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 68
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FRANK E. ORCUTT.
In 1867 he removed to Melrose, where he now resides. He has been justice of the peace and notary public twenty-one years, and town auditor sixteen years. He has been a most active and efficient worker in U. S. Grant Post, No. 4, G. A. R., Melrose, serving at one time as post adjutant.
Mr. Orcutt commenced business for him- self February 1, 1874, with William A. Allen, under the firm name of Allen & Orcutt, custom clothing. This partnership was dissolved in 1885, he then forming a new one with D. W. Starratt, under the firm name of Starratt & Orcutt, which in turn was dissolved March 1, 1887, to allow Mr. Orcutt to accept the position of finan- cial manager of the Middleton paper mill.
Captain Orcutt has an excellent record as a soldier and citizen, and is held in high esteem, especially by the comrades who
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knew him best during his military service. He was one of the founders and owners of the "Grand Army Record," published in Boston. He is a Republican in politics, quite active in public matters, and has been frequently sent as delegate to the state conventions. He is president of the Colorado Farm Loan Company, one of the directors of the Standard Coal Com- pany, and president of the Silver Light Gas Company.
In 1889 he was appointed by President Harrison collector of internal revenue, to succeed John E. Fitzgerald.
Captain Orcutt is a prominent Mason ; was thrice illustrious master of Melrose Council, F. & A. M., for two years, and has been a member of the Grand Council, F. & A. M., fifteen years ; member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion ; char- ter member and first dictator of Guardian Lodge, Knights of Honor, and re-elected for many years; worthy chief templar of Guiding Star Lodge of Good Templars for seven terms ; charter member of Wash- ington Council Legion of Honor, also of Bethlehem Council, Royal Arcanum, and Prophet of Wononga Tribe, I. O. R. M., of which he was first sachem.
Captain Orcutt was married in New Britain, Conn., May 17, 1865, to Lucy A., daughter of Henry E. and Harriet (Blinn) Rhodes. Of this union were three chil- dren : Louise H., Frank M., and Mabel M. Orcutt (deceased).
O'REILLY, JOHN BOYLE, was born at Dowth Castle, county Meath, Ireland, on June 28, 1844. After serving an early ap- prenticeship to journalism on the "Drog- heda Argus," he removed, at the age of seventeen, to England, where he con- tinued his journalistic work. When only eighteen years of age he enlisted as a trooper in the roth Hussars, otherwise known as the "Prince of Wales' Own." While there he became an apostle of rev- olutionary doctrines, was arrested for high treason, and in June, 1866, was sentenced to twenty years' penal servitude. He was confined in various English prisons until October, 1867, when he, with several other political convicts, was transported to finish his sentence in the penal colony of West Australia. After enduring prison life there for about a year, he made his escape in an open boat, was picked up at sea by the American whaling bark "Gazelle," and finally reached Philadelphia in November, 1869. In July, 1870, he became editor of the "Boston Pilot," of which he is at present editor and co-proprietor.
O'REILLY.
Mr. O'Reilly's literary career dates from his arrival in America. He first attracted attention by his original and powerful bal- lads of Australian life. The "Amber Whale," " Dukite Snake," "Dog Guard," " Monster Diamond," " King of the Vasse," and others, following in quick succession, showed to the world of readers that a new and virile singer had come to be heard. It is worth remembering that it was not then as it is now in the literary life of Boston. It is less than twenty years since, but long enough for a wholly different school of poetry to have arisen. Then, it may be safely said, it required a voice of more than common strength and melody to reach the world. Longfellow, Holmes, Whittier, Lowell, Bryant, were all doing work worthy of their prime. Bret Harte, with all his fresh, strong lyrics, and Joaquin Miller, crowned with the praise of London critics, seemed to have pre-empted whatever field there might be for new singers. There was no room for another bard, except where room always is, at the top. The unknown youth, with no credentials but his talent, came into a community which did not then discriminate too kindly in favor of a po- litical convict whose politics were of the Fenian persuasion. Yet he took almost at once the place that was his by right of genius, in a literary circle which is always jealous, but never narrow, in defining its boundaries.
Mr. O'Reilly's work is known to all readers. He prefers to be known by it and through it. Otherwise one might be tempted to write indefinitely of his personal character, his unbounded sympathy with the oppressed and suffering of every class, creed and color, his healthy robustness, mental and physical. But all these are patent in his writings, which reflect the man as in a mirror. In the scant leisure of an active journalist's busy life, supplemented by unceasing and earnest labors in the cause of Irish nationality, he has found time to write half a dozen or more books, including his "Songs from the Southern Seas," pub- lished in 1873; "Songs, Legends and Bal- lads," in 1878 ; " Moondyne," a novel, in 1879 ; "Statues in the Block, and Other Poems," in 1881 ; "In Bohemia," in 1886; " The Ethics of Boxing and Manly Sport," "Stories and Sketches," in 1888, and one or two volumes as yet unpublished.
Mr. O'Reilly dedicated his first book, "Songs from the Southern Seas," to his friend, the captain of the American whale- ship that rescued him ; his second he dedi- cated as follows : " To my dear wife, whose
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rare and loving judgment has been a stand- ard I have tried to reach ; " his third to his mother ; and his fourth " To my four little daughters." His home is in the Bunker Hill district of Boston, on the square facing the soldiers' monument, and his summer home is in the little fishing vil- lage of Hull, where he has built a stone cottage overlooking the sea.
OSBORNE, WILLIAM MCKINLEY, son of Abner and Abigail (Allison) Osborne, was born in Girard, Trumbull county, O., April 26, 1842.
He attended school at the academy in Poland, Ohio, and from there went to Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted in the 23d regiment, Ohio volunteers, which was the first three years' regiment formed in the State. He was discharged on account
WILLIAM M. OSBORNE.
of injuries received in the service. In the fall of 1862 he entered the law office of Sutliff, Tuttle & Stull, Warren, Ohio, and in the fall of 1863 attended the law school at Ann Arbor, Mich. He was admitted to the bar upon examination by the full court in the spring of 1864.
He began practice in Youngstown, Ohio, and was mayor of that city, 1874 and '75. He removed to Boston in the fall of 1880, and after spending nearly two years in
OSGOOD.
Europe, he located permanently in Bos- ton.
In 1884 and '85 he represented ward 21. in the common council of Boston, and very soon took a leading position. He was appointed by Governor Robinson as a member of the new metropolitan board of police, and was installed in office on the 23d of July, 1885. In May, 1888, he was re-appointed by Governor Ames for a term of five years.
Mr. Osborne was married in Boston, April 24, 1878, to Frances Clara, adopted daughter of Walter Hastings of that city. Of this union were four children: Elizabeth (born May 15, 1880, Cleveland, Ohio) ; Marguerite (born in Hanover Square, Lon- don, May 11, 1882) ; Charles Glidden (born in Roxbury, February, 1884), and Ruth (born also in Roxbury, December, 1885).
OSGOOD, GEORGE LAURIE, son of John Hamilton and Adeline (Stevens) Os- good, was born in Chelsea, Suffolk county, April 3, 1844. He is a lineal descendant of John Osgood, the Puritan, who landed at Salem in 1630.
He was educated at the grammar and high schools of his native city, and was graduated from Harvard in 1866. In col- lege he was conductor of the glee club and of the orchestra. His inclination and fac- ulties from the start indicated a musical career.
In 1867 he went to Berlin and com- menced the study of composition under Haupt, and of vocal expression under Sieber. Here he formed an intimate friend- ship with Franz, the great master of Ger- man song. In 1869 he went to Italy, and for three years studied with Lamperti, in Milan. As a test of the thoroughness of his musical attainment, he repaired to Ger- many, and gave, with great success, a series of concerts.
Returning to America he engaged with Theodore Thomas, and made a tour of the country in connection with his orchestra. In 1872 he settled in Boston and at once became celebrated as a teacher, composer and conductor. In 1875 be assumed the directorship of the Boylston Club, a prom- ising musical organization, then in its third year. He refined its singing, aroused its enthusiasm, and gave to Boston one of the most noteworthy and notable clubs in its musical history. Mr. Osgood, in 1876, in- vited female vocalists to assist in its con- certs. This advance in concerts gave Bos- ton a male chorus of an hundred voices, a still larger female chorus of exquisite qual-
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ity of tone, and the utmost perfection in shading and expression, and a previously unattained mixed chorus. The attainment of these high aims gave Boston a reputa- tion for choral art not only national, but European. The London " Musical Times," in its review of the year 1886, placed the Boylston Club's performances in the front rank of the whole musical world.
As a composer, musical critics award high rank to Mr. Osgood. His songs out- sell those of any other American classical composer, and he has won success in every field of vocal composition. His principal works are : "Guide in the Art of Singing," a volume of 200 pages, already passed through eight editions ; and numerous choral works for concert and church.
Mr. Osgood was married in 1868, in Chelsea, to Jeannette Calot, daughter of James Phillips and Chloe (Calot) Farley, of that city. He resides at Cambridge, and has three children : George Laurie, Farley, and Marie Jeannette Osgood.
OSGOOD, JOSEPH, son of Joseph Otis and Elizabeth (Fogg) Osgood, was born in Kensington, Rockingham county, N. H., September 23, 1815.
After the advantages of a good home and common school education, he attended Phillips Academy, Exeter, and having made due preparation, he entered Harvard divinity school, where he was graduated in the class of 1842.
He was first called to the pastorate of the First Parish church in Cohasset, and ordained October 26, 1842, where he still remains.
Mr. Osgood was married in Scituate, May 20, 1844, to Ellen Devereux, daugh- ter of Edmund Quincy and Caroline (Ward) Sewall. Of this union were ten children : Elizabeth, Joseph Otis, Edmund Quincy Sewall, George, Ellen Devereux, Mary Fogg, William Sherburne, Frances Parsons, Louise Lovett, and Caroline Ward, the first child, who died in infancy.
When Mr. Osgood commenced his min- istry in Cohasset, the parish covered a broad and sparsely settled territory that required his pastoral care. In an outlying portion of his charge he held Sunday- school and other religious services. He has always keenly regarded the intellectual and literary training of children as really included in the scope of a truly Christian culture, which requires the development and education of all the faculties of the soul. He has devoted much time to the common schools. The interests and best methods of instruction and management
have been subjects of constant study with him. He was for many years the chair- man of the school board, and for twelve years superintendent of schools, which po- sition he held until three years ago.
He is, and has been for nearly forty- seven years, a trustee of Derby Academy at Hingham, and for many years president of the board, and is a vice-president of the Plymouth and Bay Conference of Unita- rian churches. His knowledge of practical life, his love of horticulture, and his great and fatherly affection for children, are among his distinguishing characteristics. In town affairs he has always been active. Through his efforts the Cohasset free li- brary was established, and he has been the chairman of its board of trustees since its incorporation. He is now rounding out a half-century of ministerial life in his first and only parish, loved and revered by all.
OSGOOD, JOSEPH BARLOW FELT, son of William and Elizabeth Curtis (Felt) Osgood, was born in Salem, Essex county, July 1, 1823.
He attended the private school of Ira Cheever two years ; entered the English high school, Salem, in 1833, from which he was graduated in 1837.
Eight months of the next year he was clerk with his uncle, Joseph B. Felt, at the state-house, Boston. September, 1838, he entered the Salem Latin school, where he was prepared for college by Oliver Carleton. He entered Harvard in 1842, and was graduated in 1846. He studied law with Hon. Jonathan C. Perkins, Salem, two years, then with Hon. Charles G. Lor- ing, Boston, remaining with him until July 25, 1849, when he was admitted to the Massachusetts bar.
He immediately opened an office at Salem, where he has practiced until the present time.
He was married, November 23, 1853, to Mary Jane Creamer, who died September 16, 1865. She was the daughter of Ben- jamin and Ann M. (Brace) Creamer. Of this union were two children : Alice M. (deceased) and Elizabeth Curtis Osgood (now Mrs. Henry A. Cook, of Salem).
Judge Osgood was a member of the Salem common council 1849, '50, '51, '52 and '53 ; of the House of Representatives 1850, '51 and '52 ; of the state Senate 1859 and '60. He was mayor of Salem 1865. and justice of the Ist district court of Essex county from July, 1874, to January 30, 1889, when he resigned his office and resumed the practice of law, after more
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than fourteen years' judicial service, with the well-merited respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens. He made the court of which he was justice an efficient agency in the enforcement of law and the preservation of public morals, and retired with the con- sciousness of having served his city and state with honor to himself, and fidelity to his constituents and the public interests.
OSGOOD, STEPHEN, son of Stephen and Charlotte (Morrill) Osgood, was born in Salisbury, Essex county, November 16, 1826.
His early education was accomplished at the common schools, and when seventeen years old he removed to Georgetown, where, with a brief exception, he has since resided.
He began as an apprentice in the mer- chant tailoring business, but contracting the gold fever in 1849, sailed round the Cape to California, where he remained for one year or inore, and returned to George- town. He has held nearly all of the town offices and has been an earnest advocate and leader in all progressive movements. He has been selectman, assessor, and over- seer of the poor ; trustee of the Peabody library and the Georgetown Savings Bank, and director and vice-president of the Georgetown National Bank.
He was a member of the House of Rep- resentatives in 1871, and of the Senate in 1879, to which he was re-elected in 1880. He served as chairman upon the commit- tees on public charitable institutions and library.
On the 9th of April, 1851, Mr. Osgood married Sarah, daughter of Moses and Almira (Platts) Carter. Their children are: Louis Kossuth, Stephen Carter, Charles Clement, and Charlotte Alice Osgood.
OSGOOD, WILLIAM N., son of George Newton and Minerva ( Hayward) Osgood, was born in Lowell, Middlesex county, June 11, 1855.
The public schools of Lowell furnished the advantages for his early education. Ile was graduated from the Lowell high school ; entered Amherst College, and was graduated therefrom in the class of 1878 ; attended the Boston University law school, and was admitted to the bar in 1880.
He practiced law in Lowell until March, 1885, when he removed his law office to Boston, in which city he has since been engaged in the successful practice of his profession.
Mr. Osgood was married in Tewksbury, January 1, 1884, to Harriet Leslie, dangh-
ter of Henry C. and Augusta ( Jaques) Palmer.
He has always manifested an interest in public affairs ; was a member of the Lowell common council, 1881 and '82, being presi- dent of that body the latter year ; was a member of the Lowell water board in 1882; ex-officio, president of the common
WILLIAM N. OSGOOD.
council, a member of the school board, and also a trustee of the Lowell public library. He was the candidate of the Dem- ocratic party in 1888 for secretary of the Commonwealth, and received the largest vote ever cast for a Democratic candidate for that position.
During the presidential campaign of 1888 Mr. Osgood made many speeches in different parts of the State. In political views he is progressive, believing in the ultimate triumph of true Democratic prin- ciples over the usurpations of all privileged classes.
OTIS, JOHN LORD, son of Hayden E. and Mary (Lord) Otis, was born in Lyme, New London county, Conn., July 15, 1827. He was educated in the public schools of his native state, and early evincing a taste for mechanical engineering, he devoted himself to that study, and in 1851 was employed as superintendent by the Pacific Manufacturing Company, of Manchester,
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Conn. He remained with that corporation for five years, and then established the Otis Manufacturing Company in South Manchester. While there he put in motion for Cheney Brothers the first machinery for the manufacture of silk and wool knit goods ever operated in this country.
In August, 1861, Mr. Otis enlisted in the roth regiment, Connecticut volunteer in- fantry, responding to the urgent call for soldiers immediately succeeding the first battle of Bull Run. He rose rapidly through all the several gradations of rank, earned by actual service, to be colonel in February, 1863. He was in all the engage- ments of Burnside's and Foster's commands in North Carolina, and was wounded once in the battle of Newbern, and twice at Kingston. In January, 1863, he went to South Carolina with General Foster's army, and while there performed import- ant service. He was ordered to Virginia, April 17, 1864, and joined the army of the James. At the close of his three years' term of service he was mustered out at his own request, and returned home with a well-earned commission of brevet briga- dier-general.
At the close of the war he took the position of superintendent of the Florence Sewing Machine Company, which he re- signed three years later to found the North- ampton Emery Wheel Company, of which he is still treasurer.
General Otis is a well-known leader in the Republican party, and his recognized ability and eminent patriotic service have often been honored by the suffrages of his fellow-citizens, who have elected him to different local and state offices, which he has uniformly filled with credit to himself and with satisfaction to his constituents. In 1875-'76 he was a selectman, assessor, and overseer of the poor of Northampton.
In 1878 he was a member of the House of Representatives, and served on the com- mittee on military affairs. In 1879 he was returned to the state Senate from the Hampshire district, and served as chair- man of the committee on manufactures, and as a member of the committee on military affairs and on the library. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1880, and was appointed chairman of the committee on military affairs, serving also on the committee on public service.
On the Ist of March, 1847, in Manches- ter, Conn., General Otis married Catharine, daughter of Cyrus Preston, of South Had- ley. They have two children : Harry P. and Philip A. Otis.
OXLEY, FREDERICK NORMAN, son of Edward Barker and Mary J. ( Smith) Oxley, was born in River Philip, Nova Scotia, February 14, 1849.
After the public schools of his native place, he enjoyed the advantages of a private school and tuition.
Mr. Oxley came to the States in 1867, and has since resided in Massachusetts. In 1872 he formed a partnership with Ber- nard Billings, under the firm name of Bil- lings & Oxley, druggists.
In 1875 he bought the interest of Mr. Billings, and has since continued the busi- ness of pharmacist in his own name and at the same location.
Mr. Oxley was married in Ashland, May 28, 1873, to Ella Maria, daughter of John N. and Mary J. (Hatch) West. Of this union were five children : Edward P., Eunice M. (deceased), Norman M., Arthur P., and George F. Oxley.
Mr. Oxley was a member of the House of Representatives in 1866, has been a mem- ber of the Republican state central commit- tee, of the Republican town committee thir- teen years, and town assessor six years.
PACKARD, DE WITT CLINTON, son of Washburn and Hannah (Packard) Pack- ard, was born in North Bridgewater, Plym- outh county, September 22, 1836.
He received a common school and academic training, taught common schools a short time, and in 1860 was chosen prin- cipal of the academy at Plympton.
In 1862 he engaged in the shoe business. In 1865 he formed a co-partnership with Oliver F. Leach, under the firm name of Leach & Packard, and engaged in the
manufacture of shoes for southern and western trade.
In 1871 the co-partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, and the business - mainly New England trade - was carried on by Mr. Packard until 1879, when other business, principally mortgage and broker- age, engrossed his time and attention, till the shoe business was gradually aban- doned.
Mr. Packard was married in Brockton, January 5, 1865, to Clarissa J., daughter
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of Oliver and Susannah (Howland) Leach. Of this union are two children : Clinton Francis and Clara Washburn Packard.
Mr. Packard was one of the committee of citizens appointed by the town of Brock- ton to prepare and obtain a city char- ter. In 1881 he was elected town clerk, in 1882, city clerk, which office he has held to the present time, without interruption, having been re-elected each year by unan- imous vote. He was one of the enu- merators of the United States census in 1880 ; was one of the trustees of the pub- lic library from 1876 to '88, and a member of the school board from 1879 to '83. He has held a commission as justice of the peace since 1875, and was appointed by the governor a commissioner to qualify civil officers in 1884, which office he now holds.
Though not now in any way connected with the press, he was formerly a con- tributor and correspondent to the Boston "Journal," "Post," "Saturday Evening Ga- zette," "New England Farmer," "Massa- chusetts Ploughman," and " Moore's Rural New Yorker," and for a time, in the early days of that journal, a reporter for the " Brockton Gazette."
Mr. Packard was a skilled workman, when a mere boy, in the trade of shoe- making, and inspired with love for books, industriously conned his Latin while peg- ging shoes. His father was one of the first, if not the first, to manufacture " con- gress " shoes in North Bridgewater.
PADDOCK, BENJAMIN HENRY, son of the Rev. Seth Birdsey and Emily (Flagg) Paddock, was born in Norwich, New Lon- don county, Conn., February 29, 1828.
His early education was received at pri- vate schools in Norwich. Entering Trin- ity College, Hartford, Conn., he graduated in the year 1848, when he taught one year at the Connecticut Episcopal Academy, Cheshire. In 1849 he entered the General Theological Seminary, New York City, graduating therefrom in 1852. His alma mater subsequently conferred upon him the honorary degree of S. T. D.
He was assistant minister in Epiphany church, New York City, for one year ; rector of Trinity church, Norwich, Conn., until 1860 ; rector of Christ church, De- troit, Mich., until 1869 ; rector of Grace church, Brooklyn Heights, N. Y., until 1873 ; and on September 17, 1873, he was consecrated bishop of Massachusetts, hokl- ing that office at the present time, his resi- (lence being in the city of Boston.
On the 19th of May, 1853, Bishop Pad- clock was married to Caroline H. Cooke,
of Wallingford, Conn., who died in 1860. In 1863 he was again married, to Anna L., daughter of Henry K. and Caro- line (Prentiss) Sanger, of Detroit, Mich. Their children are : Lewis H., Emily S., and Anna G. Paddock.
Bishop Paddock has filled the high and responsible office to which he has been called, to the great acceptance of the church of which he has so long been an honored representative member.
PAIGE, CALVIN AMMIDOUN, son of Timothy and Cynthia Ammidoun Paige, was born in Southbridge, Worcester county, June 7, 1820.
He received his early education in the common schools and academy. At the age of thirteen he was employed as clerk in a country store, and when twenty-three years of age, commenced in a cotton man- ufactory as clerk and superintendent, and afterwards as agent and treasurer of the
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