USA > Massachusetts > One of a thousand, a series of biographical sketches of one thousand representative men resident in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, A.D. 1888-'89; > Part 100
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He began business as a chair manufac- turer, in 1865, with a capital of three hun- dred dollars, and has continued throughout his life in the same business, at the pres- ent time manufacturing four hundred thou- sand chairs a year, at a wholesale value of three hundred and twenty thousand dol- lars. The factory is situated at South Ashburnham, where two hundred hands are employed, and two hundred and fifty prisoners are constantly occupied in the same business.
On the 17th of July, 1866, Mr. Whitney married Emeline S., daughter of Dexter and Sarah (Mower) Jewell, of Jaffrey, N. H. Their children are : Oscar J., born January 22, 1871, Celena M., Luella C., Ethel E., and Edith L. Whitney. Their son, Oscar, died January 2, 1886.
Mr. Whitney was elected a member of the House of Representatives in 1875. He is a director in the Ashburnham National Bank, trustee of the Cushing Academy, and member of the committee on educa- tion. In religious associations he has always been an active and earnest Meth- odist.
His present residence is at Ashburnham, where he holds an enviable reputation as a man who has always been successful in business. Politically he has been a strong adherent of the Greenback party, and is a vigorous and enthusiastic Prohibitionist.
WHITON, STARKES, son of Moses and Ann (Stoddard) Whiton, was born in Hingham, Plymouth county, April 11, 1829, and is a direct descendant in the seventh generation of James Whiton, who settled in Hingham in 1647. His ancestors have always been referred to by historians as men of excellent character, upright and industrious, enjoying the confidence and respect of their townsmen.
He attended the common schools of his native place, then Derby Academy from
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1839 to '45, when his first connection in business was made by entering the whole- sale dry-goods business as a " boy " for Charles Arnold & Co , Boston.
In 1852 he took the position of clerk in the Boston office of Brown Brothers & Co., New York bankers. In 1870 he became the treasurer and agent of the Boston & Hingham Steamboat Company ; was state senator from the 2d Plymouth district in 1880 and '81, and in 1885 was appointed chairman of the state board of gas com- missioners. He was afterwards appointed a commissioner of savings banks for the Commonwealth, which position he still holds.
Mr. Whiton was married in Hingham, December 13, 1870, to Helen, daughter of David and Adeline (Sprague) Thomas. Of this union were three children : Chauncey Gilbert, David Thomas, and Herbert Starkes Whiton.
His church connections are with the First parish, of which he is a working member.
He was chairman of the board of audi- tors for the town of Hingham while the board existed, 1876 to '82, and at the last annual meeting was again elected to that position. He is clerk, treasurer, and direct- or of the Hingham Water Company, and was treasurer of the Hingham Agricul- tural and Horticultural Society for eight years.
Mr. Whiton's grandfather served in the war of the revolution under Gen. Stark, and named one of his twin sons " Starkes," in mark of the esteem in which he held his commander, the other twin son being the father of the subject of this sketch.
WHITTIER, CHARLES, son of John Brodhead and Lucy (Graham) Whittier, was born November 26, 1829, in Vienna, Kennebec county, Me. His paternal an- cestor, Thomas Whittier, came to this country from England in 1638, at the age of sixteen, in the ship " Confidence."
Mr. Whittier's early education was drawn from the public schools of Roxbury, principally the Washington grammar school, which he entered when it was dedi- cated in 1841.
In 1846, when seventeen years of age, he apprenticed himself for three years to the firm of Chubbuck & Campbell, machin- ists, Roxbury, the lineal successor of which is the Whittier Machine Company. Dur- ing his apprenticeship he attended for two years the drawing school of the Lowell Institute. On the completion of his ap- prenticeship, he remained with the Grm as
WHITTIER.
a journeyman, and went throughout New England and elsewhere, erecting steam en- gines and machinery. In 1859 he was made superintendent and admitted as a partner to the firm, then changed to Camp- bell, Whittier & Co. (Mr. Chubbuck retir- ing). Mr. Whittier is now president of the well-known Whittier Machine Company, which was incorporated in 1874 as the suc- cessor to this large and important industry. The main works, partly in Roxbury, partly in South Boston, comprise very large and unusually fine plants in the line of foundry and machine work, especially adapted to the manufacture of passenger and freight elevators, the successful development of which is very greatly due to the Whittier Machine Company, who have introduced many improvements increasing the safety, speed, and the comfort realized in the use of elevators.
CHARLES WHITTIER.
Mr. Whittier is one of Boston's most prominent business men. He has been for many years an active member of the Mas- sachusetts Charitable Mechanic Associa- tion ; is an executive officer of the Rox- bury Charitable Society ; has been for over thirty-five years a member of the First Universalist society of Roxbury, and for many years a member of the board of trustees of Tufts College.
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WHITTIER.
He was married in Roxbury, June 7, 1855. to Eliza Isabel, eldest daughter of Benjamin F. and Eliza (Everett) Camp- bell. He has no children.
He was elected to the state Senate in 1884, and served one term.
WHITTIER, JOHN GREENLEAF, the son of John and Abigail (Hussey) Whit- tier, was born at Haverhill in the valley of the Merrimack, Essex county, December 17, 1807. He has passed nearly his entire life in the same region, first in the town of Haverhill, and then in Amesbury, some nine miles distant.
He is descended on his father's side from Thomas Whittier, who in the year 1638 came from Southampton, England, to New England, in the ship "Confidence," of London, John Dobson, master. Themother of the poet was a descendant of Christopher Hussey of Hampton, N. H., who married a daughter of Rev. Stephen Bachelor, the first minister in the town.
Mr. Whittier received his early educa- tion at the district school at Haverhill, which he attended twelve weeks in the year. His first schoolmaster was Joshua Coffin, afterwards the historian of Newbury. An old friend and schoolmate of Whittier's says that sometimes, instead of doing sums on his slate at school, he was writing verses, even when a little lad. On leaving the district school, he attended Haverhill Acad- emy for two terms.
It is a well-known matter of record that the reading material that found its way to Farmer Whittier's house consisted of the almanac, the weekly paper, and scarce a score of books and pamphlets- among them "Lindley Murray's Reader."
At the age of eighteen some verses of his were sent to the local weekly paper, " The Newburyport Free Press," of which William Lloyd Garrison was the editor. They were published, much to the delight of the author, being the first time anything of his had appeared in print. Encouraged by his success, this was followed by other poems which attracted the attention of Garrison so strongly that he decided to ride over a distance of fifteen miles, and see his contributor, which he did, telling him that he had power as a writer, and urging him to improve his talents.
His first connection in business was as editor of the " American Manufacturer " in Boston. He was subsequently editor of the "New England Review " at Hartford, Conn .; the "Essex Gazette," Haverhill ; the " Pennsylvania Freeman," Philadel- phia ; the " Middlesex Standard," Lowell,
and the " National Era," Washington, D. C. Mr. Whittier has been a member of the state Legislature, and was chosen as Re- publican presidential elector in 1860 and '64. His religious connections are with the Friends.
He has held the offices of secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society at its formation in 1833 ; overseer of Harvard College, and trustee of Brown University.
His writings are characterized by earn- estness of tone, high moral purpose, and energy of expression. His spirit is that of a sincere and fearless reformer ; and his fervid appeals are the true utterances of a brave and loving heart. He describes
JOHN G. WHITTIER.
natural scenery correctly and beautifully, and a vein of genuine tenderness runs through his nature. He is a true son of New England, and beneath the calm, fraternal bearing of the Quaker, muses the imaginative ardor of a devotee, both of nature and humanity.
Mr. Whittier has been too prolific a writer to allow an enumeration of all the poems that have stirred the patriotic heart, touched the chords of sympathy, or awakened a holy purpose. His first volume was "Legends of New England," in prose and verse, published in Hartford, Conn., in 1831. This was followed in early years by
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occasional pieces, until 1844, when the first English edition of his poetry, entitled " Ballads and Other Poems," was published in London, with an introduction by Elizur Wright. Subsequent editions followed from time to time, containing fresh and choice bits of song, inspired by a patriotic devotion to the Union cause, or born in the quiet repose of the poet's peaceful home. Possibly the most popular of the many poems which have rendered their author most famous, are : " Home Bal- lads," "Snow-Bound," " The Tent on the Beach," "Among the Hills," "Ballads of New England," " Miriam," and the " Poems of Nature." The latest edition of his works, supervised by himself, including the poems of his sister, was published in Boston in 1889.
WIGGIN, JOSEPH FURNALD, son of Joshua and Dorothy (Furnald) Wiggin, was born in Exeter, Rockingham county, N. H., March 30, 1838.
After passing the common schools in Exeter, he spent three years in Phillips
JOSEPH F. WIGGIN.
Academy, Exeter, N. Il., and fitted there for college, expecting to enter Harvard one year in advance. He did not, however, take up a connection with the college, but studied law in the Harvard law school, remaining there one year (1859). He read
WILDER.
law in the office of Hon. William W. Stickney of Exeter, N. H., and was ad- mitted to the bar in Rockingham county in 1862.
He practiced law in Epping, N. H., one year ; removed to Exeter, and practiced there until 18So. He then removed to Malden, where he now resides, practicing law in the city of Boston in connection with B. Marvin Fernald of Melrose.
Mr. Wiggin was married in Milton, July 6, 1868, to Ruth Hurd, daughter of Thomas and Deborah C. (Allen) Hollis. Of this union were ten children, of whom nine are now living : Ruth H., Joseph, Thomas H., Deborah A., Walter, Margaret E., Harry, John H., and Helen Wiggin.
Mr. Wiggin was judge of probate for Rockingham county, N. H., from 1871 to '76. He was appointed in 1877 one of the commissioners to compile and revise the public statutes of the state of New Hamp- shire. He was three years a member of the Malden school board ; was elected mayor of Malden in 1888, was re-elected and is now serving his second term.
WILDER, SALEM, son of Jones and Arethusa (Manning) Wilder, was born in Sterling, Worcester county, January 28, 1823.
He obtained his early education at the common schools, and from 1843 to '45 was at New Ipswich and Hancock, N. H., fit- ting for college. From 1845 to '47 he at- tended the college at Waterville, Me., but did not graduate on account of long con- tinued illness.
In 1865 Mr. Wilder formed a partnership with W. Il. Plummer, as general agents, in Boston, for the sale of sewing machines, and later added to the business the general agency for E. Butterick & Co.'s patterns of garments. In 1876 Mr. Wilder bought out his partner, and still continues the busi- ness, representing the Butterick Publishing Company (limited).
At Nashua, N. H., February 18, 1851. Mr. Wilder married Betsey S., daughter of Edward and Betsey (Stanley) Shaw. Their children are : Lizzie S. (born in 1853, de- ceased in 1881), Clara Arethusa ( born in 1855, deceased in 1858), and Annie S. Wil- der (born in 1858, now living).
In 1869 Mr. Wilder was sent to the state Legislature, where he was instrumental in carrying through important measures af- fecting the fisheries, and took an important part in the temperance legislation of that year.
From youth Mr. Wilder has been fond of the rifle, and has made for himself a
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wide reputation as one of the best shots in the country. His partiality for the rifle was early developed, he at the age of eighteen accomplishing more with the rifle than his companions could with the shot- gun. He has kept pace with the develop- ment of this fire-arm through all its changes from muzzle to breech-loader, adding in-
SALEM WILDER,
genious devices of his own to his favorite weapon, until now at the various matches in which he has carried off many a prize, he stands among the first of those who ex- cel in this fascinating recreation.
In his leisure hours he has also accom- plished much in a literary line, writing sev- eral essays evincing careful research and great thought. These have been well re- ceived by both the press and the general public. His most ambitious work is " Life ; its Nature, Origin and Development." This is an able review and discussion of the much-mooted question respecting the origin of life. The author traverses the entire field of scientific hypothesis, theory, and speculation-ancient and modern-and tests each in turn at its crucial point, show- ing the fallacies of many of them, and their entire lack of facts to support them. His book is one of the very best which the an- tagonism of some modern scientists to a divine revelation has called forth.
WILLARD.
WILLARD, JOSEPH AUGUSTUS, son of Sidney and Elizabeth Anne (Andrews) Willard, was born September 29, 1816, in Cambridge, Middlesex county.
He was educated at Westford Academy, Cambridgeport Latin school, and fitted for college under the tuition at different times of James Freeman Clarke and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Instead of entering college, however, in 1830 he went to sea for eight years, when he returned and continued his studies under his father, who had resigned a professorship at Harvard College.
In 1846 he entered the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas, to assist in the office, and in 1848 was appointed dep- uty sheriff with his other duties. In 1854 he was admitted to the Suffolk bar, and in 1855 was appointed assistant clerk of the superior court of the county of Suffolk. In 1859 he was appointed assistant clerk of the present superior court. In 1865 he
JOSEPH A. WILLARD.
was appointed by the court, clerk of the superior court, to fill a vacancy, and has been elected every term since. This office he still holds, his term expiring in 1892.
On the 5th of September, 1841, in Cam- bridge, Mr. Willard was married to Penel- ope, daughter of Peter and Penelope Cochran. Their children are : Elizabeth Anne, Edward Augustus, Mary Mitchell,
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Penelope Frances, Sidney Faneuil, and Edith Gertrude Willard. Mrs. Willard's great grandmother was Mary Faneuil, the sister of Peter Faneuil.
Mr. Willard is a prominent Mason and a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He is descended from a worthy line of ancestors, who have been prominent in the history of the State for generations. Among them, Joseph and Samuel Willard were each president of Harvard University, in which, also, his father, Sidney Willard, was librarian and professor of Oriental languages and Latin. On his mother's side, his grandmother twice removed was Anne Dudley, more famil- iarly known as Anne Bradstreet, the wife of Governor Simon Bradstreet.
WILLIAMS, FRANKLIN HUBBARD, the son of Oliver and Marian Williams, was born in Sunderland, Franklin county, Feb- ruary 2, 1834.
He received his early education at the district school of his native town, after
FRANKLIN H. WILLIAMS.
which he attended three terms at the Wil- liston Seminary, Easthampton, leaving there in November, 1854.
After traveling two winters in the South, he commenced farming with his father at Sunderland, in the spring of 1856. At the age of twenty-three Mr. Williams took
WILLIAMS.
charge of his father's farm, and upon his decease came into the possession of the property.
He has always taken an active interest in all agricultural subjects, and is one of the most enterprising and progressive farmers of the district. He has been a member of the school board and has held other town offices.
Mr. Williams was married in Sunderland, February 13, 1867, to Jane S. Sanderson, by whom he has four children : Frank O., Arthur Sanderson, Milton Hubbard, and Jennie Maud Williams.
WILLIAMS, JOHN J., son of Michael and Ann (Egan) Williams, was born in Boston, April 27, 1822, and when but 'a mere child began the foundation of his education in the primary department of Mrs. Newmarch's kindergarten school, afterwards becoming a pupil of Father Filton.
In 1833, at the age of eleven years, he was sent to St. Sulpice College, Montreal, Canada, where he remained about eight years. He embarked for Paris in 1841, and on his arrival there entered the cele- brated seminary of St. Sulpice, being then about twenty years of age. He was or- dained a priest in 1845, being then twenty- three years of age.
Returning to this country he officiated for many years in the old Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Franklin Street, Boston. In 1855 he was appointed rector of the cathedral, and after serving two years in that capacity, was made vicar-general in 1857, and administered the diocese during the last years of Bishop Fitzpatrick's epis- copate. His direct connection with the old cathedral was severed in 1857, by his appointment as pastor of St. James church on Albany Street.
On the 9th of January, 1866, in the forty- fourth year of his age, he was appointed bishop of Tripoli in partibus infidelium, and coadjutor of the bishop of Boston, with the right of succession. He became, by Bishop Fitzpatrick's death, bishop of Boston, and was consecrated on the 11th of March, 1866. After his promotion to the bishopric, he assisted at two very important councils, viz., the Plenary Council of Baltimore, held in 1866, and the Ecumenical Council, held in Rome 1869-'70.
Bishop Williams was instrumental in the establishment of the House of the Good Shepherd, the Redemptorist and Oblate Fathers, Little Sisters of the Poor, and In- fant Asylum. He also re-organized and
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WILLIAMS.
enlarged the Home for Destitute Children, and founded the Catholic Union.
The chief labor of his life, however, has been the erection of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, located at the junction of Wash- ington and Union Park streets, Boston, one of the largest and most magnificent edifices of the kind in this country. The first sod of the cathedral lot was turned April 27, 1866, on Bishop Williams's forty- fourth birthday. The corner-stone was laid Sunday, September 15, 1867.
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JOHN J. WILLIAMS.
On May 2, 1875, the ceremony of con- ferring the pallium of an archbishop on the Right Reverend John J. Williams took place, being one of the most notable events in the history . of the Catholic church in Boston. The new cathedral, not then quite finished, was temporarily fitted up for the occasion, Bishop McNeir- ney of Albany celebrating the solemn high mass. Bishop Goesbriand preached the sermon, and the pallium, which had been brought from Rome by an ablegate of the Pope, Mons. Cæsar Roncetti, accom- panied by his secretary, Dr. Ubalbi, and by a nobleman of the Papal Guard, Count Marefoschi, was conferred on Archbishop Williams by Cardinal McCloskey, of New York, in the presence of all the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of New York, and
the clergy of this and the neighboring dio- ceses, and before an assembly of about six thousand persons.
WILLIAMS, MOSES, son of Moses B. and Mary J. (Penniman) Williams, was born in Roxbury, Norfolk county, Decem- ber 4, 1846.
He obtained his preparatory education in the Brookline public schools ; entered Harvard College in 1864, and was gradu- ated in the class of 1868.
He chose the profession of law, and after the usual course of training, was ad- mitted to the Massachusetts bar, Decem- ber 20, 1868.
He immediately began the practice of law, in which he has since continued with honorable success, with offices in Boston and residence in Brookline. He is now president of the Third National Bank of Boston.
Mr. Williams was married in Brookline, September 10, 1868, to Martha C., daugh- ter of Henry and Annie (Loder) Fininley. Of this union are five children : Moses, Mary Eleanor, Hugh, Constance Martha, and Gladys Williams.
WILLISTON, A. LYMAN, son of J. Pay- son and Cecilia (Lyman) Williston, was born in Northampton, Hampshire county, December 13, 1834.
The schools of the town gave him his early education, until fitted for Williston Semi- nary, where he pursued his academic course to a finish. His tastes were in the line of a business career rather than professional, and he concluded not to pursue his studies through to a collegiate course, though he has since been made an honorary alumnus of Amherst College, with the degree of A. M.
Mr. Williston successively held the posi- tion of clerk, superintendent, manager, president, and treasurer of the Greenville Manufacturing Cotton Mills in Northamp- ton, from 1852 until their close in 1884. He is now president of the First National Bank of Northampton, and proprietor and manufacturer of Payson's Indelible Ink, established by J. Payson Williston in 1834.
He was a member of the board of alder- men of Northampton, in 1886 and '87. He has been a trustee of Mt. Holyoke Seminary and College twenty-two years, and its treasurer for sixteen years ; a trustee of Williston Seminary, Easthampton, its presi- dent four years, and treasurer ten years ; a trustee of Smith College, Northampton ; trustee of trust funds for Williston Semi-
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nary, under the will of S. Williston ; a mem- ber of the prudential committee of Amherst College ; a member of the trust funds com- mittee for the city of Northampton ; a member of the public library committee, and president of the sewer commission.
Mr. Williston is a deacon of the First Congregational church, Northampton, and a corporate member of the A. B. C. F. M. He has also been president and treasurer of various benevolent and mercantile or- ganizations at sundry times.
The paternal grandfather of Mr. Willis- ton was Rev. Payson Williston, the first minister of Easthampton, and for more than fifty years its active pastor.
Mr. Williston was married June 12, 1861, to Sarah Tappan, daughter of Professor Solomon and Frances E. (Greenwood) Stoddard. Of this union were six chil- dren : May, John Payson, Lucy, Robert Lyman, Elizabeth, and Harry Stoddard Williston.
WILSON, JOSEPH W., son of Joseph and Mary Ann (Clark) Wilson, was born in Wells, York county, Maine, August 26, 1831.
He was educated in public and private schools, Union Academy, Kennebunk, Me., and the Biddeford high school.
In July, 1847, he went to work to learn the machinist's trade in Biddeford. Hav- ing removed to Easthampton, he engaged with Samuel Williston & Co. in 1852, changed to the Nashawannuck Manufac- turing Company in 1862, and to the house of Williston & Knight in 1870, where he remained until 1881. He then became a partner in the merchant firm of Rust, Wil- son & Co., in which relation he still re- mains.
Mr. Wilson was first married in Cum- mington, August 31, 1856, to Sophia L., daughter of Russell and Sally (Packard) Meekins. His second marriage occurred in Easthampton, January 12, 1864, with Laura, daughter of Daniel and Julia ( Par- sons) Rust. The children by his first mar- riage were : Mary A. and S. Elizabeth Wilson ; by the second marriage : Carrie A. and Rollin C. Wilson.
Mr. Wilson is a deacon of the Payson Congregational church, and superintend- ent of the Sabbath-school ; has been se- lectman five years ; assessor three years ; is town treasurer (elected in 1888), and has been town clerk since 1882; he has also been a justice of the peace since the same year. He is a prominent Mason, and has held various offices in masonic bodies.
WINSHIP.
WINSHIP, ALBERT EDWARD, son of Isaac and Drusilla A. (Lothrop) Winship, was born in West Bridgewater, Plymouth county, February 24, 1845.
He received his education at the Provi- dence Conference Seminary, the Maine Wesleyan Seminary, Bridgewater state normal school, and at the Andover Theo- logical Seminary.
He enlisted in the 6oth Massachusetts volunteers in the year 1864. In 1865 he taught school in Maine, and from 1865 to '68 was principal of a grammar school at Newton. From 1869 to '72 he taught in
ALBERT E. WINSHIP.
the Bridgewater state normal school, after which, for nine years, he was pas- tor of the Prospect Hill Congregational church of Somerville (where he now re- sides), and for three years was secretary of the New West Education Commis- sion.
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