Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 78

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

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CHARLES AIRMET DeLAND, M. D .- Following closely in his father's footsteps, Dr. Charles A. DeLand established himself in the prac- tice of medicine at Warren and has become one of the leading physicians of this part of the county. He has long been chief medical examiner for Dis- trict No. 9 of Worcester County and was chairman of the Warren School Board and the board of health. In addition he serves as medical examiner for a number of insurance companies.

Dr. DeLand's father, Dr. Airmet Brazier De- Land, was born in West Brookfield and graduated from Middlebury Medical College. He began practice in Auburn and in 1862 removed to War- ren, where he was professionally engaged until 1881, the year of his death. He had built up a large practice and had many staunch friends. He married Clara M. Tallman, a native of Sutton, Massachusetts.

Charles Airmet DeLand, son of Dr. Airmet Brazier and Clara M. (Tallman) DeLand, was born in Auburn, Massachusetts, February 1, 1860, and attended the local schools, graduating from the War- ren High School in 1879. Desirous of making medi- cine his profession, he entered Harvard Medical School, where he was graduated with his degree of Doctor of Medicine in the class of 1885. In practice he has always been identified with his native town, his length of service to his people as a physician having covered a period of fifty years. For a con- siderable time he filled the post of associate medical examiner of District No. 9 in Worcester County and then was advanced to chief examiner, which office he has held for fifteen years. In 1891 he was commissioned a medical examiner for the Metro- politan Life Insurance Company of New York and has since been continuously retained in this ca- pacity. In appreciation of his long tenure of the office, the company has presented him with a valua.

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ble service medal. His first recognition of the kind was a gold bar with diamond, and successive awards were similarly adorned gold bars, while at the end of his twoscore years he was presented with a beautifully wrought design ornamented with a diamond and a sapphire. His similar service for a number of other life insurance companies has been helpful in the relations of their clients to the companies themselves. During the World War Dr. DeLand served in the Volunteer Medical Serv- ice Corps. He is on the staff of the Mary Lane Hospital, Ware, and the Wing Memorial Hospital, Palmer. He is a member of the American Med- ical Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Medico-Legal Society, and Brook- field Medical Club.

In politics he is a Republican and has served well the local organization of his party. He is greatly interested in the promotion of education and has been a member of the Warren School Board for twenty-six years. Holding the chair- manship of the board for the last several years, he exerts a strong influence for the efficiency and progress of the schools in Warren. For six years he was chairman of the board of health. He is affiliated with Quaboag Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and King Solomon's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of which he was High Priest from 1903 to 1906. He is a member of the Warren Thief Detecting Agency and of the Congregational Church.

Dr. Charles Airmet DeLand married, September 8, 1886, Edna E. Buck, of Hartford, Connecticut, daughter of Silas and Clarissa (Norton) Buck. Dr. and Mrs. DeLand's children are: I. Hazel. 2. Dorothy, married Robert M. Stone, and resides at No. 35 Foxcroft Road, Winchester, this State; she has a daughter, Ruth, and a son, Edward; she is a graduate of Wellesley College. 3. Charles A., Jr., a graduate of Williams College and em- ployed in the art department of the "Boston Post"; he married Gladys Day. Mrs. DeLand is prom- inent in women's affairs, and is a Past Worthy Matron of Forest Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, in which she and her husband are charter members. She is also a Past District Deputy of the same order, and is a member of the Social Club at Ware, the Tuesday Club of Warren, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. For many years she has been an infirmary visitor of the State department of public welfare, Meriden, Con- necticut.

EDWIN BATES TAPLEY-A salesman by nature and choice, Edwin Bates Tapley, after an extensive and varied experience along this line, came to Worcester to sell automobile tires and within six years was the manager of the largest tire and supplies concern in New England. He was born at Boston, October 10, 1899, a son of Louis Edmund and Kathryn Florence (Gately) Tapley, his mother being a native of Ireland and his father a Canadian. Louis Edmund Tapley is a retired government official, at the time of writing, residing at St. John, New Brunswick.

Edwin Bates Tapley was educated in the St. John grade and high schools and completed courses in a local business college. The World War inter- rupted his business career, as he enlisted at the start and served nearly four years with the Cana- dian and British Expeditionary Forces. A part of

this time he was employed in the Army Post Office in London, England. Upon his return to civilian life Mr. Tapley was engaged as a salesman by a Canadian paper company, doing business mainly in Canada. In 1921 he came to Boston, and for nearly three years traveled for Swift and Company, following this with a connection with the Tobler Swiss Chocolate Company. Other enterprises en- gaged his attention until 1925, when he was offered the position of junior salesman for the Brewer Tire Stores of Worcester, a position he held with efficiency and success. On January 9, 1929, the Power Tire Stores absorbed the Brewer Tire Com- pany, and he continued with the new associates until November 1, 1929, when he resigned to be- come the factory representative of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. On July 13, 1931, Mr. Tapley was appointed manager of the Fire- stone Service Stores, Inc., the largest concern of its kind in New England. This corporation has one of the finest locations for its business in Worcester and occupies an entire block. All sup- plies produced by the Firestone company are kept in stock and every sort of motor service is given except mechanical. The position was one requir- ing ability, foresight, and decision, a dynamic yet pleasing personality, and character and integrity, all of which Mr. Tapley possesses. On September 28, 1932, Mr. Tapley resigned his position and on July 1, 1933, he opened a fine place of busi- ness for himself at the northwest corner of South- bridge and Madison streets, where he carries a complete line of everything in automobile acces- sories and supplies.

On February II, 1929, at Worcester, Mr. Tap- ley married Mary Virginia Monahan, of this city, and they are the parents of two daughters: I. Patricia, born September 15, 1929. 2. Eleanor Anne, born December 15, 1930.

BENJAMIN FREMONT STUART-The name of Stuart has long been associated with the business life of Worcester County, particularly with the Baldwinsville furniture business of the Temple-Stuart Company, of which Benjamin Fre- mont Stuart is president. His activities in the life of his community and county have been useful from the very outset of his career.

Mr. Stuart was born at Princeton, Massachu- setts, on February 19, 1889, son of Arthur L. and Mary Gertrude (Bartlett) Stuart. The Stuart family is an old and honorable one, his grand- father, John H. Stuart, having established the furniture manufacturing business originally in Princeton and having there continued his work throughout life. Arthur L. Stuart also took up the business; but the plant at Princeton was burned to the ground shortly after the death of his father, whereupon Arthur L. Stuart removed to Bald- winsville. That was in 1910. He purchased here the plant of the Holman-Harris Company, which was then on the very site where the Temple- Stuart Company has continued its work. The business was incorporated as early as 1904, when it was still in Princeton. Arthur L. Stuart, father of the man whose name heads this review, was active until his death, on February 10, 1928. The name of Temple, in connection with the business, came from John H. Temple, brother-in-law of Arthur L. Stuart; he died in 1904, whereupon his wife, Mrs. Temple, came into the business. After

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her death, in 1930, the Stuart brothers, Benjamin Fremont, Carl Bartlett and John Howell Stuart, took over complete management and control.

In the schools of Princeton, his place of birth, Benjamin Fremont Stuart received his early edu- cation, being graduated from high school there. He then attended the Worcester Business Institute, where he was graduated in 1911. Entering busi- ness with his father, he learned all the details of the furniture trade, starting at the bottom and working his way upward. At the time of his father's death, in 1928, he was a director of the company and he was thereupon made its president. The officers of the Temple-Stuart Company, aside from him, are: Carl Bartlett Stuart, treasurer; and John H. Stuart, vice-president. Records of their careers are found under separate headings in this volume.

Quite apart from his work with the furniture company described above, Mr. Stuart is a direc- tor of the Gardner Trust Company and the Bald- winsville Cooperative Bank. He is also a leader in social, civic and fraternal life, being affiliated with Hope Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, as well as with North Star Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Winchendon; Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templar; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. In the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he is con- nected with Narragansett Lodge. Into all the organizations enumerated above, he has consistently put his finest energies, with the result that his work is known and appreciated and he himself is respected and honored in his community.

Benjamin F. Stuart married, August 26, 1912, in Princeton, Mary Alice Perry, daughter of Joseph N. and Lucy (Porter) Perry. The children by this marriage were: I. Benjamin F., Jr., born August 24, 1913. 2. Bartlett Perry, born Janu- ary 19, 1915. 3. George Arthur, born November 8, 1918. 4. Clayton Edward, born April 23, 1920. 5. Jane Helen, born January 20, 1927.

CARL BARTLETT STUART-One of the members of the family of Stuart who has per- formed a useful work in Worcester County is Carl Bartlett Stuart, treasurer of the Temple-Stuart Company. His work has been highly useful in this furniture business and in the different realms of civic life in which he has participated.

Mr. Stuart was born at Princeton, Massachu- setts, the former home of the family, on Septem- ber 14, 1891, son of Arthur L. and Mary Ger- trude (Bartlett) Stuart, both now deceased, and grandson of John H. Stuart. A record of Arthur L. Stuart's career and a brief history of the business bearing the family name will be found in the preceding article.

Carl Bartlett Stuart was graduated from Prince- ton High School, Worcester Academy, and Worces- ter Business Institute, and thereupon associated himself with his father, learning the business in detail from the bottom upward. They specialized in breakfast-room furniture and chairs. At the time of his father's death, Carl B. Stuart was made treasurer of the company, the position that he has retained continuously since that time.

He has by no means confined his efforts and activities to this one branch of Baldwinsville and Worcester County life, however, having been in- vited from time to time to take part in the work

of different organizations of a business, civic and social nature. He is today a director of the First National Bank of Gardner. In the Free and Accepted Masons he is affiliated with Hope Lodge; North Star Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Ivan- hoe Commandery, Knights Templar; and other groups connected with Masonry. He likewise is a member of Narragansett Lodge, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, of Baldwinsville.

During the World War period, Mr. Stuart served his country well, enlisting on December 17, 1917, in the United States Naval Aviation Corps. He was, first of all, stationed at Boston, sailing overseas on January 10, 1918, and serving in France with the Naval Aviation Corps until Au- gust, 1919. For sixteen months he was at Pouil- lac, on the Gironde River, after which he was for three months stationed at Brest. At Brest his work was centered at the factory where all hydro- planes in the service were inspected. He was over a long period first-class storekeeper in the navy supply department. Honorably discharged in Sep- tember, 1919, he returned to his native land to go ahead with his business activities. Since that time the plant has been greatly enlarged and improved, new machinery has been installed, and additions have been built. In normal times the company employs one hundred men.

Carl Bartlett Stuart married, November 28, 1917, at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Villa Estelle Hobbs, daughter of George and Jennie (Carter) Hobbs, the latter now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Stuart are the parents of two children: I. Robert Temple, born July 1, 1920. 2. Ruth Charlotte, born August 4, 1925.

JOHN HOWELL STUART-As vice-presi- dent and sales manager, John Howell Stuart per- forms his part in the work of conducting the furniture house known as the Temple-Stuart Com- pany, of Baldwinsville. He is widely known among the business people of this place, Worcester County and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

He began life on April 22, 1899, having been born at Princeton, the former seat of the Stuart family. His parents were Arthur L. and Mary Gertrude (Bartlett) Stuart, both now deceased, and his grandfather was John H. Stuart. The lat- ter was the first of three generations of his fam- ily to be engaged in the furniture business, a brief history of which will be found in the preceding article.

In addition to his activities with this company, John H. Stuart has interested himself in civic, social and fraternal life, being affiliated with many prominent Worcester County organizations and through them aiding in the promotion of the pub- lic weal. In the Free and Accepted Masons he is a member of Hope Lodge; North Star Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; Ivanhoe Commandery, Knights Templar; and other bodies. He also be- longs to Narragansett Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and to the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. During the World War Mr. Stuart was stationed at the Naval Training School at Tufts Medical College.

John Howell Stuart married, at Fitchburg, Ruth Zander. They have two children: I. Donald Ed- ward, born August 2. 1925. 2. Joan Ellen, born April 13, 1932. The family home is at Gardner.

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ALEXANDER DeWITT-For more than half a century, Alexander DeWitt occupied a dis- tinguished place in the life of Worcester. He came to this city as a young man, rose to prominence in business and banking circles and through his many services to the city and its representative institu- tions won the affection of its people.

Mr. DeWitt was born on March 7, 1854, at Pepperell, Massachusetts, only child of Horace Smith and Sarah Jane (Phelps) De Witt. The fam- ily whose name he bore was established in America by John (1) Witt, of Holland, who settled at Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1630. From him the line is traced through John (2) Witt, his son; John (3) Witt; John (4) Witt; and Benjamin Witt, in the fifth American generation, who was a sol- dier of the Revolution. He married Olivia Camp- bell and they became the parents of nine children, of whom the eighth was Nancy, born March 29, 1800. She married Horace Smith, of Leicester, Massachusetts, and upon her death, in 1830, her two children were adopted by her brother, Colo- nel Alexander DeWitt. These children were Eliza L. and Horace DeWitt Smith. The latter, fol- lowing his adoption by his uncle, changed his name to Horace Smith DeWitt. He was the father of Alexander DeWitt of this record.

When Alexander DeWitt was still in early child- hood, his parents moved to Sutton, Massachu- setts. His father died there in 1859 and young Alexander was reared by his grandfather, Colo- nel Alexander DeWitt, as his father was before him. Colonel Alexander DeWitt was a very dis- tinguished figure. He was born on April 2, 1798, at New Braintree, the seventh child of Benjamin and Olivia (Campbell) Witt. At the age of fifteen, he took a position in the store of the Merino Manufacturing Company at Dudley, Massachusetts, and remained there till 1818 when he removed to Franklin, where he was engaged in the manufacture of cotton thread in partnership with Dr. Miller. The next year he started a mill and country store at Oxford, selling from his wagon the thread he made. In 1824, with his three brothers, Sterns, Archibald and Hollis, he established a small business in Buf- fum Village, Oxford, and with the increase of his means, he became largely interested in wool and cotton manufacturing elsewhere. He acquired wealth and made many investments in railroads, insurance companies and other concerns. Colo- nel DeWitt was a director of the Worcester Me- chanics' and Farmers' Insurance Company for twenty-six years; a director of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester for an equal period; was connected for twenty years with the Mechanics' Savings Bank of Worcester as trustee and president; was a director and for nine years president of the Mechanics' National Bank of Worcester; and for five years was president of the Oxford Bank. He was president of the Worces- ter and Nashua Railroad for three years; a direc- tor of the Providence and Worcester Railroad and of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad. Colonel DeWitt was often moderator of the Ox- ford town meetings, served as a representative to the General Court and in the State Senate, and in 1852 and 1854 was elected to Congress, receiv- ing both the Whig and Democratic nominations. He prospered through his own efforts and served his people well, receiving from them many honors. Colonel DeWitt died on January 13, 1879. He

married, June 5, 1820, Mary Makepeace, who died on April 6, 1887.

Alexander DeWitt, whose name heads this re- view. received his preliminary education in the public schools of Sutton and at Oxford. Subse- quently he attended Leicester Academy. In 1871 he came to Worcester and began his active career in the office of Kinnicutt and Company, hardware merchants, with whom he remained for ten years. From 1881 to 1883 he was associated with the firm of J. and J. Murdock, manufacturers of card clothing at Leicester, and in 1884 entered the banking field at Worcester, in partnership with Lincoln N. Kinnicutt. This firm continued until January, 1906. Mr. DeWitt was engaged in bank- ing and a leading banker of Worcester for many years. His energy and sound business judgment were reflected in the accomplishments of his career and his integrity won him the complete confidence of all who knew him. He negotiated the success- ful purchase and reorganization of the Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company, later the Worces- ter Trust Company, and served as a director of that company. When this bank still later became the Worcester Bank and Trust Company, he con- tinued as a director. He was also a trustee of the People's Savings Bank. He gave his time and effort freely in community and welfare work, meeting all the duties of good citizenship and never failing in the responsibilities of leadership which devolved upon him. For many years he served as treasurer and trustee of the Home for Aged Men and also as a trustee of the Memorial Hospital. Mr. DeWitt was a charter member of the Worces- ter Club, a member of the Tatnuck Country Club, the Worcester Country Club and the Union Club of Boston. He was fond of travel and of out- door life, and also in later years found much pleas- ure in golf.

On September 21, 1880, Alexander DeWitt mar- ried Caroline Murdock of Leicester, daughter of Joshua and Julia T. (Hurd) Murdock and a mem- ber of the well-known Colonial family of this name. Deacon Joshua Murdock, born October 28, 1780, served his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker and in 18II settled in Leicester, where he had a small shop and carried on business until his death on December 30, 1859. He was a master crafts- man and the many examples of his work still in existence are highly prized. On June 3, 1806, he married Clarissa Hartshorn of Medfield and among their children was Joshua Murdock, born in Leices- ter, who married Julia T. Hurd. They were the parents of Mrs. Alexander DeWitt. The firm of J. and J. Murdock, manufacturers of card cloth- ing at Leicester, was later developed from an older company. It was established in 1843. In 1848 Joshua Murdock took into the business his brother Joseph and in 1858 another brother, John, entered the firm. With the death of Joshua in 1883, a fourth brother, Julius, became a partner. This concern became one of the best known and largest enterprises of its kind in New England.

Caroline (Murdock) DeWitt, daughter of Joshua and Julia T. (Hurd) Murdock, was born in Leices- ter, November 4, 1854. She attended Leicester Academy at the same time that her future husband, Alexander DeWitt, was a student, there (each then thirteen years of age), and the romance which began then culminated in their marriage on Sep- tember 21, 1880, Mrs. DeWitt's mother's birth-

Alexander Dr Nitt

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day. Mrs. DeWitt, who survives her husband, continues her residence in Worcester. She has long been active in community affairs in this city, is a member of the Worcester Music Festival, the Art Museum, the Tatnuck Country Club and was formerly prominent in the Worcester Woman's Club. She is a member of All Saints Episcopal Church.

Alexander DeWitt died at Worcester on Novem- ber 7, 1923, in his seventieth year. His death brought to its close a long and active career whose constructive influences were of enduring value to the city in which he lived so many years. He was honored for his accomplishments, respected for his individual worth of character and loved for the many appealing qualities which he manifested in his daily contacts and associations.

RAYMOND S. HUNTINGTON-Assistant treasurer of the Worcester, Home, and Equity Cooperative Banks, Raymond S. Huntington has devoted his entire business career to banking and finance, rising through various positions with sev- eral Worcester financial institutions to his present responsible office.

Mr. Huntington was born in West Boylston, October 19, 1891, a son of Whitman and Nellie (Chase) Huntington. His father, who was born in Nova Scotia, is now deceased. The mother is a native of West Boylston.

Raymond S. Huntington received his early edu- cation in the public schools. He was graduated from high school in 1909 and took a course in business college before entering the employ of the Worcester Bank and Trust Company in 1910 as clerk and bookkeeper. He remained with this institution for eleven years, winning gradual ad- vancement. Following the entry of the United States into the World War, he enlisted on Sep- tember 21, 1917, as a member of Company M, 102d Infantry, 26th Division. He went overseas with these troops, which formed part of the Amer- ican Expeditionary Forces, and served in France for one year. Three months of this time he was at the front. At the close of the war he received his honorable discharge on February 13, 1919, and returned to his position with the Worcester Bank and Trust Company.

In 1921 Mr. Huntington entered the employ of the Merchants National Bank as bookkeeper and a few weeks later became teller. He resigned in September, 1928, to accept appointment as assist- ant treasurer of the Worcester, Home, and Equity Cooperative Banks and has since served in this position. His successful record and long experi- ence ideally qualify him for the position, and his services have been of continued value to the insti- tution with which he is connected.

Apart from his business interests, Mr. Hunting- ton is active in other phases of Worcester life. He is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Ma- sons, being a member in this order of all the bodies of both the York and Scottish Rites, including Boylston Lodge, West Boylston, of which he is a Past Master; S. W. Lawrence Chapter, Rose Croix; Worcester County Commandery, Knights Templar, and the Consistory, in which he has taken the thirty-second degree. Mr. Huntington is also affiliated with the American Legion, being a Past Commander of H. N. Keith Post, No. 204, of

West Boylston, and is a member of the Wor- cester Kiwanis Club. He is a Republican in politics and, in religious faith, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

On June 14, 1914, Raymond S. Huntington mar- ried Lillie M. Phillips, a native of this State. They maintain their residence at Oakdale.

REV. JOHN W. FINNERTY-The Church of the Immaculate Conception at Lancaster, of which the Rev. John W. Finnerty is now pastor, was established about 1870 as a mission church of St. John's parish in Clinton. Shortly afterwards the present church was built. The Church of the Immaculate Conception was continued as a mis- sion until September, 1915, when it was made a parish. The pastor of that time was the Rev. John F. Boyle, who had previously served as assist- ant at St. Bernard's Church, Fitchburg, and was now given his first appointment as pastor.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 78

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