USA > Massachusetts > The story of western Massachusetts, Volume IV > Part 40
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moved their headquarters to Springfield, became situated in the Stern Building, and did business under the firm name of William G. Angers and Company. As the years passed on this enterprise became ever more successful and prosperous, due in no small mea- sure to the excellent business judgment and forceful leadership of Mr. Angers, who continued active in business until the close of his life.
For many years prominent in the civic and social life of his community, William George Angers held memberships in many important organizations. He was a trustee of the Holyoke Savings Bank; for five years served as a member of the Board of Health of Holyoke; was a member of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, and was very much interested in travel, visiting numerous parts of the United States and a number of countries in Europe and South America. In politics he was a Republican, and in religious faith adhered to the Roman Catholic de- nomination, attending the Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church.
On August 21, 1889, at Holyoke, William George Angers married Anna Monat, daughter of Peter and Euphemie (Messier.) Monat. Her father, a native of St. Pie, Canada, came to this country and engaged in a retail grocery enterprise at Holyoke. Mrs. An- gers, who was born at St. Pie, was graduated from the Holyoke Grammar School and the Holyoke High School, and is a member of the Perpetual Help Ro- man Catholic Church.
On August 31, 1946, William George Angers passed away. His death was a cause of deep sorrow in his community, where he had become known and re- spected for his benevolence and kindliness. He was a friend and advisor to many and his loss to the busi- ness world of Springfield was great.
HENRY EDWARD ANGERS-For more than thirty years prominently associated with the building industry of Springfield, Henry Edward Angers has made valuable contributions toward the growth of this important business.
Mr. Angers was born July 15, 1894, son of Pierre (q.v.) and Mary (Adams) Angers, the former a build- ing contractor.
Henry Edward Angers received his early education in the Springfield public schools, attended the St. Laurent College at Montreal, Canada, and studied at the Assumption College at Worcester, Massachu- setts.
In 1915, after having completed his formal educa- tion, Mr. Angers entered the building line, and became a partner in the firm of A. J. Gagnier and H. E. Angers, both being the eldest sons of the original partners of C. I. Gagnier and Pierre Angers. For more than a decade he remained in association with Mr. Gagnier, and the enterprise grew in prosperity and reputation. In 1926, together with his two broth- ers, George W. Angers and Laurent A. Angers, he organized the building and property management firm of H. E. Angers and Bros., Incorporated, of which he became president. He has continued in this capac- ity since, and the enterprise under his forceful leader- ship and astute management has continued to grow and prosper until today it is one of the most widely known and highly respected concerns of its type in
Springfield. In addition to his building interests, Mr. Angers, in 1936, became a partner in the Worthing- ton Paint and Supply Company, which handles a full line of house paints and other supplies.
During World War I, Mr. Angers served overseas eighteen months as a first sergeant in the Medical Corps of the United States Army attached to Medical Train No. 61.
Mr. Angers plays an important role in the life of his community. Since 1936 he has served on the board of appeals of the City of Springfield. He belongs to the Springfield Apartment Owners Association, the American Air Mail Society, the Springfield Air Mail Society, is a life member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and is a charter member of the American Legion. In religious affiliation he is a de- vout Catholic, and attends St. Joseph's Roman Catho- lic Church.
On May 30, 1920, at Springfield, Henry Edward Angers married Annette Berube, and they became the parents of the following children: I. Jacqueline, who was born April 25, 1921. 2. Henry E., Jr., who was born July 8, 1922. 3. Eugene G., who was born March II, 1925.
GEORGE WILLIAM ANGERS-One of the out- standing business leaders of Springfield, and eminent in the building and lumber industries, George William Angers has earned an enviable reputation for his astuteness and business acumen.
Mr. Angers was born August 9, 1897, at Springfield, son of Pierre (q.v.) and Mary (Adams) Angers. His father was prominent in the building industry of Springfield.
George William Angers attended the Springfield public schools and local parochial schools. He was graduated from high school in his home town, and then entered Assumption College at Worcester. Later he studied Business Administration at the St. Laurent College at Montreal, Province of Quebec, Canada, and attended Griffin's Business School of Banking and Business Administration.
In 1916 Mr. Angers became associated with his uncle, William George Angers (q.v.), in the whole- sale lumber business as manager of the enterprise. During World War I, George W. Angers interrupted his career to serve as a first sergeant with the 437th Engineer Regiment of the United States Army. Upon his return to civilian life, he continued with his uncle, and in 1920 became a partner of William G. Angers and Company. He held this position until 1945, at which time he became sole owner of the firm. In 1926 Mr. Angers entered the building business with his two brothers, Henry Edward Angers (q.v.) and Laurent Arthur Angers (q.v.), and he became treas- urer of the concern, which is known as H. E. Angers and Bros., Incorporated. In 1936, he further diversi- fied his business interests by gaining partnership in the Worthington Paint and Supply Company in Springfield. Mr. Angers is a pertinent factor in the success of all three of these thriving business enter- prises.
Vitally interested in professional, civic and social affairs in Springfield, George Angers is active in a number of important organizations there. He is a director of the Springfield Franco-American Credit
W. Mass. IV-19
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Edelmard angers
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Union, the Springfield Automobile Association, the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, and the Associa- tion for Stamp Exhibition in New York. He was the founder, and is a life member and president emeritus of the American Air Mail Society, which he organized in 1923. He also founded the Springfield Air Mail Society in 1936, and is one of its former presidents. Since 1921 he has been active as a member of the Collectors Club of New York. He is a charter mem- ber of the American Legion, and holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is also president of the Springfield Apartment Owners Association. A Roman Catholic by religious prefer- ence, he attends St. Joseph's Church.
On January 26, 1920, at Fort Myer, Virginia, George William Angers married Margaret M. Fealy, daughter of Thomas J. and Mary C. (Smith) Fealy, and they became the parents of the following children : I. Jeanne M., who was born November 7, 1922, was graduated from the Central High School, and at- tended St. Mary's Academy at Washington, D. C. 2. Marjorie L., who was born January 10, 1931, and was graduated from the Central High School. She is at- tending the State Teachers College at North Adams.
LAURENT ARTHUR ANGERS-For twenty- five years associated with the business growth of Springfield, and one of its stalwart citizens, Laurent Arthur Angers has long been highly regarded by his many friends and associates for his outstanding ability and devotion to duty.
Mr. Angers was born May 15, 1899, at Springfield, son of Pierre (q.v.) and Mary (Adams) Angers.
Laurent Arthur Angers received his early education in the public schools of Springfield, attended Assump- tion College at Worcester, was graduated in 1915 from the St. Laurent College of Montreal, Canada, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester in 1919, and received the degree of Master of Business Ad- ministration in 1921 at the Harvard University Gradu- ate School of Business.
After having finished his college training, Mr. Angers established a bakery and grocery enterprise, which he operated successfully until 1924, at which time he became associated with the building and con- tracting firm of Francis C. Gagnier and Company as a partner. They were younger sons of the original partners, C. I. Gagnier and Pierre Angers. After two years with Mr. Gagnier, Mr. Angers entered business with his two brothers, Henry Edward Angers (q.v.) and George William Angers (q.v.), as vice president and assistant treasurer of their building concern. Ten years later, in 1936, he entered the paint and supply field, also with his two brothers, as a partner in the Worthington Paint and Supply Company. All these enterprises have been highly successful, due in no small degree to the aptitude and efficiency of Mr. Angers.
Intensely interested in the civic and social phases of his community life, Mr. Angers enjoys the many activities in which he participates. From 1931 until 1933, he was deputy manager of the Home Owners Loan Corporation. At three different times, in 1936, 1940, and 1944, he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention. He is a member of the Board
of Elevator Regulations of the Massachusetts Depart- ment of Public Safety, having been appointed by Governor Maurice J. Tobin. He is a member of the American Legion, and while at the College of the Holy Cross was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. From 1929 until 1931 he was presi- dent of the Charter Club, is a member of the Spring- field Country Club, and holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he was chaplain in 1940 and 1941. A devout Catholic in religious belief, he is a member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church.
In October, 1924, at Fall River, Laurent Arthur Angers married Mariette L. Letourneau, daughter of Alfred S. and Annie L. (Corneau) Letourneau, and they became the parents of one son, Pierre Angers, 11, who was born in September, 1927, was graduated from the Cramwell Preparatory School at Fall River, entered the United States Navy, served a year and a half as a seaman, first-class, in the Pacific Theater of Operations, and is now attending college.
EDELMARD ANGERS, president of the Angers Lumber Company is one of the older business leaders in Springfield, well-known in that section of Western Massachusetts and highly respected not only for his ability and integrity, but also because his success in life has been due to his own efforts, ambition, enter- prise and hard work. He is a self-made man in the best American traditional sense of that term.
Mr. Angers comes of that French-Canadian stock which has made such important contributions to the life of New England, and nowhere more than in the Connecticut River valley. He was born at L'Ange Gardien, Province of Quebec, Canada, on January I, 1874, a son of William Angers, a mill owner. Wil- liam Angers, who was born at St. Cesaire, Quebec, in 1844, died in 1929. The young Edelmard Angers began his education at public school in Canada, and when the necessity of going to work at an early age interrupted his studies by day, he subsequently took courses at night school in Springfield.
Edelmard Angers first went to work, after the family came to the United States, as early as the year 1887. At that time he became a card tender in a cotton mill at West Warren. Two years later he came to Spring- field as a carpenter's apprentice. This choice of an occupation at that time determined the course of his future career, and Springfield has been his home and the scene of his activities and successes throughout the nearly six decades that have elapsed since then.
In 1892 Edelmard Angers, in partnership with his brother Joseph, entered business independently. The brothers became contractors, and prospered in this line of work until 1910. At that time they dropped contracting and set up in the retail lumber business, and in this they were even more successful. In 1926 Joseph Angers died, and another brother, Maurice Angers, took his place as a partner in the firm. With continued expansion of operations it became advisable to incorporate the business, and when this was done in 1932, Edelmard Angers became president of the corporation, and has filled this office to the present time. In 1945 Maurice Angers passed away, and since then Edelmard Angers has been sole owner of the Angers Lumber Company.
Mr. Angers is an influential member of the Spring-
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field Chamber of Commerce, and belongs to two organizations of people of French-Canadian stock, namely Les Artisans and Canadiens Français. He is a Roman Catholic in religion and a communicant of St. Joseph's Church of that denomination. In politics his affiliation is with the Republican party.
At Bic, Province of Quebec, Canada, on February 14, 19II, Edelmard Angers was joined in marriage with Ida Pineau, who was born on October 29, 1877. She is a daughter of Michel Febronie (Gagnon) Pineau. Of this union there are three children: I. Dantes Lucien, who was born on July 28, 1914. He is a graduate of St. Charles Academy. 2. Lorraine Re- jeanne, born on June 24, 1918. She graduated from high school and has attended the Bay Path Institute. 3. Jeanine Mercedes, born June 24, 1918. She gradu- ated from high school and has also studied at the Bay Path Institute.
NORMAN F. GRAVES-A partner in the firm of F. N. Graves and Son, one of Western Massachusetts' largest dealers in automobiles, trucks, tractors and power units, Norman F. Graves is the elder of the two sons of Ralph N. Graves to succeed in the management of this business, and is as such, despite his youth, one of the leading business men of Williamsburg. The firm is an old one, founded by a member of a previous generation of the family. Its beginning predates the automotive era. Yet the enterprise has not only adapted itself to each new development of the modern mechanical era, but has set the pace in the distribution and service of cars and allied automotive equipment.
Norman F. Graves, who is, as indicated, the elder son of Ralph N. Graves (q.v.) and his wife, the former Isabell Mary MacFarland, was born in Williamsburg, May 16, 1917. His mother was a native of Conway, Massachusetts. Norman Graves graduated from Wil- liamsburg High School with the class of 1934. He thereafter attended Vermont Academy, and graduated from Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont, in 1939, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Then, to gain experience in the selling phase of the business which he was already planning to enter, he became a salesman with the International Harvester Company, and continued this connection for two years, until 1941, when he joined the business traditionally associated with his family, then being managed by his father: the firm of F. N. Graves and Son. He has continued in the business to date, and is now a partner. The firm, holding the dealership for Chevrolet cars, Inter- national trucks, tractors, and power units, is one of the largest dealers in such merchandise in the western part of the state. Its establishment dates to 1868 when Norman Graves's grandfather, a carriage builder, began a line of work with which the family name has remained so closely associated.
Mr. Graves keeps in contact with automotive circles through membership in the Society of Automotive Engineers. He is a member of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his family attend the Congregational Church.
On August 16, 1939, Norman F. Graves married Mary Elizabeth Wilcox of Cory, Pennsylvania. She was a graduate registered nurse at the Cooley-Dickin- son Hospital at Northampton, and is the daughter of Donald S. and Jessie (Whittenmeyer) Wilcox, both natives of the state of Washington. Mr. and Mrs.
Norman Graves have three children: I. Suzanne, born at the Cooley-Dickinson Hospital, December 26, 1940. 2. Frederick Norman, born at the Cooley-Dick- inson Hospital, October 14, 1943. 3. William Donald, born May 3, 1948.
RICHARD RALPH GRAVES is the youngest member of the firm of F. N. Graves and Son to hold the status of partner. He returned from service for his country during World War II to assume respon- sibility in this large firm of automotive dealers, whose reputable standing in the community is based on long service, dating back to its origins in a carriagemaker's shop, before the dawn of the automobile era.
Born at Williamsburg on October 1, 1919, son of Ralph N. (q.v.) and Isabell Mary (MacFarland) Graves, Richard R. Graves attended schools in his na- tive community, and graduated from Williamsburg High School, Vermont Academy, and Norwich Uni- versity. After the termination of his education he joined the armed forces for service in World War II, and served as a staff sergeant in the coast artillery from February, 1942 until December, 1945. He en- tered the firm of F. N. Graves and Son on December 28, of the latter year, and is a partner in the firm. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He attends the Congregational Church.
Richard Ralph Graves married Marsha Hobbs, a graduate registered nurse of the New England Hos- pital at Boston. She is the daughter of Stanley Hobbs, Jr., and Mabel (Humphreys) Hobbs. Mr. and Mrs. Graves have two children; Richard R., Jr., and Judith McRae, both born at the Cooley-Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.
RALPH N. GRAVES, who with his sons, Norman F. and Richard R. Graves, heads the firm of F. N. Graves and Son, is himself of the third successive generation engaged in its management. Of course it has not always been, as it is today, a leading dis- tributor of automobiles, trucks, tractors and power equipment, for its beginnings antedate the automobile era. In 1868 the first member of the family to be con- sidered in its history, Norman Graves, conducted a wagon and carriage making shop. It was, naturally, but one step from this to dealership in automobiles- a short step, that is, for one of progressive mind who realized that the automobile was here to stay and that a sound future was assured those who had faith in it.
Succeeding Norman Graves, the founder, in the man- agement of the company were his sons, Frederick and William Caleb. Of the latter, Ralph N. Graves was the son, and he is a native of Williamsburg. His preparation for later business responsibilities started when in 1912 he began his apprenticeship as a wagon maker. The year 1916 saw his entry into the still- developing automobile field, operating a general garage business. From 1918 to 1927 he was the proprietor of a Ford agency. He had become a partner in 1921 in the reorganized firm of F. N. Graves and Son. Since 1927 the firm has, in general, dealt in the same line of merchandise: Chevrolet cars, International trucks, and automotive equipment. He has taken into partnership his two sons, who have been carrying an increasing
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degree of the responsibility attendant upon the opera- tion of a large and prospering agency.
Mr. Graves is also associated with the Northampton National Bank in the capacity of director. He belongs to the Hampshire Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in Williamsburg.
Ralphı N. Graves married Isabell Mary MacFarland, of Conway. They are the parents of two sons, Nor- inan F., and Richard Ralph, of whom sketches appear in this volume.
SUSAN MABEL HOOD EMERSON, (Mrs. George Waldo Emerson), since 1939 principal of the Mary A. Burnham School at Northampton and also headmistress of the Stoneleigh Prospect Hill School of Greenfield, is well-known in educational circles throughout New England. She was the founder and for nine years the principal of the Emerson School for Boys in Exeter. Mrs. Emerson is one of Northamp- ton's most public-spirited citizens and takes an active interest in civic affairs in the city, county and state. She is the owner of the General Israel Putnam birth- place in Danvers and a direct descendant of General Putnam. Active in the Daughters of the American Revolution and in genealogical and historical societies, Mrs. Emerson combines a feeling for an intimate knowledge of the finest American traditions with the forward-looking attitude of a sound modern educator. She was born Susan Mabel Hood on May 10, 1876 in Red Wing, Minnesota, the daughter of Wendell Phillips and Maria Phelps (Putnam) Hood. In 1892-93 she was a student at the Salem, Massachu- setts, normal school and the following year she be- came a student at the Mary A. Burnham School at Northampton, or Miss Capen's School, as it was also called. After graduating from this fine old school for girls-of which she now is principal-she entered Smith College, where she was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1901.
In 1904 she married George Waldo Emerson and the years that followed were devoted primarily to her family, which was a large one, for there were seven Emerson children. It was not until 1923 that she entered the educational field in a professional capacity, although she had in the meantime accumu- lated a wealth of unprofessional experience which was to stand her in good stead as an educator.
From 1923 to 1927 Mrs. Emerson served as prin- cipal of Howard Seminary in West Bridgewater and she was later a director of this institution from 1937 to 1939. In 1930 she founded the Emerson School for Boys at Exeter and became its principal, serv- ing in this capacity until 1939. Today this school is conducted by Mrs. Emerson's son Edward Everett Emerson, a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Since 1939 Mrs. Emerson has been principal of the Mary A. Burnham School for Girls at North- ampton. One of the oldest schools to prepare girls for college in the United States, this school had been founded in 1877 as "The Northampton Classical School for Girls." Its founder was Miss Mary A. Burnham, who had been head of the English depart- ment at Wellesley College before coming to North- ampton, and associated with her from the start was lier friend Miss Bessie Talbot Capen, who had been
head of the Wellesley chemistry department. After Miss Burnham's death in 1885, Miss Capen, who became principal of the school, changed its name from the Northampton Classical School for Girls to the Mary A. Burham School in honor of its founder, but for many years it was referred to interchangeably as the "Burnham School" or as "Miss Capen's." Miss Helen E. Thompson, who had taught at the school since its early days, also served as principal for some years. The Burnham School, which has alumnae in almost all of the states of the Union and in several foreign lands, has occupied the same beautiful site on Elm Street for more than sixty years and under the direction of its present princi- pal, Susan Mabel Hood Emerson, it continues to go forward along the path it has followed since the beginning. Mrs. Emerson lives in the dormitory and is always accessible to the students of the Burn- ham School, despite her many broad interests outside it. Burnham School is approved by the New England College Admissons Board and is a member of the New England Association of Colleges and the Sec- ondary Education Board. Its students, who enter many of the country's leading colleges, have the ad- vantages of small classes, inspiring teachers, sound academic training, fine traditions and contact with a college town which is noted for its culture and pub- lic spirit.
Since 1944 Mrs. Emerson has been a director of another school for girls, the Stoneleigh Prospect Hill School of Greenfield and she is now headmistress of this school, which provides education for about seventy girls from the ages of thirteen to eighteen and prepares for college entrance. As the Prospect Hill School, this school was founded in Greenfield in 1869, eight years before the founding of the Mary A. Burnham School in Northampton. In 1930 Pros- pect Hill School was united with the Stoneleigh School, which had been founded by Miss Caroline Sumner and Miss Isabel Cressler, the latter of whom is now teaching art history at the Mary A. Burnham School. Stoneleigh Prospect Hill School is a mem- ber of the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Secondary Education Board and is approved by the New England College Admissions Board.
Mrs. Emerson is the owner of the Gen. Israel Putnam birthplace at Danvers, Massachusetts, "re- puted to be the oldest house in the United States which has continued in possession of a direct line of descent; now in the 10th generation." By an interest- ing coincidence, Miss Mary Burnham and Mrs. Emerson have the common ancestor David Putnam, a brother of Gen. Israel Putnam. As a collateral de- scendant of General Putnam in the tenth generation and owner of his birthplace at Danvers, Mrs. Emer- son frequently lectures on his life.
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