USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts > Part 76
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By mutual consent, in October, 1890, the partnership was dissolved, and two months later the present firm of J. H. Estes & Son was formed, with J. Edmund Estes the junior partner. Industrial prog- ress and enlargement has been the aim and the result of the present management. In 1892 a large storehouse was built, and a year later another story added to the mill and adjoining buildings. In 1895 a three-story No. 2 mill, 75 by 130, was built, two boilers added to the steam plant and the old engine supplanted by a 420 horse-power, cross- compound, condensing Harris Corliss engine. A large stone office was built, also another storehouse 75 by 125 feet. In 1897 the entire plant was equipped with a thorough system of automatic sprinklers.
Charles Estes, of Warren, R. I., has recently prepared a genealogy of the Estes family, which he traces back to the year 1097, and has found that the name, spelt in different ways, was known in history as remote as 136 years B.C. John H. Estes is a descendant in the sixth generation from Richard Estes, the emigrant, who was born in Dover, England, in 1647, and came to America in 1684. In 1866 John H. Estes married Caroline A. Ling, a local school teacher, and four chil- dren were born to them-J. Edmund, Jennie L., Elmer B., and Ever- ett L.
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John H. Estes is a self-made man. With scanty schooling and train- ing he has by tact, ingenuity, judgment and foresight forged his way to success. He learned to do by doing, and not only improved, but made opportunities. Like other self-made men he has had many obsta- cles to encounter and overcome, but no disappointment discouraged, and no opposition disheartened. It has been well said that success is the reward of those "who spurn delights and live laborious days," and in the life of Mr. Estes this is notably true. Strict business has been the current of his life. He has taken pains to succeed. He is a wealthy and influential citizen, a large real estate owner, vice-president of the Board of Trade and a director in five local corporations.
NATHANIEL JARVIS WYETH FISH.
NATHANIEL J. W. FISH, mayor of the city of Taunton, was born in that city, the second son of Capt. Frederick L. and Mary J. (Perry) Fish His father was a master mariner, a native of Rochester, Mass., but sailed from New Bedford and Fairhaven for many years in the days when whalers from these ports were to be found in every quarter of the globe. When Captain Fish retired from the sea he settled in Taunton where he resided until his death. He was an honest, upright man and attached many friends. As a whaling captain he was highly successful and made a number of voyages which stand on record as among the most profitable of the period.
Mayor Fish was well grounded in the schools of Taunton and after completing their prescribed courses prepared for the profession of civil engineering. Having a fondness for adventure and travel and a desire to see something of the western country, in 1878 he went to Texas with the intention of engaging in stock raising, which at that time was proving very profitable. After serving for a time as a Texas cowboy, he, in company with others, crossed the plains from Dallas, Texas, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The trip was made through what was then a wild country and consumed two months. After a few months in New Mexico he entered the employ of the Chicago, Burling- ton and Quincy Railroad as a civil engineer, and was stationed at Orleans and other points in Nebraska during the construction of the lines which did so much towards opening up for settlement the plains of the Great West. He remained in this capacity nearly two years
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and then returned to the East, his health shattered by malarial fever. He now made an extended tour of the Western Islands (Azores), and upon his return was engaged on surveys at the headwaters of the Cumberland River in Kentucky. Later Mayor Fish was employed by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, and the Grand Island and Wyom- ing Central Railroads (Black Hills extension). He returned to Taun- ton in 1890.
A man broadened by travel and contact with all classes and condi- tions of men, of wide and honorable fraternal connection, and of the most pleasing social qualities, Mayor Fish was well adapted to enter the political arena. He became a candidate for alderman from Ward 4, 1894, and was elected by a surprising majority. He was re elected in 1895, and in both terms served as chairman of the board, giving sub- stantial evidence in this position of marked executive ability and true judgment, which led to a nomination for the mayoralty and which has characterized his administration of that office. The municipal campaign of 1896 was based on several important issues, one being the question of municipal ownership of electric lights. Mayor Fish received the nomination of his party and was elected with practically no opposition. He was again nominated and re elected in 1897, and also in 1898. In all of these terms an unusual number of important questions have been publicly agitated, causing much responsibility to rest upon the executive head of the city government, but his administration has been generally recognized by all-both opponents and coadherents-as able, clean and effective. Mayor Fish has a wide fraternal connection; he is past master of Ionic Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, past high priest of St. Mark's Royal Arch Chapter, and a member of St. John's Com- mandery, Knights Templar. He is also past grand of Sabbatia Lodge of Odd Fellows, and deputy grand master of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows. Mayor Fish is unmarried and resides with his mother at 97 Ingell street, Taunton.
R. HENRY HALL.
RICHARD HENRY HALL, of Taunton, is the eldest son of Richard Hutchens Hall and Mary A. Bates, and was born in Norton, Bristol county, Mass., November 7, 1830. He is a lineal descendant in the eighth generation from George Hall, one of the founders of the town
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of Taunton in 1639 and one of its first Board of Selectmen, through his great-grandfather, Brian Hall, who was was born in Taunton, Mass., July 9, 1727, and who removed to the adjoining town of Norton (form- erly a part of Taunton) about the year 1755. Brian Hall, son of John and Mary Hall, of Taunton, was married in 1751 to Abiah Crossman, of Taunton, the daughter of Thomas and Joanna (Leonard) Crossman, and granddaughter of Thomas and Joanna Leonard. He became a large landowner, and was one of the first to respond to the call to arms in the war for independence, enlisting as lieutenant in Captain Hodges's company, and serving in Rhode Island in 1776. He was also a mem- ber of the Select Committee of Correspondence to take into considera- tion the "confederation of the Union of States," and of the committee to devise means for the formation of a State Constitution. He died December 13, 1778. Both he and his wife were members of the First Congregational Society. Richard Hutchens Hall, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Norton, Mass., May 23, 1810, and for many years was superintendent of the Norton branch of the Taunton Copper Manufacturing Company. He died February 10, 1877. His wife, Mary A., was the daughter of Horatio and Mary (Monroe) Bates, of Providence, R. I., and was born September 8, 1812, and died October 19, 1878. They had ten children, of whom six attained maturity, viz. : Richard Henry, of Taunton; Horatio Hutchens, of Taunton, born September 6, 1833; Mary Jane, born February 14, 1836, married J. Henry Stoddard, of Weymouth; Harriet Augusta, born March 14, 1845, widow of Alfred W. Woodward, of Taunton; George Edwin, born October 1, 1847, of Norton; and Velina Allen, born October 5, 1854, married Albert Eddy, of Norton.
Richard Henry Hall was educated in the public schools of Norton, at the Bristol Academy in Taunton, and at the Pierce Academy in Middleborough. At the age of nineteen he entered the employ of the Taunton Copper Manufacturing Company, with which he remained thirty-four years, filling the various positions of metallurgist, refiner, chemist, superintendent, and director with unusual ability and great satisfaction. The high standard attained by the company in its several lines of manufactured goods was largely due to Mr. Hall's energy and skill, and to the care which he exercised in his departments. In 1884 he resigned and spent some time in foreign travel, principally in Europe, and upon returning home he became, at the earnest solicita- tion of Taunton's business men, the candidate for mayor. He was
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elected and served during 1886, was again elected for 1888, and re- elected without opposition for 1889, being nominated by both the Citi- zens and Republican conventions. During his three years' service as mayor of Taunton he devoted his whole time to municipal work, and in many ways advanced the material interests of the city. His arduous labors during the year of the disastrous freshet in 1886 and during the celebration of her 250th anniversary in 1889 are held in grateful and appreciative remembrance.
Mr. Hall is independent in politics, voting and working for the best interests of the community at large, and supporting those movements which promise the widest benefit. For several years he resided in Norton, where he rendered efficient service as a member of the town School Board. In 1861 he removed to Taunton, where he has lived ever since, and where he served for a time in the Common Council prior to his election to the mayoralty. He has been the general superinten- dent of the Revere Copper Company at Canton since 1890. He has been a trustee of the Bristol County Savings Bank of Taunton since 1875, a trustee of the Morton Hospital since its organization, a trustee of the Taunton Public Library since 1893, and a member and vestry- man of St. Thomas's Episcopal Church, Taunton, for many years. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, being a member and past treasurer of Ionic Lodge and member of St. Mark's Royal Arch Chapter, of Taun- ton, an honorary member of Taunton Council, of New Bedford, and a member of St. John's Commandery, No. 1, K. T., of Providence, R. I., and of the Scottish Rite bodies. He is also a member of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution through his great-grandfather, Lieut. Brian Hall. As a citizen he is public spirited, progressive, and patriotic, imbued with the loftiest sense of honor, and universally re- spected and esteemed. He is methodical, exact, and energetic, a man of the strictest integrity, and a liberal supporter of every worthy enter- prise.
Mr. Hall was married January 3, 1859, to Susan Jane, daughter of James C. and Lydia T. (Packard) Drake, of North Bridgewater (now Brockton), Mass., and a great-granddaughter of Capt. Daniel Drake, a kinsman of John Drake, one of the first settlers of Taunton. Capt. Daniel Drake was born in Taunton in 1743, enlisted in the militia April 20, 1775, and served with distinction throughout the Revolutionary war, participating in the siege of Boston, and receiving a captain's commission. He married Lois, daughter of John and Dorothy (Pinneo)
GUBELMAN PHOTO-GRAVURE CO.
William Hervier
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Reed, of Taunton. James Cobb Drake, grandfather of Mrs. Hall, was born in Taunton prior to the removal of the family to Grafton, N. H., in 1788. James Cobb Drake, her father, was born January 15, 1809, re- moved from Grafton to Brockton, Mass., in 1831, and for many years was a railroad contractor. He died April 16, 1865. Mrs. Hall is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution through Captain Drake, her great grandfather. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have three sons: Henry Lindsey, born November 27, 1859, who is connected with the freight department of the Boston and Maine Railroad in Boston ; Fred- erick Stanley, born February 10, 1861, a graduate of Harvard Univer- sity, and a leading lawyer in Taunton; and Edward G., born June 29, 1867, a bookkeeper, of Taunton.
E. WILLIAMS HERVEY.
ELIPHALET WILLIAMS HERVEY, better known as E. Williams Hervey, which is his usual signature, was born in Berkley, Bristol county, Mass., July 27, 1834, a son of Eliphalet W. Hervey of Berkley, born April 28, 1800, and Dorcas (Fearing) Hervey of Wareham. His father received the degree of M. D. from Brown University in 1826 and practiced med- icine successfully in Wareham and neighboring towns for several years. In 1827 he was commissioned surgeon of the 5th Regiment of Infantry in in the 1st Brigade, 5th Division of the militia by his Excellency, Gov. Levi Lincoln.
Dr. Hervey was a son of James Hervey, born August 21, 1767, and Lucinda (Paull) Hervey, both of Berkley. James was an enterprising farmer, who in addition to agricultural pursuits was also engaged in ship building at the Weir on Taunton River, where he built sailing vessels, furnishing the timber and other materials and contracting for the labor. These vessels were freighted with lumber and both vessels and cargoes disposed of in Bristol and other Rhode Island ports.
The parents of James Hervey were James Hervey and Rachel (Philips) Hervey, also of Berkley. The father of the last mentioned James Hervey, was James Hervey (or Harvey), whose remains lie in the family plot in the cemetery near Berkley Common. The inscrip- tion on the headstone is: "James Harvey, died December 28, 1795, in the 92d year of his age." Thus it would appear that he was born about 1700.
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He was a descendant of William, and of Thomas Harvey, and of both, as the families intermarried in the second generation. Both of these latter persons, who were brothers, were prominent citizens of what was then called Cohannet, including the present towns of Berkley, Rayn- ham and Taunton. They were distinguished by the high public posi- tions which they held in the early history of Plymouth colony. Will- iam Harvey married Joan Hucker of Cohannet, April 2, 1639; was proposed to take up his freedom in 1653; admitted as freeman at court in 1656; member of the Grand Inquest 1655-1660; constable 1661; sur- veyor of highways 1662; appointed to collect the excise 1661; deputy or representative to the General Court for fourteen years from 1664; selectman for twenty years from 1667; appointed "to looke after the minnester's rate " in 1670; appointed " to be of the Towne Councell of War" in 1675. A mortgage of land made over by Philip the Sachem to Constant Southworth was made over to William Harvey and John Richmond in 1672 and thus described: "Four miles square down Taunton River and next unto Taunton bounds." Among the first and ancient purchases of the township was eight shares by William Harvey. Also among the purchasers of an important addition to the town in 1668 called the North Purchase, now including Norton, Easton and Mansfield, were William Harvey, Thomas Harvey, the elder, and Thomas Harvey, jr. Assonet Neck, conquered from the Indians, was divided among six freemen, including William Harvey. Another pur- chase, made in 1672 by William Harvey and four others, afterwards constituted the town of Dighton. This deed was signed by King Philip or Metacomet. Thomas Harvey, brother of William, appears on the list "able to bear arms from sixteen to sixty years" in 1643; was a sergeant in the army 1673; constable 1678; surveyor of highways 1681; Thomas Harvey and Thomas Harvey, jr., admitted as freemen in 1689.
E. Williams Hervey, the subject of this sketch, having lost his par- ents when four years of age, came to New Bedford and became a mem- ber of the family of Ebenezer Hervey, a younger brother of his father and for thirty years a grammar master in the New Bedford public schools. He was graduated from the New Bedford High School with the class of 1849. After a clerkship of two years in the Marine Bank he became teller of the Mechanics' Bank and in 1857 was elected cash . ier, holding that responsible position for twenty-five years. Upon his resignation he was elected a member of the board of directors and still
E.S. Horton
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serves as such, his official connection with this bank covering a period of nearly fifty years. In the year 1860, he published a " Catalogue of the Plants found in New Bedford and Vicinity, arranged according to the season of their flowering." This was a novel arrangement for a Flora, but it proved to be a very acceptable one to persons interested in botany. In 1891 a revision and enlargement of the catalogue ap- peared entitled "Flora of New Bedford and the Shores of Buzzard's Bay, with a Procession of the Flowers." He has written to a consider- able extent on botanical subjects and is recognized as a reliable author- ity. He has been for several years a member of the New England Bo- tanical Club.
Mr. Hervey served on the School Committee for six years, 1859-66; was representative to the General Court two years, 1885-87; secretary of the New Bedford Bible Society for several years and secretary of the original Young Men's Christian Association, which antedates the present organization by many years; a director of the American Tack Company; an original trustee of St. Luke's Hospital; and a trustee of the Five Cents Savings Bank since 1865.
He married, in 1862, Emeline K., daughter of Daniel Homer of New Bedford. Their children are Homer W., Hervey, A. B., LL.B., Har- vard; Hetta M. and Emma F. The family name was written and pro- nounced indifferently formerly as Hervey or Harvey. Both forms exist in England, but the coats of arms are nearly the same, thus indi- cating a relationship in the families. Probably Hervey is the more ancient, as the tendency of English pronunciation is to give e the sound of a.
EVERETT S. HORTON.
EVERETT SOUTHWORTH HORTON, of Attleborough, is descended from John Horton, who, with two brothers, came to this country from Eng- land as early as 1640. John Horton settled in Rehoboth, Bristol county, Mass., and there married Mehetabel Gamzey, by whom he had five sons and three daughters, the former being John, Jotham, Nathaniel, Jona- than and David. Jotham Horton married a Miss Rounds and had Sarah, Rhode, James, Nathan, Barnett, Jotham and Joseph. James and Barnett both lived in Rehoboth and served with distinction in the Revolutionary war, James being a lieutenant. This James Horton, of
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the third generation, was born July 18, 1741, and died August 10, 1833. He was an active and useful citizen, and a man widely respected. His wife, Freelove Pierce, was born November 8, 1742, and died Feb- ruary 13, 1809. They had eleven children, viz .: Jane, Nathan, Mercy, Lydia, Polly, Freelove, James, Cromwell, Rhode, Jarvis and Chloe, all of whom attained a good old age except Jane and Polly, who died young. Cromwell Horton was born February 23, 1777, and was mar- ried September 20, 1801, to Percy Martin, who was born October 28, 1780. He died in February, 1861. Their seven children were Ellis, Gideon M., Mary, Freelove, Belinda, James and Sylvanus. Gideon Mar- tin Horton was born in Rehoboth, Mass., May 4, 1804, and for many years kept a country store at Attleborough, Bristol county, where he died March 7, 1861. He was an honest, upright citizen, ever ready to forward any good enterprise, and highly respected and esteemed for his industry, true charity, and Christian devotion. November 4, 1832, he married Mary Smith, who was born April 3, 1811, and who died September 2, 1844, leaving four children : Everett S., Edwin J., Gideon M. and Jane J. For his second wife he married Mrs. Julia Jackson, of Middleborough, Mass.
Major Everett Southworth Horton, the eldest child of Gideon Martin Horton and Mary Smith, and a lineal descendant in the sixth genera- tion of John Horton, the immigrant, was born in Attleborough, Bristol county, Mass., June 15, 1836. He attended the public schools of his native town until he attained the age of sixteen, when he entered his father's store as assistant. After his father's health failed he took charge of the business and successfully continued it until April, 1862, when he sold out and enlisted in the service of his country. With others he recruited a company of nine months men, who elected their officers September 18, 1862, as follows: Lemuel T. Starkey, captain; Frank S. Draper, first lieutenant; Everett S. Horton, second lieutenant. They were soon commissioned by Governor Andrew. Lieutenant Hor- ton took hold of military matters with the earnestness and enthusiasm so characteristic of him, and rapidly became familiar with the drill and his official duties. He displayed true soldierly qualities. The com- pany went into camp at Boxford, Mass., and was mustered into the United States service September 23, 1862, and organized as Co. C, 47th Mass. Vol. Inf. Shortly afterward they were ordered to New York and went into camp on Long Island. December 21, 1862, the regiment embarked on the steamer Mississippi for New Orleans, which it reached
,
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January 1, 1863. About this time Captain Starkey resigned and Lieu- tenant Horton was chosen to succeed him by a large majority of the votes of the company. They were assigned to provost duty in and around New Orleans, and remained in service after their term of enlist- ment had expired, leaving for home via the Mississippi River August 5, 1863. At Cairo they took cars for the east, and were enthusiastically met and feted at every stopping place along the route. Arriving home the whole town gave the soldiers a grand ovation.
But the war was not ended. The governor called for more troops, and Captain Horton's patriotic spirit again responded. In October, 1863, he was commissioned second lieutenant and made recruiting offi- cer for the 58th Mass. Vols. He opened an office in Attleborough, but was soon ordered into camp to take charge of recruits for the regiment, and was commissioned captain and mustered into service as commander of Co. C, 58th Mass., Third Vet. Vols., one of the four veteran regi- ments raised in the Commonwealth during the war. They remained in camp at Readville, Mass., until April 28, 1864, when they went to the front to participate in the battle of the Wilderness. Reaching the field May 6, they were in the long and bloody march from the Wilderness to Petersburg, where almost every hour was marked with battle. After the battle of Cold Harbor Lieut .- Col. J. C. Whitton, commanding the regiment, recommended Captain Horton for promotion, and he was commissioned and mustered in as major. The regimental commander was wounded in a charge June 3, and the command devolved upon Major Horton from that time until September 30, 1864, when he was taken prisoner while leading his regiment in action a few miles south of Petersburg. He reached Richmond and Libby prison October 3, and was successively in Libby, Salisbury, and Danville, where he was selected as "hostage " and sent back to Libby January 8, 1865. He remained in that terrible confinement until February 22, when, with a number of others, he was paroled. Afterward, in describing his feel- ings when once more under the American colors, he said:
" I can never forget that day-never, NEVER, NEVER! No one who has not experienced the same sensations can know aught of the peculiar emotions and thoughts that come in throngs in seeing and knowing that once more I was under the Star-Spangled Banner. Under their influence I wrote this letter to my family from the deck of the flag-of- truce boat where each of us was handed a sheet of paper and envelope; my family had not heard from me for five months, and the newspapers 93
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had reported me dead: 'On board God's flag-of-truce boat, James River, Feb. 22, 1865. Dear Wife,-Out of the jaws of death, out of the gates of hell. Once more in the land of the living. Well. Love to all. EVERETT.'"
Major Horton was granted a furlough of thirty days and was soon exchanged; he left Attleborough to rejoin his regiment on the day that Petersburg was captured, was ordered to Washington, and there mus- tered out of service in July, 1865. During the war he had received seven commissions and was mustered into service on six of them. He was a soldier of unquestioned gallantry and bravery, doing all his duty with unflinching courage, and winning the esteem and confidence of his comrades. As an officer he was strict in discipline, universally popular, and careful of the comfort of his men. During the latter part of his service he was detailed as inspector of the Second Division, Ninth Army Corps, and served on the staff of Generals Potter and Griffin.
Returning from the war Major Horton was employed as manager for Daniels & Cornell, of Providence, R. I., proprietors of the largest wholesale grocery house in the State. He continued in that capacity until after the death of his brother, Edwin J., when he succeeded to the latter's interest in the manufacturing establishment of Horton, Angell & Co. at Attleborough. This concern was organized in 1870 by Edwin J. and Gideon M. Horton and Benjamin J. Angell, under its present firm name, and is now one of the largest and most important in the country for the manufacture of gold plated goods, consisting of men's jewelry, ladies' sets, etc. Their product is strictly all first quality of rolled gold plate, and finds a market in every part of this continent and in many European countries. Mr. Angell and Gideon M. Horton died in 1887, and since then Major Horton has been the senior partner; his associates are Herbert A. Clark and Thomas S. Carpenter.
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