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 9
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fession and in public affairs, and allowed his estate gradually to pass into other hands. In IS51, at the age of fifty-four, he married Cornelia A. Phipps, of Holliston, Mass. At the age of sixty he retired from active professional and public service, and the last twenty years of his life were spent in an almost painful seclusion. He was without near kindred in this vicinity, the new generation that was about him knew little of his former prominence and ability, and almost forgotten and without friends and penniless, one of Med- way's ablest and most eminent citizens died at the age of eighty years, Aug. 21, 1876, while the nation was celebrating the centennial of its marvelous history. "One lesson which the life of this gifted and cultured man teaches is that however popular and prominent men may become in public affairs, they may live to be forgotten and unappreciated by a whole generation. It teaches also, a lesson of the broadest charity in our judgment of men, espe- cially those whose mental or moral vision has been clouded, either by disease, disappointment, or any providential event. The funeral obsequies of Mr. Lovering were held in the Village church. The Rev. Mr. Jameson, of East Medway, conducted the service. His address left little that ought to have been said. Appropriate musical selections were sung by the choir. The Masonic fraternity, of which the deceased in early life was a prominent mem- ber, attended the service, and performed the ritual for the dead at the tomb in the Oakland Cemetery."
" IN MEMORIAM."
" Then I saw one - no, did not see - Tears would gush out 'twixt him and me, I'd known him long, I'd known him well, And in his converse felt the spell, And knew, full well he had a mind Keen, accurate, polished and refined. A Chesterfield in airs and dress, Without one touch of his excess, But tasteful dress and graceful air Come not from special thought and care, But blossoming or outer trace, Of inner culture, power and grace. His native state who knew him best, For she'd applied full many a test, Selected him from all'her hosts, For many of her highest posts, And choicest honors freely shed, On her accomplished servant's head, And, in whatever station placed, He filled, not only well, but graced ; And honors falling to his lot,
. He wore as if he knew it not. Not one of those who magnify A humble post as if a high, Or magnify a high, and then Feel that they're wiser, bigger men. Whate'er he gained, he gained because He earned it with just what he was ; And having earned it. felt no more
In worth's price current than before, Yet notwithstanding all he'd done, Positions gained and honor won, All felt assured that he had not Had all the honors that he ought, Chicanery oft in friendship clad Secured the prize he should have had. Books were his friends and played a part, The nearest, dearest to his heart, And every thought he read, he shrined Within his memory and his mind. My friend when I had met him last, I hardly knew; he'd changed so fast. That lofty spirit that had been, At work so long and well within, Had lost its fire, had lost its power, Disarmed in its dismantled tower, And soon, all helpless, had to come, To die away from friends and home, No kindred ear to hear his sigh, No kindred hand to close his eye. Farewell, my friend, accept from me This humble tribute paid to thee I cannot think without a tear, What sorrow thou didst suffer here. But fondly hope and trust that thou, Art free from care, and happy now. Forget thee ! with such memories frought, Though all forget thee, I cannot."
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HON. AMOS LOVERING.
AMOS LOVERING, son of Amos and Lucy (Day) Lovering, was born 1805, in Medway, Mass. He prepared for college in Day's Academy in Wrentham, Mass., and in IS2S graduated from Brown University, Rhode Island. After graduating, he studied law, and in IS32 settled for the prac- tice of his profession in Louisville, Ky. At the end of a few years he removed to St. Joseph, Mo., and subsequently to Scott County, Indiana, where he served for several years as County Attorney, and was made a Jus- tice of Common Pleas for Scott and Clark counties, a position which he held for ten years. In IS62 he removed to Nashville, Tenn. In 1869 he made his residence in Jackson, Miss., and was appointed a Judge in the Ninth Judicial District of that State. He was subsequently appointed by Governor Alcorn a member of a commission for codifying the laws of Mississippi. While engaged in this service, he contracted a malarial disease which affected the brain and wholly unfitted him for any subsequent labor. Thus disabled, he returned to Louisville in 1876, where he spent the closing years of his life. He died Jan. 28, 1879, at the age of seventy-four years, in Louisville, Ky. He was married in IS59 to Mary Shelby Pebworth, who with one son sur- vived him.
HORATIO MASON, EsQ.
HORATIO MASON, son of Simon Harding and Betsey (Leland) Mason, was born July 28, 1798, in East Medway, now Millis. He occupied the old homestead near Boggastow Pond, where his grandfather, Mr. Abner Mason, lived, the land first cleared within the territory of Medway by George Fairbanks. Mr. Mason was a much respected and prominent citizen of the town. He was appointed in IS4S a Justice of the Peace ; and was elected two successive years, IS4S and 1849, a Representative to the General Court. He died May 11, 186S, at the age of seventy years.
REV. JOHN OLIVER MEANS, D. D.
JOHN OLIVER MEANS, son of John and Sara Means, was born Aug. I, IS22, in Augusta, Me. He graduated in 1843 from Bowdoin College. His collegiate course was marked by close application. He was a fine student, and exceedingly thorough in everything he undertook. His clear mind enabled him to grasp any subject, and this excellent trait followed him throughout his life and was the foundation for his success as a pastor. He ranked among the first in his class at the close of the course. After his graduation he spent a year in the Theological Seminary in Andover, Mass., and a part of the second year in the seminary at Bangor. He was principal for a time of the high school in Augusta, and spent the three or four succeed- ing years as purser in the United States Navy. He was stationed off the coast. of Africa. Leaving the navy he studied for the ministry, and graduated in 1849 from the Andover Seminary. Mr. Means married Jane Chamberlain Strong, daughter of Dea. Elnathan and Jane (Chamberlain) Strong. He was ordained and installed Dec. 3, 1851, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Medway, where he remained about four years, when he resigned and traveled in Europe. After his return he became the pastor of the Vine Street
John O. means .
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Church in Roxbury, now Immanuel Church, Boston Highlands, Mass .. where he labored for eighteen years, a successful and beloved minister of Christ. In IS75 he resigned to accept the position of Secretary of the Massachusetts Sunday School Publishing Society, but was soon called into a wider sphere of usefulness. After the death of the Rev. Dr. Treat, the American Board looked far and wide to find a man capable of filling the position of secretary. They selected Dr. Means, and their choice proved to be an excellent one. He was congenial to his brethren, and a wise and efficient worker. Soon after his appointment, the Board received the large legacy from Mr. Otis, and in accordance with the oft-expressed wish of the testator, $250,000 were devoted to Africa. In this connection it may be interesting to know that Mr. Otis had always manifested a great interest in the missionary work in that country, and in the many wills drawn up by him the legacy for this cause was always inserted. In his last will the amount to be devoted to this use was specified, but was afterward canceled and the total amount was given to the Board without any instructions. Dr. Means was given charge of this field, and in order to better prepare himself for the important work before him, he visited all the important countries in Europe and consulted every one from whom he could glean any information concerning Africa. He spent many hours with the King of Belgium, who was a very large contributor to the support of Stanley's new exploration on the Congo. All the latest books and maps giving any light upon Africa were obtained and carefully studied. He thus mastered the whole subject of the geographical and political divis- ions of the country, gaining an accurate knowledge of the people and their customs. So intelligent was his understanding of the subject that his first paper read before the American Board was noticed in the English papers and was prized so highly that he was made an honorary member of the Royal Geographical Society. Throughout the term of his service as Secretary of the Board he was devoted to the work in Africa, and at the time of his death was engaged in an attempt to establish a mission at Bihe on the western coast and in Umzillai's kingdom on the eastern coast. His early knowledge of Africa and his earnest study of the country made him preeminently fitted to undertake the work of Christianizing the people. The Rev. Dr. Clarke, Foreign Sec- retary of the Board, once said : "There is probably not a man in America so well qualified to conduct Christian missions in Africa as Dr. Means."
Throughout his life Mr. Means was an earnest student of matters in no way connected with his profession. A marked instance of this fact was noticed in an address on law delivered before the students of the college. On this occasion he delivered an oration in which he showed a knowledge of books of law acquired but by comparatively few of the legal fraternity. He was conservative in his religion. For many years he served on the Boston School Board, and at the time of his death he was President of the Roxbury Athe- næum and also President of the Trustees of the Roxbury Latin School. In the spring, when his associates, Drs. Clarke and Alden, were sent to Con- stantinople to look after the interests of the missions in Western Turkey, Dr. Means took their work upon his shoulders, and in so doing brought upon himself the disease of the heart that proved fatal. His tireless energy and indomitable will overtaxed his physical system, but, notwithstanding his weariness and prostration, he would not desert his post until the steamer
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bearing his associates was announced in port. He then put his papers in order, locked his desk, and left the office never to return. This was in the summer. For three months he suffered the keenest anguish with heroic fortitude. When told that his painful illness must soon terminate in death he triumphantly exclaimed : "I didn't think of such good news so soon. Praise God !" The Rev. Dr. Means died Dec. S, 1883. The funeral service was. attended in the Immanuel Church on the following Wednesday, Dec. 12, 1883. The address on the occasion was made by the Rev. A. C. Thomp- son, D. D., which was published, with a portrait of this lamented servant of God. Mrs. Means survived her husband, and resides in Auburndale, Mass.
MICHAEL METCALF, EsQ.
MICHAEL METCALF, the immigrant ancestor of the Metcalf's in Medway, was born in 1587, in Tatterford, Norfolk County, England. He writes : "I was persecuted in the land of my fathers' sepulchres, for not bowing at the name of Jesus, and observing other ceremonies in religion forced upon me, at the instance of Bishop Wren, of Norwich, and his chancellor, Dr. Corbet, whose violent measures troubled me in the Bishops' Court, and returned me into the High Commissioners' Court. Suffering many times for the cause of religion, I was forced, for the sake of the liberty of my conscience, to flee from my wife and children, to go into New England; taking ship for the voyage at London, the 17th of September, 1636 : being by tempests tossed up and down the sea till the Christmas following, then veering about to Ply- mouth, in Old England, in which time I met with many sore afflictions. Leaving the ship, I went down to Yarmouth, in Norfolk County, whence I shipped myself and family, to come to New England ; sailed April 15th, 1637, and arrived three days before midsummer, with my wife, nine children, and a servant."
The above extracts we take from a copy of his letter, written in Plymouth, England, Jan. 13, 1636, on his voyage hither, directed : "To all the true professors of Christ's Gospel within the city of Norwich." In the postscript. he remarks : "My enemies conspired against me to take my life, and, some- times, to avoid their hands, my wife did hide me in the roof of the house, covering me over with straw."
History informs us that one of the charges brought against Bishop Wren, by a committee of Parliament, was, that during the term of two years and four months, while he held the See of Norwich, "3,000 of his Majesty's sub- jects, many of whom use trades, spinning, weaving, knitting, making cloth, stuff, stockings, and other manufactures of wool, some of them setting a hun- dred poor people at work," "transported themselves into Holland," and " other parts beyond the sea," in consequence of his superstition and tyranny.
Michael Metcalf was admitted a townsman in Dedham, July 14, 1637 ; joined the church in 1639, and was selectman in 1641. His name stands first . on the committee chosen to " contrive the fabricke of a meeting house."
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MAJ. LUTHER METCALF.
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LUTHER METCALF, son of Joseph and Hannah (Haven) Metcalf, was born Sept. 1, 1756, in South Franklin, Mass. His father was a physician and a farmer. He had two brothers, Joseph and Calvin, who settled in Winthrop, Me. Luther Metcalf learned the trade of a cabinet-maker of Elisha Richardson, of North Franklin, Mass. In 1773 he crossed the river and settled in Medway Village, married Mercy Whiting, daughter of Nathan- iel Whiting, Jr., the miller, and established the business of cabinet work, employed many apprentices, and carried on the business in connection with farming and cotton manufacturing till his death, which occurred Jan. 27, 1838. The Rev. Dr. Ide, in a published obituary notice of Major Metcalf, says of him : "In the death of this man the community has suffered no ordi- nary loss. He lived not for himself, but for the benefit of the public. In early life he listened to the call of his country and became a soldier of the Revolution. He entered the service in 1775, at the age of nineteen, and con- tinued in it at different periods for nearly three years. He was a firm sup- porter of the principles and measures of Washington, and during a long life he cherished in his own breast and diffused among others, the principles of national liberty, and presented before the world an example of genuine pa- triotism. He was cheerful without lightness ; social without that familiarity which generates contempt, and dignified without austerity." He was a man of strict integrity, and remarkable for industry. The ample fortune which he possessed at his decease was acquired in a great measure by his' own agency. He was truly a pious man, a liberal contributor to the support of the Gospel and the benevolent operations of the day. He was often called to stations of great responsibility in the town and the duties of these stations he discharged to the general satisfaction of the citizens. He was one of the original proprietors of the so-called " Old White Mill." Major Metcalf,. under date of Sept. 7, 1832, made an application for a pension, in which occurs the following statement :
" I, Luther Metcalf, of Medway, this day seventy-six years of age, do testify that I removed from Franklin to Medway in the year 1773, and in the summer or autumn of 1774 I enlisted into a company of what we then called . minute-men,' for the purpose of obtaining knowledge in military tactics, preparatory for an expected war with Great. Britain. We elected our officers as follows, viz. : John Boyd, Captain, Ebenezer Dean, Lieutenant, and Joshua Gould, Ensign. Said company met from one to three times a week, for exercise, until April 19, (the date of the Concord and Lexington fight) on which day at 4 o'clock, P. M., I was informed that hostilities had commenced. Our company immediately met and marched to meet the enemy, and arrived at Roxbury about day-break, next morning. I remained on duty in said company until May, when the officers above named were commissioned, and then enlisted under them for eight months as a musician, and remained on duty in said company until the first of January, following."
He reënlisted afterward, and served fifteen days in Tiverton, R. I., six months in Ticonderoga, N. Y., and marched on various expeditions until 17So, all amounting to some three years of service. He was subsequently commissioned as a Major of the State Militia.
So
Enther Metcalf
LUTHER METCALF, son of Major Luther and Mercy (Whiting) Metcalf, was born May 2, 17SS, in Medway, Mass. After receiving his education in the local schools and at Day's Academy in Wrentham, Mr. Metcalf learned and worked at his father's trade of cabinet making until he was of age. In 1812 he began the business of making cotton machinery with John Blackburn. They made, by contract with Patrick T. Jackson and Francis C. Lowell, the first cotton machinery used in the Waltham cotton manufactory, and supplied mills in Lowell and other places. Mr. Metcalf afterwards became a manufacturer of cotton goods, a large owner in and agent of the Medway Cotton Manufacturing Company, which was the first incorporated company for the manufacture of cotton goods in Massachusetts. This corporation existed until 1864. He was elected in IS21, a director in the Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company ; he acted as agent and director until 1877. He was also at one time president of the company. During several years he was director of the Dedham bank ; he was town clerk, collector, and treas- urer for several years ; and served eleven years on the school committee, and was the chairman of the board. In IS37 he represented the town in the House of Representatives, and in 1844 and IS45 he was a member of the Senate. Until 1856 he adhered to the fortunes of the Whig party, but in that year he voted for Fremont, and afterwards with the Republican party. Hc never missed voting in a Presidential election during his lifetime, and voted sixty-nine times for governor. He was appointed in 1830, a Justice of the Peace and Quorum by Governor Lincoln, and held a court for civil cases. Mr. Metcalf was one of the first to advocate a railroad from Boston to the
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valley of the Blackstone. The first meeting to promote this object was held in Medway, Nov. 30, 1837. Welcome Farnum, Dr. Ballou, Willis Cook, the Hon. Latimer W. Ballou, and Edward Harris, were early associated with him in this enterprise, which resulted in the present New York and New England Railroad. He was the first President of the Charles River Rail- road, and broke ground with spade in hand to construct this link of the " Air Line," July 4, 1854. In IS3S he was very active and influential in the erection of the Village Church and the formation of a religious society, and suggested the calling and settlement of the Rev. David Sanford.
Before the days of railroads, no man was better known upon the high- way between Medway and Boston than Mr. Metcalf. For nearly thirty years, in the same sulky in summer and the same cutter in winter, he passed over the road, in all something like a thousand times, and made the old Lamb Tavern, Washington Coffee House, or the Bromfield House, his head-quar- ters. He was a man of fixed habits and methods, and of great persistence of character, enjoying always remarkably good health. Regular and temperate in his habits, he rose and retired early, to which facts may be attributed the clearness of his faculties to the end of life. Some two years before his death he became a member of the Village Church. During the last year of his life he celebrated with his second wife the golden anniversary of their marriage. Mr. Metcalf reached a remarkable age, and his faculties were wonderfully pre- served. The immediate cause of his death was an accidental fall by making a misstep. He died Feb. 16, 1879, being more than ninety years of age. His wife, two sons, and a daughter survive him. His death occurred early on Sunday evening, and his funeral was solemnized at the Congregational Church Wednesday afternoon, and a large concourse of friends and relatives
THE RESIDENCE OF THE HON. LUTHER METCALF.
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attended to pay their last respects to this venerable man. The services were conducted by the pastor of the church, the Rev. R. K. Harlow, who was as- sisted by the Rev. E. O. Jameson, of East Medway, and the Rev. A. W. Ide, of West Medway. Mr. Harlow preached the sermon, and paid a high tribute to the deceased. The singing was of a special character, and the floral decorations profuse. The burial was in the family lot in Oakland Cemetery.
NATHANIEL WHITING METCALF, A. M.
NATHANIEL WHITING METCALF, son of the Hon. Luther and Lydia (Jenks) Metcalf, was born Aug. 24, IS19, in Medway. He graduated in 1846 from Brown University, Providence, R. I., and devoted his life to teaching in academies and high schools. He was thus employed in Pittsburgh, Penn., in New Marlboro and Medway, Mass. During the later years of his life he labored as a teacher among the freedmen. Mr. Metcalf died Oct. 16, 1871, in New Orleans, La.
MRS. CAROLINE CUTLER (PLIMPTON) METCALF.
CAROLINE CUTLER PLIMPTON was born July 21, ISog. in Medway. She married Sept. 25, 1835. Albert Metcalf, son of Dea. Jonathan and Mary (Pond) Metcalf. He was born Sept. 20, ISOS, in Franklin. Mass. They resided in Auburn, N. Y., where he was the principal of a young ladies' school. Mr. Metcalf died Aug. 11, 1837, of consumption. at his father's house in Franklin, Mass.
Mrs. Metcalf became widely known as a teacher. In IS50 she was elected the Principal of the Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton. Mass., and con- tinued in that position for twenty-six years, until her resignation in 1876. During this long period she presided over that institution with distinguished ability, and was recognized as one of the finest educators of young ladies in New England.
The Rev. Jacob Ide, of Mansfield, Mass., in his historical address on the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Wheaton Seminary. in ISS5, which was printed, pays a very fitting tribute to the character and eminent service of Mrs. Metcalf in connection with that institution. Mrs. Metcalf was, in- deed, one of the most distinguished daughters of Medway.
LANSING MILLIS, ESQ.
LANSING MILLIS, son of William and Sallie (Holt) Millis, was born Sept. 3, 1823, in Lansingburgh, N. Y. His school days ended at the age of fifteen years, and he soon after made a confession of faith in Christ. and united with the church. He commenced trade when eighteen years of age, and was at first unsuccessful, but afterwards able to retrieve his losses and pay his credi- tors every dollar with interest. For some years he followed farming and mer- cantile business until in 1855 he came to Boston and commenced his career as a railroad agent and manager. In this business he was successful and at the end of thirty years he had won great prominence among the railroad managers of New England and the West, and was recognized as a man of superior judgment and great fidelity to responsibility and trust. He held also
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OAK
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an honored place in the respect of the religious circles of Boston for his Chris- tian labors and large benevolence. In ISSo he purchased a farm in East Medway, and commenced improvements. He soon after added another farm by purchase, to the first, put up new buildings, and repaired the old. He fitted up a fine summer residence, and with a large outlay made Oak Grove Farm famous in the region. Early in ISS5 the easterly part of Medway was incor- porated a new town, and was named Millis, in honor of him who seemed by his social qualities, his interest in the place, and his Christian character, to win all hearts to himself. At the first meeting of the new town Mr. Millis was chosen the moderator, and subsequently elected chairman of the board of
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selectmen. But only a few weeks had passed when he was stricken with paralysis of the brain and died instantly April 6, ISS5. The funeral services were largely attended, both at his residence and in Boston. where a large church filled at noonday in that city, principally of business men, showed how widely he was known and the universal respect in which he was held. His burial took place in his native town, Lansingburgh, N. Y. The death of Mr. Millis was a sad loss to the new town for which he had a great attach- ment, and to which his personal presence was a great inspiration. His fam- ily, since his death, continue to reside in the summer at Oak Grove Farm, and are carrying out his plans as far as known for the benefit of the town of Millis.
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