Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 20

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

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III > Part 20

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WORCESTER COUNTY

Worcester County from the standpoint of criminal law.

Along with his regular professional activities, Mr. Cronin takes part in associational affairs. He is a member of the Worcester County Bar Asso- ciation, the Massachusetts State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Fraternal af- fairs also interest him and he is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. During the World War he served on the draft board; and this service, combined with his labors as engi- neer on the "Yale" during the Spanish-American War gave him a record of usefulness to his gov- ernment.

Mr. Cronin is not essentially a club man, though he does belong to several organizations and socie- ties. In his religious faith he is a Roman Cath- olic. Every group with which he has been asso- ciated has in some way gained from his activities in its behalf. But he has been devoted, first of all, to his work and to home and family. He has been retained in many important legal cases, mostly of a criminal nature. Back of his work in Worcester, moreover, is an enormous breadth of experience ; for, while serving in an engineering capacity, he went several times around the world. He is master of several languages, which he learned through actual association with the peoples of the different nations he visited, and has a fine collection of unusual articles, which he gathered on his numer- ous trips.

Frederick W. Cronin married, in 1916, Helen Mclaughlin, of Massachusetts, who died in 1932.

GEORGE C. BESTICK-For the last twenty years a resident of Worcester, George C. Bestick, of the Heald Machine Company, has identified himself with the industrial and civic life of the city, and is particularly active in its fraternal cir- cles. He is a native of Braintree, Massachusetts, born July 12, 1882, the son of George R. and Alice (Howard) Bestick, both members of old New England families. He was educated in the public schools of his birthplace, and was first em- ployed in the mercantile establishments of Brain- tree.

Mr. Bestick gained practical experience in a number of occupations before coming to Worces- ter. He worked in a tack factory; was employed in hardware stores; was with the Gillette Safety Razor Corporation, of Boston, for a number of years, being in charge of its stock and stock-rooms. On September 13, 1912 he accepted the position of purchasing agent for the Heald Machine Company, a post which he has held since that time.

Among Mr. Bestick's non-industrial interests are numbered the Masons, in which fraternity he is a popular figure. He is a member of Delta Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, Braintree, Massachu- setts ; Eureka Chapter, Royal Arch Masons ; Hiram Council, Royal and Select Masters; Worcester County Commandery, Knights Templar ; and Aleppo Temple, Boston, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Along the line of his profes- sion, Mr. Bestick is the first president of the Wor- cester County Purchasing Agents Club ; past pres- ident of the New England Purchasing Agents As- sociation, of Boston; and past treasurer of the National Purchasing Agents Association. He is also a member, and a past president of the Tat- nuck Island Club.

On April 19, 1917, George C. Bestick married Mildred E. Williams, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and they are the parents of three children : I. Helen Mildred, born September 13, 1918. 2. Myrtle, born August 9, 1920. 3. Paul Robert, born July 13, 1922.

W. LaCOSTE NEILSON-Son of a consult- ing engineer who in his day made a reputation in the practice of his profession and as an official in steel corporations, W. LaCoste Neilson has achieved a record as an executive of the Norton Company. He is vice-president and general sales manager of the parent company in Worcester, pres- ident of Cie des Meules Norton, situated near Paris, France; general manager of Deutsche Nor- ton Gesselschaft, of Cologne, Germany; and an official or a director in all the branches and sub sidiaries of the Norton Company. After many years' official residence in European countries, he is one of Worcester's leading residents.

William George Neilson, father of W. LaCoste Neilson, was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Philadelphia College. He became a well- known mining and civil engineer, identified with the founding of many important mining and steel indus tries. He founded the Standard Steel Works, which eventually became an important unit in the metals industry. He was also officially identified with the Tidewater Steel Company, the Bethlehem Steel Company, the Keystone Drop Forge Works, and the Republic Mining and Manufacturing Com- pany. For a number of years he was vice-pres- ident of the National Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation. He was a founder of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, and had many other important connections. He died in 1906. His wife, before marriage, was Mary Louise Cunningham, a native of Philadelphia.

W. LaCoste Neilson, son of William George and Mary Louise (Cunningham) Neilson, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 2, 1879. He at- tended Hamilton School, a private institution in Philadelphia, and entered Haverford College, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in the class of 1901. His alma mater later conferred upon him a degree in engineering for practical work done in this field. From college he entered the employ of the Standard Steel Works, remaining there from 1901 to 1906. In the latter year he accepted the superintendency of the Chester Steel Castings Company and so continued until 1907.

He joined the official staff of the Norton Com- pany, May 1, 1907, in the capacity of assistant general sales manager. In 1908 he was advanced to general sales manager, and in 1910 to vice-pres- ident. He has since held these two offices in the main, or Worcester, organization. He has been clothed with important powers in being charged with missions that required unusual ability in their discharge. In 1910 he was sent to Germany to manage the recently built plant of the Norton Company at Wesseling near Cologne, known as the Deutsche Norton Gesselschaft. In 1921 he organ- ized and started the French branch, Cie des Meules Norton, in one of the suburban communities near Paris. From 1910 to October, 1922, he made his residence in one or the other countries of Europe, principally in England. In 1931 he was one of a group which organized the English plant of the Norton Company at Welwyn, Garden City, near London.

WORCESTER COUNTY

He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Royal Automobile Club of London, Worcester Club, University Club, Tat- nuck Country Club, Worcester Country Club and the Episcopal Church. He has traveled extensively in Europe and the Far East. His chief recreations are mountain-climbing, fishing and golfing.

Mr. Neilson married, October 30, 1907, Dorothy Crawford, and they have two children: I. William LaCoste, Jr., born February 20, 1909. 2. Alan Crawford, born December 8, 1914. Mr. Neilson has his office at No. I New Bond Street, and the family residence is No. 254 Salisbury Street, Wor- cester.

EDWARD ALFRED BRODEUR-For many years a practitioner of law in Worcester and a participant in local affairs, Edward Alfred Bro- deur has served well his city, his State, and his fellowmen. His affiliations with many industrial and civic groups, and especially his understanding of French-Canadians, the race from which he was descended, and of their special requirements, ren- dered his career of value from its very outset; and so it continues today.

Mr. Brodeur was born in Indian Orchard, Mas- sachusetts, on December 16, 1880, son of I. Leonide and Exilda (Gendron) Brodeur. His father was a native of St. Pie, Province of Quebec, Canada, and came to Springfield, Massachusetts, at the age of seventeen years. A barber by trade, the father con- ducted a shop in Barre, Massachusetts, for forty years. The mother, Mrs. Exilda (Gendron) Bro- deur, was born in Beauharnois, Province of Que- bec, whence her family removed to Malone, New York; her father was a church sexton. Mr. Bro- deur also had three brothers : Wilfred L., general foreman of the Heald Machine Company, of Wor- cester ; William G., a merchant in Barre; and Dr. Armand C. Brodeur, a veterinary surgeon, now deceased.

In the public schools of Spencer and Barre, Edward Alfred Brodeur, of this review, received his early education, being graduated from the Barre High School in 1900. From 1900 to 1903 he was a student at Harvard University, where he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts. During his school vacation periods, from an early time in his career, he was employed on farms and in stores, in this way earning the money for his college education. But, finishing college, he found himself eager for still higher learning, which he acquired at a professional school. Attending the law school at Harvard, he was graduated in 1906, after over- coming severe handicaps ; for he again had to earn his own way, working now in his spare time and saving his money. His strenuous duties prevented him from having much leisure time; but he re- ceived his reward for devotion to his duties when he passed his bar examinations, and in 1906 began the active practice of law in Worcester. Here he has since continued in his professional capacity. For a short period he practiced in the office of Taft and Morgan and later was associated with Smith and Gaskill; but since 1908 he has had his own offices in the State Mutual Building.

Mr. Brodeur has figured prominently in civic and social affairs, as well as in a number of large business and industrial enterprises in his city. "I came from the Law School in 1906 to Worcester," as Mr. Brodeur tells the story, "because I thought

I needed to develop a practice more quickly than usual and could do it where French-Canadians had settled. The result was a small measure of prosperity, but a very agreeable life. I soon be- came interested in all French-Canadian activities, shading off into politics and matters of general interest, in and beyond the State; learned to use the French language naturally; made many ac- quaintances ; and took on numbers of presidencies, secretaryships, directorships, campaigning in drives and elections, war work and what not, until the advent of the young family gradually confined my energies to home and law practice.

"Samples of organizations I have belonged to and positions held are: Secretary of Barre Agricul- tural Fair; town auditor of Barre; the Franco- American Historical Society; secretary and later president of the Worcester group of l'Alliance Française; secretary of the Franco-American Re- publican Club of Massachusetts; president of the Worcester County Republican Club; member of the city council of Worcester ; director and vice-pres- ident of l' Union St. Jean Baptiste d'Amerique ten years and president of the four-day convention of its four hundred delegates in 1915; member of the legal advisory board for northern Worcester County during the World War; a founder and treasurer of the Louis Pasteur Hospital, Worces- ter ; and a member of the Worcester Economic Club, the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

"I live on a couple of acres, on the margin of the thickly settled city. There and on a summer- place farm in the hills of Hubbardston, we and our friends find the wild nature and outdoor life we love; and everything is done in French, which we know equally with English. From there I have wandered only for a wedding trip to Louis- iana and Cuba, several visits by auto into French Canada and the Saguenay River. Reading history, especially where it concerns race and matters per- taining to government and economics, completes my pastimes."

Mr. Brodeur has consistently maintained his in- terest in French and Canadian history, following the studies that he has loved from youth, and so maintaining a family allegiance that is most dear to him. He is a member of Notre Dame Church. Into all his activities and affiliations he has regu- larly put his best energies and his fullest measure of enthusiasm, with the result that he is esteemed and respected by all who knew him and is in a position to render outstanding service to his city, his State, his profession, and his fellowman.

Edward Alfred Brodeur married, November 25, 1919, in Worcester, Albani Amelie Rocheleau, of this city. The children by this marriage have been as follows: I. Madeleine Albani, who was born on September 18, 1920. 2. Edouard Alfred, Jr., born March 29, 1922. 3. Louis Leonide, born June 9, 1923. 4. Marie Therese, born September 20, 1924. 5. Phebe Exilda, born May 15, 1927. 6. Wil- frid Oscar, born December 12, 1928. The family residence of the Brodeurs is situated at No. 463 Lincoln Street, Worcester; and Mr. Brodeur has his offices at Nos. 612, 613 and 614, State Mutual Building, this city.

JOHN D. CURTIS-For half a century, John D .. Curtis was a leading manufacturer of Wor- cester, Massachusetts, and in the course of that

Edward & Brodeur

WORCESTER COUNTY

period was associated with several important local organizations. These included the Richardson Man- ufacturing Company, of which he was long vice- president and treasurer.

Mr. Curtis was born in Worcester, Massachu- setts, on June 12, 1850, a son of Tyler Prentice and Amelia (Riley) Curtis and a direct descendant of the pioneer ancestor, Henry Curtis, whose son, Ephraim Curtis, was the first settler of Worcester. Tyler Prentice Curtis was born in Worcester on June 16, 1810 and died on June 16, 1896. Amelia (Riley) Curtis was born in Cromwell, Connecticut, a daughter of Calvin and Eunice (Miller) Riley and a descendant of John Riley, who settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1645.

John D. Curtis received his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools of Worcester. Following his graduation from Worcester High School, he entered Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he was a member of one of the first classes to be enrolled, and where he was graduated in 1871 with the degree of Mechanical Engineer. He began his active career as a draftsman and for two years and a half was employed by the Centennial Com- mission in charge of the Exhibition held in Phila- delphia in 1876. Subsequently he returned to Wor- cester, became connected with the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company of this city, and was advanced successively to the positions of over- seer of the barbed wire department of the company and, later superintendent of the Quinsigamond Works. With the purchase of this corporation by the American Steel and Wire Company, he con- tinued as superintendent for a brief period, but in 1902 resigned to become vice-president of the Richardson Manufacturing Company of Worcester.

The Richardson Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1870 to take over the business of Alzirus Brown. They became makers of the Buck- eye mowing machine, the Union mower, the Bul- lard hay-tedder and the Whitcomb horse rake-all widely known in their day and some of them still manufacturing along with the company's products to meet the demands of modern industry. From 1902 onward, Mr. Curtis played an important part in the direction of company affairs. His technical training was combined with executive talents of a high order and his opinion on all matters con- nected with company operations was regarded by his associates with profound respect. In 19II he also became treasurer of the company, holding this office jointly with the vice-presidency.

Mr. Curtis was a Republican in politics and a member of the Congregational Church. Although he gave his time unremittingly to his business and was thus prevented from playing a more active rôle in public life, he was genuinely interested in civic affairs and heartily supported all worthy community movements.

In June, 1876, Mr. Curtis married Clara Alden Nash of Whitman, daughter of Nathaniel H. and Sarah (Snelser) Nash, the former of Whitman, Massachusetts, and the latter a member of a New Orleans family. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis became the parents of two children: 1. Philip N., (q. v.). 2. Ruth, who was married (first) to Captain Edward Hill and (second) to Charles Baker.

John D. Curtis continued in his own career the fine traditions so long associated with the family name in Worcester. He was respected alike for his accomplishments and for his lifelong devotion to the highest principles of thought and conduct.

PHILIP N. CURTIS-A native son and life- long resident of Worcester, Philip N. Curtis, the well-known executive of the Baker Box Company, bears a name which occurs often in the early his- tory of Massachusetts. An ancestor was the noted Indian scout, Ephraim. Members of the family were numbered among the first settlers of Worces- ter, and the father of Mr. Curtis was for many years a prominent manufacturer in the city.

Philip N. Curtis was born May II, 1881, the son of John D. and Clara A. (Nash) Curtis (q. v.). He received the preliminaries of his education in the public schools of the city, and was graduated from the high school, in 1898. Matriculating at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he was graduated from this important institution with the class of 1902, holding the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering. His subsequent industrial career is divided into two parts. During the first twenty years he was associated with the Richardson Man- ufacturing Company, serving in several capacities before being made the assistant treasurer of the corporation. In 1923 Mr. Curtis went with the Baker Box Company as its treasurer, a position he has held from that time.

Devotion to business is perhaps the most marked characteristic of Mr. Curtis, but he has found the time and the desire to identify himself with sev- eral phases of the community life. In a quiet fashion he has done a great deal to promote the advance of the municipality and the welfare of its citizens. In line with his work he is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Among his clubs are the Worcester and the Tat- nuck Country clubs. Reflecting somewhat better of his interests are his memberships in the Lakota Club, and the Woodstock Country Club of Wood- stock, Vermont.

On November 24, 1909, Mr. Curtis married Mar- jorie Whitin, of Northbridge, Massachusetts, and they are the parents of two children: John W., and Marjorie Anne.

ROBERT H. COE-A manufacturer through practically the whole of his business career, Robert H. Coe is president of the Jefferson Manufac- turing Company and president and treasurer of the Coe Woolen Company.

Robert H. Coe was born in Worcester, Septem- ber 9, 1889, son of William H. Coe, a manufac- turer, who died in 1929, and of Florence (Jeffer- son) Coe, who died in 1903. Robert H. Coe re- ceived his early education in the public schools of Worcester and then entered Harvard University, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1911. Almost immediately after the completion of his college course he became asso- ciated with the Jefferson Manufacturing Company, which he has served as president for many years. In 1930 he organized the Coe Woolen Company, of which he also became president and treasurer. This company, which is engaged in the manufac- ture of woolen cloth, has its factory at No. 53 Jackson Street, Worcester, where the company has 50,000 square feet of floor space and employs one hundred and twenty-five men. The business, since its establishment, has grown steadily, and sends its products to all parts of the United States.

Though notably successful in his business activ- ities and recognized as one of the active leaders of industry in Worcester County, Mr. Coe has not confined his interest entirely to his own business

WORCESTER COUNTY

activities. He has always been ready to aid in the various undertakings of the community in which he lives, as well as in county and State projects planned for the general welfare of his fellow-citi- zens. Upon the entrance of the United States into the World War he enlisted and served actively for two years as a member of the American Expedi- tionary Forces, in various divisions, finally receiv- ing his discharge, in 1919, from the Aviation Corps, with which he was then serving. He is a member of several college fraternities and is well known in club circles, being a member of the Worcester Country Club, the Tatnuck Country Club, and the Harvard Club, all of Worcester, and of the Har- vard Club of Boston.

Robert H. Coe married, in 1920, Janet Briggs, of Worcester. and they became the parents of five children : I. Richard F., born October 1I, 1923. 2. Elizabeth H., born December 30, 1926. 3. Janet, born April 18, 1928. 4. William H., born April 15, 1929. 5. Roger B., born March 15, 1931.

HARRY JOHN MELESKI-In the profes- sional coterie of Worcester there are a number of younger lawyers, such as Harry John Meleski, attorney-at-law, who, by their devotion to their work and to the projects which make for the better- ment of. the city, have introduced a new strength and zest to its life and development. He was born at Holyoke, Massachusetts, May 30, 1898, the son of Joseph and Katherine (Warchul) Meleski, both natives of Poland, who migrated to the United States in 1892 and settled at Holyoke. Ten years later the family removed to Worcester, where they have since resided, the father retiring in 1931 after twenty years' service with the Worcester street department.

Harry John Meleski was educated in the city schools, being graduated from high school in 1916. He then matriculated at Clark College, from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1919. Three years later Mr. Meleski was graduated from the Boston University School of Law with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar of Worcester County, September 23, 1922, he has since been engaged in a general practice of his profession in Worcester, as the senior partner of the firm of Meleski and Bobblis. During the last decade the firm has won a large clientele, a part of which is from the foreign-born population of the community, and its members are held in high esteem by their colleagues. Mr. Meleski is a mem- ber of the Worcester County Bar Association, the Massachusets Bar Association, and the bar associa- tions of Connecticut and Michigan. In 1929 he was appointed a public administrator for the county of Worcester by Governor Frank G. Allen. In 1930 he was appointed special assistant to the United States District Attorney of Massachusetts by At- torney-General Mitchell.

The collegiate preparation of Mr. Meleski for his profession was interrupted, as was that of many young men of the period, by the entrance of the United States into the World War. He joined the American forces, but was still in training at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, when the Armistice was signed. He is a member of the University Club, and is a past president of the Massachusetts Asso- ciation of Polish-American Political Clubs but prefers personal to formalized activities, to play

the rôle of a good citizen and a social being in his own way. He is interested in aviation and less so in sports, but is apt to neglect recreation for business.

WALTER P. CAHILL-The junior in years of many men installed in similar positions, Walter P. Cahill discharges the heavy responsibilities of general superintendent and works manager of Graton and Knight, whose plant in Worcester is one of the largest of its kind in the world. He has risen to these high positions from that of produc- tion manager, in which line he had obtained a large experience before coming to the Graton and Knight plant.

Born in Manhattan, New York City, September 10, 1889, Walter P. Cahill is the son of Thomas M. and Joanne (Ryan) Cahill, the former living retired while the latter died in 1919. After pass- ing through the public and parochial schools, he en- tered the Cathedral Preparatory School, finished his course there, and completed his education at the Pace and Pace Business School. He joined the staff of the Theodore Kuntze Company, sewing Machine cabinet manufacturers, at Cleveland, Ohio, where he obtained an insight into the methods of getting the highest amount of production possible, with economy and efficiency, from any given plant. He later followed a similar employment with the L. L. Harr Company, production engineers. Here intervened his service in the World War as an enlisted man. After that he was with the Charles E. Bedaux Company of New York, Inc., industrial engineers, during 1920-23. In 1923 he came with Graton and Knight Company as assistant general superintendent and in 1928 was made general super- intendent and works manager; in these capacities he has immediate supervision of operations, men, equipment and physical properties, of the entire mammoth plant. He is regarded as an expert in his line, an authority on the subjects on which he has written many articles for various magazines. He is well and favorably known to the industrial field of Worcester County and city.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 20

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