USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III > Part 7
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108
On February 14, 1904, Mr. Baker married Mabel Van Norman, of Buffalo, New York, and they are the parents of two children: I. Warren Van Norman, born January 16, 1906. 2. George W., Jr., born June 16, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are members of the Unitarian Church and make their home at No. 309 Lincoln Street, Worcester.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON BULLOCK
Professional and civic life have given Alexander Hamilton Bullock ample opportunity to achieve success as a lawyer and to be of genuine service to Worcester, Massachusetts. Equipped by tempera- ment and training for a solid success in his exact- ing vocation as a counsellor-at-law, his achieve- ments over a period of a third of a century are but a just reward of ability and hard work. What he has gained by his efforts, Mr. Bullock has shared with others less fortunate, and has given generously of his time and energy to promote the advance- ment of his community and the welfare of its people. The increase and betterment of educational facilities particularly interests him, and he has devoted a number of years of service to the further- ing of such a desirable condition in the municipality.
Mr. Bullock was born November 7, 1874, son of Augustus George and Mary (Chandler) Bullock, the former of whom is widely known in insurance circles; he was born at Enfield, Connecticut, while Mrs. Bullock is a native of Concord, New Hamp- shire. The son was given all the advantages of a superior education, being a graduate of Harvard University, 1896. He read law and was admitted to the Worcester County bar in 1899, and began the practice of his profession in Worcester, which since that time has been the scene of his career. Always very much the student, he has become somewhat of a "lawyer's lawyer," one often con- sulted by his colleagues who hold him in high esteem. While his practice has been general in
character, he has specialized in corporation law and in such laws as affect real estate. Among his business connections, he is president of the Mer- chants and Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany.
Good citizenship, a field which has claimed much of Mr. Bullock's active interest, has in him a worthy exponent. During the thirty-three years of his participation in the legal and financial circles of Worcester, he has given a genuine devotion to his duties and privileges as a citizen. For seven years he served on the Worcester School Com- mittee, three of these as the chairman. Many of the improvements in the public school system of instruction, administration, and housing, were brought about either by his introduction of meas- ures which made for these ends or by the ardent support of measures suggested by others.
During the period when the United States was engaged in the World War, Mr. Bullock was director of the bureau of branches and customs of the War Trade Board, of the United States. This board had the control over the exports and imports of the Nation throughout the great conflict, and maintained eighteen branch offices in all parts of the United States and eight in various territories and possessions. It was a great service, generously contributed to this country. Mr. Bullock has been active in the cultural life of Worcester; he is a trustee of the Worcester Art Museum.
On June 4, 1902, Alexander Hamilton Bullock married Florence Armsby McClellan, of Worcester.
ROCKWOOD HOAR BULLOCK-In the insurance business circles of Massachusetts, the name of Bullock has been well known for two gen- erations. Rockwood Hoar Bullock of Worcester did not attain his prominence in this particular line because of his father, but after experience in other lines of endeavor. He was born at Princeton, Massachusetts, August 21, 1881, son of Augustus George and Mary (Chandler) Bullock. His father was a native of Enfield, Massachusetts, while his mother is a member of an old Massachusetts family.
Rockwood Hoar Bullock received the prelim- inaries of his education in the Dalzeel Private School, and prepared for college at St. Mark's School. Matriculating at Harvard University, he was graduated with the class of 1903, holding the degree of Bachelor of Arts. College days over, he began his business career with the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway Company, with which he continued from 1903 to 1907. In the latter mentioned year he established himself in a general insurance business, in Worcester, and has carried on with increasing success ever since.
He is a popular figure in the financial, civic and social groups of Worcester, and is held in high esteem. He is a director of the Mechanics Na- tional Bank, and a member of the Worcester Club and the Tatnuck Country Club. Always civic- minded, he has contributed valuably to the develop- ment of Worcester, and as humanitarian, without ostentation, he has done a great deal to further the welfare and philanthropic activities of the city. Mr. Bullock is wise enough to mingle play with his work, and enjoys golf, fishing, hunting, and sports in general.
27
WORCESTER COUNTY
On June 8, 1905, Rockwood Hoar Bullock mar- ried Elizabeth Bliss Dewey, of Worcester, and they are the parents of four children: I. Augustus George, 2d, born February 10, 1909. 2. Francis D., born February 21, 19II. 3. Elizabeth C., born November 19, 1914. 4. Mary C., born August 22, 1917.
GEORGE CLARKSON WHITNEY- Founder of the George C. Whitney Company, makers of Christmas cards and other seasonal specialties, George Clarkson Whitney was its president for many years and over a long period occupied a position of prominence in Worcester life.
He was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on September 19, 1842, a son of John and Lydia (Allen) Whitney, and received his early education in the public schools of Westminster and Worces- ter. In 1856 he became a student in Worcester Academy, where he remained until he began the active business of life. Following the outbreak of the Civil War Mr. Whitney enlisted, in Novem- ber, 1862, in Company F, 5Ist Regiment, Massa- chusetts Volunteer Infantry, serving as a private under Captain John S. Baldwin and Colonel A. B. R. Sprague. His term of enlistment expired on July 27, 1863, when he was mustered out. For some months he had acted as clerk in the provost marshal's office under Major Harkness at Beau- fort, North Carolina.
After his return from the war, Mr. Whitney started in the stationery business in a small house in East Rutland, in partnership with his brother, Sumner A. Whitney. The business was subse- quently moved to a small cottage house which stood for many years at No. 86 Elm Street, and in 1866 Sumner A. Whitney retired, his place be- ing taken by another brother, Edward Whitney. Meanwhile Mr. Whitney had begun to specialize in the manufacture of valentines. Orders came to him in increasing numbers, making larger quarters necessary and within the next few years he moved three times. In 1869 Edward Whitney withdrew from the partnership and George Clarkson Whit- ney continued alone. Before 1868 he bought out at least ten of his competitors in this section of the country, including the J. W. Taft Company of Worcester, the Bullard Art Publishing Company, the A. J. Fisher Company, both of New York, and the business of Esther Howland, which was the most important of all, amounting at the time of purchase to $100,000 a year. In 1869 he purchased the valentine business of Berlin and Jones, the largest manufacturers of valentines in New York. Other departments were gradually added for the production of various specialties, including Christ- mas cards, books and booklets, post cards and calendar pads, together with a great variety of cards, novelties and gifts for particular seasons, such as Christmas, New Year's, Easter, Hal- lowe'en and others. In 1894 the company was in- corporated under its present name with the follow- ing officers: George C. Whitney, president; Wil- liam H. Cook, treasurer; and Edgar Whidden, treasurer. In 1898 the present building was oc- cupied at No. 67 Union Street, to which additions have been made from time to time as they became necessary.
Mr. Whitney continued to be active in the direc- tion of the business until within two years of his death, building a successful organization which continues to operate today on the sound principles which he laid down. His interests, however, were never confined solely to business. He recognized the obligations of civic leadership and took a con- structive part in community movements. Particu- larly notable were his contributions to the church and to the work of various religious and moral agencies. Mr. Whitney became a member of the Young Men's Christian Association in 1864. In 1872-73 and again in 1885-86 he was president of the Worcester branch of this organization; was a member of its building committee and a trustee at the time of his death. In religious faith he was a Baptist and in 1902 was elected president of the Massachusetts Baptist Convention in Boston. For twenty-five years he was superintendent of the First Baptist Sunday School in Worcester and over a long period was a deacon of the church, of which he was a member for more than fifty years. Mr. Whitney was also a member of the Interna- tional Sunday School Committee from 1879 to 1883; served on the State Executive Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association from 1876 to 1883; was a charter member of the Worcester Baptist City Mission Board and its president for many years; was chairman of the executive com- mittee of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society and president of the Baptist Social Union. He was a strong advocate of the temperance move- ment and was active in various temperance organi- zations. Mr. Whitney was a trustee of the City Hospital and the Home for Aged Women. He was a trustee, secretary of the board and a member of the executive and investment committees of Worcester Academy. As a Republican, but with strong non-partisan support, he was elected to the Worcester Common Council in 1883 and 1884, and to the Board of Aldermen as the representative of Ward Eight in 1888 and 1889.
In 1870 George Clarkson Whitney married Amy Ellen Whidden, who was born in Calais, Maine, May 22, 1846, daughter of the Hon. Charles R. and Mila Frances (Smith) Whidden. Her father was born at St. George, New Brunswick, May 22, 1822, a son of General Rendol Whidden. Her mother was a daughter of the Hon. Noah Smith, of Providence, who was a descendant of the founders of the Rhode Island Colony. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney became the parents of three chil- dren: I. Mila Frances, born April 6, 1871. 2. Florence Allen, born September 4, 1878, married the Rev. Harry Emerson Fosdick, pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City. 3. Warren Appleton, an account of whose career follows this.
George Clarkson Whitney died at Worcester on November 7, 1915. His death was sincerely mourned throughout the city and by none more than his employees, with whom he had always maintained the pleasantest relations, manifesting a personal interest in their welfare. His career, in its varied aspects, was of enduring value to those about him.
WARREN APPLETON WHITNEY - Warren A. Whitney, president of the George C. Whitney Company and one of Worcester's leading
28
WORCESTER COUNTY
citizens, was born here on April 16, 1883, son of George Clarkson Whitney (q. v.) and of Amy Ellen (Whidden) Whitney. He has been a life- long resident of this city and is well known not only as a successful business man but for his lead- ership in the Young Men's Christian Association and other community enterprises.
Mr. Whitney was educated in local public schools. He prepared for college at Worcester Academy, from which he was graduated in 1901, and was afterwards a student at Brown University. In 1902, however, he left college to become asso- ciated in business with his father. As the result of personal experience he learned all details con- nected with the company's operation and gradually assumed greater responsibility in its management. In 1908 he was elected vice-president of the com- pany; in 1911 became general manager and after his father's death in 1915, succeeded him as presi- dent and treasurer. The early history of the company appears elsewhere in these pages. It is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of post cards, seasonal greeting cards and novelties in the country. Under Mr. Whitney's guidance the progress of the company has been continued, in spite of a disastrous fire on January 12, 1919, which destroyed almost the entire plant and nearly all the stock on hand. The financial position of the corporation was sufficiently strong to permit an immediate new start to be made and it is today established on a wider and even firmer basis.
At present, the George C. Whitney Company occupies about 125,000 square feet of floor space, employs normally more than five hundred hands, and distributes its varied products throughout the United States. The plant is completely modern and every convenience for employees has been in- stituted, including hospital beds and nurses, group insurance and rest rooms.
Apart from his position as executive head of this company, Mr. Whitney is a director of the Worcester Bank and Trust Company, a director of the Worcester National Bank and a trustee of the Peoples Savings Bank. He has never permitted his business interests to absorb him to the exclusion of other phases of life, however, and has represented his community and its institutions in many respon- sible positions. He is a trustee of Worcester Acad- emy. After the entry of the United States into the World War, he became active in the Liberty Loan and other organized drives characteristic of the period and was a member of the local com- mittee of the American Red Cross. For many years Mr. Whitney has been active in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association at Worcester, recognizing its great value as an in- strumentality for the building of character and citizenship. In 1928 he was elected president of the Association, an honor fully merited by the great assistance he had previously rendered this organization and by the possibilities of still greater service which the position opened to him. In a less prominent way, Mr. Whitney has always lived up to the privileges and duties of good citizenship. He has been active in worthy civic enterprises and welfare movements, has contributed generously to organized charities and has made personal gifts to individual cases of need, which are known only to the many recipients. He is a member of the Worcester Club, the Worcester Country Club, the
Economic Club and others, and is a member of the board of directors of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce. For many years a communicant of the First Baptist Church of Worcester, he has filled, probably, all the chief offices of the church open to a layman.
On April 22, 1909, Warren A. Whitney mar- ried, at Beverly, Massachusetts, Eleanor Hinkley Brown, who was born at Beverly, June 9, 1883, daughter of George P. and Mary (Hinkley) Brown. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney are the parents of two children: I. George C., born September 28, 1910, a graduate of Worcester Academy and Brown University. 2. Virginia, born February 22, 1912, a student at Smith College.
WALLACE WALTER ATWOOD-The name and fame of Dr. Wallace Walter Atwood, geographer, geologist, author, are of general knowl- edge to the educated. The reason why may be readily understood from a listing of some of the things he is and has done, the books written and the societies and organizations of which he is an active member and prominent official. Dr. Atwood is a native of Chicago, Illinois, born October I, 1872, the son of Thomas Green and Adalaide Adelia (Richards) Atwood. Receiving the prelim- inaries of an education in the public schools of his city, he matriculated at the University of Chicago, in 1893, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1897. He won his Doctor's degree in Philosophy from the same university in 1903.
Dr. Atwood began his career as an educator in 1897, as instructor in the Lewis Institute, Chicago, serving as such for two years before becoming an instructor in the Chicago Institute. A school year in this post and he was called to become an in- structor and assistant professor of physiography and general geology in the University of Chicago, 1901 to 1910, and was Associate Professor in the same institution from 1910 to 1913. In 1913 he went to Harvard University as professor of physi- ography, remaining as such until 1920. In this year he was called to become the professor of physical and regional geography, director of the graduate school of geography, at Clark University, Worcester. During that same year Dr. Atwood was elected to the presidency of the University, which office he has graced ever since. Of the con- structive and great work he has done as the head of Clark University, only a professional colleague and intimate friend is capable of judging and sum- marizing.
Previous to his administration, the college and the graduate division were distinct institutions with separate presidents and faculties. During Presi- dent Atwood's administration the two divisions have been merged and the administrative and edu- cational work thoroughly reorganized. In accord- ance with the provisions made when he came to Clark University he has established a Graduate School of Geography, which is the first institution of that type in America An athletic field has been provided for the college, and a dormitory has been erected for the freshmen.
The endowment of the University has been in- creased by over a half a million dollars, and the enrollment has been nearly doubled. The summer school, the home study department, and an exten-
29
WORCESTER COUNTY
sion division have been organized to supplement the other services performed by the University for the benefit of those interested in higher education.
Since 1900, Dr. Atwood has been a geologist of the United States Geological Survey. His assign- ments have taken him into more than half of the states of the Union, but the major part of his work has been in the high mountain regions of the West. Fifteen field seasons have been spent by Dr. At- wood in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, where the travel was always with a pack train, and the daily work involved the investigation of the deepest of canyons and the highest of mountain peaks. Three long field seasons were spent in Alaska exploring the mineral resources of that far away territory. Special investigations have been made of the great mining region about Butte, Montana, and Bingham Canyon, Utah. His studies have taken him to most of the ranges of the Rocky Mountains and to the Grand Canyon of the Colo- rado.
During 1914 to 1918, he was a captain in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Since 1929 he has been a member of the Advisory Board of the National Parks Service, and since 1930, the expert advisor of that same body. He is also president of the National Parks Association. The breadth and variety of his interests are reflected in the follow- ing list of societies and organizations of which he is a member, and of honors which have been con- ferred upon him. Dr. Atwood is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Geo- logical Society of America, Sigma Xi, American Antiquarian Society, Chicago Academy of Sciences, Association of American Geographers, American Geographical Society, National Geographical So- ciety, Sierra Club, Save-the-Redwoods League, Geological Society of Boston, American Forestry Association, National Council of Geography Teach- ers (past president), American Anthropological Society, Foreign member, Swedish Anthropological and Geographical Society, Honorary Senator, University of Breslau.
Dr. Atwood not only has the gift of teaching what he knows by word of mouth, but has added greatly to his reputation as an educator by his numerous books and contributions to popular and technical magazines. He is the founder (1925) and editor of the well-known "Economic Geog- raphy." Among later writings are: A series based upon studies of the San Juan District of Colo- rado, a subject to which he has recurred at numer- ous times since (1911-16), and others of similar character; a group of articles on Geography in America (1919 to 1920), which was followed by the publication of the book "New Geography" in 1920. Not a year has passed during the last decade without some important contribution from his pen. In recent years, Dr. Atwood, in collaboration with H. G. Thomas, has published a list of volumes which included "Life in Far-Away Lands," "The Americas," "Nations Beyond the Seas," " "The United States Among the Nations," "Our State and Continent," "South America and the Old World." In 1931 he published "The World at Work" and "United States Among the Nations."
In 1932 he undertook a geographic study of the highlands of Guatamala, the home of the ancient Mayan people, in collaboration with the officers of the Carnegie Institute of Washington. In 1933 he
was sent to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as the delegate from the United States to the Congress of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History and was elected president of that institute.
Wallace Walter Atwood married, on September 22, 1903, Harriet Towle Bradley, of Chicago, and they are the parents of four children : Rollin Salis- bury, Wallace Richards, Harriet Towle, and Mary Fessenden.
ROSCOE H. GODDARD-Since his installa- tion in the office of executive secretary of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, Roscoe H. Goddard has inaugurated many progressive plans which have been put in successful operation. Through his initiative and influence, the Worcester chamber was among the first to adopt the Trades Council idea in connection with the work of this body. The plan has since been successfully demon- strated by Chambers of Commerce throughout the country.
Mr. Goddard was born in Everett, Massachu- setts, June 29, 1885, son of Frederick Dean God- dard, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, who died in 1920, and Fanny (Gage) Goddard. He passed through the public schools of his native city and entered Tufts College, but left before he com- pleted his course. Having a keen mind for busi- ness, he began his career as a representative of a brokerage firm, whose main offices were in Boston, the members being seated on the Boston Stock Ex- change. He next transferred to the Barrett Com- pany, dealers in coal tar products, and after some time in their service, accepted a position as travel- ing auditor for Armour and Company, of Chi- cago, Illinois.
His association with Chamber of Commerce work followed his resignation from the Armour staff to accept the office of secretary of the Salem Chamber. In this connection his work was of that excellent quality that the directors were loath to part with his services when he announced, in 1923, that he had been called to the executive secretary- ship of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce and had accepted. He was installed here as the suc- cessor of F. D. E. Babcock, and has become one of the moving and most progressive spirits in the organization. During the World War period, he rendered excellent service in working in many of the Liberty Loan drives and in other war work. He is a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.
Mr. Goddard married, in 1907, Alma L. Hinck- ley, a native of this State, and their children are: I. Wesley G., born June 8, 1908. 2. Kenneth K., born January 8, 1918. Mr. Goddard and his fam- ily have their residence at No. 21 Clearview Ave- nue, Worcester.
CHANDLER BULLOCK-A native and a lifelong resident of Worcester, Mr. Bullock has been identified for the past thirty-five years and ever since his graduation from college with one of the outstanding institutions of his native city, the State Mutual Life Assurance Company. By pro- fession a lawyer, Mr. Bullock possesses also un- common business and executive ability. During the past five years he has been the chief executive of this company and for many years he has been prominently identified with numerous other finan- cial and business enterprises, both in Worcester and
30
WORCESTER COUNTY
elsewhere. All these have been greatly benefited by his keen judgment and his wise counsel. These he has also placed freely at the disposal of the city of Worcester and its people in connection with the work of various civic organizations, institutions and movements. The general respect, confidence and regard, freely accorded to him by all classes of his fellow-citizens, have been his much cherished reward for his constant public spirit and for his unselfish service.
Chandler Bullock was born at Worcester, Au- gust 24, 1872, a son of Augustus George and Mary (Chandler) Bullock. He received his early edu- cation in the public grammar and high schools of his native city and then attended Harvard College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1894. He then entered the Harvard Law School, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1897. Immediately after his admittance to the Massachusetts bar in 1897, he became an attorney for the State Mutual Life Assurance Company at Worcester. In 1903 he was appointed general counsel of this company and still later, in 1920, vice-president. He served in this office until 1927, since when he has been president of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company. Mr. Bullock is also vice-president of the Worcester Five Cents Savings Bank; a director of the Worcester Electric Light Company, the United Bancroft Hotel Company, the Worcester Morris Plan Bank, the Worcester County National Bank, and a director of the Worcester Bank and Trust Company, all of Worcester, and the Boston and Albany Railroad, and the Providence and Worces- ter Railroad. During the World War Mr. Bul- lock served as chairman of a district selective service board. He was also a member of the board of trustees of the Worcester Public Library during 19II-19 and served as chairman of the board in 1919. He is a member of the board of trustees of Worcester Academy and the Bancroft School, both of Worcester; treasurer and a member of the membership council of the American Antiquarian Society and a member of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, of which he served as president during 1918. Fraternally he is associated with the Masonic order. His clubs include the Shakes- peare Club and the Bohemian Club, of Worcester; the Union Club of Boston; and the University Club of New York City. In politics he is a sup- porter of the Republican party, while his religious affiliations are with the Protestant Episcopal
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.