USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume III > Part 34
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In November, 1900, Mr. Johnson married Mattie S. Allison, who was born in Ala- bama and is the daughter of James and Mel- vina (Moore) Allison, of St. Joseph's, Mis- souri. Mrs. Johnson is a graduate of Jewel College, Liberty, Missouri; is a member,
gational Church of Melrose, the Order of Eastern Star; the Women's Club of Mel- " rose; and of the Women's Club and the Ladies Garden Club of Miami Beach, Flor- ida. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have two chil- dren: I. Melvina Eleanor, who was born on March 26, 1902; is the widow of Chester S. Buck of Reading, Massachusetts, and has two children: Chester S., Jr., and Melvina Eleanor. 2. Lawrence E., Jr., who was born on January 16, 1913, and is a freshman at the University of Miami.
ARCHIBALD MILLER-As president of William Miller and Sons, Inc., of Lynn, and treasurer of the Sim Carnation Com- pany, of Cliftondale, Archibald Miller di- rects the activities of two of the largest florist establishments in Essex County, where, for many years, he has taken a keen and active interest in the social and civic life, holding responsible positions in the government and identifying himself with many of the leading social organizations here.
Mr. Miller was born in Swampscott, De- cember 13, 1877, the son of William and Jessie (Cameron) Miller, and grandson of Alexander and Isabelle (Harper) Miller, both natives of Scotland, where they died. His father, who was born in County Caith- ness, Scotland, in 1845, and died in Lynn, Massachusetts, May 7, 1927, was educated in Scotland and came to this country as a young man. He was a gardener and florist, and for over twenty years was employed in that capacity on the estate of James L. Little in Swampscott. In 1889 he embarked on a business venture, founding and organ- izing the florist business which today still bears his name. When his three sons be- came of age he took them into the enter- prise and since that time one member of the family has always been associated with its
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operation. In his social and civic affilia- tions the elder Miller identified himself with the Republican party and for many years was city forester of Lynn. He was reared in the Presbyterian faith. His wife was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, January I, 1839, and died in Lynn, Massa- chusetts, January 5, 1903. They were the parents of five children: I. Isabelle Har- per, born September 13, 1871. 2. William, Jr., born February 22, 1873, died November 28, 1898. 3. James L., born November 13, 1875, now of Greenland, New Hampshire. 4. Archibald, of whom further. 5. Bessie Cameron, born March 12, 1880, died June 12, 1901.
Mr. Miller, of this review, was educated in public schools of his native community and Lynn, after which he became associ- ated with his father in the florist and land- scape gardening business. Subsequently he became a partner in the firm, which was then being directed by his father, William Miller, Sr., and his brother, William Miller, Jr., who died early in life. Later Archibald Miller and his brother, James L., took over the business, which they continued to oper- ate under the original firm name of Wil- liam Miller and Sons. This arrangement was maintained until 1920, when James L. Miller withdrew from the firm. Shortly afterward the business was incorporated under the old firm name and Archibald Mil- ler became president, a position he occupies today.
In 1931 Mr. Miller, with his brother, James L., purchased the greenhouse prop- erties at Saugus of the Sim Carnation Com- pany, the largest growers of carnations in the United States, and one that has fre- quently created new varieties. In this con- cern, which is devoted wholly to the whole- sale business, whereas the other is only a retail business, Mr. Miller is treasurer. The
business has been incorporated as the Wil- liam Sim Carnation Company, Inc., and is located at No. 45 Morton Avenue, Saugus. Its former owner is still interested in it. Though the major portion of his interest and energies is concentrated in these two enterprises, Mr. Miller also occupies promi- nent positions in several other concerns in Lynn, among them being the Vatcher Auto Service, Inc., which is located at No. 958 Broad Street and which he directs as presi- dent, the Home Finance Trust, of which he is a trustee, and the Item Office Building. In his civic affiliations he is a Republican and a former park commissioner of Swamp- scott, a position he occupied for some ten years. Mr. Miller is a member of the Lynn Chamber of Commerce, the Lynn Florists' Association, past president of the Ionic Club of Swampscott, district representative of the Florist Telegraph Delivery Associ- ation of the Massachusetts Unit and frater- nizes with the Masonic Order, where he is a member of Golden Fleece Lodge, holds the thirty-second degree, belongs to the York and Scottish Rite bodies and is a member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Bos- ton. He is also a member of Kearsarge Lodge, No. 21, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Poquanum Tribe, No. 105, Improved Order of Red Men, and the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Lynn. Mr. Miller adheres to the Episco- palian faith and attends the Holy Name Church of that denomination. Throughout his life he has found his greatest diversion and relaxation in motor boating, and in- dulges in this sport at Lake Winnepesaukee, New Hampshire, where he has erected a cottage and spends week-ends and summer vacations.
In 1906 Mr. Miller married Elizabeth B. Olive, a native of St. John, New Bruns-
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wick, and the daughter of the late David Olive. Mrs. Miller was educated in the public schools of New Brunswick, Canada, and also studied music there. She is a member of the Holy Name Episcopal Church of Swampscott and the Woman's Club of Swampscott. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents of one son, Carroll C., born August 24, 1910, a graduate of Yale Uni- versity and at present studying medicine at the Harvard Medical School.
DONN DAVIS SARGENT, of Salem, has for many years figured prominently in the shoe manufacturing industry of Essex County, and is well known as one of Lynn's leading manufacturers of women's shoes.
His family is an old one, long associated with Massachusetts life and affairs. The Sargents are of English origin, some of the early American ancestors of the present family having taken part in the war of the American Revolution. The immigrant an- cestor of the Sargent line was William Sar- gent, one of the early settlers of Amesbury, Massachusetts, who came to the New World from England. Descended from him was Donn Davis Sargent's paternal grand- father, John Copp Sargent, who married a Sarah Welch. Both he and his wife were born and died in Newburyport, Massachu- setts. From them the line of descent is through the father of the man whose name heads this review. He was George Perry Sargent, born at Newburyport, on February 28, 1843, died February 6, 1912, at New- buryport. He was a journalist and pub- lisher through the active years of his life, having owned and operated a newspaper in Philippi, West Virginia. He also was a county judge in West Virginia and mayor of the town of Beverly, that State. During the Civil War, he fought on the side of the Union, holding the rank of sergeant. His church was the Protestant Episcopal. His
wife, Mrs. Anna M. (Davis) Sargent, was born in Marietta, Ohio, on November 27, 1847, and died in Newburyport on Novem- ber 23, 1896. She was a daughter of John and Marinda (Flanders) Davis, both na- tives of Marietta, who there died. Her father, Donn Davis Sargent's maternal grandfather, was a Federal soldier in the Civil War.
Donn Davis Sargent was born in Philippi, West Virginia on May II, 1882, and re- ceived his early education in Newburyport, completing his grammar school work in 1894 and being graduated from high school in 1898. Immediately thereafter he enlisted in the United States Army for Spanish- American War service, and for one year was a private with the 8th Massachusetts Regiment of United States Volunteers. For three months of that period he was in Cuba. After the war, he returned to New- buryport and here became a shoe worker, proceeding to learn the trade with which he has been so closely associated. For seven years he was with Dodge Brothers, his last position with that organization having been as foreman. For three and one-half years he was with the Woodbury Shoe Company in Beverly, there superintending the mak- ing of shoes. Then, coming to Lynn, he was made general superintendent of the Allen, Foster and Willett Company, shoe manufacturers, continuing for three years in that capacity. In 1915 he went into the shoe manufacturing business for himself in Sa- lem, forming the Donn D. Sargent Com- pany and built a large and satisfying busi- ness. For fifteen years he remained in that enterprise, increasing gradually the output of his plant until it was turning out 6,000 pairs of shoes a day.
At length he liquidated this enterprise, and in 1933 came to Lynn and organized the Surpass Shoe Company. He is today manager of this company's plant, which
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produces women's shoes exclusively. So it is that in many communities Mr. Sargent has made himself and his work known, be- cause his efforts have been consistently pro- gressive, sound and forward-looking in the commercial world.
At the same time he has come to be rec- ognized for his leadership in social, civic and fraternal affairs. In his political rela- tionships Mr. Sargent has sought always to support those candidates and measures that he has inwardly felt to be best fitted to the needs of the times, never determining his political judgments on merely partisan bases. Mr. Sargent also takes part in the work of several organizations of which he is a member including St. Mark's Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, of New- buryport, and the Methodist Church. In short, he is an enthusiastic and whole- hearted supporter of the best interests of the Salem-Lynn-Newburyport district, and his efforts have been productive of vast good to the whole of the Essex County re- gion and to the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts. In spare time he enjoys outdoor life more than other kinds of recreation, be- ing particularly fond of golf, sea-bathing and nature contacts. In the spring and summer months his desires often turn to the out-of-doors, and he is happy in long hikes and walks in woodlands and amid natural surroundings.
Home and family associations are, how- ever, dearest to him. Donn Davis Sargent married, on September 15, 1903, Bertha M. Rand, a native of Newburyport, daughter of James Albert and Lydia W. (Litch) Rand. Her father, James Albert Rand, was born at Buckport, Maine, and died in New- buryport Massachusetts. Mrs. Lydia W. (Litch) Rand was born in Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada, and died in Newburyport. Mrs. Sargent is a graduate of Newburyport
High School and a member of the Protes- tant Episcopal Church of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Sargent are the parents of a daughter, Ruth Davis Sargent, who became the wife of Albert B. Goodhue, of Salem. He is engaged in the brokerage business in Boston. Mrs. Goodhue was graduated from Salem High School, McClintock's Private School, and Emerson College of Oratory, Boston.
The Sargent home is at No. 6 Fairfield Street, Salem, and Mr. Sargent has his offices at No. 65 Mulberry Street, Lynn.
IRVING WILDER SARGENT has made his legal career an instrument of serv- ice to the community of Lawrence, where he was born and raised. In this capacity he has become one of the most prominent figures in the social and civic life of the city, heading and serving many of the leading organizations in each of these phases.
Mr. Sargent, who is a member of the law firm of Sweeney, Sargent and Sweeney, was born in Lawrence, August 8, 1879, the son of George W. and Marietta (Bancroft) Sar- gent. His father, who was a native of Con- cord, Vermont, was a physician who, after graduating from Albany College, settled in Lawrence and started what eventually be- came a substantial and lucrative practice. The same civic attributes that his son has displayed were characteristic of Dr. Sar- gent, as he performed his duties as city and jail physician of Lawrence. It is interesting to note that Dr. Sargent's father, Seneca Sargent, was also a physician.
Mr. Sargent received his early education in the public schools of Lawrence and Phil- lips Academy, where he was graduated in 1896. He entered Harvard University with the class of 1900, received his degree of Bachelor of Arts, and remained to pursue his legal education at the Harvard Law
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School where he was graduated with a de- gree of Bachelor of Laws in 1903. The same year he was admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar and became associated with the firm of which he is now a member.
Throughout his legal career in this city Mr. Sargent has displayed a keen interest in public affairs and those dealing with his profession. He is a past president of the Essex County Bar Association ; a vice-pres- ident and trustee of the Lawrence Savings Bank; president of the Lawrence Com- munity Chest, Incorporated ; served a term of three years on the executive committee of the Massachusetts Bar Association ; was a member of the school board of Lawrence for four years ; is a member of the executive committee of the Lawrence City Mission ; serves on the advisory board of the Young Women's Christian Association, and is one of the three trustees for the White Fund. He is also a trustee of the Lawrence Public Library. During the World War Mr. Sar- gent was chairman of the division of civil- ian relief of the local Red Cross. He holds memberships in the Harvard Club of Bos- ton, Harvard Club of Andover, the Andover Country Club, the Merrimack Valley Coun- try Club, and fraternizes with the Masonic Order, being a member of Phoenician Lodge. He also belongs to the Monadnock Lodge of the Independent order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Massachu- setts Cooperating Committee for the anno- tation and restatement of the American law by the American Law Institute.
On June 19, 1906, Mr. Sargent married Helen Stanley of Lawrence, who died April 12, 1919.
ARTHUR C. ANTHONY-A native of Boston, which was the scene of his many years of activity in the stock brokerage and financial fields, Arthur C. Anthony made his home in Marblehead where he was
honored and respected for his numerous contributions to its progress and better- ment. He was born January 11, 1869, the son of Nathan and Clara (Reed) Anthony, both of whom were of Massachusetts birth. Nathan Anthony was a widely known Bos- ton importer of glassware and cutlery. Both the Anthony and Reed names are recorded in the annals of the State since the first years of its settlement.
After attending Boston schools, Arthur C. Anthony matriculated at the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology, from which he was graduated with the class of 1886. Immediately after receiving his degree as a mining engineer, he went to Wyoming and Utah, where he was associated with his grandfather, Dr. Silas Reed, in the practice of his profession. Believing that he had not found his niche in life, he turned East, and for a time was engaged in the insurance business in New York City. Then he en- tered the firm of Townsend, Anthony and Tyson, Boston brokers, an association which continued throughout all the years of his life. He was an outstanding figure in financial circles, a man of many and wide connections, a reliable force in civic affairs.
When Boston became involved in the police strike which brought Calvin Coolidge to the fore, Mr. Anthony was one of the Governor's most able assistants. During the World War he served on numerous boards and committees, and was in the van of the various drives and movements, finan- cial and humanitarian, that characterized this strenuous period in national history. Among the many organizations of which he was a member were the University Club, the Eastern Yacht Club, the Mayflower So- ciety, the Marblehead Young Men's Chris- tian Association, of which he was one of the board of directors ; treasurer of the Uni- tarian Church at Marblehead, and treasurer of the Sentinels of the Republic Society.
Eben Harrington Hall
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For many years he served on the board of governors of the Boston Stock Exchange, and was also a member of the floor com- mittee.
In 1926, Arthur C. Anthony married Mrs. Ethel M. Laskey, of Marblehead, a native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, daughter of George A. and Sarah F. (Campbell) Var- rill. Mrs. Anthony, by a previous marriage, is the mother of two daughters, Caroline B., a graduate of the Marblehead High School, the Katharine Gibbs School, and the Miss Amy M. Sacker School of Decorative De- sign. She is now the wife of Trowbridge von Baur of New York City. The second daughter, Phyllis V., attended the Mt. Ida School for Girls and the Lucy Wheelock School. She established the Laskey Child Garden (Kindergarten) at Marblehead in 1932. Mrs. Anthony is a member of the Marblehead Woman's Club, the Garden Club, Humane Society, and several other Marblehead organizations.
Mr. Anthony died on June 26, 1931. In the quiet direct way that characterized most of his activities, he had constructively con- cerned himself with many of the community changes and improvements while living in Marblehead. He was highly public-spirited, generous in the support of humanitarian and welfare projects, a man whose example and deeds are important factors in the establishment and advance of any munici- pality.
EBEN HARRINGTON HALL -- As pro- prietor of E. H. Hall and Company, manu- facturers of cut soles for women's shoes exclusively, Eben H. Hall is one of the best known men connected with the shoe industry in the thriving city of Lynn. He is of English descent; his paternal and maternal grandparents, all born in England, immigrated to Canada, where they spent the
rest of their lives. James A. Hall, father of Eben H. Hall, was born in Canada, died in Millinocket, Maine. He was associated with a firm of tanners at Forest City, Maine, and was a faithful member of the Baptist Church. He married Frances Parent, born in New Brunswick, Canada, died in Houlton, Maine.
Eben Harrington Hall, son of James A. and Frances (Parent) Hall, was born in Forest City, Maine, March 14, 1884, and at- tended the public schools there, passing to the East Maine Conference Seminary at Bucksport, where he studied for two years. On leaving the seminary, he identified him- self with the shoe industry, with which in some form he has since been connected. He first was employed by the Brockton (Massa- chusetts) Welting Company. At the end of three months he went with the M. A. Pack- ard Shoe Company of Brockton, and was there for twenty-one months. His next con- nection was with the Crossett Shoe Com- pany in North Abington, where he assorted leather for three months. Then he joined the force of the G. A. Bodwell Company, of Lynn, manufacturers of cut soles, where he was an assorter from 1903 to 1908, being promoted in the latter year to a foremanship, which he filled until 1912. Upon reorganiza- tion of this business and a change in the style to the Lindsey and Hall Company, Mr. Hall was made president. He withdrew from this company in 1922 and organized the Hall and Crosby Company, at No. 411 Broad Street, Lynn, having as his co-partner Carl U. Crosby. Mr. Hall acquired Mr. Crosby's interest in 1928 and changed the title of the concern to E. H. Hall and Com- pany, of which business he has since been the sole owner and administrative head. The products of his factory enjoy a sale over a wide territory and with sales offices in New York, St. Louis and Milwaukee are shipped to every State in the Union where
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women's shoes are manufactured. He is a member of the Tanners' Council of America.
As to politics he is classified as an inde- pendent voter. He is, however, a member of the Essex County Republican Club. Other of his affiliations include the Lynn Chamber of Commerce, Lynn Rotary Club, Lynn Historical Society, Young Men's Chris- tian Association of Lynn, Salem Country Club, Salem, Massachusetts, Ionic Club of Swampscott, Massachusetts, Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, Golden Fleece Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, Sutton Chapter, Royal Arch Ma- sons, Scottish Rite Freemasons, thirty-sec- ond degree, Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Bos- ton, and Everett Lodge, No. 20, Knights of Pythias, of which he is a Past Chancellor Commander.
Eben Harrington Hall married (first), in August, 1903, at Boston, Grace Smith, born in Lowell, died in Swampscott, in March, 1928, daughter of the late Mrs. Mary C. Smith, of Lowell. He married (second), October 9, 1930, at Lynn, Reta Longmire, daughter of John H. Longmire, of this city, who is associated with E. H. Hall and Com- pany. Mrs. Hall is a graduate of the Eng- lish High School at Lynn and is active in women's affairs, in the Rotaryettes and in church work, being a member of the East Baptist Church of Lynn. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two children : Carolyn Doris, born November 5, 1932; and Donald J., born March 9, 1934. Three older brothers of Mr. Hall live in Maine : Herbert Hall, of Houl- ton, who has been a deputy sheriff for about twenty-five years; Millage W. Hall, road commissioner of Millinocket; and Harry F. Hall, of East Millinocket, who has been connected with the Great Northern Paper Company since this business was started about forty years ago.
GEORGE ROGERS WALES-In the industrial world, the name of George Rog- ers Wales was widely known because of his long connection with the iron and steel wire industry. He was born at Boston on June 15, 1862, son of John and Susan H. (Rog- ers) Wales. His father, a native of North Bridgewater, now Brockton, Massachusetts, was one of the pioneers in the making and fabrication of wire, and the inventor of a special kind of iron fencing.
George Rogers Wales was educated in Boston and Newton and, as a very young man, became associated with his father in business. He was with him when the Na- tional Wire Company built a large plant at New Haven, Connecticut. In 1902 he founded the John Wales Wire Company, at Auburn, Rhode Island, naming the com- pany in honor of the parent who had been his mentor and associate. The plant was destroyed by fire four years later and the Washburn Wire Company absorbed all the interests of the John Wales Company, and Mr. Wales was made the general agent of the amalgamated corporations. This posi- tion he filled efficiently and well to the time of his demise fifteen years later. Although his headquarters were at Phillipsdale, Rhode Island, he made his home in Bev- erly, Massachusetts, for the last several years of his life.
Like many men who rise high in indus- trial circles, Mr. Wales had an avocation to which he gave hearty and useful attention. When wealth permitted he returned to the land, and on his fine farm, known as "Bull- rush," at North Beverly, he bred and raised Ayrshire dairy cattle of the highest type. He was president of the Ayrshire Breeders Association, and with Dr. L. M. Chamber- lain, of Cherry Hill, was the instigator and pioneer of the tuberculin test for cattle in Essex County. Although he operated his
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farm with the same skill and energy he used in his business, and successfully, his contri- bution to the dairy industry in this part of Massachusetts far exceeded the value of any returns it made to him.
In 1885 George Rogers Wales married Mabel L. Hervey, of Boston, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth K. (Boynton) Her- vey, the former long associated with Wel- lington and Sears, of Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Wales were the parents of three children: I. Helen Wales, graduate from the Boston Musuem of Art, and a leader in civic and welfare circles. Twice she has been cited for work done during the World War pe- riod, and there are few humanitarian proj- ects in Beverly in which she does not play an active part. 2. Susan H., who attended Simmons College, married the Rev. Herbert Duncan Rollason, a Congregational min- ister of Middletown, Connecticut, and is the mother of four children : i. Herbert Duncan, Jr. ii. John Wales. iii. Elizabeth Hervey. iv. David H. 3. John Wales, who served during the World War as a member of the 295th Aerial Squadron ; he is a grad- uate of Peddy Institute and a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engi- neers.
Mr. Wales knew how to make the most of life for himself and others. He was a member of the Algonquin and Exchange clubs, of Boston ; of the Brookline Country Club, the Essex Country Club, and other similar organizations. He gave his time and talents to numerous undertakings that made for the benefit of the communities with which he was connected. His career had been one of achievement and honor, one that remains as an example of sterling char- acteristics ably applied to the furtherance of the general good. Mr. Wales died on April 14, 1922.
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