Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 41

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 41

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FRANK PERLEY HALL-As chief of the Athol Fire Department, Frank Perley Hall has been instrumental in modernizing the apparatus and bringing the force to a high state of efficiency. He is also superintendent of the water department, which he has been the means of improving to its present state of healthfulness and as an adjunct of the fire-fighting system. In other public ca- pacities also he serves the municipality and in many ways is concerned with the civic advance of the town.

The family of Hall is one of the oldest in this country. It is of English origin, and a historian in the family is responsible for the statement that one Dr. John Hall, born in 1575, married Susanna, daughter and first child of William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon. It is said that descendants of this Dr. John Hall are to be found in many parts of the United States, among them having been scholars, statesmen, poets, artisans, and other people of note in various professions and callings. Rep- resentatives of the family came in early Colonial days to New England, and their successors were seated in Maine for generations.

Chief Hall's father, John W. Hall, came from China, Maine, to Athol in 1888 and spent the rest of his life in this town. He was a mechanic. He married Eliza Starrett.

Frank P. Hall, son of John W. and Eliza (Star- rett) Hall, was born in China, Maine, August 17, 1873, and received his education in the public schools of his native State. After arriving with the family in Athol, he went to work in the mills of the Starrett Manufacturing Company, one of the largest industries in the community. He was employed by this company for thirty-two years and was foreman of his department for several years.

It was when in the Starrett Company's service that he became actively interested in the fire depart- ment. He joined the volunteer force and now for forty-one years has been continuously identified with the department. In 1909 he was appointed chief and has since filled the position, having to his credit the building up and equipping of the department to its present modern standing as a fire-fighting organization. It is declared to be the equal of any department in this section of Massachusetts. Under his command is a force of forty-seven call-men and four permanent firemen. It was in 1922 that he was chosen superintendent of the water department, having been a member of the board of water com- missioners since 1913. He has been a member of

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the sewer commission since 1928. In politics he is a Republican and active in the councils of his party.

During the World War Chief Hall served as a member of the Athol Public Safety Committee and as a captain of the local unit in the Massa- chusetts State Guard. He is a member of the Sons of Veterans of the Civil War, in the right of the service by his father, who enlisted from Maine and served in the United States Navy on board the ship "Rhode Island." He is affiliated with the New England, Massachusetts and National Asso- ciations of Fire Chiefs, the American Water Works Association, the New England Water Works Asso- ciation, and the Massachusetts State Firemen's Association, of which last-named body he is a past president.

Frank P. Hall married, November 23, 1908, Lil- lian E. Pero, daughter of Joseph and Susan (Ben- way) Pero, of Athol, in which town they have their residence at No. III Canal Street.

CARL S. CARLSON-At the head of an establishment in Athol that has been expanded to include for sale the full line of Ford products, Carl S. Carlson, president of Brewer and Carlson, Inc., has an experience of twenty-five years in the automotive trade and is well and favorably known not only in his line but also to the business public generally. He is active in the civic life of Athol, being a member of important fraternal organiza- tions, and has attained a wide reputation as a trap -. shooter.

Born near Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 24, 1889, Carl A. Carlson, son of Carl A. and Mary (Harling) Carlson, both of whom were natives of Sweden, received his education in the public schools of Orange, Massachusetts. After leaving school, he was employed for a time in different factories, in grocery stores and other places of business. In 1909 he began to engage in the auto- inobile business and in 1910 united with George S. Brewer in the organization of Brewer and Carlson, Inc., successor of the Wilcox and Brewer Man- ufacturing Company. On the death of Mr. Brewer, Mr. Carlson became president of the corporation, and Mrs. M. L. Brewer secretary and treasurer. In 1920 the present building at No. 1665 Main Street was erected, and in it are housed all the departments of the business. The stocks are com- plete in all makes of Ford motor vehicles and parts, the establishment being one of the best equipped and furnished in this section of the State. Employment is provided for ten to twelve persons on an average in normal times.

Mr. Carlson is a member of the Athol Chamber of Commerce. Included in his fraternal affiliations are Athol Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Morris Coun- cil, Royal and Select Masters; Athol Commandery, Knights Templar ; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston; and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Exchange Club and of gun clubs in Athol, Orange and Boston, also in Leo- minster, holding a life-membership in the Amateur Trapshooting Association.

Mr. Carlson married (first), in March, 1914, Helen Brewer, who has since died. The children of this marriage are: Phyllis and Robert. Mr. Carlson married (second) Sarah Twichell, of

Athol, and they have a daughter, Elizabeth. Mrs. Carlson is a member of the Athol Woman's Club. The family home is at No. 1356 Main Street, Athol.

FREDERICK W. WHITE-In many ways, Frederick W. White has been one of the makers of history in Worcester County and this region of Massachusetts, where he is a banker of long stand- ing, having served his fellow-citizens in his chosen field of work probably longer in point of years than any other banking man of the county. He is also treasurer and collector of the town of Shrews- bury.

Mr. White, who is now vice-president of the People's Savings Bank of Worcester, though he has retired from his more active participation in the bank's affairs, was born on August I, 1859, at Millbury, Massachusetts, son of Nathan and Louisa M. (Cole) White. His father, of Whiting, Ver- mont, born in 1834, died in 1907, was a cabinet- maker by trade and a veteran of the Civil War, in which he served in the infantry on the side of the Union. The mother was a Massachusetts woman, born in 1836, died in 1920. The family is an old and honored one, on both paternal and maternal sides, and Mr. White is very justly proud of his "Mayflower" ancestry. Frederick W. White, of whom this is primarily a record, received his early education in the public schools and early determined to go into banking. For fifty-five years, he was con- nected with the People's Savings Bank of Wor- cester, starting his work with it in boyhood and rising through the different grades to positions of official character, and finally becoming treasurer. It was in 1931 that he retired from his active labors in the bank; and, at his retirement, he was made vice-president.

He has been long interested in the public affairs of his city and county and is treasurer and col- lector of the town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, as noted above. For two years he served on Wor- cester's common council, of which he was for one year the president. He has without doubt given most freely and generously of his time and efforts to the advancement of conditions in his adopted city, where he is, as a result, highly esteemed bv his fellowmen.

He is also a member of several civic, social and fraternal bodies. He has memberships in the Shrewsbury Club, the Boston City Club, and the Commonwealth Club; and, in the Free and Ac- cepted Masons, is a Past Master of his lodge, as well as of the M. J. Whittall Lodge, of Shrews- bury, and a holder of the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.

Frederick W. White married (first) Cora P. Bagley, now deceased, and (second), in 1916, Marian Churchill. By the second marriage there have been four children : I. Frederick W., Jr., born on July 24, 1917. 2. Howard B., born on Decem- ber 4, 1918. 3. Cynthia, born on March 4, 1921. 4. Priscilla, born on December 26, 1923.

JOHN WOODWARD ABBOTT, M. D .- In Worcester County one of the well-known mem- bers of the medical profession is Dr. John Wood- ward Abbott, medical director of the Massachu- setts Protective Association, Inc .; also of the Mas- sachusetts Protective Life Assurance Company and of the Paul Revere Life Insurance Company of Worcester.

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Dr. John W. Abbott was born in Lewiston, Maine, October 2, 1882, son of Lyman Frye Abbott, a native of Andover, Maine, who was agricultural editor of the "Lewiston Journal," Lewiston, Maine, to the time of his death at the age of sixty-six, and of Juliet (Woodward) Abbott, who was born in Wilton, Maine, and is now eighty-seven years of age. Both parents were members of the Con- gregational Church. Lyman F. Abbott was a son of Nathaniel Abbott who was born in Andover, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Abbott was a member of one of the pioneer families there and later became a pioneer himself, assisting in the settlement of Andover, Maine. Lyman F. and Juliet (Wood- ward) Abbott had but one child, Dr. John W. Abbott. Dr. Abbott was reared in Lewiston, Maine, and after graduating from Lewiston High School entered Bates College, at Lewiston, from which he was graduated in 1905 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then matriculated in the medical school of Harvard University, where he completed his medical course in 1910, graduating with the class of that year and receiving at that time the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After serving an interneship of eighteen months in the Hartford General Hospital at Hartford, Connect- icut, he received an appointment as examiner in New York City for the Travelers Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut. One year later he was made medical director of the Germania Life Insurance Company (now the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America) at New York City and there he remained for a period of five years. His next position was with the Maryland Assurance Corporation of Baltimore, Maryland, a new life insurance company-a subsidiary of the Maryland Casualty Company, in which connection he served as medical director of the Maryland As- . surance Corporation and chief surgeon of the Maryland Casualty Company until 1924, when he came to Worcester as medical director of the Mas- sachusetts Protective Life Assurance Company, holding the same position in the Massachusetts Protective Association, Inc., and in the Paul Revere Life Insurance Company, all of Worcester.

A man of unfailing courtesy and genial disposi- tion, Dr. Abbott has won the high regard of all with whom he has been associated, both profes- sionally and socially. He is a member of the District and State Medical societies and a Fellow of the American Medical Association. He is also a member of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, the Worcester Club, the Worcester Country Club, the Harvard Club of Worcester, the Economic Club, and the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. His Masonic affiliations are with Ash- lar Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Lewis- ton, Maine, and his religious affiliations are with the Congregational Church.

Dr. Abbott's first marriage was to Grace Stuart of Ottawa, Canada, on January 20, 1913. Mrs. Abbott died after a brief illness in September, 1922. His second marriage was to Mary E. Hoblit- zell of Baltimore, Maryland, on December 1, 1924. Dr. and Mrs. Abbott make their home at No. 53 Elm Street, and the doctor has his offices at No. 18 Chestnut Street, Worcester.

JUDGE ALLAN GORDON BUTTRICK- Since 1924, the Hon. Allan Gordon Buttrick has served as judge of the Second District Court of

Eastern Worcester County. He is a lawyer of long experience and a public official of distin- guished record, both on the bench and in the vari- ous other offices to which he has been called.

Judge Buttrick was born at Fitchburg, March 16, 1876, a son of Daniel W. and Sarah P. (Cameron) Wood. His father, who was born in this State, was a wood turner by occupation. His mother was a native of Canada. In 1881, when he was four years old, Judge Buttrick was adopted by George T. and Ellen M. Buttrick, farmers of Lan- caster, and was reared in their home. He received his preliminary education in the public schools of Lancaster, completing the high school course there in 1892. Subsequently he entered Boston Univer- sity Law School, where he received his professional training and from which he was graduated in June, 1897, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the same month and year he was admitted to the bar and began the active practice of law at Clin- ton. Four years later, in 1901, he formed a part- nership with Orra L. Stone under the firm name of Buttrick and Stone and so continued until 1904. In 1907 Judge Buttrick opened offices in Boston, but still continued his Clinton office. Meanwhile he had made substantial progress in his profes- sion and had entered upon his career in public life. Elected moderator of the town of Lancaster in 1898, he has continued to fill this office during the past thirty-six years. He was a member of the board of health, served as school committeeman and as selectman for twelve years, and in 1904 was elected to the Massachusetts House of Rep- resentatives, where he was a member of the com- mittee on street railways and towns. In 1906 and 1907 he was a member of the Massachusetts State Senate and during this period was a member of the Senate committees on street railways, insur- ance, legal affairs, liquor law, and chairman of the recess committees on Sunday laws and on insur- ance. His sincerity and ability made a deep impres- sion upon his colleagues and his opinions were al- ways received with profound respect. In 1908 Judge Buttrick served as a presidential elector of his party in this State and in 1917 was chosen as a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Con- vention. In 1924 he was appointed judge of the Second District Court of Eastern Worcester County at Clinton, an office for which he was well qualified through his specific legal attainments and long experience in the public service.

Judge Buttrick has since continued on the bench. He is a member of the District Court Division of the Superior Court, sitting in criminal cases. Judge Buttrick is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Worcester County Bar Asso- ciation and the Boston Bar Association. Apart from his professional connections, he is a prom- inent Mason, being a member of all higher bodies of both York and Scottish Rites, including Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar, and the Consis- tory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree. He is a member of the Unitarian Church. Judge Buttrick is fond of outdoor life. He is an enthusiastic fisherman and hunter and a target shooter of considerable attainments.

On September 26, 1906, Allan Gordon Buttrick married Edith G. Ward, of Lancaster, daughter of Richard and Fannie A. (Andrews) Ward. Mrs. Buttrick passed away June 15, 1933. The family residence is in Lancaster.

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HARRY A. BANCROFT-Territory embrac- ing the northwestern part of Worcester County and Franklin County is covered by the Bancroft Candy Company, of Athol, of which concern Harry A. Bancroft is the founder and president. This busi- ness has been developed to a considerable extent in the ten or more years that it has been operat- ing. Mr. Bancroft has a wide experience in the trade, antedating his entry into business in Athol many years.

The Bancroft family is one of the oldest in New England. The surname, when brought to this country in 1638, was spelled Banshatt. John Ban- chatt came at the age of fourteen from England. John Bancroft, immigrant ancestor, died, either on his voyage to this country or shortly after his arrival, and his widow was granted land at Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1638. Their only known child, Thomas (I), born in England in 1623-24, came in the ship "Bevis," in May, 1638, to live with his mother. He was in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1647, when he married Alice Bacon, who died the following year. He married (second) Elizabeth Metcalf. He died intestate in 1691, possessed of considerable property. His widow died in 1716. The line of descent is through his son, Thomas (2), a soldier in King Philip's War, selectman and leading citizen of Reading, Massachusetts, and Sarah Pool, his wife; their son, Captain Thomas (3), and Mary Webster, his wife; their son, Thomas (4), and Lydia Dean, his wife; their son, Moses, one of the early settlers of Sutton, Wor- cester County, and May Wiley, his first wife; their son, Captain Joseph, a soldier in the Revolu- tionary War, and Hannah Taintor, his wife; their son, Moses; his son, John Austin; and his son, Moses Jerome, of whom further.

Moses Jerome Bancroft lived in Phillipston, Mas- sachusetts, where he was a farmer, a quiet re- served, God-fearing man. He married Martha Cummings, and they had children: I. Lorey, who went West and was a farmer; he died in South Dakota. 2. Hiram A., of whom further. Moses Jerome Bancroft died in Phillipston at an ad- vanced age.

Hiram A. Bancroft was born in Phillipston. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the Civil War and served four years. He was a farmer the rest of his life. He died in 1904. His wife was Elizabeth M. Moore. Their children: I. Varney, an associate of his brother, Harry A., in the Ban- croft Candy Company. 2. Harry A., of whom further.

Harry A. Bancroft, son of Hiram A. and Eliz- abeth M. (Moore) Bancroft, was born in Athol, February 1, 1878, and received his education in the public schools of this town. After leaving school he entered a shoe factory where he was employed for eight years, being a shoecutter for seven years. His next occupation was as a clerk in a grocery, which he followed for nine years. He then entered the employ of the Kibbe Brothers Company, manu- facturers of candy, in Springfield. During the ten years he was with that concern he was a travel- ing salesman and made a wide acquaintance among the trade. In March, 1922, he came to Athol and established the Bancroft Candy Company, this be- ing at the time a co-partnership, with George J. Laflamme as the other member. In October, 1930, they decided to incorporate the business and were granted a charter for the Bancroft Candy Com-

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pany, Inc., with a capital stock of $20,000. Mr. Bancroft is president and treasurer and gives his undivided attention to the management of the busi- ness. Mr. Laflamme is vice-president. The head- quarters of the company are at No. 578 South Street. They carry complete lines of confectioners specialties, making their leader the well-known Kibbe candies. They are represented in their ter- ritory by three traveling salesmen.

Mr. Bancroft is active in Athol civic affairs, affiliating with the Rotary Club; Athol Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Union Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Tully Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and the Athol Country Club.

Harry A. Bancroft married Leah Hamel, the daughter of Joseph Hamel, of Athol. Their chil- dren are: I. Glenn A., who is associated with his father in the capacity of a clerk; married Vera McLain. 2. Marian, married Hiram Young, of Athol, and has children, Joan and Gerald. 3. Mar- jorie L. Mrs. Bancroft is active in the affairs of the Daughters of Rebekah (Odd Fellows) and Order of the Eastern Star. The family residence is at No. 84 Grove Street, Athol.

HARRY W. BROWN-During seventeen active years of practice at Whitinsville, Worcester County, Massachusetts, Harry W. Brown has risen to an important position at the local bar. He enjoys a distinguished reputation, not only as an able attorney and counsellor but as a public serv- ant whose efforts in responsible offices have been of great value to the community.

Mr. Brown was born in Whitinsville on January II, 1887, a son of Andrew J. and Martha (King) Brown. His father, who was born in the North of Ireland on August 1, 1840 and died at Whitins- ville in 1914, was a machinist by occupation. He was foreman for a number of years of the White Machine Works here. Martha (King) Brown, the mother, was born at St. John, New Brunswick, on February 3, 1853.

Harry W. Brown received his preliminary edu- cation in Whitinsville public schools, subsequently attending Monson Academy near Springfield, Mas- sachusetts, and Bates College, where he was a stu- dent for two years. Thereafter he entered Boston University Law School, from which he was grad- uated in 1915 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In October of the same year he was admitted to the bar, and opened offices in Whitinsville, where he has since been engaged in practice. Mr. Brown's thorough training, his industry and native ability enabled him to build up a large clientele. He has been retained in many important cases and his con- tinued success at the bar has given him an ever- widening reputation. From the beginning of his career, he has been active in fields of public serv- ice. For ten years Mr. Brown was town solicitor, administering the duties of that office with con- spicuous success. For six years he was assistant district attorney, and for six years a member of the Northbridge School Committee, serving with equal fidelity and success. He was also formerly secretary of the local Chamber of Commerce. During the World War he was chairman of the legal advisory board rendering legal services to the Whitinsville Draft Board. Few men have been more active in the civic life of the community and the high quality of his citizenship has been dem- onstrated on many occasions.

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Mr. Brown has also been much interested in athletics and is a member of the Athletic Com- mission here. He is a member of the State and County Bar associations, the Boston University Law School Association and the University Club of Boston. Fraternally he is affiliated with Granite Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons ; Milford Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Eureka Lodge, Knights of Pythias; and Patrons of Hus- bandry. In the Masonic Order he is also a mem- ber of Aletheia Grotto at Worcester.

On June 15, 1918, Harry W. Brown married Sarah H. McGaw, daughter of Benjamin A. and Mary (Galvin) McGaw of Northbridge. They have four children: I. Thurston King, born April 5, 1919. 2. Norma, born March 31, 1920. 3. Bar- bara, born March 31, 1921. 4. Harry W., Jr., born July 10, 1928.

VICTOR J. JOHNSON-Born in Sweden, December 16, 1872, Victor J. Johnson came to this country and settled in Worcester in 1890. His trade, which is the making of musical instruments, he had followed in the homeland after leaving the public schools. He still pursued this line in his new environment until 1909, in which year he engaged in business for himself. In addition to the making of musical instruments, he manufac- tures air motors, supply parts, etc, being regarded as an expert in wind instruments. The business increased steadily, and in 1912 it was incorporated under the style of the Worcester Wind Motor Company. From a site on Commercial Street, Worcester, the first location, the business was re- moved to Bartlett Street, thence, in 1927, to its present quarters at No. 35 Lagrange Street. Here it occupies 10,000 square feet of floor space, and employment is provided for thirty people. The line of products has been expanded to include what is known as "Occasional Furniture," or small furni- ture, which constitutes a considerable portion of the output. Mr. Johnson takes a commendable pride in this business, in which he has been gratify- ingly successful. He is also head of the Viko Shoe Company, which is likewise in a prosperous con- dition.

This company was organized in 1922, as a part- nership arrangement between Victor J. Johnson and C. O. Lindberg. The business was later incor- porated under the style of its present title, with the officers : Victor J. Johnson, president and treas- urer ; C. O. Lindberg, vice-president ; H. P. John- son, assistant treasurer and clerk. The concern manufactures women's "Comfort" shoes and ships its product all over the United States and to sev- eral foreign countries. Its factory in Worcester has floor space of about 10,000 square feet, where one hundred and fifteen hands are employed. These two companies, in which Mr. Johnson fills the offices of president and treasurer, contribute to the commercial and industrial prestige of Worcester.

Mr. Johnson is a member and one of the elders of the Salem Square Congregational Church, Wor- cester, and is actively interested in the work of this congregation. He is also a charter member of the Fairlawn Hospital.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 41

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