USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Somerville > Somerville, Mass.; the beautiful city of seven hills, its history and opportunities > Part 9
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
HON. GEORGE O. PROCTOR, the tenth mayor of Somerville, and the first under the new city charter, is of the firm of Proctor Brothers, wholesale and retail hay and grain deal- ers, East Cambridge. As our chief magistrate he was suc- cessful in securing many public improvements, as set forth on other pages of this book. Out of the abundance of his experience has come many wise suggestions, which have proved beneficial and lasting. Mr. Proctor was a member of the Common Council in 1887 and 1888, being president the last year. He served in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1892 and 1893, and as mayor in 1899 and 1900. Mr. Proctor is a member of Soley lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Somerville Royal Arch Chapter ; De Molay commandery, Knights Templar; the Central Club ; the Boston Chamber of Commerce; the Order of Pilgrim Fathers, and the Vermont Association of Boston, and is a member of the First Unitarian church. He resides at 44 Spring street.
GEORGE H. DRESSER, prominent member of our community, is connected with the New England Tele- phone Company, with busi- ness headquarters in the telephone building, Boston, and resides at 193 School street. As a respected and active citizen he has won the good opinion of his fellow citizens. He is president of the Central Club; a member of the Puritan Club of Boston ; B. A. A. and Boston Yacht Clubs; a member of King Solomon's lodge, A.
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
F. & A. M .; Somerville Royal Arch Chapter; Orient Council, Royal and Select Masters; and De Molay commandery, Knights Templar.
JOHN H. DUSSEAULT was born in East Cambridge, June 20, 1840, and when he was two years of age his parents moved to Charles- town, where he attended the public schools. He became a resident of Somerville June 25, 1856. He enlisted during the Civil War, and was en- rolled as a member of Com- pany E, Thirty-ninth Massa- chusetts Regiment, and was appointed first sergeant of the company. He left Somer- ville with his company, Sep- tember 6, 1862, and was wounded at Weldon Railroad, August 18, 1864. On October 20, 1863, he was appointed second lieutenant, and on Sep- tember 8, 1864, he was promoted to first lieutenant. He was honorably discharged December 10, 1864. Lieutenant
Dusseault has been president of the Thirty-ninth Massachusetts Regiment three different times, and holds that office at the present time. He is one of a committee to compile a history of the regiment. In April, 1897, he was appointed sealer of weights and measures. During the war he was made a Mason, the regiment having a lodge room made of logs, with all necessary paraphernalia, and its colonel as worshipful master. It was known as Putnam Army lodge, No. 8, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Its members became very proficient in Masonic work on account of three meetings a week. At the close of the war the lodge was disbanded, and Lieutenant Dusseault joined Soley lodge. He is a trustee of the Somerville lodge of Elks; a member of Paul Revere lodge, I. O. O. F .; Erminie Rebekah lodge; the Owls; Somerville Fourth of July Association; Sons and Daughters of New Hampshire; the Somerville Board of Trade, and of the Commandery of State of Massachusetts Military Order of the Loyal Legion.
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
JOSEPH O. HAYDEN, resid- ing at 174 Summer street, Spring Hill, has been a promi- nent citizen of Somerville for many years. He is the presi- dent of the Somerville Na- tional Bank and of the Somer- ville Trust Company, and since 1876 he has been the manager of the Somerville Journal. He has been a trus- tee of the Somerville Savings Bank since its organization to the present time. Since 1886 he has been treasurer of Mid- dlesex county, with his office in East Cambridge, and he originated the system of county accounting which has since been adopted by order of the county comptroller in the counties of the state. Mr. Hayden is a trustee of the Somerville hospital, and was president of the Somerville water board for six years. He is a member of the Central Club, of which he was the first treasurer, and is also a member of the Somerville Historical So- ciety, the Fourth of July Association, and of the Somerville Board of Trade. He is a member of the Middlesex Club, and is a past president of the Suburban Press Association. Mr. Hayden is a member of John Abbot lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Somerville Royal Arch Chapter, and De Molay Commandery. Mr. Hayden was born in 1847 in Blandford, Mass., and at the age of seventeen went to Minneapolis, Minn., where he was manager of a newspaper. He came to Somerville in 1868, when he became manager of the Boston Daily and Sunday Times, and eight years later he assumed the management of the Somerville Journal.
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
HARRY VAN IDERSTINE,
upon the death of his parents, and at the age of twelve years, sought to earn his own living, commencing to learn the trade of watch- maker and jeweler. After four years' apprenticeship he turned his attention to the real estate and insurance business, in which he is now actively engaged, with an office at 31 Union square. As a young man he studied valuations of real estate throughout this city, and his opinions are now sought by all large interests, and he is one of the principal assessors of the city.
Mr. Van Iderstine handles all kinds of real estate, buying and selling on commission. He also cares for estates of absent owners, doing a large amount of renting and collecting for many clients, who, through years of experience, have learned to rely upon him. He does every kind of insurance, representing nearly all of the larger companies. His office, on the ground floor opposite the post-office, is convenient of access, and his many customers are shown every courtesy by himself and his efficient office staff.
Mr. Van Iderstine is at present a member of many social and fraternal organizations, including Oasis lodge, I. O. O. F .; Signet commandery, K. of M .; Prospect Hill lodge, K. of P .; Ivaloo lodge, I. O. O. F .; Somerville council, R. A .; Somer- ville lodge, A. O. U. W .; Union Fraternal League; Somer- ville encampment, I. O. O. F .; King Solomon lodge, A. F. & A. M .; a member of the Central, Webcowit and Men's Clubs ; Association of Massachusetts Assessors; Somerville Board of Trade ; Somerville Board of Fire Underwriters; Boston Board of Fire Underwriters,
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
ALPHONSO MARTIN was born in Charlestown, Mass., in 1866, and was graduated from her public schools. For many years he was engaged in the street railway business, being the manager and builder of the first electric street railroad in Massachusetts -the Lynn Belt Line. The Worcester, Leicester, and Spencer Street Railroad and the Gloucester Street Line were also under his efficient management. In all things relative to active city life he is deeply interested, always ready to do his share in advanc- ing them to successful fruition. Mr. Martin is an enthusiastic
member of a number of lodges and societies, yet his greatest pleasure is in his own family circle. He resides at 106 Thurston street, with his wife, and has four sons all arrived at man's estate. Two of his sons are married and have families of their own, yet they are still his "boys." For the last few years Mr. Martin has been in the publicity business, and has met with signal success. This book is one of the many he has arranged and published. Mr. Martin believes in Somerville and Somer- ville institutions, and is always ready to lend a helping hand for her advancement.
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
WILLIAM PREBLE JONES joined the Somerville Board of Trade soon after its organiza- tion, and has ever since been a member. Born in Somer- ville, April 22, 1869, he has always been one of its most loyal residents, endeavoring in every way possible to advance the best interests of the city. He worked his way through school and college, graduating from the Forster grammar school in 1883, from the Som- erville high school in 1887, and from Harvard College in 1891. After one year in the Harvard law school, he embarked in newspaper work, with the hope of earning the necessary funds for continuing his law studies, but found the work so congenial that he has continued at it ever since. He was reporter and subsequently editor of the Somerville Journal from May, 1892, to December 31, 1905, since which time he has been editor and manager of the Med- ford Mercury. From October, 1899, to January, 1907, he was a member of the Somerville school committee, and in 1909, 1910, and 1911 a member of the board of aldermen. He is an officer of King Solomon's lodge of Masons ; a member of Paul Revere Lodge of Odd Fellows, director in the Somerville Playgrounds Association, president of the Men's Association of the Broad- way Congregational church, and a member of various other local organizations. He has a wife and two daughters, and re- sides at 13 Maple avenue,
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
JOSEPH J. GILES was born in Somerville near the site of the present Union square, in March, 1842, his birth being the first in the town after its incorporation. His early education in the Somer- ville grammar schools was completed in the old high school building, which is now the city hall. In April, 1861, he went to the front with the Somer- ville Light Infantry, Com- pany I, Fifth Regiment, and was in the first bat-
tle of Bull Run. In August, 1862, he enlisted for three years in the Somerville Guard, Company E, Thirty-ninth Regi- ment, and was commissioned as its first lieutenant. He sub- sequently served eleven months as an aide-de-camp to General Martindale, the military governor of Washington, D. C. In 1891 and 1892 he served in the Legislature. He has been en- gaged in the real estate and insurance business in Union square since 1875.
JAMES M. YORK has dis- played exceptional ability as president and general man- ager of the York & Whitney Company, wholesale fruit and produce commission mer- chants, Boston, and Somerville people are pleased to count him in the list of residents. His business sagacity, invinci- ble integrity, and keen per- ception have contributed to make the citizenship note- worthy. Mr. York was born in Waterboro, Me., July 23, 1848. He is a director of the Somerville Trust Company,
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
a trustee of the Somerville hospital, a member of the Boston Fruit and Produce Exchange, a member of the Somerville Sons of Maine Club, and the Winter Hill Men's Club. He resides at 32 Dartmouth street.
JOHN S. LOVERING is an illustration of a self- made man who has erected for himself a monument of success that stands, in the opinion of the large circle of friends who know him, as an example of what creditable ambition and well-directed energy can be made to do. He was born in Wolfboro, N. H., January 10, 1863, where he attended school. At the age of eighteen years he came to Boston and went to work, saving his money. In 1886 he started in the teaming business for himself, and has since then become one of the leaders in that line, with an office at 77 Portland street, Bos- ton. Mr. Lovering came to Somerville twenty-three years ago, and has taken a lively interest in the success of his adopted city. He is a member of Soley lodge, A. F. and A. M .; Somerville lodge of Elks, Paul Revere lodge, and Winter Hill Encampment, I. O. O. F .; Excelsior Council, Royal Ar- canum; Men's Club, United Order of Workmen, member of the Master Teamsters' Association, and Freedom Club of Boston.
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
DR. WESLEY T. LEE resides at 251 Broadway. He was born in Charlestown in 1872, was a teacher of languages in 1892 and 1893, and graduated from the Boston University Medical School in 1898. Dur- ing 1899 and 1900 he studied and practiced in hospitals of Boston and Europe, and came to Somerville to reside in 1900. He is a member of John Abbot lodge, Signet Chapter, Coeur de Lion Commandery of Masons; Paul Revere lodge, I. O. O. F .; Winter Hill lodge, K. of P .; Somer- ville lodge of Elks, and many other societies, and is identi- fied with several medical associations. Dr. Lee is a member of the board of health, having been its chairman for two years.
CLARENCE W. WILLIAMS, the well-known heating, venti- lating, and sanitary engineer, at 9 Park street, Boston, has been for a number of years a resident of Somerville. He has been selected as the con- sulting engineer to the To- ronto (Ontario) general hos- pital, where $1,500,000 will be expended in the erection of an entire new hospital plant in the heart of that city. The engi- neering problems alone will amount to something like $300,000. It will require about three years to erect and
equip the buildings, eleven in all. The appointment of Mr. Williams was made after a very thorough investigation of simi- lar engineers throughout the country and in Canada. Mr. Wil- liams takes an active interest in large work and is well known socially.
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
FRANK A. TEELE, the subject of this sketch, is a grandson of Jonathan W. Teele, for whom Teele square is named, whose ancestors were among the early settlers in what is now Somer- ville. Mr. Teele has conducted a coal, real estate and insurance business in Davis square for the past seventeen years. He is also president of the Tri- mount Co-operative Bank of Boston, trustee of the Somer- ville Building Association, a vice-president of the Somer- ville Associated Charities, and a director in various religious and charitable organizations. He is associated with the Masonic, Odd Fellows and other fra- ternal bodies.
CLARENCE D. WATERHOUSE was born in Mechanic Falls, Maine, July 6, 1882, and now resides at 36 Francesca avenue. For many years he was employed in the grocery business in Maine, and later cn changed to Dorchester, Mass. In 1907 he became connected with a Boston real estate firm, and in the fall of the same year went to the real estate office of T. H. Raymond, Central square, Cambridge. In 1908 he opened a branch office for Mr. Raymond at 257 Elm street, Somerville, which was later moved to the new Central building, Davis square. He is manager of the Somerville office, which does a general real estate business in Somerville and Medford. Mr. Waterhouse is a member of the West Somer- ville Board of Trade, serving as secretary of the committee on new industries ; Somerville Sons of Maine Club; and Monami lodge, I. O. O. F., of Mechanic Falls, Maine.
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Chief
CHARLES A. KENDALL Chief of Police
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
CHARLES A. KENDALL was appointed chief of police by Mayor John M. Woods early in 1909, and began his work in March of that year. His management of the department has brought it to a commendable state of discipline and efficiency. Since taking charge of the department he has been put to several severe tests, not so much in suppressing disorder as in maintaining order under unusual conditions. Probably the greatest crowd that ever assembled in the city of Somerville came on July 4, 1910, to welcome President Taft and view the extensive parade. All the police arrangements for this great occasion were made by Chief Kendall, and he met every diffi- culty in a masterly way, not a single incident occurring to mar the occasion. The secret service men in the President's party, public officials, and private citizens complimented the chief on his well-planned arrangements. This was not the only occasion when he demonstrated his ability to handle large crowds, as was evidenced on Decoration Day, 1909, when the monument in memory of Somerville soldiers was dedicated, and at the dedication of the new Somerville field, 1911. Chief Kendall rose from the ranks in Fitchburg, and has served as chief of police in North Adams and Fitchburg, Mass., and as an officer at the Massachusetts Reformatory, receiving many testimonials of duty well done during a period of over twenty-five years as a peace officer. He is a member of Aurora lodge of Masons of Fitchburg; Composite Royal Arch Chapter; St. Paul Com- mandery, No. 40, Knights Templar of North Adams, and Aleppo Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Boston. He is a member of Hawthorn Chapter, Eastern Star ; the Central Club ; Somerville Fourth of July Association ; and attends divine wor- ship at the Prospect Hill Congregational church. He received the degrees in the Knights of Pythias and their uniformed rank, and in the Improved Order of Red Men in Fitchburg.
SEWALL M. RICH Chief of the Fire Department
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
SEWALL M. RICH, chief of the fire department, was born in Provincetown, Mass., November 6, 1866, and has been a resi- dent of Somerville thirty-five years. He has served in the fire department for twenty-two years, having been a call member of Engine No. 1, and was taken from the ranks and appointed to his present position in 1909. In the years of his early manhood he was at sea before the mast and as mate of a vessel. While he had all the duties of a seaman, he was a gentleman Jack, hav- ing many comforts of food and cabin not generally enjoyed by the ordinary seaman, for his father owned the vessels he sailed in and many others beside. As a chief of the fire department, he has silenced all criticism over his appointment, and has proved himself well-qualified for the position as indicated by the article herein relating to the fire department. Chief Rich resides at 381 Medford street. He is a member of Oasis lodge, I. O. O. F .; Winter Hill lodge, K. of P .; Signet commandery, Knights of Malta : Somerville lodge of Elks, Central Club, Winter Hill Improvement Association, Somerville Board of Trade, Somer- ville Fourth of July Association, and the Massachusetts Fire Chiefs' Club.
WILLIAM H WOOD- BERRY, who resides with his family at 181 Central street, is one of Winter Hill's most active, promi- nent, and respected men. In business life he is con- nected with the Dalton- Ingersoll Manufacturing Company, 169 and 175 High street, Boston, as treasurer and director. Mr. Woodberry was a member of the board of aldermen in 1901 and 1902, serving as president of that body the last year of his term of service. He is a past master and member of Soley lodge, A. F. & A. M., St. Paul's Royal Arch chapter and Boston commandery, Knights Templar, and is a director of the Somerville Savings Bank.
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
CHARLES F. BRYANT, a son of John Bryant, was born in Charlestown May 22, 1856, and. attended the public schools of that city and a commercial college in Boston. He is a member of the widely- known firm of undertakers and embalmers, John Bryant's Sons, with offices at 353 Med- ford street, Somerville, and 15 Austin street, Charlestown. He has the patronage of lead- ing citizens, is skilled in every branch of his business, and gives his personal attention to its details. Mr. Bryant has been a resident of Somerville about twenty-two years, and during those years has identified himself with matters pertaining to its welfare. He resides at 190 School street with his wife and three children, and is a member of all of our prominent organizations.
EDWIN P. FITZGERALD, lawyer, was born in Somer- ville February 4, 1885. He received his early education in the Somerville schools, and in 1907 he graduated from Harvard College with the degree of A. B. In 1909 he received the degree LL. B. from the Harvard law school, and has since been engaged in the practice of his profession, with offices at 70 State street, Boston. Governor Draper, in 1910, appointed him to the office of master of chancery, and in 1911 he was appointed bail commissioner by the justices of the superior court. Mr. Fitzgerald maintains an active inter- est in local affairs, having served on a committee appointed by Mayor Woods to consider the revision of the city charter. He
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
rendered efficient service while superintendent of the Somer- ville bathing beach, and is at present prominent in Somerville athletics, being treasurer of the High School Athletic Association.
WILLIAM L. WAUGH Was born at Waugh's River, N. S., October 11, 1864, and came to Somerville in 1882 as a builder and real estate opera- tor. He quickly realized the advantages of our growing city, has materially aided in building it up by the erection of many fine houses, and has favored and assisted in putting through many public improve- ments. Mr. Waugh was a member of the Republican Ward and City Committee for nine years, serving as chair- man one year. He was a member of the board of aldermen in 1901, and representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1907, 1908, 1909, and 1910. He is a director in the Winter Hill Co-operative Bank, treasurer of the Somerville Lumber Company, vice-presi- dent of the Somerville Associates, and a member of the Inter- colonial Club, John Abbot lodge, A. F. and A. M .; Somerville Royal Arch chapter and Coeur de Lion commandery, Everett lodge, Somerville encampment and Ivaloo Rebekah lodge of the I. O. O. F .; Wonohaquaham Tribe of Red Men; New Eng- land Order of Protection, Republican Club of Massachusetts, and a director in the Somerville Board of Trade.
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES CHAPTER VIII.
. Through all her history, Somerville has taken just pride in her schools. Their record has reflected the best in the life of the community ; their growth has kept pace with the growth of the city in all its material and civic de- velopment. When Som- erville started upon its career as a town in 1842 its entire educational es- tablishment comprised five small school buildings, accommodating 247 pu- pils, and having an as- sessed valuation of $3,150. The payroll for teachers CHARLES S. CLARK Superintendent of Schools for the first year bore the names of one man and five women, and amounted to $1,152. All other school ex- penses were included in the small sum of $135.96, making a total expenditure for the first year of $1,287.96. But it is significant that the cost of maintaining the schools during that first year was more than forty per cent. of the amount invested in school accommodations. In 1910 the cost of maintaining the schools was twenty-five per cent. of the valuation of the schoolhouses and their furniture. From 1842 until 1866 seven schoolhouses were built. These were small and of a temporary character, and all have long since been abandoned for school purposes. The year 1866 was notable in the his- tory of the schools because in that year the Forster school- house, No. 1, and the Prescott schoolhouse, No. 2, were both destroyed by fire. Their successors were large buildings of a permanent character, and were the first of the type of con- struction which has lasted until the present day.
Following these at intervals of four or five years other
WM. H. HODGKINS
BENJAMIN
GEORGE L. E
ANSCOM -
MARTIN W. CARR
WM. H. PRESCOT
ALBION
A. PERRY
A FEW CITIZENS FOR WHOM SOMERVILLE SCHOOLS WERE NAMED
G . BROWN
BAXTER
SANFORD
WILLIAM H. HODGKINS SCHOOL
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SOMERVILLE BOARD OF TRADE.
schoolhouses of a permanent character were erected until in 1911 there were twenty-seven schoolhouses, having a capacity of over 12,000 pupils. Of the present buildings, the Prescott, Forster, and Bell are good representatives of the type of schoolhouse construction which was popular forty years ago. Plain, but substantial, these buildings have stood the wear of forty years of service, and are in good condition to-day. The newer buildings have been constructed in accordance with the best ideas of schoolhouse construction, and are attractive and well-adapted to school uses. The schoolhouses now in use are classified as follows : High school, two buildings on Central hill; grammar school buildings, thirteen; intermediate, six; primary, four ; industrial, two.
No single feature of the growth of the public schools has been more distinctive than the history of the Somerville High School. Organized in 1852 with an attendance of sixty-one pupils in a building now constituting the principal portion of the city hall, in twenty years it had outgrown its accommoda- tions, and was then established in the present Latin school building, with an attendance of 150 pupils. The attendance at the high school was then six per cent. of the average member- ship of all the schools. So popular was the high school that by 1895 it had again outgrown its quarters, and the English high school building was provided. At this time the at- tendance had reached 775, and had risen to ten per cent. of the average membership of all the schools. In 1911 the at- tendance was over 1,800, or fifteen per cent. of the average membership of all the schools. Four thousand two hundred and ninety-six persons have been graduated from the Somer- ville high school since 1867. This record is remarkable not only for the steady growth in attendance, but also in the pro- portion of the high school attendance to the population of the city. Among 140 cities of the United States recently tabulated only eight were higher than Somerville, whose proportion is .0227, exceeding that of all other New England cities with one exception.
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