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 22
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From 1848 to '58 he manufactured shoes in Concord, and from 1858 to the present time, has conducted a manufactory in Marlborough.
On the 17th of October, 1848, he was married, in Concord, to Sarah B., daughter of Abel and Rebecca (Lewis) Davis, their only child being Malissa A. Coolidge. In September, 1854, he married his second wife, Maria H., daughter of Thomas Davis.
In financial affairs he has gained a sub- stantial reputation as self-reliant, cautious, firm and just. Politically he has followed the lead of his early employer, Henry
TIMOTHY A. COOLIDGE.
Wilson. Socially he has been found en- thusiastic in every department, and holds high Masonic orders (32°). He has also been actively identified with several phil-
anthropic societies; is an active temperance man, and a valuable member of the Farm- ers' & Mechanics' Club and the Board of Trade. He is a trustee of the Marl- borough Savings Bank and was a director in, and is also vice-president of, the First National Bank of Marlborough. He is a justice of the peace, and has been a mem- ber of the board of selectmen eight years, chairman four years, and in 1880 and '81 was elected to represent the 32d Middlesex district in the Legislature.
COPELAND, HORATIO FRANKLIN, son of Horatio and Delia (Nye) Copeland, was born in Easton, Bristol county, November 15, 1842. He is a lineal descendant of Lawrence Copeland, who came to this country from England in early colonial days, married Lydia Townsend, and died in 1699, and who is said to have arrived at the age of one hundred and ten years.
Mr. Copeland was fitted for college at Thetford (Vt.) Academy, and after study- ing medicine with Dr. Caleb Swan of Eas- ton, attended Harvard medical college, where he was graduated in 1865.
His country needing his services, he received his degree in advance of his regular graduation, and at once (January, 1865) took the position of acting assistant-surgeon in the United States service, and was placed in charge of the Post Hospital at Bermuda Hundred, and of the small-pox hospital located at that place. He remained at his post until June of that year, when he returned to Massachusetts, and located in the practice of his profession at South Abington (now Whitman), where he has since been constantly and successfully engaged.
He is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and has devoted himself untiringly to his profession, endeavoring to keep in the front rank of the progressive school of practice.
Dr. Copeland has taken a keen interest in free masonry. He is a member of Puri- tan Lodge, Pilgrim Chapter, Old Colony Commandery, and Abington Council ; was presiding officer of the last named body for four years. He is a member of Post No. 78, G. A. R., and is a Republican in politics.
CORCORAN, JOHN W., son of James and Catherine Corcoran, was born June 14, 1853, at Batavia, Monroe county, N. Y.
His early education was obtained in the public schools of Clinton, Mass. He after- wards pursued his studies in Holy Cross College, Worcester, St. John's University,
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New York City, and the Boston Univer- sity law school.
He began the practice of law in Clinton, June, 1875, and later on formed a co-part- nership with Herbert Parker. He was also a member of the law firm of Corcoran & Walsh from 1882 until the death of Mr. Walsh, in August, 1887. He is still in practice in Clinton, and associated with Mr. Parker.
Mr. Corcoran was married in Boston April 28, 1881, to Margaret J., daughter of Patrick and Mary McDonald. Of this union are two daughters and one son : Mary Gertrude, Alice, and John Corco- ran.
JOHN W. CORCORAN.
Mr. Corcoran was a member of the school committee of Clinton for thirteen years, and is now its chairman. He has been a member of the board of water com- missioners since its organization, 1881. He has been town solicitor of Clinton since the creation of the office, in 1883. He was delegate to the national Democratic con- ventions in 1884 and in 1888, and in the latter year acted as chairman of the dele- gation, and has been a member of the Democratic state committee since 1883, which position he still holds, being vice- chairman of that body. He was president of the Clinton board of trade 1886-'87.
CORSE.
Mr. Corcoran was candidate for senator in 1880, for district-attorney of Worcester county 1883 and '84, for attorney-general of Massachusetts in 1886-'87, and for lieu- tenant-governor in 1888-'89-all on the Democratic ticket. He was appointed receiver of the Lancaster National Bank of Clinton, January 20, 1886, by the comptrol- ler of the currency of the United States, and still holds that position.
CORSE, JOHN MURRAY, son of John L. and Sarah (Murray) Corse, was born in Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pa., April 27, 1835. His ancestors, of Huguenot lineage, came to Virginia about a hundred years be- fore his birth. He was educated in the public schools of St. Louis, Mo., and Burlington, Ia., and entered West Point in 1853. On graduating, he resigned, and took a course in the Albany law school.
In 1861 he was appointed major of the 6th Iowa infantry. He afterwards joined the staff of General John Pope, with the rank of judge-advocate-general, and later that of inspector-general. In this capacity he went through the New Madrid and Island No. 10 campaigns, and the battle of Shiloh. Having been promoted to lieu- tenant-colonel of the 6th Iowa infantry, he joined Sherman, with his regiment, and participated in the sieges of Corinth and Memphis, and the Mississippi campaign.
For gallantry in the assault on Jackson, as colonel of his regiment, he was com- missioned brigadier-general. His next promotion was to the command of the 4th division, 15th army corps, which body he took to Chattanooga, via Memphis. While leading an assaulting column of Sherman's men at Mission Ridge, he had his leg broken by a shell, and was carried from the field. After recovery from his wound, he joined General Sherman, became a member of his staff, and with him marched "from Atlanta to the sea."
For his notable bravery at Allatoona Pass, General Corse was made major-gen- eral, a promotion well merited and nobly earned. With comparatively a handful of men within the works, he repelled for hours the fiercest assaults of overwhelming num- bers, and sustained one of the hottest, most deadly artillery fires experienced dur- ing the war. Expecting relief, he doggedly refused to surrender. Wounded, worn down by fatigue, and in the centre of that murderous fire, he eagerly watched for the signal " Hold the Fort " from the tardily approaching relief column that came at last, and with it the inspiration that has since been caught up in song by millions
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CORSER.
of his countrymen who are ignorant of its origin.
General Corse's war record is an enviable one, and the same courage displayed in the field has since characterized his walks in civil and political life.
JOHN M. CORSE.
General Corse was appointed collector of internal revenue by President Johnson in 1867. In 1869 he went abroad and spent several years in Europe. His only con- nection in business interests was in Chicago, as constructor of railroads and harbors. He was appointed by President Cleveland, postmaster of Boston, October 8, 1886, in place of Edward S. Tobey. This position he still holds, and by his executive ability has won the commendation of the public, irrespective of party.
Mr. Corse was first married in December, 1856, to Ellen Edwards, daughter of Kim- ball and Ellen (Pray) Prince. Of this union is one son, an only child-now cashier of the Chicago, Santa Fe & California Railroad. His second marriage occurred in 1883, with Frances, niece of President Pierce, and daughter of John and C. (M.) McNeil.
CORSER, CHARLES A., son of Benja- min and Sarah (Gove) Corser, was born in Lyndon, Caledonia county, Vt., September 21, 1833.
The common schools furnished his early education. His first connection in business was in Charlestown, N. H., 1861, in the retail boot and shoe business. He came to Holyoke in 1863 and opened up the same line of business.
He was member of the board of selectmen and of health, Holyoke, from 1869 to '71 ; member of the House of Representatives, 1871 ; elected to the Senate 1880 and '81 ; member of the board of aldermen, 1881.
His church connections are with the Baptist society, Holyoke-has been its Sabbath-school superintendent two years.
He has traveled extensively in the West, Lower California and up the Pacific coast, in 1871 and '77.
Mr. Corser was married in Charlestown, N. H., November 2, 1858, to Isabel S., daughter of Cephas and Hansey (Hyland) Isham. He was married again in Holyoke, May, 1868, to Arabell T. White. His children are: Theressa I., Charles B., Lilian H., and Rachel H. Corser.
COWLEY, CHARLES, son of Aaron and Hannah (Price) Cowley, was born at Eastington, Gloucestershire, England, Jan- uary 9, 1832. His father was a manufac- turer of carpets, who, on coming to Massa- chusetts, established and carried on carpet factories at Woburn and Lowell.
Mr. Cowley was educated in the public schools of Lowell and by tutors in advanced studies. He early commenced writing for the public press of Lowell, and at the age of twenty assumed the editorial manage- ment of the " Lowell Daily Courier." His ambition led him to abandon this situation and enter upon the study of law under Judge J. G. Abbott.
In May, 1856, he was admitted to the Middlesex bar, and opened an office in Lowell, where, and in Boston, he has prac- ticed his profession with success.
In 1861, at the outbreak of the civil war, Mr. Cowley was elected captain of the Wamesit Rifles, a newly organized com- pany in Lowell, but finding himself physi- cally unequal to the long marches of mili- tary service he resigned that position and entered the navy, where he was assigned to duty as paymaster at the Brooklyn (N.Y.) navy-yard, under Rear-Admiral Paulding. Next, he served in the same capacity on the " Lehigh," one of the " Monitor " fleet which essayed the bombardment of the defenses of Charleston, S. C. Thence he was transferred to the staff of Admiral Dahlgren, where, as judge-advocate, fleet judge, provost judge and revising officer of the naval courts of the South Atlantic
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squadron, he continued till the close of the war. His naval career was eminently creditable.
Though actively engaged in his profes- sion, Judge Cowley has been an occasional contributor to the Boston and Lowell press, and has found time for several his- torical and literary works, which have been well received. His "History of Lowell " was published in 1868 ; " Famous Divorces of All Ages," in 1878 ; " Historical Sketch of Middlesex County," in the " Middlesex County Manual," in 1878; "Leaves from a Lawyer's Life Afloat and Ashore," in 1879 ; "Our Divorce Courts," in 1879; and " Reminiscences of James C. Ayer and the Town of Ayer," in 1879.
Mr. Cowley has served as member of the Lowell city government, of its school com- mittee and other executive boards ; has twice been a candidate for the attorney- generalship of Massachusetts-the last time on the ticket headed by Wendell Phillips in 1870.
Mr. Cowley's chief honors have been earned as a reformer. He was a zealous advocate of the passage of the " Ten Hour
CHARLES COWLEY
Law," and was its champion before joint special committees of the Legislatures of 1869, '71 and other years. He drafted the charter of the grand lodge of the Order of
CRANE.
the Knights of St. Crispin ; subsequently he successfully defended the same before the supreme court (Mass. Reports, 113 ; 179), and was largely instrumental in organizing the Bureau of Labor. He has also borne an active part in the reformation of the divorce laws.
Mr. Cowley is a member of various chari- table orders and associations, but has been especially prominent in the order of the Knights of Pythias, for which he has writ- ten " Life Legends of Damon and Pythias ;" he has been at the head of the order in his state, and has sat in the supreme lodge of the world.
Mr. Cowley is a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, of the Bristol (England) and Gloucestershire Archæological Society, and other learned bodies. He is president of the Port Royal Society, composed of survivors of the De- partment of the South and the South Atlan- tic blockading squadron. In 1885 Nor- wich University of Vermont conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL. D.
Mr. Cowley is unmarried.
COY, EDWARD G., son of Edward G. and Elizabeth E. (Brown) Coy, was born in Ithaca, Tompkins county, N. Y., August 23, 1844.
Passing through the public schools, he then prepared for college at Williston Seminary, Easthampton, and was gradua- ted from Yale in the class of 1869.
He taught school in Cincinnati for a time, then at Williston Seminary, and was after- ward tutor in Yale College. He is now the professor of Greek at Phillips Acad- emy, Andover, having acted as principal of the academy from January to July, 1889.
Professor Coy was married in New Ha- ven, Conn., November 25, 1873, to Helen E., daughter of Rev. Samuel D. and Mary Sher- man (Skinner) Marsh. Of this union were three children : Mary Dexter, Sherman Lock wood, and Edward Harris.
CRANE, JOSHUA EDDY, son of Barzil- lai and Lydia (Eddy) Crane, was born in Berkley, Bristol county, July 9, 1823, and (lied in Bridgewater, August 5, 1888. He was educated in the public and private schools of his native town.
At the age of sixteen, he was placed in the counting-room of Messrs. Griffin & Eddy, of New York City, and subsequently became connected in the mercantile bisi- ness with Morton Eddy, of Bridgewater. In 1848 he purchased his partner's interest, and carried on the business for more than forty years.
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In 1849 Mr. Crane was married to Lucy A., daughter of Quincy and Lucy (Loud) Reed of Weymouth. Of this union are five children living: Joshua E., Jr., Charles Reed, Morton E., Henry L., and Annie Howe Crane.
Mr. Crane was among the pioneers of the Free Soil party, and was subsequently active in the organization of the Repub- lican party, of which he was a devoted ad- herent.
He was elected town clerk and treasurer in 1856, and for many years filled various municipal offices. In 1857 he represented the town in the state Legislature, and was state senator in 1862-'63, serving on com- mittees on mercantile affairs, insurance and claims. He was for several years a member of the Republican state central committee, thirteen years inspector and trustee of the state work-house, and for the greater part of the time chairman of the latter board.
For twenty years he was actively con- nected with the Plymouth County Agricul- tural Society, and as trustee and treasurer, did much to further its interests. He also delivered the historical address on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the society.
He was the president of the board of trustees of Bridgewater Academy; was for a generation a member of Fellowship Lodge of Masons, and was a charter member of Harmony R. A. Chapter, also a Sir Knight in the Old Colony Commandery of K. T.
Mr. Crane's church connections were with the Central Square Congregational society. He was chairman of the building committee when the present edifice was built in 1861.
He was interested in the local history of the town, and has been a correspondent and contributor to the various historical socie- ties in his vicinity. A few years since, he wrote the history of his town, that ap- peared in the voluminous history of Plym- outh county. His love of antiquarian re- search was well known, and his collection of ancient books and papers is a museum of historic value. Mr. Crane was for years a press correspondent, and wielded a fer- tile pen when touching the leading ques- tions of the hour.
He was one of the original incorporators of the Bridgewater Savings Bank, and had been one of the trustees since its organi- zation. He was one of the incorporators of the Bridgewater Water Company, and took a prominent part in the introduction of the system.
CRAPO.
CRAPO, WILLIAM WALLACE, son of Henry Howland and Mary (Slocum) Crapo, was born in Dartmouth, Bristol county, May 16, 1830, and was the only son in a family of ten children.
He inherited his father's passion for learning, and although his means were limited, he embraced every possible oppor- tunity for study - first in the New Bedford public schools, then at Phillips Academy, Andover, where he prepared for college. He was graduated from Yale-which has since conferred upon him the degree of I.L. D .- in the class of 1852. Choosing law as a profession, he attended the Dane law school, Cambridge, and subsequently
WILLIAM W. CRAPO.
entered the office of Governor Clifford, in New Bedford.
In February, 1855, he was admitted to the Bristol bar, and in the following April was elected city solicitor, an office which he continued to hold for twelve consecutive years.
Mr. Crapo's first active part in politics was taken about a year after his admission to the bar-at the time of the Fremont and Day- ton campaign. He was an earnest sup- porter of these candidates, and championed them from the stump. He was elected to the House of Representatives in the same year, and when only twenty-seven years
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CROCKER.
of age was tendered a seat in the Senate, but declined the honor.
He was actively interested in the estab- lishment of the New Bedford water works, and from 1865 to 1875 held the office of chairman of the board of water com- missioners. As bank president, as director in extensive manufacturing corporations, and in other positions of trust and respon- sibility, he acquired the reputation of being a sound business man and an able financier. He has ever enjoyed the com- plete confidence and respect of his asso- ciates.
He has been a diligent student of the history of the " Old Colony," and especially of the early settlement of Dartmouth, and has rendered valuable contributions to the historical literature of the State.
But the reputation of Mr. Crapo in Mas- sachusetts and the country at large, rests pre-eminently upon his services in the national House of Representatives. He was elected to fill a vacancy in the 44th Congress, and was returned by three suc- cessive elections. In the 45th Congress he was a member of the committee on foreign affairs. In the 46th, he served on the committee on banking and currency, and was chairman of this important com- mittee in the next Congress. He introduced the bill to extend the charter of the national banks, and the passage of the bill was due in no small degree to his skill- ful and persistent efforts.
Mr. Crapo is a champion of our fishing interests, and took strong ground recom- mending the abrogation of the fishing articles of the Treaty of Washington. His argumentative methods are direct and logical, and his clear and forcible presen- tation commands attention. It may justly be said of Mr. Crapo, that to what- ever position he has been called, he has always proved himself adequate to the occasion. He has much of that reserve power which does not manifest itself until wanted.
Mr. Crapo was married in New Bedford, January 22, 1857, to Sarah T., daughter of George and Serena (Davis) Tappan. Of this union there are two children : Henry Howland and Stanford Tappan Crapo.
CRITTENDEN, GEORGE DENNISON, the son of Simeon and Esther (Lathrop) Crittenden, was born in Hawley, Franklin county, August 30, 1827.
The common schools of his native town supplied his early mental training, after which he attended Grove Seminary, Charle- mont.
His business is, and has been from his first entrance into active business life, that of farming and lumbering.
In 1883 he removed to Buckland. Here he has been called to serve the town re- peatedly in positions of trust - selectman,
GEORGE D. CRITTENDEN.
member of school board, assessor, ete. In 1867 he represented the 5th Franklin dis- trict in the House of Representatives. He was a member of the Franklin county board of county commissioners from 1869 to 1875.
Mr. Crittenden was married in North Adams, September 8, 1853, to Lucelia E., daughter of Samuel Dawes of Windsor.
The children of this marriage are : Hat- tie E. (now Mrs. William McCloud of New Haven, Conn.), Cora E. (now Mrs. W. S. Ball, Shelburne Falls), Philena H. (now Mrs. Warren D. Forbes, Buckland), Alice G., Lottie R., Esther M., Viola E., Lillian G., and Lula D. Crittenden.
CROCKER, CHARLES T., son of Alvah and Abigail (Fox) Crocker, was born in Fitchburg, Worcester county, March 2, 1833.
After receiving a preliminary education in the public schools, he fitted for college and graduated at Brown University in the class of 1854. His father was the original pioneer and builder of the Fitchburg, the
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Vermont & Massachusetts, and the Troy & Greenfield railroads. He was a member of Congress when he died, in 1874. He was a man of marked individuality, and of the widest experience, and the son came natur- ally by his ability to cope with the man- agement of large interests.
Immediately after graduating from col- lege, he associated himself with the firm of Crocker, Burbank & Company, one of the largest paper manufacturing concerns in the state. Mr. Crocker is also largely in- terested in the Orswell Yarn Mills, the Parkhill Manufacturing Company, the Put- nam Machine Company of Fitchburg, the Rollstone Machine Company, and the Union Machine Company, the Turner's Falls Land & Water Power Company, and is a director in the Keith Paper Company, the Montague Paper Company, the John Rus- sell Cutlery Company, and the Crocker National Bank at Turner's Falls. He is also a trustee in the Crocker Institution for Savings. He is largely interested in rail- roads, is a director in several corporations, and is one of the largest owners in the Fitchburg Railroad Company.
At the incorporation of the city of Fitch- burg, in 1873, he was chosen an alderman, and again consented to serve in 1877. In 1879 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, and in 1880 he became a member of the Senate, creditably filling positions upon several important com- mittees.
On the 14th of October, 1857, at Charles- town, Mr. Crocker married Eliza, daughter of William and Eliza B. K. Tufts, of Charlestown. Their children were : Alvah, Emma Louise, William Tufts, Kendall Fox, Charles T., Jr., and Paul Crocker. Mr. Crocker was again married, June 1, 1881, to Helen Trowbridge, daughter of Sam- uel B. and Sarah Trowbridge Barton of Brooklyn, N. Y. The children of this marriage are: Edith Barton and Barton Crocker.
CROCKER, GEORGE GLOVER, son of Uriel and Sarah Kidder (Haskell) Crocker, was born in Boston, December 15, 1843
He fitted for college at the Boston pub- lic Latin school, from which he graduated in 1860 as a Franklin medal scholar. He then entered Harvard and graduated in 1864. After a course at the Harvard law school, having received the degrees of A. M. and LL. B., he was, in 1867, ad- mitted to the bar in the county of Suffolk, and began the practice of his profession in Boston, in company with his brother, Uriel
CROCKER.
H. Crocker. The Messrs. Crocker pub- lished two editions of "Notes on the General Statutes," and simultaneously with the publication of the revision of the statutes in 1882, they issued a third and enlarged edition, entitled "Notes on the Public Statutes."
In 1868 Mr. Crocker joined in a suc- cessful movement to revive the Boston Young Men's Christian Union, an institu- tion which had been in a comatose condi- tion for several years. He became a life member, and for nine years served as one of the board of directors. During most of that time he had special charge of the deliberative assembly of the Union.
In 1873 he was a member of the House of Representatives, was re-elected in 1874, and served both years as chair- man of the committee on bills in the third reading. In 1874 he was also House chairman of the joint committee on the liquor law, and a member of the com- mittee on rules and orders.
In the summer of 1877 he was chosen secretary of the Republican state central committee, serving in that position for two
GEORGE G. CROCKER.
years. In the fall of 1877 Mr. Crocker helped to promote the organization known as the " Young Republicans," and in April, 1879, he was elected its chairman.
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In 1880 he was elected a member of the state Senate, re-elected in 1881, '82 and '83, and while in that body served as chairman of the committee on railroads, of the judici- ary committee, and of the committee on rules and orders. He was also a member of the committee on taxation, on the state-house, on bills in the third reading, and of the joint special committee on the revision of the statutes. He prepared the rules which the latter committee adopted to govern its sessions. He also prepared a "Digest of the Rulings of the Presiding Officers of the Senate and House," covering a period of fifty years, which digest has since formed a part of the annual " Manual for the General Court."
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