USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume III > Part 30
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EARL EUGENE WELLS-As deputy and special sheriff, Earl Eugene Wells, of Lynn and Swampscott, has served Essex County faithfully and effectively. He has participated in business and civic life in this region, and his work has been such as to cause him to be widely known and accred- ited as a leader.
Mr. Wells was born on June 17, 1893, in Lynn, son of Frank Eugene and Martha P. (Southard) Wells and member of an old family. His father's parents were George Arthur and Caroline (Morse) Wells, the former of whom, a farmer, was born in Ben- ton, New Hampshire, and there died, the latter being likewise a native and lifelong resident of Benton. Frank Eugene Wells, father of Earl, was also born in Benton, though he long lived in Lynn, here serving as president of the Lynn Cooperative Bank. He was also deputy sheriff of Essex County and formerly was chief of police of Lynn. He served for a number of years as president of the board of aldermen. He was a Repub- lican, and his church was the First Congre- gational. His death occurred June 15, 1934,
and in honor of his place in the community representatives of civic organizations and a large number of friends and associates paid homage to his memory. A local newspaper in an editorial well summed up Mr. Wells' standing among his townsmen with these words :
A long, liberal and outstanding life was closed with the death of Frank E. Wells, for half a century a distinguished figure in administration of public office in Lynn and Essex County. .... Frank Wells was one of the best men who ever stood in shoe leather.
His wife, Martha P. (Southard) Wells, was a daughter of Lyman K. Southard and Hetty (Kimball) Southard, both natives of Horse Meadow, in the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, where both of them died. Lyman K. Southard was a farmer and a vet- eran of the Civil War, in which he fought on the Federal side. Mrs. Martha P. (Southard) Wells was born in the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, and died in 1927 in Lynn.
In the schools of Lynn, Earl Eugene Wells, of this review, received his first for- mal education. Here he attended the Classi- cal High School in 1912, after which he ma- triculated at Burdett College. He withdrew from Burdett College one year later and en- tered Northeastern University Law School, in Boston, where he studied for three years. He then associated himself with his father as deputy sheriff, continuing in that capacity until, in 1920, he became special sheriff, which office he still holds.
In general business life, he is widely known, especially for his work as president of the Swampscott Cooperative Bank, and for his connection with the Lynn Coopera- tive Bank. He figures prominently in Lynn as a member of the local Chamber of Com- merce, and belongs to East Lynn Post, No. 291, of the American Legion. He is a Re- publican in his political views, and is a mem- ber of Damascus Lodge and a charter mem-
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ber of Bethlehem Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. In the Masonic Order, he is like- wise a Past Illustrious Master of Zebulon Council of Royal and Select Masters, a mem- ber of Olivet Commandery of Knights Tem- plar, and an initiate in Aleppo Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston. He is also a past presi- dent of the Lynn Rotary Club ; a member of the Homestead Country Club, of Danvers ; and the Oxford Club, of Lynn ; and an active worker in the First Universalist Church, of Lynn. While the World War was being waged, he enlisted for army service, and was in training school in Boston for two months. He was then transferred to Camp Raritan, New Jersey, where he remained until Febru- ary, 1919, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant of ordnance.
Every enterprise with which Mr. Wells has been associated has benefited from his efforts in its behalf. He has also come to be highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens for his work in the furtherance of the programs of leading civic organizations. In his spare time he particularly enjoys the game of golf and different forms of outdoor recreation.
Mr. Wells married, on June II, 1918, in Lynn, Marguerite Johnson, of this place. To this marriage there was born a daughter, Ann P., born January 5, 1925, died at the age of six years, and on February 7, 1928, was born a son, Roger Eugene Wells. The Wells family residence is No. 2 Neighborhood Road, Swampscott; and his office as special sheriff of Essex County is No. 23 Central Avenue, Lynn.
CHARLES ELLSWORTH WHITTEN -A native of Lynn, Charles Ellsworth Whitten has participated extensively in the affairs of his city and of Essex County. His career, wholly centered about Lynn, Bev- erly, Salem, and the surrounding district of
this Commonwealth, has closely paralleled, in development, the growth of the transpor- tation industries of the country. First en- gaged in the bicycle business, then in the sale of automobiles, he has always kept pace with the times in which he has lived and worked, and today he is head of the firm of C. E. Whitten and Sons, widely known in this part of Massachusetts.
Mr. Whitten was born on April 6, 1861, in Lynn, son of Benjamin and Mary (Boyn- ton) Whitten. His father was born in Maine and died in Lynn, and was for many years a wholesale and retail produce mer- chant of this city. He served in the Federal forces during the Civil War as a private and was wounded at Fredericksburg, Virginia. In religion he was a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. His wife was a native and lifelong resident of Lynn, and here she died.
In the public schools of Lynn, Charles Ellsworth Whitten received his education. At the age of seventeen years he began his active career as a grocer's clerk. Later he worked in a shoe factory in Lynn for five years, then served for an equal period of time in apprenticeship to the machinists' trade. It was in 1885 that he went into the bicycle business in Lynn, at the time when the bicycle craze was just then beginning. He started operations in the same building which he now occupies and owns. In 1900 the automobile was first coming into use, and immediately he ventured into the new field. Establishing a business under his own name, he later admitted to it his two sons, C. Ernest and Harry E. Whitten, as part- ners, and the business proceeded to grow through the subsequent years under the firm name of C. E. Whitten and Sons. The main offices are at Nos. 38-40 Central Avenue, Lynn, and there are also quarters in both Salem and Beverly. The three offices are
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operated under the same firm name and the same policies.
C. E. Whitten and Sons are agents for the Buick and Pontiac motor cars, and are affili- ated with the National Automobile Dealers' Association. Mr. Whitten is president of the firm, and also serves as president of the North Shore Electric Equipment Company and as a director of the National City Bank of Lynn.
A Republican in his political alignment, Mr. Whitten also takes a lively interest in general business, social and civic life. He is a member of the Lynn Chamber of Com- merce, the Improved Order of Red Men, and Lynn Lodge of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. A Mason, his affiliations are with Damascus Lodge and other local bodies, and his church is the Methodist Epis- copal. In his leisure time Mr. Whitten en- joys chiefly outdoor life, and is particularly fond of aquatic sports. Yachting is his favorite diversion. He is equally happy, however, in the quiet of his own library, in the companionship of a good book; for reading furnishes him a great deal of pleasure.
Charles Ellsworth Whitten married, on June 8, 1884, in Lynn, Sarah Ellen Moon, a native of Lynn and daughter of Duxbury and Martha Moon, of Lynn. Her father is now deceased, and her mother, born in 1836, resided until her death, in 1934, at ninety- seven years, with Mrs. Whitten. Mrs. Whit- ten studied in the public schools of Lynn, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and active in community affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Whitten became the parents of four children: I. Charles Ernest. 2. Harry E. 3. Mrs. J. F. Gifford. 4. Mrs. G. L. Smith. All of these four children of Mr. and Mrs. Whitten live in Lynn.
CHARLES HOUGHTON HASTINGS -The "Daily Evening Item," of Lynn, was founded on December 8, 1877, by Horace
Nutter Hastings, and his three eldest sons, Henry Nelson, Wilmot Reed, and Charles Houghton Hastings. Of the four only one remains today, Charles Houghton Hastings, president of the company which publishes the "Item." Horace Nutter Hastings was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, Feb- ruary 1, 1829, and began his journalistic career at the age of eleven years. He sacri- ficed his Woburn publishing business to vol- unteer in the Civil War; returned to Lynn from Portland, Oregon, in 1870; and, as indi- cated, established the forerunner of the pres- ent "Item," as the "Lynn City Item" in 1877. Horace Nutter Hastings married Au- gusta A. Houghton, of Clinton, on Septem- ber 24, 1853, and they were the parents of six children. Mr. Hastings died in January, 1904, and Mrs. Hastings on September 24, 1914. Of the sons associated with the "Item," Henry Nelson was born in Woburn, June 15, 1856, and died on April 18, 1898; Wilmot Reed was born in Woburn, June 23, 1860, and died on April 7, 1922; Alfred L. Hastings, born March 21, 1876, died on September 6, 1912.
Charles Houghton Hastings was born on July 20, 1858, in Woburn, and received his early schooling in several Massachusetts towns and cities, prior to his being gradu- ated from Master Chase's School, of Lynn. Unlike his brothers he did not become a printer's apprentice immediately, first trying his hand as office boy, clerk and stenogra- pher in the plant of the Clinton Wire Cloth Company. When his father and brothers undertook the establishment of the "Lynn City Item" he also was one of the family partnership, known as the Hastings and Sons Publishing Company, but retained his job with the Clinton concern until 1880. He shared with his father and brothers the discouragements and disappointments and joined with them in enjoyment of success achieved at the expense of hours of untiring, unremitting labor.
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He aided in the efforts that enabled the "Item" to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes of its utter ruin of home and equipment after the big Lynn fire of November 26, 1889. With nearly $5,000,000 worth of industrial, commercial and residential property laid waste by flames and hundreds of men and women thrown out of work, there was begun the discouraging task of rebuilding. Out of the great fire came a greatly improved daily paper, with eight pages in place of the four that had previously served to inform and entertain the people. With the death of Horace N. Hastings, in 1904, Charles H. and Wilmot R., shouldered the burden of respon- sibility for the future conduct of a firmly established, prosperous newspaper enter- prise, the fulfillment of their father's dream.
Mr. Hastings is a director in the Essex Trust Company, Morris Plan Company, Lynn Chamber of Commerce, and Lynn Storage Warehouse Company. He is also a trustee of the Lynn Institution for Savings and of the Lynn Realty Trust, a member of the Oxford and Lynn Press clubs and a past president of the former organization. He is a member of the Lynn Rotary Club, Lake Sunapee Country Club, and the United Shoe Machinery Athletic Association of Beverly. In his fraternal affiliations he is a member of Damascus Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and of Bay State Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In his political faith he is a Republican, and at one time served as a city park commissioner in Lynn, and was president of Lynn Board of Trade be- fore its merger into the Lynn Chamber of Commerce. He is an attendant of the First Universalist Church of Lynn ..
In Newburyport, in 1885, Charles Hough- ton Hastings married Lucie I. Glines, who died in Lynn, on September 16, 1914. She was the daughter of John Glines, of New- buryport. Mr. and Mrs. Hastings were the parents of a daughter, Vera Marguerite, who
married, June 15, 1913, William T. Gamage, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and they have two sons : Charles Hastings and Peter Gam- age.
JOSEPH BERNARD CLANCY-Thor- oughly informed in all matters pertaining to his profession, the law, Joseph Bernard Clancy has gained a place of favor and influ- ence in the city of Lynn. He was born in Auburn, New York, January 14, 1889, a son of James and Catherine (McGowan) Clancy. His father, who came from Ireland, was for many years interested in agriculture in Mid- dle New York State, where he is a substan- tial citizen of Auburn. He married Cath- erine McGowan, daughter of Joseph Mc- Gowan, also a native of Ireland. Joseph McGowan was the last male owner of an Irish farm which had come down through hundreds of years from eldest son to eldest son, but which, since he had no son, went to the daughter.
Joseph Bernard Clancy, after being gradu- ated from the Auburn, New York, High School, began the study of law at the Suffolk Law School, in Boston, from which he was graduated with the class of 1917, a Bachelor of Laws. Instead of applying for admission to the bar, however, he enlisted in the United States Navy, for service during the World War. For three weeks he was stationed at the Charlestown, Massachusetts, Navy Yard, and then was assigned to the Navy Mining Fleet operating in the North Sea, Base No. 17, off Inverness, Scotland, and was so occu- pied for eight months. He then was sent to the United States Legal Department, at 40, Grovern Gardens, London, where he re- mained until the signing of the Armistice. With the rank of first class petty officer, he was honorably discharged and returned to Lynn, where he was admitted to the bar and has since been engaged in the practice of
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law, in association with Patrick F. Shan- nahan.
Through diligent effort and recognized ability, Mr. Clancy has won his way to re- sponsible place in his profession. He is a member of the Essex County Bar Associa- tion, and a member and treasurer of the Lynn Bar Society. Fraternally he is affili- ated with the Lynn Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Post No. 6, American Legion. He is a member of the Lynn Yacht Club, and of St. Joseph's Catho- lic Church. In 1933 Mr. Clancy was elected to the State Senate from the First Essex Congressional District, winning by a grati- fying plurality.
In Lynn, on September 30, 1922, Joseph Bernard Clancy married Helen Dailey, a native of Lynn, daughter of the late Cor- nelius Dailey. She is a graduate of the pub- lic and parochial schools of her birthplace, and the Notre Dame Institution of Boston. She is a member of St. Joseph's Church, former president and member of the Ameri- can Legion Auxiliary, of the Dolly Madison Political Club, and the Foresters of America. Mr. and Mrs. Clancy are the parents of two children : Adermie Clancy, born August 17, 1923; and Joseph Bernard Clancy, Jr., born July 12, 1926.
BOWMAN BIGELOW BREED, M. D. -A successful career in the several fields of medicine, editing and publishing, military affairs, and public service rendered Dr. Bow- man Bigelow Breed's life a very useful one. He was a member of an old and honorable New England family, and spent most of his life in his native city of Lynn. Here his services were many and valuable, as were his efforts in behalf of public betterment. His many friends were deeply impressed by his devotion to the interests of Lynn and of this Commonwealth, and by his kindliness, sincerity and human sympathy.
Dr. Breed was born in Lynn, on February 29, 1832, son of Isaiah and Sally Preston (Moore) Breed. Isaiah Breed, born Octo- ber 21, 1786, in Lynn, died here May 24, 1859, was a banker and business man. In 1839 he was chosen to serve as State Senator. His wife, born in Cambridge, died in Lynn. The Breed family has been established in America since 1630, when the founder of this branch in America migrated from Kings Lynn, England. He had two hun- dred acres of land in 1638, his property having been on the site of the present Breed Square. He was the guarantor of Southamp- ton, Long Island, New York. His death occurred in Lynn on March 17, 1691, aged ninety years, and his wife, Elizabeth (Allen) Breed, was born in 1601 and died in Lynn. Dr. Breed's maternal grandfather, Francis Moore, was one of the patriots who, undis- guised, helped to throw the tea overboard at the "Boston Tea Party." He was a baker in Cambridge, and generously gave of his bread to the Revolutionary Army while they were stationed there. He died August 7, 1833, at the age of ninety-two years.
The man whose name heads this review, Bowman Bigelow Breed, was graduated from Andover Academy in 1849, and took his Bachelor of Arts degree at Amherst Col- lege in 1853. He was graduated from Har- vard Medical School in 1856 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately set- tling in Lynn, he began his professional practice in this city, remaining so engaged until the summer of 1872. He then gave up his practice for the purpose of becoming connected with the Lynn "Reporter." Later he became joint proprietor of this paper, so continuing for the rest of his life.
One of the first to respond from his com- munity at the outbreak of the Civil War, he held the rank of major, and was subse- quently brevetted lieutenant-colonel. Serv- ing throughout the Civil War in the Federal
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Army, he was appointed surgeon of the of Benjamin Franklin ; and another forebear, Military Asylum at Togus in the autumn daughter of the third Joseph Pope, became the wife of General Israel Putnam. Bow- man Bigelow and Hannah Putnam (Pope) Breed became the parents of a son, Nathaniel Pope Breed, who, like his father, is a physi- cian and surgeon and has an honorable mili- tary record and holds the rank of lieutenant- colonel, a record of whose life and works appears in the following biography. Colonel Breed lives in Lynn, long the center of the family. of 1866. This town is now known as Au- gusta, Maine. In many ways Dr. Breed served his community, State and Nation. As a member of the public school committee in Lynn, he took part in the educational affairs of his city. At one time he was president of the committee. He served in the Massachusetts State Legislature as a representative from Lynn during the ses- sions of 1872 and 1873. In 1870 he was elected alderman of Lynn, and in the three The death of Bowman Bigelow Breed occurred on December 16, 1873, in Lynn, and was an occasion of deep sorrow. His many friends knew him to be a useful and upright citizen, an individual whose contri- butions to his period were many and worth while, and a personality which merited the respect and affection that were his. His spirit lives on, and is today a force in the Lynn community. years thereafter was a member of the com- mon council of the city. He was also one of a committee chosen to select a design for the Soldiers' Monument, which now stands in City Hall Square, Lynn. An active mem- ber of the Central Congregational Church, he taught in the Sunday school of this parish over a period of many years. Politically he was a Republican. He was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, being affiliated, in this order, with Golden Fleece Lodge and Olivet Commandery of Knights Templar.
His wife was Hannah Putnam (Pope) Breed who, like her husband, was descended from old and prominent Massachusetts and New England families. She was born in Danvers, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1828, and died in Lynn on February II, 1915. Her parents were Nathaniel and Abi (Preston) Pope. Her father, a native of Danvers who there died, was engaged in extensive farm- ing operations in that region. He was a de- scendant of Joseph Pope, the first of the name in America, who was himself said to be a descendant of Robert Pope, of York- shire, England. Joseph, the immigrant, came from England to the New World in 1634, and in 1637 and at other times was the re- cipient of important land grants. He lived in that portion of Salem now known as West Peabody. One of the Popes married an aunt
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL NATHAN- IEL POPE BREED, M. D .- In the city of Lynn, Lieutenant-Colonel Nathaniel Pope Breed, M. D., has been engaged for many years in the practice of medicine, specializ- ing in abdominal surgery. In both his pri- vate and his hospital work, he has performed great service to his community. For thirty- two years he has been active in the surgical service of Lynn Hospital and at present is one of the "Chiefs" of the surgical staff. For the past fourteen years he has been medical examiner for the Ninth District of Essex County and still holds that position.
Dr. Breed is a son of a physician. His parents were Dr. Bowman Bigelow Breed, a record of whose life appears in the preced- ing biography, and his wife Hannah Putnam (Pope) Breed. A record of the Breed and Pope ancestry is given in the biography of Dr. Bowman Bigelow Breed.
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In the public schools of Lynn, Dr. Na- thaniel Pope Breed received his early edu- cation and in 1891 he was graduated from Lynn High School. For three years he was employed in the National City Bank of Lynn, first as messenger boy and later as clerk. Entering Harvard College in 1894, he com- pleted, in three years, the necessary work for the degree of Bachelor of Arts and re- ceived this degree with his class in 1898. His work in the Harvard Medical School began in 1897, and in 1901 he was awarded a Doctor of Medicine degree. A year's in- terneship at Lynn Hospital prepared him for his practical work in his profession, and he opened offices in Lynn. At the very be- ginning of his career he established himself in his present quarters at No. 9 Washington Square, where he has carried on his practice for thirty-two years. Engaged in a general medical practice and in special work in ab- dominal surgery at Lynn Hospital, he has performed a work of great value to his fel- low-citizens and has done much to relieve suffering whenever he has found it.
A member of some of the leading societies of his profession, Dr. Breed belongs to the American Medical Association, the Massa- chusetts State Medical Society, and the Medico-Legal Society of Massachusetts. He is a Fellow in the American College of Sur- geons and also belongs to the Lynn Medi- cal Fraternity.
Deeply interested in civic and political affairs, Dr. Breed is a Republican in his party alignment. In 1917 he was president of the school committee, and was serving his sixth year on the committee when the United States entered the World War. Vol- unteering his services in March, 1917, he be- came a first lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the United States Army, and in May, 1917, was called into active service at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. He was there until September 2, 1917, during which he
had received the rank of captain, and was transferred to Camp Devens, Ayer, Massa- chusetts, where he was appointed command- ing officer of Field Hospital No. 303, Sani- tary Train 301, and given the rank of major. On July 11, 1918, he was ordered to France, assigned to St. Amand and Montrond, re- mained there for six months. Ordered into Germany, he was with the 4th Corps of the 3d Army of Occupation, and was stationed at different places, mostly at Andernach-on- the-Rhine, a short distance from Coblenz. Returning home after those months of war service, he was mustered out at Camp Dev- ens, Ayer, Massachusetts, in June, 1919, with the rank of major. On February 4, 1925, he was made a lieutenant-colonel in the Medi- cal Reserve Corps of the United States Army and in February, 1935, completed ten years' services in the Reserve Corps.
Dr. Breed is also a deacon in Central Con- gregational Church, Lynn, in the Sunday school of which he taught for many years. He is also active in Masonry, being a mem- ber of Mount Carmel Lodge, the Sutton Royal Arch Chapter, and the Zebulon Coun- cil of Royal and Select Masters. He also belongs to the Oxford Club and the Whit- ing Club of Lynn, the Lynn Historical Soci- ety, the Old Essex Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Tedesco Country Club. His favorite pastime is golf, though he enjoys all forms of outdoor life and recreation and many sports.
On June 21, 1904, in Lynn, Colonel Breed ยท married Effie Young Thomson, a native of Elizabeth, New Jersey, daughter of Robert W. and Euphemia Watson (Thompson) Thomson. Her father was a native Canadian of Scottish parentage, and both her parents came from Scotland to the New World. Robert W. Thomson died in Lynn, after a long and successful career as an inventor and manufacturer. His wife was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and now resides in Lynn.
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Mrs. Effie Young (Thomson) Breed was graduated from Lynn High School and the New England Conservatory of Music, Bos- ton. She is a member of Central Congrega- tional Church, and is active in church work and organizations. She also belongs to the Starr Club of Lynn. To Colonel and Mrs. Breed have been born three children: I. Dorothea, who became the wife of George E. Bates, assistant professor at the Harvard Business School ; they live at Concord, Mas- sachusetts, and are the parents of a son, George Preston Bates. 2. Nathaniel Pres- ton, who is associated with the Irving Trust Company, New York City ; he is unmarried. 3. Robert Thomson, who is attending Am- herst College.
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