Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 2

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933
Publication date: 1934
Publisher: New York, American historical Society
Number of Pages: 700

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He married, at New Haven, Minnie Lillian Welles, a native of West Warren, Massachusetts, daughter of Edmund Galpin and Mary E. (Has- tings) Welles, a descendant of Governor Thomas Welles (1598-1660) of Connecticut. Their resi- dence is at 64 Beechmont Street. They have three children, Doris Welles, wife of E. Claire Butler, Howard Mason Booth, assistant business manager of the "Worcester Telegram" and "The Evening Gazette," and Robert Welles Booth, a student at Williams College. JOHN NELSON.

FREDERIC BALDWIN WASHBURN-In the banking circles of Massachusetts, of which he has been a lifelong resident, Frederic Baldwin Washburn is well known and highly esteemed. His experience as a financier has extended over a period of more than four decades, and combined with his natural abilities along this line have won him recognition as an authority in banking and a

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business man of vision and of achievement. In

Boston and in Worcester he has lived up to his privileges and duties as a civic-minded citizen and contributed valuably to the development and bet- terment of the communities in which he has made his home. He was born at Natick, Massachu- setts, July 19, 1871, son of Charles Watson and Elizabeth (Baldwin) Washburn.

Educated in the public schools of his natal place, he was graduated from the Natick High School, and early began a business career which by the time he had reached the age of seventeen, had definitely been directed in the channels of banking. In 1889 he became associated with the Natick National Bank, going from there, in 1892, to the North National Bank, of Boston, with which institution he remained three years. From 1899 to 1900 he was with the National Bank of Redemption, at Boston. Mr. Washburn became president of the Worcester Five Cents Savings Bank in 1914, serv- ing until 1919; he is now a trustee of this organ- ization. From 1919 to 1920, he was president of the Franklin Savings Bank, Boston. In 1920 he was called to the presidency of the Mechanics Na- tional Bank of Worcester, being installed in office January II, 1921, a post which he still holds. Mr. Washburn has made a genuine vocation of banking, being attracted to it, as has many another leader, by the clear realization of the important part the profession plays in the modern world, and the knowledge that a sound financial system and sound financial institutions are the basis of national pros- perity. He has the ability and the character, the sound judgment of business values and trends, and the courage to back what his knowledge and judg- ment dictates to the utmost limit, which are some of the characteristics of the successful banker. To his experience of executive in financial institutions has been added that of assistant national bank ex- aminer, Boston, and bank commissioner of Massa- chusetts. He is a director of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company, Worcester; the Worces- ter Consolidated Street Car Railway, Worcester Morris Plan Bank, Worcester Electric Light Com- pany, and the Merchants and Farmers Insurance Company. Something of his interest in the cause of education is reflected by his trusteeship of Clark University. Among his clubs are numbered the Worcester, Commonwealth, Tatnuck Country, all of Worcester, and the Algonquin, Boston. He is a Republican in his party allegiance, and a Uni- tarian in his religious faith.

Mr. Washburn married, on November 2, 1902, at Boston, Jessie Bailey of that city, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Washburn were the parents of three children: Rodney, since 1928 the cashier of the Mechanics National Bank of Worcester; Eliz- abeth; and Gordon B.

The Mechanics National Bank dates as an in- stitution from June 15, 1848, when it was organ- ized as The Mechanics Bank. During the early Civil War period when under government control, the National Banks System was evolved and put into force, the Mechanics Bank became, on March 14, 1865, the Mechanics National Bank, of Worcester, and has since so continued. The orig- inal capitalization was $50,000; the present loca- tion of the bank is at No. 303 Main Street. A full list of its leading officials from its inception, and

the present officers and board of directors is as follows:

PRESIDENTS

Alexander DeWitt, July 25, 1848, to Oct. 3, 1855. F. H. Dewey, Oct. 3, 1855, to Oct. 9, 1857.

Alexander DeWitt, Oct. 9, 1857, to June 11, 1858. Henry Goulding, June 11, 1858, to Oct. 6, 1859. Alexander DeWitt, Oct. 6, 1859, to Oct. 9, 1860. Harrison Bliss, Oct. 9, 1860, to Jan. 9, 1883. Chas. W. Smith, Jan. 9, 1883, to Jan. 8, 1884. O. S. Messinger, Jan. 8, 1884, to Jan. 8, 1889. F. H. Dewey, Jan. 8, 1889, to Jan. 11, 1921. F. B. Washburn, Jan. 11, 1921, to

CASHIERS

Parley Hammond, July 25, 1848, to July 10, 1854. Scotto Berry, Jr., July 10, 1854, to Feb. 1, 1866. George E. Merrill, Feb. 1, 1866, to April 9, 1901. A. H. Stone, April 9, 1901, to Jan. 11, 1921. N. C. Keyes, Jan. 11, 1921, to Feb. 6, 1928. Rodney Washburn, 1928 to

PRESENT OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Chairman-Francis H. Dewey.

President-Frederic B. Washburn. Vice-President-Thomas T. Macfarland. Vice-President-Samuel A. Ellsworth. Vice-President-Edgar L. Ramsdell.

Vice-President-Alice F. Sheehan.

Cashier-Rodney Washburn.

Solicitor-Francis H. Dewey, Jr.

RODNEY WASHBURN-A member of the younger banking coterie of Worcester, Massachu- setts, Rodney Washburn has identified himself with the interests of his adopted city. He was born at Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, September 17, 1903, the son of Frederic Baldwin and Jessie (Bailey) Washburn. In the biography of the elder Mr. Washburn, published in connection with this review, further details of the family history are given.

Rodney Washburn was educated in the public schools of Worcester, attending the high school during the years 1916 to 1919. In the Newton High School he prepared for college during the following year, being graduated from this institu- tion in 1920. Matriculating at Williams College, he was graduated with the class of 1924, holding the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In the summer of that year he became associated with the First National Bank of Boston, remaining until 1927. In 1927 he came with the Mechanics National Bank of Worcester, as assistant cashier, and was appointed cashier in 1928, a post he has held since that time.

Mr. Washburn has never permitted his interest in business to dull his zest for the many activities of life. His college fraternity is the Zeta Psi; he is a member of the University and Worcester clubs, and finds recreation at the Tatnuck Country Club.

HARRISON G. TAYLOR-As a banker, Har- rison G. Taylor is well known in the city of Worcester, where practically all his life has been spent, and where since 1927, he has been serving as treasurer of the Worcester Five Cents Savings Bank.

Harrison G. Taylor was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on July 17, 1884, son of Henry W., who died in 1888, and Matilda G. (Fall) Taylor, who died in 1925, both members of well-known Massachusetts families. He was educated in the public schools of Worcester and very early in life began his business career as a messenger in the

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Worcester Five Cents Savings Bank. That first "job" was the beginning of his lifelong work as a banker and served as the proverbial "stepping stone" to success, for from that time to the present (1933) he has retained his association with the Worcester Five Cents Savings Bank. He served in one position after another and learned every phase of work of that institution. In 1917 he was made assistant treasurer, and on January 28, 1927, he was elected treasurer, succeeding Myron F. Con- verse.

Along wth his banking activities, Mr. Taylor has found time to develop a very decided musical talent and has become an accomplished violinist. He is well known in the Worcester County Musical Association, famous for its annual music festivals in which appear great artists and wonderfully trained choruses, and through that association he has contributed substantially to the cultural and musical life of the city. For several years he has served as treasurer of the association and both his financial training and his musical ability have been freely contributed for the advancement of the service which the association has rendered.

Mr. Taylor's Masonic affiliations are Morning Star Lodge, of which he is a Past Master, Worces- ter Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Worcester County Commandery, Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Worcester Club, Worcester Country Club, Kiwanis Club, and Worcester Economic Club. His religious affiliation is with the First Baptist Church of Worcester.

Harrison G. Taylor was married, June 17, 1916, to Violet F. Legg of Worcester, Massachusetts, daughter of William and Edna (Harrington) Legg. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have three children: Edna H., born December 4, 1918; Harrison G., Jr., born July 4, 1921; Elizabeth, born August 16, 1927. The family home is located at No. 16 Wil- lard Avenue in Worcester.

JUDGE ARTHUR PRENTICE RUGG -- The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is notable for its eminent jurists, of whom Arthur Prentice Rugg, present Chief Justice of its Supreme Court, lives up to the traditions of the past. A lawyer of exceptional gifts and achievements, for a period of nearly four decades he has been a public servant, and during the last quarter century has sat upon the Supreme Court bench. He is a native New Englander, born at Sterling, Massachusetts, Au- gust 20, 1862, son of Prentice Mason and Cynthia (Ross) Rugg. The American progenitors of both the Ross and the Rugg families arrived in this country in the third quarter of the sixteen hundreds.

The young man was given the best schooling the public institutions afforded, but it was mainly be- cause of personal qualities of mind and ambition that he made his way to Amherst College, Massa- chusetts, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1883. Matriculating at Boston University, he was graduated from its law department in 1886 with the degree of Bach- elor of Laws. Over a period of years he has been honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws, by Amherst in 1908, Harvard in 1914, Boston Uni- versity in 1923, and Williams in 1924.

Mr. Rugg, his collegiate training over, and duly admitted to the bar, 1886, hung out his shingle and began the practice of his profession in association

with the Honorable John R. Thayer, with whom he was later a partner. Always the student, these early days were days of accumulation of further legal knowledge of the understanding of humanity, of experience. A Republican in his political alle- giance, he was active in the campaigns of his party and came to have standing as a party worker. He had identified himself with the various activities of Worcester as a normal young lawyer and a genu- inely civic-minded citizen. In 1895 he was chosen by his city to serve on the Common Council. From 1895 to 1897 he served as Assistant District Attor- ney; from 1897 to 1906, he was City Solicitor of Worcester. On September 27, 1906, he was in- stalled Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and so continued until September 20, 19II, when he was made Chief Justice of this court. Such in brief is the record of Judge Rugg's career as public servant and jurist. Only the judge himself can clothe this outline with flesh and blood and make alive the years which brought about the development of an unfledged lawyer to a jurist of high standing, esteemed of his colleagues, a recognized authority in law and jurisprudence. Judge Rugg is inclined to say that his achieve- ments are simply the result of work and good fortune.

No single sphere of activity has been enough to engage all of Judge Rugg's interest and attention. His civic services of young manhood have never been discontinued. He is ever ready to lend a hand in any worthy welfare or humanitarian movement. In an unostentatious way, he is a philanthropist, however much he might object to so large a word for deeds done personally and without show. He has been prominent in the affairs of New England institutions of higher education as a trustee of Boston University, 1909 to 1922, and of Clark University, since 1909, and of Amherst College, since 1917. He is, or has been a member, and some time official of the local, State and American Law associations, and is a member of the American Law Institute. Judge Rugg is a member of the Council of the American Antiquarian Society, a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

On April 10, 1889, Judge Rugg married Flor- ence May Belcher, of Worcester, Massachusetts. Judge and Mrs. Rugg are the parents of four children: Charles Belcher, Arthur Prentice, Esther Cynthia, and Donald Sterling, now deceased.

DANIEL W. LINCOLN-As United States Referee in Bankruptcy for Worcester County, Daniel W. Lincoln, one of the most prominent ex- ponents of the legal profession in the State, has achieved an excellent record, in the opinion of the bench and bar. He is president of the Worcester County Bar Association, a former municipal and State legislator, a veteran officer of the World War, and in many ways is identified with the de- velopment and progress of industry, finance and the arts in this county.

Born in Worcester, September 2, 1882, Daniel W. Lincoln is a son of Waldo and Fanny (Chan- dler) Lincoln, both parents natives of Massachu- setts. He prepared for college at Pomfret School,

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Connecticut, entered Harvard, graduating in 1904, and from the law school in 1907.

Admitted to the bar in this county in 1907, he at once began practice in his home city, where he has since continued to be professionally engaged. He has come forward rapidly in the ranks of his legal brethren and in the esteem and confidence of the judiciary and his clients to a front-line position in the local, county and State bars. It was in 192I that he was appointed United States Referee in Bankruptcy for this district, as the successor of Charles F. Aldrich, and in this position he has since won the approbation of the Federal Depart- ment of Justice, while adding to the good reputation in which he is held by the members of the bar and those for whom he renders decisions and findings as referee. His professional associations include the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Worcester County Bar Association, of which he is president.

His legal services have brought him into official relationship with a number of important corpora- tions. He was appointed receiver for the Worces- ter Consolidated Street Railway Company in 1931; is trustee and auditor of the Worcester County Institution for Saving, president of the Bay State Stamping Company, treasurer of the Worcester Children's Friend Society, treasurer and secretary of the Wetherill House, and an incorporator of the Worcester Art Museum. He has served as a member of the Worcester Common Council and Board of Aldermen, and as a representative in the State Legislature from 1915 to 1917. He enlisted for the World War and was commissioned a first lieutenant, serving overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces, 76th Infantry Division, and later with the 30Ist Infantry Regiment. He is a member of the American Legion.

A member of the Worcester Chamber of Com- merce, he is also a member of the American Anti- quarian Society, the Worcester Fire Society, the Players Club, of which last-named organization he is president (1931, 1932-33), the Worcester Club, Tatnuck Country Club, and the First Unitarian Church, which he also serves as moderator.

Daniel W. Lincoln married, in 1917, Harriet Brayton Nichols, of this city, daughter of Dr. Charles L. Nichols. They have a son, Brayton Lincoln, born July 25, 1923. Mr. Lincoln has his law suite in the Slater Building, and the family home is 39 Cedar Street, Worcester.

HON. FRANCIS ALMON GASKILL-The high tradition for learning, ability and integrity of members of the Massachusetts bench and bar was exemplified abundantly in the career of the late Hon. Francis Almon Gaskill, who for a score of years graced the Superior Judicial Court. One of Worcester's first citizens, his people delighted to do him honor. He achieved a long and useful public record, including service on the Worcester Common Council and as district attorney. Offi- cially associated with educational and financial institutions, he gave of his many fine qualities in their interest.

Judge Gaskill was born in Mendon, in what now is the town of Blackstone, Worcester County, January 3, 1846, a son of Albert and Anna Smith (Comstock) Gaskill. After attending the public schools in his native town, he took a preparatory

course in the Woonsocket (Rhode Island) High School, and entered Brown University, where he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1866. The following year he was a private tutor for a family in Newport, Rhode Island. He then enrolled as a student at Harvard Law School, and after a year and a half left the school, to continue his studies in the law office of Hon. George F. Verry.

Admitted to the bar in 1869, he later became a partner of Mr. Verry under the style of Verry and Gaskill, the arrangement continuing until the death of Mr. Verry in 1883. Afterward he was a partner of Horace Verry, a stepson of his former partner, and remained as such for ten years. As a trial lawyer he made an enviable name for himeslf. Thoroughly grounded in knowledge of the law, he supplemented this with a persuasive manner of speech, a dignity of deportment, and a high degree of fidelity in the preparation and presentation of his cases that were elements of his success. But these were not all his qualities; he had a strong and pleasing personality, by which he won confi- dence and friendship on the part of jurors and others of his hearing; he manifested a kindly atti- tude, was democratic, frank and open-hearted. He was practically always assured of a large gallery of his legal brethren and of the lay public when it became known he was to appear in court as counsel in some important case.

His notable public career had its inception in 1875, in which year he was elected to a seat in the Worcester Common Council. He again was chosen a member of that body in 1886. It was in 1886 that he was the choice of the electors for district attor- ney for the Middle District of Massachusetts, and through successive reelections he held the office until 1895, in which year he resigned to accept an appointment to the Superior Court. A happy trait of his character was evidenced on an occasion dur- ing his tenure as district attorney. He went to the trouble of making his way upstairs to the old editorial rooms of the "Worcester Spy," solely for the purpose of seeking out or learning the name of the reporter who covered the famous Kimball trial in 1891, that he might compliment the young man for his accurate and excellent work. His stay on the bench was characterized in an even fuller de- gree by intelligent devotion to duty, eminent fair- ness to all the parties in a case, and by one of his outstanding qualities-gentlemanliness-to counsel on either side, to the jurors and court officers. Lawyers, as a rule, were pleased to bring their cases into the court over which he was chosen to preside.

In the days before he went on the bench, he made a reputation as an earnest and active Republican, as a campaign speaker and as an orator enlisted to speak on important public occasions. He was affil- iated with the important bar associations, in which his presence was always welcome. For a number of years he was a director of the Free Public Library of Worcester, and served as president of the board in 1888. He was honored with election to the boards of trustees of Worcester Academy and Brown University. From his alma mater, Brown University, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1899, and afterward the same institution made him a Fellow of the uni- versity. He also became president of the board

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of trustees of Worcester Academy. He held the office of vice-president of the Peoples Savings Bank and that of director of the State Mutual Life As- surance Company. He was a member of the Club of Odd Volumes, of Boston; the University Club of Boston, the Worcester Club, and the Tatnuck Country Club.

Hon. Francis Almon Gaskill married (first), in 1869, Katherine M. Whitaker, who died in 1889. He married (second) Josephine L. Abbott, daugh- ter of Joseph and Phebe Abbott, of Providence, Rhode Island. By the first marriage there are two children: I. Mary M., who died in 1908. 2. George Anthony (q. v.). In all his lines of ances- try, Judge Gaskill was descended from good old English Puritan stock resident in New England. He was of the ninth generation from the family pioneer, Edward Gaskill, a ship carpenter, who came from England to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1636, or earlier, according to the family historian. From this Edward the line of descent is through Samuel, Samuel (2), Samuel (3), Ebenezer, Peter, Lebbeus, Albert, to Francis Almon Gaskill. Judge Gaskill passed away at his home in Worcester in 1909, his loss mourned by the people of city and county and by the members of the legal profession which he had so signally adorned.

GEORGE ANTHONY GASKILL-Member of a law firm said to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, of the legal combinations of Worces- ter County, George A. Gaskill, by inheritance and choice, is a representative of the profession in which he has distinguished himself for many years. The son of a prominent justice of the Massachu- setts Superior Court, now deceased, he continues to carry forward the fine family tradition for cooper- ation with those movements that tend to the bet- terment of Worcester, both county and city. Mr. Gaskill is identified officially and in an advisory capacity with prominent financial institutions, and is actively interested in educational advance, serv- ing as treasurer and trustee of Worcester Academy.

Born in Worcester, June 4, 1877, George An- thony Gaskill is a son of Judge Francis Almon and Katherine M. (Whitaker) Gaskill; the former, deceased in 1909, was an honored member of the Superior Court bench for a decade and a half; and the latter died in 1889. After passing through the public schools of his native city, the son George Anthony entered Worcester Academy, where he prepared for college and graduated in 1894. He made his baccalaureate at Brown University, class of 1898, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1901. Admitted to the bar at a sitting of court in this county in 1901, he at once entered upon his professional career.

He at first practiced in the office of Herbert Parker, former Attorney General of Massachu- setts, and subsequently practiced in his own name. Still later he helped form, with Frank C. Smith, the firm of Smith & Gaskill. Eventually Charles M. Thayer was received as a member of the firm, the style of which was expanded to Thayer, Smith and Gaskill, and as such it has since been known. This firm enjoys a wide reputation for the success- ful handling of many important cases and it com- mands a large and select clientage. Attorney Gas- kill is a member of the American Bar Associa-

tion, Massachusetts Bar Association, and Worces- ter County Bar Association.

His prominence in financial affairs is attested by the fact of filling the offices of president of the People's Savings Bank of Worcester, director of the Worcester County National Bank, director of the Worcester Bank and Trust Company, and director of the State Mutual Life Assurance Com- pany. He is also connected with other corpora- tions. He was elected a member of the board of trustees of Worcester Academy in 1905 and to the office of treasurer in 1909, having held both these positions to the present time (1932). During the World War period he was actively engaged in relief work, serving as chairman of the executive committee of the Worcester Red Cross Society, vice-chairman of the New England Red Cross Society, Worcester County chairman of the War Savings Stamps Campaign, as a member of the Draft Board under the Selective Service Act, and as a campaigner in all the Liberty Loan Drives. For ten years he was at the head of the Worcester Golden Rule drive. He was affiliated with the "Blue" Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, a member of the Worcester Chamber of Com- merce, the American Antiquarian Society, the Club of Odd Volumes, of Boston; Worcester Club and Tatnuck Country Club. He is one of the out- standing churchmen of Worcester, senior warden of All Saints Episcopal Church, of this city, and holding also the office of chancellor of the Western Massachusetts Diocese of the Protestant Epis- copal Church.

George Anthony Gaskill married, June I, 1905, Caroline Dewey Nichols, the daughter of Dr. Charles L. Nichols, and their children follow: I. Charles Francis, graduated from Harvard Uni- versity Law School in 1932 and is now associated with the firm of Thayer, Smith and Gaskill. 2. George Anthony, Jr. 3. Katharine Mortimer, who graduated from Miss Hall's School in 1932. 4. Caroline N., a student at the Bancroft School. Mr. Gaskill has his office with his law firm in the State Mutual Building, and the family residence is No. 30 Fruit Street, Worcester.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 2

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933 Publication date: 1934 Publisher: New York, American historical Society Number of Pages: 700

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933
Publication date: 1934
Publisher: New York, American historical Society
Number of Pages: 700