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 32
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
FAY, FRANK B., son of Francis B. and Nancy (Brigham) Fay, was born in Southborough, Worcester county, January 24, 1821. His father, Colonel Francis B. Fay, moved to Boston in 1831, and to Chelsea in 1834.
His early educational training was re- ceived in Salem Street Academy, Boston, and at academies in Framingham, Marl- borough, Hadley, and Westfield.
He began his business career in the western produce commission business, firm of Fay & Farwells, subsequently Fay &
210
FAY.
FAY.
Co. He was afterwards special partner in several manufacturing firms.
But it is not as a manufacturer or busi- ness financier that Mr. Fay is best known to the country, but as a philanthropist in the broadest interpretation of the term.
He was a member of the Chelsea school board in 1856, chairman of the overseers of the poor from 1878 to the present time ; member of the first common council, 1857; president of that body, 1859 ; mayor of Chelsea, 1861, '62, and '63, and known as the " War Mayor." During the war, until its close, he spent much of his time at the front, caring for the sick and wounded ; was present immediately after first and second Bull Run, evacuation of Yorktown, seven days' fight, Antietam, Fredericks- burg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, "The Wilderness," and in front of Petersburg until it was evacuated, en- tering the city the same day. He was also in 1863 on Folly and Morris islands, S. C., when Gilmore was shelling Fort Sumter. In 1864, at his suggestion, the Sanitary Commission organized the " Aux- iliary Relief Corps," and he was made chief. During that year probably one hundred thousand sick and wounded men came under the care of the corps. He resigned the position in January, 1865, but continued as an independent worker, as he had been previous to 1864, completing his work at Richmond in June of that year. Probably no other Massachusetts civilian spent as much time at the front in similar service, paying his own expenses and receiving no compensation for any of his army work - while his salary as mayor was only four hundred dollars per an- num.
Mr. Reed, in "Hospital Life in the Army of the Potomac," says: "Of the labors of Mr. Fay, it would be hard to speak in terms of too much praise. I prefer rather to let the memory of all his wise and gentle ministries, his kindly and self-forgetting services, be kept fresh in one more heart, of all the thousands who have had such good reasons for treasuring it." . .. " Mayor Fay was known in every division and brigade of the Army of the Potomac." . " With characteristic fore- sight, he was always prepared and was early upon the field of battle with his stores ; and with all the blessed appliances of healing, moved among the wounded, soothing the helpless, suffering and bleed- ing men parched with fever, crazed with thirst, or lying neglected in the agonies of death."
Mr. Fay was a member of the Massachu- setts Allotment Commission for receiving soldiers' wages, which sent home nearly three million dollars; also the United States Allotment Commission for colored troops.
He delivered the first Decoration Day address in Chelsea in 1868 ; was chairman of the soldiers' monument committee and delivered the address at its dedication, 1869. He was chairman of the trustees of the "Patriotic Fund ; " was one of the trustees of the " Massachusetts Soldiers' Fund," of which Robert C. Winthrop was chairman, and of the "Governor Andrew Fund " for
FRANK B. FAY.
relief of soldiers' families- both of these continuing some years after the war. He was an officer in the " Soldiers' Memorial Society," and is now an honorary member of the "First Massachusetts Regiment Association," and a companion of the "Loyal Legion." In 1866-'67 he was an officer of "Boston Station House " for the relief of homeless men and women.
In 1849, as president of the " Prisoners' Friend Association," he drew and presented the first petition to the Legislature, which resulted in the establishment of the " State Industrial School for Girls." His father was trustee and treasurer, serving until 1865, when Mr. Fay was appointed, serv-
2II
FESSENDEN.
FAY.
ing till 1879, when he declined further ser- vice. He has always been interested in efforts to abolish capital punishment in this and other states.
Mr. Fay represented his city in the lower branch of the Legislature in 1857 ; was state senator in 1867 ; in both branches serving on committee on prisons, writing the report, and a special report against the use of the lash in the state prison. In the Senate he was chairman of committees on public lands, and education of deaf mutes, also on committee on license law. Originally a Whig, he was an active worker till he joined the Republican party, and continued his activity therein, as president of the Fremont Club and other political organizations - being delegate to city, county, district and state conventions.
He was delegate to the national Repub- lican convention at Baltimore in 1864, which nominated President Lincoln, and was Massachusetts elector in 1868; was executive officer of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1869 to '77 ; general agent of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, from May, 1880, to the present time ; chairman of civil service commissioners for Chelsea ; an officer in the Chelsea Savings Bank since its estab- lishment ; and president of "Old Ladies' Home Association." He was selected as the first collector of internal revenue for Boston district, when that office was estab- lished in 1862, but declined to accept.
Mr. Fay was married in St. Albans, Vt., October 14, 1845, to Rebekah L., daughter of William and Lucretia W. (Hazeltyne) Bridges. Of this union were three chil- dren : Norman W. (deceased), Harry F., and Sybil C., wife of J. W. Clark, Jr., New York.
FAY, JAMES MONROE, son of Warren and Jane D. (Bell) Fay, was born in Ches- ter, Hampden county, March 23, 1847.
His early educational training was in the public schools of his native place. His academic studies were pursued in Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham. He studied medi- cine with Wm. O. Bell, was graduated from Vermont University in the class of 1875, and began the practice of medicine in Cole- brook, Conn., 1870. In 1873 he removed to his native town and practiced medicine there until 1881, when he settled in North- ampton, where he still remains in practice. He is one of the attending physicians in the Dickinson Hospital, Northampton.
Dr. Fay was first married in Northamp- ton, May 10, 1872, to Harriette, daughter
of James and Hannah (Hackett) Forsyth, who died February 8, 1886. His second marriage occurred in Hatfield, March 23, 1887, with Mary L., daughter of Elisha and Cordelia (Randall) Hubbard. He has two children : Clara E. and Grace L. Fay.
Dr. Fay was elected a member of the board of health of the city of Northamp- ton, 1887, for three years, and now holds the position of chairman of the same. He is also the city physician, to which office he was chosen in 1888 and '89. He was member of the school board in Colebrook, and subsequently superintendent of schools at Chester for six consecutive years.
FAY, JOHN S., son of S. Chandler and Nancy (Warren) Fay, was born in Berlin, Worcester county, January 15, 1840. He obtained his education in the public schools of Marlborough, and at the Commercial College in Worcester.
When twenty-one years old, at the out- break of the civil war, he enlisted as a private in company F, 13th Massachusetts infantry. He was with the army continu- ally, in all of the marches and engagements of his regiment, till April 30, 1863, when, in an action near Fredericksburg, Va., he received a wound from a shell which neces- sitated the amputation of his right arm and right leg. While in the field hospital he was taken prisoner and confined in Libby prison for a month. He did not succeed in reach- ing his home until October - the most mu- tilated and crippled of all who survived of the eight hundred and thirty-one who enlisted for the war from the old town of Marlborough.
In 1865 Mr. Fay was appointed postmas- ter of Marlborough, by President Johnson, and by successive appointments has held the position ever since. He has been an active Grand Army man, and has held many offices in Post 43, which he aided to organize. He is also a prominent Odd Fellow and a member of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
November 20, 1869, Mr. Fay married Lizzie Ingalls, daughter of James M. and Elizabeth (Pratt) Ingalls, of Marlborough. Their only child is Frederic H. Fay.
FESSENDEN, ANSON DARWIN, son of Benjamin and Betsey (Stevens) Fessenden, was born in Townsend, Middlesex county, February 18, 1839.
He was educated at the public schools, Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, and Union College. His intention of completing a liberal education at college was diverted by the outbreak of the civil war.
212
FESSENDEN.
He enlisted in the army, and served in the department of the Gulf as Ist lieu- tenant and captain of company D, 53d
ANSON D. FESSENDEN.
regiment, Massachusetts volunteers. He was a brave and efficient officer, winning the confidence of his men and the appro- bation of his superior officers.
At twenty-five years of age he began the cooperage business with his father, under the firm name of B. & A. D. Fessen- den, at Townsend. Their business grew and developed into the establishment of branch houses as follows : 1873, Fessenden & Lowell, Reed's Ferry, N. H. ; 1879, Kilbourn & Co., Sandusky, O. ; 1884, Silas Kilbourn & Co., Grand Haven, Mich. ; 1886, Annis & Co., Londonderry, N. H. ; 1887, Kilbourn & Co., San Francisco, Cal.
Mr. Fessenden was married in Town- send, December 6, 1865, to Thirza A., daughter of Calvin and Thirza (Pierce) Boutelle. Of this union are four children : Alfred N., Florence Bertha, Marion B., and Robert G. Fessenden.
Mr. Fessenden has ever been interested in the growth and prosperity of his native town, and on a broader plane is alive to political movements that affect the vital interests of the State. Besides serving his town in various minor offices, and taking
FIELD.
his share of the burdens and responsibili- ties of religious, benevolent and various society offices, he was elected as a Re- publican to the House of Representatives, in 1865, and was subsequently a member of the state Senate, 1880 and '81, serving as chairman of the committees on labor, Hoosac Tunnel and Troy & Greenfield Railroad, and as a member of the com- mittee on taxation and military affairs.
FIELD, LUCIUS, son of Moses and Catharine Swan (Alexander) Field, was born in Northfield, Franklin county, Au- gust 15, 1840.
He obtained his education in the com- mon schools and high school of North- field.
His first connection in business was with Hon. E. Brinhall, Clinton, as E. Brinhall & Co., January 1, 1867 ; then Field & Saw- yer, 1872 to '78 ; Lucius Field & Co., 1878 to '89, David Dias and Walter V. Benedict being admitted as partners.
Mr. Field was married in Clinton, Au- gust 14, 1862, to Annie S., daughter of Sarah P. Harrington. His second mar- riage, November 17, 1875, was with Mary A., daughter of George L. and Mary J.
LUCIUS FIELD.
Wilmarth, of Taunton. He has four chil- dren : Mary Althea, Catharine S., Annie F. and Leslie W. Field.
213
FISHER.
FIELD.
Mr. Field was assessor in 1869; town clerk, 1873 to '77, inclusive ; and represent- ative to the General Court, 1878 and '82.
He was commissary-sergeant, 36th regi- ment, Massachusetts volunteers, October 15, 1863 ; made quartermaster-sergeant, February 19, 1864 ; 2d lieutenant, Novem- ber 1, 1864, and Ist lieutenant, November 13, 1864.
Mr. Field is vice-president of the Clinton board of trade, and member of the pru- dential committee of the First Baptist church.
He was coroner from 1865 until the law was changed requiring a medical examiner. He is past high priest, Clinton R. A.Chap- ter, past grand king, grand R. A. Chap- ter of Massachusetts, past commander of Post 64, G. A. R., and treasurer of Clinton Lancaster Driving Park Association, and at present treasurer of the town.
FIELD, WALBRIDGE ABNER, son of Abner and Louisa (Griswold) Field, was born in Springfield, Windsor county, Vt., April 26, 1833. His father was a descend- ant of the Fields of Rhode Island, and his mother's ancestors were from Connecticut.
Mr. Field was educated at private schools and academies until fitted for college, when he entered Dartmouth and graduated in the class of 1855.
He was tutor in the college in 1856 and '57, and again in 1859. He studied law in Boston with Harvey Jewell and at the Harvard law school ; was admitted to the bar in Boston in 1860, and began practice with Mr. Jewell. In 1865 he was appointed assistant United States attorney for Mas- sachusetts under Richard H. Dana, and remained with him and with George S. Hillard till 1869, when he was appointed by President Grant assistant attorney-gen- eral of the United States. This office he resigned in August, 1870, and became a partner with Mr. Jewell and William Gas- ton, under the firm name of Jewell, Gaston & Field, and after Mr. Gaston became governor of Massachusetts, Edward O. Shepard was taken into the partnership, and the firm name became Jewell, Field & Shepard, and so remained until Mr. Field became associate justice of the supreme judicial court in February, 1881.
Judge Field was a member of the Boston school board in 1863 and '64, and of the common council in 1865, '66 and '67. In 1876 he was declared elected to the House of Representatives of the 45th Congress of the United States from the 3d district of Massachusetts, but his seat was contested, and after about a year's service he was
unseated. He was again a candidate for the House of Representatives, was re-elec- ted, and taking his seat in the 46th Congress, served without contest.
Judge Field was married in 1869, to Eliza E. McLoon, who died in March, 1877, and by whom he has two daughters : Eleanor Louise and Elizabeth Lenthal. In October, 1882, Judge Field was married to Frances E., daughter of the Hon. Nathan A. Farwell of Rockland, Maine.
FISHER, HENRY NOAH, son of Noah and Esther (Page) Fisher, was born in Barton, Orleans county, Vermont, June 5, 1842.
His father's family moved to Nashua, N. H., when he was an infant, and his early education was obtained in the com- mon schools of that city. His father died while he was yet young, and Mr. Fisher was obliged to relinquish the pursuit of knowledge, and seek an entrance into mer- cantile life.
He commenced as a clerk in a grocery store in Nashua, and in 1859 came to Waltham, seeking employment in the fac- tory of the American Watch Company. He obtained a position as a boy, and by his diligent application, and an earnest desire to become thoroughly proficient in his trade, gradually rose from one position to another, until he finally came to have the entire charge of one of the most im- portant departments in that concern. This place is where he is now to be found when he is not engaged with the important mul- tiform duties of the high office to which his fellow-citizens have of late years repeat- edly called him.
Mr. Fisher was unable to resist the patriotic call for men at the front, and in July, 1862, he enlisted in company D, 35th Massachusetts regiment, and partici- pated in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. On the 17th of September, 1862, he was wounded at Antietam, his right shoulder being fractured by a shell. He was confined to the hospital for some six months, and being finally compelled to return home in consequence of his wound, on March 4, 1863, received an honorable discharge.
Mr. Fisher is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity, and has held high and important offices in that institution. He is past master of the Isaac Parker Lodge, F. & A. M., of Waltham ; past high priest Waltham Royal Arch Chapter ; a member of the DeMolay Commandery K. T., of Boston, and of the Massachusetts Consis- tory, 32d degree, Aleppo Temple, an order
214
FISHER.
FISHER.
of the Mystic Shrine. He is past com- mander F. P. H. Rogers Post 29, G. A. R., Waltham. He is a member of the Central, and vice-president of the Middlesex clubs, both of Boston.
At the recent incorporation of the old town of Waltham under a city charter, Mr. Fisher served as a member of the first board of aldermen, and was elected presi- dent of the board. A re-election in 1886 also resulted in his presiding for a second term. In 1887 he was elected mayor of the city, and his administration was so acceptable to the citizens, that in 1888 he was re-elected without an opposing ticket, and, what is certainly a phenomenal case in Massachusetts politics, although a staunch Republican, yet again in 1889 he received the high compliment of a practically unan- imous election, in that there was again no opposing ticket in the field.
HENRY N. FISHER,
Mr. Fisher has been identified with the growth and prosperity of his adopted place of residence as one of the owners in the American Watch Tool Company. He is president of the New England North- western Investment Company of Boston, and a trustee of the Waltham Savings Bank.
He was married, August 17, 1876, in Limerick, Me., to Joanna E., daughter of
Orin and Sarah A. (Sedgley) Bradeen. They have no children.
FISHER, MILTON M., son of Willis and Caroline (Fairbanks) Fisher, was born in Franklin, Norfolk county, on the 30th of January, 1811. His first American ances- tor was Thomas Fisher, who settled in Cambridge in 1634, removing to Dedham in 1637.
His early education was accomplished at the public schools in his native town, at Day's Academy in Wrentham, and at a temporary classical institute in Medway. While fitting for college, he taught public and private schools in different towns, and entered Amherst in 1832. Ill health pre- vented his graduating, but he received an honorary degree of A. M., and in 1835 be- gan business in a country store in Franklin, later continuing the same business in West- borough and West Upton. In 1840 he re- moved to Medway and was engaged in the manufacture of straw goods till 1863, when he established an insurance agency, extending his business through western Norfolk county and Boston, continuing the same to the present time.
In August, 1836, he was married, in Medway, to Eleanor, daughter of the Hon. Luther Metcalf of Medway, who died March 13, 1885. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom died in youth. Of the remaining children, one is Theodore W. Fisher, M. D., superintendent of the lunatic hospital in Boston, and lec- turer at the Harvard medical school. The others are : Mary Eleanor, teacher, Helen Frances (wife of Walter V. Hawkes), Cliftondale, and Frederick Luther, treas- urer of the Medway Savings Bank, and in- surance manager.
Among the municipal offices and public trusts held by Mr. Fisher are those of postmaster, notary public, justice of the peace, state commissioner for certain rail- roads, etc. He was elected Republican sen- ator from Norfolk in 1859 and '60, in which position he was brought into prominence in several public contests. In recognition of his public services there, he was elected county commissioner for Norfolk in 1863, and held the position for three successive terms, and was for three years chairman of the board. Many signal improvements were inaugurated during his term of
office.
Mr. Fisher was early identified with the temperance cause from 1829, when he signed his first pledge, and has held an ad- vanced position in the movement ever since. He is now a director in the Massa-
215
FISKE.
FISHER.
chusetts Total Abstinence Society, and in the Washingtonian Home in Boston. The anti-slavery cause he also warmly espoused while a student in 1831, and was foremost . has made his influence for good felt in in the movement in Amherst College in 1833, firing the first anti-slavery gun in that institution. A year later he was appointed a delegate to the first anni- versary of the American Anti-Slavery Society at New York, making at the
MILTON M. FISHER.
time an extended tour to Philadelphia and through Maryland and Virginia by private carriage, investigating the subject and distributing anti-slavery literature.
In 1840 he assisted in organizing the old Liberty party. He was one of the original Free Soilers at Worcester in 1848, and (with the exception of Hon. E. R. Hoar) is the only surviving member of the com- mittee on the platform of the party. He was delegate from Norfolk county, with Hon. Charles Francis Adams, to the Buffalo Free Soil convention in August of the same year
He has been a deacon in the village church forty-nine years, and has always been identified with true religious pro- gress and Christian work. He is presi- dent of the Medway Savings Bank, and of the Dean Library Association. He is also connected officially with the Sanford
Woolen Mills and Sanford Hall. A prom- inent man in his community, he has always been a generous reformer, and many ways.
FISK, GEORGE C., son of Thomas T. and Emily (Hildreth) Fisk, was born March 4, 1831, in Hinsdale, Cheshire Co., N. H., His early education was received at the public schools of his native town. After remaining there until 1851, he went to Springfield, Mass., where he accepted a position as book-keeper for T. W. Wason, car-builder, at a salary of one dollar a day. In 1854 he became a member of the firm of T. W. Wason & Co., car-builders, and at the organization of the Wason Manu- facturing Company, in 1863, was elected treasurer. In 1869 he was made vice- president of the company, and became its president in 1871, which office he holds at the present time, after thirty-six years of continuous connection with the business.
On the 7th of June, 1852, Mr. Fisk was married in Hartford, Conn., to Maria E., daughter of Daniel H. and Martha J. Ripley. Their children are : Charles A. and Isabel R. Fisk.
Mr. Fisk is one of the signal examples now and then furnished in America, and especially here in New England, of a boy, whose only educational facilities were the district schools and the gossip of the coun- try store, lifting himself to the highest positions of financial trust and importance. Few have ever started with less to depend upon in their surroundings, and few can point with greater pride to the dignity which they have attained.
At present Mr. Fisk is president of the Wason Manufacturing Company, president of the Springfield Steam Power Company, president of the Fisk Manufacturing Com- pany, and proprietor of the Brightwood Paper Mills, at Hinsdale, N. H.
FISKE, DANIEL TAGGART, son of Eben- ezer and Hannah (Tirrill) Fiske, was born in Shelburne, Franklin county, March 29, 1819.
After receiving the education of the district school, he prepared for college at Fellenberg Academy, Greenfield, and at a select school at Heath, together with home study, and entered Amherst College in 1838, graduating in 1842.
He was principal of Amherst Academy for a year after leaving college. In the fall of 1843 he entered the Andover Theo- logical Seminary, and graduated in 1846. After devoting another year to study at
216
FISKE.
FISKE.
Andover, on the 18th of August, 1847, he was ordained pastor of the Belleville Con- gregational church at Newburyport - then Newbury - where he still resides.
.
Mr. Fiske was first married in Boston, November 7, 1849, to Eliza Pomroy, daugh- ter of George D. and Mary (Pomroy) Dut- ton. Two children were born to them : Mary Fidelia, wife of Rev. C. A. Savage ; and George Dutton, who died October 13, 1871. On the 14th of February, 1867, Mr. Fiske was again married in Newton, to Mrs. Caroline Walworth Drummond, daughter of George and Philura (Jones) Walworth.
Since 1861 Mr. Fiske has been a mem- ber of the board of trustees of the Andover Theological Seminary, and of Phillips Academy, and since 1885 has been presi- dent of the board. He is a corporate member of the A. B. C. F. M. In 1862 he received the degree of D. D. from Amherst College. After his pastorate of forty years in the Belleville church, he offered his resignation ; but, at the request of the church and parish, he still retains the pas- toral relation, with the assistance of a colleague, on whom the pulpit and pastoral work chiefly devolves.
Only once during his long term of labor has he been absent for any length of time. This was in 1868 and '69, when he spent nine months abroad, visiting England, Scotland, Wales, France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, Pales- tine, Turkey and Greece.
FISKE, JOHN, son of Edmund Brewster and Mary Fiske (Bound) Green, was born in Hartford, Conn., March 30, 1842, and lived at Middletown, Conn., from 1843 to '60. His name was originally Edmund Fiske Green, but in 1855 he took the name of his maternal great-grandfather, John Fiske.
His early education in the lower schools was supplemented by a preparation for college at Bett's Academy, Stamford, Conn., and at Henry M. Colton's school at Middletown, Conn., and in Cambridge with Andrew T. Bates (Harv. 1859). He entered the sophomore class of Harvard University, and was graduated A. B. in 1863. The degree of L.L. B. was con- ferred in 1865, and A. M. in 1866.
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.