Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 33

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

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the firm was finally dissolved in 1893, Mr. Bishop continued in business alone under the name of J. W. Bishop and Company. As the passing years brought a still further increase to his business, he considered it wise to incorporate, and in 1899 be- came president of the J. W. Bishop Company, Inc., of which he was the principal owner.

The numerous and enduring monuments to Mr. Bishop's ability and attainments may be seen in the buildings which he erected in all parts of the coun- try. These include both public and private struc- tures, palaces at Newport and Lennox, great gov- ernment buildings and substantial business blocks. As a previous biographer has written of him: "The list of his contracts would fill pages, and the full story of his life work would require a volume by itself. But just as enduring as the brick and stone will be the story of his rise from humble circumstances by his own efforts, his self-training and his long and successful career. His life is one of the best as a guide and example to ambitious youth, an encouragement for the young men start -. ing on the road he traveled."

Headquarters of the J. W. Bishop Company, including both offices and mill, are located at Nos. 107 and 109 Foster Street, Worcester. The wood- work for contracts in this section and the orna- mental iron work as well are wrought in the shops here located. The Boston office of the company is in the Essex Building, No. 683 Atlantic Avenue; the New York office at No. 101 Park Avenue; and other offices are located in New Bedford, Prov- idence and Bridgeport. The aggregate annual busi- ness of the company has amounted for many years to several million dollars. In addition to Mr. Bishop, other officers of the company included at the time of his death: John Warren Bishop, Jr. (q. v.), his son, vice-president and general man- ager, who subsequently succeeded his father as pres- ident; Herbert N. Leach, treasurer, who died in 1929; and Heywood S. French, Boston, who died in 1932, and Robert F. Brown, New York, vice- presidents.

Mr. Bishop had little time for other enterprises than his own, but from time to time organized various subsidiary companies to manufacture mate- rials used in his business. He was also a direc- tor of the Clason Architectural Metal Works and president of Bishop Securities, Inc. In other fields, Mr. Bishop was affiliated fraternally with Athel- stan Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and in this order was also a member of Eureka Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. He was affiliated in addition with Worcester Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and was a member of the Worcester County Mechanics' Association, the Worcester Country Club, the Turks Head Club of Providence, Rhode Island, and the Worcester Chamber of Commerce. In politics he was a Republican, while in religious faith he attended, with his family, the Pilgrim Congregational Church of Worcester.

On January 4, 1870, John Wilson Bishop mar- ried Sarah A. Foster, who died on October 17, 1923, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Jane (Fales) Foster. She was a direct descendant of Samuel Foster, the first of the family in this country, who was born in England in 1619 and settled early in Dedham; and a descendant of James Fales, the immigrant, who came from England to Dedham in 1650. Lemuel Fales, of the fourth generation of this family in America, served in the Revolution,

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along with Abner Torrey, Jr., another ancestor of Mrs. Bishop. All families from which she was descended are traced back to the pioneers of New England.

Mr. and Mrs. Bishop became the parents of nine children, as follows: I. Mina, born January 24, 1871, died in infancy. 2. William Thomas, born February 25, 1872, died in October, 1911. He was associated with his father in business and was vice- president of the J. W. Bishop Company. 3. Fred- erick Herbert, born November 19, 1874, died in infancy. 4. Florence Jane, born August 24, 1875. 5. Marion Edith, born August 16, 1877, married, March 4, 1897, Thomas H. Coe, of Worcester. 6. John Warren, Jr. (q. v.). 7. Sarah Adelaide, born July 6, 1881, died May 12, 1912. 8. Alice Marie, born July 7, 1884, died in infancy. 9. Nathaniel Smart, born January 31, 1886, died April 13, 1904.

Mr. Bishop died on October 22, 1923, surviving his wife by only a few days. His death brought to its close a long and successful career and re- moved from Worcester life a figure who had been one of its most distinguished residents for many years.

JOHN WARREN BISHOP-Son of a dis- tinguished father, John Warren Bishop in his own career has continued the traditions of prom- inence long associated with the family name in Worcester life. He is today executive head of the J. W. Bishop Company, general contractors, the firm established by his father, and has been chiefly responsible for its operations over many years. He was early called upon to assume weighty duties and obligations, and in spite of what may be called the handicap of a successful parent has stood solidly on his own feet, rising to his present posi- tion through the merit of his services.

The Bishop family is of English origin and for many generations has been established in Plymouth, England, where its members have played their part in the life of the city. William Bishop, Mr. Bishop's grandfather, a ship carpenter by trade, emigrated from Plymouth to Canada in 1818, estab - lishing the family on this side of the Atlantic on Prince Edward Island. For some time he was engaged as a farmer at White Sands, Prince Ed- ward Island, and later followed his trade for many years at St. John, New Brunswick, in the great shipyards of that city. He married Sarah Hooper, and in 1857 the family removed to Lonsdale, Rhode Island. Of the nine children of this marriage, John Wilson Bishop, who was born at White Sands, Prince Edward Island, on May 29, 1846, won an outstanding position in the construction world of New England, achieving, entirely through his own efforts and in the space of a few decades, such success as is ordinarily the result of consistent effort extending over several generations. The rec- ord of his life, which precedes this, is full of inter- est. Mr. Bishop married, on January 4, 1870, Sarah A. Foster, whose distinguished ancestry links the Bishop line with many of the most noteworthy pioneers of New England of the seventeenth cen- tury.

John Warren Bishop, of this record, was born in the city of Worcester, on January 14, 1880. He received his education in Worcester, studying in the local public schools, and receiving supple- mentary instruction privately in special lines. He early determined to become associated with his

father in business, and his entire early training was directed toward that end. At the age of seven- teen, Mr. Bishop took up his life work as an ap- prentice under his father's direction, starting with: the men engaged in brick laying and carpentry work and spending some time in all departments of the business. Thus from manual labor to office work, he mastered every detail connected with the operation of the company, fitting himself for execu- tive responsibilities by acquiring a wide background of knowledge and experience. He filled succes- sively the offices of foreman and superintendent of construction, and eventually, as he demonstrated his capacity for larger executive duties, became general manager of the company. This position he filled until his father's death, serving also as vice-president of the company. When his father died in 1923, Mr. Bishop succeeded him as chief owner and executive head of the business. Like his father, he possesses rare insight in judging the character and abilities of others and has been guided by the same allegiance to the highest ethical ideals. He has always dealt fairly, not only with those for whom he undertakes contracts, but also with the men in his employ. This sympathetic interest, which the executives of the company have always taken in the welfare of the men in their employ, is reflected in the long years of friendly relations maintained between the company and its employees. While other companies have met severe reverses because of labor troubles, the J. W. Bishop Company has been able to proceed with a minimum of friction. Such loyalty on the part of their men is an impressive tribute to the character of the founder of the company and his successors as well as to the wisdom of the policies which he orig- inally laid down.

In addition to his connection with the J. W. Bishop Company, Mr. Bishop is a director of Bishop Securities, Inc. He is affiliated fraternally with Isaiah Thomas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at Worcester, and is also active in club circles, being a member of the Worcester Country Club, the Commonwealth Club of Worcester, the New Bedford Country Club, and the Wamsutta Club of New Bedford.

John Warren Bishop married Ruby Dixon, of Worcester, daughter of Rufus S. and Cora (Bemis) Dixon. They maintain their residence on Barre Road, Paxton.

GEORGE H. HILL-Former Chief of Police, and at the time of writing manager of the Wor- cester Safety Council, George H. Hill is one of the best known and deservedly respected citizens of Worcester. He was born at Lawton, Michigan, September 13, 1869, a son of George B. A. and Harriett M. (Harrington) Hill. His father was a native of Maine and his mother of New York, the family moving to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1871, when the senior Hill was connected with the American Steel and Wire Corporation for some years prior to his death.

George H. Hill was educated in the grade and high schools of Worcester, and accepted his first employment of any importance in the Worcester City Electrician's office. During the four years he was thus employed he also was a member of one of the local fire companies and did his duty as a volunteer fireman. In about 1888, Mr. Hill became a member of the Police Department of Worces-

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ter, and as such won an enviable reputation as a public servant. From March 1, 1913 to March 10, 1928, he was Chief of Police. It is worthy of note that his period of service as chief included some of the most strenuous years in the annals of Worcester, including the World War with its difficult problems and its aftermath of discontent and crime. Mr. Hill directed the affairs of his position with straightforward courage yet he was also a conciliator and tried to harmonize diverse elements, the friend of everyone, even of the criminal whom he had to jail. It is said of him that he never failed to lend a helping hand to the young man or woman who showed any desire to leave the wrong path into which they had stepped.

Chief Hill resigned from the post he had filled so many years with so remarkable success to accept in March, 1928, the managership of the Worcester Safety Council. As is well known safety coun- cils are civic organizations of modern origin, formed for the purpose which their name implies, the promotion of safety from all kinds of accident, whether these be those of vehicular traffic, fire, industry or home. It not only attempts to prevent accidents by physical means, but by education and cooperation. It is a non-profit organization of public-minded citizens and has been eminently effi- cient in Worcester. The city could have paid George H. Hill no greater compliment than choos- ing him to head this important council.

Fraternally, Mr. Hill is affiliated with Montacute Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Eureka Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Hiram Council, Royal and Select Masters; Altheia Grotto, and also Central Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a popular figure in the New Eng- land Chiefs of Police Association, and the Massa- chusetts Association of Chiefs of Police and is a member of the Rotary Club, the Shaffner Society, the Worcester Bowling Club, and the local organ- ization of the Sons of Veterans.

Mr. Hill married (first), in 1894, Lillian L. Seavy, and they were the parents of six children, of whom four are living: Harry S., Robert B., Charles E., and Charlotte. Mrs. Hill died in 1907. Mr. Hill married (second) in October, 1913, Mary G. Stalker, who died in 1927. He married (third), in 1929, Bessie M. Daniels, of Worcester. Mr. and Mrs. George H. Hill reside at No. 17 Colo- nial Road, Worcester.

HAROLD LONG ROBINSON-Following a series of connections with different phases of civil engineering in association with various con- cerns, Harold L. Robinson entered the private practice of his profession in which he has been engaged for a number of years. His offices in Worcester as a civil and consulting engineer are among the busiest in the county from the view- point of the profession. He has a large and select clientage, and is also chairman of the Board of Survey and secretary of the City Planning Board, departments of the city government of Worcester.

Harold Long Robinson, son of Henry C. and Emma G. Robinson, was born in Boston, March I, 1889, and was graduated Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the class of 1911. In the same year he accepted a position of construction engineer for the Aberthaw Construction Company, and re-

mained with this company until 1913. In the lat- ter year he went to Swift and Company in a similar capacity and was with them for two years. He became concrete engineer for H. K. Barrows in 1915; in 1916 was installed as safety engineer for the Norton Company and later was personnel manager for the Crompton-Knowles Loom Works, this latter connection being maintained for eight years.

It was in 1924 that Mr. Robinson entered private practice in his own name, and he has built up a large business drawn from among the desirable companies and individuals of the city and county. He was the engineer of design and construction of the residential park known as Westwood Hills in Worcester. Since it was created in 1925, he has been chairman of the Worcester City Board of Survey, and this office, together with his member- ship on the City Planning Board, has been con- ducive to improved conditions in the physical, architectural and topographical appearance of the city in a large degree. He is a former member of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers and is a member and former president of the Worcester Society of Civil Engineers. Among his clubs are the Worcester Economic, Kiwanis, Worcester Uni- versity and the Mechanics Association. He is a Republican in politics and a Universalist in reli- gion. His hobbies, if such they be called, are the radio and cross-word puzzles.

Mr. Robinson married, April 20, 1912, at Win- chester, Massachusetts, Frances Spaulding, and they have children: I. Henry C. 2. Helen H. 3. Richard S. Mr. Robinson has his offices at No. 22 Elm Street, and his residence at No. 109 Morningside Road, Worcester.

ALBERT HENRY INMAN is senior part- ner of the firm of Pratt and Inman, which has an unbroken history of more than one hundred years and today occupies a prominent position in the business life of Worcester.

Albert Henry Inman was born in Worcester, June 30, 1868, son of William Herbert and Mary E. (Cheney) Inman. He received his formal edu- cation in the public schools and entered the employ of Pratt and Inman in 1887 at the age of eighteen, beginning as a laborer and rising as he mastered the details of each position that he filled. In 1900 he was made a partner and in 1920, with his son, of whom further, took over the business. He was also active for many years in civic affairs, serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce of Wor- cester in 1913, when it replaced the old Board of Trade. He was a prime mover in the building of the Bancroft Hotel, having been a member of the original committee which organized the Bancroft Realty Company in 19II. He is a Republican, having served in the common council of Worcester and on committees of finance, streets, and public buildings. He was for a considerable period a member of the school committee and its subcom- mittee on schoolhouses. In 1916, under an amend- ment to the city charter, the school committee was reduced in number to eleven, Mr. Inman being elected as chairman of the new board in 1917. He is a Mason and a member of many organizations.

On January 1, 1891, he married Effie B. Moore, daughter of Charles F. and Clara B. Moore, of Worcester. Albert H. and Effie B. (Moore)

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Inman became the parents of two children : I. Ches- ter Moore, of further mention. 2. Marjorie, a graduate of Classical High School, Worcester, and of Smith College, class of 1917.

Chester Moore Inman received his education in the public schools and at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, from which he was graduated in 1914 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Imme- diately he became associated with the United Alloy Steel Company, at Canton, Ohio, there remaining for two years. In 1916 he connected himself with Pratt and Inman, continuing with them, with the exception of the period in which he was in the service of his country during the World War as an inspector with the ordnance department of the United States Army. In 1920, after the conclusion of hostilities, he returned to Worcester, becoming a partner in the firm with his father. He is now junior partner in this business.

Adding civic interests to his business activities, Chester Moore Inman has participated extensively in the work of important civic groups, notably the Kiwanis Club and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He is a Mason and a Shriner. His church is the Plymouth Congrega- tional, of Worcester.

He married, in 1915, Fanny R. Fiske, of Wor- cester. They became the parents of four children : I. Edith, born October 23, 1916. 2. Elizabeth, born April 5, 1918. 3. Nancy, born May 25, 1925. 4. Chester Moore, Jr., born December 28, 1927.

HOWARD K. HOBBS-The Hobbs Title Company has been functioning in Worcester for a great many years under the direction of two gen- erations of the family of that name. Horace Hobbs, a native of Massachusetts, Union veteran of the Civil War, in which he served as a captain of the 5Ist Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, founded the Title Company about 1885, and was active in its interests until his death in 1910. He was one of the useful citizens of the municipality, a justice of the peace, and left a name synonymous with integrity, service and generosity. He married Maria K. Knowles, also a native of Massachusetts, and to them on February 22, 1874, was born How- ard K. Hobbs, the subject of this review. He was one of four children; his two sisters being Cora L., widow of Samuel Morey, of Shrewsbury, who died in October, 1932, and Alice M., wife of Walter R. Dadman, assistant treasurer of the Mechanics Savings Bank. His brother is Dr. Wil- liam H. Hobbs, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he is a professor. He is well known as an Arctic explorer.

Howard K. Hobbs received the preliminaries of his education in the public schools of Worcester and was graduated from Becker's Business Col- lege. He began his business career as an employee of the Mechanics Savings Bank, of Worcester, and was later with the J. J. Warren Leather Goods Company and also was connected for a short time with the Brown Simpson Piano Company. While still in his 'teens, Mr. Hobbs became associated with his father in the Hobbs Title Company, and upon the death of this parent took over the busi- ness and has continued it with increasing success since that time. His connection with the company began in 1891 ; his assumption of the direction of its affairs was in the year 1910. As is understood, the business of the company is the examination of

titles and the many things in connection with the transfer of real estate. Besides his own activities, Mr. Hobbs is compelled to employ assistants.

Howard K. Hobbs is prominent in many phases of Worcester life. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, being a mem- ber of all the bodies of Masonry up to, and includ- ing the Scottish Rite bodies where in the Consis- tory he attained the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of Worcester County Commandery, Knights Templar, and of Aleppo Temple, Boston, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. For more than fifteen years he served in the Massachusetts State Militia, and played his rôle as a military man in the Spanish-American War in Cuba as corporal of Company A, 2d Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers. He is a mem- ber of the Worcester Economic Club and for many years has attended the Pilgrim Congregational Church, of which he is a member and trustee. Mr. Hobbs resides at No. 934 Main Street, Worcester, and has a summer home at Brant Rock.

GEORGE H. NELSON-Among residents of the county who have the faculty of successfully combining private business and public service, George H. Nelson sets a conspicuous example. He is a leading shoe merchant in this city and at the same time has served his district as a State senator in the Massachusetts Legislature, where he was chairman and member of important committees. In business more than a score of years, he is one of the most active and influential Republicans here.

A. Gustaf Nelson, father of Senator Nelson, was born in Sweden, and about 1887 came to the United States, settling in Worcester. He spent most of his adult years in the service of the American Steel and Wire Company, and is now living in retire- ment. He married Johanna Swenson, who is also a native of Sweden.

Senator Nelson was born in Worcester, January I, 1891, and received his education in the public schools of this city. He then took employment in the office of the American Steel and Wire Com- pany and did work of that character for eight years. From that occupation he entered the auto- mobile business on the selling end, and was thus engaged until 1918, in which year he launched his shoe establishment at No. 201 Main Street. In 1929 he removed to No. 357 Main Street and in 1933 to No. 281 Main Street. He has made a large success of this enterprise, ranking among the foremost merchants of the city.

Mr. Nelson came prominently into the limelight of Worcester politics in 1924, when he was elected to the Common Council as a representative of Ward One. He won his spurs during his three years' term on that board and was chosen a mem- ber of the Board of Aldermen, where he was an efficient and painstaking local legislator for three additional years. He was first elected to the Mas- sachusetts Senate in 1928, and so gratifying was the quality of his service that his district reelected him in 1930. He was a candidate to succeed him- self at the election held in 1932. In the Senate he is looked upon as one of the leading members; he is chairman of the Conservation Committee, chairman of the Committee on Engrossed Bills, a member of the Committee on Public Safety, the Committee on Counties, and the Committee on Mercantile Affairs. He is a member of the Wor-

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cester Republican Council, and the Ward One Republican Club. Among his affiliations are the Scandinavian Fraternity of America, the Vasa Order of America, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Lions Club of Worcester. He is a member of the Calvary English Lutheran Church of this city.

Senator Nelson married, July 9, 1912, Edith C. Westbom, of Worcester; she died April 8, 1930. There is a son, George Kenneth Nelson, born June 24, 1914. The family home is at No. 80 Eagle Road, Worcester.

CAPTAIN HENRY STEPHEN McCREA -One of the most competent funeral directors in the State of Massachusetts was Captain Henry Stephen McCrea, head of the McCrea Funeral Service Company of Worcester. For the past forty years Captain McCrea was prominent in the business and professional life of the city and during that period he was a recognized leader in the movement for better and more scientific mortuary service.

Edwin D. McCrea, father of Captain McCrea, was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1823 and was a veteran of the Civil War, serving in Company H, 27th Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- try. He married Ellen F. Donovan, who was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1846 and died in Wor- cester at the age of eighty-two years, and they became the parents of three sons, all born at Ben- nington, Vermont: I. Edward C., who served as a trooper in Lord Roberts' Horse (Cavalry) with the rank of sergeant and later became an agent of the National Cash Register Company, located at Durban, South Africa. 2. Arthur L., born Novem- ber 4, 1867, an electrician at Turners Falls, Mas- sachusetts. 3. Captain Henry Stephen, of further mention.

Captain Henry Stephen McCrea was born Sep- tember 4, 1871, at Bennington, Vermont, and died at Worcester, Massachusetts, March 10, 1933. While he was still a very young child, he was taken by his parents to North Adams, Massachu- setts, where he attended school, finishing the ele- mentary and grammar grades. After graduation from Turners Falls High School he began his busi- ness career in Brooklyn, New York, as a clerk in the retail store of the William H. Douglas Drug Company. However, he had no intention of con- tinuing as a mere clerk in any line and after two years of experience in this connection he gave up his position and, having made his decision as to his future profession, began study in the United States College of Embalming in New York City. When his course was completed and he had received his certificate he began his practical experience as an assistant to the late Professor Auguste Re- nouard of that college. So highly did Captain McCrea esteem the work of Professor Renouard and the value to himself of his association with him that later, when he himself had become prominent in the pioneer work of elevating the professional standards of the mortician and had founded an undertakers' magazine, "The Issue," as a means to that end, he paid grateful tribute to his old teacher and early associate. In the March, 1917, issue of that publication he stated that he would be remiss in his duty if he did not give credit to one who "above all others stands out pre- eminently as the pioneer authority on embalming"

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 33

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