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 66
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
Few Massachusetts lawyers, whether on the bench or off, have contributed so much as he to the building up of our admirable and simple system of equity practice. He was appointed by the supreme court a member of the committee to revise its rules in equity. The present system is very largely his work. He was frequently em- ployed as referee and master in complicated questions, especially those relating to water rights, for dealing with which he seemed to have a natural aptitude, which was improved by his early training as a civil engineer.
436
NEWHALL.
NEWHALL.
NEWHALL, ASA TARBELL, was born in Lynnfield, Essex county, December 25, 1850. When he was five years of age, his parents removed to Lynn, where he has since resided.
His early education was obtained in the public schools. At the age of fourteen he entered the Lynn Mercantile Academy, tak- ing a business course of two years ; after graduating from this institution, he at- tended the Friends' School in the city of Providence, R. I.
He is of sturdy New England stock, be- ing descended from a family of the primi- tive settlers whose occupation was farming. The attractions of farm life naturally pre- dominated in his choice of vocations, and at the age of eighteen he commenced busi- ness as a farmer, on lands occupied by the
ASA T. NEWHALL.
earlier settlers of Lynn, and is still engaged in the business of farming and gardening.
He married Cinderella, daughter of J. Chandler Newhall, of Lynnfield, November 21, 1872. Their children are : Thomas Bancroft, Asa T., Grace Garland, and Bessie Little Newhall, of whom only the two latter are now living.
He was elected a member of the com- mon council of Lynn in 1885 and '86, and represented the 5th Essex senatorial dis- trict in the Legislature of 1887, serving on
the committees on agriculture, harbors and public lands, and manufactures, and was appointed a member of the special com- mittee of the General Court of 1887, to sit during the recess of the Legislature to con- sider the expediency of additional legisla- tion in respect to the employment and schooling of children.
He was elected mayor of Lynn, Decem- ber 11, 1888.
Mr. Newhall is a member of several benevolent and literary organizations, in- cluding West Lynn Lodge of Odd Fel- lows, Palestine Encampment, Canton Pal- estine ; Sagamore Tribe of Red Men ; the Order of Elks, and numerous social and political clubs.
In national politics he is a Democrat, and for the past five years has served on the city committee.
Having early manifested a special inter- est in agriculture, he connected himself with the Essex County Agricultural So- ciety, and has taken a prominent part in the affairs of this organization, having sev- eral times been elected a member of the board of trustees, which position he now holds. He delivered the annual address before this society at Salem in 1884. He has received several prizes from this so- ciety for reports and essays.
NEWHALL, EDWARD, son of John and Delia (Breed) Newhall, was born in Lynn, Essex county, July 22, 1822. His family belonged to the Society of Friends, and his early education was secured at the Friends' School, in Providence, R. I.
In 1845 he began the study of medicine under Dr. C. H. Nichols, since distinguished as the superintendent of the Bloomingdale Lunatic Asylum, in the city of New York. He afterwards entered the Harvard medi- cal school, from which he was graduated in the class of 1848.
He then spent two years in Europe at- tending lectures and walking the hospitals in Paris, and as a student in the famous lying-in hospital of Dublin. In 1850 he returned and settled in Lynn, where his thorough medical education and devotion to his chosen profession soon secured him an extensive practice and reputation be- yond the limits of his own city.
He has been president of both the Essex South Medical Society and the Lynn Medical Association.
Dr. Newhall was married in Canton, Oc- tober 23, 1853, to Eliza F., daughter of James and Abigail Beaumont, of Canton, who died in June, 1870, leaving four chil- dren : Edward Beaumont, Herbert William,
437
NEWHALL.
Annie Louise, and Robert Oxley Newhall. In 1873 he was married to Mrs. M. A. Field Anderson, of Quincy, by whom he had three children : Charles Sanderson, Harvey Field, and Eliza Beaumont New- hall. His second wife was the daughter of Harvey and Elizabeth Field.
NEWHALL, JAMES ROBINSON, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Hart) Newhall, was born in Lynn, Essex county, December 25, 1809. All his genealogical lines run back to early Lynn settlers. Both his grand- mothers were grand-daughters of Hon. Ebenezer Burrill, so conspicuous in colonial times as a representative and crown coun- selor. His father was Benjamin Newhall, who was born in 1774 and who died in 1857.
At the age of eleven he left the paternal roof, with his worldly possessions in a handkerchief bundle, to make his way in the wide world, his mother having died a year or two before, and his father having a large family for which to provide.
Up to 1824 he worked daily, and also attended various public schools, but in that year entered the "Salem Gazette" office to learn the printing trade. After serving in the "Gazette " office for a few years he felt desirous of gaining a better knowledge of book-printing than could be done in Salem at that time, and so procured a situation at Boston. Before attaining his majority he was installed foreman of one of the principal book offices there. He then drifted to New York and found em- ployment in the " Conference " office there, where he gained the reputation of being the fastest type-setter in the establishment. This was in 1829. At the age of twenty- two he returned to his native place and became engaged in the office of the " Mir- ror," the first printing establishment in Lynn, afterwards purchasing the office and commencing the publication of another pa- per. Here he remained a few years, once or twice taking a lecture tour. He then went to New York and engaged in the edi- torial department of a daily journal and in writing for one or two weeklies. Walt Whitman, the poet, was engaged on the same paper. In 1854, meeting a friend, a member of the Essex bar, he was kindly invited to take a student's seat in the office. The invitation was accepted and the study of law commenced. By May, 1857, he had completed a regular legal course, was admitted to the bar in Boston, and forthwith commenced to practice in Lynn. He was soon after commissioned a justice of the peace and notary public,
NEWTON.
which offices he still holds. On the 24th of August, 1866, he was commissioned judge of the Lynn police court, and likewise ap- pointed a trial justice of juvenile offenders. The judgeship he resigned August 24, 1879.
He has served as chairman of the school board and president of the common coun- cil. In the autumn of 1887, at the age of seventy-three years, he took a tour of several months abroad. In 1836 he pub- lished the "Essex Memorials." In 1862 "Lin, or Jewels of the Third Plantation." In 1865 " The History of Lynn " was pub- lished ; in 1883 an additional volume of the same, and in 1856, by desire of the city council, he prepared the " Centennial Memorial of Lynn."
He was married October, 1837, to Dor- cas B., the only daughter of Captain Wil- liam Brown, of Salem, by whom he had one son, who died at the age of ten, the mother having died soon after his birth. In 1853 Mr. Newhall again married, the second wife being Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, daugh- ter of Hon. Josiah Newhall, of Lynn.
NEWTON, DEXTER, the youngest son of Stephen and Sally (Fay) Newton of
DEXTER NEWTON.
Southborough, Worcester county, was born in that town January 13, 1823.
He received his early education in the common and high schools of his native
438
NEWTON.
town, and at the academy in Westfield. He began teaching school at the age of twenty, and taught three winters in South- borough.
In March, 1845, Mr. Newton commenced business in the meat trade, which he car- ried on extensively for about five years. He served as station agent in Fayville and Cordaville for about eleven years, having been employed by the Boston & Worces- ter Railroad Company.
He was appointed United States assist- ant assessor of internal revenue, which position he held for some five years. He has been postmaster at Fayville since July 29, 1869, and has long held the office of justice of the peace and notary public. He has been a member of the school com- mittee ten years, selectman ten years, assessor of taxes twenty-seven years, and has held the office of justice of the first district court of Eastern Worcester since June 25, 1879. He has been moderator of town meetings for over thirty years, sur- veyor of land and insurance agent, has settled, and helped to settle, over two hundred estates, besides having been en- gaged in the purchase and sale of much real estate.
He was married in Southborough, De- cember 9, 1846, to Arathusa A., daughter of Taylor and Ann L. Brigham, by whom he has had four children, three of whom are living : Francis D., Ada M., and Cora A. Newton.
NEWTON, WILLIAM WILBERFORCE, son of Rev. Richard Newton, D. D., and Lydia (Gretorex) Newton, was born at St. Paul's rectory, Philadelphia, Pa., November 4, 1843.
His early education was obtained at the Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia, and he entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1861, graduating in 1865 as class poet, and spent the following year in Europe with two college companions. Returning, he entered the Philadelphia Divinity School in 1866. graduating in 1868. He was ordained deacon upon graduating, and ordained priest in June, 1869. The occupation of his life has been that of clergyman in the Episcopal church -not neglecting, how- ever, that of authorship.
He was connected with the Church of the Epiphany, Philadelphia, from 1868 to '70 ; rector of St. Paul's, Brookline, from 1870 to '75 ; of Trinity church, Newark, N. J., from 1875 to '77 ; of St. Paul's church, Boston, from 1877 to '81, and has been the rector of St. Stephen's, Pittsfield, from 1881 to the present time.
NEWTON.
On the 16th of November, 1870, in the Church of the Epiphany, in Philadelphia, Mr. Newton was married to Emily Steven- son, daughter of the Rev. James W. and Emily (Stevenson) Cooke. Their chil- dren are : W. W. Newton, Jr., born May 18, 1872, and Emily S. Newton, born April 19, 1874.
Mr. Newton's present residence is at St. Stephen's rectory, Pittsfield, where he is a member of the town school committee, and of the Bartlett G. A. R. Post. He is a member of the World's Red Cross Society,
WILLIAM W. NEWTON.
and was a private in Landis' battery of ar- tillery in Philadelphia, in 1863. He is vice- president of the New England Society of the Alumni of the University of Pennsyl- vania, is the secretary of the American Congress of Churches, and honorary vice- president of the English Society for the Elevation and Purification of the Stage.
Mr. Newton visited Europe in 1878 and again in 1888-'89. During his active life he has published the following books : " Bible Outlines " (1870), " Gate of the Temple " (1875), " Little and Wise " (1876), " Inter- preter's House " (1878), " Palace Beauti- ful," " Great Heart," " A Father's Bless- ing," " Troublesome Children," " Summer Sermons," " Priest and Man," a novel, " The Voice of St. John, and Other Poems,"
439
NICKERSON.
NICHOLS.
and the " Life of Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg," for Houghton & Mifflin's series of " Lead- ers of Religious Thought."
During his last visit to Europe Mr. New- ton visited Count Tolstoï in his home at Moscow in Russia. He received the degree of D. D. from his own alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, on his return.
A new church is at present in course of building on the site of the old St. Stephen's edifice in Pittsfield.
NICHOLS, ALBERT, son of Joshua and Rebecca (Witherell) Nichols, was born in Chesterfield, Hampshire county, January 5, 1812.
His education was limited to the district schools of those days. In 1837 he spent a short time in an academy. Farming was his chosen vocation, and he is still engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Mr. Nichols was married in Williams- burg, April 12, 1838, to Clarinda B. daughter of William and Sylvia (Shepard) Johnson. Three children are the issue of this marriage : Warner B., William J., and John H. Nichols.
Mr. Nichols was a member of the Ches- terfield school board and teacher in the schools from 1838 to '75. He served in the House of Representatives in 1861, '63, and '65. He has been justice of the peace twenty years, and has been called to serve his town in many of the municipal offices -- selectman, etc., ten years, clerk and treasurer some twenty-three years.
Three sons of Mr. Nichols rendered loyal service in the army and navy during the war of the rebellion, the two eldest finding a resting place beside thousands of their comrades in Arlington, Va.
NICHOLS, GEORGE B., the son of Seth and Sally (Kidder) Nichols, was born at Weathersfield, Windsor county, Ver- mont, April 15, 1820.
He received his education at the district schools of his native town and subse- quently at Meriden Academy, where he graduated at the age of fifteen.
He came to Boston in 1836 and entered the dry-goods jobbing store of Farrington & Converse, where he remained until twenty-one years of age, when he became a member of the firm of Amidown, Bow- man & Co., also in the dry-goods jobbing trade. Ten years later this firm became H. Amidown & Co., and subsequently Edwards, Nichols & Richards. In 1865 the firm disposed of their business, and in 1867 Mr. Nichols commenced in the wool business, on Federal Street. He is now on
Atlantic Avenue, meeting with abundant and honorable success.
Mr. Nichols was for some years a mem- ber of the school board, and also a mem- ber of the Legislature, but owing to the fact of his business taking up so much of his time, he has repeatedly refused offers of nominations to most of the important city offices.
He is a director of the Manufacturers' National Bank, and one of the trustees of the Boston City Hospital.
Mr. Nichols was married in Boston, De- cember 8, 1844, to Louisa, the daughter of Daniel and Lois Rhodes. Their surviving children are : George R., Ella Prudie, and Seth Nichols.
Mr. Nichols's ancestors on the paternal side came over from Wales two hundred and twenty years ago and settled in Co- hasset. His mother's ancestors came over from Scotland.
NICHOLS, WILLIAM HENRY, son of Peter and Mary (Tarr) Nichols, was born in Gloucester, Essex county, October 6, 1846.
He began business life as shop-boy with William A. Pew, fishermen's supplies, etc., and later on, in common with the majority of young men of the place, engaged in fishing for a time. He returned to mer- cantile life, and was book-keeper for some of the leading firms in Gloucester. He then engaged in the wholesale fish trade, and finally, in 1885, entered the paint and oil business, in which he is at present interested.
He has devoted himself closely to his business, and has had but little time to give to considerations of public office. He is, however, a member of the Republican ward and city committee, and in 1889 was a member of the House of Repre- sentatives, from the 11th Essex district, serving on the committee on prisons.
Mr. Nichols was married in Gloucester, July 11, 1869, to M. Augusta, daughter of William H. and Mary T. (Brazier) Young. Mrs. Nichols died in 1871, leaving two children : Maud A. and Willis A. Nichols.
He has always been locally identified with Republican politics and has held the various ward offices.
NICKERSON, REUBEN, son of Reuben and Keziah (Young) Nickerson, was born in Eastham, Barnstable county, July 12, 1814.
He is a descendant of William Nicker- son, who was one of the first settlers of Chatham.
440
NILES.
NILES.
Until he was thirteen he attended the public schools of his native town, and there- after a private academy in Orleans, till he was eighteen, when he began teaching. Soon realizing the necessity of further knowledge himself, he attended the Teach- ers' Seminary at Andover. He then taught school for nine winters, at the same time carrying on the salt business in connection with his father, and purchasing large quantities of Epsom salts and preparing them for the market.
He has always been intimately identified with the educational interests of the town. He was chosen upon the school committee shortly after reaching his majority, and was retained in the office of superintendent as long as he was willing to serve.
He has held the office of selectman and assessor, and has been a trustee of the public library since its formation.
In 1853 he was elected to represent the town in the House of Representatives, and in 1866 was sent to the Senate. Requir- ing a change of life, at the end of the session he went South, and purchased a large cotton plantation, which he carried on for six years before returning to his home. He was one of the directors of the Cape Cod Central Railway till it was sold to the Old Colony Railroad. At present he devotes his attention chiefly to his farm.
On the 5th of October, 1837, Mr. Nick- erson was married in Eastham, to Eliza- beth, daughter of Beriah and Elizabeth (Cole) Doane. Mrs. Nickerson is a direct descendant of John Doane, one of the first settlers of Eastham, who came from Eng- land in the " Mayflower." Their only living child is Isabella Nickerson. His wife died in 1849, and in 1851 he married her sister, Sarah Doane. Their only living child is Herbert Doane Nickerson.
NILES, WILLIAM HENRY, was born De- cember 22, 1840, in Orford, Grafton county, N. H. His father, Samuel W. Niles, and mother, whose maiden name was Eunice C. Newell, were both natives of that State.
When the son was four years old, the father died, and a year later the mother, with her family, removed to South Read- ing, now Wakefield, Mass., and from that time, with the exception of five years spent in the South, Mr. Niles has been a resident of Massachusetts.
His early mental training was in the public schools, after which, for three years, he was a private pupil with the Rev. R. W. Smith, of East Bridgewater, and subse-
quently, for three years, a student in the Providence Conference Seminary of East Greenwich, R. I.
He studied law and fitted himself for the bar under the direction of Caleb Blodgett, now judge of the superior court, and was admitted to the Middlesex bar, in Lowell, at the March term, 1870. He at once be- gan practice in Lynn, where, without inter- ruption, he has since continued in his pro- fession. He is a member of the firm of Niles & Carr.
Mr. Niles was married September 19, 1865, in Bristol, N. H., to Harriet A. Day, of that town. Of this union are three
WILLIAM H. NILES.
children : Florence, who was recently mar- ried to George W. Moulton, of Lynn ; Grace, and Mary Ethel Niles.
Mr. Niles has refused all political pre- ferment, and with the exception of three years' service on the school board of Lynn, has never held public office. All his ener- gies have been devoted to the organization and establishment of his law practice, which in extent will compare not unfavor- ably with any in the State.
In addition to his professional duties, he owns and manages a cotton planta- tion in southern Georgia, where, with his family, he spends a portion of every winter. He has, also, by utilizing his vacations,
441
NOBLE.
found time to travel extensively, having visited in the last few years many of the European countries, the West Indies, the Bahama Islands and California.
NOBLE, JOHN, son of Mark and Mary C. (Copp) Noble, was born in Dover, Straf- ford county, N. H., April 14, 1829.
He received his early educational train- ing at home and in the private and public schools of his native place ; attended Roch- ester Academy, N. H., one year (1842) ; Phillips Academy, Exeter, two years (1844- '46) and, fitting for college, entered Har- vard, and was graduated in the class of 1 850.
He was usher and sub-master in the Boston Latin school, 1850 to '56 ; entered Harvard law school the latter year, and was graduated LL. B., 1858 ; practiced law in Boston till 1875; was appointed clerk of the supreme judicial court, by the court, August 31, 1875, for the remainder of the unexpired term; was re-elected November, 1876, and each term thereafter until the present time.
Mr. Noble was married in Deerfield, June II, 1873, to Katharine Williams, daughter of William and Catherine (Williams) Shel- don. Of this union are two children : John and Isabel Helen Noble.
His residence is Boston.
NOBLE, REUBEN, son of Charles and Sophia (Fowler) Noble, was born in West- field, Hampden county, October 26, 1820.
Mr. Noble is a lineal descendant in the sixth generation of Thomas Noble, born in 1632, in England, and who died in West- field, January 20, 1704. Thomas Noble was one of the early settlers of Springfield, from which place he removed to Westfield.
His early educational training was re- ceived in the public schools, and Westfield Academy. Leaving school at nineteen years of age, he engaged in teaching a portion of the time for two years, and at twenty-one began his commercial career as traveling salesman for a whip manufac- turing company. He afterwards was en- gaged for two years in Ohio, as salesman in a dry-goods house. He then returned to Westfield and became a partner with his brother - firm name J. & R. Noble, manufacturers of whips and cigars. These relations continued until the organization of the American Whip Company in 1855. In 1856 he became treasurer of this com- pany and held the position until 1885, with the exception of one year. He was for years a director and a large owner in the company, and has been largely instru- mental in its growth and prosperity.
NOBLE.
Mr. Noble was married in Pittsfield, March 29, 1854, to Eliza C., daughter of Asa and Betsey (Rice) Foote, a lady who still lives to adorn and bless his later years. They have no children.
Mr. Noble has been a member of the Westfield school board ; was chairman of the board of water commissioners, West- field, from its organization in 1874 until 1887. Under his skillful management were constructed what are claimed to be the best water-works in the Common- wealth, noted for the purity of the water, and for the high pressure, making each fire hydrant equal to or better than, any fire steamer. He has been a director of the Hampden National Bank of Westfield since its organization; elected president and held the position from January, 1882, to June, 1886, when he resigned upon assuming the duties of postmaster. He is vice-president
REUBEN NOBLE.
of the Woronoco Savings Bank, Westfield; was a member of the state Senate in 1872, serving on the committee on harbors and public lands.
During the year 1871 he with his wife traveled through Europe and the East.
He was appointed to the state board of health by Governor Benjamin F. Butler, but resigned two years previous to the expiration of his term of office. He was
442
NORCROSS.
NORCROSS.
postmaster of Westfield from 1857 to '61, and was again appointed by President Cleveland in 1886, but resigned in 1888. He was a member of the House of Repre- sentatives 1874, '75, and '76 ; and was an efficient member of the railroad committee those years : was Democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor in 1868, and for congressional honors in 1870, Henry L. Dawes being the opposing candidate; and again in 1882, George D. Robinson being the opposing candidate. He was delegate to the national Democratic conventions of 1860, '64, '68, '76 and 'So.
Mr. Noble has been throughout his life closely identified with the prosperity and development of his town and section of the State. He is a business man of integ- rity, and enjoys a well-earned success. He is a gentleman of generous impulses, and possessed of a strong individuality. In politics he is a staunch Democrat of the old school.
NORCROSS, JOHN HENRY, son of John and Eleanor (Estabrook) Norcross, was born in Lincoln, Middlesex county, October 29, 1841.
He attended a district school at East Lexington and the high school at Lexing- ton. At fifteen years of age he went to work in a dry-goods store in Lexington, and subsequently was in the same business in Medford, and in Portsmouth, N. H. In 1863 he entered the well-known and enterprising house of Lewis Coleman & Co. of Boston, and in five years had made himself so valuable to the firm that he was honored with a partnership. For fifteen years he was an important factor in the growth and prosperity of that house. In 1883 he severed his connection with Lewis Coleman & Co., and in 1884, with Wil- liam H. Brine, purchased the business of the late John Harrington of Boston, and formed a partnership known as Brine & Norcross. The new firm has had a steady and sturdy growth. Not satisfied with their first purchase, they have added to their stock, and opened two other stores in different parts of the city, and have started branch houses in Springfield, Mass., and Manchester, N. H.
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.