Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 42

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 42

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Johnson married Matilda J. Lindberg, of Worcester, and their children are: I. Helmer P. Johnson, born in Worcester, December 2, 1892; educated in the public schools and Worcester Polytechnic institute, class of 1920, degree of Civil

Engineer. He is associated with his father in business. During the World War he trained at Plattsburg and received a commission as second lieutenant, which rank he held when honorably discharged at Camp Grant in 1918. He is affiliated with Alpha Tau Omega (college fraternity) and a member of the Salem Square Congregational Church. He married, in 1923, Evelyn L. Hedlund, a native of Worcester, and they have a son, Ben- jamin A., born December II, 1928. 2. Ebba M., married Clifford Lundin. 3. Lillian V., married Herbert Nelson. 4. Ethel J., married Eric Peter- son. 5. Olive M.

HENRY AUGUSTUS HOVEY-Four gen- erations of the Hovey family have been prom- inently associated with the business life and devel- opment of Worcester. Records disclose that the American progenitor of the family was Daniel Hovey, born in England, in 1618, who came to the Massachusetts Colony in 1633 and was one of the proprietors of Ipswich in 1636. He went to Brookfield in 1668, remaining until the place was abandoned during King Philip's War, when he removed to Hadley, but eventually returned to Ipswich where he died on April 24, 1692. His original house remained standing until 1894 when it was destroyed by fire.

The first Daniel Hovey married Abigail An- drews, daughter of Robert Andrews, one of the first tavern keepers of Ipswich. They were the parents of James Hovey, Sr., born about 1650, who was the father of James Hovey, Jr., born at Brookfield in 1674, later a resident of Malden, a veteran of the French and Indian Wars, and a prisoner in 1710-II. He was the father of Daniel Hovey, Sr., born in Malden, December 7, 1710, who settled in Mansfield, Connecticut, where he married Elizabeth Slap, and they were the parents of Daniel Hovey, Jr., soldier of the Revolutionary War, a prisoner for nine months in Canada, and one of the group of Connecticut pioneers who founded Plainfield, New Hampshire. Daniel and Keziah Hovey were the parents of William Hovey, born in Plainfield, New Hampshire, in 1786, who died in Worcester, Massachusetts, September 4, 1855. He was the first of the family in Worcester, where he was one of the leaders of the community in affairs civic, commercial and social. William Hovey married, February 27, 1812, Prudence A. Whitney, who died in Worcester, July 2, 1872. They were the parents of eight children, includ- ing James Hovey, born in Worcester, January 8, 1824, who died there on October 4, 1860. He mar- ried Mary Johnson, of Worcester.

The only child of James and Mary (Johnson) Hovey, the late Henry Augustus Hovey, was born in Worcester, February 14, 1850, and was edu- cated in the city schools. For a time he was asso- ciated with his father in business, but for the most part he made his own way in life and achieved his own career. For a full third of a century he was the proprietor of a café at No. 20 Mechanic Street, Worcester, which served all the purposes of a club, in a day when clubs were novelties but men foregathered nevertheless. For a generation he and his establishment was the rendezvous for the men of the city interested in athletics, sports and games, where good fellowship reigned. His was also a period in which volunteer fire service had not yet been displaced altogether by a paid

my r. Hovey

G. Russell Honey

163

WORCESTER COUNTY

force of fire fighters, and Mr. Hovey was prom- inent in these volunteer organizations and actively interested in the parades, competitions and hose- cart races which were also a feature of the gay "'Nineties."

As a young man, Mr. Hovey was affiliated with most of the fraternal societies of Worcester, but at the time of his death was a member only of Damascus Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He joined the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Rhode Island and was also prominent in the Worcester Continentals. Without the blare of trumpets he was a thoroughly public-spirited man who contributed a full quota to the prosperity and happiness of the city of which he was very proud. His friends were legion, and his personal chari- ties went far beyond what even those, who knew him best, realized. Upon his death, on December 22, 1916, he was sincerely mourned and many trib- utes were paid to his fine traits of character.

On May 5, 1875, Henry Augustus Hovey mar- ried Ava Gertrude Parsons, daughter, of George and Abigail Prescott (Russell) Parsons, and they were the parents of two sons: I. Henry Prescott Hovey, born at Worcester, Massachusetts, Feb- ruary 24, 1881. 2. George Russell Hovey, born September 1, 1883. Both are graduates of the grade and high schools of the city, and early in life combined forces in a partnership that estab- lished the well-known Hovey Laundry, an outstand- ing industrial concern. Henry Prescott Hovey, on January 10, 1903, married Ethel Mary Howland, daughter of Lucius Howland, a descendant of John Howland, passenger on the "Mayflower." George Russell Hovey married on January 20, 1905, Julia Blanche Anderson, daughter of Emil A. Ander- son, of Worcester.

Mrs. Ava Gertrude (Parsons) Hovey is the great-granddaughter of John Parsons, the grand- daughter of Eber Parsons, and the daughter of George Parsons, who on December 25, 1849, in Worcester, married Abigail Prescott Russell, born November 12, 1824. George Parsons, according to an earlier biographer, was born in Sutton in 1826; was for many years overseer at the peniten- tiary at Rochester, New York, and afterward traveling salesman for the Elwanger and Barry nurseries of Rochester, New York. He served in Company D, 15th Massachusetts Regiment, died of disease contracted in the service, at the Fairfax Soldiers' Hospital, January 8, 1863, and was buried in the Soldiers' Cemetery at Alexandria, Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons had two daugh- ters, Ava Gertrude, mentioned above, and Ida Estelle, born July 5, 1851, who married (first) George Warren Howe and (second), in February, 1887, Elbridge F. Russell, of Chicago. Mrs. Par- sons built the Russell block at the corner of Aus- tin and Irving streets, and was a very active and capable business woman. Before her death, in 1914, she gave a memorial window to the Baptist Church at Stafford, Connecticut, where members of her family have attended church for more than a century. In memory of her mother, Mrs. Hovey presented to the Old South Church of this city a pulpit set for the vestry.

Through the Russell ancestry, Mrs. Hovey was descended from one of the most distinguished fam- ilies of the old Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her mother was a daughter of Jason Russell, born March 2, 1785, died February 23, 1869, a mer-

chant in Arlington and later a farmer in Stafford, Connecticut. He married Elizabeth Thorpe, whose father, Thomas Thorpe, served in the Revolution. Noah Russell, father of Jason Russell, was born at Arlington, March 8, 1763. Jason Russell, father of Noah Russell, was born January 25, 1716-17, and was slain by the British after the battle of Lexington. In his memory a handsome granite monument has been erected at Arlington, inscribed : "Mr. Jason Russell was barbarously murdered in his own house by Gage's bloody troops on 19th April 1775, aged 50. His body is quietly resting in this grave with eleven of our friends who in like manner with many others were cruelly slain on that fatal day. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." A large granite obelisk erected later bears the following inscription: "Erected by the inhabitants of West Cambridge A. D. 1848 over the common grave of Jason Russell, Jason Win- ship, Jabez Wyman and nine others who were slain in this town by the British troops on their retreat from the battles of Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775. Being among the first to lay down their lives in the struggle for American Independence." The site of the Russell house has been marked by a tablet. Jason Russell married Elizabeth Win- ship. He was a son of Hubbard Russell, grand- son of Jason Russell, and great-grandson of Wil- liam Russell, the pioneer, who was an early settler and perhaps the foremost citizen of . Cambridge in his day. He was born and married in England.

HENRY PRESCOTT HOVEY-GEORGE RUSSELL HOVEY-Two of the able and suc- cessful business men of Worcester are Henry Prescott Hovey and George Russell Hovey, broth- ers, who began their career as proprietors of a modern laundry, when Henry Prescott Hovey was nineteen years of age and his brother was seven- teen. The older brother is now president and the younger secretary and treasurer of the Hovey Laundry Company, one of the largest and best equipped laundry plants in New England.

On both the paternal and maternal sides the brothers trace descent from fine old Colonial fam- ilies. Daniel (1) Hovey, founder of the Hovey family in New England, came, in 1633, from Eng- land to Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he lived in a house which stood until 1894, when it was de- stroyed by fire. In 1668 he removed to Brook- field, but when that town was abandoned during King Philip's War, he returned to Ipswich, where he died, April 24, 1692. He married Abigail Andrews, daughter of Robert Andrews, one of the first tavern keepers of Ipswich, and from them the line descends through their son James (1), born about 1650, who settled with his father and broth- ers in Brookfield and was killed by Indians dur- ing King Philip's War; his son James (2), born in Brookfield, in 1674, who settled in Malden, where he was a deacon in the church and prom- inent in public affairs, a soldier in the French and Indian wars and taken prisoner in 1710-II; his son Daniel (2), born at Malden, December 7, 1710, who settled in Mansfield, Connecticut, with his five brothers and married Elizabeth Slap of that town; their son Daniel (3), who lived at Mans- field until about 1775, when he settled in the town of Plainfield, New Hampshire, served in the Rev- olutionary War, was taken prisoner, October 10, 1781, kept in Canada by the British for nine

164

WORCESTER COUNTY

months, and married Keziah; their son William, born at Plainfield, New Hampshire, in 1786, who came to Worcester, Massachusetts, as a young man and engaged in business as a manufacturer of plows. He was the first of the family to settle in this city and became the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch.

William Hovey was a man of exceptional ability. In his factory, which was located about a mile south of the Common, he installed a carding ma- chine and in October, 1816, he admitted George March to partnership and began the manufacture of woolen cloth. By 1828 he was making shears and straw cutters in a building on the site of the old Court Mills. He had as early as 1811, invented a shearing machine called the Ontario Machine, designed to be operated either by hand or water power, and in 1812 he designed another machine which could shear two hundred yards of broad- cloth in a day. In 1828 he stopped making satinet shearing machines, but continued to make broad and cassimere shearing machines and also metallic grinding machines for keeping the shearing ma- chines in order. Meantime, in 1823, he had taken William H. Howard into partnership and soon they began to make broad power looms. In a short time the partnership was dissolved and each partner kept on manufacturing the looms, but in later years Mr. Hovey was senior partner in the firm of Hovey and Lazell, manufacturing straw cutters in the old Merrifield Building. A man of great inven- tive ability, shrewd in business, William Hovey was, in his day, one of the leading manufacturers of Worcester. His home at the corner of Main and Front streets was later known as the Bradley Place. He married, in Worcester, February 27, 1812, Prudence A. Whitney, who died in Worces- ter, July 2, 1872, and they became the parents of eight children, seven sons and one daughter. Among the sons was James Hovey, born in Wor- cester, January 8, 1824, died there October 4, 1860, who was associated with his father in business. He married Mary Johnson, of Worcester, and their only child was Henry Augustus, of further men- tion.

Henry Augustus Hovey was born in Worcester, February 14, 1850, and died there December 22, 1916. For thirty-three years he was in business in Worcester as proprietor of a cafe at No. 20 Me- chanic Street, a cafe which in the earlier days, before the organization of the best clubs, was a meeting place for men interested in sports and athletics. A man of public spirit and enterprise, he was deeply interested in the fire department and in his younger days was a member of many fraternal orders. He married, May 5, 1875, Ava Gertrude Parsons, daughter of George and Abigail Prescott (Russell) Parsons, and they had two sons, Henry Prescott Hovey and George Russell Hovey, of further mention.

George Parsons, father of Mrs. Hovey, who was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, in 1826, was for many years superintendent of the Penitentiary at Rochester, New York, and later was traveling rep- resentative of the Elwanger and Barry nurseries of Rochester. He served in the Civil War, with Company D, 15th Massachusetts Regiment, died of a disease contracted in service at the Fairfax Sol- diers' Hospital, January 8, 1863, and was buried in the Soldiers' Cemetery at Alexandria, Virginia. His wife, Abigail Prescott (Russell) Parsons,

whom he married December 25, 1849, is, through the Russell ancestry, descended from one of the most distinguished families of the old Massachu- setts Bay Colony. The line is traced from Wil- liam Russell, born and married in England, who came to this country and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his son Jason; his son Hubbard; his son Jason, born January 25, 1716-17, who was slain by the British after the battle of Lexing- ton and in whose honor a granite monument has been erected in Arlington and another at West Cambridge, married Eliazbeth Winship; their son Noah, born at Arlington, Massachusetts, March 8, 1763; his son Jason, born March 2, 1785, died February 23, 1869, who was a merchant in Arling- ton and later a farmer in Stafford, Connecticut, and married Elizabeth Thorpe, whose father, Thomas Thorpe, was a soldier of the Revolution; their daughter, Abigail Prescott Russell, married George Parsons, and they became the parents of Ava Gertrude Parsons, who married Henry Augustus Hovey and had two sons, Henry Prescott Hovey and George Russell Hovey, proprietors of the Hovey Laundry Company.

Henry Prescott Hovey, son of Henry Augustus and Ava Gertrude (Parsons) Hovey, was born in Worcester, February 24, 1881, and received his education in the public schools of Worcester, grad- uating from the English High School in 1900. As a boy he was active and enterprising and before entering high school had, in partnership with a boy friend, established newspaper routes, handling the "Sp, and Gazette" and the "Telegram." When he e ered high school he sold both routes, hav- ing meantime purchased his partner's interest. Be- fore completing his high school course he had decided upon his field of business activity and he spent several months learning the business in the plant of his uncle, the owner of the Parsons Laun- dries. In 1900, when he was nineteen years of age he established the Hovey Laundry at No. 2 Fruit Street.

George R. (G. Russell) Hovey, brother of Henry Prescott Hovey, was born in Worcester, September 2, 1883, and graduated from the English High School there in 1901. At the age of seventeen he became associated with his brother, Henry Prescott, mentioned above, in the establishment of the laun- dry business at No. 2 Fruit Street, and has been associated with him in the business ever since. Like his brother, he inherits unusual ability and has been untiring in forwarding the interests of the Hovey Laundry business and in the promotion of their other interests.

The young men began their business in a small way, but both were hard workers and possessed exceptional business ability. Within five years the modest quarters on Fruit Street had become too small to accommodate the rapidly growing busi- ness, which, at that time, employed twenty-five people. In 1905 land was purchased at No. 4I Austin Street and a fine building, forty-five feet square and carefully adapted to the needs of the business, was erected. From the beginning, the young men had installed new and strictly modern equipment, and they rigidly held to a standard of only first class work. When the new building was finished they made the change from the old to the new in three days, without interrupting business in any way; and with larger space and new ma- chinery operated by electric motors, they found

165

WORCESTER COUNTY

themselves equipped for a much larger volume of business. Through the years the brothers have con- tinued the constructive work they began so early, always keeping abreast of the latest and most scien- tific methods of handling the family wash and installing from time to time new equipment and new methods of collecting, handling, and distribut- ing. The original building has been much enlarged, and in 1928 a building extending through to Chand- ler Street was completed, four stories high and fitted with the latest in laundry machinery and equipment and housing also the offices. The Hovey brothers' laundry business has grown to proportions which now require the services of three hundred employees and forty trucks for collection and de- livery, patronage being drawn not only from all over the city, but also from the surrounding region within a radius of twenty-five miles.

As the business has increased the brothers have invested wisely and safely and at the present time they have, in addition to their extensive laundry plant, which is one of the finest in New England, an entire block of apartments, of which there are one hundred, ranging from three to six rooms each. In 1922 the brothers built in the rear of this building a service station, which now handles a large business in gas, oil, and auto supplies of all kinds. An early start, untiring energy, and business ability of a high order have brought to the Hovey brothers a well-earned success, and both brothers are held in high esteem among their many business and fraternal associates. Both are mem- bers of the Worcester Laundry Owners' Associa- tion, which Henry Prescott Hovey has serv 1 as president for many years ; the Massachusetts Laun- dry Owners Association, of which he is a past president ; of the National Laundry Owners Asso- ciation, of which he is a past first vice-president ; the Employers Association, of which he is a past president ; and the Worcester Advertising Club, of which he is a past president. The brothers are also members of Morning Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and both hold life memberships in all the Masonic bodies, both York and Scottish Rite. Both are also members of Central Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Worcester Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; Worcester Commercial Travelers Association ; Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, both Worcester and Massachu- setts clubs; Worcester Country Club; and Wor- cester Safety Council. Their religious affiliation is with the Old South Congregational Church.

Henry Prescott Hovey married, January 10, 1903, Ethel Mary Howland, daughter of Lucius Henry Howland, a descendant of John Howland, who came to this country in the "Mayflower." Mr. and Mrs. Hovey have one of the most beautiful homes in the State, located at Shrewsbury.

George Russell Hovey married, January 20, 1905, Blanche Anderson, daughter of Emil Anderson. They make their home on Austin Street, Wor- cester.

LEON E. SEEKINS-Since 1929, Leon E. Seekins has been vice-president and general man- ager of the Worcester Electric Light Company of Worcester, bringing to his service with this com- pany a wealth of experience and a record for accomplishment which he has continued. Mr. Seekins was born on October 22, 1890, at St. Albans, Somerset County, Maine, a son of Wil-

liam T. and Gertrude M. (Parker) Seekins. His father has been clerk of courts in Somerset County for thirty years.

Leon E. Seekins was educated in the public schools at Skowhegan, Maine, and subsequently entered the University of Maine, from which he was graduated in 1913 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. His entire active career has been devoted to the electrical utilities field. Starting at Lowell, Massachusetts, he here laid the founda- tion for his broad knowledge of utilities opera- tions. Later he was associated with an electric light and power company at Sydney, Nova Scotia, returning after a number of years to Lowell. Finally, in 1929, he came to Worcester as vice- president and general manager of the Worcester Electric Light Company, which position he has since held.

The Worcester Electric Light Company is one of the oldest electric service companies in the State of Massachusetts. It was organized at a meet- ing held on December 26, 1883, at which Theodore C. Bates presided as chairman and Charles B. Whitney as clerk. The purpose of the company, as set forth by its organizers, was to supply electric light, power and heat, in the city of Wor- cester. The capital of the company was set at $100,000 with stock to be issued at $100 par value. The board of directors of the new company were Stephen Salisbury, Thomas M. Rogers, Loring Coes, Theodore C. Bates, William A. Denholm, Samuel Winslow, Samuel E. Hildreth, N. S. Lis- comb, Charles B. Whiting, Josiah Pickett and A. B. R. Sprague. Charles B. Whitney was made treasurer of the company and clerk of the board of directors at a meeting on December 29th. Thomas M. Rogers was elected president. The final incorporation of the company was effected February I, 1884.

The first annual meeting of stockholders was held on January 9, 1885. Officers and directors elected were the same as at the organization of the company with the exception of the treasurer, Charles B. Whitney, who had been replaced by H. H. Fairbanks at a directors' meeting on December 2, 1884. On January 25, 1884, President Rogers, Charles B. Whitney and Theodore C. Bates were elected by the directors as an executive commit- tee to conduct the business of the company. The first president, Thomas M. Rogers, served from 1883 to 1898. He was succeeded by A. B. R. Sprague, who was chief executive of the company from 1898 to 1910. George T. Dewey was pres- ident for the remainder of the year 1910, and he was followed by R. W. Rollins, who served from I9II to 1929. Present executive officers of the company are as follows: Frank D. Comerford, chairman of the board of directors; Samuel C. Moore, president; W. C. Bell, vice-president ; C. S. Herrmann, treasurer; L. E. Seekins, vice-pres- ident and general manager ; and F. H. Smith, vice- president and assistant general manager. In Jan- uary, 1929, the Worcester Electric Light Company became a part of the New England Power Associa- tion. The number of employees had grown from twenty-eight in 1890 to four hundred in 1929 at the time of the purchase by the New England Power Association.

The first generating equipment of the company was installed in the basement of the Worcester Corset Company in the rear of No. 560 Main

I66

WORCESTER COUNTY

Street. It consisted of eight 25 arc light ma- chines of Thomson-Houston manufacture, equal to approximately 200 HP. The charge for service was seventy cents per light per night or from dusk to eleven P. M. In April, 1886, incandescent lamp type of lighting was introduced. A separate generator or dynamo of 400 light capacity was then installed for this service.

During the latter part of 1886 and the early part of 1887, a building was erected on leased land. In this building, facing on High Street between Chatham and Austin streets, were installed thirteen arc light machines and two incandescent light ma- chines. By 1889 the company was obliged to enlarge its generating facilities and purchased 60,- 000 square feet of land bordering on Salisbury Pond and fronting on Faraday Street, from Stephen Salisbury in June, 1889. Construction of the new building, 255 feet long and 75 feet wide, was started on this property in July of the same year. The building was completed and the equipment installed and in operation by 1890, and the annual stockholders meeting was held there January 14, 1891. The new building became known as the Faraday Street Station. The original installation consisted of two Corliss engines totalling 900 HP., seventeen 25 light arc machines and two incan- descent light machines of approximately one thou- sand 20 C. P. light capacity each. From 1890 to 19II the equipment at Faraday Street was in con- tinual process of replacement and expansion. The total capacity had increased to approximately 5,000 HP. By 1910 it became apparent that the Fara- day Street Station was no longer adequate to meet requirements, and a new site, known as the Curtis Pond Mill property on Webster Street, was ac- quired. A contract was entered into with the Westinghouse Engineering Company to build and equip a new, modern power station on this site of approximately 10,000 HP. capacity. Generat- ing equipment consisted of three 2,500 K. W. steam turbines.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 42

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