USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume IV > Part 12
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charge of the design and manufacture of locomotive steam turbines headlight sets. In the electrical motor field, he was placed in charge of all fractional horse power motors and fan motors produced by his com- pany in 1907, and in the following two years designed and put into manufacture a com- plete line of "drawn shell" motors, both alternating and direct current, with a vast number of special applications. This was the first line of small motors put out by the General Electric Company. Included in this development was a special direct current electric fan suitable for operation on six hundred and fifty volt circuits. This was very successful and over 100,000 such fans are in daily use, in the warm months, in every car of every tube and subway in New York City and the vicinity. Mr. Baldwin's "drawn shell" motor is now practically uni- versal. Another of his contributions to the automobile business was the electric drive for heavy vehicles, on which he began work- ing in 1897. Every succeeding year wit- nessed some further application of this prin- ciple and in 1926 he had the opportunity to build electric drive gasoline motor busses on a large scale. By intensive experiment and daring design as regards weight and size, he succeeded in building 2,300 gasoline electric motor busses carrying from thirty to sixty- four passengers each, in which the electrical equipment weighed less than one-half that recommended by the railway department of his company for the same job. These busses are still in operation, running about two hundred miles a day with frequent stops. They are operated in Philadelphia, a large part of New Jersey, Detroit, Boston and elsewhere in the United States.
Immediately before the World War, Mr. Baldwin designed a 25 Kw. gasoline engine electric set for the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army and a number were
built by the General Electric Company for army fortifications. During the war nearly one thousand more of these sets were built and used in France for lighting purposes throughout the American Expeditionary Forces, receiving high praise from Major- General Harry Taylor, Chief of the Corps of Engineers under General Pershing. In 1916 Mr. Baldwin enrolled in the United States Military Training Camp for Citizens at Plattsburg, New York. When the United States entered the war he was promptly called to Washington, and in May, 1917, began the first work in the United States Army on armored tanks. The resulting tank was the first to be built in America. Mr. Baldwin continued this work until it was completed, spending the month of Decem- ber, 1917, at Peoria, Illinois, at the works of the Holt Manufacturing Company, where the tank was assembled and successfully tested. In June, 1918, his services were again sought by the government and he was given complete authority to design and build a mobile automotive power unit for operating sixty-inch field searchlights. Lightness and maneuverability were essen- tial. On his own responsibility and in the face of expert opinion to the contrary, he decided to use the Cadillac chassis and engine with a new power drive designed by him. He was confident that sufficient strength would be attained and the results fully met his expectations. His portable power unit passed all tests and was on the firing line in the Toul Sector before the Armistice. On the testimony of the Chief of the Corps of Engineers of the American Expeditionary Forces, it was by far the best thing of its kind in any army in France. It is still used in the United States Army.
On the completion of his wartime duties, Mr. Baldwin returned to his work with the General Electric Company, with whom he
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remained until May, 1933. Since that time he has been connected with the United Fruit Company, of Boston, studying the process- ing of bananas and devising ways and means to process fruit, using the methods of manu- facture. His work is done for the Meloripe Division of the company.
In his active engineering career, Mr. Bald- win has received patents covering many mechanical improvements. He has also con- tributed numerous professional papers and articles for the technical journals.
Mr. Baldwin has always been interested in civic affairs and public service, but it was not until 1910, when he moved to Swamp- scott and built a home there, that he found the opportunity to become active in public life. Since 1911 he has served on nearly every committee of importance in the com- munity. From 1912 to 1916 he was a mem- ber of the Ways and Means Committee and its chairman for three years of this period. From 1916 to 1924 he was a member of the Board of Selectmen, receiving each year the highest vote and serving as chairman of the board for seven years. In 1917-18 he was chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and had charge of all wartime activities, in- cluding the Liberty Loan drives. During this time many important public improve- ments were effected, including the redesign- ing and electrification of the Sewage Pump- ing Station, the building of Stacey Brook Culvert, both under Mr. Baldwin's direction, and the design and construction of the Machon School in Upper Swampscott. He was for three years chairman of all commit- tees having to do with the location and design of the proposed high school. Mr. Baldwin also first suggested the enlarge- ment of Swampscott Cemetery and person- ally designed the Memorial Chapel, which was constructed under his supervision, re- vealing thereby that in addition to his life-
long interest in architecture he possesses a considerable talent for its practice. Mr. Baldwin wrote the first police regulations for the town, and drew up the zoning regu- lations. As a member of the Board of Select- men, he was chairman of the Board of Sur- vey, having to do with laying out all new roads and highways and since 1931 has been a member of the Planning Board of the town. In 1921, when the Point of Pines Bridge over the Saugus River was burned, he proposed its reconstruction, prepared the plans and was given full authority to under- take the work, completing in seven days a task which other engineers and contractors refused to undertake unless sixty to ninety days were allowed. Since that time he has been active in movements to secure construction of the new bridge recently approved by the Commonwealth.
At Lynn, Mr. Baldwin served for a num- ber of years on the Roads and Bridges Com- mittee of the Lynn Chamber of Commerce and is now (1935) its chairman, having charge of all bridges, highways and similar projects relating to the city. Recently he was elected by the town chairman of the World War Memorial Committee. He has always been much interested in the preser- vation of the fine traditions of the past and both in Lynn and Swampscott has been instrumental in the erection of a number of memorials, boulders, bronze monuments and tablets relating to the Revolution, Spanish and World wars. Another important serv- ice which he rendered to the community involved the purchase of the Humphrey House, a seventeenth century structure. He initiated the campaign which made possible the purchase of the house by voluntary con- tributions in 1921 and its subsequent restora- tion at a total cost of $7,000.
In 1933 Mr. Baldwin was the Republican candidate for the office of Senator for the
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First Essex Senatorial District, being de- feated by the narrow margin of two hundred and forty votes out of a total of some 40,000. Since February, 1933, he has been General Chairman of the Red Cross Distribution Center for Lynn. Mr. Baldwin was one of the earliest members of the Society of Auto- motive Engineers, which he joined in 1907. He is president of the Swampscott His- torical Society, a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, General Sanger Camp, United Spanish War Veterans, the Essex Institute, and has been at various times a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Army Ordnance Association, the American Institute of Elec- trical Engineers, the Ship Model Society of Rhode Island, Wayfarer's Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, the Engineers' Club of New York City, a director of the Swamp- scott Cooperative Bank and president of the Alliance Realty Company. He is an Episco- palian and is Past Senior Warden of the Church of the Holy Name at Swampscott.
Mr. Baldwin has traveled extensively ; for many years his engineering work carried him to various parts of the United States, and in 1924, with Mrs. Baldwin, he visited Europe, motoring through most of England and Northern France.
In recent years Mr. Baldwin has brought together a series of brief autobiographical notes, covering various phases of his active and versatile career. The following quota- tions, which reflect revealing qualities of his character, are made from that source :
(A) principle of mine is to work quickly and take a trial shot, so to speak. If right, I have gained a great deal of time, and if wrong, I have usually found sufficient time to make corrections and still be ahead of my competitors. Long deliberation usually does not give any better results, and so much time is used that the final product must be rushed through without corrections or improvement. This principle seems to apply not only to engineering, but to com- mercial and financial undertakings.
I never accept a statement from anyone that any- thing cannot be done. The will to do usually suc- ceeds.
I have always believed it to be the duty of every citizen to take some active part in the affairs of his community. My motto is: Vestigia nulla retrorsum (No steps backward).
CHARLES E. FLYNN-Since 1922 Charles E. Flynn, attorney-at-law, has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Boston. He was born at Saugus, Maine, November 24, 1896, son of Daniel and Bridget E. (McManus) Flynn. Both par- ents were natives of Ireland, and came to the United States in about 1888 when the father engaged in the leather business with which he has since continued.
Charles E. Flynn began his formal educa- tion in the public schools and was graduated in 1915 from the Saugus High School. He then entered Bowdoin College, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts with the class of 1919. His studies were interrupted while in college in 1917, by his enlistment in the navy for World War service. Winning the rank of ensign he flew on the patrol between Miami, Florida, to Bimini in the English Bahamas. After the signing of the Armis- tice and his honorable discharge from the service, he completed his formal education and matriculated at the Harvard Law School. In 1924 he received from the Bos- ton University Law School the degree of Master of Laws. Two years earlier he had been admitted to the bar and has since prac- ticed law in Boston.
Mr. Flynn resides in Saugus where he has been active in civic and public welfare circles. He has served as associate town counsel, on the honor roll commission and the housing commission. He is an Essex County Commander of the American Legion, a member of the Reserve Officers' Associa- tion, the Archi Club, Army and Navy Club, and the Bowdoin Club of Boston. Frater-
CABonner.
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nally he is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus and the Fraternal Order of Fores- ters. Chief among his recreations are golf and hunting.
On August 22, 1922, Charles E. Flynn married Miriam A. Shea, of Malden, Massa- chusetts, and they are the parents of two children : I. Charles E., Jr., born June 2, 1929. 2. Mary Lou, born February 12, 1933.
CLARENCE ALDEN BONNER, M. D. --- Since 1927 Dr. Clarence Alden Bonner has served as superintendent of the Danvers State Hospital, at Hathorne, this State. Mental diseases and treatment have com- prised his special field of study and work, and he has also served as assistant pro- fessor of psychiatry at the Medical College of the University of Vermont.
Dr. Bonner was born at Lynn, Massa- chusetts, on May 28, 1888, son of David Henry and Edna May (Newhall) Bonner and member of an old and honorable fam- ily. His father was a postal employee, and had a wide acquaintance in his community. After receiving his preliminary education, Clarence Alden Bonner became a student at Lynn English High School, and was grad- uated in 1908. From the fall of that year until 1910 he was at Dartmouth Medical College, and in 1913 he took his degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of Ver- mont. Serving an interneship at the Mary Fletcher Hospital, Burlington, Vermont, he spent eighteen months receiving practical guidance and experience in his profession under the direction of some of the foremost medical authorities of this region of New England.
In 1914 he began his active work with the Skinner Laboratory Company. at Skinner, Maine, there serving in the capacity of phy- sician until 1916, when he became assistant physician at Worcester State Hospital. Twc
years later he became associated with War- ren State Hospital, Warren, Pennsylvania, so continuing until 1920. He was senior assistant physician at Worcester State Hos- pital in 1920 and 1921, and in the season of 1921-22 was assistant superintendent of the same institution. During the next two years he acted as assistant to the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Diseases, and from 1924 to 1927 was chief executive officer of the Boston Psychopathic Hospital. It was in 1927 that he became connected with Danvers State Hospital, at Hathorne, Massachusetts, of which he is now superintendent. Since 1927 he has like- wise served as consultant on mental hygiene at the University of Vermont and as assist- ant professor of psychiatry at the Medical College of the same institution.
Dr. Bonner began his service to his coun- try in the World War period by enlisting in the Psychiatric Division of the United States Army, but his service was withheld because of illness. Prominent in psychiatry, he is today a member of the Massachusetts Society of Psychiatry, past treasurer of the New England Society of Psychiatry, and a member of the American Psychiatric Asso- ciation. He also belongs to the American Medical Association and the Alpha Kappa Kappa medical fraternity, and through his numerous affiliations keeps in the closest touch with new developments in medicine, surgery and mental treatment. Adding authorship to his other activities, he has contributed to medical journals and has pre- pared papers on a variety of subjects related to his special realm of work.
Social life has enlisted his interest and attention. Dr. Bonner, along with his many other alignments, is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Theta Nu Epsilon Fraternity. He is at the same time active in the Salem Country Club, the Dan-
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vers Rotary Club, and the Boston City Club. Through his connection with the Danvers State Hospital and his breadth of interests and activities, he has come to be widely and favorably known, and his position is one of respect and high standing among his con- temporaries.
On November 4, 1914, at Shelburne, Ver- mont, Dr. Clarence Alden Bonner married Blanche B. Bostwick, of Burlington, that State, daughter of T. L. and Ida M. (Lee) Bostwick. To this marriage were born three children: I. George Frederick Bon- ner, born April 18, 1916. 2. Marie Wanda Bonner, born February 24, 1919. 3. Kathleen Bostwick Bonner, born August 5, 1923.
TIMOTHY J. FALVEY-Thorough training and experience in the field of in- surance were the foundations upon which Timothy J. Falvey, of Boston and Swamp- scott, started and built the Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Company, of which he has been the president for twenty-seven years. This corporation operates in all the states of the Union and is one of the out- standing companies of its kind. Credit is given its president for the successful guid- ance of its affairs with a sure hand and sa- gacious efficiency since its organization.
Mr. Falvey was born in Lebanon, Con- necticut, January 17, 1868, a son of John and Ellen (Neale) Falvey, both of whom are deceased. The elder Mr. Falvey was a construction contractor for many years. After completing his education in the public schools of Norwich, Connecticut, Timothy J. Falvey became a clerk in the general store at Norwich and later was engaged in the men's furnishing and dry goods busi- ness in that same city. He was still a young man when he went to New York City and entered the advertising business. In 1897 Mr. Falvey went with the United States
Fidelity and Guarantee Insurance Com- pany, of Baltimore, being connected with the New York City office. In 1899 he re- moved to Boston as a special representative of the company in charge of agency devel- opment. A year later he became associated with George S. T. Newell, in charge of the office, remaining in this field of operation until the death of Mr. Newell in 1902, when he was promoted to the post of New Eng- land manager.
On July 1, 1907, Mr. Falvey resigned to organize the Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Company, of which he was elected president, an office he has since continued to hold. The company was incorporated in July, 1907, with a paid-in capital of $500,000 and a surplus of $250,000. The corporation, in 1934, had assets of $16,000,- 000 and is qualified to underwrite surety and fidelity bonds and all lines of casualty insurance in all states, cities, towns and courts, including such obligations and pro- tection which are required by the Federal Government and the courts thereof. It has a personnel organization of agents and legal representatives of approximately five thou- sand. Mr. Falvey has always maintained a keen interest in public affairs. He is a mem- ber of the Exchange Club, of Boston, the Tedesco Country Club, and others, golf ranking first among his recreations, and is a popular figure in the United States Senior Golf Association. He makes his home at Swampscott, Massachusetts, in the house occupied by President Coolidge in the sum- mer of 1925.
On October 26, 1892, Timothy J. Falvey married Mary E. Cosgrove, a native of Mas- sachusetts, and they have two sons: I. Wallace J. Falvey, first vice-president of the Massachusetts Bonding and Insurance Company, in charge of the New York office. He is a graduate of the Boston Latin
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School, and Harvard University, with the class of 1916, and served during the World War as a lieutenant in the Aviation Corps. 2. Donald Falvey, secretary and treasurer of the Massachusetts Bonding and Insur- ance Company. After being graduated from Phillips Andover Academy, he entered Har- vard University, graduating with the class of 1920. He was chief gunner's mate in the United States Navy during the World War.
COLONEL JOHN A. RADCLIFFE- As editor and publisher of the Gloucester "Daily Times," Colonel John A. Radcliffe has come to play an important part in the social, civic and business life of the com- munity of Gloucester, being prominently identified with many of the leading organi- zations here and exerting a dominant influ- ence on the affairs of this town in his ca- pacity as a journalist.
Colonel Radcliffe, a native of Gloucester, Massachusetts, was born here on September 12, 1884, the son of John I. and Christina J. R. (Anderson) Radcliffe. The family traces its American ancestry to Daniel Rad- cliffe, an English sea captain engaged in the fishing industry, who came to this coun- try, settling first in Boston and later in Gloucester. His father, also a follower of the sea, engaged in the fishing industry throughout this section during his active life.
Throughout his life he had manifested a great interest in newspapers and newspaper making. As a youth, he peddled papers on the street from the time he was eight years of age, and after leaving school he deter- mined to follow the journalistic profession. He gained his first experience as a member of the staff of the "Cape Ann Breeze," and in 1901, became associated with the Glouces- ter "Daily Times," serving this publication successively as circulation manager, reporter,
city editor, and finally publisher and part- owner, the posts he occupies today. Under his able guidance, this paper, which was established as a weekly in 1853 and became a daily in 1888, has grown greatly in cir- culation and importance. In addition to the official positions cited above, he is also vice- president of the Gloucester Times Com- pany.
Through his professional status he has come to be intimately associated with many of the leading social and civic organizations of this section. Since 1905 he has been a member of the Gloucester Board of Health, and is a charter member of the Gloucester Rotary Club, which he helped organize in 1923. Since that date he has not missed a meeting of this organization, and there have been over six hundred and fifty held up to the present time. He is a trustee of the Ad- dison Gilbert Hospital, and fraternizes with the Masonic Order, in which he holds the thirty-second degree and belongs to the Massachusetts Consistory, being standard- bearer of this body. He is also a life mem- ber of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and a member of the Bethlehem Commandery, Knights Templar, in Gloucester. Colonel Radcliffe was a member of old Company G, 8th Regiment of the National Guard, where he held the rank of second lieutenant. He was a member of Company L, of the 15th Regiment of the State Guard, where he was promoted successively to the ranks of lieu- tentant and captain, and became adjutant of the Ist Battalion. Later, he became a major, and served as Assistant Inspector General under the staff of the late President Cool- idge. Under the reorganization of the Mas- sachusetts National Guard, he was ap- pointed lieutenant-colonel, and is a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps of the United States Army. As a man very
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fond of the outdoors, Colonel Radcliffe finds his greatest pleasure and relaxation in fish- ing, farming and gardening.
Colonel John A. Radcliffe married Dora Littlefield, of Rockport. They have one son, Hartwell Leroy, a graduate of Huntington School and Northeastern University, and a tenor soloist of note.
ISAAC PATCH-Isaac Patch, president of the Gloucester Safe Deposit and Trust Company, was born in Gloucester, July 4, 1875, son of Isaac and Harriet W. (Lyle) Patch, the former a native of Hamilton, Massachusetts, the latter of Nova Scotia. His father, who came to this city in 1835, engaged in farming throughout his active life. Isaac Patch was educated in the public schools and Amherst College, whence he was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts de- gree in 1897, and Harvard Law School, re- ceiving his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1900. The same year he was admitted to practice before the Massachusetts State bar. He re- turned to Gloucester, practicing until 1914, when he was elected vice-president of the Gloucester Safe Deposit and Trust Com- pany, and today heads this institution as president, to which he was elected in 1929. His record as a local official dates back to 1901, when he was elected to the old Com- mon Council and served with this body for two terms. In 1908, when the new charter of the city was adopted, he became a mem- ber of the board of aldermen, occupying this office through 1910. The following year he was elected mayor. He has also been a member of the school committee and served with this body for nine years.
Mr. Patch has served as treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Association for the past twenty-five years, and is also a member of the board of trustees of the Addison Gilbert Hospital. He is a member of the
standing committee of the Trinity Congre- gational Church.
On December 17, 1901, Mr. Patch married Helen M. Andrew, and they are the parents of four children : I. Helen A., wife of Rob- ert T. Gray. 2. Paula, wife of Henry H. Newell of Boston. 3. Isaac, Jr., associated with the National Shawmut Bank of Bos- ton. 4. Jean Merrill.
RICHARD J. McCORMICK-The legal profession of Essex County contains many members distinguished in law and in the broader service of public affairs, and in the front rank of these citizens Richard J. Mc- Cormick, of Haverhill, occupies a place of recognized merit. His cultured personality, his knowledge of affairs and of men, to- gether with his quarter-century in the ac- tive practice of law, ably fit him for the po- sition he holds as a leading figure of the bar and a constructive influence in civic and community life. Mr. McCormick was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on August II, 1888, son of John R. McCormick, born in County Limerick, Ireland, and Margaret M. (McCarthy) McCormick, who died in 1922.
After receiving his preliminary education in the parochial schools of Haverhill, Mr. McCormick entered Boston University Law School and was graduated in 1909 with honor, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. A year later he was admitted to the bar and began to practice in Boston, where he was associated with Charles S. Baxter, and maintained an office also in Haverhill, con- ducting a general practice. It did not take long for the young lawyer to establish a clientele, his constant study and aptitude for research and court practice early making themselves evident, and his professional ca- reer shows in a steadily ascending line of usefulness and success. His association with Mr. Baxter continued sixteen years and was
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