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 70
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Immediately after graduating from Har- vard, he entered the law office of Samuel Dunn Parker, county attorney of Suffolk, where he studied until 1851, when circum- stances induced him to change his profes- sion to that of music, and he immediately went abroad, and for three years studied in Leipsic. After six months' travel in Europe he returned to Boston in 1854, and has pursued the profession of music to the present time in that city. For the past twenty-five years he has been the organist of Trinity church.
On the 6th day of September, 1859, Mr. Parker was married, in Boston, to Maria, daughter of John and Rebecca (Punchard)
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Derby. Their three children are : Hamil- ton Derby, James Cutler, and Philip Stan- ley Parker.
Mr. Parker's present residence is in Brookline.
He has refrained from identifying him- self with political, literary, military or re- ligious organizations of any kind, giving his entire time to the profession in which he is a well-known, ardent and successful devotee.
PARKER, JAMES O., son of Asa and Relief (Brown) Parker, was born on the 22d of November, 1827, in Pembroke, Merrimack county, N. H., and was educated at the common schools and at the Concord Academy.
In 1845 he was clerk in the Concord post-office, which position he held for two years, and then became mail agent between Boston and Burlington, Vt. In 1853 he took the position of railroad station agent, which he held till 1872. In 1873 he was elected a representative to the state Legis- lature, and sat in the Senate of 1883 and '84, representing the 6th Essex senatorial district, having then, as now, his residence in the town of Methuen.
On the 12th of November, 1849, at Lebanon, N. H., Mr. Parker was married to Frances C., daughter of William and Lucinda (Eldridge) Billings. Their only child is Helen F. Spooner Parker.
PARKHURST, WELLINGTON E., son of Charles F. W. and Mary (Goodale) Parkhurst, was born in Framingham, Mid- dlesex county, January 19, 1835.
The public schools and Framingham Academy gave him his early educational training.
He began his business career in 1856 as paymaster in the Lancaster Quilt Com- pany, Clinton, where he remained three years.
Subsequently he was engaged in teach- ing, and was two years in the Clinton Sav- ings Bank. He was also on the editorial staff of the "Worcester Spy." He is now editor of the "Clinton Courant," which position he has held since 1865.
Mr. Parkhurst was married September 13, 1866, to Hattie F., daughter of Arte- mas Fairbank, of West Boylston, who died December 13, 1885. His second marriage occurred August 9, 1887, with Georgiana B., daughter of George and Pamela (Eames) Warren, of Framingham.
Mr. Parkhurst has been honored by vari- ous positions of trust ; he has been town clerk, assessor, treasurer, director of the
library and member of the Clinton school board.
PARKMAN, FRANCIS, the son of Fran- cis Parkman, D. D., and Caroline Hall Parkman, was born in Boston, September 16, 1823. His early boyhood was passed with his maternal grandfather on the border of the Middlesex Fells, a wild wooded region near Boston, which still retains much of its native character. There he became familiar with those phases of uncultivated nature that were either consonant to his inherited tastes, or furnished the mould to his formative stage, that shaped the genius of the future historian of the Northern settlements and of the French and Indian wars.
His studies at this time were somewhat desultory, his historian averring that "he learned a little Latin and Greek, but was more proficient in catching squirrels and woodchucks." He was afterwards trained for college in Boston, and was graduated from Harvard with the class of 1844. His vacations were spent chiefly in the vast forest between Maine and Canada, or in those of Canada itself, or else examining the scenes of battles, raids, and skirmishes in the French and Indian wars.
He afterwards made many journeys over various parts of the continent, the most remarkable being that into the Indian country west of the Mississippi, of which he has written a graphic account in " The Oregon Trail." This experience was in- valuable. Such knowledge of the true inwardness of Indian life no other historian and no prominent writer of English ever obtained. He also made repeated visits to Europe in search of material for his histor- ical works.
His most noted works are : " The Oregon Trail," "The Conspiracy of Pontiac," " Pioneers of France in the New World," " The Jesuits in North America," "La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West," " The Old Régime in Canada," "Count Frontenac and New France under the Reign of Louis XIV.," and " Montcalm and Wolfe."
He is vice-president of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and was for thirteen years one of the seven trustees of Harvard University, of which he has also served twice as overseer. He was three years president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, six years president of the St. Botolph Club, and is a member of minerons learned soci- eties in Europe and America.
In May, 1850, Mr. Parkman was married in Boston to Catherine S., daughter of the
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late Jacob Bigelow, M. D. Of this union were three children : Grace (now Mrs. Charles P. Coffin), Francis (who died in infancy), and Catherine S. (now Mrs. J. T. Coolidge, 3d). Mrs. Parkman died in 1858.
PARKMAN, HENRY, son of Samuel and Mary Eliot (Dwight) Parkman, was born in Boston, May 23, 1850.
His early educational training was in private schools, in which he fitted for col- lege. He was graduated from Harvard in the class of 1870, and from the Harvard law school in 1873.
He immediately went into active law practice, became successful in his profes- sion, and is to-day a representative of the younger legal fraternity of Boston.
He has been called to various posts of public and private trust, and been honored by city and state official positions. He was a member of the Boston common council in 1879, '80, '81, '82, '83 and '84 ; was representative of ward 9, city of Bos- ton, in the Legislature of 1886, '87 and '88, serving on the committees on labor, street railways, bills in the third reading, cities, and rules, and has been secretary and presi- dent of the Republican city committee of Boston.
He is secretary of the Provident Insti- tution for Savings, and president of the Adams Nervine Asylum, and of the train- ing school for nurses.
PARKS, EUGENE D., son of Horace and Ellen M. (Lewis) Parks, was born in Russell, Hampden county, January 17, 1862.
The common schools of Russell gave him his early school training, after which he attended the Westfield high school.
His entry into business life was in April, 1879. In 1888 he took the position of telegraph operator and helper at Russell Station, B. & A. R. R.
Mr. Parks was married in Springfield, Oct. 22, 1888, to Lizzie Belle, daughter of Alexander H. G. and Lizzie S. (Russell) Lewis. They have no children.
Mr. Parks was chairman of the board of selectmen, assessors and overseers of the poor, 1877 and '78 ; and is now chairman of the Democratic town committee. He has also served two years as town treas- urer, and one year as tax collector.
His church connections are with the Bap- tists, being prominently identified with the Sunday-school work. In all the positions he has held, he has preserved the respect and esteem of his fellow-townsmen.
PARTON.
PARKS, ROLAND, son of Warren and Lydia (Sackett) Parks, -both natives of Blandford, Hampden county - was born in that town, December 31, 1803.
His grandfather, Roger Parks, settled in Blandford at an early day, and was one of the hardy pioneers who first commenced felling the trees and establishing their homes among the hills of western Massa- chusetts.
Mr. Parks passed his boyhood on the ancestral farm, remaining there until the death of his father, in 1835. He then started in the world for himself, removing to Russell, where for the next five years he gave his attention to farming, which business he relinquished in 1842, having been appointed station agent for the West- ern (now Boston & Albany) Railroad, at Russell. He was the first agent at that station, and retained the position till 1851, after which time he was for two years deputy sheriff and jailer for the county.
During Franklin Pierce's administration he was connected with the Boston Custom House, where he remained four years as inspector. He has had a general store at Russell at different times from 1843 to '67.
Mr. Parks has several times served in the state Legislature, occupying a seat in the House of Representatives in the years 1841, '51 and '64, during which period he was a member of many important com- mittees. He has been justice of the peace for a number of years ; was from 1873 to '77 special county commissioner, and has also been postmaster.
He has held every municipal office in the gift of his town except that of school committee, which he declined.
Mr. Parks has been energetic in local improvements, especially influential in pro- curing the building of the beautiful iron bridge over the river when the Boston & Albany Railroad Company changed their track at Russell station.
He was married, June 25, 1836, to Marcia, daughter of William and Rhoda Culver, of Blandford. He had one child : Olive C., (wife of Jarvis W. Gibbs, of Russell) who was born 1837, and who died 1887.
Politically Mr. Parks was a war Demo- crat. He has voted the national Demo- cratic ticket every term, from Andrew Jack- son to Grover Cleveland, inclusive.
PARTON, JAMES, son of James and Ann (Leach) Parton, was born in Canter- bury, England, February 9, 1822.
He was brought to the United States when he was five years old, and being educated in the schools of New York City,
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and at White Plains, N. Y., the temper and tone of his intellect have been essen- tially American.
After teaching in Philadelphia and New York City, he became a contributor to the " Home Journal," with which he was connected for three years. He resided in New York City till 1875, when he re- moved to Newburyport, where he now resides.
Mr. Parton has published a number of books on biographical subjects, and con- tributed many articles to periodicals. His life of Horace Greeley, published first in 1855, with a later edition in 1885, was a most successful publication. He is well and deservedly known as a lecturer on literary and political topics.
The following are some of his published works : " Humorous Poetry of the Eng- lish Language from Chaucer to Saxe " (1856); "Life and Times of Aaron Burr " (1857); " Life of Andrew Jackson " (1859- '60); "General Butler in New Orleans" (1863-'82); " Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin " (1864) ; "How New York is Governed " (1866) ; " Famous Americans of Recent Times " (1867); "The People's Book of Biography" (1868); "Triumphs of Enterprise, Ingenuity and Public Spirit " (1871) ; "The Words of Washington " (1872); "Fanny Fern, a Memorial Vol- ume " (1873); "Life of Thomas Jefferson " (1874); " Le Parnasse Française " (1877); " Life of Voltaire " (1881); " Noted Women of Europe and America" (1883), and "Cap- tains of Industry, or Men of Business who did Something besides Making Money " (1884).
Mr. Parton was first married in January, 1856, to Sarah Payson Willis - so widely known as " Fanny Fern," the authoress - who died in Brooklyn, N. Y., October 10, 1872. He was again married in New York, in 1874, to Ellen W., daughter of Charles Eldredge. His children are: Hugo and Mabel Parton.
Mr. Parton's 'success in his chosen field of work has been decided, and he has established for himself an enviable posi- tion in the guild of American writers. His books have a merit beyond that of literary art, due to the freshness of the author's sympathy with what is liberal and generous and good in life. His spirit is essentially humane. He desires to make men better, wiser, and thus more free and more capable of maintaining and improving those institutions of so- ciety and politics which are distinctively American.
PARTRIDGE.
PARTRIDGE, DAVID ALLEN, son of Allen and Pegga J. Partridge, was born in Milford, Worcester county, April 3, 1833.
He attended the public schools of Mil- ford and Medway, and Harwinton, Conn. He was graduated from the Medway high school in 1850.
His first connection in business on his own account was in Medway, 1864 to '76, as manufacturer of boots. From 1875 to '86 he was agent and treasurer of the West Medway Mallet Company. He is now foreman of the cutting room in L. S. Daniels' boot factory.
Mr. Partridge was married in West Med- way, April 3, 1856, to Chloe A., adopted daughter of Paris Mann of that town. They have no children.
He enlisted August 28, 1862, and was commissioned, September 2, as Ist lieuten- ant, company B, 42d regiment, Massachu- setts volunteers ; was transferred to the 54th Massachusetts regiment, March 5, 1863, as Ist lieutenant and adjutant ; pro- moted to captain April 14, 1863, and dis- charged January 19, 1864, on account of physical disability. He served in the siege of Charleston, S. C., on James, Folly, and Morris islands. During this time he was detailed as assistant adjutant-general, and assistant provost-marshal. Since the war he has served four terms as adjutant, and six terms as post commander of Wilder Dwight Post 105, G. A. R.
He is a member of Charles River Lodge, F. & A. M., and has served in office. He was a member of the House of Represen- tatives 1876 and '78, serving on the com- mittees on manufactures and retrenchment, and as clerk of the committee on claims in 1878 ; was a member of the Republican town committee several years, and is now its chairman ; has always been active in the interests of the fire department - serving three years as engineer ; was appointed justice of the peace in 1877, and re-appointed by Governor Robinson in 1884 ; served as selectman in 1877 and '78, and again from 1881 to '88 ; elected again in 1889, and has been chairman of the board eight years.
Mr. Partridge has presided as modera- tor over fifty-seven town meetings. He is a respected citizen, and a thoroughly rep- resentative man of the town.
PARTRIDGE, HORACE, son of Hervey and Rachel (Paine) Partridge, was born in Walpole, Norfolk county, May 27, 1822. On the maternal side he is a nephew of the late Lemuel Paine, and cousin of the Hon. Ilenry W. Paine, of Cambridge.
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PARTRIDGE.
His early educational advantages were meagre, and limited to six weeks' schooling every winter until he was sixteen, working the remainder of the time at his father's trade, that of blacksmith, until twenty years of age. Selling goods another year for his brother brought him to his majority, when he started business on his own ac- count.
His first venture was to hire a horse and wagon by the day, purchase a barrel of honey, and retail it by the pound ; in three days all was sold. He next purchased a horse and wagon, and bought and sold other useful articles, until at length he es- tablished a business route from Gardner to
HORACE PARTRIDGE.
Greenfield, along the line of the Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad, which was then (1847) in the course of construction, mak- ing his headquarters at Athol.
Mr. Partridge was married in Gill, June 17, 1847, to Martha Ann, daughter of Sam- uel and Livia (Rawson) Stratton. Of this union were three children : Jennie Lind (now Mrs. Benjamin F. Hunt, Jr.), Frank Pierce, and Nellie Rosalie Partridge (now Mrs. W. E. Nickerson).
Mr. Partridge resided at Athol a short time after his marriage, and then removed to Boston and engaged, first in the dry- goods and millinery, then a few years in
the auction business, and later in jobbing and retailing fancy-goods, notions, etc. The rapid and uniform growth of business compelled him, from time to time, to seek larger and more commodious quarters. His son-in-law, Benjamin F. Hunt, and his son, Frank P. Partridge, are now part- ners in the firm, under the name of Horace Partridge & Co., and a new and large es- tablishment on Lincoln Street, Boston, has been erected to meet the demands of the legitimate growth of their trade, now re- quiring the chartering of several steamers each year to supply the immense quantity of toys and fancy-goods which are im- ported. Their retail trade is supplied at the old premises, 55 Hanover Street, with branch stores at 499 Washington Street and 57 Temple Place, while the importing and wholesale business is located at the new store, 63 to 97 Lincoln Street, with sample rooms at 148 and 150 Wabash Ave- nue, Chicago, and 12 Park Place, New York City.
Mr. Partridge has been a large dealer in real estate, and has owned and built about three score dwelling-houses.
He has thoroughly domestic tastes, and what little time he can spare from his busi- ness he devotes to the embellishment of his grounds and dispensing the hospitality of his home. He resides on North Avenue, Cambridge, where he has built pleasant residences adjoining his own for each of his married children. He is a great lover of fruit and flower culture, and has long been a member of the Massachusetts Hor- ticultural Society. He is an exceptionally busy man, working from sixteen to eigh- teen hours per day, personally closing his office at night ; has not been sick for over a quarter of a century; and has never, dur- ing his business life, taken a vacation. He has avoided the allurements of politics, and the only organization he has consented to join has been that of the Ancient and Hon- orable Artillery Company.
PATTERSON, ADONIRAM JUDSON, son of James and Nancy (Holt) Patterson, was born in Spring township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, April 3, 1827. On his father's side he is of Scotch-Irish an- cestry ; on his mother's side English - descended from Sir Thomas and Sir John Holt, who figured conspicuously just be- fore and during the reign of William III.
His father, a man of learning and in early life a teacher, took personal charge of his education. The schools did something for him -his father did more. Cut off in early manhood from college privileges by
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business responsibilities which the death of his father involved, he was aided in his studies by a brother of his father, then a member of the family, who was a fine classical scholar.
At the age of seventeen he was led by the death of a sister to study carefully the question of destiny, which resulted in a radical break with Calvinism, and his with- drawal from the Baptist church. Subse- quent investigation led him into affiliation with the Universalist church.
ADONIRAM J. PATTERSON.
Parts of each year for three or four years of his early manhood were devoted to teaching. Simultaneously with his work, he carried forward his special studies for the ministry, directed by professors of the Meadville Theological Seminary, and aided by Rev. B. F. Hitchcock and Rev. Ami Bond.
In August, 1851, he was married to Jane, daughter of Daniel and Catharine (Burch) Lippitt.
His wife entering with cordial sympathy into his professional plan, was of great help to him by her fine literary taste and Christian co-operation.
Declining a business partnership which promised almost certain wealth, he began to preach in the spring of 1853, and was called soon afterward to the pastorate of
the Universalist church in Girard, Pa. Here he remained two years, preaching also Sunday afternoons and evenings in many adjacent towns. These were happy and fruitful years.
In August, 1855, Mr. Patterson removed to Portsmouth, N. H. His ministry of eleven years in that city covered the period of the war. His church was prominent in the interests of the loyal cause. The capa- cious edifice was filled with eager listeners. The times were exciting, and the preacher had the message of the Lord. Patriotism was a part of his religion, and it found ex- pression in sermon, prayer, and platform address, wherever an inspiring voice was needed during those awful years.
As chaplain-at-large, he was with the army in Virginia during the campaign of 1864, aiding the sick and wounded in hos- pital, ambulance, and rifle-pit ; and dis- tributing in the trenches more than twenty- five tons of sanitary stores.
As a member of the New Hampshire Legislature in 1866, he was not absent from a single session ; but he was also regularly in his pulpit. As a legislator, he attracted public notice, and there was a call for him to represent his district in Congress. He felt the full force of this temptation, but turned from the open door in loyalty to the higher duties of a minister of Christ. While in the Legislature he accepted a call to the Roxbury Universalist church, and began the work of his pastorate, September, 1866. Noble men had preceded him. He found a strong, united church. For twenty-two years he led it along those lines of endeavor which build character and make the church a family, active in all helpful ministries.
Thirty-five years of unremitting toil broke down a not robust constitution. Rest became inevitable, and he resigned his pas- torate in the spring of 1888. The church elected him pastor emeritus, and, at his suggestion, called the Rev. E. L. Rexford, D. D., to the pastorate.
Dr. Patterson passed the summer of 1878 in European travel, reporting his obser- vations in a series of letters which were widely read. He has published in book form "Centennial of the Portsmouth Uni- versalist Church," and " Semi-Centennial of the Roxbury Universalist Church." He has also published many essays, lectures, ser- mons and articles, in books, pamphlets, magazines and newspapers.
His pulpit themes, always thoroughly Christian, cover a wide variety. He is not given to hobbies, never runs in ruts, is intensely in earnest, persuasive, magnetic.
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His aim is to make men ashamed of their sins, and awaken a longing for a better life.
Rest having brought partial restoration, Dr. Patterson is now doing valiant service for his church in the outlying places. The Church of the Good Shepherd, Omaha, Neb., was recently gathered and organized during one of these missionary journeys. His residence is near Franklin Park, in one of the most charming suburbs of Boston.
PEABODY, ENDICOTT, son of S. Endi- cott and Marianne Cabot (Lee) Peabody, was born in Salem, Essex county, May 31, 1857.
His paternal ancestors were among the earliest settlers of the colony. John Endi- cott, the first governor of the Massachu- setts Bay Colony, settled in 1628 in Naum- keag, which afterwards was known as Salem.
The father of the subject of this sketch, S. E. Peabody, removed to London in 1871, where he became a member of the bank- ing-house of J. S. Morgan & Co. Mr. Peabody was mainly educated in Eng- land. He first attended Cheltenham Col- lege, and from this went to Cambridge in 1876, where he was matriculated a mem- ber of Trinity College, from which he re- ceived the degree of LL. B. in 1880, and the degree of LL. M. in 1884.
Mr. Peabody returned to this country in 1880, and entered the house of Lee, Hig- ginson & Co., founded by his maternal grandfather. Later, having become inter- ested in the work of the Protestant Epis- copal church, of which he became a com- municant, he determined to enter the ministry, and in accordance with his reso- lution, he began his studies at the Episco- pal theological school in Cambridge, from which he was graduated in 1884, receiving the degree of B. D. On the same day, June 18, he was ordained to the diaconate by the Rt. Rev. Benjamin H. Paddock, D. D., Bishop of Massachusetts. Previous to this, in 1882, he had gone to Arizona, where he engaged for a short time in missionary work. Under his care and direction, a parish was organized and a church built in Tombstone, Arizona, at that time one of the principal mining towns of that territory.
Having completed the work which he had undertaken, he now returned to the East and resumed his studies in Cambridge. Deeply interested in educational work, he established the school for boys at Groton, in 1884. In this work he has been emi- nently successful.
PEASE.
Mr. Peabody was married, June 18, 1885, to his cousin, Fannie, daughter of Francis Peabody, of Danvers. They have one son : Malcolm, born June 12, 1888.
PEASE, ALVIN FOWLER, son of Wil- liam and Emily (Fowler) Pease, was born in Oswego, Oswego county, N. Y., April IO, 1852.
He is a descendant in the ninth genera- tion from Robert Pease, who came to Bos- ton from England in 1634, and from Wil- liam Fowler, who came from England in 1637.
The district schools gave him his early education, fitting him for the Oswego high school, from which he was graduated Feb- ruary 4, 1869. He finished preparation for college under private tutors, and at the University grammar school, Provi- dence, R. I., entered Brown University in 1871, was graduated in 1875, and in 1878 received the degree of A. M.
He had begun commercial life as book- keeper for Bond & McCollom, lumber dealers, Oswego, N. Y., before entering col- lege life, but remained here only two years, his tastes leading him into other paths of usefulness. After graduating he took up the profession of teaching, for which he had been preparing during the last years of his college life. He was principal of the Warren (R. I.) high school from May, 1875, to September, 1879, and princi- pal of the Pawtucket (R. I.) high school five years, beginning September, 1879. He was superintendent of schools in Paw- tucket, from 1884 to '88, and principal of the St. Albans (Vt.) Academy from Janu- ary to June of the latter year. He is at present superintendent of schools in North- ampton.
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