USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume IV > Part 3
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During his four decades and a half resi- dence in Marblehead, Mr. Swetland has made an impress upon the life of this town. For five years he served on the Board of Public Welfare, and has always been noted for his readiness to assist in the promotion of any worthy humanitarian or civic proj- ect. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Manataug Order of the Red Men, of which he is a Past Master. He is also a member of the Railway Telegraphers' Association, and vice-president and trustee of the Mar- blehead Savings Bank.
On January 8, 1891, Horace S. Swetland married Emma Gilbert and they have a daughter, Laura, the wife of E. Ward Steady, of Berlin, New Hampshire.
CARR LEATHER COMPANY-The Carr Leather Company of Peabody, which for nearly three decades has occupied an important position in the leather industry of the United States, is essentially a family institution. It was founded by Thomas S., John and Edward Carr, who, in 1895, estab- lished the enterprise on a partnership basis. Since its inception the concern has special- ized in the tanning of calf skin for shoes and its product has been in demand by the lead- ing shoe manufacturing organizations of this country and Europe. Today the activi- ties of this enterprise are in the hands of a younger generation of this family, with Felix, Maurice, and Arthur Carr, nephews of the founders, directing its policies.
Under the able and careful directions of the original founders, the concern, which was then operating in Salem, grew rapidly and progressed without interruption until 1914, when the disastrous Salem fire destroyed the plant. It was at this time that they re- moved their operating site to the com- munity of Peabody, renting a building here which they continued to occupy for about
one year. In 1917 they purchased their present plant, a five-story structure, and since that time have added several other buildings, which in normal times accom- modates about two hundred workers. In their business they sell directly to the shoe manufacturers and are represented in Bos- ton, New York City, Philadelphia, Cin- cinnati, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Roch- ester, as well as the larger centers of the European continent.
Of the original managing staff only one remains, Edward, who retired from active participation in 1914. Thomas S. died in August, 1933, on the steamship "Berengaria" while returning from a trip to Europe, and John is also deceased. Under the present arrangements Maurice is president, Felix is treasurer, and Arthur, secretary. In their work they are maintaining the high tradi- tions of their forebears as is evident from the success they are enjoying. They have taken a keen and active interest in the affairs of their surroundings and are promi- nently identified with many of the leading organizations here.
In 1915 Felix Carr married Eleanor Kopenhafer. His brother, Maurice, married Gertrude Crane in 1924, and they are the parents of three sons, Maurice, Felix, and Richard. Arthur married on November II, 1931, Mary G. Lawrence and they are the parents of one child, Arthur, Jr.
FRANK L. COLLINS, M. D .-- During the greater part of the past two decades, Dr. Frank L. Collins has been engaged in the practice of medicine in Essex County. He is today one of the best known physi- cians at Ipswich and an active participant in many phases of the city's life.
Dr. Collins was born at Warren, Maine, on August 19, 1891, a son of John E. and Mary E. (Moody) Collins. His father was
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a restaurant owner there, but Dr. Collins' own interests early centered in a medical career. Following the completion of his preliminary education in the public schools of Warren and Oakland, Maine, and at Co- burn Classical School, Watertown, Massa- chusetts, he entered Bowdoin Medical School, from which he was graduated in 1915 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1915-16 he was an interne at Salem Hos- pital. Late in 1916 he came to Ipswich, but upon the death of Dr. Pedrick at Rowley, he assumed the duties of this practice and remained at Rowley for about eight years. In 1923 he went to Chicago for post-gradu- ate work at Chicago Polyclinic, and upon the completion of his course was appointed resident surgeon at the Bronx Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York City. In 1925 he returned to Essex County and established his practice at Ipswich, specializing in oph- thalmology and oto-laryngology, although he also enjoys a large general practice. In addition to these duties he is school physi- cian at Ipswich, was for three years a mem- ber of the local Board of Health, and is phy- sician to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, at Ipswich, with which he is affiliated. He has been active generally in fraternal life and is a member of Messalonskee Lodge, No. 113, Free and Accepted Masons, Oak- land, Maine; Patron of the Order of the Eastern Star at Ipswich; a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Daughters of Rebekah; and a member of Rowley Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. He is also a member of several professional or- ganizations, including the Massachusetts Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has always been fond of outdoor life and his principal recreations are hunting, fishing and boating, which he enjoys at his summer camp at Eagle Hill, Massachusetts.
In November, 1920, Dr. Collins married Hilda Reeves of Reading, Massachusetts, and they are the parents of two sons : Frank and John Edgar Collins. Mrs. Collins is a member of Ipswich Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
DUMMER BRAGDON BEAN, former commissioner of public safety, member of the city council and proprietor and manager of one of the largest coal businesses in Haver- hill, enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of the most public-spirited figures in this com- munity during his long and distinguished residence here. Apart from his official and business activities, he was widely known in the social realm of Haverhill, being particu- larly active in fraternal affairs. Mr. Bean was born in Candia, New Hampshire, Au- gust 18, 1860, the son of John Hanson and Sallie (Preble) Bean. He gained a general education in the public schools of his native community and embarked on his business career, coming to Haverhill, where for a time he engaged in the milk and grocery business. Later he entered the coal busi- ness, forming a partnership with Rankin Watson, and together they purchased the firm directed by Warren R. Whittier, former mayor of this city. This alliance was dis- solved in 1899 through the death of Mr. Watson, and it was at this time that Mr. Bean assumed full ownership and control of the business that he was to direct success- fully until he retired in 1922. Two years after he had decided to give up active par- ticipation in business affairs his services were sought by the undertaking firm of Dole and Childs, who elected him president in 1924. He retained this office until his un- timely demise five years later.
In addition to occupying a position as one of the foremost business men in Haverhill, Mr. Bean was also regarded as an outstand-
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ing civic leader. Shortly after he purchased his coal business he became a member of the city council and served with this body dur- ing 1898. The pressure of business activi- ties made it impossible for him to accept public office again until 1923, when he re- turned to his place on the council. The suc- cess he enjoyed as a public administrator caused him to be elected commissioner of public safety on December 7, 1924, succeed- ing Albert H. Bartlett. In this capacity it is said he was probably one of the most suc- cessful and popular men ever to hold this office. Socially Mr. Bean was prominently identified with many of the leading organi- zations of this section, among them the Pen- tucket Club. He was particularly active in fraternal matters, where he was a member of the Merrimac Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons; the Pentucket Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; the Haverhill Council, Royal and Select Masters; the Haverhill Commandery, Knights Templar ; the Merri- mac Lodge of Perfection, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite; the Merrimac Valley Council, Princes of Jerusalem; the Mt. Calvary of Rose Croix, Massachusetts Consistory ; and a Noble of Aleppo Temple, Mystic Shrine, Boston. He also belonged to the Mizpah Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he acted as corresponding secretary for thirty-four years, and was a member of the Palestine Lodge of the Knights of Pythias.
In 1889 Mr. Bean married Mrs. Anna J. (Watson) Haynes, daughter of Rankin and Catherine (Warner) Watson. Through a previous marriage Mrs. Bean was the mother of one son, George A., a resident of Boston.
Mr. Bean died at his home in Haverhill on October 22, 1929. The passing of a man who had been so prominent in the life of this city caused profound sorrow among the citizenry, particularly that great host of friends and admirers who had come to know
Mr. Bean as a straightforward and honest gentleman who lived in accordance with the highest Christian ideals and conformed to the finest business ethics.
ARTHUR HOLBROOK WELLMAN -In the teaching and practice of law, as civic leader and State official, and in a wide variety of activities, Arthur Holbrook Well- man of Boston, has achieved a notable repu- tation. For a half century the thread of his life has been woven into the fabric of the development of Massachusetts. He has demonstrated his worth in widely diversi- fied fields of human organizations and en- deavors, and the breadth of his interests and service have been accorded public appre- ciation, generous and grateful.
Mr. Wellman was born in East Randolph (now Holbrook), Massachusetts, October 30, 1855, the son of Rev. Joshua Wyman Wellman, D. D., and Ellen Maria (Hol- brook) Wellman. He is descended on the paternal side from : Thomas Wellman, who settled at Lynn about 1640; Rev. James Wellman, Harvard, 1844, first minister in Cornish, New Hampshire; William Ripley who settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, about 1635; Francis Wyman, one of the founders of Woburn, Massachusetts; Gov- ernor William Bradford, and Elder William Brewster, both of Plymouth, Massachu- setts. Some of his maternal ancestors were: Thomas Holbrook, who, prior to 1643, set- tled at Weymouth, Massachusetts; Captain John Holbrook, an officer in King Philip's War: Thomas Durfee, of Freetown, State Senator, member of the Governor's Council, and Judge of the Court of Sessions.
After being graduated from the Newton High School in 1874, Arthur Holbrook Wellman matriculated at Amherst College, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1878, and his Mas-
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ter's degree in Arts in 1881. From 1879 to 1881 he studied at the Harvard Law School ; in 1882 he was graduated from the Boston University Law School, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, summa cum laude. That same year he was admitted to the Suffolk bar, and began a general practice of law in Boston, where he is now a member of the firm of Wellman and Wellman. Mr. Well- man was admitted to the bar of the Circuit Court of the United States, June 6, 1887. In 1886 he became instructor in the Boston University Law School, continuing as such until 1891, when he was made professor of Equity Jurisprudence and Equity Pleading in Boston University, resigning in 1902. During the years 1889-90-91, Mr. Wellman was city solicitor of Malden, Massachusetts. He was one of the referees to fix the amount to be paid by the city of Manchester, New Hampshire, to the Devonshire Mills by reason of the taking of the waters of the Massabesic Lake by the city of Manchester. He was a member of several commissions to remove grade crossings in Canton, Blue Hill Avenue, Boston, Scituate, Quincy and Braintree. Mr. Wellman was counsel in Smyth vs. Visitors of the Theological Insti- tution in Phillips Academy in Andover, known as the "Andover Case," 1886-91; counsel in Amory et al, Trustees vs. Trus- tees of Amherst College et al., and counsel in numerous other cases of equal impor- tance.
The qualities that made him an eminent figure in legal circles, Mr. Wellman de- voted as keenly to public service. He was a member of the Common Council of Mal- den in 1885; of Malden school committee, 1902-05, of which he was chairman in 1904 and 1905. Elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, 1892-93-94, he served on the Judiciary and Taxation com- inittees and was chairman of the house com-
mittee on cities and house chairman of the special committee on the unemployed. A member of the Massachusetts Senate, 1895- 1896, Mr. Wellman served on the following committees: Bills in the third reading, roads and bridges, State House, and was chairman of the committee on railroads. He also was a member of the Massachusetts Board of Prison Commissioners, 1898-1913, and a delegate to the Massachusetts Consti- tutional Convention of 1917-19.
Mr. Wellman is Massachusetts president of the Board of Ministerial Aid; president of the Massachusetts Society for Aiding Discharged Prisoners; life member of the Bostonian Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Essex Institute, and of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities; member of the Malden Historical Society, director of Tops- field Historical Society, and a shareholder of Boston Athenaeum. He was chairman of the board of trustees of the National Council of Congregational Churches in the United States, 1895-1901; member of the Committee of Nineteen on Polity of the Na- tional Council of Congregational Churches, 1910-13; president of Amherst Alumni As- sociation of Boston during 1895-96; in 1892 to 1922, trustee of Malden Hospital ; presi- dent of Malden Hospital, 1907-22; trustee of Malden Public Library, 1893-1910; trus- tee of the Pine Banks Park, 1905-08; mem- ber of Prudential Committee of the Ameri- can Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 1905-14, 1915-27, and is a trustee of Topsfield Library. Among his clubs are the Union, University and Congregational clubs of Boston, the University Club, and Converse Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, of Malden. A number of Mr. Well- man's outstanding addresses have been pub- lished, including : "Restraints upon Aliena- tion," "Central Law Journal," April, 1884;
DUMMER B. BEAN
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address on presentation of bust of Hon. Elisha H. Converse to the Malden Public Library, Malden Public Library, 1890; address at dedication of Congregational House, Boston, Thomas Todd, 1899; ad- dress on the 250th Anniversary of Malden, Massachusetts, University Press, 1900; ad- dress on the 275th Anniversary of Malden, Massachusetts, May 25, 1924, Malden His- torical Society ; and an address on "The Na- tion and Undeveloped Peoples."
On October II, 1887, Arthur Holbrook Wellman married Jennie L. Faulkner, and they are the parents of two children: Sar- gent Holbrook Wellman and Katharine Faulkner Wellman.
HON. CHARLES THORNTON DAVIS ---- When the Commonwealth of Massachu- setts established the Land Court, in 1898, Hon. Charles Thornton Davis was the first appointed judge of this court, and has since served continuously upon its bench. Few men in the State are better known among the legal fraternity or held in greater re- spect and affection. He was born in Con- cord, New Hampshire, January 12, 1863, the son of Dr. Charles A. and Mary (Thornton) Davis, and a descendant of the founders of Concord. The American progenitor of the family came to Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1642, and later removed to New Hamp- shire. Dr. Charles A. Davis, graduate of Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hamp- shire, was a surgeon in the United States Marine Hospital service, and for some time was superintendent of the Chelsea (Massa- chusetts) Marine Hospital, the building of which he directed. He died in 1863.
Judge Charles Thornton Davis received his early schooling in Newton, Massachu- setts, and completed his formal education in Harvard University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1884, a Bachelor
of Arts. He matriculated at the Harvard Law School, but after two years of study went to Worcester, Massachusetts, to com- plete his professional training in the office of Colonel W. S. Hopkins. Admitted to the bar, Mr. Davis engaged in the general prac- tice of law in Boston for some six years, but returned thereafter to Worcester where he established himself as a conveyancer, in which he gained a widely known and de- served reputation.
Judge Davis has always taken a keen in- terest in the problems and progress of the State and in his fellows, organizations and fraternities and sports. He is vice-president of the Marblehead Historical Society and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Fraternally he affiliates with Phil- anthropic Lodge, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of Marblehead, of which place he has been a resident since 1903. He is a member of the Essex Institute of Salem, and was warden of St. Michael's Church of Marblehead. The naval tradi- tion of his family Judge Davis continued as a commissioned officer of the old Massa- chusetts Naval Militia. He is still a mem- ber of the Reserve Officers' Association and of various other naval societies and veteran associations. He was a director in the Na- tional Security League, Massachusetts branch. Upon the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his college class, he was chosen an honorary member of the Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity.
On September 12, 1888, Charles Thornton Davis married Frances Anderson, of Port- land, Maine, and they are the parents of five children: I. Mary Thornton, a public health nurse. 2. Thornton, an oil geologist and consulting engineer with offices in San Antonio, Texas. 3. John F. A., president of the American Sand Paper Company, and a resident of Hamilton. 4. W. S. Gardner,
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Marcia D., wife of Francis deLancey Cun- ningham of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The four older children were all overseas during the World War, Mary Thornton as a Red Cross nurse ; Thornton, as a captain in the Regular Army, U. S. A .; John F. A., as a lieutenant in the United States Navy, and W. S. Gardner, as a midshipman in the naval service.
In 1869 Judge Davis' mother married (second) Judge William Sewell Gardner, the fifth of his family to sit on the highest court of Massachusetts.
REV. THOMAS GERMAIN ALEXAN- DRE CÔTÉ, D. D .- In the organization of churches among the French-speaking popula- tion of this State, Dr. Côté accomplished a large work in his capacity of general mis- sionary under the auspices of the Massa- chusetts Home Mission Board of Boston. He was one of the founders of the French- American College in Springfield, Hampden County, and at the time of his death he was pastor emeritus of the French Protestant Con- gregational Church at Lowell, where he had ministered actively more than a quarter of a century.
Born at St. Jean-Baptiste de L'Ile Verte, Province of Quebec, Canada, October 21, 1842, Thomas Germain Alexandre Côté passed through the school of his native village and then went to the city of Quebec, where he took advanced studies. He had been set apart for the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church and to that end he took theological subjects at the Catholic Seminary in Quebec and at St. Laurent College, near Montreal. Becoming discontented with the tenets of Ro- man Catholic theology, he canceled his reg- istration and applied for admission to the Evangelical Mission School at Pointe-aux- Trembles, near the city of Montreal. He was cordially received and entered upon the study
lieutenant in the United States Navy. 5. of the Scriptures with great enthusiasm. It was then that he determined to make his life's work the carrying of the Gospel message to the people of his race and tongue. He gradu- ated at the Presbyterian College in Montreal in the class of 1868.
His ordination to the ministry took place on August 9, 1871, and his first work was the establishment of a mission at Chicoutimi in the Province of Quebec. Five years' faith- ful and zealour labors, the while he endured many privations, ended with the construc- tion of a modest little house of worship. Upon the organization of the "Synode des Eglises Evangelique du Canada," in 1876, he was invited to take the pastorate of the French Church at Joliette, Province of Que- bec. Dire poverty afflicting the French Prot- estant churches of Canada at the time, he was asked by the Synode in February, 1877, to gc to the United States to collect money for re- lieving this situation.
He arrived in Lowell, Middlesex County, this State, in the summer of 1877, and there met, among others, Dr. Barrows, one of the American pastors of the city. On being ac- quainted with Dr. Côté's mission, Dr. Bar- rows answered: "Your work in Canada is excellent, but we need you here." In a letter received a few months later by Dr. Côté there was an invitation from Dr. Barrows to come to Lowell and settle there in the capacity of French missionary of the city. Consideration of the call led him to accept it, and, buckling on his armor, he plunged into the work with a will. He found many things that would have discomfited a less courageous spirit. Among the discouragements he encountered was an undercurrent of malignity, prejudice and the indifference of a people straying from religious standards of faith and practice. At the initial religious meeting started by him in Wyman Hall that year there was a congrega- tion of twelve persons. On July 3, 1877, fol- lowing the organization of a church with
Rev. J. S. A. Côté.
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seven members, Dr. Côté was installed as pas- tor. Thus there was set afoot the mission of evangelism which was to eventuate in such fine results at numerous points in Massachu- setts. In February, 1878, disaster visited the little flock, fire completely destroying Wyman Hall, and the loss of their church home was most severe. A ray of hope pierced the low- ering clouds the following day, however, when a friend called at Dr. Côté's home, with this cheery greeting: "Take courage, my friend, here is the first contribution toward the construction of a French church in Low- ell." This substantial gift from a generous friend came as a blessing from above upon minister and people and helped dispel their gloom. A site for the new church was pur- chased in 1879, building operations soon started, and on October 26, 1881, there took place the dedication of the First Protestant Church in Lowell. Dr. Côté's staunch friend, Dr. Barrows, preached a sermon in English, and Dr. Chiniquy came from Montreal to preach in the French language. This joyful occasion was the signal for Dr. Côté to write to a friend in Ohio: "God has blessed my humble work; we have succeeded."
The work accomplished by Dr. Côté in Lowell gave additional encouragement to the Massachusetts Home Mission Board of Bos- ton, which earnestly desired to expand its mis- sionary enterprise in behalf of the French population. It prevailed upon Dr. Côté to accept the post of general missionary or superintendent of the French work in this State, and he entered upon his new duties March 1, 1884. A summary of his work in Massachusetts is given: Fall River, church organized in 1884; Springfield, church organized in 1884; Holyoke, church organ- ized in 1886; Ware, church organized in 1886; Spencer, church organized in 1888; Marlborough, church organized in 1889; Ha- verhill, church organized in 1889; Pittsfield,
church organized in 1889; Newburyport, church organized in 1896.
With members of the French Pastoral Union, Dr. Côté took the boat from Fall River to Providence, Rhode Island, on a day in 1887. The chief topic of their conversa- tion was the great work with its problems that faced them. Dr. Côté ventured the remark : "What we need the most now is a French Protestant newspaper." Rev. T. A. Dorian, of Ware, who was of the party, said: "I have an old printing press that works only by the power of the arms, or the muscles of the legs, and I gladly offer you this press." Dr. Côté, greatly encouraged, replied : "Well, I will make the press go, Rev. Provost will be the editor of the paper." Two months passed and "The Semeur," a weekly publication of six- teen pages, issued from the press at Ware, and later it was published at Springfield. Into this achievement Dr. Côté had injected all his energy and high spirit.
Returning to his pastorate in Lowell in 1895, he resumed preaching and carried on his work there until September, when poor health compelled him to withdraw from his labors. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the French Protestant Church of Lowell, September 18, 1902. he was pre- sented with a gold medal, valued at one hun- dred dollars. The presentation was accom- panied by a speech by Rev. Mr. Provost, who praised Dr. Côté for his achievements in be- half of French-Protestantism. He said that the medal was given to Dr. Côté as an expression of the affection in which he was held by all the French Protestant churches and missions, and as a mark of the appreciation of the Chris- tian life he had devoted so zealously and will- ingly in their interest. In July, 1905, having become convinced that he could not regain strength sufficient to discharge his pastoral duties, he resigned the charge of the Lowell church and was made pastor emeritus. He
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