, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of John Alex- ander, a native of Fifeshire, Scotland, where he was engaged in manufacturing, and where he died in 1901, aged about sixty-six years. The mother of John W., Elizabeth (Walker) Alexander, died in Fifeshire, Scot- land, in 1894.
Mr. Alexander attended school in Scotland, and when he was eighteen years old, came to the United States. Through association with his father he had acquired some experience in manufacturing lines, and naturally sought similar work in America. His first employment was in New Bedford, for Fales & Jenks, of Pawtucket, as an erector of textile machinery. While there he attended the textile school. From there he went to Fitchburg and spent ten years as a loom-fixer with the Parkhill Manu- facturing Company, thence removing to several other towns in Massachusetts, working as overseer and super- intendent of weaving. In Easthampton, Massachusetts, he worked for a firm, the first in America to weave tire fabric, and Mr. Alexander had a responsible part in this initial production. This industry has now extended throughout the country, and is one of the important industries of Massachusetts. Mr. Alexander continued as superintendent of this plant until 1914, in which year he was offered the superintendency of the Katama Mills of Lawrence, which position he accepted, also being made agent of those mills, the product is tire fabric. For almost eight years he has been located in the latter city
and during this time has won a high place in the esteem of the leading business men there.
Mr. Alexander has that personality that makes him a born leader of men; he makes friends very easily and what is still better, he has the ability to hold friendship. On an average there are 450 men in his employ, and during normal conditions more than 160,000 pounds of cotton pass through the mills each week.
During the Soudan War Mr. Alexander felt the call of duty, and served four years in the service of the British army, as a member of the renowned Black Watch. He is a member of several fraternal organizations, among them being Ionic Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Easthampton ; Massachusetts Consistory; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston. He is also a member of the Man- chester Unity of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Northampton, Massachusetts; and the Scottish Clan Leslie, of Fitchburg. From boyhood Mr. Alexander has been interested in music, and studied voice culture in Edinburgh. He has a bass voice, and has sung in choirs in all the cities he lived in prior to coming to Lawrence.
Mr. Alexander married, in 1895, Isabella K. Hay, of Scotland, daughter of John and Jeanette (Dalgleish) Hay, of that place, and they are the parents of four chil- dren : Janet J., Hope C., William H. and Hazel I. Mr. Alexander and his family attend the Methodist church of Lawrence.
LAURENCE USHER FULLER-Prominent in the insurance world of Lynn, Massachusetts, Mr. Fuller is taking a very practical part in the general advance of Essex county. Mr. Fuller is a son of Charles S. and Addie G. (Usher) Fuller, his father having been for many years a leading shoe manufacturer in this city.
Laurence Usher Fuller was born in Lynn, Massachu- setts, March 31, 1881, and received his early education in the public schools of the city. Taking a preparatory course in the Haverford Preparatory School of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, he entered the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology, where he studied for two years. His first employment was in an apprentice course with the General Electric Company, of Lynn, then he became associated with his father as assistant in the office of the shoe factory in Salem, and continued there until his father's death. The concern was then reorganized, and Mr. Fuller withdrew his interest, forming an association with Fred H. Vickary, in the insurance business in Lynn. This is known as the Thos. B. Knight Company, and has become a very successful and influential concern.
Mr. Fuller is broadly interested in civic affairs, but has never found time to accept public office. He is a member of the Oxford Club, and of the Unitarian church.
On June 30, 1915, Mr. Fuller married Anabel Ingalls, daughter of Charles F. and Helen (Kimball) Ingalls.
WILLIAM H. FRANKLIN, JR., master plumber of Merrimac, Massachusetts, has lived in that place and Haverhill for the greater part of his life. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, October 29, 1888, son of Wil- liam H. and Margaret (Myers) Franklin, both natives of New York City, the former born in September, 1862. Indeed, the Franklin family is an old New York City
360
ESSEX COUNTY
family, Thomas Franklin, grandfather of William H., Jr., also having been born there. He was a marine engineer, and as such served in the United States Navy during the Civil War. His sons were Cherry and William H. The latter was a brassworker, and for some years after he had married Miss Margaret Myers, lived in Brooklyn. Eventually, however, the family came to Merrimac, Mas- sachusetts, which was thereafter the place of abode of the Franklins. The children of William H. and Margaret (Myers) Franklin are: William H., Jr., the subject of this sketch; George Edward, born in Brooklyn, January 24, 1891 ; and Walter, born in Merrimac, Massachusetts, in June, 1905. The parents are still living, and are respected citizens of Merrimac. They are Congrega- tionalists.
William H. Franklin was reared in Brooklyn, and there attended elementary school. Before he had passed out of the graded school, however, the family moved to Merrimac, and there the son continued his education, passing from the graded to the high schools. After leav- ing school, he began to earn money as a minor employee of the New York City brokerage firm of Thomas Denny & Company. He remained in New York in that line of business for about two years, then coming to Haverhill. The next fourteen years of his life were spent in the employ of O. F. Bennett, plumber, of Haverhill. Under him he learned that trade which he has held to ever since. After fourteen years with Mr. Bennett, he went to Worcester, Massachusetts, where for a year he worked for the Tucker Rice Company. He then went to Squan- tum, Massachusetts, where he worked at his trade in the shipyard of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Company for about a year. In 1919 he returned to Haverhill, and for twelve months or so found employment with the Murphy Company. In 1920, he resolved to enter into business for himself in Merrimac. He now has a good plumbing and steam fitting business and has good prospects of develop- ing it substantially.
Mr. Franklin served one enlistment in the Sixteenth Regiment of the Massachusetts State Guard, belonging to Company D, and rising to the grade of sergeant. He is a member of the Massachusetts Master Plumbers' Asso- ciation. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic and American Mechanics orders, being master of the Bethany Lodge of Merrimac, of the former. In religious faith, he is a Congregationalist.
Mr. Franklin was married, at Merrimac, Massachu- setts, May 29, 1910, to Mabel Ella Pease, born there May 20, 1892, daughter of John Thomas Pease, carriage maker. They have four children: William H. (3), born October 28, 1911 ; Helen Edith, born May 20, 1913; Charlotte Christina, born November 25, 1914; and John Thomas, born December 5, 1919.
FRANK C. NEWHALL-In the civic annals of the town of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, for several genera- tions past the name of Newhall is somewhat frequently encountered. The Newhall family is one of the oldest in Lynnfield, and Frank C. Newhall is one of the promi- nent citizens of this generation. He has served as select- man, as a member of the Board of Health, as a forest warden, and as an overseer of the poor. His father was a selectman and road commissioner for twenty-five years.
Frank Chandler Newhall was born in Lynnfield, October 29, 1879, son of Frank and Urilda J. (Putnam) Newhall. His father was a farmer, and his mother belonged to a South Danvers family, one of the noted Colonial New England families. Both parents are still living.
Frank C. Newhall, as a boy, attended the Lynnfield public schools, and later entered the Peahody High School, after graduating from which he took the course at the Salem Commercial School. He was thus well equipped for commercial business. However, for a while, he stayed with his father, and helped him in the work of the farm. Soon, however, he began to work up a milk route, and from that early enterprise has grown his present substantial milk business in Lynnfield.
He has always manifested much interest in the public affairs and general prosperity of his native place, and has been quite ready to take a part in the responsibilities of the town administration. He is popular in Lynnfield, and, as before stated, is a selectman, and has undertaken other public duties. He is also an active member of the local Grange.
Mr. Newhall married, in 1901, Ethel M. Kelly, of Lynn, daughter of Daniel N. and Susan F. (Wells) Kelly, the former a shoe manufacturer of Danvers, who died in 1910, and the mother, who still lives, is of Lynn. Mr. and Mrs. Newhall have two children: Albert F., born in 1902; and Eleanor F., born in 1910.
WILLIAM H. COLBERT-Now just at the prime of his powers, Mr. Colbert, a native son, reviews a half century of life spent in Salem, Massachusetts, his present home. He began as a boy of twelve in a shoe factory and for nearly forty years has made his own way. He was a lad of fourteen when he began with the Philadel- phia & Reading Coal and Iron Company, and from that time until the present, 1921, he has been engaged in the coal business.
John Colbert, of County Cork, Ireland, came to the United States in boyhood and found a home in Salem, Massachusetts. Later he entered the service of the old Eastern railroad and continued in that employ until his death. He married Hannah O'Leary, also born in County Cork.
William H. Colbert, son of John and Hannah (O'Leary) Colbert, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, December 14, 1870, and there was educated in the public schools. He began his wage-earning career in a Salem shoe factory, but two years later, entered the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Company in Salem, beginning at the bottom of the ladder and contin- uing in ever-increasing position of responsibility until becoming foreman of the coal pockets. He continued with that company fifteen years, until 1899, having entered their employ when a boy of fourteen, as water boy. In his upward rise he was for a time engineer of one of the coal hoisting engines, but the greater part of his term was as foreman. This experience in handling coal so familiarized him with the business that in 1899 he decided to go into the retail coal business for himself.
Mr. Colbert formed a partnership with his brother, Dennis W. Colbert, and in 1899 they opened a retail coal yard, trading as the Colbert Brothers Coal Company, of
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
Frederick W. Kennedy
361
BIOGRAPHICAL
Salem. They conducted a very successful business for fifteen years, William H. Colbert buying his brother's interest in 1914 and continuing the business alone, but under the old name, Colbert Brothers. He is well known in the city and has won an honorable position among Salem business men.
From 1900 until 1903 Mr. Colbert represented his ward in the Common Council. In 1905 he was elected alderman and served through reelections until 1914. He is a member of the Salem Chamber of Commerce; Salem Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Cath- olic Order of Foresters; John Bertram Lodge, United Order of American Workmen; and the Enterprise Social Club. In religious faith he is a Catholic, a member of Immaculate Conception Church.
Mr. Colbert married, in 1895, Margaret S. Callahan, of Salem, and they are the parents of two daughters : Helena M., who is in charge of the bookkeeping depart- ment of Colbert Brothers Coal Company ; and Anna M.
ALBERT E. SIMPSON-With long experience in his chosen field of endeavor, Mr. Simpson, of Lynn, Mas- sachusetts, has worked his way up from the beginning to membership in the firm with which he has been con- nected for upwards of fourteen years.
Albert E. Simpson was born in Leicester, England, in 1879, and is a son of Edwin Simpson, a native of that city, who has been engaged in the shoe industry there all his life.
Receiving his education in the schools of Leicester, with a supplementary course at the Workmens' Col- lege, he began life in the shoe factories of Leicester, remaining there until 1907, when he came to this country. Locating in Lynn, he entered the employ of A. R. King & Company, of Lynn, but after about six months left this firm and became associated with Williams & Clarke. For another six months he was employed here, then entered the factory of H. W. Whitcomb & Company, of which he is now part owner. As Mr. Simpson was con- nected with the Walker, Kempson & Stevens Company, Ltd., of Leicester, England, as shoe designer, he was especially fitted to take up the responsibilities of the Whitcomb factory, in the manufacture of patterns. Eventually, in 1915, Mr. Simpson became part owner of the business.
The Whitcomb Pattern Company was founded in 1886 by Henry W. Whitcomb, who is known in the shoe indus- try from coast to coast as one of the leading designers of the country, and his patterns have been in universal demand in the United States for many years, and also in several foreign countries.
As the Whitcomb Pattern Company, Inc., Mr. Simp- son, in association with Fred L. Foster, whose life is reviewed elsewhere in this work, is carrying forward this important industry. Mr. Foster is president of the com- pany, and Mr. Simpson is treasurer. The high standard of excellence set by Mr. Whitcomb is still the measure of achievement for the present corporation.
Mr. Simpson is a member of the Lynn Chamber of Commerce. In public matters he is deeply interested, and was an active member of the soliciting committee during the Liberty Loan drives. He is a member of Golden Fleece Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Lynn.
In September, 1917, Mr. Simpson married Gertrude M. Whiston, of Chicago, Illinois, and they have one dangh- ter, Josephine Mary.
FREDERICK W. KENNEDY was born at Pas- coag, Rhode Island, on October 29, 1870, and is a son of Frederick and Charlotte ( Maher) Kennedy. His father was born in County Cork, Ireland, and died in Harrisville, Rhode Island, in 1909, aged about seventy- five years. He came to America with his wife and located in Rhode Island, where he was employed in the textile mills until his death. Mr. Kennedy's mother, who was also born in Ireland, is still living in Harrisville, Rhode Island.
Frederick W. Kennedy received his early education in the public schools of Pascoag and after having completed his studies, obtained employment with William Tinkahn & Company, of Harrisville, Rhode Island, where he worked in the pattern department. He was steadily pro- moted by the management of the company until, when he finally left the service of the firm in 1910, he held the position of designer. In 1911 he moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and entered the service of the United States Worsted Company. He has remained there ever since and at present holds the position of designer for that company.
Mr. Kennedy is a Catholic, a member of Saint Patrick's Catholic Church at Lawrence. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Foresters of America, and of the Lawrence British Club. In politics he is a Republican.
Mr. Kennedy married, in 1901, Estelle A. Mack, daugh- ter of James H. Mack, of Mapleville, Rhode Island. Mrs. Kennedy was born at Mapleville, on November 24, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy have five children : Frederick J., Raymond E., Marion A., Ambrose J., and Justine M. Kennedy.
GEORGE E. LANE-For thirty-three years, 1886- 1919, George W. Lane was engaged in the retail coal business in Salem, Massachusetts, having purchased, in 1886, the business of Augustus T. Brooks, of Salem. From that year until 1900 he conducted it as the George W. Lane Company, but in the latter year he admitted his son, George E. Lane, as a partner, and they carried on the business under the firm name of George W. Lane & Son. George W. Lane passed away in March, 1919, at the great age of ninety, having been born January 5, 1829, in Hampton, New Hampshire. From youth until 1886 he was a resident of Hampton, but in that year he came to Salem, Massachusetts, where he was engaged as a retail coal dealer until his death. He married Mary F. Towle, of Hampton, New Hampshire, and they were the parents of George E. Lane, of further mention.
George E. Lane was born in Hampton, New Hamp- shire, March 20, 1859, and there was educated in the public schools. After leaving school he went West, where he was engaged in mercantile life. He continued in that line until the year 1900, when he was admitted to a partnership in the retail coal business in Salem with his father, under the firm name of George W. Lane & Son. For nineteen years father and son continued in business, the son, however, carrying the heavier burden of man- agement, for the father was an old man, although an
362
ESSEX COUNTY
unusually active one for his years. Since the death of George W. Lane, in 1919, the son, George E. Lane, has conducted the business alone.
George E. Lane is a member of the Masonie order and the Masonic Club of Salem; member of the Salem Chamber of Commerce; and attends the Methodist Epis- copal church of Salem. Mr. Lane married, in 1888, Cora A. Woodward, of Nebraska, and they are the parents of five children: Mary, married Charles A. Whipple, of Salem; George W. (2), married Beatrice Scarlett, of Salem; Sarah F., Leon W., and Lucille M. The family are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church of Salem.
WELLINGTON F. ROGERS-Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Mr. Rogers became a resident of Marble- head, Massachusetts, in 1897, and there has since resided, his position, chief engineer of the Marblehead Building Association. He is a son of Tristram and Martha (Woodman) Rogers, his father a shoe manufacturer, born in Byfield, Massachusetts, his mother born in Frankfort, Maine. Tristram and Martha (Woodman) Rogers were the parents of four children: Wellington F., of further mention; Madeline, died in Providence, Rhode Island; Everett Elmer, who also died in Provi- dence; and Cora G., deceased.
Wellington F. Rogers was born in Salem, Massachu- setts, June 8, 1856, but received his education in the public schools of Lynn, Massachusetts, where his father was engaged as a shoe manufacturer. After completing his school years, he became a machinist, been continuously in service on both land and sea. He is an expert machinist, and a competent engineer, his present engage- ment being with the Marblehead Building Association, a position he has held since 1897.
During his youthful years of manhood Mr. Rogers served four years as a private of Company I, National Guard, of Lynn, Massachusetts. He was chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias, 1908-1919; com- mander of the Marblehead Post, Sons of Veterans, 1917- 1921; and is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.