USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume IV > Part 18
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Outside of his business, Mr. Graves has contributed to the community welfare, as- sisting all efforts that make for civic better- ment through personal service and through organizations to which he belongs. He is a member of the Central Congregational Church and of the Good Fellowship Class in the Sunday school. Fraternally he is a member of Providence Lodge, No. 171, In- dependent Order of Foresters, and A. C. Moody Lodge, No. 99, Knights of Pythias.
On October 21, 1885, he was married to Alice M. Brown, who was born in Lynn, March 31, 1860, and died October 21, 1928. She was a daughter of Lucius W. and Han- nah (Stone) Brown, natives of Lynn, where Lucius Brown was a shoe worker. He was a veteran of the Civil War. Mrs. Graves was educated in the public schools of Lynn, and was a member of the Central Congre- gational Church. They are the parents of four children: I. Frederick Herbert, who was born October 2, 1886, is a traveling representative for the New York Life In- surance Company, and resides in Quincy. He married Cora Newhall, of Lynn, and they have five children : Oswell A., Lora- more, Phyllis Verne and Syble. 2. Samuel A., Jr., who was born September 14, 1888, is a World War veteran, married Bertha Scolley, of Worcester. He is a practicing dentist. 3. Susie. 4. Florence Edith. The daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Graves are asso- ciated with the West Roxbury Cooperative Bank of Boston and reside at home.
GEORGE HEADLEY GRAY-A native of St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, George Headley Gray as a youth of twenty removed to Boston and obtained work with the old Lynn and Boston Street Railway. He has continued with this company under its sev- eral changes of name to the present, and ran the whole gamut of promotions until in 1918 he was made manager of the Lynn dis-
trict, a post he now holds. His experience has covered the rise of rapid transit from the street car to electrification and the sub- way. He was born on September 15, 1866, son of George Morrison and Jane (Smith) Gray, the former a native of Scotland, who for many years was a contractor and builder in St. John. His wife was born in Carlisle, England, and died in St. John, in Octo- ber, 1929, at the age of ninety-three years. George M. Gray died also in St. John, No- vember, 1890, at the age of sixty-nine years.
After completing his education in the New Brunswick public schools, George Headley Gray clerked in a grocery store for five years. In 1886 he went to Boston and found employment as a driver of a horse car for the old Lynn and Boston Street Railway. He has remained with this organ- ization since, although it has been known variously as the Lynn and Boston, Boston and Northern, Bay State Railway, and is now the Eastern Massachusetts Railway. In the fifty years that Mr. Gray has been associated with this corporation he has worked his way through nearly all depart- ments. Since 1918 he has been the manager of the Lynn District with two hundred and twenty-five men on his payroll. He came to Lynn in 1912 as the general superintendent in charge of all lines between Gloucester, Reading, and Boston. His offices are at No. 985 Western Avenue, Lynn, although he resides in Swampscott.
Fraternally Mr. Gray is affiliated with Neptune Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Revere, of which he is a Past Grand; with Star of Bethlehem Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Chelsea ; Shekinah Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Chelsea; Mys- tic Lodge, No. 19, Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the board of directors of the Lynn Chamber of Com- merce, director of the Rotary Club, Lynn, New England Street Railway clubs, and a
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member of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation. His religious affiliations are with the Holy Name Episcopal Church, Swamp- scott, which he serves as a vestryman.
On September 21, 1886, George Headley Gray married at St. John, Mary F. Melliday, a native of Boston, daughter of William Melliday, deceased. He was a native of St. John and his wife of Boston. Mrs. Gray was educated in the public schools of St. John, and is a member of Holy Name Epis- copal Church, Swampscott. Mr. and Mrs. Gray are the parents of a son and three daughters: 1. William Russell, of Swamp- scott, traveling shoe salesman. He married Etta M. Cunningham, of Boston, and they have a daughter, Barbara Russell Gray. 2. Mary Mildred, wife of Rev. Henry E. Eden- borg, rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Parish in Dorchester, and the mother of a daugh- ter, Alice Elizabeth. 3. Elizabeth, wife of George H. Heys, associated with the United Shoe Machinery Company, of Beverly. They have a daughter, Eleanor Gray. 4. Alice, wife of Dr. Herbert E. Esterberg, of Swamp- cott, dentist in Watertown. They have two children : Thelma and Robert Esterberg.
FREDERICK PLUMMER SMITH- "Kent and Smith" is a trade-name regarded by the shoe industry of the Nation as syn- onymous for the best shoe stains, blacking and dressings, and is an esteemed business concern in Lynn in the commercial life of which it has long been identified. Although both Mr. Kent and Mr. Smith have passed away, the son of the latter founder, Fred- erick Plummer Smith, is ably continuing the business upon the high standard which has established this firm as a leader in its field.
Frederick Plummer Smith was born at Lynn, September 6, 1895, a son of Frederick Plummer Smith, who was born at Mont- pelier, Vermont, January 9, 1858, and died
at Lynn, March 18, 1925, and of Cora Luella (Woodward) Smith. Mr. Smith attended public schools and entered the firm of Kent and Smith which had been founded by his father and Charles Kent.
The firm manufactured a superior quality of shoe stains, blacking and dressings, which won wide approval in the shoe industry, and the business made steady progress, enlarg- ing from time to time the equipment and the number of employees. The business was a partnership until the death of Mr. Kent in 1908, at which time Mr. Smith purchased the Kent interest, continuing, however, the trade-name of Kent and Smith. In 1925 Frederick Plummer (1) Smith died and since then his son, Frederick Plummer (2) has conducted the company's affairs, and he is the sole owner of Kent and Smith. While continuing the traditional standard of the firm, Mr. Smith has devoted his efforts to developing new products and has advanced the business to a considerable degree. His executive ability is widely recognized in the commercial circles of Lynn.
Apart from business, Mr. Smith is con- nected with the Masonic Order in Essex County, being a member of Golden Fleece Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Sutton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Zebulon Coun- cil, Royal and Select Masters; Olivet Com- mandery, Knights Templar; and all the Scottish Rite bodies of Boston, in which city he is also a member of Aleppo Temple, An- cient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of American Legion Post No. 291, having served in the World War. He enlisted in June, 1918, was in training at Syracuse, New York, and was waiting to embark at Camp Mills, Long Is- land, when the signing of the Armistice caused his honorable discharge. Entering as a private, he had been promoted to cor- poral. Mr. Smith is an active member of
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the Lions Club, the Republican party, and the First Congregational Church of Lynn. For relaxation from his many activities, Mr. Smith goes to his library, and from a large selection, chooses a volume, usually of cur- rent interest, his reading covering a wide range of subjects.
On June 27, 1927, Mr. Smith married Mabelle C. Benvie, of Danvers, and a daugh- ter of John and Estelle L. (Galbraith) Ben- vie. Her father was born in St. John, New Brunswick, moved to Danvers, where he was associated with the Bay State Street Railway. He died in Lynn. Her mother was born at New York City, and is living at Lynn. Mrs. Frederick Plummer Smith is a graduate of Danvers High School, and is a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church of Danvers. She is a member of Regis Chap- ter, Order of the Eastern Star; and the Women's Auxiliary of the American Legion. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of a son, Frederick Plummer (3), born March 2, 1929.
REV. JAMES A. O'ROURKE-St. Pat- rick's Roman Catholic Church, at Lynn, of which the Rev. James A. O'Rourke has been pastor since 1934, is one of the well- known parishes of the Roman Catholic Church in this city. On its own property the church was organized June 26, 1896, under the patronage of St. Patrick. Up to this date St. Patrick's was part of St. Mary's parish and continued as a part of the latter until 1906. The Rt. Rev. Monsignor A. J. Teeling was then pastor of St. Mary's and he built St. Patrick's Church in 1896, con- tinuing as its pastor until July, 1906, when it became a separate parish. The first pas- tor was Dr. Patrick Masterson and he re- mained in charge until 1909, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Philip J. Gormley. The beautiful altar, presented by P. B. Ma- grane, was consecrated by Archbishop Wil-
liams December 10, 1896, and the school was opened in September, 1897. Father Gormley assumed the pastorate and re- mained here until his death in March, 191I. He was succeeded by Father F. J. Hallora- han, now pastor of the Roman Catholic Church at Wakefield. The latter priest re- mained until 1913, when he was succeeded by Father M. J. Walsh, who continued in charge until 1934 when Father O'Rourke was assigned to the parish.
Sisters of Notre Dame were first brought as teachers to this parish and they were followed in 1908 by twelve sisters of the St. Dominican Order, who were placed in charge of the instruction in the school of four hundred and fifty pupils. Next to the church proper there were formerly two houses, one the Sisters' home, the other the rectory, but these two houses were later made into one as a house for the sisters. This change was effected during the pas- torate of Father Hallorahan. He also pur- chased the Richard Breed house at Orchard and Summer streets, near Breed Square. This house, a fine dwelling, containing twelve large and beautiful rooms, is now used as the rectory. The parish contains at present (1935) about twenty-four hun- dred souls of which fifteen hundred are adults and eight hundred children.
To St. Patrick's Church came Father James A. O'Rourke in 1934, a pastor of large experience and a priest of spiritual power. Father O'Rourke was born Sep- tember II, 1868, in Salem, son of the late James and Theresa O'Rourke. His father was a widely known leather manufacturer and at one time was a member of the firm of Clark and Treadwell, in Salem. James A. O'Rourke studied at the Bowditch and Pickman grammar schools at Salem and was graduated from the Salem High School. Following the completion of his high school
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Rev. James A. O. Courte
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course, he entered Boston College, where he continued his studies for two years and then entered Holy Cross College, Worces- ter, where he spent three years. In 1888 he was graduated from Holy Cross College and began his theological studies at St. John's Seminary, Brighton. There he re- mained until he was graduated and ordained in 1892. At the seminary he was a fellow- student of the late Father Maley of Lynn, though Father O'Rourke received his holy orders a year earlier than Father Maley who had been appointed a curate at St. Joseph's parish. They were destined, how- ever, to meet again soon, for they were to- gether assigned as curates at St. Mary's Church, Cambridge, where Father O'Rourke served his first curacy. There he and Father Maley formed a friendship that lasted throughout the years in which they together served in the priesthood until Father Ma- ley's death in 1934.
From Cambridge, Father O'Rourke was assigned to Stoneham, where he remained for nine years. He was then transferred to Campello, in the southern part of Brockton. Here Father O'Rourke left a brilliant rec- ord. He was transferred as pastor of St. Mary's Church, Foxboro, where he re- mained until he was appointed to the Church of SS. Peter and Paul, South Bos- ton, one of the oldest and largest churches in Boston diocese. For twenty-one years he was pastor of this church, and there, as elsewhere, his work stood out prominently. Unfortunately that parish suffered when the railroad built a line through the church property and the Gillette Razor Company also bought a tract of land for a factory nearby. These events tended to reduce the membership from four thousand, the figure at which it stood when Father O'Rourke began his pastorate there. Father O'Rourke had a host of friends in the community and
it was a source of deep regret to them when he was assigned to another church.
At St. Patrick's, Father O'Rourke has one curate to assist him in the work of the parish, Father John B. Moore, who served as curate for a year under Father Welsh (q. v.). Father O'Rourke has installed a Sunday school for students who attend the public schools, and has an attendance of about two hundred pupils. He has added to the school and the rectory, especially through alteration and modernization of rooms and redecoration and improvement of equipment. The school, to which he added both rooms and classes, conducts courses in all branches of education, includ- ing elocution, music, drawing, painting and the arts, as well as gymnastics.
In Lynn, as in all the other charges he has had, Father O'Rourke's work has been of value and worth. In each of his charges he has combined to a very successful de- gree the elements of a warm humanity, a sympathetic nature and business acumen, and these qualities give him that strength of leadership needed for the management of a great spiritual organization like the Church of St. Patrick's. By his efforts and achievements he has won the hearty affec- tion and support of his parishioners.
HARRY TRACY WHITNEY-It is dis- tinctly to the credit and ability of Harry Tracy Whitney that he has been able to launch and direct a quality shoe manufac- turing concern in a city where competition is so keen. His steady association with this industry has given him wide experience that has prepared him to supervise the activities of a firm which today ships its products throughout the United States and to the is- land of Puerto Rico.
Mr. Whitney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1876, the son of Al-
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bert and Mary Jane (Tracy) Whitney. His father, who was the son of Christopher and and Dolly Whitney, was a native of Stow, Massachusetts, and engaged in the contract stitching business. He was a veteran of the Civil War, a Democrat in politics and took an active part in the social and civic affairs of his surroundings. The elder Whitney passed away in Lynn on December, 1909. Mary Jane Tracy, mother of Mr. Whitney, was a relative of a prominent Lynn attor- ney, who during his career was active in the movement to have the city purchase the Lynn woods.
Mr. Whitney received his general educa- tion in the public schools of Lynn and Phila- delphia. He became associated with the shoe manufacturing firm of Grow and Spinney of Lynn, and remained with this organization for seven or eight years. His experience from this time until 1902 was broad and varied and shortly after the turn of the cen- tury he started in business for himself, open- ing a plant on Washington Street, where for ten years he manufactured shoes under his own name. The excellence of his work- manship was recognized and other establish- ments contracted with him for the privilege of using his product under their trade name. Thus his work was divided for a period but in 1925 he resumed his original work of mak- ing boys' and men's shoes and is supplying an ever-growing market.
Mr. Whitney is a Republican in politics and attends the Congregational Church in Lynn. Throughout his career his diversions have been reading and touring.
In May, 1896, in the city of Lynn, Mr. Whitney married Mary Elizabeth Cook, a native of Prince Edward Island, and the daughter of Isaac and Susan (Bears) Cook. She died in Lynn in 1909. There were three children by this union: I. Ina, who died at the age of thirteen. 2. Earle Ernest, edu- cated in the public schools of Lynn, asso-
ciated with the shoe industry here and mar- ried to Charlotte Remic of Marblehead. 3. Olive Irene, graduate of Wheaton College at Norton, Massachusetts, now residing with her father.
THOMAS MICHAEL MURRAY today directs the activities of one of the leading men's clothing establishments in the city of Lynn. As president of this enterprise he has also come to be widely recognized for his keen and active interest in the civic and social affairs of his surroundings, and is identified with many of the leading organ- izations here.
Mr. Murray, a native of Ireland, was born in Cork, January 1, 1877, the son of John and Margaret (O'Leary) Murray. His father was born in Macroon, Ireland, and died in Lynn in 1920, where for many years he had been associated with the General Electric Company and has taken a prominent part in the activities of the Democratic party and the St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. His wife, Margaret O'Leary, was also born in Macroon, Ireland, and was the daughter of Margaret and Daniel O'Leary. Her father spent his entire life in Ireland where he engaged in farming.
Mr. Murray, of whom this review is being written, came to this country at the age of six years with his parents who settled in Lynn, where he received a general education in the public schools. After completing his studies here he became associated with the General Electric Company, remaining with this organization for seven years. At the end of this period he entered the retail cloth- ing business, going to New York City where he entered the employ of the John Wana- maker Store. After two years in that city he returned to Boston where he became associated with R. H. White as a clothing salesman and remained seven years. He then took a position with the Kennedy Com-
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pany in Boston, where he remained for six- teen years.
The wealth of experience he had gained in this business eminently qualified him for the important task he undertook when he severed his connections with the latter com- pany. In 1927 he embarked in business for himself opening the Murray Clothing Com- pany, Incorporated, at No. 7 Market Street, and heading this organization as president and general manager. He remained here until October, 1933, when he moved to No. 247 Union Street and opened the establish- ment of Tom Murray and Sons, on a part- nership basis.
He is prominently identified with the Knights of Columbus, where he holds a fourth degree, and was Grand Knight of the Valladolid Council, No. 70, between 1919 and 1920, also filling this office from 1926 to 1928 inclusive. He is a Democrat in politics and actively participates in the affairs of this organization. He is also a member of the St. Pius Club and adheres to the Roman Catholic faith, worshipping at the St. Joseph's Church of Lynn.
On January 1, 1904, Mr. Murray married Susan V. Tancey, a native of Salem, Mas- sachusetts, and the daughter of Patrick and Catherine (Quinlan) Tancey, both natives of Salem, whose father was a general mer- chant for many years. Mrs. Thomas M. Murray was educated at the St. James School in Salem and the Bryant and Strat- ton School in Boston. She was the mother of four children : I. Thomas A., graduate of the Lynn Classical High School and at pres- ent associated in business with his father. 2. Kathleen Marie, bookkeeper and stenogra- pher for Thomas B. Feeney of Lynn. 3. Leonard F., graduate of Lynn English High School, now associated with the Cushman Baking Company of Lynn. 4. Frank L. Mur-
ray, graduate of Lynn English High School, now associated with the J. B. Blood Com- pany of Lynn. The mother of these children died in Lynn December 7, 1916.
JOHN FRANCIS MORIARTY-One of the progressive citizens of Massachusetts, John Francis Moriarty, of Lynn, is success- fully engaged in real estate and insurance lines. He is of Irish ancestry and his life and career stand as another example of the Celtic enthusiasm and ambition-the will to get ahead-that has brought so many citi- zens of Irish descent into the front rank of business and public affairs.
He was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, April 1, 1877, son of John Francis, Sr., and Matilda (McSweeney) Moriarty, both na- tives of Ireland. The elder Mr. Moriarty came to America as a youth and located in Salem, later settling permanently in Lynn, where he died. He was for many years a custom shoemaker and among his customers was "Buffalo Bill," William Frederick Cody. These shoes were placed on exhibition in Boston. Later he became a retail shoe mer- chant and continued in this business until his death. Mrs. Moriarty came to Hartford, Connecticut, from Ireland with her sisters and parents, and later moved to Salem and then to Lynn, where she died. She was the daughter of Miles McSweeney, a contractor of Hartford, who built many of the water- front walls and landings of that city on the Connecticut River.
John Francis Moriarty, Jr., was educated in the parochial and public schools of Lynn, the Northeastern University. and the School of Religious Education. His first work was in the Welsh and Landregan shoe factory where he remained for five years and rose to be assistant foreman. Then, although only eighteen years old, he left this work to enter
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the wholesale and retail shoe business for himself, and was thus engaged for seven years. In 1908 Mr. Moriarty established himself in a general insurance business, to which at a later period he added the han- dling of real estate and has become well known in real estate circles. He is a mem- ber of the Massachusetts Real Estate Ex- change; the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, and of the East Baptist Church, of Lynn.
On June 30, 1903, John Francis Moriarty married in Lynn, Katherine Theresa Cos- tello, born in Lynn, the daughter of Patrick and Ellen (Flynn) Costello, natives of Ire- land, and both of whom died in Lynn. Mrs. Moriarty is a member of St. Joseph's Roman Church and the Catholic Order of Foresters. Mr. and Mrs. Moriarty are the parents of five children : 1. John Francis, 3d, associated with his father in the real estate and insur- ance business. He married Julia Sullivan, of Lynn. 2. Eleanor D., resides with her parents. 3. Matilda, who married Laurie Dellair, who was a prominent football player at Loyola College. They reside at Salem, where Mr. Dellair is in the life insurance business. They have a daughter, Jean. 4. Katherine T., school teacher in Baltimore Street public school. 5. George J., a student at Notre Dame University, South Bend, In- diana, where he is active in athletics.
LIONEL MacDUFF-In the business life of Lynn, Massachusetts, where he has been active almost since boyhood, Lionel Mac- Duff holds a high place because of his enter- prise and abilities. He is a native of Salem, Massachusetts, born October 3, 1907, one of the five children of Albert J. and Marie L. (Berube) MacDuff. Albert J. MacDuff was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, and is now head of the MacDuff Battery Company, of Peabody. He married Marie L. Berube, native of Quebec, Canada, who came to the
United States with her parents as a child of two years and settled in Salem. They are the parents of : I. Joseph H. MacDuff, grad- uate of Peabody High School, and is now connected with the North Shore Electric Equipment Company, of Lynn. 2. Rudolph Edgar MacDuff, educated in public and high schools of Peabody, connected with the North Shore Electric Equipment Company, of Lynn, as service and installation man ; he married Catherine Manning, of Salem, and they have a son, Raymond Bernard MacDuff. 3. Gerald Leo MacDuff, educated in the public and high schools of Peabody ; manager of the MacDuff Battery Company, of Peabody. 4. Violet MacDuff, graduate of Peabody High School, now a student of Burdett Business College in Lynn. 5. Lionel MacDuff, subject of this review.
Lionel MacDuff was educated in the grade and high schools of Peabody, Massachusetts, and became an employee of the North Shore Ice Company, of Lynn. This connection continued over a period of four or five years during which he served in a number of ca- pacities, and rose to be the superintendent of the plant with more than two hundred men under him. In 1928 he resigned to accept the position of city salesman with the North Shore Electric Equipment Company. He specialized in the disposal of electric refrigeration, and was so highly efficient that he was the top ranking salesman of the Frigidaire organization of the New England district. In 1931 his company became agents for the Lynn power burner. A year later the General Electric oil furnace and the General Electric air conditioning system services were included. The company with which Mr. MacDuff is associated as general manager, has as its president, Charles E. Whitten; treasurer, Harry W. Sundberg, and assistant treasurer, Harry E. Whitten.
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