Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 9

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 9

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JOHN D. COE-One of the substantial busi- ness men and public-minded citizens of Worcester, of which city he is a native and a lifelong resident, John D. Coe, without the aid of others or any special influence has risen from messenger boy in one of the banks to become teller, then resigned to become a partner with Maurice F. Reidy, now one of the largest concerns of its kind in the city. During his years in Worcester he has become closely identified with the life and activities of the city, and prominent in fraternal circles.

He was born in Worcester, July 10, 1880, the son of S. Hamilton Coe, who was for many years a prominent figure in the insurance world of Worcester, carrying on business until his death, October II, 1931. His father, S. Hamilton, mar- ried Mary Ellen (Boyden) Coe. John D. Coe was educated in the grade and high schools and began his business career as a messenger in the Worcester National Bank. With this corporation he remained for fourteen years, being promoted to various posts until he was made teller. He was a most valuable employee and his resignation was much regretted by the bank he had served so well. After his resignation he founded a partnership under the firm name of Reidy, Coe and Company, and in this he has since 1913 been actively engaged, carrying on an insurance business which now is one of the largest concerns of its kind in Worcester.

Mr. Coe is manager of the insurance business of the partnership with offices in the State Mutual Building.

Fraternally Mr. Coe is affiliated with the An- cient Free and Accepted Masons, being a member of all bodies of Masonry, including the Scottish Rite in which he has attained the thirty-second degree, also all the York Rite bodies including An- cient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. His clubs are the Commonwealth and Quinsiga- mond Boat Club. He is a member of St. Luke's Church and interested in its activities. Mr. Coe, while interested in all sorts of civic, social and other similar activities, is much inclined to devote himself to business above all else.

SAMUEL FOSS HOLMES, Ph. B .- Ever since the completion of his own education, more than a quarter of a century ago, Mr. Holmes has been successfully engaged in educational work. The greater part of his professional career to the time of writing has been spent with Worcester Academy, of which famous educational institution he has been the headmaster since 1919. Under his able and progressive management the Academy, one of the oldest and best known private preparatory schools for boys in this part of New England, has continued to maintain the position of leadership which it has enjoyed for many years. Mr. Holmes is widely and favorably known in educational cir- cles as a capable educational administrator and is a popular member of several educational organi- zations and social clubs.

Samuel Foss Holmes was born at Portland, Maine, March 9, 1881, a son of Wilbur Fisk and Mary Evelyn (Howe) Holmes and a member of old and prominent New England families. He pre- pared for college at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary, Kents Hill, Maine, from which he was graduated in 1900. From there he went to Wesleyan Uni- versity, Middletown, Connecticut, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1904. He also holds a Master of Arts degree from this institution, conferred upon him in 1910. Mr. Holmes began his educational career as a member of the faculty of his alma mater, serving as an assistant in English at Wesleyan University from 1904 until 1906. Following one year as master of English at the Peekskill (New York) Military Academy, where he taught during 1906-07, he be- came a member of the faculty of Worcester Acad- emy in 1907 and since then he has continued to be identified with this school. After serving at first as an instructor of English from 1907 until 1911, he was made a master of English, which position he held from 1911 until 1918. During 1918-19, hie was acting headmaster and since 1919 he has been headmaster of the Academy.

Worcester Academy, to the modern development of which Mr. Holmes has made many important contributions, was founded on a very modest scale in 1834 by a group of Baptist residents of Worces- ter, with Isaac Davis as the first president of the first board of trustees. It was originally called the Worcester County Manual Labor High School. Its first principal was Rev. Silas Bailey, who served from 1834 until 1838. He was succeeded by Professor S. S. Greene, who served from 1838 until 1840, and by Nelson Wheeler, who served from 1840 until 1844. Though the school served a very definite need and served it well, it was forced to

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close for lack of funds in 1844. However, in 1845 it was enabled to reopen, additional funds having been subscribed. Two years later, in 1847, its name was changed to its present form. Soon after its reopening, Eli Thayer, who had received his early education at the Academy and then was graduated from Yale University, became headmaster. Under him and his successor, Isaac Davis, who had been identified with the Academy since its foundation, the institution enjoyed at times a considerable measure of success and prosperity, but at other times had to fight hard to continue in existence. At one time it was even threatened with extinction of its individuality, when it was proposed to merge it with the Newton Theological Seminary, the ac- complishment of this project being prevented only through the intervention of the State, the authori- ties of which refused to consent to such an arrange- ment. After that Professor William C. Poland, later a member of the faculty of Brown Univer- sity, was headmaster for several years. He was succeeded by Professor Nathan Leavenworth. In 1882 Dr. Daniel W. Abercrombie became head- master, in which capacity he continued to serve with great success for thirty-six years until he resigned in 1918. Under his long and very able administration the Academy enjoyed steady growth and its reputation was greatly enhanced until today its graduates are welcomed by even the most dis- criminating institutions of higher learning. This reputation has been fully maintained by Dr. Aber- crombie's successor, the present headmaster and the subject of this article, Mr. Samuel Foss Holmes. The enrollment is limited to two hundred and fifty boys. The academy, which is beautifully located and has a very complete equipment of mod- ern buildings and a fine athletic field, is well known for the thorough college preparation which its stu- dents receive. It has a large and carefully selected faculty and may justly be proud of the high rank which it holds in the educational world, and for the important services which it has rendered for so long to the cause of education.

Mr. Holmes is a member of the Headmasters' Association, the New England Association of Col- leges and Secondary Schools, the National Educa- tion Association and the New England Association of Teachers of English, as well as the honorary scholastic society of Phi Beta Kappa. He is also a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and of the Worcester, Rotary, Shakespeare, and Friday clubs, all of Worcester, and of the Brooklawn Country Club of Bridgeport, Connecticut. In poli- tics he is a supporter of the Republican party, while his religious affiliations are with the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Mr. Holmes married (first), December 26, 1908, Mary D. Adams, of West Newton, Massachusetts, and (second), June 30, 1929, Katherine Wheeler Clark, of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

JAMES E. STINSON is treasurer of Stark, Johnson and Stinson, one of the best known gen- eral insurance companies of Worcester. He was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 6, 1892, the son of Thomas and Isabelle F. (Fraley) Stin- son, the former of whom was a well-known Phila- delphia manufacturer. He matriculated at Haver- ford College and attended Princeton University with the class of 1914.

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Mr. Stinson began his career in business as an employee of the United Gas Improvement Company of Philadelphia, serving as cadet engineer previous to the period of the United States participation in the World War. He started his career in the in- surance business at Worcester. The history, in brief, of the company of which he is now an execu- tive is this: In 1908 William N. Stark established a general insurance business under his own name; in 1919 he took in as partners, Charles W. John- son, James E. Stinson, and Fred P. Abbott, the concern being known as William N. Stark and Company. Mr. Abbott soon withdrew; in 1925 the associates called themselves Stark, Johnson and Stinson. In 1928 Mr. Stark retired and died two years later. In 1931 the business was incorporated as Stark, Johnson and Stinson, with C. W. Johnson as president and Mr. Stinson as treasurer. All forms of insurance are written including life, and the company has been successful in gaining a large clientele.

Mr. Stinson is married to Dorothy Beacon, formerly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of two children: Thomas B., born October 23, 1917; and Mary E., born June 9, 1922.

DR. HOMER GAGE Fellow of the Ameri- can College of Surgeons and for many years a dis- tinguished figure in his profession, Dr. Homer Gage has been equally active in the business and civic life of Worcester. His career has been notable for the constructive value of his accomplishments and the broad range of his interests.

Dr. Gage was born in Worcester on October 18, 1861, a son of Thomas Hovey and Annie M. (Lane) Gage and a descendant, both paternally and ma- ternally, of old Massachusetts families. He re- ceived his preliminary education in local public schools, prepared for college at Worcester High School and in 1878 entered Harvard, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1882 magna cum laude. Subsequently he received the Master of Arts degree cum laude. He entered Harvard Medical School in preparation for his chosen career and was graduated with the de- gree of Doctor of Medicine in 1887. Returning to Worcester, he established himself in general prac- tice as a physician. He was chiefly interested in surgery, however, and gradually limited his prac- tice solely to that field. In his professional pur- suits, Dr. Gage was successful from the begin- ning. He built up a wide local practice and through the merits of his services achieved a dis- tinguished reputation which brought him recogni- tion throughout the country. Dr. Gage has re- ceived many honors at the hands of his colleagues. In addition to his election as a Fellow of the Amer- ican College of Surgeons, he was chosen vice-presi- dent of the American Surgical Association and president of the New England Surgical Associa- tion. In both of these organizations he was active for many years. He is also a member and in 1917 was president of the Association of Life Insurance Medical Directors, to which he is eligible through his connection with the State Mutual Life Assur- ance Company. He is both medical director and a member of the board of directors of that company. At Worcester, he was for twenty-five years visit- ing surgeon to the Worcester City Hospital and

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helped to establish St. Vincent's Hospital, serving as visiting surgeon for ten years and for thirty- five years he served in the same capacity at Memo- rial Hospital. He is now president of the board of trustees of the latter institution and has contributed much to its progress. Dr. Gage has written many articles on medical and surgical topics and these have been published in various professional journals.

Dr. Gage has been hardly less active in business and financial life. He is a director of the First National Bank of Boston, the Old Colony Trust Company of Boston, the Worcester County Na- tional Bank, the Worcester Bank and Trust Com- , pany and a trustee of the Worcester County Insti- tution for Savings. In 1921, upon the death of his brother-in-law, he was elected president of the Crompton and Knowles Loom Works and has since occupied that office. His sound judgment and ex- ecutive capacity have won him the profound re- spect not only of his associates but of industrial leaders throughout the county. During the past decade he has risen to a position of prominence in business life entirely comparable with his high professional standing.

In spite of the pressure of his own affairs, Dr. Gage has never neglected the duties of good cit- izenship. He has given his services freely to a wide variety of civic projects and has always been willing to assume the obligations of leadership in . these enterprises when convinced that he could genuinely be of service. He is president of the Worcester Community Chest and since 1921 has been president of the Golden Rule drives, taking a personal interest in caring for the needier classes of the community. Since 1907 he has been a trustee of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and since 19II has been treasurer of that institution, which con- ferred upon him in 1929 the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering in recognition of his many services to the school and his distinguished position in Worcester life. Dr. Gage has also been a mem- ber of the Board of Overseers of Harvard Uni- versity since 1921 and is now a member of the ex- ecutive committee of the board and chairman of the committee on honorary degrees. He was chairman and the guiding spirit of the American Committee which built a dormitory for 250 American students at the University of Paris and is now vice-president of the Conseil d'Administration de Fondation des Etats Unis. For his work in this connection, he was made a Commander of the Legion of Honor of France while Mrs. Gage, who shares his inter- est in the undertaking, was made an officier of the Legion of Honor. She has rendered other services to American institutions in France, being a director of the American Hospital at Rheims and American President of the "Fraternité Franco-Americaine."

During the World War, Dr. Gage enlisted in the United States Army Medical Corps, was commis- sioned major and served in the Surgical Division at Camp Devens from 1917 to 1919. He was pro- moted to lieutenant-colonel and received his honor- able discharge with that rank in 1919. He also did his full share in the numerous Liberty Loan and welfare drives of the World War period. Dr. Gage is a member of the Worcester Club, Tatnuck Club, the Union Club of Boston and the Harvard Club of New York and Boston, the University Club of Paris and Interallié of Paris. The passing years

diminishing but little his many activities, have brought him added honors and respect.

On July 15, 1893, Dr. Homer Gage married Mabel Reynolds Knowles of Worcester.

SAMUEL B. WOODWARD, M. D .- As physician, surgeon, financier and civic leader, Dr. Samuel B. Woodward has played a prominent rôle in the drama of Worcester, Massachusetts, life. He is a native of the city, born August 24, 1853, and, except for the period of his scholastic and professional training, his whole career has been associated with the development of this place. His parents were Samuel and Lucy Elizabeth Rogers (Treadwell) Woodward; and his father, though born in Connecticut, spent all of his mature years as a merchant in Worcester. Mrs. Wood- ward was a native of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Both parents are now deceased, the father having passed away in 1888 and the mother in 1857.

Samuel B. Woodward, whose name heads this review and who has figured so prominently in pro- fessional affairs in this city, received his prelim- inary education in the public schools here, later becoming a student at Harvard University. From that institution, he was graduated in 1874 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In preparation for a medical career, he matriculated at the Harvard Medical School, from which he was graduated in 1878 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. For eighteen months thereafter, he was an interne at Boston City Hospital. Then, going abroad, he studied in hospitals and universities at Dublin, London, Paris, Vienna, and Strassburg.

After this most extensive and intensive training for his exacting profession, Dr. Woodward began his active work as a physician in Worcester, Mas- sachusetts, devoting himself to the general prac- tice of medicine and surgery until 1921. Success- ful from the very outset of his career, he won high place by his achievements, not only among the growing number of patients in his community, but also in the ranks of his colleagues in the county and State at large.

He was also a popular figure in the different societies of the medical profession, and a frequent contributor to medical journals and the general press. His articles and papers on important med- ical questions were favorably received, winning him a place of high regard in a wide professional circle. Recognized as one of the leading surgeons in this part of Massachusetts, he served for many years on the surgical staffs of the three Worcester hos- pitals, City, Memorial and St. Vincent's, became president of the trustees of Memorial and is still a member of the board. During the World War, Dr. Woodward placed himself at the command of the government. He was prominent on many of the boards and committees organized to carry on the wartime program, and active in financial cam- paigns, receiving a certificate from Washington for his services.

In 1921, retiring from the practice of medicine, Dr. Woodward began to devote himself wholly to financial affairs. In 1912 he became president of the Worcester County Institution for Savings; and since then he has continued in this office. This en- terprise is more than a century old, having been organized in 1828. At the time of writing (1932),

Samme ViNovana

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it has total assets of $61,561,927.23, that having been the figure as of January 2, 1932. The first savings bank in Worcester County, it is now not only the oldest but the largest. Its first president was Daniel Waldo, who served from 1828 to 1845. Dr. Woodward is the sixth president, the inter- vening chief executive officers having been: Ste- phen Salisbury, from 1845 to 1871; Alexander Bullock, from 1871 to 1882; Stephen Salisbury, Jr., from 1882 to 1904; Charles A. Chase, from 1904 to 1908, and Alfred Aiken from 1908 to 1912. The treasurers have also been six in number in this more-than-a-century period of time: first, Samuel Jennison, from 1828 to 1853; second, Charles A. Hamilton, from 1853 to 1879; third, Charles A. Chase, from 1879 to 1904; fourth, Al- fred L. Aiken, from 1904 to 1908; fifth, Albert L. Stratton, from 1908 to 1920; and sixth, Dwight S. Pierce, since 1920. In addition to Dr. Wood- ward, president, and Mr. Pierce, treasurer, the other executive officers are now Waldo Lincoln, Leonard Wheeler, and T. Hovey Gage.

In the affairs of the Worcester Bank and Trust Company and the Worcester National Bank, Dr. Woodward has also figured prominently as a direc- tor, so that, for his many activities, he is regarded as one of Worcester's outstanding financiers. His attitude was that forty years of practice had fully discharged his humanitarian obligations in the med- ical profession, so that he might concentrate his time and energies upon banking. He found, upon entering his new field of endeavor, however, that the amount of care he had to give to that portion of the financial structure that he encountered required as much time as had his devotion to human med- icine and surgery. His application to his new duties has made his career one of outstanding achievement, with the result that he is recognized today as a man of versatility and unusual personal power.

In addition to both medicine and banking, Dr. Woodward has given his attention to many organ- izations and their work. He is a past president of the Worcester County Medical Society and the Massachusetts State Medical Society, a member of the American Medical Association, a member of the American Antiquarian Society, and a member of the Bohemians, the Chamber of Commerce, president 1921-22, the Economic Club, the Har- vard Club of Worcester, the Foreign Policy Asso- ciation, vice-president of the Massachusetts Civic League, a member of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Natural History Society, the Worcester Historical Association, the Tatnuck Country Club, the Uni- versity Club of Worcester, the Worcester Art Museum, the Worcester Club, the Worcester City Horticultural Society, the Worcester Fire Society, the Players' Club of Worcester, the Union Club of Boston, and the Harvard Club of Boston.

In 1884, Dr. Woodward married Margaret Per- ley, of Concord, New Hampshire, daughter of Ira Perley, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of that State.

ROY L. BROWN-Managing director of the Bancroft Hotel, Worcester, Roy L. Brown has given the whole of his career to hotel enterprise, in the circles of which he has been active down to

the present time. Few hotel men of New England are better known; few are more highly regarded for the success of their enterprises, than is he.

A native of Alabama, Mr. Brown was born at Decatur, on August 7, 1875. He is a son of Charles R. and Carrie Thorndike (Lemon) Brown, the latter a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and the former of Ohio. The elder Mr. Brown was a contractor. His death occurred in 1910, and he is survived by Mrs. Brown, now a resident of Worcester.

The family left Decatur, Alabama, when Roy L. Brown was a child. He received his academic instruction in the public and high schools of Cin- cinnati and began his career as a hotel worker there. His first position was that of key clerk at the old Palace and he continued at the renowned old hostelry, rising by merit of ability to the post of chief room clerk, thus early showing very clearly his marked talent in hotel operation. From the Palace he transferred to management of the Bristol Hotel, another well known hotel of the time in Cincinnati. Mr. Brown, as manager thereof, had the distinction of being the youngest hotel manager in the State of Ohio, as well as one of the ablest.

In 1900 he came to New England, becoming assistant manager of the Somerset, in Boston. With that organization he continued, adding ma- terially to its success, for twelve years. When Boston's famous Copley Plaza was opened, he be- came its assistant manager, continued as such for three years, and then went to New York City, as manager of the Breslin, which was owned and operated by the Copley Plaza Company. In charge of the Breslin, he remained nine years. By this time, of course, he was numbered prominently among the leading hotel men of the city of New York.

Leaving the management of the Breslin then, Mr. Brown entered business for himself, opening the Selgrave Apartment Hotel, in Park Avenue, New York. That was in 1923, and he continued in charge of the Selgrave until July, 1925.

On July 22, 1925, Mr. Brown came to Worces- ter, as manager of the Bancroft, and has continued here as the hotel's chief executive through the years succeeding, having built up what is considered by hotel men to be one of the best hostelries in the State of Massachusetts.

Although Mr. Brown's responsibilities as man- ager of the hotel are somewhat confining and of great weight, he has by no means limited his in- terests solely to those of his principal career as hotel manager. He is active in civic and social movements of city and State; a member of the Worcester Country Club, Rotary Club, and an honorary member of the Exchange Club; belongs to the Commonwealth Club, Advertising Club, and the American Hotel Association; is a leader in affairs of the Massachusetts and New England Hotel Association, and fraternally is affiliated with the Masonic Order and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. His favorite recreations are in the out-of-doors, fishing, hunting, and on the links.

Mr. Brown married, on April 22, 1900, Blanche Johnson, of Cincinnati, and they have a daughter, Marion, who married E. Melton Waters, of New York City, where she now resides.

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FORDYCE TURNER BLAKE-A member of an old and prominent Massachusetts family and a native of Worcester, Mr. Blake has been a life- long resident of the city of his birth, excepting only the years spent away from home, while he was preparing for and attending college, and later those which he gave to the service of his country during the World War. One of the leading bank- ers and business men of Worcester, Mr. Blake has also long been a leader in civic and social affairs and gives much of his time to several benevolent institutions. Through his various activities he has made and still is making important contributions to the furthering of civic progress and to the advance- ment of the welfare of the community, its people and its institutions.

Fordyce Turner Blake was born at Worcester, February 10, 1889, a son of the late George F. and Caroline Howard (Turner) Blake, both na- tives of Massachusetts. His father, who was long successfully engaged in the iron and steel business in Worcester and who was for many years vice- president of the State Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany of Worcester, died in 1928, having been prede- ceased by his wife in 1917. Mr. Blake prepared for college at the Milton Academy, from which he was graduated in 1908. He then entered Harvard University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1912. In the same year he entered the investment banking and broker- age business, in which he has been continuously engaged since then with marked success. He is now a partner in the firm of Jackson and Curtis, well known Boston investment bankers and brokers, and he is the resident partner of the firm in Worcester. The main offices are at No. 10 Post Office Square, Boston, while the firm's offices in Worcester are at No. 340 Main Street. In 1929, following the death of his father, Mr. Blake be- came president of George F. Blake, Inc., iron and steel merchants, in which capacity he has continued the business, originally founded by his father, most successfully. The plant of this corporation, long one of the leading establishments of its type in this part of Massachusetts, is located in Worcester.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 9

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