USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Medway > The biographical sketches of prominent persons, and the genealogical records of many early and other families in Medway, Mass. 1713-1886 > Part 7
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DON GLEASON HILL, EsQ.
DON GLEASON HILL, son of George and Sylvia (Grout) Hill, was born July 12, 1847, in West Medway. In early youth he worked at the carpenter's trade, using the money thus earned to obtain his education. He fitted for college at the Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., graduating in 1865, the youngest of the class ; entered Amherst College, class of 1869, but for want of funds was obliged to leave college just before the close of the Sophomore year and go back to his trade, and soon after commenced the study of law, work- ing during the day and studying evenings ; a short time, however, was spent in teaching, and during the winter of 1868-'69 he was assistant principal of . Barre Academy, Vermont. He graduated at the law school of the University of Albany, N. Y., in May, 1870, receiving therefrom the degree of LL. B., and was at once admitted to the New York Bar. Returning to Medway, he entered the law office of Charles H. Deans, Esq., but removed to Dedham in June, 1871, and entered the office of the Hon. Waldo Colburn, now Judge of the Supreme Court of this State, with whom he continued his studies. He was admitted to the Norfolk Bar Sept. 25, 1871, on recommendation of Mr. Colburn, but still remained in his office until the appointment of Mr. Col-
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burn to the bench of the Superior Court, June, 1875, when Mr. Hill found a favorable time had come to " hang out his shingle," which he did at once from the same office. In October, 1875, a law partnership was formed with Charles A. Macintosh under the firm name of Hill & Macintosh, which con- tinued several years. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace April 7, IS74, for seven years and re-appointed in ISSI. Mr. Hill has given his attention principally to the study and practice of real estate law, and to the examination of real estate titles. In 1875 he was elected Attorney of the Dedham Insti- tution for Savings and recently also of the Braintree Savings Bank. He is also frequently employed by the Quincy Savings Bank and other savings banks to examine their titles. Being located at the county seat his practice extends throughout the county. He is recognized as a thorough and careful conveyancer. In ISSo he was elected town clerk of Dedham, and in ISS2 was elected also selectman, assessor, and overseer of the poor of Dedham, all of which, except the office of assessor. he still holds. He is also one of the trustees of the Dedham Institution for Savings, and, withal, rather a busy man, but finds time to interest himself in antiquarian matters ; April, ISSI, he was elected a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and in February, ISS3, of the Webster Historical Society, of Boston, and is also an officer in the Dedham Historical Society. Dec. 26, 1876, he married Miss Carrie Louisa Luce, of Dedham, and has four children, viz. : Carrie Frances Hill, born Sept. 27, 1877 : Helen Florence Hill, born Jan. 20, ISSo ; Don Gleason Hill, Jr., born Aug. 26, 1SS3 ; and Maria Louisa Hill, born Jan. 11, ISS5. Both Mr. Hill and his wife are members of the Congrega-
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tional Church connected with the Allin Evangelical Society of Dedham, of which he is now one of the parish committee.
REV. GEORGE EDWIN HILL.
GEORGE EDWIN HILL, son of George and Sylvia (Grout) Hill, was born April 26, 1858, in Medway, and very early believing that he had been called to the ministry, began to prepare himself for that work, choosing the Meth- odist as his denomination. and he has already, although young, received several appointments, first at Mendon, afterwards at Savoy, then at Heath, and at Essex in this state. He is married and has one child.
WILLIAM FRANCIS HILL, ESQ.
WILLIAM FRANCIS HILL, son of George and Sylvia (Grout) Hill, was born Oct. 23, 1860, in West Medway. He pursued his studies in Boston and Wilbraham, and afterwards went to Dedham, where he was employed in his brother's law office until the spring of 18SI. When the Dedham Water Company wished to employ a young man who would begin with the first laying of the pipes and grow up with the work, Mr. Hill was se- lected by the company and given a very responsible position, and through faithful attention to duties was, upon the completion of the works, at the early age of twenty-one years, made the superintendent thereof, which office he still holds ; he is also clerk of the corporation. This company has over fifteen miles of main water pipes ; an extension of over two thousand feet was made the past year under the personal direction of the superintendent. The im- portant trusts committed to him by the directors show their confidence in his abilities and integrity.
REV. ASA HIXON.
ASA HIXON, son of Asa and Polly (Turner) Hixon, was born March 6, 1800, in Medway, Mass. At the age of nineteen years he began preparation for college under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Ide, and completed his pre- paratory course at the academy in Bridgewater, Mass. He graduated from Brown University in the class of IS25, with the late Barnas Sears, D. D., of Boston, and the Rev. David Sanford, of Medway. Two years before graduation he chose the profession of the ministry, and pursuant to this choice took a theological course in the Theological Seminary, Auburn, N. Y. He was ordained to the Gospel ministry and installed Oct. 7, 1829, pastor of the Orthodox Congregational Church in Oakham, Mass. He married, June, 1829, Charlotte Baker, daughter of Capt. David and Jemima (Richardson) Baker, of Franklin, Mass. An illness of long standing soon compelled him to relinquish active labor, and he retired, hoping by a season of rest to rally, and again assume the duties of the pastorate. So unwilling were his people to sunder the relation, that for two years they continued to lock to him as their pastor. In IS32 he removed to West Medway, and in 1845 to Franklin, Mass., where he resided for twelve years, cooperating, as he was able, with the pastor in religious work. In IS57 he returned to West Medway, where he resided until his death. Nov. 16, 1862. He was deeply interested in educational matters, and served for several years, as his health
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would permit, upon the school board of this town, and that of Franklin. He was a student throughout his life ; and was constantly analyzing, treasuring up, and applying knowledge. He received some private pupils and took a profound interest in the case of one of naturally weak mental condition, with whom he made various original experiments in an attempt to teach simple mathematics. His life was not made brilliant by those achievements which attract the public gaze, but was nevertheless powerful in its influence upon a narrower circle, and illustrated the possibilities for good in the path of one seemingly cut off from an active service. David Baker Hixon, the only son of the Rev. Asa and Charlotte (Baker) Hixon, is a merchant in New York City, and resides in Brooklyn, N. Y.
WILLARD HODGES, ESQ.
WILLARD HODGES, a lineal descendant of the traditional three brothers who emigrated from England in the year 1635 or '40, was the second son of a father to whom was fulfilled the scriptural blessing of a " full quiver." He was born in 1792, in the town of Norton, Mass. In a genealogical record of the Hodges family, we read : "It will be found that, in the early history of New England it was considered quite honorable to aspire to commissions in the militia of this Commonwealth. The Hodges family have aspired to the commission of captain very generally, and whether qualified or not, they have been very successful in their aspirations. It has been remarked that in the towns of Taunton, Norton, and Mansfield, you may call every man you meet of the name, Captain Hodges, and you will be right about three-fourths of the time." Willard Hodges never aspired to any title save such as is due to
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an honest man ; and his only inheritance was his name and the privilege of supporting his parents in their declining years. He resided in Taunton sev- eral years, and later in Walpole. In 1824 he was married to Hannah Smith Pond, of the good old Puritan family of the Ponds of Pondville, in Wrentham. They settled in Franklin where they resided over thirty years. leading a quiet, . unassuming farmers' life. There they reared ten children. Becoming too feeble for the active duties of farm life, in 1859 he moved to Medway Village where he was only known as an old man, snowy headed, dependent on a cane. He always drove a good horse, and like General Taylor, deemed great occasions demanded strong language ; but long after he could not hear a word of the services, he regarded the sacredness of the Sabbath by sleeping through Priest Sanford's sermons with a large red silk handkerchief spread carefully over his head. His characteristics were good common sense, a powerful will, a strong sense of justice, with rank intolerance of hypocrisy and vice. Ripe for the harvest, he fell asleep on the eighth day of August, 1876, aged eighty-four years, and awaits the resurrection in the Oakland Cemetery.
MAJ. GEORGE HOLBROOK.
GEORGE HOLBROOK, son of Daniel and Esther (Hall) Holbrook, was born April 28, 1767, in Wrentham, Mass. He received a limited education in the public schools ; and while young was apprenticed to Paul Revere, of Revolutionary fame, to learn the machinist and clockmaker's trades. After serving his full time he began manufacturing bells in Brookfield, having learned the art from an old English Encyclopedia ; was very successful and built up a large business. Meeting with financial troubles in IS12, he re- moved to Laconia, N. H., then Meredith Bridge, where he carried on a farm. Happening to be in East Medway in the year 1816. and knowing that a bell was wanted for the new church just completed. he agreed to cast it and did so in a shed standing where Mr. E. L. Holbrook's house now is. It was a novel thing and people came from many towns to see the sight. The bell was a good one, however, was raised on the church and served for many years. This was the first bell cast in Medway and is the date of the estab- lishment of the Holbrook Bell Foundry in this place. Major Holbrook re- ceived his title as an officer of the State Militia. Mary Evalina Holbrook, daughter of Major Holbrook, was born Jan. 2, 1807, in Brookfield, Mass. She was a lady of great personal beauty and accomplishment. She had a musical education and a voice of great purity and sweetness. She was a leading singer in the Handel and Haydn Society, of Boston, Mass., and a great favorite among musical people. She married John Baker, Jr.
COL. GEORGE HANDEL HOLBROOK.
GEORGE HANDEL HOLBROOK, son of George and Mary (Wood) Hol- brook, was born July 21, 179S, in Brookfield, Mass., attended town school, moved to Medway in 1816, became associated with his father in the manufac- ture of bells and church clocks, succeeded in 1820 to the entire business which he carried on until 1871, having at that time cast over ten thousand church and other bells. He married. Jan. 1, 1824, Louisa Harding. daughter of Thomas and Keziah (Bullen) Harding. In 1837 he began building church organs,
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in company with his cousin, Mr. J. Holbrook Ware, until IS50, when the partnership was dissolved. Colonel Holbrook, a musician and a violinist of more than local reputation, was a member of the Handel and Haydn Soci- ety of Boston. He was, when young, offered the leadership of an orchestra in one of the theatres of Boston. He was very much interested in military service, and held every commission from ensign to colonel, declining the position of brigadier-general to which he was elected. He was postmaster at East Medway for over thirty-five years, and represented the town in IS35 in the Legislature. He was of a quiet, retiring disposition, though genial. His house was always open to musical and literary people, and he will be remembered for his liberality in providing musical entertainments of the highest order. The Handel and Haydn Society and Boston's most cele- brated musicians often performed under his direction. Colonel Holbrook died March 20, IS75, aged seventy-six years. He was succeeded in the organ business by his son, Mr. Edwin L. Holbrook, and in the bell business by his grandson, Mr. Edwin Handel Holbrook.
REV. SANFORD JABEZ HORTON, D. D.
SANFORD JABEZ HORTON. grandson of Dr. Nathaniel Miller, was born Sept. 24, 1817, in Franklin, Mass. He was, in his youth, engaged to learn the trade of a cabinet maker, to Maj. Luther Metcalf, of Medway. He early evinced a desire for knowledge, was fond of reading and study, and decided, if possible, to obtain a liberal education. He was encouraged by his friends in Medway and Franklin, and was subsequently assisted by Mr. Orion Mason. He graduated in 1843, at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and studied theology in Alexandria, Va. He became, in 1846, the rector of St. Andrew's Church, Providence, R. I. He was rector of Grace Church, New Bedford, from 1848 to 1852, and for ten years succeeding was rector of St. Paul's Church in Windham, Conn. In 1862 he was elected Principal of the Epis- copal Academy, in Cheshire, Conn., which office he has held ever since. He received the degree of D. D. in 1869, from Trinity College. On his visits to Medway he has several times supplied the pulpit of the Village church, to the great pleasure of old friends. Dr. Horton has a practical talent, and in the management of a literary institution has achieved success.
JOEL HUNT, EsQ.
JOEL HUNT, a young merchant, removed to Medway in ISII, and in connection with his father-in-law, Maj. Luther Metcalf, purchased what was called the "Garnsy farm " in the west precinct, consisting of eighty acres lying northerly of Charles River and west of Chicken Brook. They subse- quently purchased the Richardson farm, easterly of Chicken Brook, and both sides of Charles River. Maj. Luther Metcalf, Joel Hunt, and Luther Met- calf, Jr., under the firm name of Metcalf, Hunt & Company, built in 1813, a factory on the site now occupied by Campbell's paper mill, and were early manufacturers of machinery and cotton goods. Some of the first machinery put in operation at Amoskeag Mills, Manchester, N. H., was built at this fac- tory. The town and parish records for nearly forty years indicate Mr. Hunt to have been almost continuously in active office of selectman, assessor, over-
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seer of the poor, etc. In 1842 he was elected to the Legislature and served the session of Governor Marcus Morton. He was an ardent Jeffersonian Democrat, and one of the only seven in town who cast a vote for Andrew Jackson. We append the following obituary, written by the Rev. Dr. Ide soon after his decease :
"JOEL HUNT, EsQ., died Sept. 1, 1852, aged seventy. He left behind him to mourn his loss, a wife and ten children. He was a kind husband and an affectionate and in- dulgent father. Few men would be more missed in their families than he. His good sense, his kind heart and social nature, made him a pleasant companion everywhere. A man of native talent, an independent thinker, a shrewd observer of the world, he had acquired a rich fund of practical information, which often served to render his conversation both instructive and entertaining. His store of anecdotes was inexhaust- ible. Something appropriate and striking from this source seemed instantly to occur to his mind on every subject and occasion on which he chose to speak. In this way, he could at pleasure excite a smile or draw a tear, illustrate a truth, or administer a reproof; compliment a friend, or retort upon an adversary. He was a useful citizen,
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much engaged in the business of the town, and of individuals who sought his counsel and his aid; and his accommodating spirit often led him to neglect his own business for the sake of giving aid to others. He was frequently elected to some of the most important offices in the gift of the town, and discharged the duties of these stations with credit to himself and satisfaction to his friends. He was good to the poor and afflicted ; always on hand in the day of trouble. A friend to law and order and good morals, he exerted himself for the promotion of these in the community in which he lived. He was a cheerful supporter of the Gospel, and a regular attendant upon its institutions. He spoke freely, especially in his last illness, of the sanctity of the Sab- bath, the value of the Bible as the word of God, and of the truth and importance of that religion which it inculcates. His death is deeply lamented, not only by his be- reaved family and the religious society of which he had been a fast and active friend for forty years, but with sorrow by all who knew him." Vid. The Hunt Genealogy.
JULIUS C. HURD, ESQ.
JULIUS C. HURD, for twenty years one of the active business men of the town, came to Medway Village about 1836, and soon after formed a co- partnership with Mr. Alfred Daniels, and began the manufacture of batting at the lower mill of the Village, afterward Eaton & Wilson, and buying and sel- ling cotton waste. The business grew and prospered in their hands and their firm became the leading one in the Village. Mr. Hurd built the large house at the west end of the Village now occupied by Mr. M. E. Thompson, where he resided until he left the town. He and his partner became interested in the old Medway Branch Railroad, and furnished the larger part of the funds for its construction. Mr. Hurd also became one of the directors of the Norfolk County Railroad. This connection with the railroad was unfortunate and the affairs of the firm at length became so involved that in 1857 a suspension was the result. Mr. Hurd was a man of untiring energy and activity, and excellent business ability, a man of positive opinions, yet public spirited and liberal. During his active life when business success had given him a com- petence he retained a love for his early agricultural pursuits and the variety of fruits and flowers in his grounds showed the fondness of the owner for horticulture and kindred pursuits. He left Medway in 1858, and after a short residence in Dorchester, he returned to his early home in Bristol, Conn., where he has since resided. He was married in 1837, to Rebecca A. Robin- son, of Smithfield, R. I.
REV. JACOB IDE, D. D.
JACOB IDE, son of Jacob and Lydia (Kent) Ide, was born March 29, 1785, in Attleboro, Mass. His father was a farmer in moderate circum- stances. His mother was a daughter of Dea. Elijah Kent, of Rehoboth, Mass. The early years of his life were passed in hard labor on the farm, and the general expectation was that he would follow the occupation of his father. But at the age of seventeen he began to have strong leanings toward a public education. His thoughts were at Brown University. About this time he had a great desire to attend Commencement at that institution. His father said there was a field of corn whose stalks must be cut that day. So Jacob got up at three o'clock in the morning, and did a full day's work of cutting stalks, and then dressed and went on foot eight miles to Providence to attend Commencement. At length he gained the consent of his father that he might
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obtain a public education. He fitted for college with the Rev. Mr. Holman, pastor of the Second Church in Attleboro, who was well qualified to give classical instruction. It shows the earnestness of purpose which was in the young man, that his whole preparation for college was made in a year, and that, too, with many interruptions by reason of sickness, labor, and teaching, so that the period of solid study was hardly more than six months. At that time the candidates for admission to Brown University must be prepared to pass an examination in ÆEsop's Fables, eight books of Virgil's ÆEneid, eight orations of Cicero, and the four evangelists in the Greek Testament. All this was done in the time specified, and the young man entered Brown University, went through the course of study and graduated in 1So9, the valedictorian of his class. After graduating he was engaged for a few months in teaching in Wrentham, and then went to Andover, entering the third class that passed through that institution. Here he was brought into familiar acquaintance with that band of young men who had devoted themselves to the work of Foreign Missions, Judson, Mills, Newell, Hall, Richards, and Warren. The thoughts that filled their minds were then freshly awakened, and the whole enterprise was new to the American churches. During his stay at Andover the Amer- ican Board was organized at Bradford, and some of these young men were commissioned to go forth and carry the Gospel to distant and idolatrous nations. The impressions gained amid those scenes were never lost. After graduating at Andover in 1812, he preached for a few Sabbaths at East Abington, and was then invited to Portsmouth, N. H., to preach as a candidate in the pulpit just made vacant by the death of the Rev. Joseph Buckminster. Here he had Ex-Governor Langdon for one of his constant hearers, and also Daniel Webster, then a young lawyer of great promise, and who was elected that same year, for the first time, Representative to Congress. After preaching for some months, in April, 1813, he received an unanimous call from the church to settle there in the ministry ; but the parish did not concur. From Portsmouth Mr. Ide came to Boston, and assisted Dr. Griffin for a few weeks, while he was preparing and delivering his famous " Park Street Lectures," Mr. Ide preaching in the morning, and Dr. Griffin in the afternoon and evening. He preached also again at East Abington, and at York, Me. Then his health failed, and for a time he was laid aside from labor, and grave doubts were felt whether he would be able to preach again. But in 1814 he was so far recovered that he accepted a call from the church and society in West Medway to become their pastor, and there had a long min- istry. He was ordained Nov. 2, 1814, and for fifty-one years remained in full discharge of the duties of the pastorate. After IS65 he was relieved of all ministerial responsibility, but continued senior pastor till his death. In 1815 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Emmons, youngest daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Emmons, of Franklin, Mass.
In his long ministry, reaching considerably beyond the half century, he was a man of marked character and influence. Of quiet and simple man- ners, without the slightest approach to the noisy and demonstrative, he had weight in all counsels, and was one in whom his fellow-men loved to con- fide and whom they found it safe to trust. With little rhetorical power in the pulpit, and with no attempt whatever at oratorical display, he was an able and faithful preacher, kept a steady hold upon the respect and affec-
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tion of his people, as few pastors are able to do, and was often called upon to exercise his gifts on public occasions abroad.
Dr. Ide was a man of remarkable self-control. He had learned to rule well his own spirit. Those who came into his presence for the first time, seeing how meek and placid was his demeanor, how quiet and unpretend- ing his manners, how silently and respectfully he listened to what a stranger had to say, might suppose for a moment that he was wanting in force of character and will. But a slight acquaintance would convince any one that he had an eye to see, as well as an ear to hear; that he had a mind of his own, a judgment eminently clear, incisive and decisive. He furnished a beautiful illustration of a truth, which we are sometimes slow to learn, that strength of will and purpose is more commonly the property of quiet and gentle natures than of noisy and blustering ones.
Dr. Ide was early the friend of the slave. He embraced and proclaimed anti-slavery principles when it was an unpopular cause, and he was firm, steadfast, and influential therein. There were scenes in his life connected with this matter which were peculiarly trying, and which called for large wisdom and patience. But in this, as in other things, he bore himself faith- fully and well. Few men pass away from earth with a record so clear and bright. Thousands of the living have seen him in his quiet and hospit- able home, and many more have seen him in the pulpit and on public occa- sions. We have no fear that their verdict will not accord essentially with our own. He was a kind of model minister, and especially a model country . minister. He loved the quiet and simplicity of country life. He was not a man for the noise, show, and excitement of a great city. He dwelt among his own people. He loved them and they loved him. There is something beautiful in the contemplation of such a life-long ministry as his. Such cases are growing rare among us. The picture of his long dwelling at West Med- way is peculiarly attractive. The good which he has done will live after him. He will long be remembered in all that region as an able and success- ful pastor, and as a true and faithful preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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