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 37
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Mr. Gardner was always alive to the fact that many acts are passed during hasty legislation, when great majorities are the result of some great issue, and never hesi- tated to use his veto power when he con- sidered it for the best good of the Com- monwealth.
GARGAN, THOMAS J., son of Patrick and Rose Gargan, was born in Boston, October 27, 1844.
His education was received at the public schools and through private instruction in literature and classics by the Rev. Peter Krose, S. J., by whom he was fitted for the Boston University law school, where he was graduated 1873, receiving the degree of
244
GARGAN.
LL. B. He read law in the office of Hon. Henry W. Paine.
His first business connection was in the dry-goods store of Wilkinson, Stetson & Co., Boston, agents for A. & W. Sprague, and the house of Hoyt, Sprague & Co., having charge of the Boston house when twenty years of age.
In 1863 he responded to the call of the government for troops, and was mustered into the United States service, commis- sioned 2d lieutenant, receiving at the expiration of his service an honorable dis- charge.
His present occupation is that of coun- selor-at-law in Boston. In 1868, '70 and '76 he was a member of the lower branch of the Legislature, a member of the board of overseers of the poor in 1875, chairman of the board of license commissioners in 1877-'78, and a member of the board of police in 1880-'81.
At Boston in September, 1868, Mr. Gar- gan was married to Catherine L., daughter of Lawrence and Catherine McGrath.
THOMAS J. GARGAN.
Mr. Gargan was president of the Chari- table Irish Society in 1873 and '74. He delivered the Fourth of July oration in Boston, in 1885, and also the oration at the centennial of the Charitable Irish Society of Halifax, N. S., in 1886.
GASTON.
Mr. Gargan takes an active interest in politics and tariff reform, and has already made for himself an honorable record. His methods are in agreeable contrast to many prevalent in strictly party work, and his intelligent and eloquent advocacy of the vital questions of the hour betoken for him a brilliant future on a plane even higher than that on which he has already acquired so enviable a reputation.
GASKILL, FRANCIS ALMON, son of Albert and Anna (Comstock) Gaskill, was born in Blackstone, Worcester county, January 3, 1846.
His early education was obtained in the common schools of his native town, and his preparation for college was completed in the Woonsocket high school. He was graduated from Brown University, R. I., in the class of 1866. He read law in the office of Hon. George F. Verry of Worces- ter, finished his preliminary law studies in the Harvard law school, and was admitted to the bar in Worcester, March 3, 1869.
He remained with Mr. Verry in the prac- tice of law until the death of the latter in 1883, since which time he has continued the business on his own account.
Mr. Gaskill was married in Providence, R. I., October 20, 1869, to Katharine M., daughter of Anthony and Ann (Dean) Whitaker. She died January 25, 1889, leaving two children : Mary M. and George A. Gaskill.
Mr. Gaskill was a member of the Wor- cester common council, 1875-'76, and has been district attorney of the Massachusetts middle district from 1887 to the present time. He was director of the Worcester free public library, 1878 to '84, and from 1886 to '89, in which latter year he was president of the board. He has been trus- tee of the Worcester Academy from 1876 to date, and of Brown University since 1888 ; director of the Worcester Natural History Society since 1882, and trustee of the People's Savings Bank, Worcester, since 1884, and director of the State Mutual Life Assurance Co. since January, 1889.
GASTON, WILLIAM, son of Alexander and Kezia (Arnold) Gaston, was born at Killingly, Windham county, Conn., October 3, 1820.
Springing from an ancestry combining the characteristics of the French Hugue- nots and the Scotch Presbyterian on his father's side, and the early Pilgrim settler on that of his mother, it is not surprising to find in Mr. Gaston a strong man. His father was a well-known merchant of Con-
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GATES.
GASTON.
necticut, of sterling integrity, and of re- markable force of character.
He was a pupil at the Brooklyn Acade- my, in Brooklyn, Conn., and later at Plain- field Academy, Plainfield, Conn., graduat- ing at Brown University, Providence, R. I., in the class of 1840, with honors. For his life work he decided upon the legal profes- sion, first entering the office of Francis Hil- liard of Roxbury, and afterwards complet- ing his studies with the distinguished jurists, Charles P. and Benjamin R. Curtis of Boston, with whom he remained until his admission to the Norfolk bar in 1844.
WILLIAM GASTON.
He first practiced law in Roxbury, in 1846, continuing there until 1865, when he removed his office to Boston and formed a partnership with the Hon. Harvey Jewell and Hon. Walbridge A. Field, under the firm name of Jewell, Gaston & Field. In 1875 he dissolved connection with this firm, and after carrying on the law business for a time alone, formed a partnership, in October, 1879, with C. L. B. Whitney, un- der the firm name of Gaston & Whitney. Mr. Gaston's son was added to the firm in 1883, the firm name remaining unchanged.
Mr. Gaston was married on May 27, 1852, at Roxbury, to Louisa A., daughter of Laban S. and Frances A. (Lines) Beecher of Roxbury, both natives of New Haven,
Conn., and descendants of the first settlers of the New Haven (Conn.) colony. They have had three children : Sarah Howard, William Alexander and Theodore Beecher Gaston, the latter dying in 1869.
Mr. Gaston has seen not a little of pub- lic life. For two years, 1861-'62, he was mayor of the city of Roxbury, before its incorporation with the city of Boston. In 1871 and '72 he had the honor to serve as the chief magistrate of their united for- tunes, Boston having absorbed its younger neighbor in 1867. In 1874 Mr. Gaston was the Democratic nominee for governor, and was elected by a majority of 7,033 over Thomas Talbot, the candidate of the Republican party. His administration was pre-eminently wise and acceptable. The position he occupied was a somewhat novel one, as the two houses of the Legislature were of a different political faith from the chief executive, and the State had not had a Democratic governor for many years previous. The scrutiny directed to him and his acts was critical and most trying. His success, however, in bringing his ad- ministration to a happy and honorable termination was abundant proof of the inherent ability and patriotic instincts of the man.
He is a member of the Union, Central, Algonquin and St. Botolph clubs of the city of Boston.
Mr. Gaston enjoys an honorable and lucrative practice in his chosen profession, and has long held, in the opinion of those competent to judge, an enviable place in the front rank of that remarkable array of talent which constitutes the bar in this State. A thorough and conscientious worker, an eloquent advocate, a man of unblemished integrity and of modest mien, he easily stands as one of Massachusetts' best known and highly respected representative men.
GATES, SAMUEL PEARLY, son of Pearly and Mary (Burr) Gates, was born in Ashby, Middlesex county, June 8, 1837.
He was educated in the district schools and academy of Ashby, and Bridgewater state normal school.
At twenty years of age he entered the office of Bates, Hyde & Co. (now Eagle Cotton Gin Co.).
In April, 1863, he enlisted in the regular army, U. S., and served one year at the war department, Washington, D. C.
In 1864 he returned to Bates, Hyde & Co., and has remained with them to date. In 1877 this concern was incorporated, and Mr. Gates appointed treasurer of the com- pany, which office he still holds. He is
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GAUGENGIGL.
now the largest stockholder in the corpo- ration. He has also been treasurer of Bridgewater Savings Bank since its incor- poration in 1872.
Mr. Gates was married in Plymouth, October 26, 1871, to Marcia E., daughter
SAMUEL P. GATES.
of Jacob and Joan (Holmes) Jackson, who died January 20, 1873. Of this union was one child, who died in infancy.
Mr. Gates holds his church connections with the Swedenborgian society, of which he is a prominent member, and holds vari- ous offices.
In addition to the labors incident to the positions named, Mr. Gates has ever been foremost in any public enterprise promis- ing to benefit his fellow-citizens, and is in Bridgewater pre-eminently the man called to act as treasurer for various societies, or trustee in the settlement of estates.
GAUGENGIGL, IGNAZ MARCEL MI- CHAEL MARTIN JOSEF, son of Ignaz Mar- cel Gaugengigl and Barbara V. Minuzy (Hauser) Gaugengigl, was born in Passau, Bavaria, January 16, 1855.
His early education was received in Munich, he having passed through the gymnasium, university, and the academy of fine arts. His tastes led him into the realm of art, and he became an artist in its full sense, imbued with the spirit of
GERRY.
artistic combinations, whether in color or form. His knowledge of the different stages in the development and growth of artistic taste gives him his accuracy in avoiding anachronisms in art, and makes him a recognized authority in social circles requiring the exercise of his peculiar talent.
Herr Gaugengigl came to this country and city in 1879, thinking to remain only a few months, but so pleased was he with the country, that, after staying two years, he went back to Europe and made arrange- ments for settling in America. He then returned, and has ever since made Boston his home.
GERRY, CHARLES FREDERICK, son of Charles and Orisa Gerry, was born in Sud- bury, Middlesex county, June 3, 1823. He received his early education in the district schools of Sudbury, which he attended during the winter sessions, up to the age of sixteen. He then received instruction for two terms from the Rev. E. O. Haven, of Framingham (afterwards Bishop Haven), one term at the Framingham Academy, three terms at the Wayland Academy, one at the Pinkerton Academy, Derry, N. H., and three terms at the New Hampshire Conference Seminary, Tilton, N. H.
He entered Wesleyan University, Mid- dletown, Conn., in 1847, and graduated in 1851. Previous to graduating he taught district schools during the winter months for six consecutive years, and after gradu- ating, taught several years in the Boston Mercantile Academy and elsewhere-the last term being in the Fort Hill school, Bos- ton, associated with the late Sheriff Kimball as master, and William T. Adams (Oliver Optic) as sub-master. After leaving college Mr. Gerry was for several years in the lecture field. He afterward went into life insurance, and also engaged in literary pur- suits, to both of which occupations he still devotes his time.
He was a member of the school board in the town of Dorchester before its an- nexation to Boston ; chairman of the school board of Sudbury, chairman of the board of selectmen in the same town for one year ; representative to the Legisla- ture from Hyde Park in 1877, and from Sudbury in 1880; elected senator from the 5th Middlesex senatorial district in 1882, and re-elected in 1883. He was jus- tice of the peace for some years ; presi- dent of the Hyde Park Savings Bank for about six years, resigning when he changed his residence to Sudbury. He was master of Hyde Park Masonic Lodge two years,
247
GIFFORD.
GIBBONS.
and has been an honorary member of the same since 1887.
Mr. Gerry is the author of a book of poems, entitled "Meadow Melodies," a work which has received very high com- mendation from the press.
He was married at Sanbornton Bridge (now Tilton), N. H., June 5, 1852, to Miss Martha A. Clough, a lady who a few months after graduating at the New Hampshire Female College, won a prize of five hundred dollars offered by a Bos- ton publisher. She was afterwards for sev- eral years editress of the "Boston Olive Branch." They have four children : Charles C., Eleanor M., Frank F., and Gilbert H.
GIBBONS, JOHN M., son of Carlos and Almira (Tinker) Gibbons, was born in Granville, Hampden county, November 15, 1883.
His early education was limited to the country district school. He began business life for himself in 1851 as a merchant, and has continued in the same line up to date.
He has been thirty-eight years in busi- ness. He has been town clerk, and treas- urer for sixteen years, still holding the latter office ; was assistant-postmaster fif- teen years at East Granville and Granville Corners, and postmaster, from the estab- lishing of the Granville post-office to the present time. He was a member of the House of Representatives from the 11th Representative district of Hampden county, in 1876.
Mr. Gibbons was married in Granville, February 25, 1854, to Morand M., daugh- ter of Solomon and Nancy (Godard) Gains. Of this union were seven children : El- bert S., Clarabell E. (deceased), Edwin M., Myra D., Fred N., William C., and Benjamin F. Gibbons.
GIDDINGS, THEODORE, third son of Augustine and Olive (Lydia) Giddings, was born in Great Barrington, Berkshire county, December 5, 1837, and was edu- cated in the public schools and at the academy of his native town.
After teaching for several years in the state of New Jersey and in New York City, he studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in that city, grad- uating in 1868, and immediately entered upon the practice of his profession at Housatonic. He is a member of th Berkshire District Medical Society, of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and of the American Medical Association.
In 1886 he was elected to the lower branch of the Legislature, serving upon
the committee on public health, as House chairman. In 1888 he was again elected to the Legislature, being assigned to the committee on drainage.
Dr. Giddings is a man well known in Berkshire county, active, energetic and affable - a successful physician, and a man of high character.
His residence is Great Barrington.
GIFFORD, BENJAMIN DODS, son of Simeon S. and Marinda A. (Dods) Gifford, (daughter of Rev. John Bovee Dods), was born in Provincetown, Barnstable county, Nov. 19, 1841.
He obtained his education in the public schools, Westbrook Seminary, Maine, and Eagleswood school, Perth Amboy, N. J. He entered Antioch College in 1860, and was graduated from Madison University, N. Y., in the class of 1864; took the de- gree of doctor of medicine from Albany Medical College in December, 1866, and A. M., in 1867 ; had charge of Union Academy, Belleville, N. Y., one year after completing his college course.
He practiced medicine in Fond du Lac, Wis., and in Gloucester, Mass., till Febru- ary, 1871, when he located in Chatham, where he has since resided.
Dr. Gifford was married in Oswego, N. Y., December 31, 1863, to Mary E. Smith, of Ballston Spa, N. Y., daughter of William P. and Lydia P. (Dennis) Smith. Of this union are two children : Marinda B. and Romenia D. Gifford.
Dr. Gifford has been president of the Barnstable District Medical Society, was editor of the " Chatham Monitor " from its foundation till 1874 ; was deputy-collector of customs under the Hayes and Arthur administrations ; and was appointed post- master of Chatham in 1889.
Dr. Gifford was private secretary and cashier for Col. J. C. Van Duzer from July, 1865, to August, 1866, headquarters of the U. S. military telegraph lines at Nashville, Tenn.
He is a prominent Mason, and estab- lished St. Martin's Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in Chatham, of which he has been five times elected master.
He has been connected with the editorial department of the "Barnstable Patriot " for many years.
GIFFORD, ORRIN PHILLIP, son of Phillip R. and Parthenia (Perkins) Gifford, was born in Montague, Franklin county, April 15, 1847.
He obtained his early educational train- ing in the public and private schools, and
248
GIFFORD.
GILLETT.
in Franklin Academy, Shelburne Falls. He finished his preparatory course in the Con- necticut Literary Institute, and entered Brown University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1874.
Feeling that he had been called to a life labor in the church, he entered the theo- logical seminary at Rochester, N. Y., and was graduated in the class of 1877.
Previous to his professional training, he was engaged with the Lamson & Goodnow Manufacturing Company, Shelburne Falls, and subsequently in their ware-rooms in New York City.
He was ordained in 1877, at Pittsfield, Mass., and was called to the Baptist church at Pittsfield.
He was installed as pastor of the Warren Avenue Baptist church, Boston, March, 1879, where he is still settled. His labors
ORRIN P. GIFFORD.
in this society have been blessed, and he retains the love and confidence of his peo- ple, as well as the respect of his brethren in the ministry. He is alive to every move- inent of reform promising benefits, and in particular has been aggressively active in the work of temperance.
Mr. Gifford's social qualities are a marked feature of the man, and he brings these to the platform and to the pulpit. His good humor, quick perception, ready
speech, and terse manner of putting things render him an attractive speaker.
Mr. Gifford was married in Shelburne Falls, June 26, 1877, to Florence N., daughter of Ebenezer G. and Polly (Eager) Lamson. Of this union are three chil- dren : Flora S., Mary E. and O. P. Gif- ford, Jr.
GILLETT, EDWARD BATES, son of Daniel and Edith (Bates) Gillett, was born in South Hadley Falls, Hampden county, August 24, 1818. He is descended from a line of scholars well known in legal and theological circles in the United States.
He fitted for college in the Hadley and Westfield academies, and was graduated from Amherst College in the class of 1839, notable for the many afterwards eminent men who were its members.
Upon graduation he entered the law office of his uncle, Isaac Bates, of North- ampton, the brilliant leader of that bar. He completed his legal education at the Cambridge law school, and in 1843 was admitted to the Suffolk bar, and began practice in Westfield as partner of William G. Bates, already a leading lawyer. This co-partnership continued until 1852, when Mr. Gillett received as junior partner Ar- thur Lincoln, and after the death of the latter, in 1849, a partnership was formed with Hon. Homer B. Stevens, which con- tinued until 1883, under the name of Gil- lett & Stevens.
In 1856 he was elected district attorney for the counties of Hampden and Berk- shire, and held the office by continuous re- elections till 1871, when he declined fur- ther service.
During these years he had become emi- nent as an advocate in his regular profes- sional practice. He is a scholarly repre- sentative among the brilliant leaders of the Massachusetts bar -classical in his ideas of oratory, courteous in manner, and scru- pulously exact in his methods of practice. Although closely wedded to his profession, he broadened by reading and study to the demands of society, serving his town, his chosen church and his party with generous devotion.
In his early life a Whig, and a Republi- can since the formation of that party, his voice and pen have been constantly active in conscientious support of party issues. He was delegate to the national convention in 1856, and presidential elector in 1860. Never caring to accept purely political office, he has repeatedly refused nomina- tions for congressional honors, and has but
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GILMAN.
once served as member of the state Senate (1852).
He has always manifested a deep inter- est in educational matters, and since 1861 has been a trustee of Amherst College ; has been vice-president of Smith College, Northampton, since its foundation, and was for many years a member of the Massa- chusetts board of education. He has been identified with all the important movements for the welfare of the town of Westfield --- energetic and influential. He was presi- dent of the Hampden Bank from 1858 to '82 ; president of the Westfield Insurance Company ; president of the board of trus- tees of the Westfield Academy Fund ; presi- dent of the Westfield Athenaeum ; director of the American Whip Company ; for many years counsel for the New Haven & Northampton Railroad Company and for the Boston & Albany Railroad.
In 1880 he was elected a corporate mem- ber of the American Board of Commission- ers for Foreign Missions ; is one of the trus- tees of the Hartford Theological Seminary ; is president of the Hampden Bar Associa- tion. In 1885 he received from Amherst College the honorary degree of LL. D.
Mr. Gillett has been called to manage many celebrated cases, and was notably connected with the prosecution of the Northampton bank robbers in 1877, con- ducting all cross-examinations and making the closing arguments. He has long been connected with the First church in West- field.
Mr. Gillett was married in Westfield, November 1, 1848, to Lucy, daughter of Hon. James and Lucy (Douglass) Fowler, of Westfield. Of this union were seven children, three of whom survive: Freder- ick H., Arthur L. and Lucy Douglass Gillett.
GILMAN, NICHOLAS PAINE, son of Charles and . Annette Maria (Dearborn) Gilman, was born December 21, 1849, in Quincy, Adams county, Illinois, where his father practiced law and was reporter to the supreme court of that state.
He received his early educational train- ing in academies in Parsonsfield, Maine, and Effingham, N. H., and entering the Harvard divinity school in 1868, was graduated in 1871. In 1872 he was settled over the Unitarian church in Scituate, and in 1875 took charge of the first parish in Bol- ton, remaining until 1878, when he went to Ohio, where he was professor of English literature and German in Antioch College at Yellow Springs, and preached in the college chapel.
GILMAN.
Returning to New England, he had charge of the Unitarian churches in Way- land and Sudbury for a couple of years, and after a tour in England, fixed his resi- dence in West Newton, where he has since resided, devoting himself especially to lit- , erary pursuits.
Having been a contributor for a dozen years to the " Literary World " of Boston, he became editor of the paper in October, 1888. The " Literary World" is a fort- nightly paper, devoted to the review of current literature, and is the oldest journal of its class in the United States, with a high reputation and a well-established cir- culation. It was founded by S. R. Crocker in 1870, and was purchased in 1877 by the Rev. Edward Abbott and E. H. Hames, chief clerk of the "Congregationalist," Mr. Abbott continuing in editorial charge until 1888.
Mr. Gilman has contributed somewhat to the " Christian Register," and numerous articles from his pen may be found in the " Unitarian Review," of which he was assistant editor from 1885 to '89. These articles are mainly philosophical and theo- logical, with many reviews of new books. But in 1887, having a deep interest in social questions, Mr. Gilman began the preparation of a comprehensive work on " Profit Sharing between Employer and Employee " considered as one remedy for labor troubles, which was published by Houghton, Mifflin & Co., in March, 1889 (460 pp.), with the sub-title " A Study in the Evolution of the Wages System." It soon passed into its third thousand, having been received with great favor by the press of the United States and England, where it was brought out in a copyrighted edi- tion. A German translation is in prepara- tion. English and American economists, with President Francis A. Walker, pro- nounce it a "clear and complete account of all the experiments in profit sharing," in which "the economic principles govern- ing such arrangements between employer and employee are correctly stated, and the practical difficulties besetting the applica- tion of those principles are fairly, temper- ately, and judiciously discussed." United States Labor Commissioner Carroll D. Wright says the work is "a great contribu- tion to economic literature - the very best work on profit sharing that has appeared in the English language, while it is far more complete in its general construction than any that has appeared in any lan- guage." It was also awarded a gold medal at the recent Paris Exposition.
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GILMORE.
GILMORE, HENRY HUBBARD, son of Mitchel and Czarina (Currier) Gilmore, was born in Warner, Merrimack county, N. H., August 31, 1832.
He obtained his early education at the common schools of his native place, and at Concord, supplemented by a course at the academy at Concord, N. H.
His first connection in business was in 1857, with Joseph Ballister & Company of Boston. He subsequently was with John Dutton, agent for Earl, Smith & Company, steel manufacturers, Sheffield, England, and in 1854 succeeded to Mr. Dutton's business. He was for a time manager of the sales department of the Whipple File & Steel Manufacturing Company, later establishing an iron rolling mill at Croton, N. Y. He is now the proprietor of the Cambridge Rolling Mills, a large and liberal employer of labor, in the manufacture of wrought iron.
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