USA > Massachusetts > The story of western Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 2
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In addition to his business interests. Mr. Sevffer takes an active interest in the civic and social life of Pittsfield. He is a member of the Chamber of Com- merce, belongs to the Country Club of Pittsfield, and is a member of the Kiwanis Club. In religious affilia- tion he is a member of the First Congregational Church. For exercise and recreation he enjoys a good game of golf.
On September 28, 1940, at Cleveland, Ohio, Howard J. Seyffer married Ada Marshall, daughter of R. S. and Grace (Gentle) Marshall. They became the par- ents of the following children: I. Barbara Jane, who was born in April 1943, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2. Charles Ross, born in April 1947, at Pittsfield.
Theodore Wishes formes
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JEREMIAH THOMAS DOWNING- man prominent in various business enterprises in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and successful in each undertaking, is Jeremiah Thomas Downing.
His practical turn of mind is perhaps inherited from his father, John Downing, born in 1878, who became a naval constructor for the United States Navy, and remained so all his life, until retirement in 1946. He married Kathleen Collins, who died in 1947, and their son, Jeremiah Thomas Downing, was born in Boston on June 28, 1900.
Receiving secondary education at the public and high schools of Boston, Mr. Downing continued his training at Fisher's Business College, of which he is a graduate. His business career was begun in Boston, where he engaged in the cotton business. Now well equipped by education, by experience and by natural endowments to face the risk of individual business venture, he resigned his Boston connection and, moving to Holyoke, established the firm of Downing and Downing, dealers in paper stock. Of this organization he has remained the president and treasurer. Always alert to the possibilities of new commercial enterprises, he has twice extended his interests, and is an official of the J. T. Downing Realty Corporation and of the Saybrook Dock Cor- poration, being both president and treasurer of each firm. He was appointed fire commissioner, January I, 1948 for the city of Holyoke, for a three-year term.
As relaxation, Mr. Downing prefers yachting, being a member of both the Springfield and Hartford Yacht Clubs. He is also a member of the United States Power Squadrons. His fraternal affiliation is with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Downing saw active service in both World Wars. In World War I he was chief boatswain's mate in the United States Navy, and during World War II was chief warrant officer in the Coast Guard. These connections may account for the seafaring nature of his present-day recreations.
Jeremiah Thomas Downing married in Holyoke, June 2, 1923, Miss Isabel Gracie Weis, the daughter of Joseph Brenneman and Isabel (McMillan) Weis; and Mr. and Mrs. Downing have become the parents of two children: I. Isabel Gracie, who was born December 8, 1926, and is a World War II veteran of the Marine Corps; she is now married to Norman G. Paulsen, and lives in Salt Lake City. 2. Jane Katherine, born in 1928, now a student at Smith College. Mr. Downing is an adherent of the Catho- lic faith, while Mrs. Downing is a member of the Christian Scientist Church.
WILL APTHORP ADAMS-The name of Adams is a famous one in Massachusetts, and there is scarcely a bearer of that name within the state who does not have forbears who have done something notable. There is variety, too, in their endeavors. To take the instance of Will Apthorp Adams: his first interest was in journalism, but on leaving what promised to be a successful career in that field, he organized the Adams Plastics Company, and has been for five years its president, thus disproving the popular supposition that writers cannot make good business men.
Mr. Adams' father and grandfather were noted in another sphere of endeavor: the fine arts. The grand- father, Charles Cassily Adams, painted the peren- nially famous picture, "Custer's Last Stand," and his son, William Apthorp, inheriting his talent, en- joyed a successful career as marine artist. He married Edna McMillan, and their son, Will Apthorp, was born September 6, 1898. His parents were then resi- dent in Cincinnati, Ohio, and here young Will at- tended public schools and high school. He then matriculated at the University of Cincinnati, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree there in 1925. His higher education had waited upon his completion of mili- tary service, and during World War I he enlisted in the army and was assigned to the 27th Machine Gun Division. His overseas time, fourteen months, was spent in France and he was honorably discharged in 1919 with the rating of sergeant.
In 1928 Mr. Adams entered the field of journalism, working on various papers and in various cities for a period of about five years. Thereafter, taking an interest in manufacturing and particularly in plastics, he transferred to that occupation, and after learning thoroughly its practical groundwork founded, in 1943, the Adams Plastics Company. The field of plastics is noted in industry for its versatility. Great possibilities in its applications are still being dis- covered. In fact, relative to its potentialities, Mr. Adams entered the field when it was just emerging from its infancy. To take but two examples of these applications in the case of Mr. Adams' company: the firm is now engaged in manufacturing for the cutlery trade and for the textile industry. It will be interest- ing to watch, in future years, the variety and growth of this young industry.
To keep pace with developments in a growing, rapidly changing field, Mr. Adams keeps contact with his colleagues through the Society of Plastics En- gineers and the Holyoke Industrial Association. He is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce. He worships at the Methodist Church.
In New York City, on December 30, 1931, Will Apthorp Adams married Virginia Hoffman. Her parents were Joseph and Antoinette (Van Hyck) Hoffman. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have become the parents of two children: June, born in 1934, and Jacqueline, born in 1938. Both attend public school in South Hadley, where the family make their home.
THEODORE WINSLOW JONES, M.D .- Spe- cializing in gynecology and obstetrics. Dr. Theodore Winslow Jones of Pittsfield is among the most highly regarded physicians in the Berkshire region of West- ern Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire, edu- cated in Connecticut and in the South, he served as an intern or a resident physician in Ohio and in Canada, acquiring a wide and valuable experience be- fore establishing his practice in the pleasant and pro- gressive city which is known as the Capital of the Berkshires.
Theodore Winslow Jones is the son of Rev. W. M. Jones, and his wife, Louise (Clark) Jones, who was a native of Brooklyn, New York. Rev. Jones is a re- tired Episcopalian clergyman and pastor emeritus of St. Peter's Church, in New Jersey. The Jones family was among the pioneers of Portland, Maine.
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Theodore Winslow Jones was born at Manchester, New Hampshire, on September 5, 1903. After com- pleting his elementary and intermediate studies, he attended Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science at gradua- tion with the class of 1925. Having at this time decided on a career in medicine, he pursued his studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and from this noted institution received his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1929.
The young physician served as an intern at Cleve- land, Ohio, from 1929 to some time in 1932. He studied surgery at the Lakeside Hospital, and acquired experience in the practice of obstetrics at the Cleveland Maternity Hospital. During the period of 1932- 1934, Dr. Jones had a residency in obstetrics and served also as resident surgeon at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Province of Ontario, Canada. During this time he was also a fellow in surgery at the University of Toronto.
It was in 1934 that Dr. Jones established his private practice in Pittsfield, where, confining his activities to gynecology and obstetrics, he has won an en- viable reputation and standing among his professional colleagues and in the confidence of the general public. In his adopted city he is a member of the active staff of the House of Mercy Hospital, and also serves on the staffs of St. Luke's and the Hillcrest Hospitals. He is a consultant of the Plunkett Memorial Hospital of Pittsfield. Dr. Jones' professional memberships include affiliation with the American Medical Asso- ciation, the Massachusetts Medical Society and the Berkshire County Medical Society, which he has served for a number of years as treasurer. A Fellow of American College of Surgeons, Theodore Winslow Jones is a diplomate of the American Board of Ob- stetrics and Gynecology and a member of the New England Obstetrical and Gynecological Society and a past president of St. Luke's Hospital staff. He is active in business and civic affairs as a member of the Pittsfield Kiwanis Club, of which he is a past president and also belongs to the St. Stephen's Episcopal Club.
At Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 30, 1938, Theodore Winslow Jones was married to Elizabeth Gamwell, a daughter of Richard H. and Jane O. Gamwell. Of this union there are the following two children : I. Elizabeth Winslow, who was born at Pittsfield on October 17, 1942. 2. Richard Gamwell, born at Pittsfield on May 24, 1944.
LEONARD EUGENE BELCHER-From the Green Mountains of Vermont came Leonard Eugene Belcher to Springfield, but only after a varied busi- ness experience that ranged primarily from agricul- ture to salesmanship. At present he is head of his own company, the Leonard E. Belcher, Inc., dealers in motor supplies, both wholesale and retail. In ad- dition he operates motor truck transportation over a wide area.
Mr. Belcher was born at Cavendish, Vermont, on July 28, 1882, son of Henry J. and Jane (Grow) Belcher, and the grandson of Ira Belcher, a native of Buxboro, Massachusetts, a seafaring man who died at sea. Henry J. Belcher was born in New York State, on August 19, 1832, and was a farmer in Ver- mont for the most of his life, where lie died at the
age of seventy-two years in Cavendish. He was an influential figure in Republican politics, a long-time member of the local school board and an active mem- ber of the Baptist Church. His wife was born at Chester, Vermont, and passed to her reward in Royal- ton, Vermont. Jane (Grow) Belcher was a daughter of Otis Grow, a Congregational minister.
A graduate of the public schools of Cavendish, Vermont, Leonard Eugene Belcher began an ac- quaintaince with life and affairs in association with his father on the home farm. He knew agriculture at first hand over seven or eight years, before he decided to change his occupation and went with the Springfield Railroad for a short time. He then was connected with the Springfield Gas Light Company for some four or five years, mainly in charge of the corporation's automobiles and motor trucks.
Mr. Belcher was next a salesman of life insurance, a representative of the Bankers Life Insurance Com- pany, of Des Moines, Iowa. He travelled out of Cleveland, Ohio. After several years, three or four, he joined his brother I. W. Belcher, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, in a contracting and building busi- ness. After four years he removed to the Barre section of Massachusetts, where he farmed for eight years. This enterprise he gave up to go to North Wilbraham, Massachusetts, to engage in the oil trade with his brother I. W. Belcher, under the name Belcher Brothers. This partnership was continued until 1933, when he erected his present building and has since continued his activities in the wholesale and retail of oil, tires and motor vehicle supplies, and operating trucks on a large scale. The firm of which he is president is known widely and well as Leonard E. Belcher, Inc., and in its direction he has been exceptionally successful. Mr. Belcher is a Republi- can in political affiliations; is a member of the Cham- ber of Commerce, of the American Trucking Asso- ciation and the Massachusetts Oil Institute. He is a Congregationalist in religion, a popular figure in the Church Brotherhood. His favorite recreation is fish- ing.
In 1917, Leonard Eugene Belcher married Georgia A. Merrill, born in Blanford, Massachusetts, daughter of Nathaniel P. and Lizzie (Bennett) Merrill, both of whom are now deceased, her father having been engaged in farming and as å salesman. Mrs. Bel- cher's grandparents were the Rev. Nathan Merrill, a Methodist minister and veteran of the War Between the States, and his wife, the former Miss Pinkham, a sister of Lydia Pinkham's husband. Mrs. Belcher received her education in Blanford and Wilbraham grade and high school, and Wilbraham Academy.
JOHN NORMAN HAZEN-Since 1925 John Nor- man Hazen has been treasurer of the Hazen Paper Company of Holyoke. His contribution to this region of Massachusetts has been a highly important one, extending into many branches of Holyoke affairs and causing him to be known throughout this State and other parts of New England.
Mr. Hazen was born January 14, 1893, in Hanover, New Hampshire, son of John Vose and Harriet Au- gusta (Hurlbut) Hazen, and member of an old American family. The American progenitor of the family was Edward Hazen, who settled at Rowley, in 1674. Many of the early generations of the Hazen
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family lived in or near Norwich, Connecticut, and later in Woodbury, the same State. In about 1870, Thomas Hazen and his sons moved to Hartford, Vermont, and there were active in causing that State to became a separate political unit, receiving extra land in Hartford township for their labors in this connection. One of the descendants of the original Edward Hazen was the Reverend Norman Hazen, who was a minister of the Congregational Church. Originally from Hartford, Vermont, he died at Royals- ton, after holding a number of important pastorates in different New England communities. His wife was of the family of Vose, and one of their children was John Vose Hazen, the father of John Norman Hazen. Born November 22, 1850, in Royalston, John Vose Hazen was for more than forty years professor of Descriptive Geometry and Civil Engineering at Dart- mouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. He be- came active in a number of professional organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, and was also prominent in civic, social and religious undertakings in his community. He served as a pre- cinct commissioner and a member of the Hanover school board, and was a deacon in the Congregational Church until his death October 19, 1919, in Hanover.
Their son, John Norman Hazen, attended public schools in Hanover, and was graduated in 1910 from Hanover High School. Entering Dartmouth College in that year, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1914. In 1915, he was made the recipient of the degree of Master of Commercial Science by the Tuck School at Dartmouth. After leaving college, Mr. Hazen was, for a brief period, secretary of the New York Society for the Study of Unemployment Problems. In November 1915, he came to Holyoke, where he became connected with the Taylor Logan Company as a cost accountant. He held the same position with an affiliated organization known as the New York, New England Company, also of Holyoke. Familiarizing himself with all the details of accounting and business records of these organizations, he eventu- ally became their treasurer. Except for a period of service in World War I, details of which will be found below, he remained continually with the Taylor Lo- gan Company until 1925, the year in which he re- signed to organize the Hazen Paper Company.
As treasurer of the Hazen Paper Company, he has continued until the time of writing. In 1928, his brother, Edward E. Hazen, became associated with the Hazen Paper Company, and later became its presi- dent. In addition to his service as treasurer and gen- eral manager of this company, John Norman Hazen has filled an important place in local civic affairs as a member of the Rotary Club, the Reciprocity Club, the Mount Tom Club, "The" Club, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Dartmouth Club of Holy- oke and the Dartmouth Club of New York City. In his student days he became a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the Casque and Gaunt- let Senior Society. He was also elected to the honor- ary scholastic society of Phi Beta Kappa.
To his other accomplishments, Mr. Hazen has added military service. During World War I he entered the first Officers Training Camp at Platts- burg, New York, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Ordnance Department of the Army. Assigned to Washington, D. C., he served in
the Supply Division until he was sent to represent the Ordnance Department in the office of the Chief of Staff, Embarkation Division. There he had charge of ordnance materials for overseas shipments. In March, 1918, he received his honorable discharge with the rank of captain and returned to Holyoke to resume his business activities. Here today, in addition to his work in the paper industry, he is a director of the Holyoke National Bank and trustee of the Mechanics Savings Bank. Mr. Hazen is a member of the St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church.
On June 19, 1920, in Holyoke, John Norman Hazen married Marie Weis, daughter of Joseph Brenneman and Isabel (McMillan) Weis, of Holyoke. Her father was also active in the paper business as president of the Perfect Safety Paper Company. Mrs. Hazen, her- self, attended Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, and is a member of the Holyoke Woman's Club and the Arts Club of Holyoke, as well as past treasurer of the Junior Service Corps. Mr. and Mrs. Hazen became the parents of the following children: I. John Vose, born June 25, 1928, died July 14, 1931. 2. Thomas Norman, born April 2, 1935.
DANIEL J. COLLINS, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, owner of the well-known Berkshire Hills Kennels on South Street in Pittsfield, which were formerly conducted by his father, is rapidly making a reputation for himself in Pittsfield and its environs as a veterinarian in his own right.
He is the son of the late Dr. Bernard M. and Eliza- beth M. (Murphy) Collins, both natives of Pittsfield. Dr. Daniel J. Collins was born in Pittsfield January 2, 1916. His early education was received in the Pitts- field elementary schools and Pittsfield High School. He then became a student at Tufts College and later at Columbia College, from which he graduated in 1937, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Later he entered the School of Veterinary Science of the University of Pennsylvania, where his father had trained as a veterinarian, and in 1943 was graduated from this in- stitution, with the degree as Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Since then he has been engaged in private practice in Pittsfield and the surrounding countryside and has also conducted the Berkshire Hills Kennels on South Street, on the property where he now makes his home.
Dr. Collins is a member of the Delta Upsilon fra- ternity, which he joined while at Columbia College, and of the Alpha Psi Veterinary fraternity, which he joined while at the University of Pennsylvania. He belongs to the Pittsfield Rotary Club and to St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church.
He married in New York City on November 2, 1944, Neyla Harris, a native of New York City, the daughter of Ross and Evelyn (Petty) Harris. They have one child, Dana Margaret, born in Pittsfield on March 19, 1946.
BERNARD M. COLLINS, V.M.D .- One of Pitts- field's well-known citizens was the late Dr. Bernard M. Collins, prominent veterinarian of this city and proprietor of the Berkshire Hills Kennels, which are today owned and operated by his son, Dr. Daniel J. Collins, also a veterinarian. The elder Dr. Collins was at one time a city inspector, and he was also the founder of the Yellow Cab Company of Pittsfield.
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Although he was only forty-eight when he died, on March 25, 1937, he had made a place for himself in his native Pittsfield and its environs that will not- soon be forgotten.
He was born in Pittsfield in 1889, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Collins. After attending the elementary schools and Pittsfield High School, he studied for a time at the University of Toronto. He then became a student at the School of Veterinary Science of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was gradu- ated in 19II. Dr. Collins was not content with this general professional training but kept abreast of progress in his profession by returning to the Univer- sity each year for a few weeks of study. In 1925 he received from the institution a degree in veterinary surgery in addition to the Doctor of Veterinary Medi- cine degree he had received at the time of his gradua- tion.
Dr. Collins spent twenty-six years in the practice of his profession in Pittsfield. He was in constant de- mand among dog lovers, and after he established the Berkshire Hills Kennels on South Street, many well- to-do summer residents left their dogs with him for the winter months, knowing that they would receive more than the ordinary care. Gradually he came to specialize in Scottish terriers and he often owned forty of his own. He was an active member of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Dr. Collins served for a time as milk and slaughter inspector for the city of Pittsfield and as meat inspector for the State of Massachusetts. He also organized the Yellow Cab Company and served as its president until his retirement in 1925, and he was associated, too, with the Yellow Cab Package Delivery. Both these organizations met a real need in the community. Dr. Collins attended the Chapel of the Little Flower of Jesus and was an active member of the Holy Name Society. He also belonged to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
He married Elizabeth M. Murphy, a native of Pitts- field, and they were the parents of the following chil- dren: Daniel J., now a veterinarian who continues his father's practice; William K., Bernard J., Mary T., Elizabeth R., Helen, Jean, and Shelia.
HARVEY RUSSELL PRESTON-One of the important and progressive business leaders of Spring- field, Harvey Russell Preston has for many years been one of the foremost insurance men in this city. His many community activities and astute business judgment have earned for him an excellent reputation among a host of close personal friends and business associates.
Mr. Preston was
born March 2. 1896 at Fair Haven, Vermont, son of Edward J. and Caro- line (Hulett) Preston. Members of the Preston fam- ily had lived at Fair Haven for generations, and the elder Mr. Preston carried on in the family tradition as a prominent member of the community, operating a retail merchandising establishment. Caroline (Hu- lett) Preston, mother of Harvey Preston, was a native of Hulett's Landing, Lake George, New York, where her father owned extensive reaches of land. She died, in 1905, and her husband, the elder Mr. Preston, passed away, in 1941.
Harvey Russell Preston received his early education in the local elementary schools and later attended the
public school in his home town. At high school he distinguished himself as president of his class and as captain of the basketball team.
Mr. Preston's first business experience after finish- ing his formal education was a position with the United States Tire Company in Hartford, Connecti- cut, which he held for nine months. At the end of this period he resigned to enter the Travelers Insurance Company training school. In September, 1918, he joined the United States Army, and was sent to Camp Upton, Long Island, where in three months he trained ten drum corps for overseas duty. When the war was over, he returned to the Travelers Insurance Company at Hartford, Connecticut. There he took a postgraduate course to further his study in larger fields of insurance. Upon completion of this course he continued with the company, and early in the summer of 1919 was sent to the Travelers' branch at Richmond, Virginia, where he remained a year. In September, 1920, he came north to Hartford, where he remained for the next two years. At the end of this period he was again transferred, this time to the Reading, Penn- sylvania, office, where he carried on successfully until 1924.
After looking around for a good New England city in which to settle, Mr. Preston decided on Springfield. He soon became associated as office manager with the Travelers general agency then known as Gilmore and Goldthwaite. With this firm Mr. Preston made rapid progress. In 1926, he became a partner, and three years later, in 1929, when the business was in- corporated, he attained the positions of vice president and general manager. Mr. Gilmore, of the firm, had long since passed away, and the elder Mr. Gold- thwaite soon retired to a home in California. In 1932, Mr. Preston acquired the controlling interest in the corporation and became its president. Later another partner was admitted to the firm, and it then became known as Goldthwaite, Preston and Olmstead. Sub- sequently the enterprise became one of the most im- portant insurance agencies in this section of the coun- try. The rapid rise of the firm is attested by the fact that in three different years it was named the third largest Travelers casualty agency in the United States and Canada. This firm continued to prosper under the leadership of Mr. Preston and in January, 1945, Mr. Goldthwaite withdrew and Mr. Preston continued alone with Mr. Olmstead. The rapid growth and substantial prosperity of the agency has been in no small measure due to the vigorous management of Mr. Preston.
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