USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Our County and Its People: A Descriptive and Biographical Record of Bristol County, Massachusetts (Volume 2) > Part 20
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Minnie E .. wife of George S. Lawton; Ida H., William C., Beriah E., and Minerva A. Mr. Borden is an active member of Mount Vernon Lodge No. 157, K. of P., of Fall River. He has always taken an interest in public affairs, but has never aspired to public office. He is a man with many friends and is respected and honored by all who know him.
Borden, Gilbert Bennett, retired master mariner, is the son of Richard and Sarah (Chase) Borden, and was born in Tiverton, R. I., February 1. 1827. His family orig- inally came from Wales, Great Britain. Mr. Borden received a common school edu- cation in his native town, and in early life engaged in the whaling business, which he successfully followed until 1889, becoming a master mariner and vessel owner. He settled permanently in New Bedford on the 1st of February, 1805. In 1889 he was sent by the U. S. government to take charge of the Point Barrow refuge station . in Alaska, where he remained three and one-half years. While there he was also appointed deputy internal revenue collector, customs inspector, and an officer of the signal service under Lieut. Greeley of the War Department. Returning home, he was appointed, in 1895, a census enumerator of New Bedford and a special agent to ob- tain agricultural statistics for the State census of that year. He is a prominent Mason, belonging to the Chapter and Commandery, and is a member of the Sons of 'Temperance. In 1858 he married Amy Ilambly of Tiverton, R. I., who died in 1804. In 1865 he married Mrs. Phebe Ann Hobbs of Fairhaven, Mass., and they have one son, Gilbert Bates Borden.
Borden, Nathanel Briggs, treasurer of the Barnard Manufacturing Company, was born in Fall River, Mass., February 23, 1844, a son of Nathaniel Briggs and Sarah Gould (Buffum) Borden. He is seventh in descent from Richard Borden, who came from Kent, England, in 1635, and a few years later settled in Portsmouth, R. I. His father was an eminent citizen of Fall River, having assisted in the organization of the Pocasset Manufacturing Company; he was four years a member of the Lower House of the State Legislature; three years of the Senate, and served in the Twen- ty-fourth, 'Twenty-fifth and 'I'wenty-seventh Congresses as a representative from Massachusetts, being elected first upon an anti-Masonic and Jacksonian platform. During his second term he supported John Quincy Adams in the struggle for the right of petition. Being sent to the State Senate as a Whig in 1851, Mr. Borden, in defer- ence to the overwhelming sentiment of his district, cast the ballot that secured the election of Charles Sumner as United States senator over Robert C. Winthrop, in an exciting contest. Nathaniel B. Borden received his early educational training in the public schools and at Phillips Exeter Academy. He entered Harvard in 1864, but the next year, owing to the death of his father, left college and went to Peacedale, R. I., to learn the woolen business in the mills of Rowland G. Ilazard. Subsequent- ly he was in the employ of T. R. Hyde & Co. at Carolina Mills, R. I. In 1866 he entered the office of the Valley Falls Co., a cotton manufacturing establishment at Valley Falls, R. I. In 1870 he became bookkeeper in the office of the Merchants' Man- ufacturing Company at Fall River, but the next year returned to the Valley Falls Company as superintendent. In 1873 he returned to Fall River, organized the Bar- nard Manufacturing Company and has since filled the position of treasurer of that corporation, which controls a flourishing and prosperous cotton manufactory. Mr. Borden was president of the Cotton Manufacturers' Association of Fall River in 1889
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and 1890, and in the Common Council of the city in 1890 and 1891. He became pres- ident of the Children's Ilome of Fall River in 1889. Ile is vice-president of the Massasoit National Bank, of the Harvard Club of Fall River, and a member of the Quequechan Club. February 2, 1870, Mr. Borden married Annie E. Brown of Fall River, and they have four children: Nathaniel Briggs, jr., Annie Brown, Arnold Buffum and Louise Gould.
Borden, Philip D., civil engineer, son of Philip D. and Sarah F. (Bennett) Borden, was born in Fall River, December 23, 1851. His father was a prominent citizen of Fall River, and was for the long period of forty years superintendent of the Fall River Iron Works Company. Mr. Borden obtained his preparatory education in the Fall River public schools, the Williston Seminary at Easthampton, Mass., and then took a four years' course in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, at Boston. He entered the engineering department of the city of Fall River June 10, 1873, as assistant civil engineer, and in 1880 was appointed to the position be now holds as city engineer. Mr. Borden is a member of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia and the Boston Society of Civil Engineers. In 1884 he married Abbe E., daughter of Henry C. and Laura A. Lincoln of Fall River. Of this union is one daughter. Addie.
Borden, Richard B., son of Richard and Abby (Walker) Borden, was born in Fall River, February 21, 1834. He is a lineal descendant and eighth of the line of Rich- ard Borden, who came from England in 1635 and settled in Rhode Island early in the spring of 1038. His son Matthew was born there in May of the same year. being the first white child born on the island. Col. Richard Borden, father of the ' subject of this sketch, was identified with all the leading corporations of Fall River and one of the leading cotton manufacturers of New England for nearly half a cen- tury. He was treasurer of the Fall River Iron Works for many years. Richard B. Borden attended the common schools of Fall River, Middleboro Academy, and the Lawrence Scientific School. He began business life as a clerk in the office of the Metacomet Mills, later going into the office of the Fall River Iron Works. Iu 1859, having gained a thorough and complete knowledge of the manufacturing business, he secured the agency of the Metacomet Mill, the Annawan Manufactory, and the Fall River Manufactory. From 1873 to 1876 he was the treasurer of the Crescent Mills and retained the agency of the Metacomet and Annawan, and since 1876 he has been treasurer of the Troy Cotton and Woolen Mills and the Richard Borden Manufacturing Company. Mr. Bordeu is a director in the Troy, Mechanics', Anna- wan, Metacomet, Merchants' and Richard Borden Mills, American Linen Company, Fall River Bleachery and Fall River Machinery Company. He is vice-president and director of the Fall River National Bank, president and director of the Union Belt Company, and vice president and trustee of the Five Cents Savings Bank. Ile is also a director in the Manufacturers' Mutual Insurance Company of Fall River, and the State Mutual Fire Insurance Company, Enterprise Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany, and American Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Mr. Borden has been actively and continuously engaged in the cotton manufacturing business perhaps longer thau any other man in Bristol county. Ile is a member and treasurer of the Cen- tral Congregational Church of Fall River, and is known by all as a man of high per- sonal character and unquestioned integrity. He has been a member of the Common
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Council for two terms. In 1863 he married Ellen F. Plummer, of Boston. Of this union are four children: Richard P., Charles N., Elizabeth M., and Nellie I ..
Bouvier, J. A. Wilfrid, one of the leading druggists of Fall River, was born at St. Hugues, Province of Quebec, Canada December 27, 1869. Ile attended the West Farnham School, St. Hyacinthe College and the schools of Fall River, the family having removed to that city when he was quite young. Later he took the full course of the Institute of Pharmacy of Illinois, and was graduated from that institution in October, 1892. The following year he went into the drug business, locating at 1715 Pleasant street, but the growth of the business having warranted a better location, he removed to his present store at No. 1729 Pleasant street in September, 1897. Mr. Bouvier is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Ligue de Patriote, Order of St. John the Baptist, and Montcalm Circle. He is also a member of the Fall River Drug Association and the New England Retail Druggists' Union. His parents were John Baptiste and Celina (Mathieu) Bouvier, natives of Canada, who came to Fall River in 1887.
Bowen, Joseph A., son of Abraham and Sarah Ann Bowen, was born in Fall River. October 10, 1882. He is a member of one of the oldest of New England families, and many of his direct ancestors served in the Indian wars and in the Revolution. ITis maternal grandfather was Major Joseph E. Read, one of the prominent citizens of fifty years ago, and his paternal grandfather was Abraham Bowen, the agent of the first cotton mill that was built in Fall River in 1813. This gentleman's farmhouse was situated at the corner of Bedford and North Main streets, while his farm extend- ed from Bedford to Elm street and from the bay to Watuppa Pond. Joseph A. Bow- en's father was extensively engaged in the wholesale shipping and commission busi- ness (Read & Bowen), and later engaged in the publishing business. As a young man Mr. Bowen followed the printing trade in his father's office. He was a member of the Common Council in 1862-63, and of the Board of Aldermen in 1860-70. At this time he was chairman of the committee on water supply with power to investi- gate the general subject. The subject was considered with wise care and considera- tion, and after visiting several cities the committee reported to the council in favor of taking the water from Watuppa Pond. 'This report was adopted by the city gov- ernment and upon being submitted to the city at a special election met almost unan- imous approval. Mr. Bowen and H. B. Durfee purchased the waterworks lot of fifty acres on their own responsibility, in order to keep it out of the hands of speculators. Their transaction saved the city about $400 per acre. Mr. Bowen was one of the first water commissioners, and was third president of the Fall River Board of Trade, of which he has been a member many years. Ile is an ardent supporter of all that is designed to further the common good, and a business man of genuine ability. January 19, 1865, he married Miss Fanny M. Corey of Fall River. Their children are Joseph H. and Fanny C. Bowen.
Bowen, Seabury. physician and surgeon, was born at Attleborough, Mass., July 22, 1840, a son of Benjamin and Leafa (Clafflin) Bowen. He obtained his prepara- tory education in Attleborough Academy, entered Brown University in 1860, was graduated A. B. in 1864, and received the degree of A. M. from his alma mater three years later. Ile was graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York
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city in 1867, and the same year located in Fall River, where he has since practiced his profession with success. Mr. Bowen is a member of the Fall River Medical Society ; Bristol County Medical Society and Massachusetts Medical Society. He has been on the medical staff of the Fall River Hospital since its origin. In 1871 he married Phoebe V. Miller, daughter of Southard H. and Esther G. Miller of Fall River, and they have one daughter, Florence G. Dr. Bowen served as a trustee of the State Work- house at Bridgewater for several years. He has also held the office of city physician of Fall River
Boyden, Clarence Fuller, was born in Attleborough, Mass., March 5, 1846, and is a son of Alexander A. and Harriet G. (Fuller) Boyden. Ilis early education was re- ceived in the public schools. Ile fitted for college at Stoughtonham Institute, Sharon, Mass., and entered Amherst in 1865, where he was graduated four years later with class honors. After leaving college he was engaged as a teacher in North Providence, R. I., for a year, after which he commenced the study of law. Owing to the death of his father, he felt obliged to give up his study, and in place of it turned his atten- tion to teaching. In 1872 he came to Taunton as sub-master in the High School, and afterwards was principal of the Weir and the Cohannet Grammar Schools until 1800, when he was elected superintendent of schools. IIc has succeeded himself each year to the present time. July 4, 1876, Mr. Boyden married Isabel H. Anthony of Taunton, daughter of James H. and Harriet M. (Yale) Anthony. They have no children.
Bradford, David L., son of Cornelius and Hannah (Ripley) Bradford, was born in Plymouth, Mass., December 19, 1850. His father was a lifelong resident of Plym- outh, and his ancestry is of old Puritan stock, he being a direct descendant and eighth in the line of Governor Bradford, who came over in the Mayflower. As a boy he attended the public schools of Plymouth and gained his first business experience in the employ of the Plymouth Cordage Company. Later he made a voyage to the Grand Banks in a fishing vessel, and in 1871 came to Fall River, where he has since resided. Soon after his arrival he began to learn the carpenter's trade, working under Lorenzo H. Miller for about three years. He continued as a carpenter and contractor until 1894, when he was appointed to his present position as captain of Quequechan Steamer Company No. 1. Previous to this appointment Mr. Bradford had been a call man for a term of fifteen years, during which time he had gained a thorough knowledge of the workings of the fire department. In 1872 he married Sarah E. Gray, daughter of David I. and Sarah A. Gray, and they have four chil- dren: Laura G., Edward L., William and Clifford C.
Braley, Ilon. Henry King, son of Samuel T. and Mary A. Braley, was born in Rochester, Mass., March 17, 1850. His early education was obtained in the common schools of his native place, at Rochester Academy, and at Pierce Academy, Middle- borough. He taught school for several years and studied law with Hon. Hosea Kingman of Bridgewater, being admitted to the Plymouth county bar in October, 1873. In December of the same year he began the practice of law in Fall River, being first associated with Nicholas Hathaway, as Hathaway & Braley, and later with M. G. B. Swift, as Braley & Swift. IIc was city solicitor in 1874, mayor in 1882 and 1883, and is now a justice of the Superior Court. He has been one of the vice-presidents of the Fall River Children's Home, a director of the Globe Yarn
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Mills. clerk of the Border City Manufacturing Company, and a trustee of the Fall River Savings Bank. He is past grand master of the I. O. O. F., of Massachusetts. April 29, 1875, he married Caroline W., daughter of Philander and Sarah T. Leach of Bridgewater, Mass.
Braley, Jasper W., who for more than thirty-seven years was one of the foremost retail grocers of New Bedford, was born in Rochester, Mass., in 1819, a son of Ezek- iel and Lucy (Allen) Braley, and his father, who was a farmer, was a lifelong res- ident of Rochester. During his boyhood Mr. Braley attended the schools of the vicinity and worked on his father's farm, and at the age of thirteen be went to Fair- haven and began the shoemaker's trade under John Manter, with whom he remained about three years. Ile then went to Randolph, Mass., to work in a shoe factory and a year later occupied himself, at his home in Rochester, in making shoes, which he brought from the Randolph factory partially finished and returned completed. In 1837 he followed the example of most of the boys of that period and shipped before the mast on the whale ship " Janus," making a voyage of eighteen months. This was his first and only whaling voyage, but he continued in the coastwise trade for several years, finally becoming a first mate. In 1849 he made his way to California and for two years remained in the northern mines on the American River, shortly after returning to New Bedford, where he engaged in the grocery business with Isaac Terry, under the name of Braley & Terry. They located at the corner of Smith and County streets and after two years Mr. Terry retired, Mr. Braley con- tinuing the business alone until his retirement. At different times the store was moved, first to the present site of Mr. Braley's residence, at the corner of Sycamore and County streets, and later to the corner of County and Maxfield streets, where it is now conducted by Jasper W. Braley, jr., who came into possession in 1800. On this corner the business has been located for upwards of twenty-five years and has become a landmark in this section of the city. Mr. Braley has never held any public office except that of common councilman, having giving most of his attention to the development of his business. He is a well known and highly respected man and a type of that class of hardy whalemen and " forty-niners" who afterwards became successful merchants. For over twenty years he has been a member of Acushnet Lodge of Odd Fellows and for many years of the First Congregational Church (Uni- tarian). He is a director of the Co-operative Bank of New Bedford. In 1851 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Nelson Allen of New Bedford, and they had eleven children, six of whom survive: Henry H., a practicing physician in Concord, Mass., Adra C., wife of Daniel Batchelder, of Centerville, R. I., Anna W., Elizabeth W .. Jasper W., jr., and Jessie N.
Briggs, Abram Taylor, was born in Taunton, December 17, 1848, a son of Abra. ham and Betsey (Wright) Briggs. He received his early education in the public schools of Taunton, and at the close of his school days he went to work for his father to learn the mason's trade in all of its branches. He remained with him for several years and on the death of his father succeeded to the business and bas car- ried it ou alone up to the present time. November 25, 1879, Mr. Briggs married Mary Ella Wrigley of Brockton, and they have four children: George W., boru Feb- ruary 17, 1881; James A., born September 29, 1887; Rufus W., born January 19, 1889; Howard, born May 12, 1890.
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Briggs, Charles Henry, merchant, is descended from (1) Clement Briggs, who came from England to Plymouth in the ship Fortune in 1621, settled in Weymouth, and had six children ; (2) John Briggs, who removed to Portsmouth, R. I .; (8) Job Briggs, who had nine children ; (4) Jeremiah Briggs, born 1721, died September, 1764, married August 5, 1745, Anna Taylor, and had five children, Thomas being the youngest; (5) Thomas, a major in the Continental army in the Revolution, born July 18, 1757, died April 29, 1822, married in 1778 Lucy Shaw, and had four children, Jeremiah being the eldest; (6) Jeremiah Briggs, born October 24, 1778. died December 28, 1856, married, first, March 9, 1806, Sally Almy, and second, June 2, 1810, Diana Coe (died May 12, 1869), and had Sallie Almy (Mrs. Sylvester H. Burgess), born April 6, 1811; Alfred C., born May 25, 1813; Susan Church (Mrs. Jesse Gardner), born May 22, 1818: Betsey Coe (Mrs. Joseph Hicks), born September 10, 1820; and Thomas born June 16, 1822. Alfred C. Briggs learned the trade of cooper in New Bedford. but soon returned to his native town, Little Compton, R. I., and died on his farm in April. 1886. He married first, November 7, 1837, Mary V. Harlow, who died Octo- ber 14, 1839. He married, secon.1, April 12, 1848, Mrs. Elvira M. Cornell, of War- ren, R. I., who died about 1850, leaving two children: Charles Henry, born in Little Compton. R. I., February 18, 1844, and Mary Elvira, born March 26, 1849, who mar- ried Nathaniel Church of Little Compton. Charles Henry Briggs was educated in the common schools of his native town. When seventeen he came to New Bedford and learned the carriagemaker's trade with George L. Brownell. September 26, 1862, he enlisted in Co. E. 8d Mass. Vols., and served nine months; in the fall of 1863 he re-enlisted in the 19th Mass. Vols., unattached, and was discharged at the close of war as orderly sergeant. Returning to New Bedford he resumed his posi- tion with Mr. Brownell until 1869, when he engaged in the furniture business on a small scale. In 1878 he formed a copartnership with James L. Lawrence, which has since continued under the style of Briggs & Lawrence. They added carpets, dra- peries, etc., to their furniture trade, and now have the largest and best store of the kind in the city, at 197 and 203 Union street. Mr. Briggs is a member of the Vet- eran Firemen's Association, of Acushnet Lodge and Annawan Encampment of Odd Fellows, and of Post 190, G.A R. April 30, 1866, he married Frances A., daughter of Edwin R. Russell of New Bedford.
Briggs, George Alfred, civil engineer, is the son of George Briggs, jr., and Cynthia Jones, and was born in Dighton, Bristol county, January 6, 1820. According to tra- dition there came from Yorkshire, England, John Briggs, who settled in Dartmouth, and afterward in Norton; Richard Briggs, in Taunton; and Clement Briggs, on Cape Cod. Mr. Briggs's great great-grandfather, David Briggs, lived in Berkley; his great-grandfather, Nathan, and grandfather, George Briggs, sr., resided in Dighton, where the latter was especially prominent in settling estates. His mater- nal grandfather, Salathiel Jones, was a captain of militia. Mr. Briggs received a common school education, and through his own efforts secured a thorough and prac- tical knowledge of civil and hydraulic engineering, which he practiced during a portion of his early life, as assistant engineer in making surveys and the construction of railroads, under his uncle, Seth HI. Ingalls, one of the foremost structural engineers and architects of his day. In 1845 Mr. Briggs became assistant engineer on the construction of the Bridgewater division of the Fall River & Boston Railroad. Fol-
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lowing this he was successively principal assistant engineer on the surveys for the railroad through West Randolph in 1846; principal assistant engineer in charge of the preliminary surveys for the New Bedford & Fall River and the Taunton & Mid- dleboro Railroads in 1847; assistant engineer and draughtsman in charge of the surveys for the New Haven & New London Railroad in 1848; assistant engineer ou the New Haven & Northampton, and principal engineer in charge of the construction of the Old Town (Me.) extension of the Bangor & Old Town Railroad in 1849; en- gineer and master carpenter on the construction of a wooden bridge, single span, 105 feet long, for this road, and assistant engineer in charge of the State surveys for the European & North American Railway from Bangor to Calais, Me., in 1850; assistant engineer on the location and construction of the New Haven & New Lon- don Railroad from 1850 to 1852; and division engineer in charge of the preliminary surveys, location, and construction of the Clinton Line Railroad in Ohio from 1853 to 1855. In 1800 he became assistant engineer on the preliminary surveys for the New Bedford water works, and in 1865 was principal engineer on further surveys for this enterprise; when the location and construction were commenced in 1866 he was made chief engineer, which position he held until 1871. From 1871 to 1874 he was chief engineer on the construction of the Fall River water works, completing them as he had completed, in 1869, the New Bedford system. Since then he has been engaged in the general practice of his profession in New Bedford and Fair- haven, having resided in the latter place since 1877. From 1861 to 1868 he also served as city engineer of New Bedford, and was selectman and chairman of the board of Fairhaven from 1879 to 1884, and chief engineer of the Coggeshall street bridge between these two places. Mr. Briggs is one of the oldest and best known civil engineers in the southern part of the State. In 1844 he married Sarah Ann, daughter of Nathaniel Stetson, of Fairhaven. She died at Cleveland, Ohio, Decem- ber 16, 1888, leaving Roswell Emmons Briggs, a graduate of the Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute at Troy, and now a civil engineer of Denver, Col .; Emma O., wife of Daniel A. Wightman, general manager and superintendent of the Pittsburg (Pa.) Locomotive Works; and Mary Louisa S. (Mrs. Edward Knowles), of Cleveland, Ohio.
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Briggs, Seth R., was born in Rochester, Mass., February 19, 1819, son of Benja- min S. Briggs, who was born in Mansfield. The family trace their descent from Clement Briggs, who settled in Easton in 1694 (being the grandson of Clement Briggs, sr., who arrived in Plymouth in the ship " Fortune " in 1631); his son, Seth, being a pioneer in Mansfield. Benjamin Briggs married Caroline, daughter of Jon- athan Cowan, and he was one of the old Quaker stock. S. R. Briggs was educated in the public schools and at Mansfield private schools, afterward learning the ma- chinist's trade. In 1872 he learned the jewelry business and in 1882 bought the hotel property, now known as the Briggs' House, adding the annex and Capron Cottage. In 1872 he married Martha, daughter of Thomas and Matilda Shepard, and they have five children: Frank L., Walter E., Martha S., Caroline L. and Grace HI. Mr. Briggs is one of the conservative men of his town; is deputy sheriff; a member of Ezekiel Bates Lodge of Masons, and Knights of Pythias; and is recog- nized as a man of sterling integrity, who has ever advanced the best interests of his town and town's people.
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