Men of progress; biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in and of the state of Maine, Part 60

Author: Herndon, Richard; McIntyre, Philip Willis, 1847- ed; Blanding, William F., joint ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Boston, New England magazine
Number of Pages: 1268

USA > Maine > Men of progress; biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in and of the state of Maine > Part 60

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

studying law for a few months at Lancaster, New Hampshire, began teaching, which proved to be his life work. In the spring of 1865 he was an assistant in Bridgton Academy at North Bridgton, Maine, Charles E. Hilton at that time being Principal. In May of the same year he became an assistant in Cooperstown Seminary, at Cooperstown, New York, filling the chair of mathematics for a little over two years ; Dr. George Kerr was at the time Principal of the Seminary. In the fall of 1867 he was re- called to Bridgton Academy as Principal, holding the position and teaching the classics until the spring of 1870, when he returned to Cooperstown

JOHN G. WIGHT.

to become Principal of Cooperstown Union School and Academy. This position he held for over twenty years. In the summer of 1890 he was elected to the Principalship of the Worcester High School, Worcester, Massachusetts, at that time the largest mixed high school in New England, where he re- mained four years. In 1894 he was made Principal of the Girls' High School of Philadelphia, a position he occupies at the present time, having under his charge eighty teachers and over twenty-six hun- dred pupils. This is probably the largest higli school in the United States. In 1888 Hamilton College conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In politics Dr. Wight is a Repub-

lican. His religious preferences are Episcopalian He belongs to the Masonic Order and to the Grand Army of the Republic, having served in the nav for a year in the Civil War. He has been, and sti is, a member of various literary and educationa organizations, among them the Head Masters' Asso ciation, whose membership consists of about sixt principals of secondary schools, chiefly of New England and the Middle States. In 1883 he wa President of the Inter-Academic Literary Union, a organization representing over three hundred sed ondary schools in New York State. He was the firs President of the Cooperstown Shakespeare Club and at Worcester was for one year President of th "Natives of Maine" Society. While his literar work has not been extensive, he has frequently rea papers before educational and other societies, an has contributed to various periodicals. His taste are decidedly literary, being a student both b nature and habit. He is a great reader, especiall of books that are but little read The following ex tract relating to Dr. Wight is from the "Reminis cences of Cooperstown," by Elihu Phinney, Esq. and was written soon after the former's removal t Worcester : " As a citizen, in all respects exemplary as a friend or neighbor, loyal and true ; as a scholar critical, polished and exact ; as an instructor, wel equipped for his high calling by exceptional acute ness of intellect, by generous acquaintance with belles lettres, by a justly discriminating taste, b sound literary judgment, and lastly, perhaps chiefly by a more than German diligence." What follow is from the address of Mayor Henry A. Marsh o Worcester, made at the graduating exercises of th class of '94 of the Worcester Classical Hig! School : "Mr. Wight : This occasion would not b complete did I not give official expression to a sen timent prevalent throughout this community, c sincere regret at your approaching departure fron this city. In the four years of your residence here you have accomplished all, and even more, than wa expected. Your work has been singularly free fron ostentation. It has developed rich results. Yo will carry to your new field of usefulness the bes wishes of the citizens whose friendship you earl secured and merited, and whose appreciation o your efficient labors in the cause of education i both keen and acknowledged." Mr. Wight wa married May 13, 1865, to Flora Annetta Stiles daughter of Valentine L. Stiles and Betsey Adam Burnham. They have two children : Percy Lovall born October 22, 1869, and Sarita Stiles, bori

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December 30, 1873. Mrs. Wight's maternal ances- capital increased to three hundred thousand dollars, tors were the kin of General Israel Putnam.

WOODS, SOLOMON ADAMS, President of the S. A. Woods Machine Company, Boston, was born in Farmington, Maine, October 7, 1827, son of Colonel Nathaniel and Hannah (Adams) Woods. He is a descendant of Samuel Woods, an original landed proprietor of Groton, Massachusetts, where the family long lived. His grandfather Woods was one of the pioneers in the settlement of Farm- ington, Maine, and his father was a prominent citi- zen of that town and section. On the maternal side he is sixth in descent from Captain Samuel Adams, magistrate, and Representative of Chelmsford in the General Court of Massachusetts in the first half- century of that town. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, and received his education in the district school and at Farmington Academy. At the age of nineteen he apprenticed himself to a local carpenter, to learn the use of tools and the trade of housebuilding. Four years later he formed a determination to build a mill at Farmington, and in partnership with his employer engage in door, sash and blind manufacturing ; but after a trip to Boston to purchase machinery for the purpose, he changed his plans and decided to establish himself in that city. He entered the employ of Solomon S. Gray, door, sash and blind manufacturer, as journeyman, and within the first year (1851) of this connection he purchased Mr. Gray's plant, and continued the business on his own account until 1864. In the meantime, in 1854, he formed a partnership with Mr. Gray, under the firm name of Gray & Woods, for the manufacture and sale of a wood-planing machine, invented by Mr. Gray, but developed into more practical form by his own im- provements. This partnership continued for five years, during which time various additional im- provements were made and patented. In 1865 Mr. Woods bought the patterns, goodwill and right to manufacture the so-called Woodbury Planer, of which he was the sole licensee, and the year follow- ing extensive works were erected in South Boston, which being enlarged from time to time now occupy sixty thousand feet of floor space. Following this period Mr. Woods conducted the business alone until 1873, when the S. A. Woods Machine Com- pany was organized, of which Mr. Woods was elected President, and holds that office at the present time. In 1875 the business was further enlarged, the

and branch offices opened in New York and Chicago. Since the establishment of the firm of Gray & Woods, more than fifty patents for devices and improvements in planing and moulding ma- chines have been issued to the successive firms ; and they have received nearly a hundred medals in gold, silver and bronze, awarded at industrial exhi- bitions. Mr. Woods has been a Trustee of the South Boston Savings Bank since 1870, and is a mem- ber of the Board of Investment of that institution. He has served as a member of the Boston Common Council three terms, 1869-70-1, and as a Director

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S. A. WOODS.

of the East Boston Ferries for two years, 1870-1. In 1878 a nomination as Alderman on the Repub- lican and Citizens tickets was urged upon him, but he declined to stand. He is a member of St. Omer Commandery Knights Templar, also of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, and the Boston Art Club. Mr. Woods was married August 21, 1854, in Boston, to Miss Sarah E. Weathern, of Farmington, Maine, who died in 1862. In 1867 he was a second time married, to Miss Sarah C Watts, of Boston. He has three children : Frank Forrest, Florence and Frederic Adams Woods. Frank F. Woods, the elder son, is Vice-President and General Manager of the S. A. Woods Machine Company.

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MEN OF PROGRESS.

ABBOTT, FRANK, M. D., Dean of the Faculty in the New York College of Dentistry, was born at Ross Corner in the town of Shapleigh, Maine, Sep- tember 5, 1836, son of Jacob and Susannah (Cook) Abbott. Dr. Abbott, who takes rank as one of the best authorities upon the subject of dental and oral surgery in the United States, and has been a chief factor in the elevation and development of the den- tal profession in the metropolis and country during the last quarter of a century, has an illustrious an- cestry, of which he may well be proud. He is directly descended from one of the oldest Puritan families, and one which has produced as many nota- ble men as any other which could be named. The

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FRANK ABBOTT.

Abbott family in Europe is of the greatest antiquity. Its origin has been traced back for hundreds of years to the Island of Sicily. From this starting point Burke's Peerage traces the descent. The migration was from Sicily to Austria and thence to England. In the latter country two "septs " or branches of the family arose, one of whom spelled the name with one t, while the other doubled the consonant. The former sept is in the direct line of descent of the subject of this sketch. In 1640, George Abbot, one of this branch of the family, came to America with two others of the same name, supposed to have been his brothers. George Abbot settled in Andover, Massachusetts, and became the

progenitor of an illustrious line. His descendants liave served in all the wars in the history of the Amer- erican colonies and the United States, from the ear- liest of the French and Indian conflicts. In the Revolution alone there were from sixty to one hun- dred of the name, ranking from privates to generals. The captain of the famous squad of militia at Lex- ington was one of these. But for the main part the Abbotts of New England .have been farmers, teachers and clergymen, with a goodly number who have distinguished themselves in literature. Among these last, Jacob Abbott and John S. C. Abbott were notable. About the year 1750 a branch of the family established itself at York, Maine, its pioneer being Moses Abbot, from Andover, who was the great-grandfather of Professor Abbott. The latter's grandfather, Maturin Abbot, was born in York. His father, Jacob Abbot, was born in Shap- leigh, Maine. His grandfather spelled his name with a single t, like his fathers before him. In truth, the change to a double consonant, so common now, has been adopted in America within a generation or two, in most branches of the family. For example, the father of Professor Abbott was the first to make the change in his line. His mother was Susannah Cook, of Waterborough, York county, Maine. Professor Frank Abbott spent his early years upon his father's farm, and was educated in the public schools and the High School of Shapleigh. His early determina- tion was to follow a business career, and accord- ingly, at the age of sixteen, he secured a position in a mercantile house in Boston. He remained in business for two years, but although his prospects were very bright, he concluded that a profession would be more congenial and afford a better field for his energies. Hence, at eighteen years of age we find him in Central New York, where he joined an elder brother. A little later he entered the office of the late Dr. John. E. Ostrander, of Oneida, Madison county, New York. With him the young man studied until the fall of 1857, and then, through the importunity of friends, he removed to Johns- town, New York, where he practiced for six years. During this time, however, his practice was inter- rupted by his service in the Federal army in 1862, as First Lieutenant in Company E of the One Hun- dred and Fifteenth Regiment of New York Vol- unteers. He participated in a number of engage- ments and was taken prisoner with some ten thousand others by the Confederates at Harper's Ferry. In 1863, on the tenth day of November, Professor Abbott removed from Johnstown to New York city,

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his chief design in this move being to equip him- self with the most thorough medical education possible. He entered the Medical Department of the University of the City of New York, beginning with the session of 1864-5, and in regular course graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1866, when the New York College of Dentistry was organized, Dr. Abbott was appointed Clinical Lecturer, and held this position during the two sessions of 1866-7 and 1867-8. In April 1868 he was made Professor of Operative Dentistry in the same institution, and during the same month of the year following he was elected Dean of the Faculty of the College. He has continued to hold both these positions up to the present time, the duties of the Professorship having been extended however in the meantime, and its name changed to that of Dental Histology, Surgery and Therapeutics. Dur- ing the past twenty-five years Professor Abbott has been a frequent contributor to the various journals devoted to dental and oral surgery, and has intro- duced into the profession many valuable instru- ments, important remedies, and new methods in practice, which have been of incalculable service in the development of this branch of medical science. It has been already stated that his efforts have been a chief instrumentality in elevating the dental profes- sion to its present dignity and perfection. Professor Abbott has also devoted much time and labor to the prosecution of microscopical investigations in the line of his profession. Among the many published papers from his pen may be cited the following : -

" Alveolar Abscess," in Dental Cosmos, February 1872.

"Caries of Human Teeth," Dental Cosmos, IS79.

" Address before the American Academy of Dental Science," Boston, October 25, 1882.

" Minute Anatomy of the Human Teeth," Independent Practitioner, October 1883.

"A Condensed History of Histological Observations," in Transactions of the Dental Society of the State of New York, ISS4.

" Studies of the Pathology of Enamel of Human Teeth, with Special Reference to the Etiology of Caries," in Dental Cosmos, November 1885.

"Contributions to the Knowledge of Tumors of the Jaws," Heitzmann and Abbott, in Dental Cosmos, March ISSS.

President's "Annual Address," delivered before the joint meeting of the American and Southern Dental Associations at Louisville, Kentucky, August 28, ISSS.

"Teeth of the Lower Jaw at Birth," in Proceedings of the World's Columbian Dental Congress, Chicago, August 1893. A volume, " Dental Pathology and Practice," Abbott, IS96.

The wife of Professor Abbott, Catherine Ann Cuyler, can boast an ancestry equally ancient and honorable

with that of her husband. She was a daughter of the late Captain David H. Cuyler, who served in the Union Army in the War of the Rebellion. She is also the granddaughter of Judge Joseph Cuyler, of Fulton county, New York, and is a direct descend- ant of Cornelius Cuyler (and Catalyntje Schuyler, his wife), who was Mayor of Albany, and held a number of important offices in that city through a long course of years, in the first half of the eigh- teenth century. He was a merchant in Albany, for some years served as Alderman, was Commissioner of Indian: Affairs, and for a long time held the office of Magistrate, in addition to that of Mayor, as be- fore said. The Cuylers carne originally from Hol- land, and were one of the most honorable of the old Knickerbocker stocks. Between Albany and Troy there were in those early days three notable manor houses, the homes respectively of the Van Rensse- Jaers, Schuylers and Cuylers. Judge Joseph Cuyler's wife, the grandinother of Mrs. Abbott, was the daughter of Judge Amaziah Rust, Chief Magistrate of Tyron county, before that extensive territory was divided up into smaller counties. The Judge's father, also Amaziah Rust, was a colonial soldier who did valiant service against Canada in the French and Indian War, as well as against the British in the Revolution. He served throughout the latter war with great distinction, with the full rank of Captain and that of brevet Major. He was in command of the forces in the Johnstown district. His sword, a powerful sabre carried through both these wars, now hangs in Professor Abbott's library, together with the one carried by Dr. Abbott himself during the Rebellion. It is also interesting to note that a num- ber of valuable relics of Sir William Johnston have come down through the Cuyler family and are in Professor Abbott's possession. Sir William was a Tory, and in accordance with the law massed by the Colonial Congress, his estate and effects were con- fiscated and sold at auction. The master of Cuyler Manor took this occasion to become owner of the choice part of Sir William Johnston's furniture and table ware. Professor Abbott has four of the an- tique mahogany chairs which did service in the baronial halls of the great Indian fighter, at Johns- town, as well as the great punch-bowl over which Sir William, with Jo Brant and his dusky warriors, more than once grew hilarious. The bowl is beauti- fully decorated, and is one of the very finest specimens of the costly china ware of those days. Professor Abbott has many curios which he has collected, be- sides many choice paintings, and a rare collection

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of etchings and engravings. He is also well equipped with an unusually large private library, which contains many a rare treasure. Many of these are old folios profusely illustrated. His collection of old works on dentistry, invaluable for reference, is said to be one of the best in America. But his unique collection, and the one certain to prove of the greater public interest, is a set of engravings and etchings illustrat- ing all the important events in American history. This collection includes hundreds of the largest and finest engravings, some of them executed in colors, and many of them exceedingly rare. Enough has been said to indicate the tastes of Professor Abbott, and the private occupations of a life extremely busy in study, practice, college instruction and authorship along the lines of his profession. Dr. Abbott is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, and a member of the Medical Society of the County of New York ; a member of the American Dental Asso- ciation, the Dental Society of the State of New York, the New York Odontological Society and the First District Dental Society ; also a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Geographical Society, and enjoys many other similar honors. He is a member of the University Club, the New England Society, the Museum of Natural History, and has been a member of the Metropol- itan Museum of Art ever since it was first founded and had its headquarters on Fourteenth Street. He is also connected with a number of Masonic bodies. Four children, three of whom are living, were born to Professor and Mrs. Abbott. The eldest is Mrs. Willet Coles Cly, of New York; the second, Dr. Frank Abbott, Jr., has acquired considerable repu- tation by his work on Swinburne Island, in con- nection with the cholera scourge of 1892, and also in connection with the Bacteriological Department of the Loomis Laboratory, and as Director of the Histological Laboratory of the New York College of Dentistry ; the youngest, Miss Katherine Cuyler Abbott, is still at school.

BEAL, GEORGE LAFAYETTE, Treasurer of the State of Maine 1888-95, was born in Norway, Ox- ford county, Maine, May 21, 1825, son of Ezra Fluent and Mary Ann ( Bennett) Beal; died in Norway, December 11, 1896, aged seventy-one years. His father, who was one of the leading citizens of Norway, was for many years a resident of Portland. George L. Beal received his education in the common schools and at Westbrook (Maine)

Seminary. From an early age he manifested great interest in military affairs, and as he was a very popular young man with his associates, he was elected Captain of the Norway Light Infantry, in which position he was serving at the outbreak of the Civil War. On the receipt of the news of the fall of Sumter and President Lincoln's first call for troops, Governor Washburn promptly organized the First Maine Regiment to fill the quota of Maine. Captain Beal tendered his company for immediate service on the twentieth of April 1861, and was the first man to enlist in Oxford county. Seven days later he took his company into camp at Portland. On the expiration of his three-months term of ser-

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GEORGE L. BEAL.

vice in the vicinity of Washington, he re-enlisted for two years, and was commissioned Colonel of the Tenth Maine Infantry. His regiment covered the famous retreat of General Banks from Winchester to Williamsport, and participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, General Pope's retreat, and An- tietam. At Antietam he was severely wounded, but quickly recovered and soon returned to duty. Colonel Beal was mustered out with his regiment in May 1863, but promptly re-enlisted for three years and was made Colonel of the Twenty-ninth Maine Regiment. ITis command participated in the battles of the Red River and Shenandoah Valley campaigns in 1864. At the battle of Sabine Cross

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Roads, Louisiana, he rendered distinguished service in the successful efforts of the Nineteenth Corps in checking the advance of the enemy and saving Banks's army, for which he was made Brigadier- Generar by brevet and later given full-grade com- mission as Brigadier-General. At Cedar Creek, his brigade was the first to advance and break the enemy's lines, after Sheridan had ridden from Win- chester " twenty miles away," turning defeat in the morning into a glorious victory in the afternoon .. During reconstruction times General Beal was placed in command of the Eastern District of South Carolina, with headquarters at Darlington, where he performed his duties so faithfully and well that he was promoted to Brevet Major-General of Volun- teers. He was mustered out in January 1866, hav- ing been in active service nearly five years. After the war he returned to Norway, where he actively engaged in business enterprises. He was foremost in the building of the Norway Branch Railroad con- necting with the Grand Trunk, also was active in the construction of the Norway Electric Railroad and largely interested in real estate operations. In 1872 General Beal was appointed United States Pension Agent at Portland, which position he filled with marked ability and fidelity until the office was transferred to Concord, New Hampshire. From 1880 to 1885 he was Adjutant-General of the State, and from 1888 to 1895 he held the office of State Treasurer. At the time of his death he was serving as one of the Managers of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers at Togus, Maine. He was the first Department Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic in Maine, and for the year 1894 com- manded the Commandery of Maine in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. In politics General Beal was always a Republican. He served as a Delegate to the National Convention which nomi- nated General Grant for President in 1868, and was Presidential Elector-at-Large on the ticket for that year. He was married June 8, 1851, to Belinda Deane Thompson, daughter of John Thompson, of Rumford, Maine, by whom he had two children : Elizabeth Bennett and Agnes Jenette Beal.

BIXBY, AUGUSTUS RUFUS, of Skowhegan, was born in Norridgewock, Somerset county, Maine, December 17, 1832, son of Rufus and Betsey (Weston) Bixby. He comes from an old and well- known family. His grandfather Bixby came from Worcester county, Massachusetts, and settled in

Norridgewock, where he reared a large family. Four of his sons settled on large farms adjoining each other. His father, Deacon Rufus Bixby, was a prominent farmer and fruit grower, an active and . staunch supporter of the Congregational church, and served in the militia during the War of 1812. His mother was a daughter of Deacon Benjamin Weston, a pioneer settler of Madison, Somerset county, Maine. His boyhood days were spent in working on his father's farm, and attending the town schools and Bloomfield Academy. From earliest boyhood he had a taste for mercantile pur- suits, and formed the intention of following such in

.. .

AUGUSTUS R. BIXBY.

his business career. After leaving the farm he successfully taught school for two years. In 1856 he went to California, engaging in business there for six years, and then returned to Maine for a short time. The same year he went to Minnesota and was in business there two years. In January 1865 he opened a large mercantile business in Skowhegan, with which he has ever since been connected. In addition to his mercantile busi- ness, he was one of the promoters and officials of the Skowhegan Electric Light Company, Skowhegan Water Company and the Skowhegan & Norridge- wock Railway and Power Company. From his father Mr. Bixby inherits his extraordinary execu- tive ability, his clear, unshaken judgment and his

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love of horticulture ; from his mother, strong intel- lect and vitality, and a generous, sensitive nature ; from both, sterling principles, industrious and irreproachable habits, godly reverence and hearty Cealousness in the good of his fellow-men. During the years 1885 and 1886 he was a member of the Executive Council of Maine. In May 1890 he was appointed by President Harrison as Commissioner for Maine to the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893. At this Exposition he was Chairman of the Committee on Fish and Fisheries, and served with credit on the Committee of Horticulture and Floriculture. In politics Mr. Bixby has always been a Republican and an active r worker. At a gubernatorial convention held in Portland in 1888, the Press of that city said of Mr. Bixby : " He is a man with a wonderful amount of energy, and a great deal of public spirit. He makes everything that he takes hold of boom, and is always good natured about it." Throughout his life he has been a valued man to his town and to the public. He was first married in May 1864, to Mary Lizzie Hopkins, daughter of Rev. Mark Hop- kins of Norridgewock, Maine, who died in March 1866, leaving no issue. In December 1870 he married Sarah H. Spaulding, daughter of Ephraim Spaulding of Dover, Maine. From this union they have one child : Mary Blanche Bixby, born Novem- ber 12, 1873.

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Men of progress; biographical sketches and portraits of leaders in business and professional life in and of the state of Maine, Part 60

Author: Herndon, Richard; McIntyre, Philip Willis, 1847- ed; Blanding, William F., joint ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Boston, New England magazine Number of Pages: 1268

Author: Herndon, Richard; McIntyre, Philip Willis, 1847- ed; Blanding, William F., joint ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Boston, New England magazine
Number of Pages: 1268