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 73
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He was on duty at Morris Island in Au- gust, 1863, where, without any previous request or knowledge on his part, he re- ceived notice of his appointment as collector of internal revenue for the 3d Massachusetts district. He held this office three years. Governor Bullock immediately after ap- pointed him district-attorney to fill a va- cancy in that district occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Harris. He was elected by the people to the same office in 1866 and re-elected in 1868. In October, 1869, he was appointed secretary of the board of state charities, and held that office till 1874, when he resigned. In 1875 and again in '76 he represented the town of Milton in the House of Representatives, with distinc- tion and marked ability. He is the author of the well-known act to limit municipal indebtedness. During the session of 1876 he was chairman of the judiciary commit- tee. He was appointed assistant-treas- urer of the United States by President Hayes in December, 1878, but declined the appointment.
Mr. Pierce was for ten years a lecturer at the Boston University law school. He is the author of treatises on the law of rail- roads, and of various addresses and papers on politics and literature. His best known liter- ary work is the "Memoir of Charles Sumner," the first two volumes of which were pub- lished in 1877. He has resided in Milton for many years, and has ever taken an active part in public affairs, where his in- fluence is always felt on the side of all good measures. He was the originator of the public library, and has been a trustee since its organization. He received the degree of Ll .. D. from Brown University in 1882.
PIERCE, HENRY LILLIE, son of Jesse and Eliza S. (Lillie) Pierce, was born in Stoughton, Norfolk county, August 23, 1825. He is a descendant of the " John Pers, weaver," who is recorded in an an- cient document in the English Exchequer, bearing date April 8, 1637, as " desirous to passe " with his wife and children " to Boston, in New England, to inhabitt," and
who appears to have been admitted, under the name of John Pierce, to bc a " free- man," in Watertown, in March, 1638.
The subject of this sketch received a good English education at the public schools in Stoughton, and at the state nor- mal school in Bridgewater. In 1849 the family removed to a house in Dorchester, near Milton Lower Mills, where Mr. Pierce has ever since resided.
In 1850 he entered the chocolate manu- factory of Walter Baker & Co., which was established on the Neponset River, near his home. On the death of the owner, in 1854, he took charge of the business, and from that time to this has been the sole manager.
At an early age he began to take an interest in public affairs, and while still a school-boy contributed articles to some of the country papers. He took an active part in the organization of the Free Soil party of 1848, and subsequently of the party which grew out of it, and which elected Lincoln in 1860. At the state election of 1859 he was chosen a member of the lower branch of the state Legisla- ture, in which he served four years - 1860, '61, '62 and '66. He took the initiative in securing the repeal of the state and na- tional legislation which prevented the enlistment of colored men into the local militia and the United States army. In 1862 he was chairman of the committee on finance, and in that capacity reported and carried through the House two measures of great importance-the act providing for the payment of the state bonds in gold, and the act taxing savings banks and insurance companies.
On the annexation of Dorchester to the city of Boston, in 1869, he was elected to represent that district in the board of aldermen. After serving two years, he declined a renomination.
In 1872 he was nominated as a non-par- tisan candidate for the office of mayor of Boston, and, after a sharp contest, was electcd. To improve the efficiency of the government, radical changes were needed in some of the departments, and such changes he not only recommended, but proceeded resolutely to carry out. Against very strong opposition, he re-organized the health and fire departments, and freed them from the personal and partisan influ- ences to which they had long been subject. Before his first term as mayor had expired, he received the Republican nomination for representative in Congress from the 3d Massachusetts district, and was elected by
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an almost unanimous vote. He served during two terms, from December, 1872, to March 4. 1877, and took a prominent part in the important legislation of that period.
In 1877 he very reluctantly became the citizens' candidate for mayor of Boston, and was elected by a handsome majority. He secured a complete re-organization of the police department, and an impartial and energetic enforcement of the laws regulating the sale of intoxicating liquors. At the expiration of his term he declined a re-election, and has not since held any political office. During the last ten years his time has been absorbed largely by his manufacturing business. He has traveled quite extensively in this country and Eu- rope, and he has taken a prominent part in many of the reform movements of the day.
PIKE, JAMES DAVIS, son of Jacob and Abigail Moody (Davis) Pike, was born February 26, 1829, in Salisbury, Essex county.
After attending the public schools, he entered the employ of Samuel Bragdon, of Newburyport, at the age of eighteen years, as a clerk in the grocery business. Subse- quently he learned the business of wool sorting, which he pursued for several years in Amesbury and Salisbury. In 1860 he purchased the grocery and dry-goods busi- ness of John S. Poyen, in West Amesbury, adding to the stock, that of paints, oil and carriage-painters' supplies. At one time he was one of the editors and proprietors of the " Merrimac Budget," and from 1885 to '89 was connected with the Bay State Felt Boot & Shoe Company, of Merrimac, as its treasurer.
Mr. Pike was married in Newburyport, October 26, 1860, to Malvina, daughter of Ebenezer and Esther Rogers, who died in 1875. In 1880, he was again married, to Mrs. Lois A. Betts, daughter of Moses and Ann (Bailey) Sargent. They have one child : Ethel J. Pike.
In 1864 Mr. Pike represented the town of Amesbury in the House of Representa- tives, serving upon a special committee for the reimbursement of military bounties, and amendments to the valuation act. In 1878 he was elected the first representative from the new town of Merrimac, and served on the committee on harbors and public lands.
Mr. Pike has held various offices of re- sponsibility and trust, being one of the trustees of the Merrimac Savings Bank since its incorporation, and its secretary until 1886, when he resigned the position.
He was clerk of the West Amesbury Branch Railroad for many years ; a justice of the peace for twenty-one years, and has been a notary public since 1872. He is also a deacon of the Congregational church in Merrimac, and president of the Young Men's Christian Association.
In politics Mr. Pike has always been a Republican, having served as a member of the Republican state central committee and of the Republican town committees of Amesbury and Merrimac. He represented his district, the 4th Essex, in 1888 and '89 in the state Senate, serving on the com- mittees on the treasury, expenditures, in- surance, and drainage.
PIKE, JOHN, son of Richard and Mary (Boardman) Pike, was born in Newbury- port, Essex county, July 3, 1813.
His school instruction was largely com- mitted to Alfred W. Pike, an excellent classical scholar and a thorough teacher. By him he was fitted for college, and also led to accept those views of a religious life that had a controlling influence on his sub- sequent career. He entered Bowdoin Col- lege in 1829 and was graduated in 1833, being elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and was afterwards made president of his class.
Bowdoin College has long regarded him as among her distinguished sons. From 1863 to '87, when he resigned, he was a member of the board of overseers, and served on the committee that secured for the college two valuable presidents. He was also one of the committee for the re- ception of President Grant when he hon- ored the college by his presence at its commencement, and was himself honored by it with one of its highest degrees.
Dr. Pike has always kept up his interest in his alma mater, which bestowed on him the title of D. D. in 1866. He has been a trustee of Dummer Academy since 1842, and for thirty-five years president of the board. He was also a trustee of the theo- logical seminary at Hartford, Conn., for some years.
Leaving college, he soon commenced his theological studies, entering the Andover Theological Seminary in 1834, but unfor- tunately, during his last year at Bowdoin his eyesight had weakened, and that weak- ness so increased that he was obliged to employ an assistant to read and write for him - nor was it ever fully overcome, but finally ended in total blindness ; yet he still resolutely persevered, and graduated with honor in 1837, and at once entered upon his calling.
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His first engagement was for a few weeks at North Falmouth, where he was, how- ever, induced to remain for three years. In 1840 he accepted the call of the Con- gregational church at Rowley to become its pastor, where his life-work has been so beautiful in its results and so pleasant in all its relations.
In 1841 he married Deborah, only child of Hon. Daniel and Polly (Adams) Adams, of Newbury.
In 1868 blindness made it necessary to terminate a pastorate of twenty-eight years, during which the church had a constant religious growth. Since his resignation he has preached nearly every Sunday at the house of correction in Ipswich, where his labors have been much appreciated and highly blest.
PILLSBURY, ALBERT E., son of Josiah WV. and Elizabeth (Dinsmoor) Pillsbury, was born in Milford, Hillsborough county, N. H., August 19, 1849. His father grad- uated at Dartmouth in 1840, and intended to follow a profession, but the state of his health obliged him to take to farming, and the subject of this sketch was born and reared a farmer's son.
Having passed through the common and high schools of Milford, he prepared for college at Appleton Academy, New Ipswich, N. H., and Lawrence Academy, Groton, Mass. He entered Harvard College in the class of 1871, but did not remain to grad- uate. After leaving college he taught school one year in Sterling, Ill., and stud- ied law there, with his uncle, Hon. James Dinsmoor ; was admitted to the bar in Illinois, and later in Massachusetts, and has since 1871 been in active practice in Boston.
He was married in Newbury, Vt., July 9, 1889, to Louise F. (Johnson) Wheeler, daughter of Edward C. and Delia M. (Smith) Johnson.
Mr. Pillsbury was several years vice- president, and one year president, of the Mercantile Library Association of Boston, and is still one of its trustees ; is a member of the corporation of the Franklin Savings Bank, and a director in the United States Trust and Safe Deposit Company.
He entered public life as a member of the House of Representatives from ward 17, Boston, 1876, '77, and '78 ; was elected to the Senate from the 6th Suffolk district for 1884, '85, and '86, and was president of that body in 1885-'86, receiving each year a unanimous vote of his fellow-members. In the House in 1876 he was chairman of the committee on elections, and a member of the committee on constitutional amend-
PILLSBURY.
ments. He also served on the judiciary and other committees in 1877 and '78. In the Senate in 1884 he was chairman of the joint committee on the Hoosac Tunnel Railroad, a member of the committee on judiciary, and chairman of the special com- mittee on the bribery investigation. In 1887 he was tendered by Governor Ames, and declined, the appointment of judge- advocate-general. In the fall of that year he was a candidate for attorney-general in the Republican state convention and re- ceived the largest vote cast, the nomination being finally made by a less number of votes on a formal ballot. In 1888 he was tendered by Governor Ames, and declined, an appointment to the bench of the super- ior court, and in 1889 he was tendered by Mayor Hart, and declined, the appointment of corporation counsel of the city of Bos- ton, being unwilling to accept a public position which involved the entire abandon- ment of his private practice.
In 1888 he was chosen president of the national association of the Pillsbury family at its first gathering at Newburyport, where the family in this country originated, and where the house built by " Daniel Pilsbery," in 1699-1700, and ever since occupied by some member of the family, still stands, and which is now believed to be the oldest in Newburyport.
Mr. Pillsbury has already won an envia- ble reputation among the intelligent and progressive element of the political party with which he has always been identified, and the people of the State, irrespective of party affiliations, recognize in his integrity, his conscientious devotion to duty, and his acknowledged ability in his chosen profes- sion, elements destined to place him in still higher and more responsible positions in civil life.
PILLSBURY, JOHN ELLIOTT, son of John Gilman and Elizabeth Wimble (Smith) Pillsbury, was born in Lowell, Middlesex county, December 15, 1846.
He attended the public schools in Low- ell until his removal in 1856, then at Chelsea until 1859, and then at intervals studied in private and public schools until he entered the naval academy at Annapolis, Md., in 1862.
Previous to his choice of life-work, he was employed in the store of J. D. Wilcox & Co., for a few months, and was a page in the House of Representatives, Washing- ton, D. C., from December, 1859, to August, 1862. He was appointed midship- man " at large," at the naval academy by President Lincoln in September, 1862.
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His naval duty since graduating from the naval academy has been in the Pacific squadron and the Asiatic squadron, where he was participant in the engagement with the Coreans in 1871 ; was attached to the " Swatara " on the transit of Venus expe- dition in 1874 and '75 ; was on the coast survey steamer " Blake" as executive officer ; was in the West Indian squadron, on board the " Kearsarge," 1879 to '82 ; and since that time has been attached to the coast survey service, and in command of the " Blake " nearly five years. His present rank is that of lieutenant, United States navy.
Lieutenant Pillsbury has reached an en- viable position among scientific students, his labors in line of research being original in method, and applied to old fields that have been more or less superficially worked. He is inventive, and when old appliances fail to answer his demands for results, he builds new ones that will re- spond satisfactorily. His work in the Gulf Stream and ocean currents generally, has been done from an entirely different base of operations from that employed hereto- fore by scientific men. His plan to get the drift and rate of a current was to an- chor and send down a machine that would automatically record what was taking place there. But to anchor in such depths as one thousand fathoms was unheard of, and he was obliged to invent means both for safely anchoring and recording the current movements. He successfully ac- complished what he undertook, and in March, 1885, made his first experiment. He has remained three days at anchor in 1,000 fathoms, and twelve hours at anchor in 2,176 fathoms - 13,056 feet.
The average of the last twelve anchorages is about 1,800 fathoms. By his experiments in ocean currents he has established many of the laws of the Gulf Stream, and thrown light upon many of the old navigators' collections of unexplained phenomena. The work is yet in its infancy, but with deep sea anchorage and automatic re- corder, Lieutenant Pillsbury will eliminate many an uncertain factor which has here- tofore entered into calculations for posi- tions at sea, and will change materially the theories among savants regarding ocean currents.
Lieutenant Pillsbury is of Puritan ances- try on both sides, dating back to 1630 in this country. His paternal grandmother was Abigail Eliot, a direct descendant of John Eliot, the Indian missionary, after whom he is named.
PILSBURY.
Lieutenant Pillsbury married in Portland, Maine, August 26, 1873, Florence Green- wood, daughter of William and Helen M. (Stevens) Aitchison. Of this union is one child : Elsie Greenwood Pillsbury.
PILSBURY, EDWIN LAKE, son of Ho- ratio Nelson and Lydia Symonds (Lake) Pilsbury, was born in Bucksport, Hancock county, Maine, April 21, 1850.
His early educational training was re- ceived in the grammar and high schools of Charlestown. His first entrance into busi- ness life was made by an engagement with Champney Brothers & Co., wholesale small wares, Boston.
EDWIN L. PILSBURY.
March 5, 1873, he opened business on his own account in the retail trade of ladies' and gents' furnishings, dry-goods, etc., in Charlestown. Here he has continued, enlarging his capacity for business in the matter of ware-rooms, etc., from time to time, as a flourishing trade has demanded, until the present.
Mr. Pilsbury was married in Bath, Maine, October 22, 1884, to Louise Thompson, daughter of Jacob William and Louise Middlecutt (Plane) Plumer. Of this union are two children : Mabel Lydia and Edna Louise Pilsbury.
Mr. Pilsbury is past grand master, I. O. O. F. of Massachusetts ; past dictator,
M
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Knights of Honor ; ex-superintendent of the Universalist Sabbath-school ; and has been prominent in various literary, social, and political organizations.
Mr. Pilsbury was a member of the House of Representatives in 1882 and '83, and of the Senate in 1887 and '89. He served on the committee on prisons in 1882, '83, and '87, being clerk of the com- mittee in 1883 ; served on the committee on water supply in 1887 ; was chairman of the committee on Hoosac Tunnel, and Troy & Greenfield Railroad in 1887, and chairman of the committee on railroads in 1889. He is a member of Henry Price Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Howard Lodge, No. 22, I. O. O. F., and Bunker Hill Encampment, No. 5, I. O. O. F.
The latest tribute to his integrity and ability is his recent appointment by Mayor Hart, of Boston, as one of the commission- ers of the Boston board of health, his term expiring in 1892.
PINKERTON, ALFRED S., son of Wil- liam C. and Maria W. (Fiske) Pinkerton, was born in Lancaster, Lancaster county, Pa., March 19, 1856.
He attended the public schools of his native place until by the death of his father he was forced to leave school, and with his mother, who sought to return to her kin- dred and native state, came to Worcester, where he soon found employment as book- keeper with one of the leading manufactur- ing firms, and by dint of faithful application, secured the unqualified confidence of his employers. But he had an aspiration to enter the legal profession, and by using his leisure hours while engaged in mercan- tile pursuits, he fitted himself, with the assistance and direction of the late Hon. Peter C. Bacon, with whom he studied, and was finally admitted to the bar in 1881. He immediately began legal practice, and has risen to a recognized position in the profession.
Mr. Pinkerton is a prominent Odd Fel- low, a member of Worcester Lodge, No. 56, and Wachusett Encampment. In 1882 he entered the grand lodge and grand encampment, where he at once took rank; was a member of the committee which in 1887 reported in favor of the establish- ment of a " home for aged and infirmi members of the fraternity." He is now grand master of the Grand Lodge of Mas- sachusetts - the youngest man ever occupying the chair. He is also a miem- ber of the Masonic fraternity.
In 1887 Mr. Pinkerton was elected a member of the House of Representatives
from Worcester, serving as House chair- man of the committee on towns. He was re-elected in 1888 and '89. In 1888 he served on the judiciary committee and the committee on constitutional amendments, and the joint special committee to repre- sent the Commonwealth at the centennial celebration of the settlement of Ohio. In 1 889 he served on the judiciary committee, and was House chairman of the committee on water-supply.
ALFRED S. PINKERTON.
Mr. Pinkerton, during these years, was frequently heard in debate, seldom failing to command the attention of the House.
He participated in all the important dis- cussions, and was the member who pre- sented Senator Hoar's name to the Repub- lican caucus. He has been secretary, and is now chairman, of the Worcester county Republican committee, and has contributed materially to the service of the party in his county.
PITMAN, ROBERT CARTER, son of Benjamin and Mary Ann (Carter) Pitman, was born in Newport, Newport county, R. L., March 16, 1825.
He received his public school training in the schools of New Bedford, and there fitted for college at the Friends' Academy. He was graduated from the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., in the class
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of 1845 -receiving the degree of A. M. in course, and that of LL. D. in 1869.
He was admitted to the bar in New Bed- ford in December, 1848. In 1850 he formed a law co-partnership with Hon. T. D. Eliot, which continued till 1855 ; then for nine years practiced alone, at the end of which time he formed a co-partner- ship with Hon. A. Borden, which relation continued five years, till 1869.
He is at present the senior associate jus- tice of the superior court of Massachu- setts, having been appointed in 1869.
Judge Pitman was a member of the House of Representatives in 1858, and of the Senate in 1864, '65, '68 and '69, and the last year was president of the same.
He was married in New Bedford, August 15, 1855, to Frances R., daughter of the late Rev. M. G. Thomas. Of this union are two children living : Francis C. and Arthur S. Pitman.
Judge Pitman is a Prohibitionist, and an active factor in all movements leading up to that one result. He is the author of " Alco- hol and the State," published in 1877. His residence is Newton, to which city he re- moved October 1, 1876.
POLLARD, ARTHUR GAYTON, son of Colonel Joseph S. and Luella J. (Tucker) Pollard, was born in Plaistow, Rockingham county, N. H., January 5, 1843.
He was educated in the public schools of Plaistow and Lowell. Upon leaving school he was engaged as clerk in the dry-goods store of Hon. Hocum Hosford, Lowell, in 1861, and in 1864 was admitted as partner in the business. He became sole proprietor in 1885, Mr. Hosford having died several years previous. In 1886 he admitted his book-keeper, Harry Dunlap, as partner, the firm now being A. G. Pollard & Co.
Mr. Pollard was married in Keeseville, N. Y., October 14, 1869, to Martha M., daughter of George G. and Martha M. (Dean) Fuller. Of this union there were four children, two of whom died in infancy, and two are now living : Harry Gilmore and Edith Frances Pollard
Mr. Pollard is a director in the Mer- chants' National Bank, Lowell, Lowell Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Lowell Hosiery Company, and Appleton Manufac- turing Company. He is a trustee and one of the investment committee of the Cen- tral Savings Bank, Lowell ; treasurer of the proprietors of the South Congrega- tional Meeting-house, and a director in the Lowell board of trade.
He has always been quite prominent in Masonic circles ; is past master of Ancient
New York Lodge ; past high priest, Mt. Horeb R. A. Chapter ; past thrice illustri- ous master, Ahasuerus Council, and past eminent commander of Pilgrim Command- ery, K. T. In 1880 he was deputy grand high priest of the Grand R. A. Chapter of Massachusetts. In 1883 he was deputy grand master of the Grand Council of Massachusetts. In 1887 he was elected most excellent grand high priest of the Grand R. A. Chapter of Massachusetts, which position he still holds.
POMEROY, ALANSON BROWN, son of Alanson and Anna Brown Pomeroy, was born in Washington, Berkshire county, February 8, 1842.
He was educated in the common schools of his native town.
He began life as a farmer and wood dealer. In 1884 he worked a year in Springfield, in the grocery trade. He sub- sequently went back to farming and deal- ing in wood, real estate exchange, etc.
During the war of the rebellion he served one year in the 61st regiment, Mas- sachusetts volunteers. He has held every office in the gift of the town, having been chairman of the board of selectmen twelve years, and for a portion of that time, treasurer also, which fact attests to the confidence reposed in him by his towns- men. He has served on the school board almost consecutively since he was twenty- one years old. He served in the lower branch of the Legislature during the ses- sion of 1875. He is now located in one of the pleasantest spots of the town, and dis- penses his hospitality with a generous hand.
Mr. Pomeroy was married in Albany, N. Y., September 22, 1866, to Mary Eliza- beth, daughter of Clark T. and Lydia R. (Mack) Lyman. Of this union were six children : Frank A., Jessie L. (deceased), Mabel E., Irving W., Rupert H. (deceased), and Carleton M. Pomeroy.
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