USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume III > Part 21
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seiged with orders for more of the same type. He got his position and remained with this concern until 1880. In that year he came to Haverhill and entered the employ of Hayes and Connor, and later formed a partnership with William Clerk. At last he had entered upon a business career of his own and the firm of Clerk and Lennox started operations in a small way on the banks of the Merrimack River near Phoenix Row. Seven years later C. L. Briggs was made a member of the firm and shortly afterward Mr. Clerk retired, the concern then becoming Lennox and Briggs. The company was incorporated in 1916 as Len- nox and Briggs Company, Inc., its present name, with George W. Lennox, C. L. Briggs, Arthur C. Crowe, Milton Crowe, and Austin C. Hayes as executives. Under the care- ful and able supervision of Mr. Lennox the company expanded to such an extent that it was compelled to seek larger operating quarters and removed to its present loca- tion at No. 22 Duncan Street, where they had a building with one hundred and fifty thousand feet of floor space and at one time hired a staff of some five hundred employees. In 1924 Mr. Lennox retired from all active business to devote himself to his extensive private interests. Throughout his career he had been regarded as one of the most able business men in this community and on frequent occasions his counsel was sought by other enterprises here. In this capacity he took a prominent part in the financial affairs of his surroundings, heading the Ha- verhill Trust Company as president and being a trustee of the Haverhill Savings Bank.
Though the greater part of his efforts were centered on business pursuits he found time to take a keen interest in social and civic activities, being identified with many of the leading organizations in this city, among them the Pentucket Club. He was
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also a member of the Oswego Club of Bos- ton. During the World War he was one of the most enthusiastic and active supporters of the various campaigns and drives that were made and served on various boards and committees.
In 1886, Mr. Lennox married Margaret L. Carmody of Oswego, New York, and they were the parents of five children : I. Joseph L., a graduate of Philips Exeter Academy and the class of 1913 at Harvard Univer- sity. During the World War he served with the rank of lieutenant in the Ordnance Department. He married Mary C. Evans. 2. Mary E., deceased. 3. Laura L., who mar- ried Lawrence I. McNamara and is now deceased. 4. Anna, died in infancy. 5. Esther M., the wife of James J. Drummey and they reside at South Bend, Indiana.
Mr. Lennox passed away at his home in Haverhill on November 20, 1927. His death was deeply regretted in this community where for so many years he had been inti- mately associated with the social, civic and business development. As one of the fore- most citizens of the community he will long be remembered for his courage, integrity and great kindness.
WALTER EDWIN HAYWARD-For the last quarter of a century, the extensive hosiery industry of Ipswich has had among its leaders, Walter Edwin Hayward, presi- dent of the Hayward Hosiery Company. He was born in Elmwood, Massachusetts, March 26, 1878, the son of George E. and Susan Alice (Holmes) Hayward, the former of whom was long engaged in the wholesale and retail mercantile trade of Brockton, Mas- sachusetts.
Educated in the public schools of Bridge- water and Brockton, Walter Edwin Hay- ward began his industrial career with the Brockton surface railway business and the
Eastern Massachusetts Railways, with which he continued as traveling auditor for ten years. On September 1, 1907, he removed to Ipswich to take charge of the Ipswich Mills, the largest hosiery mills in this coun- try. He held the post of general manager to April 1, 1922, when he resigned to estab- lish the Hayward Hosiery Company, in Ips- wich. Of necessity the concern began on a small scale and with about fifteen employees. The first factory was of fair size, 145x135 feet, and only partially equipped. The pres- ent plant is four times the size of the first, modern in design, daylight lighting, and equipped with forty up-to-date knitting ma- chines. Ten times the original number of hands are employed, and the hosiery pro- duced is of the latest fashion and materials. Hayward hosiery is known in all parts of the United States, although mainly distributed through the New England States, and has also developed a large foreign trade. The Ipswich Mill was one of the first in the United States to use artificial silks, more particularly rayon yarns in knitting, its use being advocated and adopted by Mr. Hay- ward.
Although Mr. Hayward has devoted the greater part of his time and attention to in- dustry and finance, that has not prevented his sharing in many other activities. He is president of the Ipswich Cooperative Bank ; a trustee of the Memorial Building, erected in honor of veterans of all American wars ; president of the Ipswich Hospital Corpora- tion, and the Benjamin Stickney Memorial Hospital. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Ipswich Rotary Club, of which he is a past president and co-founder. He is a mem- ber of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Textile Club, the Salem Country Club, and the Labor in Vain Country Club. The Hayward estate near Ipswich is the realiza- tion of the ideal of many important indus- trial leaders, a beautiful farm, "Vine Hill,"
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where the production of apples is both a rec- reation and an avocation.
On December 23, 1901, Walter Edwin Hayward married Maude Myrtle Messick, of Brockton, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Hayward are the parents of two children : I. George Amos, a student at Exeter Acad- emy. 2. Alphia, a student at the North Shore Country Day School.
REV. ARTHUR WARREN JOHNSON
-- The varied abilities and interests of Arthur Warren Johnson have found outlet in un- usual and numerous fields. He was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, June 24, 1903, the son of Arthur Woodbury and Harriet Rus- sell (Smith) Johnson, both natives of Mas- sachusetts, and both of whom are of the seventh generation of their names in Amer- ica. Arthur W. Johnson attended the pub- lic schools of Ipswich and Lynn, matricu- lating at William and Mary College, Wil- liamsburg, Virginia, from which he was graduated in 1921, with the degree Bachelor of Arts. A year later he had earned his Mas- ter's degree in Arts, at the University of Virginia. In 1922 he received the degree of Bachelor of Divinity with the class of 1924, Harvard Theological School, and also spent a year of study in the Greek College, Halki, Marmora, Turkey.
Rev. Arthur Warren Johnson holds the key of the Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity, an evidence of his scholarship. His talents and training have been put to colorful and im- portant uses, such as the words research and exploration do not cover. He was a member of the first and second Harvard Mt. Athos expeditions, also of the Harvard-Michigan Sinai Expedition and the Harvard-Michigan Patmos Expedition. He is a minister-at- large of the Russian Arch Diocese of the Aleutian Isles and North America, and is the only American member of the Brother- hood of St. John the Theologian of Patmos.
Rev. Arthur Warren Johnson, as the result of researches in Ipswich genealogy and his- tory is the author of "Arthur Wesley Dow, Historian, Artist and Teacher," and of a volume on Ipswich history. He is frater- nally affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons.
WILLIAM E. LAVENDER-Directing his thoughts and energies to the accomplish- ment of a useful position in the multiple affairs of life, William E. Lavender, owner of the Lavender Printing Company, is inter- ested in the commercial life of Salem, and a member connected with many organizations.
Born in Voluntown, Connecticut, April 2, 1880, Mr. Lavender is a son of Joseph and Etta (Grosse) Lavender, the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of Connec- ticut. Moving with his parents to Salem, in 1883, he there attended public schools and obtained his first position.
His father had been a shoemaker and the son followed his father's trade, but the busi- ness proved unsuitable to his nature, and he left this work after a few months to enter the firm of Barry and Lufkin, printers, as apprentice. He began this work January 25, 1895, and by industry and alertness, quickly learned the mechanics of printing. After six years with Barry and Lufkin, he went to the Salem Press Company for two years and then entered the employ of the Gazette Press. Thirteen years after he began his apprenticeship as a printer, December 7, 1908, Mr. Lavender purchased the Gazette Press, which he continued under that name until 1926, when the firm name became the Lavender Printing Company. The business enjoyed a constant growth necessitating larger quarters, and in January, 1928, the plant was moved to their present location, No. 3 Dodge Street, where they have in- stalled the latest and most up-to-date ma- chinery and equipment. The company does
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general printing and is especially well pre- pared to do color work, of which the firm has a large patronage. Mr. Lavender, although now largely concerned with the business side of printing, has never lost his love of craftsmanship and his personal supervision of all printing done in his plant has established a wide reputation for the excellence of their work.
Mr. Lavender is one of those exceptional men who regard business as a means to an end and not as the objective itself, for, although he owns a prosperous business and is a man of influence in civic life, he is deeply interested in his co-workers' welfare and happiness and this wholesome attitude has resulted in many beneficial acts on their behalf.
Many organizations have chosen him to take a leading part in administrating their affairs and he has responded with a gen- erosity characteristic of his nature, giving valuable service. He is a charter member and past president of the Salem Rotary Club ; past president of the Square and Com- pass Club, Free and Accepted Masons ; ex- commodore of the Beach Comber Dory Club ; a director of the Salem Chamber of Commerce ; and a director of the Wenham Golf Club. His religious affiliation is with St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Salem, of which he has been a lifelong member and for five years during his youth was a choir boy.
Mr. Lavender finds in music, especially instrumental music, inspiration and pleasure. He rounds out an active life by his interest in the outdoor sports of boat racing and golfing.
William E. Lavender married, October 28, 1907, Annie May Bragdon, of Marblehead. Mrs. Lavender is a member of the Old North Congregational Church at Marblehead, and is prominent in its activities.
SETH F. LOW-The finely balanced life of Seth F. Low has left an impression of strong character, business ability, and broad understanding upon the commercial and social life of Salem and Essex County. As president of one of the foremost jewelry concerns in New England, he has played a leading part in the city's community life and he is highly regarded by his fellow- citizens.
Mr. Low was born July 17, 1867, a son of Daniel and Eliza (Stevens) Low. His father was a native of Salem and his mother, of Maine. Mr. Low attended the public schools of Salem and was graduated from the Salem High School. In 1885 he entered his father's business, which was founded in the year Seth Low was born. His father had opened a little jewelry store on the corner of Cen- tral and Essex streets, Salem, and, due to the high character and business ability of its founder, within eight years the business prospered to a point necessitating the re- moval to larger quarters. The next store was on the corner of Essex and Washing- ton streets in the building that housed the First Congregational Meetinghouse.
In 1888, Daniel Low took a trip abroad and purchased a few small silver spoons bearing the emblem of the different cities. These suggested the idea of bringing out a Witch Spoon the design for which was drawn by his son. The design for this tea- spoon had the figure of a witch, the name of the city, Salem, and the date of the Witch- craft Delusion, 1692. This was the first of the souvenir spoons in this country. The spoon was advertised in the magazines with amazing results. Other such souvenirs were made and the next year a small catalog was issued and other novelties were shown with the spoons. This was the first gift catalog of the jewelry trade. Ever since it has been issued yearly and always with the idea of
SieEL Engraving hy MI Conn. NY.
American Historical Soey.
Andrew J. Fillon
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THE STORY OF ESSEX COUNTY
showing the latest novelties and illustrating merchandise of originality and quality. The Daniel Low Year Book has been a success from the start for it has been based on sound business principles. It has come to be a national institution. Thousands of peo- ple throughout this country, and also in many foreign countries, have come to de- pend upon it to solve their gift problems and to supply their own needs.
In the meantime the retail store kept pace with the mail order business. Three times it was necessary to take increased space. Their Colonial Hall was originally the audi- torium of the First Congregational Church and is one of the most attractive showrooms in New England.
In 1896, Seth Low became a partner with his father and when Daniel Low died in February, 1911, Seth Low became presi- dent.
One of Mr. Low's interesting boyhood experiences was to be present at the first public exhibition of the Bell telephone at the old Lyceum Hall in Salem. Mr Bell ordered a silver model of the first telephone to be made by Daniel Low, and presented it to Mrs. Bell. He was also a member of the first boys' branch of the Young Men's Christian Association. Mr. Low has been interested in automobiles since their advent and was one of the first to obtain a driver's license in Salem, receiving his first license in 1903. In 1906 he took the first Marmon automobile across the Atlantic to Europe. He has traveled extensively, crossing the Atlantic more than twenty times, visiting points of interest in England, France, Ger- many, Italy, Switzerland, and has motored more than 3,000 miles through northern Africa.
Mr. Low is a director of the Holyoke In- surance Company, and of the Merchants National Bank, succeeding his father in both of these organizations. He is also a
member of the Rotary Club and of the Chamber of Commerce.
He married in London, England, Flor- ence Stevens, a United States citizen.
ANDREW JACKSON TILTON-The progress of Haverhill, Massachusetts, is the record of its citizens whose lives were ex- amples of industrial enterprise of civic and social virtue and men whose monument is the city of the present day. Among this notable group was Andrew J. Tilton, whose long span of life was associated with the development of the municipality, and whose career left a deep impress upon its affairs. He was born in Haverhill, in September, 1840, a son of John C. and Lois (Carleton) Tilton, and a member of one of the pioneer families of the city.
After completing his education in the local schools, Mr. Tilton entered the manu- facturing side of the shoe business, with headquarters first on Merrimack Street, but later on Washington Street. He was suc- cessful as a business man and as an indus- trialist. Remarkable always for his fore- sight and for courage to back his vision, he began to accumulate real estate in various parts of Haverhill, with the expectation that Haverhill would become and remain a large and thriving place. Ultimately the management of his extensive holdings led to his retirement from manufacturing and the devotion of his energies to the develop- ment of his lots and estates. His holdings ranged from substantial business and resi- dential properties to land with which little or nothing had been done. The improve- ments that he made worked often to the advantage of the city and its growth com- mercially ; he was liberal with expenditures which made parts of the city more accessi- ble and beautiful. He gave about three and a half acres of land on Kenoza Avenue, op- posite the lake of this same name, for the
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purpose of eliminating a dangerous curve, by widening the street. He also contributed heavily to the cost of macadamizing Free- man Street. He owned the large area on which were erected the three large cement factories on Essex Street, and also the land on which the Wetherell and Dobbins plant now stands. He sold the land on the north side of the river for an approach to the county bridge.
Mt. Washington was Mr. Tilton's joy and pride. He made his home there throughout his life, residing for many years at No. 395 Washington Street. He offered the city a site for a new school building in this sec- tion, and at all times was eager to con- tribute in every way to the betterment of the region and its residents. He was a prime mover in the plan which resulted in the elimination of the grade-crossings of the Boston & Maine Railroad. In the face of discouragements he, unaided, procured the necessary number of signatures on the peti- tion that brought this noteworthy project to its successful completion. Interested al- ways in public affairs he preferred less spec- tacular ways of being of service to the peo- ple than by election to political office. . He lost no opportunity of serving to the utmost the highest and truest interests of the com- munity.
Andrew J. Tilton married (first), Martha Doak, who died many years ago. In 1922 he married (second), Theresa Monihan, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, daughter of Pat- rick and Catherine (Collins) Monihan. Mr. and Mrs. Tilton made their home at the Mt. Washington homestead, where Mrs. Tilton still resides. She is held in high regard in the section and city, and has proved herself an able business woman in the management of the extensive real estate and other holdings which are now hers.
The demise of Mr. Tilton on December 13, 1926, marked the passing of one of the
distinguished and immensely useful citizens of Haverhill. His active interest in its af- fairs showed that he was proud of the city of which he was a native and one of the leading constructive and inspiring forces in its expansion from the crude town of pre- Civil War times, to one of the great indus- trial commercial municipalities of New England. His multitudinous achievements time may change but can never obliterate.
WILLARD BROWN PORTER-Tra- ditions of an old and distinguished family of Salem are continued in the ninth genera- tion by Willard Brown Porter, city editor of the Salem Evening "News." Mr. Porter is a journalist of long experience in his pro- fession and in public affairs, to which he has given more than an average share of time and attention. He was born July 17, 1871, a son of Frederic, a native of Salem, and of Augusta (Bray) Porter, who was born in Gloucester. The Porter family was established in America by John Porter who came from England in 1635 and settled in Salem, that being the name of a wide area which has since been broken up into sep- arate municipalities, and of which the town of Danvers marks the location of John Por- ter. He played a prominent part in the early life of the Salem Colony, and the Porters through successive generations have been active in civic affairs.
After attending the Salem public schools, W. B. Porter entered the Aldine Engraving Company of Boston to learn wood engrav- ing and remained with this firm three years, returning to Salem to assist his father who was engaged in the provision business. In December, 1892, Mr. Porter entered the em- ploy of the Salem Daily "Gazette," as staff artist and reporter, and resigned in June, 1896, to accept a position with the Old Colony Bond Company, of Boston. A year later, the company moved to New York and
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Mr. Porter returned to Salem, joining the Salem Evening "News," October 3, 1897, as staff artist and reporter. He was made city editor in 1914, continuing to date.
Always actively interested in community and civic affairs, he has been a member of the Salem Board of Park Commissioners since 1907, and for a number of years, has served as secretary of that body. He has been largely responsible for causing to be built the open air theatre, at the Willows; the swimming pool and bath houses, and the Pioneers Village, in Forest River Park, and was active in planning the development of Kernwood Park and the Franklin Street Parkway. Mr. Porter is also a former presi- dent of the Salem Garden Club ; a charter member of Essex County Ornithological Club of Massachusetts ; a member of the American Ornithologist Union; Essex Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; and the Universalist Church.
William Brown Porter married, June 20, 1894, Mary Lizzie Hill, of Salem, a daugh- ter of Captain William A. and Lizzie (Hig- bee) Hill. They have two sons: I. Arthur Bray, who was born June 13, 1895, is en- gaged in a golf course supply business, in Salem, and is the father of John Hamlin and David Bray. 2. Harold Hill, who was born June 21, 1899, is associated with Sey- mour Manufacturing Company, Seymour, Connecticut, and is the father of William Phillips.
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ERNEST N. HOOD-Throughout the cotton manufacturing industry of the coun- try Ernest N. Hood is known as one of the best informed men in the trade. As treas- urer of the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Com- pany at Salem, he is identified with the cor- poration by which he was employed for a score of years after completing his educa- tion.
Born in Salem, February 3, 1881, Mr. Hood passed through the grade schools and finished his course in high school. He went at once to the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company and obtained a position in the office. At first he was a clerk in a minor capacity, but his qualifications secured pro- motion until he was made bookkeeper and finally accountant. He severed this con- nection of twenty years' standing in 1917 to accept the treasurership of the Acadia Mills in Lawrence. This was the cotton department that formerly was a part of the Arlington Mills at Lawrence and which had been separated from its worsted division. Mr. Hood was the first to be elected finan- cial head of the new corporation. On Jan- uary I, 1918, he was chosen treasurer of the Monomac Spinning Company, of Lawrence, this being the largest concern in the United States engaged in the manufacture of worsted and merino yarns. For some five years he served as treasurer of both the Acadia and Monomac companies, resigning at the end of that time in order to give all his time to the affairs of the Monomac Spinning Company.
Mr. Hood returned to Salem, April I, 1926, to be treasurer of the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company. He possessed a wide experience for the heavy duties that he assumed at the time, and to his capacity he since added much that makes his knowl- edge second to none in the industry. Prompt and faithful discharge of his responsibili- ties, together with his well known effici- ency, has rendered him one of the most suc- cessful executives that one of the largest cotton mills of the country has had. As an authority on the subject of cotton manu- facture he is recognized by the leading in- dustrialists in the trade throughout the United States. He is president of the Na- tional Association of Cotton Manufacturers
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and a member and director of the executive committee of the Cotton Textile Institute. His financial ability and valued connections have made him a much-sought-for man in other fields of business, and he serves as a director of the Naumkeag Trust Company and as a trustee of the Salem Five Cents Savings Bank. His leading position in the textile field was recognized by the govern- ment when he was appointed in 1933 a member of the Cotton Textile Code Author- ity of the NRA. He is a director of the Salem Chamber of Commerce and of the Boston City Club.
Mr. Hood devotes practically all his ener- gies to the offices he fills in business and banking circles, and has little time for out- side interests. This concentration of effort has not, however, made him a man of only one endeavor or one idea of life, but it has made him an outstanding man in the cotton industry, as all who know him will have agreed.
HARRY ENDICOTT WEBBER-Like his father before him, Harry Endicott Web- ber plays an important rôle in the affairs- social, civic and political-of Salem, Massa- chusetts. He was born in this city, Feb- ruary 20, 1873, son of Charles H. and Mary (Endicott) Webber, the former a native of Beverly, and the latter of Salem. Charles H. Webber was a prominent newspaper man, owner and publisher of the Salem "Post," a weekly publication, no longer extant. His son received his education from the public schools and Salem Com- mercial School, after which he was em- ployed by Harry M. Sinclair, clothier, as bookkeeper for about two years. Following in the footsteps of his father he became in- terested in newspaper work, and for a pe- riod of fourteen years was a member of the staff of the Salem "Evening News" as night
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