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 56
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1872 he was admitted to the bar of the United States supreme court. His prac- tice was largely in admiralty. He was a reporter of the decisions of the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts from 1874 to '88. He is at present a justice of the superior court, having received the well- merited appointment at the hands of Gov- ernor Ames.
His is eminently a legal mind, with a good share of practical business sense ; always self-contained and composed, his success as a judge seems assured.
He was married in Boston, June 24, 1875, to Eliza Davis, daughter of Richard G. and Mary Ann (Davis) Parker.
In 1862 he was made Ist lieutenant, 35th Massachusetts voluntcer infantry, and also captain of the same, resigning on account of disability in 1863.
He held the position of lecturer in the Harvard law school in 1871 and '73, and in the Boston law school in 1873, '80, '81, '82 and '83.
Judge Lathrop still resides in Boston.
LAVALLEE, CALIXA, son of Augustin and Caroline (Valentine) Lavallee, was born at Verchères, on the St. Lawrence River, in Lower Canada, December 28, 1842.
After acquiring a rudimentary education in the schools of his native province, he completed his education in France, gradu- ating at Paris. He studied pianoforte under Marmontel, and harmony, counterpoint instrumentation under Boieldieu and Bazin. Returning to America, he established him- self as a teacher of the art in Boston, where he ranks as a superior musician in interpretation. The style of his composi- tions is bright and melodic, his concerted pieces exhibiting a knowledge of instru- mentation remarkably original.
Mr. Lavallee has been prominent in the Music Teachers' National Association. In 1884 he played a programme of entirely American compositions before that body at its meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. He was elected president of the association and served as such 1886-'7. In January, 1888, he was sent as a delegate. to London to represent the association before the Na- tional Society of Professional Musicians of England.
At present he has a very large class of pupils, of whom many are at the head of leading schools throughout the country ; he is director of the music at the Cathe- dral of the Holy Cross in Boston, and chairman of the programme committee of the Music Teachers' National Association.
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LAWRENCE.
His works are : a " Cantata for the recep- tion of the Princess Louise at Quebec," 1878 ; operas of " La Veuve " and "T. & Q." a symphony ; offertory for solo, chorus, organ and orchestra ; twelve études for piano ; mass in D minor for soprano, con- tralto, tenor, bass, chorus and orchestra ; concerto for piano and orchestra ; miscel- laneous works for piano ; string quartettes ; an oratorio, songs, etc.
Mr. Lavallee was married in Lowell, December 21, 1867, to Josephine, daughter of François and Elizabeth (Randolph) de Gentilly. They have a son : Raoul.
LAWRENCE, ASA S., the son of Asa and Betsey (Bennett) Lawrence, of Groton, and a descendant of Captain Asa Lawrence of revolutionary fame, was born in Groton, Middlesex county, May 10, 1820.
He received his education in the com- mon schools in Groton ; worked on his father's farm during his minority, and afterwards continued in the same vocation.
ASA S. LAWRENCE.
He was appointed a deputy sheriff for the county of Middlesex, in the year 1851, and still holds a commission as such ; was appointed an assistant assessor for the 7th congressional district during the war of the rebellion ; was appointed a justice of the peace for the county of Middlesex many years ago, and still holds a commission ;
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was coroner for the county of Middlesex many years, also a notary public.
Mr. Lawrence was a member of the state Legislature in 1877, serving on the com- mittee on claims ; he was also a member of the Legislature in 1881, and served on the prison committee. He was a member of the Republican state central committee for two years. He was chairman of the board of selectmen, assessors and over- seers of the poor of the town of Groton for ten consecutive years ; was collector of taxes for twenty-five years, and has held other town offices at various times. He was a member of the Groton Artillery for many years, and was commissioned as captain. He is a member of the Groton Farmers' and Mechanics' Club, and has been its secretary for fifteen consecutive years, also a charter member of the Groton Grange and one of its officers.
Mr. Lawrence was married in April, 1854, to Agnes B., daughter of Jacob and Betsey (Davis) Pollard, who died in March, 1861. His second marriage occurred in November, 1870, to Mrs. Jennie E. Pol- lard, daughter of Deacon Nathaniel and Lydia K. (Hills) Davis, of Groton. Mr. Lawrence has one child : William A. Law- rence.
LAWRENCE, SAMUEL CROCKER, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Crocker) Law- rence, was born in Medford, Middlesex county, November 22, 1832.
His early education was obtained in the public schools of Medford, Lawrence Acad- cmy, Groton, and by private study at night. He entered Harvard University in 1851 and graduated with honors in the class of 1855.
For two years after graduation he was a partner in the banking firm of Bigelow & Lawrence of Chicago, and then, at the de- sire of his father, returned to his native place, to engage in business with him as one of the firm of Daniel Lawrence & Sons, distillers, of which he has for many years been the sole partner.
On the 28th of April, 1859, at Charles- town, he was married to Caroline Rebecca, (laughter of Rev. William and Rebecca (Taylor) Badger. They have two children : William Badger and Louise Lawrence.
Mr. Lawrence is a descendant in the twenty-fourth generation from one Robert Lawrence of Lancashire, England, who was knighted by Richard Cœur de Lion, A. D. 1191, in the war of the crusades, as "Sir Robert of Ashton Hall, for distinguishing himself in the siege of Acre."
Having a fondness for the military, he was commissioned lieutenant in the Massa-
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chusetts volunteer militia, 1855, captain in 1856, resigned in 1857 to go West ; re-com- missioned captain, 1858; major, 1859; July 23, 1860, colonel of the 5th regiment of Massachusetts militia, which was one of the first regiments to volunteer for ser- vice when the war broke out in 1861. Dur- ing the preceding winter, with characteris- tic forethought, he began to prepare for what seemed to him an inevitable war, and at his own expense he hired the hall over the Fitchburg railroad station in Boston for frequent drills, and succeeded in bring- ing his command to a high degree of pro- ficiency in military tactics. Colonel Law- rence was afterwards offered a commission in the regular army, which he felt obliged to decline, as he did not then wish to part from his men. He tendered his regiment to Governor Andrew on the 15th of April, 1861, and on the 19th he was ordered to report for duty. His regiment fought with credit at the first battle of Bull Run, Sun- day, July 21st, in which Colonel Lawrence was wounded. He was commissioned by Governor Andrew, June 9, 1862, brigadier- general in the militia of Massachusetts, which rank he resigned August 20, 1864. He received in 1869 one of the highest com- pliments paid to military men in this Com- monwealth, in being elected commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- pany.
For over twenty-five years General Law- rence was actively interested in state and national politics, but though urgently solic- ited, persistently declined to accept office other than the purely honorary one of presidential elector.
He has filled with honor the trust of director in institutions of finance and in those of a charitable nature ; for many years he has served as a director of various railroad corporations, notably the Eastern, Maine Central, and the Boston & Maine railroads, in each of which he is still a director.
On the financial shipwreck of the East- ern Railroad in 1876, he was chosen presi- dent of the company, and was eminently successful in keeping the property intact, and in harmonizing the creditors and share- holders into arrangements which saved their interests from the devastation of a struggle in bankruptcy, and the valuable leaseholds of the company from disrup- tion. He is at the present time president of the Eastern and of other railroads.
Amid the pressure of business and of official labor and responsibility, he has never ceased to plan judiciously and to
LAWRENCE.
work zealously for the interests of the Masonic fraternity, in the highest offices of which he has been repeatedly honored. For over twenty-five years he has been one of the most active members in the supreme council of the Scottish Rite, and was for fourteen years the deputy for Mas- sachusetts. A characteristic feature of his Masonic labor has been the establish- ment of permanent charitable funds in every body in which he has been asso- ciated in the working offices. He was three times elected grand master of Ma- sons in Massachusetts, and it was largely through his persistent efforts that the large
SAMUEL C, LAWRENCE.
debt on the Masonic Temple in Boston was finally paid in full. His Masonic library is acknowledged to be one of the most complete in the country for its lit- erary and historical treasures.
General Lawrence has a strong hold upon the esteem and gratitude of his fel- low-townsmen of Medford, for no man has done more to preserve its integrity, pro- mote its welfare, and by his own generous example, quicken its charities. The Grand Army post of the town is called by his name, and no worthy cause of public im- provement or private distress fails to find in him an active worker and a beneficent friend.
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LEACH.
LEACH, GEORGE CARROLL, son of Ezekiel W. Leach, M. D., and Charlotte E. (Forster) Leach, was born in Boston, October 19, 1837.
He came from an honored line, dating back to an early period in the history of Salem, where, in 1628, Lawrence Leach came from Scotland, and was proposed for a "freeman," and obtained a grant of one hundred acres of land. His son Robert came to Manchester in 1640, and settled upon a farm on the "Plains," which has ever since remained in the family. His son Samuel was one of the selectmen in 1680, and he, in turn, was succeeded in the same office by his own son, Richard. Ben- jamin, the latter's son, was a shipmaster, and died at sea, leaving among other children, Ezekiel, who was born in 1755, served in the revolutionary army, and who died in 1821. His son Thomas was like- wise extensively engaged in navigation, dying in one of his own vessels on a voyage from Havana to Hamburg in 1828. His son Ezekiel was born in Manchester, 1809. He graduated from Amherst at the age of nineteen, and delivered the 4th of July oration at Manchester the same year, and entered the office of Dr. George C. Shat- tuck for the study of medicine, compiled a history of the town of Manchester, and died at the age of thirty-three.
Mr. Leach's early education was re- ceived in the public schools of Boston and Manchester. He obtained a position as messenger in the Blackstone Bank, Boston, in December, 1853, filling various positions of trust and responsibility, and in 1865 he was promoted to the office of assistant cashier. In July, 1868, he was elected cashier of the People's National Bank of Roxbury, and in August of the same year he was made treasurer of the Elliot Five Cents Savings Bank. In January, 1880, he was elected a director of the People's National Bank, being the youngest mem- ber of the board, and on the death of the late Henry Guild, he was chosen president.
Mr. Leach was married in 1860 to Angelina E., daughter of Willis A. and Elizabeth (Pray) Colson. They had as children : Grace, born 1861 ; Angie E., born 1864 (deceased) ; Benjamin Allen, born 1870 (deceased), and George Carroll Leach, born 1870.
Mr. Leach died July 30, 1889, at his summer residence, Manchester-by-the-Sea. He was a man greatly respected by all who knew him, for his sterling integrity, finan- cial judgment and his uniformly courteous and genial manner.
LEACH.
LEACH, GILES LUTHER, son of Giles and Lucy K. (French) Leach, was born in Raynham, Bristol county, July 10, 1823.
His educational advantages were limited to the common schools of Berkley, Taun- ton, and Raynham.
When he first started in life for himself, he was employed at Raynham in farming, and his present vocation is still that of farmer and cattle-broker.
Mr. Leach was first married June 17, 1857, to Hertilla Seaver, daughter of Da- vid and Hannah (Seaver) Standish. His second marriage occurred February 13, 1861, with Betsey Tobey Sprague, daugh- ter of Joseph D. and Betsey T. (Porter) Hathaway. Of this latter union are four children : Harry Sprague, Carrie Tobey, Giles Edward, and Jesse Porter Leach.
Mr. Leach has been president of a tem- perance society ; vice-president of the Mutual Improvement Society ; lieutenant of light infantry, Massachusetts volunteer militia ; has held the various town offices ; moderator of the annual town meetings for eighteen years, and of parish meetings twen- ty-five years ; trustee of the ministerial fund fifteen years ; selectman and member of the school board four years each ; assessor twenty years ; justice of the peace twenty- four years ; was enrolling officer for district No. 3 during the war, and was a member of the House of Representatives 1852 and '66. His residence is Berkley.
LEACH, JAMES CUSHING, son of Al- pheus and Elizabeth C. (Mitchell) Leach, was born in Bridgewater, Plymouth county, June 11, 1831.
His early education was gained in the district schools of those days. In the sev- enteenth year of his age he began serving his time as apprentice with Ambrose Keith, builder, Bridgewater. After sev- eral years with Mr. Keith, he engaged with J. E. Carver, cotton-gin manufacturer, where he remained until 1869.
Possessing a strong physique, he was enabled to do an unusually large amount of work daily, and by his diligence and economy he soon put himself in possession of means to go into business for himself.
In 1870 he began the manufacture of oil- proof paper, and with this specialty, and his agency for the sale of leather board, he has built up a prosperous business, in which he is still engaged.
Mr. Leach was married in Bridgewater, April 29, 1860, to Phebe, daughter of Mar- cus and Hannah K. (Leach) Conant. Of this union were three children, all dying in early childhood.
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LEE.
Mr. Leach possesses the unqualified confidence of his fellow-citizens. For many years he has been chairman of the Republican town committee ; for thirty years a working member of Plymouth County Agricultural Society, one of the trustees and prominent in its management.
He has long been a trustee of the sav- ings bank, and member of the investment
JAMES C. LEACH.
committee, also a director in the Brockton National Bank since its organization. He was commissioned justice of the peace by Governor Rice in 1877.
He has always encouraged ample appro- priations for public improvement, and par- ticularly that of education. He is a trustee of Bridgewater Academy.
His church connections are with the Central Square church of Bridgewater, to which he has been one of its most liberal contributors.
Mr. Leach is a lineal descendant of Giles Leach, who settled in Bridgewater before 1665, and of Rev. James Keith, the first minister in that section of the country.
LEE, ANDREW, son of Andrew and Fanny Lee, was born in Manchester, Es- sex county, December 15, 1829, and received his early education in the public schools of his native town. His first venture in
business was in a line not at all congenial to his tastes, and in 1855 he began the study of medicine under the tuition of Dr. George A. Priest,
Three years later he entered the retail drug business in Manchester. As success crowned his efforts, he erected a larger building than the one occupied, increased his business and associated his two sons with him.
Mr. Lee was married in Charlestown, November 11, 1847, to Jane E., daughter of Charles and Jane T. Bailey. Of this union are four children : Ada, Charles O., Frank E., and Jennie T. Lee.
Mr. Lee is treasurer of the Union Web Hammock Company, whose large factories are located in Gloucester. He is an active member of the I. O. O. F., and is one of the charter members of Magnolia Lodge 149.
The first representatives of this family of Lee were John and Thomas Lee, who landed at Ipswich, in 1640 and 1642 respect- ively. They were descendants of the first Lord Lee, Earl of Lichfield, Viscount Quarendon of Oxford, England. The cre- ation dates back to June 5, 1674, under the regime of the Second Charles. The old Lee family has held a ground title in Man- chester and vicinity continuously for over two hundred years.
LEIGHTON, JOHN WILLIAM, son of Jonathan and Sarah (Knight) Leighton, was born in Eliot, York county, Maine, February 26, 1825.
His early education was confined to the public schools of his native village. He came to Boston in 1843, where he learned his trade, and in 1854 became connected in business as builder, which line he still follows. He is at present chairman of the state armory commissioners.
Mr. Leighton was married in Eliot, Me., February 19, 1854, to Anaretta Tyler, daughter of James P. and Abigail F. (Varney) Frye. Of this union is one child: Fannie Leighton.
Mr. Leighton served in the Boston com- mon council 1861, '62, '63, '68 and '69 ; four years on the building committee, and on the committee on raising Church Street district. He was a member of the popular branch of the Legislature 1881 and '82, and was on the commission for re-modeling the state-house in 1880.
He is one of the directors in the Central National Bank; a trustee in the Home Sav- ings Bank, and a member of the invest- ment committee, also a director in the Gran- ite R. R. Company.
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LEIGHTON.
Mr. Leighton had full charge of moving Hotel Pelham in 1869, and did all the masonry. This was the first work of its magnitude ever done in this country, and
JOHN W. LEIGHTON.
was accomplished without an accident of any kind.
The most notable of his buildings are : Boston post-office, Rialto building, Herald building, Simmons block, Commonwealth Bank building, Williams building, and Bos- ton & Providence depot. Among the pri- vate residences are those of Hon. Frank Ames, Dr. Clarence H. Blake, and Hon. Leopold Morse.
Mr. Leighton is an energetic man, in- spiring the confidence of his associates, and holding their respect and esteem.
LEIGHTON, NICHOLAS WINFIELD SCOTT, son of Nicholas and Deborah (Whitney) Leighton, is a native of Auburn, Androscoggin county, Maine, moved from there at two years of age, and was edu- cated at the common and high schools of Gray, Maine. He early gave evidence of talent, and attracted the attention of his parents and teachers by devoting to draw- ing much time that ought to have been occupied with his regular lessons. His especial taste was for sketching horses.
From the age of fourteen till about seventeen, he was in the habit of purchas-
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ing young horses, which, after breaking in, he would sell at a considerable profit. In this way, by the time he was seventeen, he had made from sixteen to eighteen hun- dred dollars, with which he started for Portland, Me.
He first commenced by painting the portraits of horses for private parties, but as he only received two dollars and a half for his first commission, he did not feel much encouraged, so went to Providence, R. I., where he engaged in the artistic furniture trade, which he quickly picked up without any previous knowledge. This work was paid for by the piece, and young Leighton worked so industriously that some days he earned something over seventeen dollars. Upon the failure of the firm, Mr. Leighton traveled through differ- ent states, painting portraits of horses. He finally settled in Boston, and from a portrait painter of horses, he became one of the most famous animal painters of the day.
It is very evident that among the true causes of this artist's success is not only his conscientious devotion to art, but also
SCOTT LEIGHTON.
his inborn love of animals. He is a mem- ber of the Art Club, and has been not inaptly called the " Landseer of the United States."
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LELAND.
Among his best-known productions may perhaps be named " In the Stable," " Three Veterans," "Smuggler," "On the Road," " The Pet," "Waiting," "Dogs," and " The Fearnaught Stallions."
LELAND, LUTHER ERVING, son of Samuel and Achsah (Mason) Leland, was born in Leverett, Franklin county, July 22, 1824.
He received his early educational training in a Christian home, having for teachers, loving, intelligent parents-also in the public schools of Montague and Holliston. After attending the Holliston Academy for a short time, he entered Worcester Academy, where he fitted for college under the late Nelson Wheeler, afterwards pro- fessor of Greek in Brown University, Prov- idence, R. I.
His intentions were to finish his academic studies at Brown, but owing to the impaired health of both father and mother, and the fact of his being the youngest of the family - the one to whom his parents had looked for care and support in the decline of life - he saw that his duty was to relinquish his cherished hopes, and to tenderly and lov- ingly care for those parents the remainder of their allotted days.
During this period he studied medicine with Dr. J. C. Harris of Ashland, and at- tended lectures at the Berkshire Medical College, Pittsfield. He did not complete his medical studies, but, as he had previ- ously done, engaged in teaching a part of each year, and in farming and manufactur- ing the remainder. Following his early in- clinations, from twenty years of age until he was thirty-four, he had taught school in Milford, Holliston, Hopkinton and Lynn- field. At this time he accepted a call from the school board of Newton, and took charge of the grammar school (now Ham- ilton school) at Newton Lower Falls, in 1858. He has been master of this school from that date to the present time. During six years of this time he was also master of the Williams school at Auburndale.
Mr. Leland was married in Sherborn, May 10, 1849, to Lucy Eliza Twitchell. Of this union there were three children : Ida Rozella (deceased), Samuel and Min- erva Eliza Leland. His second marriage occurred in Westport, August 4, 1875, with Ellen Maria Gifford, by whom he has one child : Waldo Gifford Leland.
Mr. Leland was for several years a mem- ber of the school board and town clerk of Ashland ; has been a member of the city council, Newton, and has been frequently called upon to represent the Free Soil and
LELAND.
Republican parties in city, county, district, and state conventions. He has held a commission as a justice of the peace for nearly forty years, and has had quite a large amount of business in writing deeds, wills, and administering estates.
His church connections are with the Baptists, of which denomination he is a prominent and active member. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, is past master and a charter member of Dalhousie Lodge, a life member of the Massachu- setts Consistory, and has been president of the Union Masonic Mutual Relief Associa- tion of Massachusetts since its organization
LUTHER E. LELAND.
in 1873. He is a member of county, state, and national educational associations, has been called upon to address educational meetings, and, to a limited extent, has con- tributed to educational periodicals. He was one of the original members of the Middlesex County Teachers' Association, of which he has been president ; was one of the organizers and the first president of the Middlesex Schoolmasters' Club.
He is the senior grammar master of New- ton, a conscientious and faithful teacher, fearless and independent in thought and action, never relinquishing his manhood for expediency or success in his life's duties.
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LEONARD.
LEONARD, SPENCER, son of Spencer and Mary (Wood) Leonard, a lineal de- scendant in the seventh generation from Solomon Leonard, one of the first pro- prietors of this town, was born in Bridge- water, Plymouth county, on August 18, 1814.
His grandfather, Samuel Leonard, was a minute-man in the war of the revolution, and received a pension from the govern- ment. His father, Spencer Leonard, was drafted in the defense of Plymouth in the war of 1812, for which the government gave a land warrant. He was a farmer and well known for his industrious habits and sterling, honest character. Spencer's youth and early manhood were occupied in the labor of the farm, and his educational advantages were limited to the district schools of that day.
At the age of twenty he engaged in the dry-goods trade, which he followed for eighteen years, when he changed his vo- cation to that of farmer, and purchased the Zechariah Whitman farm, and has success- fully carried on the business of farming in connection with the manufacture of wood and lumber, until the present time. About eight years since he purchased an orange orchard in Florida, and has now twenty- eight acres of land and about five hundred orange trees.
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