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 35
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In 1848 he married Julia Elisabeth, daughter of Col. James and Julia (Sterry) Valentine, of Providence, R. I., and the grand-daughter of William and Elisabeth (Borden) Valentine, of Fall River. Her grandfather was one of the original pro- jectors of the extensive manufacturing en- terprises of that city. She died in 1872 leaving three daughters : Henrietta, Julia and Lillian.
He continued in practice until the out- break of the war of the rebellion in 1861, which found him as captain of the Boston City Guard in the militia of the State, and his company became the nucleus of the 13th regiment of Massachusetts volunteers. He left with his command for the front, July 29, 1861. Captain Fox served in the perilous campaigns in Virginia during the remainder of that year and in 1862, receiv- ing the warm commendation of his superior officers, and the respect and love of the mnen of his command.
He was early a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and an active comrade of the G. A. R., and in his Memorial Day addresses on
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several occasions, his oratorical abilities were conspicuously manifest, especially in one oration, entitled " The Two Civiliza- tions," which has been published, and another given upon the ever memorable field of Gettysburg.
In 1864 and '65 he was the commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, and was one of the delegation of that historic organiza- tion at the three hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the parent corps- the Honour- able Artillery Company of London -held in London during the jubilee period of Queen Victoria, in 1887.
JAMES A. FOX.
In civil life Mr. Fox has had a somewhat extended experience, having been a mem- ber of the school committee of Boston for three years, and a member of the Legisla- ture in both its branches-in the House of Representatives in 1867 and '68, and in the Senate in 1870 and '71. While in the last named branch he delivered a merited and eloquent eulogy upon the life and military services of Major-General George H. Thomas, then recently deceased.
After his removal to the university-city of Cambridge, in 1872, he served for two years in the aldermanic board, and subse- quently as mayor for four consecutive terms.
FOX.
He is identified as an active officer or member with several of the prominent beneficiary orders of the country, such as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Improved Order of Red Men, and the Knights of Pythias ; in the latter named body he has been grand chancellor of Massachusetts, supreme representative to the national branch, and judge-advocate- general of the uniform rank, upon the staff of Commander-in-chief Major-General Carnahan, of Indiana.
In the world-wide institution of Free Masonry, he has attained the very highest grade. Commencing with the "blue lodge " he has advanced through all the series of degrees of York and Scottish rites-the chapter, cryptic masonry, the commandery (K. T.), the consistory, unto the sovereign grand inspector-generalship of the thirty-third and last degree, and in most of these he has served as the presid- ing officer.
As a legislator, municipal chief-magis- trate, soldier, orator, or officer of fraternal beneficiary societies, he has ever discharged his varied duties with ability and faithful- ness.
FOX, WILLIAM HENRY, son of Henry Hodges and Sarah Ann (Burt) Fox, was born in Taunton, Bristol county, August 29, 1837.
His early educational training was re- ceived in the public schools of his native place, where he was prepared for col- lege. He was graduated from Harvard in the class of 1858. Choosing the pro- fession of law, and having pursued the requisite preparatory reading, he was ad- mitted to the bar in 1861. He at once entered active practice, and has remained in the same to the present time.
In January, 1865, he was appointed jus- tice of the municipal court of Taunton. He was appointed justice of the first dis- trict court of Bristol in 1875, which posi- tion he still holds.
Judge Fox was married in Taunton, October 6, 1864, to Anna M., daughter of James H. and Harriet M. (Yale) Anthony. Of this union were three children : William Yale, Marion and Francis Bird Fox. Wil- liam Yale Fox is a practicing physician in Taunton.
Judge Fox has been mayor of the city of Taunton ; one of the trustees of the pub- lic library for seventeen years ; is vice- president of the Bristol County Sav- ings Bank ; member of the board of trustees of Wheaton Female Seminary, and is interested in, and an active mem-
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ber of, various benevolent and literary so- cieties.
The four grandparents of Judge Fox could trace their ancestry back almost to the first settlement of this country : Thomas Fox, Cambridge, 1637 ; William Hodges, Boston, 1633 ; Kenelm Winslow, Plymouth, brother of Edward, 1629, and Richard Burt, one of the first settlers of Taunton in 1639. With this ancestry it is to be ex- pected that Judge Fox would be the thor- ough American he is. His influence is always for the right, intelligent and good, and while conservative in judgment, he is prompt in decision, and acts as he decides. He possesses the entire esteem and confi- dence of his fellow-citizens and profes- sional associates.
FRANCIS, JAMES BICHENO, was born in Oxfordshire, England, May 18, 1815. At the early age of fourteen he commenced his apprenticeship as a civil engineer, being engaged in dock construction in Wales, under Alexander Nimmo, chief engineer, and on the Grand Western Canal in Dev- onshire and Somersetshire, under James Green, chief engineer.
On these works he spent four years, after which, in 1833, he came to this coun- try, obtaining employment at once as an assistant engineer on the Stonington R. R. under William Gibbs McNeil and George W. Whistler. In 1834 Mr. Francis went to Lowell with Mr. Whistler, in charge of the locks and canals on the Merrimack River. In 1837 Mr. Francis became chief engineer, and in 1845 he was appointed agent of the corporation. He retained both offices until 1884, when, after fifty years' service with the company, he retired. He was subse- quently appointed their consulting engineer, an office he still holds.
In 1855 Mr. Francis published his " Low- ell Hydraulic Experiments," being a selec- tion from experiments made by him in connection with the distribution of the water power at Lowell, and in 1865 a work on cast-iron pillars, which was suggested by the fall of the Pemberton Mill at Law- rence in 1860,-a disaster attributable to the weakness of the pillars. In 1880-'81 he held the office of president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and he has contributed several papers to their trans- actions.
Mr. Francis was married in Lowell, 1837, to Sarah W., daughter of George and Lydia W. (Sweet) Brownell. Of this union are four children surviving : George E., James, Charles and Elizabeth, wife of Henry H. Bennett.
FRENCH.
FRENCH, JOB B., son of Enoch and Sarah (Read) French, was born in Fall River, Bristol county, March 6, 1806.
His education was limited to the com- mon schools of those days. His first con- nection in business was as a clerk in his father's store, in 1820, the first shoe store ever opened in the town. He entered as a partner with his father and two brothers in 1827, managing a tannery, and manu- facturing boots, shoes and leather. In 1832 they divided their interest, the sub- ject of this sketch taking the store with his father. At the decease of his father, in 1847, he assumed the control of the business and continued it alone until 1864, when he took in his son as partner, under the firm name of J. B. French & Son.
Mr. French was married in Fall River, in 1831, to Abby Allan, who was born in Newport, R. I., daughter of William S. N. and Mehitabel Allan. She died in 1870. In 1873 Mr. French was again married, to Mary B., daughter of Robert and Hope Cook ; she died in 1882. His children are : Mary E., wife of D. H. Dyer (now de- ceased), James R. (now deceased), Edward A. (now deceased), Abby M., Julia W., Sarah J. (wife of William Lindsey, of Fall River).
Mr. French was representative to the General Court in 1836 and '41 ; was presi- dent of the Fall River Savings Bank some sixteen years, and trustee nearly half a cen- tury ; was a member of the common coun- cil several years, and has served on the board of assessors ; has been president of the Weetamoe Cotton Manufacturing Com- pany from its commencement, 1870, to the present time. He has been a member of the First Baptist church since 1830.
FRENCH, JONAS HARROD, son of William and Sarah (Baldwin) French, was born in Boston, November 4, 1829.
He was educated in the Boston public schools, graduating from the English high school in I845.
He began his business career as a gro- cer. He afterwards became largely inter- ested in distilling ; to an otherwise varied and extensive business he has added the granite industry, managing a large inter- est as president of the Cape Ann Granite Company.
Mr. French was married in Boston, in 1857, to Fanny E., daughter of Newell A. and Susan (Wyman) Thompson. Of this union are two children : Fanny T. and Henry G. French. In 1883 he married Nella J., daughter of William and Lucinda Pearson of Boston.
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FRENCH.
Mr. French in 1869 organized the Cape Ann Granite Company, the quarries of which are located in Gloucester. He has furnished the granite for numerous public buildings and monuments-notably the Boston post-office and sub-treasury building, Baltimore post-office, the bases of the Scott monument, Washington, D. C., the spandel walls of the great Brooklyn bridge, and the new court-house in Boston.
JONAS H. FRENCH.
He was scarcely of age when he en- rolled himself in the City Guards, the favorite Boston company of those days. He was elected captain of the company, holding the position three years. He served two years on the staff of Governor Gardner. In 1861 he was commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery of Boston, and is to-day one of the oldest living commanders of that time-honored corps. In 1853, '55 and '56 he was a mem- ber of the common council of the city of Boston.
In November, 1861, at Camp Chase, Lowell, he raised the regiment known as "The Eastern Bay State," afterwards designated as the 30th Massachusetts. In January following he sailed in com- mand of that regiment for Ship Island, attached to General Benjamin F. Butler's expedition against New Orleans. He was
provost-marshal-general of Louisiana, and subsequently served under General N. P. Banks.
Colonel French was a delegate to the national Democratic convention, at Cin- cinnati, in 1880, and at St. Louis in 1888, and was a member of the state Senate, 1879 and '80, doing brilliant work on lead- ing committees, and was chairman of the Democratic state central committee for three years.
He was three years president of the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis R. R., and ten years a director in the New York & New England R. R. He has been a director in the West End Land Company since 1887, and has been since 1873 a director of the Maverick National Bank, Boston. He is a prominent Mason, and one of the founders of St. Bernard En- campment, and Revere Lodge.
FRENCH, WILLIAM WESLEY, son of William B., and Mary Ann (Torrey) French, was born in Brockton, Plymouth county, January 10, 1849.
Receiving his preparatory education in the grammar and high schools of Brockton, he entered Dartmouth College in 1867, and was graduated in the class of 1872.
After graduation he taught school for a short time in Sandwich and in Kingsland, N. J., and choosing the profession of law, pursued his legal studies in the office of Knapp & Bowman, Boston. He was ad- mitted to the Suffolk bar in August, 1874, and immediately began the practice of his profession in Gloucester, where . he has since resided.
August 1, 1878, at Gloucester, Mr. French was married to Lelia Fenno, daughter of Moses H. and Ellen M. (Low) Shaw.
Mr. French is a member of the Knights of Pythias, was secretary and chairman of the Republican city committee of Glouces- ter, having held the position several years, and is a special justice of the police court, and president of Unity Club. In 1879 he was a member of the common council, city solicitor four years, 1880-'81-'82-'83, and in 1888 was elected mayor by the city coun- cil, and re-elected for 1889, without oppo- sition.
Mr. French, in his last inaugural address, indicated a laudable purpose to have an administration characterized by economi- cal and judicious expenditure of money, a non-partisan and paternal oversight of schools, and a careful attention to the minor details of municipal government, which went far to confirm the judgment
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FROST.
formed by his fellow-citizens of the ability and integrity of their new chief executive officer. These indications have all been verified, and the city of Gloucester may well be congratulated at the result of its action at the polls.
FRIES, WULF CHRISTIAN JULIUS, son of Johan Carl Ludolph and Anna (Stuhr) Fries, was born in Garbeck-Holstein, Ger- many, January 10, 1825.
He was educated in his father's school until he was eleven years of age, when he went to Ploen, in Holstein, to receive in- struction in music. His father being an amateur musician, had given him some instruction on the violoncello, and being so small he was obliged to stand and play it in the bass fashion. At Ploen he was tried at various instruments. He made himself useful in playing the French horn, violin, viola, bass, trombone, etc., when needed. From Ploen he went with his brother August to Bergen in Norway, where they were engaged by a Mr. Schloss-
WULF C. J. FRIES.
bauer, who, not treating them well, was obliged by law to release them.
However, in Bergen they made friends, and were invited to play in the only theatre there, August playing the violin, and Wulf the 'cello. They gave con- certs and helped artists who came there
to concertize, such as Ole Bull and Keller- man, the famous 'cellist. From hearing these two great artists, Wulf was decided as to his instrument, and became the world-renowned 'cellist he is. In 1847 both brothers came to America. Wulf chose Boston, and has made it his home, where he has delighted New England audi- ences, and done much to raise the stand- ard of orchestration.
Mr. Fries was married in St. Paul's Episcopal church, Boston, July 7, 1851, to Louisa Ann Mary, daughter of James P. Gann (London, Eng.), and Mary Miles Goldfinch Hickins (Ryder) Gann (Lanca- shire, Eng.). Of this union were two children : James Christian Charles and Wulf (deceased). He was again married near the city of Bergen, Norway, Septem- ber 16, 1857, to Magdalene, daughter of Johan Fritzner and Henrietta (Neven) Greve, of Norway. Of this union are two children : Louisa Henriette and Anna Magdalene Fries.
In Boston, Wulf Fries was at first 'cellist at the old National Theatre, but when his brother, the violinist, came to Boston and settled, one year later, the Mendelssohn Quintette Club was formed by August Fries, at the house of John Bigelow. This was in 1849. Previous to this, Wulf, being a fine trombone player, had joined the Germania, and was an original member of the Germania Serenade Band. He was also to be found in almost every good con- cert in Boston from that time, being a mem- ber of the old Musical Fund Society. He took part in all the Handel and Haydn concerts, the Harvard Musical Society, the Jubilees, etc. The Mendelssohn Quin- tette Club took the most of his time and gave him opportunities for the best cham- ber music, in which he always feels partic- ularly happy.
After twenty-three years with the Men- delssohn Quintette Club, he tired of trav- eling, and the Beethoven Quintette Club was formed. This change kept him nearer home, and when Rubenstein came to Bos- ton, Mr. Fries was called upon to play in trios with him and the great Wieniawski.
His residence is Roxbury. His church connections are with the Lutherans.
FROST, HENRY, son of Washington and Samantha (Lawrence) Frost, was born in Granby, P. Q., May 18, 1832.
His education was obtained in the dis- trict schools and Derby Academy, Vermont.
He came to Boston in 1852 ; entered the employ of Pierce, Clark & Reed, wholesale dry goods merchants : in 1854 he was ad-
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mitted a partner of the firm of L. B. Hor- ton & Co., which took the name of Horton, Boon & Frost ; in 1857, Boon, Frost & Co., and in 1868 Henry Frost & Co. He is at present a large and prosperous silk manu- facturer, his firm representing the Eureka Silk Manufacturing Company, of which
HENRY FROST.
Mr. Frost is vice-president, and for whom Seavy, Foster & Bowman are selling agents. Of this latter firm Mr. Frost is also a partner.
Mr. Frost was married in Boston, Sep- tember 4, 1860, to Elizabeth Burrows, daughter of John and Ann (Burrows) Gil- bert. They have two children : Henry Gilbert and William Lawrence Frost.
MIr. Frost has been a member of the Boston ward and city committee for ten years ; member of the Boston common council 1886 and '87; member of the Legislature as representative 1888 and '89, serving on the committees on public chari- table institutions, cities and library.
He has been a justice of the peace three terms ; was chairman of the building com- mittee of the Boston Young Men's Christian Association twelve years ; is a prominent member of the Boston Merchants' Club, Home Market Club, and Mercantile Associ- ation ; trustee of Home Savings Bank, and a number of other corporations.
FROST.
He has been a member of the Congre- gational denomination since 1853, and is an honored member of the Congregational Club.
Mr. Frost was a delegate to the World's Convention of the Young Men's Christian Association which met at Stockholm in 1888.
FROST, RUFUS SMITH, son of Joseph, Jr., and Lucy (Wheeler) Frost, was born in Marlborough, Cheshire county, N. H., July 18, 1826. His father, a thrifty farmer, was a native of this town, as were three successive generations of the same fami- ly. The English ancestor, Elder Edmund Frost, came to this country in the sloop "Great Hope," during the autumn of 1635, from Ipswich, England, accompanied by his wife and son. He settled in Cambridge, where he became ruling elder of the First church, which was organized soon after his arrival.
From this most excellent patriarch seven generations have lineally descended, Mr. Frost being in the seventh. On his mater- nal side he derives his origin from Thomas Wheeler, who was established in Town- send as early as 1640. His grandfather was David Wheeler, who married Rebecca Hoar of Concord, and was the first town clerk of Marlborough, N. H., in 1776.
Mr. Frost, the eighth child of his parents, left his native town at the age of seven years, together with his widowed mother and family, and removed to Boston. There he attended the public schools, and supple- mented his public school education by a course of academic training in Newton.
Thus fitted for a commercial career, he entered a wholesale dry -goods house in Boston. By vigor, aptitude, and ability displayed in this service, he rapidly rose to the highest position, and at the age of twenty-one was admitted to partnership in the firm which adopted the title of Osgood & Frost, and continued in business for sev- eral years. In 1866 the present firm of Rufus S. Frost & Co. was organized for the transaction of a general commission business in American goods. Mr. Frost soon became extensively engaged in the manufacture of woolens. The National Association of Woolen Manufacturers was founded November 20, 1864. Of that association Mr. Frost was president for seven years. He is also chairman of the executive committee.
To the astonishingly rapid development of American manufacture during the last twenty years Mr. Frost has conspicuously and effectively contributed. His adminis-
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trative ability has been recognized by his fellow-citizens, and he has been called repeatedly to positions of public honor and responsibility.
He was mayor of Chelsea (his present residence) in 1867, and in '68 he received a practically unanimous re-election. In 1871 and '72 he was a member of the state Senate, serving on the committees on harbors and mercantile affairs, and was chairman of the same committees during the latter session.
In 1873 and '74 he was a member of Governor Washburn's council. In 1874 he was elected to the 44th Congress from the
RUFUS S. FROST.
4th congressional district, and served with marked ability on the committee on rail- roads, and the committee on freedmen's affairs.
Mr. Frost has long been actively con- nected with numerous benevolent and religious societies, and the educational in- stitutions of the State have found in him a liberal patron and a wise counselor. He remembered his native town by a generous gift in the shape of an elegant granite library building, furnished with two thou- sand volumes, the deed of the whole being presented to the citizens of Marlborough, N. Il., August 26, 1867. To this was added also a fund of five thousand dollars, the
FROTHINGHAM.
interest annually accruing from which to be used for the purchase of additional books. In honor of the donor, it was named by the town the "Frost Free Library.'
Mr. Frost has been twice married. His first wife was Ellen M., daughter of Hon. Charles and Amelia (Ripley) Hubbard. His second marriage occurred in Corning, N. Y., June 18, 1879, with Catherine Emily, daughter of Benjamin C. and Catherine (Matthews) Wickham. He has had six children : Charles Hubbard, Ellen Amelia, John Osgood (deceased), Emma Wheeler, Rufus Haskell, and Albert Plumb Frost.
FROTHINGHAM, OCTAVIUS BROOKS, son of Nathaniel Langton and Ann (Brooks) Frothingham, was born in Boston, Novem- ber 26, 1822.
His early educational training was re- ceived in private schools, where he learned all the rudiments the regular curriculum then demanded. He then attended the Boston Latin school, where he prepared for college, entering Harvard in 1839. He was graduated with honors in the class of 1843, being elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. After graduation he chose theology for his life work, and entered the Harvard divinity school, from which he was graduated in 1846.
In 1847 he was called to the North church, Salem, where he remained until 1855. From Salem he went to Jersey City, where he remained four years, thence to New York City, remaining until 1879. Mr. Frothingham resigned the ministry on account of ill health, and traveled for some two years. Since his return he has given his attention to literary pursuits. Among his works are the lives of George Ripley (1882) and William H. Channing (1886). He has been a con- tributor to the "Atlantic," "Century," and " North American Review."
Mr. Frothingham was married in Boston, in 1847, to Caroline Elizabeth, daughter of Caleb and Caroline Martha (Agry) Curtis. Of this union is one child: Eliza- beth Bowditch, born in 1850, wife of W. L. Parker, of Boston.
Mr. Frothingham has been an active worker in various philanthropic societies ; was a strong anti-slavery man ; president of the Free Religious Association from 1867 to '78; and a member of the Mas- sachusetts Historical Society, etc.
He was a disciple and personal friend of Theodore Parker, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison, and Wendell Phillips. He has been a Rationalist, Trans-
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cendentalist, a disciple of John Stuart Mill, and of Herbert Spencer. He is to-day an agnostic in his belief, and an enthusiast in such practical work as he deems will best serve the interests of society, of which he is no unimportant factor.
FRYE, NEWTON PARKER, son of Her- man and Eliza (Richardson) Frye, was born in Methuen, Essex county, October 26, 1845.
He was educated in the public schools of Lawrence and Phillips Academy, An- dover. As a youth he worked on the farm, and at the age of seventeen entered the employ of Davis & Furber, machinists at North Andover, where he remained a number of years, during which time he not only successfully mastered the trade, but also found time to pursue his studies with a view of becoming a lawyer. He finally abandoned the machinist's trade ; studied law with Hon. Edgar Sherman, now justice of the superior court, and Hon. H. W. Harmon, and was admitted to the bar in 1877, and since then has been admitted as an attorney and counselor of the United States supreme court at Washing- ton, D. C.
NEWTON P. FRYE.
He immediately began legal practice, and has since continued in the prosecution of a large and increasing business. He
has been called to serve his town in all the town offices -assessor, overseer of the poor, selectman and town solicitor. He was a member of the House of Represent- atives in 1879, serving on the committee on insurance, of which he was clerk. In 1885 he was a member of the state Senate, serving on the committees on probate and chancery, bills in the third reading, and public service, being chairman of the two latter.
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