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 12
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 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106
work he has carricd on continuously since 1857, his first almanac being that printed in the Cambridge directory for 1852. He is also at present chairman of the board of registrars of voters in Cambridge.
During the war he sought to serve in the navy, but upon official request of the de- partment, he remained attached to the " Nautical Almanac." He was in charge of the home military organization as cap- tain, and was placed in command of the state arsenal at Cambridge during the draft riot of 1864.
He is an active Mason, and was master of Mt. Olivet Lodge 1871 and '72.
This expert mathematician, after leaving the guidance of his revered teacher, Thomas Sherwin (Boston English high school), fortunately enjoyed unusual advantages in pursuing his special work in the higher mathematics, under the distinguished pro- fessor, Benjamin Pierce (Harvard Univer- sity), who had been called to the position of consulting astronomer to the "Nautical Almanac." To him, Mr. Bradford was as- signed as special assistant. At the same time Mr. Bradford was privileged to attend the elective course in mathematics at the University.
Mr. Bradford was married in West Med- ford, April 30, 1862, to Jane Ann, daughter of William and Jane Ann (Hutchings) Davis, of Boston. Of this union are two children : Ellen Hutchings and Isaac Bradford.
BRADLEE, JOHN WALTER, son of John D. and Catherine C. (Trow) Bradlee, was born in Milton, Norfolk county, March 17, 1841.
The public schools and Milton Academy gave him his educational training.
Before his majority he started in the nursery business, but at the breaking out of the war of the rebellion, he enlisted in the 38th regiment, Massachusetts volunteers.
He has been a deputy sheriff of Norfolk county, auctioneer and real estate agent; chairman of the board of selectmen, asses- sors and overseers of the poor, for ten years. He was for a long time a member of the school board and a trustee of the cemetery.
Mr. Bradlee was married in Milton, November 1, 1866, to Nellie Marion, daugh- ter of Leonard and Lydia T. (Blaney) Morse. Of this union are six children : J. Walter, Charles, Nellie Marion, Eva Morse, Leonard Morse and Roger William Bradlee.
Mr. Bradlee has held the chairmanship of the Norfolk county Republican com-
75
BRADLEE.
BRADLEE.
mittee for ten years past; was active in the organization of the Norfolk Club, and has held the chairmanship of its executive
J. WALTER BRADLEE
committee since its formation; organized Huntington F. Wolcott Post No. 102, G. A. R., of Milton, and was its first com- mander; he was also commander of the Norfolk county division, G. A. R .; member of the Royal Arcanum; member of Cypress Commandery Knights Templar; represent- ed the 4th Norfolk district in the Legis- lature in 1884 and '85, serving as House chairman of the committee on prisons.
Mr. Bradlee comes of good Puritan stock, being a descendant of the old Milton family of Captain John Bradlee of revolutionary fame. His maternal ancestors were of the Bradford family. True to his antecedents, he has always taken an active interest in all that pertains to the welfare and pros- perity of his native town, and has done much towards maintaining its high stand- ard as one of the most attractive of the many outlying residential suburbs of the city of Boston.
BRADLEE, NATHANIEL J., son of Sam- uel and Elisabeth Davis (Williams) Brad- lee, was born in Boston, June 1, 1829, and died in his native city, December 17, 1888. His father was a well-known merchant of Boston. His maternal grandfather, Caleb
Davis of Boston, was the first speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representa- tives.
Mr. Bradlee received his early education at Chauncy Hall school, from which insti- tution he was graduated in 1846.
He then entered the office of George M. Dexter, architect, of Boston, where he remained until 1856, when he became that gentleman's successor.
In April, 1869, he was appointed by the municipal government of Boston to super- intend and take charge of the removal of the Hotel Pelham. The work was success- fully accomplished, and attracted such wide attention, that accounts of the way in which it was done were published in sev- eral of the English, French, and German newspapers.
In 1874 Mr. Bradlee was appointed con- sulting architect to the commission for the Danvers Insane Asylum. He was also the architect for over five hundred build- ings in the city of Boston, including the edifices of the New England and Union Mutual Life Insurance companies, the Suf- folk Savings Bank and the Young Men's Christian Union, the buildings of the City, Market, Traders', Third National, and Commonwealth banks ; many large stores, warehouses, blocks and private residen- ces ; and the Second, South Congrega- tional, and Bullfinch Street churches.
In August, 1875, he served upon the committee appointed by the secretary of the treasury to examine and report upon the condition of the new Chicago custom house. Secretary Bristow accepted the recommendations of the commission, and directed the supervising architect of the treasury to take down the parts of the structure they had condemned, and to pro- ceed with the reconstruction at once.
With the water supply of the city of Boston Mr. Bradlee's name must be per- manently identified. He was elected the member-at-large of the city water board for two years in 1865, and was afterwards re-elected for five terms consecutively. He resigned the office during his last term of service, on account of the severe pressure of his business. During 1868, '69 and '70, he was president of the water board. It was during this period that the reservoir on Chestnut Hill was constructed. The largest basin in this receptacle was desig- nated by the board the Bradlee basin, out of compliment to him.
In 1868 he published a remarkably able, accurate and detailed history of the intro- duction of pure water into the city of Bos-
76
BRADLEE.
BRAGDON.
ton, with a description of the Cochituate water-works.
He was the executor and trustee of a large number of estates, and held a very large amount of trust property, being trustee for over forty persons.
He was a member of the commission appointed by the supreme court in rela- tion to the location of the union station at
NATHANIEL J. BRADLEE.
Worcester. His associates were the late Chief Justice George T. Bigelow, and the late Governor Onslow Stearns of New Hampshire.
Mr. Bradlee was president of the Massa- chusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, the Franklin Savings Bank, and Boston Storage Warehouse Company ; one of the trustees of the New England Trust Company, and the Safe Deposit and Trust Company. He was also director in the Massachusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Boston & Maine Railroad, East- ern Railroad, Maine C'entral Railroad, the New England Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, and president of the Adamanta Man- ufacturing Company, the Massachusetts Title Insurance Company, the Chauncy Hall school, and the Roxbury Club.
In 1876 he was the candidate of the citi- zens and on the Republican ticket for mayor. In 1887 he was nominated by the
citizens' committee for the mayoralty, but declined the nomination.
Mr. Bradlee was married April 27, 1856, to Julia R., the daughter of George F. Weld, formerly a merchant of Baltimore. She died August 11, 1880. He married again, December 29, 1881, Anna M., the daughter of Josiah H. Vose, of Rob- binston, Maine.
In the death of Mr. Bradlee the city of Boston lost an enterprising, public spirited and loyal son, the business community a model of probity and intelligent adminis- tration of sacred trusts, social life a con- spicuous and ever welcome guest, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts one of her most modest-yet representative-sons.
BRADY, PHILIP EDWARD, son of Philip and Rose (Goodwin) Brady, was born in Attleborough, Bristol county, August 16, 1859. He received his early education in the common schools of his native town, graduating from the high school in the class of 1877.
Upon leaving school he entered a large jewelry manufacturing establishment in Attleborough, with the intention of fol- lowing that business, but a favorable op- portunity presenting itself for studying law, for which he always had a prefer- ence, he entered Harvard University law school in the fall of 1879, and graduated with the class of 1882, of which he was the youngest member, and received the degree of LL. B. He then entered the law office of George A. Adams, of Attleborough, and was admitted to the Boston bar in the spring of 1883.
Mr. Brady made a trip to Europe in the early part of 1885, on which occasion he traveled through Great Britain and France, and obtained a very good insight of the man- ners and customs of the mother country.
Upon his return to the States, in the fall of the same year, he opened a law office in North Attleborough, where he practiced until July, 1886, when President Cleveland appointed him postmaster of Attleborough, when he removed to that town, continuing his practice there while attending to the duties of his official position.
Mr. Brady is president of the High School Alumni Association, to which he was elected in 1887.
BRAGDON, CHARLES CUSHMAN, son of Rev. Charles P. and Sarah (Cushman) Bragdon, was born in Auburn, Cayuga county, N. Y., September 6, 1847.
He attended the public schools of his native town, and afterwards fitted for col-
2
BRALEY.
77
BRALEY.
lege at the preparatory school of the Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., where he graduated in the class of 1865, subsequently receiving the degree of A. M.
He was at one time associated with Alfred L. Sewell on " The Little Corporal," a child's monthly magazine published in Chicago, Ill .; taught in the academy at Elgin, Ill., in 1863 and '64 ; served nine months in the 134th Illinois infantry, in 1864; returned to college and graduated as above. He taught two years in Dick- inson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa., four years in Wesleyan College, Cincinnati, O .; studied in Europe nearly two years ; taught Latin, Greek, and German in Jennings Seminary, Aurora, Ill., thence came to Auburndale, Mass., to take the position of principal of Lasell Seminary for young women, which position he still holds, and where he has been eminently successful.
Mr. Bragdon was married in Williams- port, Pa., June 30, 1869, to Kate, daughter of John and Catharine (Tubbs) Ransom. Of this union are two children: Kate Belle and John Ransom Bragdon.
BRALEY, HENRY KING, son of Samuel T. and Mary A. Braley, was born March 17, 1850, in Rochester, Plymouth county.
HENRY K. BRALEY.
His early education was obtained in the common schools of his native place,
Rochester Academy, and Pierce Academy, Middleborough. Later, he taught school for several years and studied law with Hon. Hosea Kingman, Bridgewater, and was admitted to the Plymouth bar, Octo- ber, 1873.
He began the practice of law at Fall River, December, 1873, in partnership with Nicholas Hatheway (Hatheway & Braley). This relation continued three years. In 1876 he formed a law partnership with M. G. B. Swift, which has continued to date (Braley & Swift), in Fall River.
Mr. Braley was married in Bridgewater, April 29, 1875, to Caroline W., daughter of Philander and Sarah T.Leach.
Mr. Braley was city solicitor in 1874, and mayor of Fall River, 1882 and 1883. He is one of the vice-presidents of the Chil- dren's Home, Fall River, director of Globe Yarn Mills, clerk of Border City Manufac- turing Company, and trustee of Fall River Savings Bank.
He is past grand master I. O. O. F. of Massachusetts.
BRALEY, THOMAS ELWOOD, son of Russell and Mehetabel (Williams) Braley, was born in Rochester, Bristol county, May 3, 1833.
The district schools furnished his means of early education. This he supplemented by a course in a commercial college. In 1866 he engaged in the wholesale and re- tail tobacco business, and the manufacture of cigars in New Bedford,- the firm name being S. S. Haswell & Co.
In 1870 he engaged in the retail grocery and provision business in the same city, under the firm title, T. E. Braley & Co.
He is now employed in farming and poultry raising, and in company with two brothers, engaged in the raising of cran- berries. This is carried on as a special industry, by the making of "cranberry bogs" on an extensive scale. He is also interested in orange raising in Flor- ida.
Mr. Braley was married in Fall River, September 5, 1860, to Elizabeth, daughter of Silas and Mehetabel (Ashley) Williams. They have no children.
Mr. Braley has been president of the Farmers' Club, a member of the Acushnet school board six years, and a justice of the peace since 1878.
He followed the sea from 1852 till 1865, chiefly in the whaling industry. In 1854 he was shipwrecked, the vessel being a total loss. After fitting up the boats, the survivors started for the Kinsmill Islands, and not finding them, kept on for forty-
78
BRECK.
nine days, until they made the Ladrone Islands.
He is an active Mason, and has been Knight Templar twenty years ; a "liberal " in religion, and a Republican in politics.
He has been earnestly solicited to take some of the highest offices in the gift of his
THOMAS E. BRALEY.
town, but has invariably declined such honors.
BRECK, CHARLES, son of Edward and Sarah (Vose) Breck, was born in Medfield, Norfolk county, January 11, 1798. His early education was the best which the common schools afforded eighty-five years ago. After three years spent at farming, his first employment was as a wool puller at which he worked for nineteen years. For four years following he worked at tanning, and has since been occupied in Milton at farming, surveying, and en- .gaged in the business of various town offices.
In Quincy, on the 2d of May, 1827, Mr. Breck was married to Mary A., daughter of Joseph and Dorothy (Spear) Blanchard. This union continued for more than fifty- one years. Their two children are: Mary E. and Charles E. C. Breck.
In 1837 Mr. Breck was elected one of the board of selectmen. For thirty-four years he was town treasurer. These, with
BRECK.
other town offices, he held for fifty-one years, when, having passed his ninetieth year, he retired from office with the thanks of the town for his long continued and faithful service. For sixteen years he filled the office of clerk, collector and treasurer of the First Congregational church of Mil- ton, and for thirty-eight years he has held the office of director and agent of the Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which position he still retains.
In 1825 Mr. Breck joined the Masonic order, lived through the anti-masonic furore without losing his faith in its princi- ples, saw it revived to more than its ancient glory, presided over what are now two of the most flourishing lodges in the state, and still retains his interest and well- grounded belief in its permanency. He represented the town of Milton in the lower branch of the Legislature in 1841 and 1842.
Mr. Breck has been for many years clerk of the "Society in Milton for apprehend-
CHARLES BRECK
ing Horse Thieves," one of the most unique organizations in the State. There are only two in existence, the other being located in Dedham. The Milton society was founded in 1819, and every horse that has been stolen from any member since the formation of the society has been
79
BREEN.
recovered without additional expense to the owner.
Until sixty years ago, Mr. Breck, as was the custom of the time, was addicted to the use of rum and tobacco. Then he abandoned their use altogether, and thinks he has lived longer and been able to do more and harder work without them than would have been possible by their aid. Valuable personal experience has made him an absolute temperance advocate, and he says of these principles that one thing, at least, is sure-if they have not pro- longed his life, they have not killed him.
BREEN, JOHN, son of Patrick and Margaret (Heffernan) Breen, was born in Tipperary, Ireland, June 20, 1842. His parents were in comfortable circumstances at the time of his birth, but four years later were evicted from their farm, owing to religious and political disturbances that were presaging the troublous times of the Irish movement of 1848.
The family came to America in 1847, and after a few years' residence in other places, settled in Lawrence, April, 1853.
Mr. Breen attended the public schools, and subsequently fitted for college in a private school. He entered St. Charles College, Ellicott Mills, Maryland, but on account of ill health he was forced to leave college without completing his course. He made subsequent attempts to retrieve what he had lost, by attending another private school, and finally took a course in Comer's Commercial College in the city of Boston. He has since done what he could to supplement his school work, by study and application.
He was an enthusiastic Fenian, and after his graduation from Comer's, while em- ployed as book-keeper in the commission house of E. H. Walker & Co., he was ordered to Ireland by General Thomas F. Burke, a leader in Fenian circles. He went in December, 1867, and evading the strict surveillance of the detectives, reached Liverpool in safety. He followed his instructions faithfully, there, in Manches- ter, and in Dublin, where he went to pre- pare the people of Ireland for their part in the insurrection already planned. The treachery of Corydon, the informer, ren- dered all his plans abortive, and after per- sistent efforts and many dangerous devices to release a companion imprisoned in Dub- lin (Daniel Donovan of Lawrence), he gave up the fruitless attempts and returned to America in 1868.
Soon after his return he entered the undertaking business with a very limited
BREEN.
capital, but he had determination and integrity. These have in the end proved paying capital, and he enjoys a compe- tency he has justly earned.
Mr. Breen was married at Boston, April 1, 1872, to Nancy Jane, daughter of Daniel G. and Roxanna (Tuttle) Brackett of Danville, N. H. Of this union are three children : Charles Francis, John Joseph, and Margaret Mary Breen.
Mr. Breen's interest in public affairs soon brought him into the domain of poli- tics. He was a member of the common council in 1876 and '77, but resigned the latter year to take an appointment on the
JOHN BREEN.
board of fire engineers. He was elected mayor of Lawrence for the years 1882, '83, and '84, thus enjoying the distinction, it is claimed, of being the first Catholic or Irish-born mayor of any city in New England. Notwithstanding many adverse circumstances causing a general business depression during his term of service, Mayor Breen's three years of administra- tion were marked by ability, and have left their traces on the city's growth and pros- perity that will long proclaim him one of the city's most energetic and praiseworthy public servants. Mr. Breen is one of the vice-presidents of the Irish National League in this state; chairman of the
80
BRICKETT.
board of water commissioners, elected in 1884, and member of the school board since 1887.
BRICKETT, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, son of Franklin and Mehitabel Dow (Bradley) Brickett, was born in Haverhill, Essex county, April 10, 1846.
He was educated in the public schools, Phillips Academy, Exeter, where he was fitted for college; entered Dartmouth in 1863, and was graduated therefrom in the class of 1867.
Choosing the profession of law, he passed the usual preliminary studies, was gradu- ated from the Harvard law school, and was admitted to the bar in 1869. He then taught school two years in Glendale, Ohio. He returned to Haverhill, in 1872, and commenced the practice of his profession, in which he is still successfully engaged.
Mr. Brickett was chairman of the Demo- cratic city committee from 1882 to '86; city solicitor, Haverhill, 1883, '84 and 85; a member of the school committee from 1876 to '82 ; he has been closely identified with the politics of city and state, and is one of the most promising young Demo- crats in Essex county.
Living in a strongly Republican city, Mr. Brickett has been at a decided disadvan- tage in gaining political preferment, but his efforts in behalf of his party, and in defence of his principles and convictions, have gained him prominence and distinction in the state.
Mr. Brickett was married in Great Falls, N. H., July 25, 1889, to E. Jennie, daugh- ter of George and Eliza (Ricker) Guptill.
BRIGHAM, LINCOLN FLAGG, son of Lincoln and Lucy (Forbes) Brigham, was born in Cambridgeport, Middlesex county, October 4, 1819.
After obtaining his early education at the public schools, and fitting for college, he entered Dartmouth in 1838, graduating in 1842, and immediately entered the Harvard law school, where he graduated in 1844. He then studied law in the office of John H. Clifford and Harrison G. O. Colby, of New Bedford, where he was admitted to the bar in Bristol county court of common pleas in 1845.
He formed a law partnership in New Bedford, with John H. Clifford, which lasted till the latter's election as governor of Massachusetts, when Mr. Brigham was appointed district attorney for the southern criminal district, which office he held for six years. Upon the organization of the superior court, in 1859, Mr. Brigham was
BRINE.
made an associate justice and appointed Chief Justice in 1869, an office which he now holds.
On the 20th of October, 1847, at New Bedford, Judge Brigham was married to Eliza Endicott, daughter of Thomas and Sylvia (Perry) Swain. Their children are : Thomas Swain, Lincoln Forbes, Clifford, and Augustus Perry Brigham.
BRINE, WILLIAM HENRY, was born in Boston, September 23, 1841. He was the second child of Robert and Ellen Ann (Rowe) Brine, who were the parents of ten children, of whom nine are still living. The senior Brine and wife celebrated their golden wedding in 1888. Their children were all educated in the public schools of Cambridge, where Mr. Brine was a pupil at the Putnam school.
In 1855, when about fourteen years of age, Mr. Brine entered the employ of Jon- athan Wheeler, a dealer in dry goods in East Cambridge, on a salary of one dollar per week. Alert and obliging, the boy soon became a salesman, and he soon transferred his connections to the well- known dry goods firm of Hogg, Brown & Taylor, of Boston, where close attention to the particulars of the business gave him the mastery of every detail and a comprehen- sion of its scope and possible extension.
In 1860 Mr. Brine accepted a responsi- ble situation with the business of John Harrington, of Somerville, with whom in 1861, hardly twenty years of age, he became a partner. The young firm, united with W. L. Lovell, purchased the stock and stand of John Holmes & Co., in the city of Bos- ton, where they established the business which has since proved so large and suc- cessful.
In 1884, after a prosperous career of over twenty years, the firm of John Har- rington & Co. was dissolved by the retire- ment of Mr. Harrington. Mr. Brine, in connection with John Henry Norcross, of the long established house of Lewis Cole- man & Co., then formed the firm of Brine & Norcross.
In 1884 Mr. Brine visited Europe in the interest of the house, and established busi- ness connections with English and conti- nental manufacturers, which have proved of great advantage.
Mr. Brine was married in East Cam- bridge, September 26, 1865, to Hannah Southwick, daughter of John and Cornelia (Devine) Cannon, of Cambridge. He now resides in Somerville, and has a family of six children : Henry Clinton, now a merchant in Cambridge, Ellen, Blanche,
8I
BROOKS.
BROOKS.
William Percival, Alfred, and Francis, all of whom have attended, or are at present pupils in the public schools.
Politically, Mr. Brine has always acted with the Republican party, and rather than accept any office himself, has preferred to promote the advancement of others to sta- tions of power and influence. He was for many years treasurer of the Middlesex Club. He served twelve years as a trustee of the Somerville public library. Daily engaged with the details of a large and prosperous business, faithful in the dis- charge of all social and business obligations, Mr Brine yet finds time to make a cordial and practical response to the calls of phil- anthropy, and to join with his fellow-citi- zens in measures that tend to promote good government.
BROOKS, FRANCIS (Francis Boott Brooks until 1854), son of Edward and Elizabeth (Boott) Brooks, was born in Med- ford, Middlesex county, November 1, 1824.
Mr. Brooks comes of a line rich in his- toric associations, his ancestors being iden- tified with the leaders of public and social life for many generations. Thomas Brooks, the first of the name in New England, came from Suffolk, England, and settled in Watertown, where a lot was assigned him in 1631. In 1660 he bought some four hundred acres of the famous Cradock farm located in the town of Medford. His descendants were conspicuous in their service to the state, and in their contribu- tions to philanthropic and educational enterprises which tended to the up-build- ing of the infant colony. Governor John Brooks was a striking example of the best product of Massachusetts soil, and from 1752 to 1763 performed the duties of chief magistrate of the Commonwealth with the same fidelity and patriotic devo- tion as he displayed in his participation in the battle of Lexington, and in his intimate connection with General Washington's military life. Still later the social stand- ing of this family was emphasized by the marriage of two sisters of Edward, the father of Francis Brooks, to Edward Ever- ett and Charles Francis Adams.
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.