USA > Massachusetts > The story of western Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
Born in Arlington, Vermont, March 8, 1889, Mr. Steele came by his skills in the most natural yet per- haps the most arduous way: by being reared on a farm. His parents were of adventurous and ambi- tious stock, his father, Thomas Steel migrating to this country from North Ireland, and his mother, Jane Hoy, being a native of Scotland. His father lived to the advanced age of eighty-eight, dying in 1946.
When Robert Steele was a boy of eight, the family moved from Arlington to Williamstown, Massachu- setts. Throughout his career, Robert Steele has had little formal schooling. His education was chiefly derived from the practical work of the farm-and
that this was adequate to the purpose is evidenced by his progress.
In 1928, Mr. Steele bought a milk business formerly owned by Richard Briggs, whose partner he had been for the previous six years. Establishing a new and modern plant, Mr. Steele started his dairy business out on a sound footing. In 1936, he purchased one hundred acres of land from his father, and subse- quently bought two more farms of one hundred acres each. Though dairying is his chief concern, his agri- cultural projects are many, and include the raising of twenty-five hundred turkeys. Of his one hundred head of cattle, the majority are the valuable Ayrshire breed. In 1939 new facilities were added to his dairy, which is incorporated under the name of the Modern Dairy. At its present location, 298 State Street, North Adams, thirty-five persons are employed.
Mr. Steele does not by any means allow business to absorb all of his time. He is active in his lodges, and is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Greylock Lodge, in North Adams. He be- longs to the St. Paul Commandery No. 40, is a Knight Templar, and a member of the Melha Temple in Springfield. He worships at the Congregational Church in South Williamstown.
Mr. Steele was married at Albany, New York, November, 1912, to Agnes Campbell, a native of North Ireland. She was the daughter of John and Mary (Munnis) Campbell. Mr. and Mrs. Steele are the parents of four children: I. Arnold David, who is married and the father of one boy, David. Arnold David is a graduate of Amherst College. 2. Elizabeth, who was born January 11, 1916. She attended Drury High School; is married to Milton Spencer, and is the mother of three children, Dorothy Eileen, Sally Ann, and Milton. 3. Robert, Jr., born July 25, 1917. He married Ruth Murphy of North Adams, and they are the parents of two children: Richard, and Dennis Robert. Robert, Jr., is associated with his father in the dairy. 4. Colleen, born August 18, 1922. She graduated from Miss Leslie's School in Cambridge, is married to Buell Gibson Van Vleck, and is the mother of one son, Bruce Gibson, born February 28, 1944.
FRANCIS MICHAEL McMAHON-For more than twenty years Francis Michael McMahon has been one of the widely recognized leading lawyers of Pitts- field. His work as a public official has been out- standing and has earned for him a noteworthy repu- tation in his profession and among the citizens of the State.
Mr. McMahon was born May 12, 1893, at Pittsfield, son of Michael J. and Maria (Ryan) McMahon. His father, a native of Ireland, came to the United States in 1872, and became a prominent Pittsfield merchant; he died in 1902.
Francis Michael McMahon received his early train- ing in the local Pittsfield schools, and, in 1912, was graduated from Pittsfield High School. He entered Williams College and four years later was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He began work on his master's degree at Williams, but in June, 1917, interrupted his study to enter the United States Army. He attended Officers Training Camp and served as a second lieutenant in the machine gun company of an
291
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
infantry regiment, distinguishing himself and his or- ganization for exemplary behavior. He remained in the service until 1919, at which time he resumed his studies. The following year, Mr. McMahon received the degree of Master of Arts at Williams College. During the next five years, until 1925, he intensified his graduate work and serving for one year also with the Irving Trust Company, New York. He attended Fordham University, working toward a Doctor of Philosophy degree. At the same time he taught and coached at Erasmus Hall and at the Eastern District High School, both in Brooklyn, New York. In 1921, he began work toward the degree of Bachelor of Laws at Fordham University Law School, and three years later this degree was conferred upon him. Dur- ing the 1924 and 1925 school year he did graduate work in jurisprudence with Dean Pound of the Harvard Law School, and completed work at the Boston Uni- versity Law School for the degree of Master of Laws which he received in 1925. In that same year he was admitted to the New York bar and the following year to the Massachusetts bar.
Since 1926 Mr. McMahon has carried on law prac- tices in both New York and Pittsfield which have proven highly successful. From 1929 until 1933 he served as city solicitor of Pittsfield. The next year, 1934, he acted as Assistant United States District At- torney. From 1941 until 1946 he was employed by the government.
Mr. McMahon is active in prominent local and national groups. He is a member of the American Legion, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Columbus. Politically he is a Democrat and is a master in chancery. In religious affiliation he attends the Roman Catholic Church.
On May 15, 1933, at Lee, Massachusetts, Francis Michael McMahon married Martha Holmes, daughter of Arthur E. Holmes, and they became the parents of the following children: I. Francis Holmes, who was born June 15, 1934. 2. Peter, born June 12, 1939. 3. Martyn, who was born August 4, 1941.
JOSEPH M. McMAHON-For many years an eminent attorney of Pittsfield, Joseph M. McMahon brought distinction upon the law profession. His tire- less efforts and unstinting devotion to duty won for him the admiration and respect of a host of personal friends and professional associates. Active in public life, he gave generously of his time and energy toward the advancement of the general welfare.
Mr. McMahon was born July 9, 1880, at Pittsfield, son of Michael J. and Maria (Ryan) McMahon. Both parents were natives of Ireland, his father coming to this country about 1872.
Joseph McMahon received his elementry education in the local public schools and was graduated from the Pittsfield High School. He matriculated at Williams College, and, after completing the course of study there, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1902. He studied law for three years, and, in 1905, was admitted to the Massachusetts bar.
After having completed his formal training, Mr. McMahon established a law practice at Pittsfield which became successful and useful in the life of the region. He specialized in the phases of the law dealing with corporation, tax, and real estate, and became a recognized authority in these fields.
Mr. McMahon was prominent in the public life of Pittsfield and the surrounding regions. For a number of years he served as assistant district attor- ney of Berkshire County. He filled this office capably until his election to the position of city solicitor of Pittsfield. He acted in this capacity for a period of time and gained an excellent reputation for his honesty and integrity in public office.
A leader in the professional life of Pittsfield, and member of prominent local and national organizations, Mr. McMahon was active in the work of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts State Bar Asso- ciation, and the Berkshire County Bar Association. Fraternally he was affiliated with the Fourth Degree Assembly of the Knights of Columbus, in which or- ganization he served as district deputy and as treas- urer. He was also active with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Pittsfield. He was on the executive committee of the Park Club of Pitts- field. In religious faith he was a Roman Catholic and attended St. Joseph's Church. His favorite out- door recreation was taking motor trips.
On October 12, 1910, Joseph M. McMahon married Marguerite E. Coogan, daughter of William F. Coo- gan, for many years postmaster of Pittsfield. Mr. and Mrs. McMahon became the parents of one son, Jo- seph M. McMahon, Jr.
On May 8, 1934, Joseph M. McMahon passed away. His death was a cause of deep sorrow among many close friends and old business associates who had grown to look upon him as a benevolent and under- standing friend and adviser.
HARRY J. HEWAT, president of Strong, Hewat & Company, Incorporated, makers of fine woolens in North Adams, has been associated with this mill ever since it was first established in 1898. A striking- looking man of about six feet two, a two-hundred- pounder of rugged Scottish blood, Mr. Hewat occupies a prominent place in the industrial and social life of North Adams.
He was born in Galashiels, Scotland, on March IO, 1884, the son of R. A. J. Hewat, who came to the United States in 1898 and was one of the founders of Strong, Hewat & Company of North Adams but later returned to his native land and died there on October 18, 1925.
When Harry J. Hewat arrived in the United States with his father in 1898 he was a lad of 14. What education he received was in his native Scotland, for on coming to North Adams he started to work at once in the mill established by his father and Richard A. Strong. He subsequently worked in every department of the mill. As the business increased, a new mill was erected, of brick and concrete with modern equipment. In full operation this mill employs between three hundred, and four hundred and twenty-five persons. It also maintains a New York office, and in 1948, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. Harry J. Hewat became a director of the company about 1912, and in 1923 became president, his father having then retired to "the old country." Mr. Hewat's two sons are now employed in the mill.
In addition to his private interests, Mr. Hewat is a director of the North Adams Trust Company and a trustee of the Hoosac Savings Bank of North Adams. Fraternally he is affiliated with Lafayette
292
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and Royal Arch Masons, North Adams Commandery, Knights Tem- plar, and Melha Temple in the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Springfield. He is also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Or- der of Elks. Mr. Hewat is a member and past presi- dent of the North Adams Country Club. He belongs to the First Congregational Church.
Mr. Hewat married at Pittsfield on August 7, 1912, Florence A. Stockwell, the daughter of George Samuel and Alice (Lawton) Stockwell. Mr. and Mrs. Hewat are the parents of three children: I. James, born June 16, 1913 at North Adams. He is a graduate of Norwich University and is now employed in the mill. He married Janet Dibble, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Condit Dibble of North Adams. 2. Douglas, born December 17, 1915, at North Adams. He at- tended South Kent School and Lawrenceville School, in New Jersey, and married Lydia Vaill of Winsted, Connecticut. He is employed in Strong, Hewat & Company. Douglas and Lydia (Vaill) Hewat are the parents of three children: Alan, Hannah and Andrew. 3. Virginia, born in North Adams August 10, 1918, attended Miss Baird's School in New Jersey and the MacDuffie School of Springfield.
J. FRED WALDEN-A member of one of the earliest families of the community, J. Fred Walden is a foremost druggist of Williamstown. His enterprise, together with his long association with the town's business life and his many years' residence here, com- bine to render him widely-known, much esteemed, and popular.
Mr. Walden was born at Williamstown on January 15, 1884, son of William Franklin and Harriet Cush- man (Peters) Walden. His paternal grandfather, William A. Walden, established in 1854 a general store. William Franklin Walden, a native of Wil- liamstown, was born in 1843. A carpenter by trade, he fought in the Civil War and served as town as- sessor. He died December 26, 1902. His wife, Har- riet C. (Peters) Walden, J. Fred Walden's mother, was directly descended from Robert Cushman who came to this country with the Pilgrims on the "May- flower" in 1620.
After attending the public schools of this town, J. Fred Walden was graduated from Williamstown High School. His professional training was obtained at Albany College of Pharmacy.
In 1919 he became associated with the College Pharmacy, a reliable, long-established business, and an outgrowth of the general store founded in 1854 by his paternal grandfather. With the passage of years the original store's trade trended more and more toward drugs; it became the College Pharmacy in 1884. No account of Mr. Walden's life would be complete without emphasis upon his association with the organization to which he has given so many years of his life. His contribution to the firm's advancement has consisted of strenuous and successful efforts to enlarge and modernize the store and its installations, to stock an ever wider and more diversified line of merchandise, and to display its wares as effectively as possible. He has demonstrated his full acquaint- ance with the most up-to-date pharmacy administra- tion and management. Today, with twelve employees,
College Pharmacy ranks among Berkshire County's largest and busiest drug stores.
In addition to his professional eminence here, Mr. Walden has for many years belonged to and taken an active part in Williams Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is a member of the Methodist Church. For recreation, he prefers golf and bowling.
On June 30, 1919, at Williamstown, J. Fred Walden married Agnes Montgomery, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Ryan) Montgomery of this community. They became the parents of one son, J. Fred Walden, Jr., born September 24, 1920, at Williamstown, who after graduation from Williamstown High School, became associated with his father in business.
GARRETT POST FITCH, president of Cutting & Company, merchants of North Adams, was born in Kentucky on March 15, 1876, the son of Frederick and Margaret (Post) Fitch.
His mother was a native of New Britain, Con- necticut, and when his father died in 1881, she returned to New Britain with her family. Garrett Post Fitch attended the New Britain elementary schools and New Britain High School. He spent some years in foreign lands as a representative of a New York export house, doing business for this firm in the West Indies, South America, South Africa, and Australia. In 1908, with this rich ex- perience behind him, he settled in North Adams, where he married and became associated with his father-in-law, the late Charles H. Cutting, in the latter's mercantile business of Cutting & Company. Mr. Fitch is now president of this concern. Charles H. Cutting died in 1940 and Robert A. Thompson Sr., who had been a partner for a good many years, died in December, 1945. Mr. Fitch succeeded Mr. Thompson, Sr., as president, and Robert A. Thompson, Jr., serves as treasurer. Mr. Fitch is a member of the Episcopal Church.
He married, at North Adams on June 9, 1908 Elizabeth S. Cutting, the daughter of Charles H. and Effie (Cone) Cutting and the descendant of one of the old pioneer families of North Adams.
FRANK GORDON GUTHRIE-An important business man of Springfield, Frank Gordon Guthrie has contributed much toward the development and progress of the steel industry in this city.
Mr. Guthrie was born October 23, 1896, at Saint Armand, Province of Quebec, Canada, son of Gordon and Carrie J. (Shafelt) Guthrie. His father, a farmer by occupation, died in 1924, and his mother is living at Saint Armand.
Mr. Guthrie received his early education in the pub- lic schools of Canada, was graduated from the Spring- field High School, and attended Northeastern Uni- versity.
During World War I Mr. Guthrie served in the Canadian Army. After returning to civilian life, he entered the fence business and became a designer and fabricator of ornamental ironwork for various firms in the region of Western Massachusetts, and continued in this field until 1927. In that year he established his own enterprise dealing in ornamental ironwork. After two years thus occupied he branched into the fence line, and became a distributor for the Pittsburgh
wothermen.
293
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
Steel Company. The scope of his operations now covers all of Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut, and he handles a complete line of steel fences. This enterprise has proven substantially suc- cessful under the expert guidance of Mr. Guthrie.
He is active in the life of his community as a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Nelson Lodge No. 9 of the Free and Accepted Masons. In politics he is a staunch Republican, and in religious faith he is a Congregationalist, attending the South Congregational Church. Mr. Guthrie is an excellent public speaker, and has endeavored always to culti- vate a fluent and affable delivery.
On August 7, 1920, at Springfield, Massachusetts, Frank Gordon Guthrie married Bernice E. Bean, daughter of William and Electra Bean, of Hartford, Connecticut. Her father died some time ago, but her mother resides at Hartford.
WILLIAM DELORE PHARMER, JR .- The un- expected and sudden death of the late William Delore Pharmer made it necessary for his only son, who also bears his father's name, to turn reluctantly from his academic studies and enter the world of business at, so to say, a moment's notice. Called on to assume managerial functions and fiscal control of a busy and prosperous retail establishment at an unusually early age, William Delore Pharmer, Jr. has made good, exhibiting marked business ability which augurs well for the continued success of the jewelry and optical firm of W. D. Pharmer Company, Inc., of Pittsfield.
The elder William D. Pharmer, a son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Pharmer, was born in Glens Falls, New York, but spent the greater part of his life in Pittsfield. He entered the jewelry business at an early age as an apprentice with Rainey and Acly. Evidently the jewelry line proved congenial from the first, and recognizing it as his vocation, Mr. Pharmer built his entire business career in that field. After five years with Rainey and Acly he returned to his native Glens Falls to take a position with the Bosner Jewelry Company there. Two years later he went to Sharon, Pennsylvania, to accept the position of as- sistant manager of the Wingler Jewelry Company. After two years in Sharon, he returned to Pittsfield.
In this city Mr. Pharmer opened his own first es- tablishment in the Edwards Building, from which subsequently he moved to the Young Men's Christian Association monitor building. Operating at first under the name of the Clock Shop, Mr. Pharmer later called his establishment the Gold Shop. In 1924 he opened a credit establishment known as Elton's, in upstairs premises at 125 North Street, but later moved to a ground floor location at 146 North Street. In time the management of the Gold Shop purchased the Schwartz Jewel Shop, which was combined with El- ton's, Mr. Pharmer being owner and manager of this joint venture, which was also known as the Jewel Shop.
For a number of years Mr. Pharmer also conducted an establishment at 13 Eagle Street in North Adams, known as the Pharmer Jewelry Store, but this he sold in 1943. The Pittsfield business continued to prosper, and Mr. Pharmer was well-known in jewelry circles throughout the country, holding membership in various organizations of that trade. He was also active in civic and service organizations in his adopted
city, especially in the Pittsfield Kiwanis Club. He rendered public service also as associate re-employ- ment representative of Draft Board 122, during World War II. He belonged to the Country Club of Pitts- field. In religion a Roman Catholic, he was a com- municant of the Notre Dame Church.
William Delore Pharmer, Sr. was forty-nine years of age when he died October 1, 1945. He was sur- vived by his widow the former Madelyn Carney of Pittsfield; by three daughters, namely Mrs. Merton Rhinehart of Lenox, at whose home he passed away; Miss Mary Pharmer and Miss Ruth Ann Pharmer; by a son, Lieut. William Delore Pharmer, Jr .; by two grandchildren; by three sisters, Mrs. Ambrose Ken- nedy of Troy, New York, Mrs. William Heidel and Mrs. Harry Nichols of Pittsfield; and by five brothers, namely Joseph Pharmer of Sharon, Pennsylvania, Henry Pharmer of Yonkers, New York, George Phar- mer of Glens Falls, New York, Charles Pharmer of West Hartford, Connecticut, and Leo Pharmer of Pittsfield. William Delore Pharmer, Sr. was interred in St. Joseph's Cemetery following a solemn High Mass at the Church of Notre Dame.
William Delore Pharmer, Jr. was born at Pittsfield on July II, 1923. He attended public school in his native city and graduated from Pittsfield High School before enrolling at Columbia University in the city of New York. Subsequently he became a student at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Upon his father's sudden passing, it became necessary for the younger William Delore Pharmer to discon- tinue his studies. At that time Mrs. Madelyn (Car- ney) Pharmer became president of the W. D. Pharmer Company, Inc., and William Delore Pharmer, Jr. as- sumed the office of treasurer and also took over active conduct of the business as general manager. Con- tinuing the policies which brought his father such suc- cess and esteem, the younger Mr. Pharmer has mani- fested abilities which ensure the continuance of that success and the maintenance of the firm's high reputa- tion.
During World War II Mr. Pharmer joined the United States Army Air Corps, and holding the rank of a first lieutenant, served from March 25, 1942, to May 29, 1945, much of that time on active duty in the European Theater of Operations. On June 13, 1943, he was shot down, wounded and made a prisoner of war in Germany, where he was held until his liberation on May 29, 1945. He holds membership in the Ameri- can Legion and in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Like his father, Lieut. Pharmer is an active member of the Kiwanis Club of Pittsfield. He also is a Roman Catholic, and attends the Church of Notre Dame in Pittsfield. He is fond of outdoor sports, and finds his recreation chiefly in skiing and hunting.
William Delore Pharmer, Jr. is married to the for- mer Virginia May Roberts, a daughter of Kenneth Roberts and his wife whose maiden name was Cross. Of this marriage there is one child, a son, William De- lore Pharmer, III, who was born at Pittsfield on August 3, 1947.
WILLIAM P. McCRAW-One of the well-known citizens of North Adams is William P. McCraw, who has long been connected with the North Adams Savings Bank and since 1945 has been its president. This bank, which celebrated its centennial in 1948,
294
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
is the second oldest savings bank in Berkshire County. The oldest savings bank in the county is the Berkshire County Savings Bank of Pittsfield, which was incorporated in 1846. The actual date of the charter of the North Adams Savings Bank is April 26, 1848, at which time Isaac Hodges, Thomas Robinson, William E. Brayton, and their associates were made a corporation by the name of the North Adams Savings Bank, to be established in the town of Adams, which at the time comprised the area now covered by the city of North Adams and the present town of Adams about six miles to the south. Sanford Blackinton was elected the first president, and the first treasurer was William E. Brayton. In all there have been nine presidents and seven treasurers, including in both cases the present incumbents, William P. McCraw and Leon K. Berry, respectively. Mr. McCraw was elected a corporator of the bank thirty-seven years ago, in the year IgII, and became a trustee later on in the same year and a member of the board of investment in 1914. He remains a member of these boards and is now chairman of the board of investment, in addition to being president of the bank, the office to which he was elected in 1945. The growth of this bank has kept pace with the growth of the territory in which it is located, and as of December 31, 1947 its deposits amounted to over eight million dollars distributed among eighty-five hundred accounts.
JOHN SOMES-A native of Otis in the western Berkshire Hills, and a descendant in both ancestral lines of pioneer settlers of that mountainous region, John Somes, now superintendent of schools of Shef- field, New Marlboro, and Mt. Washington has brought to that position an accumulation of experience gained mostly in Massachusetts, but including also some years of teaching in New York and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Somes' grandfather on the paternal side, the Rev. Arthur Somes, was a minister serving congrega- tions of the Presbyterian Church at Barnstable and at Otis. His son was Henry R. Somes, who became a successful civil engineer, and married Kate H. Davi- son, a daughter of Edmund Davison, a farmer of Otis, and a scion of a family which, migrating from Con- necticut, settled in that lovely Berkshire village before the American Revolution, about the middle of the seventeenth century. To Henry R. and Kate H. (Davison) Somes, the son whom they called John was born at Otis on March 27, 1905. His education began in the public schools of his native village, but for his high school courses he went to Pittsfield, and subsequently attended and graduated from Mt. Her- mon Preparatory School.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.