USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume IV > Part 13
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Fred A. Smith.
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interrupted by Mr. McCormick's election to the Massachusetts Legislature in 1923, and upon the completion of this term, he was reelected. He was a member of the judici- ary committee during the administration of Governor McCall, and served on the State Board of Pardons and Paroles during the administration of Governor Coolidge. He was also a member of a committee of nine members of the House of Representatives that acted on the celebrated impeachment case of A. K. Reading, attorney general of Massachusetts. Throughout his public and professional career Mr. McCormick dis- played high qualities of character and un- derstanding for public welfare.
In addition to being known as an out- standing member of the bar through his large practice, Mr. McCormick has been elected to the honored office of president of the Haverhill Bar Association, an office that has been filled by several national figures. He is also a member of the Massachusetts and American Bar associations. During the World War Mr. McCormick was active in all Liberty Loan drives and other move- ments of patriotic importance. He is a mem- ber of the Pentucket Club, Haverhill Lodge of Elks, Haverhill Council, Knights of Co- lumbus, and the Chamber of Commerce; his religious affiliation is with St. James' Ro- man Catholic Church.
In 1911 Mr. McCormick married Verna A. Sullivan, a native of Haverhill, and they are the parents of three children: I. Mar- garet M., member of the class of 1935 at Trinity College, Washington, District of Columbia. 2. Richard J., Jr., graduated from Holy Cross College in 1934, with hon- ors, and is now attending Harvard Law School. 3. Mary' D., attending Bradford Junior College ; and resides at No. 220 Ken- oza Avenue, Haverhill, Massachusetts.
EDWARD WILLIAM EAMES, who has served as headmaster of Governor Dummer Academy at South Byfield since 1930, was born in Buffalo, New York, Aug- ust 14, 1900, a son of Edward Ashley and Isabel Ransom (Morey) Eames. He re- ceived his preliminary education at Nichols Country Day School, Buffalo, from which he was graduated in 1917 and subsequently entered Amherst College, where he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1922. In 1925 he also took the degree of Master of Arts at Harvard University. Meanwhile he had already begun his career as an educator. Appointed to the faculty of Deerfield Acad- emy in 1923, he taught there during the academic year 1923-24 and on the comple- tion of his graduate work at Harvard re- turned to that institution. Mr. Eames re- mained at Deerfield until July, 1930, when he was appointed headmaster of Governor Dummer Academy. A decade of experience as a teacher and administrator and a thor- ough sympathy with the fine traditions of the school, which is one of the oldest in the United States, qualify him for his present office. Under his leadership the revitaliza- tion of the Academy has gone forward rap- idly and its progress has been notable.
Mr. Eames is a member of the Ould New- bury Club and the Oldtown Country Club of Newbury. He is affiliated with the Beta Theta Pi and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities and is a member of the Congregational Church.
In June, 1926, he married Eleanor Kim- ball of Burlington, Vermont, and they are the parents of two children: Elizabeth Tower and Edward Ashley Eames.
FRED ANDREW SMITH-As director of the Essex County Agricultural School, Fred Andrew Smith has contributed richly
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to the educational plan of this region of New England. His position is one of high stand- ing in the academic world, and he is well regarded by his fellow-citizens in all walks of life.
Mr. Smith was born at Lynn, Massachu- setts, on June 6, 1871, son of Henry H. and Emma Jane (Keene) Smith, both natives of Maine. His father, a shoemaker by trade, was in the Ist Maine Cavalry during the Civil War, so serving through the early pe- riod, and later was transferred to the navy. Both parents are now deceased.
In the schools of Lynn, Fred Andrew Smith received his formal education and graduated from Lynn Classical High School in 1889. Interested in agriculture, he entered the Massachusetts Agricultural College and was graduated in 1893. He returned to Lynn and joined his father, who, at that period, was a market gardener and whole- sale florist, having so continued for nine years, and was also superintendent of parks for a time at Hopedale, Massachusetts. He was likewise associated with Manning Broth- ers, who were engaged in perfecting a park system for the town. Fred A. Smith was made resident superintendent, served in the season of 1902-03, and from 1903 to 1913 he was superintendent of Turner Hill Farm, known as the Rice estate, the largest prop- erty under single ownership in the Essex County area. He helped to improve this farm, instituting modern departmental or- ganization and methods.
In 1913, when the Essex County Agricul- tural School was opened, he was appointed by Governor Foss to be the "long-term" member of the board of trustees of the insti- tution. In May, 1913, he resigned from the position, and was elected director. Thirty- eight farms were presented to the board for inspection. Mr. Smith listed all these prop- erties, and from the list the board of trus- tees finally selecting the present farm, con-
sisting of one hundred and ten acres, and leased twenty-five extra acres. From a small and insignificant property, it has been devel- oped into a fine practical farm, and on it are practiced all farm vocations. The group of students has grown from sixty-eight to more than four hundred. Mr. Smith has given his undivided attention to the school, which has, in its history, graduated more than seven hundred students. Every year there is a waiting list of those eager to gain admittance to the institution and to be given access to its splendid opportunities for prac- tical work.
In addition to his other activities, Mr. Smith was early active in a number of the leading clubs and social groups of Danvers. He is a member of the Essex County Agri- cultural Society, of which he was formerly secretary for seven years. He also belongs to the Horticultural Club of Massachusetts, and is a member of the Danvers Rotary Club and the local Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. In all his many affiliations, he has proved his ability for leadership, and his labors have been concretely and con- structively directed.
Fred Andrew Smith married, on July 12, 1899, Frances Mary Knowland, of Lynn, Massachusetts. Of this marriage have been born three children: I. Helen Frances, who became the wife of Robert M. Neal, editor of the staff of the Springfield "Republican," of Springfield, Massachusetts. They have one daughter, Margaret. 2. Mildred Elsie, wife of William B. Norton, instructor at Boston University. Two sons, Richard and Charles. 3. Harold Knowland, a graduate of Clark University, Worcester, class of June, 1933.
WILLIAM GLOVER BROWN-Both in seniority and by right of esteem, William Glover Brown is the dean of Gloucester merchants. Although now in his eighty- first year, he still continues active in the
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direction of the celebrated institution which he founded in this city half a century ago.
Mr. Brown was born in Kirkfieldbank, Scotland, April 26, 1854, seventh child of Robert and Margaret (Glover) Brown. The father, who was a carpet weaver, removed from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, where the finest Scottish carpets were produced, and was employed there in his trade until his death at the early age of thirty-nine. The care of the family then devolved solely upon the mother, who saw that her children were educated and taught a trade, or given other suitable employment. Five of them later came to the United States.
William Glover Brown attended the Glas- gow day school until he was twelve, at which time he went to work for a local tradesman as message boy and assistant to the sales clerks. In 1872, when he was eighteen, he came to New England with his mother and his two sisters, Janet and Mary, settling in Providence, Rhode Island. Here his previous experience as a dry goods clerk enabled him to obtain employment with Callendar, MacAuslan and Troup, a local dry goods firm, for whom he worked during the following eight years. Meanwhile, he added further to his store of experience and accumulated savings to an extent which made it possible for him to enter business for himself. Accordingly, at the end of eight years, he established a small dry goods store in Milford, Massachusetts, in partner- ship with J. S. MacDonald. Three years later he bought out his partner's interest and continued alone at Milford until 1885 when he moved his stock to Gloucester. In a small store on the south side of Main Street in this city, where the Masonic block is now situated, he opened his first Gloucester establishment. Five years later he moved to the present location of the William G. Brown Company at Postoffice
Square, where the firm entered upon a long period of uninterrupted success. Progress was steady and substantial, and several en- largements of the store were necessary. When the quarters of the company were destroyed by fire on February 16, 1926, they were immediately rebuilt on a larger and more modern scale, with the result that the service of the store to the community has been continued even more effectively during the past eight years. The scope of its ac- tivities has greatly broadened since the day fifty years ago when the first store was opened. Today the company is one of the leading business houses of Essex County and its store is one of the finest department stores in any city of the same size in New England.
The William G. Brown Company store [wrote the Gloucester "Daily Times" on the recent occasion of Mr. Brown's eightieth birthday] is without doubt the finest department store between Boston and Portland . It is more than a house of business-it is an institution of which Gloucester people, and that includes scores of summer Gloucesterites who trade regularly at Brown's, are proud. Perhaps the keynote of Mr. Brown's achievement is the high quality of his establishment, both in merchandise and environment. The atmosphere is almost unique. It is similar to that in some old Boston stores which have existed for generations. The fact that the Brown store achieved this atmosphere and, more important and more difficult, has kept it, is due to the ability of the head of the firm.
The store has been the substance of Mr. Brown's life. He has given his time and energy to it to make it what it is. And he still progresses .
During the long history of the Brown firm it has taken over a number of other organizations. In 1934 he purchased Shep- herd's Market and with hardly a break in the routine of his organization added a new line ---- the selling of meat and provisions. He has always been an expert merchandiser and enjoys a large mail order trade. In addition to his own company, Mr. Brown
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has had a number of important banking connections and was at one time president of the former Cooperative Bank and a direc- tor of the old City National Bank. He has been very active both socially and frater- nally, in spite of the pressure of his business interests, and is a former president of the Commonwealth Club of Gloucester, a mem- ber of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Association, the Scots Charitable Society of Boston and the Free and Accepted Masons. In the latter order he is a member of Tyrian Lodge; William Ferson Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and Bethlehem Command- ery, Knights Templar. Mr. Brown is fond of outdoor life and sports, particularly fish- ing, cruising and yachting. He has followed with interest the work of the summer colony of artists on Cape Ann and as president of his company was responsible for offering them the unusual opportunity of exhibiting their work on the walls of the Brown store. With the leisure of later years he has trav- eled to some extent and in the spring of 1930 revisited the scenes of his early life in Scotland. He remains an honored and re- spected figure in this city, and his attain- ment of his eightieth year in April, 1934, was the signal for many felicitations which poured in upon him. From the article in the Gloucester "Daily Times," which has been previously mentioned, the following additional paragraph may be quoted :
Customers and associates who see Mr. Brown walk- ing between his counters today, keeping in close touch with the affairs of his store, and judging matters as they come up with true Scottish practicality, may reflect with respect that here is a man who has con- ducted a business on Main Street for nearly forty-nine years, building up in the process not merely a business organization, but an institution of which the city is proud. There seems little danger of over-editorializing in saying that business men and customers alike unite in wishing William G. Brown "many happy returns of the day."
William Glover Brown married Minnie S. Russell, of Worcester, and they are the parents of two children : I. William Glover, Jr. (q. v.). 2. Margaret.
WILLIAM G. BROWN, JR .- As treas- urer of the William G. Brown Company of Gloucester, William G. Brown, Jr., con- tinues the family connection with Essex County's leading department store in the second generation. He has been associated with his father in this enterprise during the greater part of his active career.
Mr. Brown was born in Gloucester on September 25, 1886, son of William Glover Brown, Sr. (q. v.), and Minnie S. (Russell) Brown. He received his preliminary edu- cation in the Gloucester public schools and after completing the high school course entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated in 1910 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. For two years follow- ing he was associated with the old estab- lished dry goods house of Callendar, Mac- Auslan and Troup at Providence, Rhode Island, where his father had worked upon his first arrival in America from Scotland. At the end of this time he returned to ยท Gloucester and joined the William G. Brown Company as treasurer, a position which he has since retained. Mr. Brown has taken an active part in the development of the com- pany during recent years and shares the responsibility of its management with his father. In addition to this connection, he is vice-president and a director of the Cape Ann National Bank and a director of Per- kins and Corliss, automobile dealers of Gloucester. Mr. Brown has also been ac- tive in local civic affairs. He is a trustee of Addison Gilbert Hospital and has been as- sociated with other community movements with whose aims he is in sympathy. Fra-
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ternally he is affiliated with Tyrian Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons and in this order is a member of various higher bodies, including William Ferson Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Bethlehem Commandery, Knights Templar, of which he is Past Com- mander; the Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order No- bles of the Mystic Shrine, at Boston. Mr. Brown is a member of the Eastern Point Yacht Club, the Bass Rocks Golf Club, the Gloucester Rotary Club and the Cape Ann Camera Club. Yachting and golf are his principal recreations.
On April 27, 1914, William Glover Brown, Jr., married Hester P. Fisher of Gloucester and they are the parents of four children : I. William Glover, III, born February 23, 1915. 2. Robert F., born January 15, 1917. 3. Jean M., born November 10, 1923. 4. Barbara, born January 10, 1926.
RUSSELL F. PERKINS-On July I, 1934, there was added to the industrial con- cerns of Danvers the Artcraft Leather Com- pany, recently founded by Russell F. Per- kins and William Bauer. The business of this new company may be described in gen- eral as the finishing of leathers for sale only on order. In detail it means the purchase by the partners of semi-finished hides from the tanner, and the turning out of a com- pleted product that may be embossed, dec- orated or finished in a hundred styles in ac- cord with the ideas of the purchaser and the proprietors of the company. Mr. Perkins brought to this enterprise some years of practical experience. He was born at Essex January 15, 1898, son of Arthur F. and Etta L. (Pike) Perkins, both natives of Essex County and members of families long resi- dent here. He was educated in the schools of Topsfield, where his father at the time
operated a dairy farm. Later he attended night classes in Boston University for three years.
In 1916 Mr. Perkins became associated with the Lawrence Leather Company, of Peabody. In April of the following year, however, he enlisted in Battery F, IOIst Field Artillery, and in July, 1917, was called to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces overseas. He arrived in France in September, 1917, being one of the first of the American soldiers to go abroad, and also among the first to reach the front lines of battle. He participated in the battle of Chateau Thierry, the St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne Offensives, and other ma- jor engagements. Altogether Mr. Perkins was nineteen months in France, and re- ceived his honorable discharge at Camp Devens in April, 1919. The return to civil- ian activities came almost immediately as an employee of the Lawrence Leather Com- pany at Peabody. In 1926 he resigned his position and, upon his departure, had the honor of being presented with a watch in appreciation of his connection with the com- pany. He then went with the Griess-Pfle- ger Company, remaining until he went in business for himself, in 1934, as already in- dicated.
On October 4, 1924, Russell F. Perkins married Irene L. Wade, of Lynn, and they are the parents of two children: Wesley A., born October II, 1925; and Marilyn I., born May 25, 1929.
MAURICE J. MAHONEY-For three generations the Mahoney family have been identified with the funeral undertaking busi- ness of Lawrence and have been prominent in the civic, fraternal and other affairs of the community. In 1849 John J. Mahoney left his native shores of Ireland to make his home in the United States, where he settled
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in Lawrence and became sexton of the old Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church. Fif- teen years later he established the business which bears his name and has been success- fully continued by the family. Upon his death in 1873 he was succeeded by his oldest son, Maurice J. Mahoney, who ably guided the firm into larger fields of usefulness and service. Maurice J. Mahoney was one of the best known citizens of Lawrence, having been active in civic matters and associated with many activities. He served as a mem- ber of the school board for sixteen years; was one of the organizers of Lawrence Coun- cil, No. 67, Knights of Columbus, being the first Grand Knight, and was first State Warden of this organization ; and was also a member for many years of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He also had the distinguished record of being a member of the choir of Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church for over fifty years. His death on September 25, 1932, deprived Lawrence of one of her most constructive citizens and removed one of the city's popular and re- spected residents.
Maurice J. Mahoney was united in mar- riage to Ellen A. Holihan, and they became the parents of fourteen children, of which eleven are living. They are: I. J. William. 2. Mrs. Mary E. Guinivan, of Marblehead. 3. Maurice J., Jr., of Boston. 4. Vincent A. 5. Mrs. Theresa Donovan, who is organist of Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church. 6. Joseph A. 7. Major Charles A., who is a West Point graduate and held a major's rank in the United States Army until his re- tirement. 8. Mrs. Genevieve E. Hartigan, of Andover. 9. Mrs. Madeline E. Carey. 10. Eleanor H. 11. Claire F.
Two sons, J. William and Joseph A. Ma- honey, have succeeded their father in busi- ness and are worthily continuing the tradi- tions associated with the Mahoney under- taking firm. In their own right they have
become recognized as leaders in the commu- nity by their activities in various organiza- tions. J. William Mahoney has a distin- guished war record, having served with the 26th Division overseas from September, 1917, to May, 1919, as regimental adjutant and as captain of the IoIst Ammunition Train. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, holding the office of Faithful Navigator and the fourth degree ; the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Kiwanis Club, of which he is a past presi- dent. On April 21, 1920, he married Mar- guerite E. White, of Lawrence, and they have three children: 1. Rose. 2. Mary. 3. Joseph.
Joseph A. Mahoney is active in Demo- cratic party affairs, serving as city commit- teeman and has numerous fraternal associa- tions, being a member of the Knights of Co- lumbus; the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division No. 8; Lawrence Lodge, No. 65, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Lawrence Aerie, No. 216, Fraternal Order of Eagles.
REV. HENRY LYONS-The Catholic Church became an important factor in the history of Haverhill at about the beginning of the last half of the nineteenth century, though individual Catholics and occasional small groups appeared much carlier. In 1846 they were present in such numbers that a sizeable group of Catholics went every Sunday to Mass in Lawrence, walk- ing to and from that city. By 1848 they determined to establish a place of worship in Haverhill, holding services in private houses and inviting a priest to come from Lawrence to say Mass-usually Father French. In August, 1850, there came a per- manent pastor, the Rev. John T. McDon- nell, who was born in Galway, Ireland, May 20, 1822, educated in Rome, came in 1850 to Boston, and was immediately sent to Hav-
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erhill to erect a church. St. Gregory's, erected on Main Street, was opened in Sep- tember of that year. This church contin- ued to grow and flourish until 1884, when the church edifice was no longer adequate, and a new one was erected. It was opened amid pomp and ceremony in September of that year, and some of the most distin- guished dignitaries of this section of the State were present. This church, dedicated as St. James', is beautifully equipped, and stands in a prominent position in Haverhill. Its stately tower can be seen from the neighboring peaks of the friendly moun- tains of New Hampshire. The style of the structure is conventionalized Gothic. It is rectangular in form, having a length of 164 feet and a width across the nave of 77 feet. The side walls are 28 feet high and the ridge of the roof is 80 feet above the floor. The spacious auditorium seats 1,350 persons, and is lighted from each side by seven large mullioned windows with moveable sashes. On the side of the main altar are two smaller statues, one of Saint Bridget, and the other of the Blessed Virgin. The chapels, sanctuary, sacristies and aisles are artisti- cally ornamented and serviceable. The tower clock is a beautiful structure, filling a community need. Its dials are seven feet in diameter, and of French ground glass, three-eighths of an inch thick, round-rimmed on both sides, with gilt figures and inde- pendent framing on the exterior. The large bell of the "Angelus" weighs 5,022 pounds, and the smaller one 2,200 pounds. The old Church of St. Gregory was partly converted into a school under Father J. Doherty, and the school remains today an important ad- junct of the church. There are many church societies, including the Catholic Aid and the Haverhill Catholic Women's Club. The Holy Name Society was organized in 1880, and other groups are the Children of Mary,
for younger girls; the Young Men's Sodal- ity ; the Sacred Heart Society; Society of Propagation of Faith, Corcisser Society and the Newman Club Sodality Choir.
The present head and irremovable pastor of St. James' Church, the Rev. Henry Lyons, is one of the widely known and well-loved priests in this section of New England. He has carried forward effectively the work of the Catholic Church in many Massachusetts communities. A native of this Common- wealth, he is a son of Michael and Mary (Kean) Lyons, both of Ireland. He re- ceived his early education in the public schools of Winchester and was graduated from high school in 1893, and subsequently attended Boston College from which he was graduated with the class of 1896, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. At St. John's Seminary he prepared for the priesthood and was ordained in 1900. His first assign- ment was as curate of the church at Marble- head, where he remained from 1900 to 1912. Following those twelve years of conscien- tious and painstaking service to his parish- ioners, he was transferred to South Boston in 1912, there remaining until, on January 23, 1922, he was assigned to another pas- torate. Here he continued his labors until 1927. He was assigned to Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he remained until April 13, 1932, on which date His Eminence, Cardinal O'Connell, appointed him irremov- able parish priest at St. James' Church, Haverhill. Taking over the duties con- nected with this parish, he has continued the excellent work of his predecessor, Father Graham.
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