USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume III > Part 41
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FRED R. SMITH-One of the best known insurance men in New England, Fred R. Smith, of Haverhill, followed in the foot- steps of his father who founded an insurance business in the city nearly seven decades ago. Fred R. Smith was born in Salem, New Hampshire, February 14, 1879, son of John F. Smith, who was also a native of New Hampshire, and died in 1910, and Caro- line W. (Kimball) Smith, who was of Mas- sachusetts birth and died in 1903.
After a public school and business college education, Fred R. Smith became associated with his father in the establishment the elder Smith had started in 1865. In 1900 the son purchased his father's interest and has since operated a general insurance business, which includes all forms of that important phase of modern life. It is now not only the old- est business of its kind carried on under one name in the city, but is also the largest. Mr. Smith occupies offices at No. 91 Merrimack Street, in the largest and most modern office building in the city. Incidentally, he was also the first tenant to lease quarters.
Mr. Smith was president of the Massachu- setts Association of Insurance Agents for three years and is a member of its executive committee. He is the secretary-treasurer of the Haverhill Board of Underwriters, mem- ber of the New England Advisory Board, a former chairman of the Insurance Council of Massachusetts, member of the Insurance Federation of Massachusetts, and is National Councillor for the Masachusetts Association of Insurance Agents to the National Associa- tion. Fraternally, Fred R. Smith is a thirty- second degree Mason, member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine; an Odd Fellow, of which he is a Past Noble Grand; and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Among his clubs are the Pentucket, Haverhill Country, Hillcrest and Rotary of Haverhill; the Booster's, of which he is vice-president ; and a number of others. He is a member of the Haverhill Chamber of Commerce, and is vice-president of the Haverhill Young Men's Christian Association, a director of the Haverhill Boys' Club and associated with the Boy Scout movement. The church which he attends is the North Congregational of Haverhill. Prominent in athletics, having played on championship baseball, football and basketball teams in his school days and in several subsequent years, Mr. Smith is also prominent in military affairs and is a major in the Quartermaster Reserve Corps. Mr. Smith is active in the promotion of civic enterprises and a generous supporter of cul- tural and humanitarian movements.
In 1923 Fred R. Smith married Ilene J. Nason, of Haverhill, who, by a previous mar- riage, is the mother of a daughter, Helen W.
HERMAN ENOCH LEWIS was born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, November 12, 1870, son of Enoch and Almira D. (Leigh- ton) Lewis, both of whom were natives of New Hampshire, the father born in Sand- wich and died in 1881, the mother born in Effingham, New Hampshire, and lived until 1926. Born on a farm, his forebears were farmer folk for many generations. He attended the schools of his native town, and especially Beede's School, which was noted as a private school in that vicinity for many years, afterwards a year at New Hampshire Literary Institution.
In 1888 Mr. Lewis went to Haverhill, Massachusetts, and, after a brief time with D. T. Dudley and Company, resigned to enter the employ of the late William W. Spaulding, who was then and for many years
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afterwards one of the leading shoe manufac- turers of Haverhill and a prominent citizen. In 1899 Mr. Lewis resigned his position with Mr. Spaulding to engage in the manufacture of shoes in Haverhill on his own account, which business was successfully continued for near thirty years.
He was active in financial matters and in IgII was elected a director of the Haverhill National Bank, and in 1929 he became its president, succeeding the late Henry Hale Gilman. For many years he has been a trus- tee of the Citizens Cooperative Bank, and succeeded the late W. W. Spaulding as its president. He has been a trustee of the Haverhill Savings Bank since 1911, and for many years a member of the investment committee. In 1910 he was elected a mem- ber of the Haverhill school committee and served continuously for twelve years. Mr. Lewis is a life member of the Haverhill His- torical Society, a trustee of the Whittier Homestead Association, and among his clubs are the Monday Evening, Pentucket and the Haverhill Country.
In 1895 Herman E. Lewis married Carrie L. Stover, daughter of Joshua M. and Louise (Lancaster) Stover.
LEWIS RICHARD HOVEY-A career of newspaper work has made Lewis Richard Hovey, of Haverhill, one of Essex County's valued citizens. He is the publisher of three newspapers, and is a liberal contributor to the well-being of his county and community.
Mr. Hovey was born in Haverhill on May 17, 1874, son of Benjamin Lewis and Mae Sophia (Peaslee) Hovey. His father was a shoe cutter and a cutting room foreman. Lewis Richard Hovey attended grammar and high schools of Haverhill and served as president of the class of 1893 in his high school. In the fall of that year he began his newspaper career on the Haverhill "Bul- letin," on which he continued for four years.
From 1897 to 1900 he published the Ips- wich "Independent," then founded the "Sat- urday Evening Criterion," of Haverhill, in 1901. In 1902 he began the "Sunday Rec- ord," of Haverhill, which is still being pub- lished. Since January I, 1932, he has been the publisher of the Revere "Journal," and since February 13, 1933, has published the Beverly "Evening Times."
Along with his other activities, Mr. Hovey has figured prominently in politics and pub- lic affairs. He served, from 1930 to 1935, as a member of the Massachusetts Republican State committee of his party, representing the Fourth Senatorial District. He has also done valuable work on the World War Memorial Commission. As president of the Haverhill Historical Society, he is taking an active part in the preservation of informa- tion concerning the region of New England in which he lives. Formerly president of the Rotary Club, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Merrimack Lodge, of Haverhill, and the Haverhill Lodge of Per- fection ; Haverhill Lodge, No. 165, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Enterprise Council of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He holds memberships in the Massachusetts Press Association, the Boston Advertising Club, the City Club of Boston, the Massachusetts Republican Club, the Haverhill Country Club, and other groups ; is vice-president of Lone Tree Council of Boy Scouts, a director of the Haverhill Boys' Club, a director of the Young Men's Christian Association, a direc- tor of the Beverly Chamber of Commerce, and a director of the Republican Club of Beverly. He belongs to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Essex Club, the New England Daily Newspaper Association, and other organizations. Aside from his Masonic affiliations, he is connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. His church is the First Church of Christ. Con-
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gregational, of Bradford. All of the organi- zations and activities with which Mr. Hovey is associated have definitely profited from his labors in their behalf.
On April 19, 1899, in Haverhill, Lewis Richard Hovey married Helen Cleveland Smith, daughter of Laurance Sumner Smith, M. D., and Abbie Allen (Eldridge) Smith. Mrs. Hovey was born at Dartmouth, Massa- chusetts, on October 14, 1875. Her father, a physician and surgeon, was the first man to do major surgery in Haverhill without the assistance of Boston men. He also served as a member of the school committee and belonged to the Medical Society and the Free and Accepted Masons. The daughter attended the public schools of Watertown, Massachusetts, and was graduated from Haverhill High School, where she was vice- president of the class of June, 1894. She has since served in many important capacities in her community. She was the first vice- chairman of the city Republican committee after woman's suffrage went into effect, and was the organizer of the Republican women of Haverhill. At one time she acted as presi- dent of the Haverhill District Republican Club and the Haverhill World War Memo- rial Commission.
Her civic interests are extensive and of such character as to be useful to the people of the Haverhill community. She is presi- dent of the Central Parent-Teacher Council, of Haverhill, and president of the local Young Women's Christian Association. She is also president of the Haverhill District of the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a charter member and (1934-35) chairman of the Essex County Division of the Massachusetts Republican Women's Club, a director of the Essex County Women's Republican Club, and a member of the Haverhill Whittier Club, the Haverhill Woman's Club, and the local Order of the Eastern Star. Formerly Mrs.
Hovey was a district director of the Tenth District Massachusetts State Federation of Woman's Clubs. Her church is the same as her husband's-the First Church of Christ, of Bradford.
Lewis Richard and Helen Cleveland (Smith) Hovey became the parents of four children: I. Martin Richard, born August 3, 1902. 2. Miriam Bradford, born July 5, 1904. 3. Laurance Smith, born January 30, 1906. 4. Carleton Beecher, born August 25, 1912.
HENRY WYCKOFF BELKNAP-The former secretary and curator of the Essex Institute, Henry Wyckoff Belknap, with the exception of a few years, has been a resident of Salem, Massachusetts, since 1894, and has been active in many phases of its life and development. He was born in New York City, on May 18, 1860, the son of Thomas and Catherine Heyer (Wyckoff) Belknap. The Belknap family in this coun- try originated with Abraham Belknap of Lynn, Massachusetts, who came there from Hertfordshire, England, about 1635, and the Wyckoff family with Claes or Nicholas Corneliszen, who probably came in the yacht "Rensselaerwyck" to New Amster- dam in 1637.
Henry Wyckoff Belknap attended the Dr. Callisen and Anthon grammar schools of New York City, and was privately coached for entering St. Paul's School, at Concord, New Hampshire, where he studied from 1874 to 1877. What was probably the more important feature of his early education was derived from repeated journeys abroad to France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, where he was a witness of events historical, and met artists, sculptors and literary person- ages, all of which undoubtedly accounts for this later interest in art and things artistic.
The family fortunes were affected by the ebb and flow of national finances and, after
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one of the several upheavals in Wall Street, in 1877, Mr. Belknap left school to become employed in the New York office of the Le- high Coal and Navigation Company. A year later he was taken into the office of the long established firm of Beach and Com- pany, Hartford, Connecticut, dealers in dye- stuffs and chemicals, and there continued until 1884, when he resigned to go to Bos- ton. In the Massachusetts capital city, Mr. Belknap was connected with the oil busi- ness for a brief period, and with the steel business of Park Brothers, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Boston office. He was also manager of the Blair Camera Company for several years and in 1894 resigned to join a friend in the Canton Paint and Oil Company, at which time he also became a resident of Salem.
In the middle 1890's, Mr. Belknap became identified with the Tiffany Studios, founded by Louis C. Tiffany, the artist, who was then creating the Tiffany Favrile glass. It was in this department that Mr. Belknap was placed, and during the period from 1897 to 1900, he made yearly visits to London and Paris, taking over large collections of blown glass, windows, mosaics and other products of the studios. There followed the placing and management of a fine exhibi- tion of Tiffany work in the Pan-American Exposition, in Buffalo, New York. The un- usual interest taken by the people of all classes in the art exhibits of the Buffalo Fair inspired Mr. Belknap to combine forces with an architect and a decorator with a view to establishing a place where artists and craftsmen might exhibit their products. This proved an artistic if not a financial suc- cess. In 1905-06 Mr. Belknap and his mother removed to Salem, where he was offered an interest and the management of the offices of the Grueby Pottery Company in South Boston. He continued with this concern
until insoluble technical difficulties in the production of the glaze upon which much of the beauty of this pottery depended, led to the discontinuance of the business.
For many years genealogical and histori- cal research has been a hobby, or even a profession, of Henry W. Belknap. He be- came interested in these subjects and de- voted a long period to compiling the lineage of the Belknap family and the Waterhouse family accumulating a vast amount of ma- terial and publishing a book on the English Ancestry of the Belknaps. He also did work of a similar character for others to a limited extent. In 1917, Mr. Belknap was elected a director of the Essex Institute of Salem, and in 1919 was chosen secretary and curator of the Institute, offices which he held to the satisfaction of all concerned for thirteen years. His resignation in 1931 was due to a wish to take a deserved rest and the desire to give unrestricted atten- tion to personal interests. During these years at the institute he did much research work in genealogy and history of Essex County, and in 1927 his "Artists and Crafts- men of Essex County" was published by the institute and two years later "Trades and Tradesmen of Essex County." A "Life of Phillip English," the first great merchant of Salem, involving a vast amount of work, was partly compiled but has not been printed, since it demanded an outlay too heavy for a time of general depression.
The great fire which destroyed a large part of Salem, also destroyed Mr. Belknap's home, and most of the accumulated genea- logical material of years, and manuscripts on which he had been working. At one time or another he has been a member of vari- ous social clubs and historical or scientific societies, among others: The Players Club, and the National Arts Club of New York ; the Royal Societies and Authors Clubs of
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London ; the New York Historical Society, New York Genealogical Society, New York Biographical Society, and the American Museum of Natural History, all of New York; the New England Historic Genealog- ical Society of Boston; the Connecticut Historical Society of Hartford, Connecti- cut ; and the Puritan Club of Boston. Since IgII he has been a member of the Eastern Yacht Club, at Marblehead, Massachusetts, and served on many of its committees. In 1922 Henry Wyckoff Belknap was hon- ored with election to the American Anti- quarian Society, of Worcester, Massachu- setts.
IVAN GERALD SMITH-As superin- tendent of the schools of Danvers, Ivan Gerald Smith has contributed to the educa- tional betterment of his community. He has likewise participated broadly in the affairs of Danvers and its institutions, and has figured prominently in important works.
Mr. Smith was born at Eastham, Mas- sachusetts, on February 14, 1886, son of Francis Myrick and Mary Alvan (Lincoln) Smith, both natives of Eastham, where the father was a merchant. In the public schools of Somerville, this State, Ivan Gerald Smith received his early formal education. In 1905 he was graduated from Somerville Latin School, and four years later took his Bachelor of Arts degree at Harvard Univer- sity. In 1921, after many years of practical teaching experience, he took his degree of Master of Arts in Education at Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York City.
In the academic season of 1909-10, Mr. Smith was actively engaged in educational work as principal of Essex High School, Danvers. From 1910 to 1913 he served con- tinuously as assistant principal of Quincy High School, Quincy, Massachusetts. Then,
in 1913, he became assistant principal of Meriden High School, Meriden, Connecticut, continuing in that capacity until 1919. From 1919 to 1922 he was principal of the high school at Easthampton, Massachusetts, and from 1922 to 1928 acted as principal of Hol- ten High School, Danvers. In 1928 he was appointed to his present post of superin- tendent of the Danvers school system, which he has done much to improve. During his incumbency as superintendent the Holten High School building was erected, Mr. Smith serving as clerk of the building com- mittee. The building was dedicated Janu- ary 12, 1931. The average attendance of pupils at the schools of this city numbers about 2,400, and eighty-three teachers work directly under Mr. Smith.
In addition to his actual teaching and school administrative labors, Mr. Smith is a leader in the general affairs of his profes- sion. He is a member of the National Edu- cation Association, the New England Asso- ciation of School Superintendents, and the Massachusetts Association of School Super- intendents. In 1933 he was elected pres- ident of the Merrimack Valley Superintend- ents' Association. Likewise prominent in Danvers civic affairs, he is a member of the Rotary Club of his city. He is one of the trustees of the McFadden Scholarship Fund and also a trustee of the Essex County Health Association. In the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, he is a member of Amity Lodge. Every organization with which he has been affiliated has in some definite way benefited from his efforts in its behalf. And he has utilized his numerous contacts and relationships to advance the whole cause of education, which stands foremost in his consideration and deeds.
Ivan Gerald Smith married, on December 29, 1915, Bessie Moors Burnham, of Glouces- ter, Massachusetts. To them two children
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have been born: I. Muriel Burnham, on January II, 1918. 2. Lois Lincoln, on Octo- ber 14, 1921. The Smith family residence is No. 4 Richards Street, Danvers.
REBECCA MANNING-Few that know their Salem, Massachusetts, but had a warm place in their affections for Rebecca Man- ning, who died on July 25, 1933, within six weeks of having been a resident of the place for ninety-nine years. A greatly beloved woman, she was in many ways as remark- able as the period in which she lived and of which she was an interested and keen ob- server. Miss Manning was born September 4, 1834, in the ancestral home built by her father in 1825, in which she passed her whole life. She was a daughter of Robert, Sr., and Rebecca Dodge (Burnham) Man- ning, and a cousin of Nathaniel Hawthorne, famed romancer. Nor should it be neces- sary to state that there were Mannings and Burnhams in Massachusetts since the mid- dle of the seventeenth century.
Robert Manning, Sr., was an exceptional horticulturist, whose remarkable "pomo- logical garden," started in 1822, was known all over the world. He carried on hundreds of fruit breeding and grafting experiments and among other achievements he is cred- ited with producing a thousand variety of pears. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society of which since 1829 he had been a charter member, awarded him a silver pitcher in recognition of his accomplish- ments. A few of his productions still re- main. He planted the great elm which still flourishes before the old home, and there is a honeysuckle bush surviving that was planted by his wife more than a century ago. A former feature of this historic gar- den is the house that Robert, Sr., built in 1828, for his sister, the mother of Nathaniel
Hawthorne. The house still is extant but many years ago was moved to the opposite side of Dearborn Street.
The elder Robert Manning died in 1842, and his son, Robert, Jr., carried on the po- mological experiments begun by his father. There are reports that at one exhibition he displayed two hundred and eighty different kinds of pears and one hundred and eight- een different kinds of apples. He exhibited not only at the Massachusetts Horticul- tural shows but at the American Institute and in many states. Many medals and prizes he won; abroad his abilities were recog- nized ; a medal awarded by France was one of his possessions. Robert Manning, Jr., was librarian and secretary of the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society for many years, and was the author of many articles and brochures on fruit breeding and grow- ing.
The younger Robert and the two other brothers and sisters of Rebecca Manning found their interests away from the paren- tal roof, she alone remaining to keep bright the lustre of the famed garden and to be the chatelaine of the old home. In her youth she had been a member of the first class graduated from Salem Normal School, in 1854, and was undoubtedly the last surviv- ing member of that class. She taught school in Salem for several years in Ham- ilton and Mattapoisett, and for a time con- ducted a private school in her home. One of the pleasures of her life was following the careers of the children she taught and of their children and even of the third genera- tion. The Salem Club at the time of its organization made her an honorary mem- ber. She retained her faculties in a remark- able degree to the end of her days. With the demise of Rebecca Manning a family rich in traditions perished, but left behind
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a wealth of historical lore and of records unique for those who admire the character, abilities, ideals and aims of a past admirable generation.
HARRIET SILVESTER TAPLEY, his- torian, genealogist and for many years an active figure in the work of the Essex In- stitute at Salem, was born in Danvers, Mas- sachusetts, on June 2, 1870, daughter of John Welch and Luella Stacey (Silvester) Tapley. She is descended from old Massa- chusetts families and her interest in the history and traditions of the Common- wealth has been manifest throughout her career.
Following her graduation from the Hol- ten High School at Danvers in 1886 and from Dean Academy, Franklin, Massachu- setts, in 1890, Miss Tapley was engaged in the newspaper and publishing business for a period of eleven years. In 1902, however, when the Commonwealth began to sponsor the publication of the vital records of Mas- sachusetts towns, she was engaged by the Essex Institute to compile and prepare for printing many of the Essex County towns and has since continued her association with the Institute. From 1911 to 1920 she was engaged in abstracting and arranging for printing the records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County for the period from 1636 to 1682, which were pub- lished in eight volumes by the Essex Insti- tute. Since 1920 she has been editor of all publications, and since 1927 has been libra- rian, of the Essex Institute. She was also acting secretary of the Institute in 1931-32. In addition to these duties, Miss Tapley has edited the "Danvers Historical Collections" since 1913, and has been a regular contribu- tor to genealogical and historical maga- zines. She is the author of a monograph published in the "Commonwealth History
of Massachusetts," Vol. I, 1927, and has also written and published the following volu- umes : "Tapley Genealogy," 1900; "Chroni- cles of Danvers," 1923; "Salem Imprints, 1768-1825, The First Fifty Years of Print- ing in Salem," 1927.
Miss Tapley has made an extended study of the history and records of Essex County and writes with authority on the subjects which have engaged her attention. She is a corresponding member of the New Eng- land Historic Genealogical Society ; a mem- ber of the Essex Institute, the Danvers His- torical Society, the Marblehead Historical Society, and General Israel Putnam Chap- ter, Daughters of the American Revolution, of Danvers.
ALBERT LeROY BARTLETT-The distinguished career of Albert LeRoy Bart- lett, "grand old man" of Haverhill, was crowded with activities in many fields of human endeavor in all of which he won hon- ors and success. He came of notable an- cestry, including Governor Winthrop and Governor Dudley, of the early Massachu- setts Colony; Governor Josiah Bartlett,
first to sign the Declaration of Independ- ence, after John Hancock; General Thomas Bartlett of Revolutionary fame ; Hon. Bailey and General Israel Bartlett, prominent in the affairs of pioneer Haverhill, and many others whose names echo down through the years.
Albert L. Bartlett was born on June I, 1851, in Haverhill, son of Thomas and Pa- tience (Hawkins) Bartlett. His father died while Albert and his elder brother, Horace, were small boys, their bringing up devolv- ing upon the mother "a woman of strong character, well educated and devoted to her sons." She spared no effort or sacrifice so that her sons might receive an excellent ed- ucation. Albert attended the old Washing-
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