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 82
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Mr. Saville was married in Lexington, June 5, 1862, to Rebecca H., daughter of James and Caroline W. (Brooks) Gould. Of this union were two children : Fred C. and Annie M. Saville.
Mr. Saville has been called to serve his town in nearly every municipal office ; is now town clerk, which position he has filled seventeen years. He was first master of Independence Lodge, A. O. U. W., treasurer of the Lexington Historical Society, a member of the House of Rep- resentatives in 1883, serving as monitor and clerk of the committee on towns. He is a justice of the peace, and does consider- able probate business.
SAWYER.
SAWYER, HENRY O., son of Oliver B. and Angeline A. Sawyer, was born in Berlin, Worcester county, June 10, 1844.
He received his early education in the public schools of West Boylston and a pri- vate school at Lancaster.
At twenty-one years of age, in 1865, Mr. Sawyer bought the general merchandise business of T. V. Phelps & Co., in West Boylston. In August of the same year he admitted M. E. Walker into the part- nership, the firm name being Sawyer & Walker. January 1, 1872, he sold his interest in the business to Mr. Walker.
He immediately purchased of E. Brim- hall his interest in the furniture business at Clinton, the firm name being Field & Sawyer. April 1, 1878, he sold his inter- est to Lucius Field, repurchasing the business of Mr. Walker, he, with his brother, continued the same, under the firm name of Sawyer Brothers, dealers in general merchandise, and furnishing un- dertakers. January 18, 1889, he bought out his brother and admitted his son, H. I. Sawyer, and J. F. Higgins, and is now conducting the business under the firm name of H. O. Sawyer & Com- pany.
Mr. Sawyer was married in Clinton, January 1, 1866, to Flora A., daughter of Solon and Laura P. Wetherbee. Of this union are four children : Harry L., Angie F., Cora A., and Carl W. Sawyer. Mrs. Sawyer died September 20, 1888.
Mr. Sawyer has been called to serve his town in the various municipal offices, as town clerk, selectman, treasurer, a mem- ber of the school board, etc. He is a trustee and a member of the investment committee of the Security Savings Bank, in West Boylston. He has been chairman of the Republican town committee for the past ten years, and was a member of the Massachusetts delegation to the Chicago convention, in June, 1888.
He was a representative to the General Court in 1881, and served on the com- mittee on education. He is worshipful master of Trinity Lodge, F. & A. M .; regent of Beaman Council, No. 964, R. A., and is one of the executive committee of the Worcester County Grocers' Associa- tion.
He was a private in company E, 42d regiment, Massachusetts volunteers, has been commander of Post 28, G. A. R., three terms, and of Post 64 one year.
He is a member of the West Boylston Business Men's Club, and one of its vice- presidents.
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SAWYER.
SAWYER, JOSEPH, was born in Bos- ton, October 22, 1823. He is a lineal de- scendant of James Sawyer, who was born in England about 1630, and emigrated to this country between the years 1665 and '69. He settled first in Ipswich and sub- sequently removed to Gloucester. The father of the subject of this sketch was a mariner ; made a number of voyages to England, and before he was twenty-one years of age was master of a packet-ship. He married Ellen Whyte in Liverpool, England.
Joseph, the eldest of eleven children, received his education in the Eliot school, Boston, but at fourteen years of age was desirous of entering into business, and ob- tained a situation in the retail dry-goods store of the late Joshua Stetson on Hanover Street, then the headquarters of this line of trade.
He continued with his employer after he had established an extensive jobbing busi- ness. In 1844 the firm of Wilkinson, Stet- son & Co. was organized in the woolen im- porting and jobbing business. This house recognized the industry and application of Mr. Sawyer, and in 1849 he was admitted as a partner. These relations continued until 1862, the house representing some of the largest mills in New England.
At this time the commission house of E. R. Mudge, Sawyer & Co. was formed for the sale of textile fabrics. They purchased, in company with the old firm of Wilkinson, Stetson & Co., the Burlington Woolen Mills of Winooski, Vt., the largest woolen mills in the state, and of which Mr. Sawyer's friend and partner, Joshua Stetson, was treasurer.
On the death of Mr. Stetson in 1869, Mr. Sawyer succeeded to the treasurership of the corporation, from which he retired in 1882 to assume the presidency. Since the death of Hon. E. R. Mudge the firm has been dissolved, and Mr. Sawyer has retired from active business. He remains, however, a special partner in the firm which is the successor to the large and prominent business which has been built up.
Mr. Sawyer has been for many years a director in the National Revere Bank, trustee of a number of estates, and con- nected with various charitable and benevo- lent societies.
Mr. Sawyer was married in Boston, in 1847, to Anna Maria, daughter of William Dillaway.
SAWYER, THOMAS JEFFERSON, son of Benjamin and Sally (York) Sawyer, was born in Reading, Windsor county, N. Y., January 9, 1804.
SAWYER.
His formal education began in the com- mon school of the neighborhood. At the age of eighteen he entered upon the work of teaching, and, at the same time, of fitting himself for college. He entered Middle- bury College, Middlebury, Vt., in 1825, and was graduated in 1829.
He entered the Christian ministry in connection with the Universalist church, receiving his fellowship and ordination in September, 1829. His first settlement as pastor, 1830, was in New York City. In 1831 he became editor of the "Christian Messenger," a paper devoted to the pro- motion of the cause of Universalism.
In 1845, after fifteen years of prosperous service in the ministry, he accepted the principalship of the Clinton Liberal Insti- tute at Clinton, Oneida county, N. Y. Here, in addition to his supervision and teaching in the routine work of the school, he taught classes in theology, thereby pre- paring a large number of young men for the ministry of the church to which he was devoted. 'To him, also, belongs the honor of calling an "educational convention," the fruit of which was the founding of Tufts College, at College Hill, near Boston.
In 1850 he received the honorary degree of doctor of sacred theology from Harvard College. In 1852 he returned to New York, re-assuming the work of his old pastorate, and completing a ministry of a quarter of a century in New York City.
In 1863 he was made editor-in-chief of " The Christian Ambassador," a paper pub- lished in New York. In 1869 he was elected Packard professor of systematic theology in the divinity school of Tufts College, which office he still holds.
Dr. Sawyer was twice honored by an election to the presidency of Tufts Col- lege ; to the presidency of Canton theo- logical school, which he was active in founding, and of Lombard University, at Galesburg, Ill. All of these offers he de- clined from distrust of his own executive ability.
Though past eighty-five, he still preaches and is also a frequent contributor to the religious papers of his church. During his ministry of sixty years, he has been an earnest defender of the faith according to the Universalist interpretation, and most of his books and essays have the contro- versial cast. Always an advocate of good learning, his influence in the cause of edu- cation has been felt throughout the Uni- versalist church, in which he has witnessed the rise and progress of all its schools, col- leges and theological seminaries.
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SCHINDLER.
SAWYER.
Dr. Sawyer may be regarded as the father of the Universalist Historical Soci- ety, of which he has been secretary and librarian for more than fifty years, during which time he has collected about three thousand volumes. Dr. Eddy dedicates the second volume of his " Universalism in America " to Dr. Sawyer, "whose influ- ence," he says, "in shaping the thought of the Universalist church far exceeds that of any other living man."
SAWYER, TIMOTHY THOMPSON, son of William and Susannah (Thompson) Sawyer, was born in Charlestown, Middle- sex, now in Suffolk county, January 7, 1817. His ancesters were among the earliest set- tlers in Massachusetts. One of them, James Thompson, came to Charlestown with Gov- ernor Winthrop's company in 1630. On the other side, Thomas Sawyer settled in Lancaster in 1641.
His early education was chiefly obtained at the public schools. His business life was commenced in the hardware and ship- chandlery store of his uncle, Thomas M. Thompson, in Merchants' Row, Boston. When he was twenty years of age his uncle died, and for five years he continued the business alone. In 1842 he formed a part- nership with John W. Frothingham, under the firm name of Sawyer & Frothingham, who carried on the same business for two years. About this time the firm of Gage, Hittinger & Co. was formed to engage in the wharfage and ice business, of which Mr. Sawyer was a partner. In 1846 the firm name was changed to Gage, Sawyer & Co. The house was extensively engaged in the shipment of ice, and had business connections in the principal southern cities, in several of the West India Islands, in Rio Janeiro, and Calcutta, and was widely and honorably known. Mr. Sawyer retired from active business in 1862.
For thirty-eight years Mr. Sawyer has been a director in the Bunker Hill National Bank, and a trustee of the Warren Institu- tion for Savings nearly as long. In 1880 he was made president of the Warren In- stitution for Savings, and in 1884 was elected president of the Bunker Hill Na- tional Bank, which offices he still holds.
During his active career he has held many local offices of trust and responsi- bility. In 1840 he was a member of the finance committee, and assessor in 1841 of the town government of Charlestown. In 1843, '44, and '45 he was a member of the school committee. The town became a city in 1847. In 1848, '53, and '54 he was a member of the common council under
the city government - elected president the last year, but declined to serve. He was mayor of Charlestown in 1855, '56, and '57, and chairman of the school com- mittee from 1855 to '64. In 1857 he was a representative in the Legislature, and in 1858 state senator. His first election to the office of mayor was as the citizens' candidate in opposition to the candidate of the Know-Nothing party, and this was the first defeat of that party after its organization in the State of Massachu- setts.
When the Charlestown public library was established, in 1860, he was elected president of the board of trustees, and continued to hold the office until the city was annexed to Boston, in 1872. He was president of the Mystic water board from 1871 to '76, and of the Boston water board from 1876 to '79, and for the first three years of its existence was a member of the fire commission of Boston. Mr. Sawyer has been treasurer of the Bunker Hill Monument Association since 1879, and for years one of the trustees of Tufts Col- lege.
In religious matters Mr. Sawyer has been equally active and prominent, having been upon the standing committee of the First Universalist church of Charlestown for nearly half a century, and for ten years its chairman.
SCHINDLER, SOLOMON, one of the foremost of Boston's rabbis, was born April 24, 1842, at Neisse in Silesia.
In the gymnasium (Latin school) at Neisse, and at Breslau he perfected the early mental training which he received at home. His father, a great Hebrew scholar, devoted many hours a day to instructing his son in Hebrew and Talmudical lore. Mr. Schindler, however, discovered at an early age that he could not believe in the letter of the Bible, and therefore he ob- jected to being trained for the Jewish ministry. He left Breslau, and after many struggles he subsequently attended the normal school for teachers at Ober-Glogau, his intention at that time being to become a pedagogue.
The full term at that institution is three years, but he completed it in two years. He passed successful examinations at Breslau, and afterwards "pro schola et rectoratu," at Buren in Westphalia, obtain- ing the title of rector.
His life had been full of tribulation dur- ing the years of his studies, but this ended when he became a tutor in private families, preparing boys for college.
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SCHINDLER.
June 24, 1868, he married Henrietta Schutz, a lady of good birth, at Holzhausen in Westphalia. Their children are : Otto, Paul, Carl, and Clara Schindler-two others who were born to them died.
About this time he took charge of a Jewish congregation in Westphalia, offici- ating as a rabbi, a position which he filled with his usual success, but his heart and advanced thought were not attuned to the orthodox themes of ancient Judaism ; they rebelled under this discord, and when the pressure became too strong he emigrated with his wife and three children, and arrived in New York in July, 1871.
On arriving in New York with his family, Mr. Schindler, who was without money or friends, found the darkest hours of his life before him. He made a brave struggle against starvation and death, which at this sad time robbed him of the dearest of his children. He found that fate was sum- moning him back to the pulpit, a sphere he wished to avoid. Yet in the battle for bread he was tempted to respond to a call from a small Jewish congregation in Hoboken, N. J., named Adath Emuno. Out of several candidates, Mr. Schindler was chosen, and in November, 1871, he again donned his sacerdotal robes, and from that time the star of fortune began to illumine his sky. In 1874 he came to Bos- ton and took charge of the congregation Adath Israel, which then worshiped in a small chapel on Pleasant Street. Ten years later the little Pleasant Street syna- gogue moved to the imposing temple, cor- ner of Columbus Avenue and Northampton Street.
Rabbi Schindler is a gentleman of rare literary attainments ; he is a bold and versatile writer, and is the author of the following works : " Messianic Expectations and Modern Judaism," " Dissolving Views in the History of Judaism," and " Ein Rueckblick," (the German translation of " Looking Backward," by Bellamy). Many of his lectures were published in the Bos- ton " Herald," " Globe," and " Beacon."
He interprets Judaism in the most liberal manner, and endeavors to enlighten both Jews and Gentiles in regard to what he claims is the "true mission of modern Judaism."
He ranks to-day as one of Boston's most esteemed citizens. In 1888 he was elected by a unanimous vote to the school board for three years, having been put forward as a candidate by all political parties. He is the secretary of the United Hebrew Benevolent Society, and has
SEARS.
helped, in this capacity, to bring about changes and improvements which make it one of the best regulated organizations of that kind in the country.
SEARS, STEPHEN, son of Barnabas and Hannah (Crocker) Sears, was born in South Yarmouth, Barnstable county, July 15, 1822.
His knowledge from books was gained in a limited attendance at the district school and by home study. His industrial educa- tion was fostered by labor upon the farm, in salt works, etc.
His earlier manhood was spent in quite versatile pursuits, including the several oc- cupations of farmer, manufacturer, sailor, mechanic, teacher, agent for publishing houses, etc. He has been called to serve his town in various offices, some of which he now holds ; and the commission of jus- tice of the peace he has held for thirty years.
Mr. Sears was married in Clarence, N. Y., to Henrietta A., daughter of Andrew and Laura (Leonard) Hull. Of this union are two living children : Laura H. (Sears) Hallett and Dr. Stephen H. Sears.
Mr. Sears has been identified with all that has been progressive and for the ad- vancement of the material prosperity of his native town, and stands to-day a typi- cal representative of the sturdy, self-made men who contribute by their sterling in- tegrity and force of character to the suc- cess and maintenance of New England's cherished institutions.
SEARS, WILLIAM BARNAS, son of Barnas and Elizabeth Griggs (Corey) Sears, was born in Hamilton, Madison county, N. Y., June IT, 1832.
He received his educational training in the private school of Ebenezer Woodward, of Newton Centre, Mass., the German clas- sical school of Dr. Carl Seidhof (three years) and under private tutors, of whom were President Eben Dodge, Madison Uni- versity, President Alvah Hovey, D. D., Newton Theological Institution, and Pro- fessor William Russell, Normal Academy, Derry, N. H.
He was engaged for a time as assistant teacher in the Pierce Academy, Middle- borough, in the departments of German, Latin, and Greek.
His earliest associations in business life were with Gardner Colby, Boston, three years ; Harrison Fay and Aaron Corey, Alton Ill., one year ; Lyman Sears & Co., boots and shoes, New York, three years ; Bowen, McNamee & Co., jobbers of silks
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SEARS.
and dress-goods, New York, three and one- half years, and with Paton & Co., importers of lace and upholstery, New York.
June 6, 1861, he was commissioned by Governor Wm. Sprague Ist lieutenant, 2d regiment, Rhode Island volunteers, and re- ceived a captain's commission, October 28 of that year. He was mustered out of service, June 17, 1864, at the expiration of his term of service. His honorable con- duct in the war was uniformly attested by his associate and superior officers, and the record has since been emphasized by the many positions of honor and trust to which he has been called by his comrades-in- arms.
He was senior vice-commander of Post 26, G. A. R., and an original member of the Post ; was commander of Post 143, G. A. R., Brookline, two years, and has been re-elected twice since, but declined to serve. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company ten years ; Roxbury Horse Guards, Ist Massachusetts cavalry militia, eight years ; captain of company C, Ist regiment, Massachusetts militia, during the Boston fire ; has been a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion since 1871 ; served on the staff of General William Cogswell, depart- ment commander of Massachusetts, also on the staff of Governor Lucius Fairchild, national department commander-in-chief, G. A. R. He was president of the 2d R. I. Veteran Association, 1887.
Mr. Sears has been a member of the Boston Baptist Social Union since 1868, having been a director two years, and vice- president in 1887 and '88. He is a promi- nent member of the Masonic fraternity, 32d degree.
His business since 1865 has been that of fire insurance agent and broker, with an office at 45 Kilby Street. His residence is Brookline
Mr. Sears was married in Roxbury, February 1, 1863, to Emily A., daughter of Stephen and Rebecca W. (Langley) Faunce. His second marriage was with Sadie A., daughter of Joshua and Annie (Pearse) Hunt, October 24, 1881, in Provi- dence, R. I. His children are : William B. Sears, Jr., Langley B., Harry Bowers, Stephen F., and Edward H. Sears.
Mr. Sears is peculiarly fortunate and honored in his ancestry. Few more con- spicuous or honorable lives have blessed their generation than that which closed with the decease of his father, the Rev. Barnas Sears. He was born in Sandis- field, Berkshire county, graduated from
SEELYE.
Brown University and Newton Theologi- cal Institution ; was pastor of the First Baptist church, Hartford, Conn .; professor in Hamilton College, N. Y .; studied three years in Leipsic, Germany, and in Paris ; was professor, and later on president, of the Newton Theological Institution ; secretary of the state board of education, appointed by Governor Briggs to succeed Horace Mann ; was president of Brown Univer- sity, succeeding Dr. Wayland ; was ap- pointed by George Peabody, of London, general agent of the Peabody educational fund for the Southern states, and after twelve years' service died in Saratoga, N. Y., July 6, 1880.
The mother of Mr. Sears, Elizabeth Griggs Corey, was the daughter of Deacon Elijah Corey, Corey Hill, Brookline.
SEELYE, JULIUS HAWLEY, son of Seth and Abigail (Taylor) Seelye, was born in Bethel, Fairfield county, Conn., September 14, 1824.
His early education was obtained in the or- dinary district schools. He entered Amherst College and was graduated therefrom in the class of 1849 ; studied at Auburn Theo- logical Seminary from 1849 to '52 ; after which he traveled abroad, and for a year (1852-'3) he pursued his theological stud- ies in Halle, Germany.
Returning home, he was ordained in Schenectady, N. Y., and called to the pas- torate of the First Reformed Dutch church in that place, where he remained until 1858. His erudite scholarship attracted the attention of his alma mater, and upon his resignation of his pastorate he was called to the chair of mental and moral philosophy in Amherst, where he remained until 1875. His influence for a higher and broader education was not confined, how- ever, to the college grounds. The inhab- itants of the congressional district where he resided decided that the state and the nation at large should receive the benefit of his independent thought and practical work, and irrespective of party affiliations, elected him a member of the 44th Con- gress, and he served as a member of the national House of Representatives from December 6, 1875, to March 3, 1877 ; he declined, however, a second term. While in Congress, though usually voting with the Republicans, he opposed the Electoral Commission and the declaration of the election of Rutherford B. Hayes. He was called to the presidency of Amherst Col- lege in 1877, which office he now holds.
He has traveled extensively, and in 1872 responded to an invitation from India to
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SEELYE.
deliver a course of lectures. He served on the state commission appointed in 1874 to revise the laws relating to taxation.
The " Amherst system " of self-govern- ment was inaugurated by President Seelye, and has been of incalculable benefit to the students, who now have a large share in the maintenance of discipline.
President Seelye has been a trustee of the Clarke Institution for Deaf Mutes, and of Smith College, Northampton, and a member of the board of visitors of Ando- ver Theological Seminary. He was chair- man of the board before whom the cele- brated " Andover case " was tried in 1887.
Union College conferred the degree of D. D. in 1862, and that of LL. D. was re- ceived from Columbia in 1876.
President Seelye has frequently written for the leading magazines and reviews ; has published a translation of Dr. Albert Schwegler's "History of Philosophy " (1856); "Lectures to Educated Hindus " (1873), republished under the title " The Way, the Truth and the Life." This has also been translated into Hindustani, Jap- anese and German. "Christian Mission " and a revision of "Hickok's Moral Science " are also from his pen.
SEELYE, LAURENUS CLARK, son of Seth and Abigail (Taylor) Seelye, was born in Bethel, Fairfield county, Conn., Septem- ber 20, 1837.
He received his early educational train- ing in private schools. Having passed his preparatory course, he entered Union Col- lege in 1853 and was graduated in the class of 1857. He remained one year at Union College, pursuing post-graduate studies, and afterwards entered Andover Theo- logical Seminary, taking the courses of study with the junior and middle classes. He then went to Europe and studied in the universities in Berlin and Heidelberg during the years 1861 and '62.
Returning, he was called to the pastorate of the North church, Springfield, in 1863, where he remained two years. In 1865 he became professor of rhetoric and English literature in Amherst College, where he officiated until 1873. He was called to the presidency of Smith College, Northampton, the latter year, which position he still holds.
President Seelye was married in Brook- lyn, N. Y., November 17, 1863, to Henri- etta, daughter of Lyman and Harriet (Shel- don) Chapin. Of this union were seven children : Ralph Holland, Harriet Chapin, Abigail 'Taylor, Arthur Moody, Walter Clark, Henrietta Sheldon, and Bertram Seelye (deceased).
SHATTUCK.
SHARPLES, STEPHEN PASCHALL, son of Philip Price and Mary A. (Paschall) Sharples, was born in West Chester, Chester county, Pa., April 21, 1842.
He received his early educational train- ing in private schools, finishing with Bol- mars Academy and the West Chester nor- mal school, the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, and the Lawrence scientific school, Harvard University, where he was graduated in 1866 with honors.
He was one year instructor in chemistry in the Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa .; three years assistant at the Lawrence sci- entific school ; assistant editor of the " Boston Journal of Chemistry " one year ; appointed professor of chemistry in the Boston Dental College in 1874, a position which he still holds. He was engaged as an expert on the tenth census, and pre- pared and wrote one-third of the ninth volume. He has written a number of articles on adulteration of food, and has been constantly employed in the courts as an expert in matters relating to chem- istry.
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