'I I 'mm' '■%^-;, -^? >-aM., •iiliiiJiLiJS »• c*' .^^'^i^.rsi^i.vis '^"' yVv'iV Ai^''^'!*Jit>*,Si^^^^^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library F 72F8 B61 Biographical review : this vplurne contai olin 3 1924 028 817 793 Overs DATE DUE flCD 1 ft ^Mmn ,.« TffW »- CAYLORO PRINTED INU t.A e^ ^^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028817793 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW. THIS VOLUME CONTAINS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE LEADING CITIZENS OF FRANKLIN COUNTY MASSACHUSETTS "Biography is the home aspect of history" BOSTON Biographical Review Publishing Company 1895 H s PREFACE. r HE present age is happily awake to the duty of writing its own records, setting down what is best worth remembering in the lives of the busy toilers of to-day, noting, not in vain glory, but with an honest pride and sense of fitness, things worthy of emula- tion, that thus. the good men do may live after them. The accounts here rendered are not of buried talents, but of used ability and opportunity. The conquests recited are of mind over matter, of cheerful labor directed by thought, not of shrewdness in getting "something for nothing," but of honest, earnest endeavor which subdues the earth in the divinely appointed way. While the plan of the work did not call for minute genealogical research, we have gladly made use of such data for filling out family histories as have been furnished us, and in nu- merous cases have verified or corrected and extended the same by consultation of standard au- thorities. In these pages we have briefly chronicled the life-stories of descendants of some of the first settlers of New England, progenitors who have a claim on what a wise speaker has termed "a moral and philosophical respect which elevates the character and improves the heart " ; passengers in the "Mayflower of a forlorn hope," and others who came in ships that closely followed in her wake, as the Fortune, the Lion, the Mary and John ; representa- tives, too, of later immigrants to the shores of Massachusetts Bay, imbued with the true Pilgrim spirit, together with stanch and progressive compatriots of foreign birth. It has seemed worth while to write and to publish these biographies, because, to borrow the words of an eloquent speaker, such men and women as are here commemorated "by their industrious toil and faithful citizenship have kept sweet the heart of New England civilization." Where- fore the book should commend itself as of more than passing interest and fleeting worth, — a volume to be prized by children's children. "The great lesson of biography," it has been said, " is to show what man can be and do at his best. A noble life put fairly on record acts like an inspiration. " BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW PUBLISHING COMPANY. Boston, December, 1895. GEORGE A. ARMS. BIOSRAPHIGAL tEORGE ALBERT ARMS, whose portrait is herewith presented, was born in the old town of Deerfield, March 7, 1815. He is of the sixth generation born on the old homestead since William Arms — ancestor of all of this name in America — who bought it about the year 1695. Christopher Tyler Arms, George Albert's father, in his younger days wished to follow the sea, and for this purpose studied navigation; but, his parents wanting him to remain at home, he gave up his cherished plan, and became a farmer, engaging at the same time in various manufactures. He was also a well-known surveyor, and was thoroughly familiar with all the different boundary lines of the region. George Albert's mother was Avice Stebbins, daughter of Colonel Joseph Stebbins, of Deer- field, who fought at the battle of Bunker Hill. History says of him, "He came to the front as a patriot leader at the outbreak of the Rev- olution, and was able to maintain his posi- tion." Avice, his fourth daughter, combined strength of character with soundness of judg- ment and keenness of humor. When a mere child, George showed a taste for trade. Often the little fellow might have been seen trudging up the street to the busy storekeeper of the town to buy molasses. His long, thick hair was so strikingly noticeable that the aged lawyer of the village said a pleasant "Good morning, Buffalo," as he passed one day. His clothes were of the plainest homespun, but the little " Buffalo " knew it not. His mind was intent on a busi- ness project; and his small bare feet ran faster as he came in sight of the store. Here he bought a quart of molasses for twelve and a half cents: then, running home, he made it into thirty generous sticks of candy. These he sold for a penny a stick, thereby netting seventeen and a half cents on the quart. During summers in his boyhood George worked for his father, and winters he attended the town school and the Deerfield Academy. In 1829, when he was fourteen years old, his father decided to make his home in Canada, not far from his brother Daniel's. Here, on the shore of Brome Lake, we find the family struggling with poverty for four long years. Their house was a log cabin fourteen feet square. The loft where George slept was reached by a ladder. There was no lack of fresh air, for the wind blew in at the great cracks in the roof; and sometimes George found the buffalo skin he had spread over him- self at night covered in the morning with a thick layer of snow. He helped his father in logging, in the making of salts, which were ultimately converted into pot and pearl ash, and in raising crops. Two winters he at- tended the Stanstead Academy, and worked for his board. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW When eighteen, George returned to Deer- field, and that spring worked for his uncle Baxter, giving his earnings to his father. The following spring he farmed for Lawyer Pliny Arms, receiving thirteen dollars a month, and saved enough of this money to buy him a suit of clothes. The following autumn he decided to seek his fortune in Boston. Accordingly, we find him dressed in his drab home-spun and home-made suit, taking the rumbling stage, which passed through Deer- field on its way from Albany to Boston. Arriving in the city, he had only one dollar and twenty-seven cents in his pocket and no business. A relative offered him a home while he was trying to find a place. It was discouraging work, but every morning he started out with fresh courage. Finally, at the end of a fortnight, he let himself to a " dealer in groceries " for twenty-five dollars a year and board, with the privilege of accept- ing a better offer, should one be received. It turned out that this man sold more rum than groceries, so that the young clerk was glad to accept the position, which was offered four months later, of head clerk in a store on Chambers Street, with an increase in wages to one hundred dollars and board. The next year a still better offer was accepted from a dealer on Long Wharf. Then came the terrible business crisis of 1837. Clerks were thrown out of employment by the thousand, and our clerk among the rest. He returned to Deerfield; but, instead of waiting idly for work he liked to do, he took up farming with a will. It was not long, however, before he heard of an opening with Benjamin B. Murdock, a general merchant of Northfield. He became his clerk on trial and afterward his book-keeper, receiving two hun- dred and fifty dollars a year. At the end of two years he decided to relinquish his posi- tion, although his employer offered him an in- terest in the business if he would consent to remain. Mr. Murdock's methods of doing business were not satisfactory to him, and he therefore concluded not to become a partner. He went to Deerfield; but afterward, at the earnest request of Northfield friends, he re- turned, and opened a store of general mer- chandise. Necessary repairs on the building cost him four hundred dollars, leaving him in debt one hundred dollars. He at once bought his stock in Boston, commanding a credit of from four to five thousand dollars' worth of goods. By untiring industry and strict econ- omy he was able to meet his payments promptly. He remained in Northfield ten years. Then in 1848, feeling that larger op- portunities awaited him elsewhere, he sold out, and went to Columbus, Ga. On the way an amusing incident occurred. About thirty passengers, including Mr. Arms, left the boat at Savannah, and took a special train for Macon. There was only a single track running from the town, and this was laid in a most primitive fashion. The passengers on board soon found they had left the uncertain sea only to be thoroughly shaken, on land. One could not attempt to drink a glass of water without having the contents shaken over one's self and the floor. The company was hungry, and Mr. Arms inquired of the con- ductor if there was any way of getting food. He replied that there was an old planter sev- eral miles ahead, and perhaps he would feed the travellers. Reaching the planter's house, everybody turned out ; and the planter and his negroes went to work. In little over an hour enough hens for thirty people had been caught, killed, picked, and cooked. Negroes waited upon the travellers, and brushed the flies away. At last, having gained strength and good humor, the company paid the planter BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW for his poultry, and continued their journey. They had not gone more than half a mile when the train came to a sudden standstill. "The special" had run into a cotton train standing on the track, and the engine was disabled. In this predicament there was nothing to do but to wait till the train hands had "patched" the engine by means of sledge hammers and such other tools as were at hand. This was travelling in Georgia in 1848. While, at the South, Mr. Arms came face to face with the accursed traffic in human beings ; and from that time onward he was a stanch Abolitionist and a Republican of Republicans, although never an aspirant for public office. No good opening for business offered, so that in the spring of 1849 he went West to find a brother whom he had not seen for many years. He left Columbus for New Orleans, where he took a boat up the Mississippi to Evansville on the Ohio. It was at the time the cholera was raging throughout the coun- try. Many fell sick on the way, and one poor fellow died; while twenty-seven deaths had occurred on the boat that went up a fortnight before. Mr. Arms felt symptoms of the dread disease while helping to bury the man who had been its victim. He reached Evansville in a weakened condition, but with his usual determination he continued his journey in stages until its object was accomplished. The return to New England with his brother and family was made in a huge, covered wagon, provided with stove, cooking utensils, bedding, and other supplies, a full descrip- tion of which would be a story in itself. Mr. Arms' s next business venture was at Bellows Falls, Vt., where he hired a store, which he .stocked with men's clothing, hats, caps, boots, and shoes, and, after a profitable trade of one year, united with Norman Farr, who kept general merchandise. The firm also engaged in the merchant tailoring business and the manufacture of ready-made clothing. At the end of three years he sold to his part- ner at a bargain, and started for Canada West, where a brother was employed in building bridges on the Coburg & Peterboro Railroad. During the spring of 1854 he assisted in the work of straightening a bridge which extended across Rice Lake, a distance of three miles, interrupted only by a small island near the centre. A portion of the bridge had been thrown over toward the island by the melting of the ice in the spring, the winter having been so severe that the ice around the piles was three feet deep. This work completed, and the plan for building stations along the Coburg & Peterboro Road failing, Mr. Arms engaged in stock-raising and farming in Deer- field for a year and a half. About the year 1855 he went to Ohio, and became interested in coal mining, previous to the completion of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad. He car- ried on a successful business until obliged to come East. In March, 1859, while looking for a place in which to again enter mercantile life, he came to Greenfield, and purchased the stock of Messrs. Wells & Smead, general merchants. Here he soon developed an extensive trade in agricultural implements, seeds, and fertilizers, which he purchased direct, and disposed of in large quantities. He became the agent of Franklin County for the Waters Scythe, and in one year alone took orders for seven hun- dred dozen. He also secured the agency for the Granite State Mowing-machine, the lead- ing machine of that time and this, and of Enoch Coe's Phosphates. Early and late he worked, driving through all the towns of the county, and taking orders of the storekeepers and farmers. Later he added the coal busi- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ness to his own, and, being already familiar with its details, carried the two on success- fully for a number of years. There were many discouragements, many unexpected failures, and consequent heavy losses; but, in spite of these, he met his payments promptly, won confidence, and commanded a good credit. After conducting a profitable business for a period of twenty-two years, he sold out in 1882 to his two clerks, John Sheldon (his son- in-law) and Eugene Newcomb. Mr. Arms has been twice married. His first wife, whom he wedded in 1844, was Eunice S. Moody, of Northfield. She became the mother of three children: Ellen L. ; Jennie M. ; and George L., who died in infancy. Ellen L., wife of John Sheldon, of Deerfield and Greenfield, has three children — two sons, both in business in the latter place, and one daughter, pursuing the study of languages in Paris. The second daughter, Jennie Maria, has been a teacher of natural science in Boston the past sixteen years. After the death of his wife in Ohio he re- turned East, and in 1859 married Mrs. Fran- ces W. Childs, daughter of John F. Stearns, of Dummerston, Vt. About the year 1876 Mr. Arms erected a handsome brick block for stores and offices, and in 1893 another — Columbus Block. He also owns three other blocks of stores and valuable resident property in Greenfield, be- sides the historic "Arms's Corner" in Old Deerfield. He is a Trustee of the Greenfield Savings Bank, of which he was one of the organizers. He has also been a Director of the successful Miller's Falls Manufacturing Company since its start. Mr. Arms's life is a practical illustration of the truth of his words of advice to the young: "If any young man or woman of average capacity is honest, industrious, persevering, and economical, he or she will succeed; for honesty and economy command capital, and are the foundation of success." lEVI GARDNER stands in the front rank among the prominent and pros- perous business men that are iden- tified with the industrial interests of Ash- field, which is the place of his nativity, his birth having occurred here, June 12, 1821. His father, Jacob Gardner, was born in Plain- field, Hampshire County, Mass., and. there grew to manhood. He had natural mechanical ability, and learned the millwright's trade. He spent part of his life in Goshen, where he thrived for a time, and later engaged in busi- ness in Ashfield, running a grist-mill for many years. He also devoted some of his time to mechanical pursuits, and did a great deal of work in repairing mills and machinery in different localities. He died at the age of threescore and five. Jacob Gardner was a valued member of the Democratic party. In his religious beliefs he was liberal, interpret- ing the gospel according to the light of reason. He married Hannah Cook, who died in the fifty-sixth year of her age, leaving the follow- ing children : Bela, Elisha, Andrew, Nelson, Caroline, Reuben, and Levi. Levi Gardner became early accustomed to hard work, being put out on a farm to live until fifteen years old, when he returned to the parental roof, and for the following four years assisted his father, becoming an expert in milling and mechanical arts. He subse- quently went into business at Goshen with Samuel Ranney as a manufacturer of wood- work, such as broom handles and wood for baby carriages, the partnership continuing eight years. Mr. Gardner then sold his interest, and in company with his brother Elisha bought standing timber and a saw-mill BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 13 at West Cummington. For six years they engaged in the manufacture and sale of lum- ber, working up a large trade therein. Then, selling out his share of the property, Mr. Gardner removed to Ashfield, where he and his brother Nelson bought a saw-mill and shop, and began the manufacture of wooden ware of various kinds, and also did a great deal of cus- tom sawing. In 1871, selling out to Mr. Flower, he purchased an interest in a saw-mill at South Ashfield with John Sprague, who soon after disposed of his share of the property to Mr. Gardner's son, Jacob S. Gardner. The latter has since been an equal partner with his father, the firm being one of the leading manu- facturing firms in the vicinity. Under their management the mill capacity has been greatly enlarged, new machinery has been put in, and they are carrying on an eminently successful business in sawing, planing, making shingles and laths, and doing custom sawing of all kinds. Like all business men, they have met with losses, one of the most serious having oc- curred April 23, 1895, when their large and well-equipped drying-house was burned to the ground. Through close application to busi- ness Mr. Gardner has accumulated a compe- tency, and besides his mill property owns a good house and lot of two acres of choice land in South Ashfield. Mr. Gardner was united in marriage in 1844 to Miss Marvilla Selden, who was born in 1823, and died in 1888, after a happy wedded life of more than twoscore years, leaving one son, Jacob S. , now in partnership with his father, as before mentioned. In politics Mr. Gardner has the courage of his convictions, and votes independent of party lines. He represented his constituents in the legislature in 1871 ; and during his residence in Ashfield he has ever evinced a warm inter- est in local progress and improvement, serving acceptably in the various town offices. He is at present Treasurer and Director of the Ash- field Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In religion, as in other matters, he is broad and liberal in his views. LONZO M. RICE, Treasurer and Business Manager of the Arms Manu- facturing Company, South Deer- field, Mass., was born at Conway, May 22, 1846. His father, Daniel Rice, was a native of Hawley and the son of Daniel Rice, Sr. , also of that town, who was a farmer and lived to the age of ninety years. Daniel Rice re- sided with his parents upon the ancestral farm until becoming of age, when he left home, and going to Conway worked for a time in the tool manufactory of that town, later moving to Greenfield, where he, in company with others, laid out the street which is now known as Conway Street, and was also interested in the Greenfield Tool Company. From Greenfield he removed to Springfield, where he became a master builder, being at the present time well known in connection with that business. He married Fanny D., daughter of Williams and Zilpah Toby, residents of Conway, and had two children, as follows: Alice, wife of Arthur Burt, of Springfield; and Alonzo M. The mother died at the age of thirty-three years, having been a member of the Second Congregational Church, Greenfield, of which her surviving husband is also a member. Alonzo M. Rice passed his childhood in Con- way and Greenfield, commencing in the latter place his education, which he completed at Burrett's English Classical Institute in Springfield, and at the age of eighteen en- ■ listed for ten months' service in the Civil War. After the expiration of his term of enlistment he was discharged at Boston, and, subse- 14 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW quently returning to Springfield, he pursued a course at Burnham's Business College. In 1867 he came to Deerfield as book-keeper for the late Charles Arms, then proprietor of the Arms Pocket-book Manufactory; but, after spending a year in that position, he again re- turned to Springfield and was book-keeper for Rice, Wight & Co., with whom he remained ten months. Once more entering the emplo)' of Mr. Arms, he continued with him as book- keeper for fifteen years; and then he became travelling salesman. On the incorporation of the stock company after the death of Mr. Arms, he was tendered the position of treas- urer and general manager, which he has occu- pied since 1888. This company are extensive manufacturers of all kinds of Russia seal and Turkey morocco pocket-books, calf and sheep wallets, bill books, card and letter cases, these goods being disposed of throughout the en- tire country. The enterprise of the con- cern increases rather than decreases by age, and Mr. Rice's energy and business ability have largely been the means of maintaining the company's extensive business and keeping their products up to the usual high standard of excellence. In 1869 Mr. Rice wedded Marie A. Arms, daughter of William S. Arms, of Springfield, she having been her father's only child by his first marriage. Mr. and ' Mrs. Rice have two children: Mabel A., who is now attending school in Greenfield; and Edward A., who resides at home. Mr. Rice is a Republican in politics, but not an aspirant for office, pre- ferring to devote his leisure time to objects of philanthropy, and has been a Trustee of the Smith Charities one year. He is a member of the Knights of Honor; and both himself and wife attend the Congregational church, of which he is a Deacon. He was for many years superintendent of the Sunday-school, in which Mrs. Rice is a teacher; and he still holds the office of church treasurer. RASTUS SPEAR, who is living retired '! from the active pursuits of life, is one of the highly esteemed and respected citizens of the town of Orange, where the major part of his life has been passed, his birth having occurred in this town, May 5, 1836, at the home of his parents, Isaac and Laura (Haskins) Spear. His grandfather, Silas Spear, was an early settler of this place, removing from Medway to Franklin County, and here buying a farm, which he improved and developed to a high state of culture. He was a man of excellent principles and judg- ment, in course of time amassing considerable property. He lived to the advanced age of fourscore years. On attaining his majority he became identified with the Whig party, and on the formation of the Republican party became a stanch defender of its principles. He mar- ried Rebecca Thayer, who bore him eleven children; namely, Eliza, Mary, Isaac, Silas, Caleb, Erastus, Abigail, John, Lucinda, Henry, and Susan. Isaac Spear was a native of Orange, born on the family homestead, on which he worked with diligence until reaching man's estate, when he commenced making shingles by hand, the best, if not the only, way then known. Subsequently becoming proficient in the black- smith's trade he removed to Wendell, where he worked several years. Returning to the place of his birch, he bought the blacksmith- shop now owned by his son, and worked at his chosen occupation as long as his health would permit, retiring from business some time before his decease. He lived to be four- score and two. His first wife, who passed to the better land in the sixtieth year of her age, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW IS was Laura Haskins, a daughter of Nathan Haskins. She bore him six children ; namely, Wilson, Erastus, Frank, James, Luther F., and Isaac. After her death he married Mrs. Eliza Johnson, who was related to the Haskins family. In politics Isaac Spear was a sound Republican. Erastus Spear received the educational privileges granted by the district schools of his native town. When a young man he learned the blacksmith's trade of his father; and, with the exception of three years spent in manufacturing brick at Athol, he has worked at the forge, adding to that the business of a wagon-maker, his plant being still located on East Water Street, as in his father's days. In 1893 Mr. Spear retired from active work, having accumulated through diligent applica- tion and the exercise of excellent business judgment a competency. He has dealt to some extent in real estate, and is now the owner of four dwellings in Orange and of a portion of the old homestead of his parents. Politically, Mr. Spear has followed the faith of his ancestors, espousing the cause of the Republican party. Socially, he is a member of the Orange Lodge of Red Men. When twenty years old Mr. Spear was united in wedlock with Miss Elsie D. Ellis, a native of New Salem, the daughter of Artemas and Lucy Ellis. Mr. Ellis was a prosperous farmer, and also worked at the trade of a stone mason. He lived to the advanced age of seventy-seven years. His wife died at the age of threescore and three. They were the parents of six children: Henry, Mary A., Franklin A. Ellis, M.D., L. Angelina, Sarah J., and Elsie D. Although the wedded path- way of Mr. and Mrs. Spear has been usually bright and cheery, one great sorrow has been theirs, their first child, Leslie E., born June 15, 1858, having died of heart disease in March, 1895. He was a mechanic by trade, a man of most exemplary habits and of high moral principles, being everywhere respected and beloved for his many fine qualities. He married Stella M. Bridges; and they had one child, Clara L. Mr. and Mrs. Spear have one other child, Clara J., born May 16, 1864, who married Arthur Bridges, of Orange, a railway conductor, and is the mother of one child, Edith J. Bridges. W" ILLIAM A. FORBES, a prominent dry-goods merchant of Greenfield, Mass., and one of the oldest busi- ness men of the town, was born at Buckland, in the western part of Franklin County, on May 13, 1836. His father. Captain William Forbes, was born at Buckland in 1802, his grandfather, Edward Forbes, who originally came from Bridgewater, Plymouth County, - having settled there in 1785. Edward Forbes was a volunteer soldier in the American Revolution, serving throughout the entire struggle for independence; and, while occupying a responsible position on board a man-of-war, he received a serious wound, which injured him for life. He was a highly intelligent and well-educated man, being a thoroughly competent surveyor, and used to teach a class in mathematics at his home during the winter season, together with penmanship, in which he also excelled. He was a pioneer in the Methodist faith, the first religious services of that denomination in the locality having been held in his barn ; and the famous preacher, Lorenzo Dow, often found a resting-place in front of his fireside. Mr. Edward Forbes was the first to rebel against the church tax, and stood forth strong and un- flinching in defending his religious belief. His wife, whose maiden name was Eunice i6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Amsden, and who was a native of Deerfield, belonging to a prominent family, was brought up in Conway. They had two sons and one daughter, the first-born, Abner, who entered Williams Col- lege in 1^12, from which he was graduated after having pursued the regular course, be- came a prominent educator at Boston. Al- though a Garrisonian, he believed in educating the African race separately, and had charge of the colored school. He also conducted a large printing establishment, figuring as an editor and publisher, and enjoyed the reputa- tion of being an interesting writer under the nom de plume of Senex. He was a decidedly marked character of his day, and a famous re- lator of stories and anecdotes. He died at Conway in 1878, aged eighty-seven years; and his remains were laid to rest in Buckland. His son, Frank Forbes, was a Director of the Hoosac Tunnel, is now, and has been for the past forty years, a reporter of the State Senate, and is prominent in Boston as a journalist. During the Civil War he was in charge of railroads under General Haupt, and ranked as Colonel. Sarah, the second child of Edward Forbes, was a talented lady and a successful teacher. She became the wife of the Rev. Robert Trav- ers, of New York City, a Methodist clergyman, who was one of the first preachers of that denomination at Buckland; and they had two sons, Robert and Edward, the former an Epis- copal clergyman and the latter a lawyer. Cap tain William Forbes was a well-to-do farmer, having inherited the farm which his father, Edward, had cleared and improved. His death occurred in 1840, in the same house in which he was born thirty-eight years before, and where he had passed his entire life. It was made from hewed timber, even to the rafters, and was destroyed by fire in Novem- ber, 1 89 1, after having stood over one hundred years. The ancestral farm, which consists of seventy acres, is now owned by Caleb E. Forbes. His widow, Eunice Sherman Forbes, who still survives, was born at Conway, April 19, 1808. She is the youngest and only sur- vivor of eleven children, and comes of a long- lived race, being at the present time remarka- bly bright and active, although fast approach- ing her nineties. She resides at Conway with her daughter, Minerva A., wife of Carlos Bachelder. Of her five children, one died an infant, and the others are: Sarah H., wife of Lafayette Anderson, a farmer of Nebraska; Minerva A.; Caleb E., of Greenfield; and William A., of this sketch. William A. Forbes was reared to farm life, and in his boyhood attended the district schools. He later pursued courses of study at the Conway Academy and the Williston Semi- nary at Easthampton, and at the age of six- teen years became a clerk for John Wells & Co. of the latter place, later filling a like position in Westfield. In i860 he came to Greenfield, where he entered the employ of T. D. Root, a dry-goods merchant, and, after remaining as clerk for a period of seven years, became a partner in the -business. On the death of the senior partner in 1871, Mr. Forbes succeeded to the business, having asso- ciated with him Mr. W. F. Root; but after three years of prosperity he retired from the firm and established himself alone in the same business, since which time he has conducted a most profitable trade, being at present one of the oldest business men in town. On March 17, 1863, he wedded Miss Eliza Prentiss, daughter of Jarvis and Mary (Wells) Prentiss, of Greenfield, the former having died in 1844, aged about forty years, leaving a widow and two children. Mrs. Prentiss, now aged eighty-eight years, resides with her BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 17 daughter, Mrs. Forbes. Mr. and Mrs. Forbes have but one son, Frank P., who is now in business with his father. He married Miss Kate Talbot, of New York City, and has three sons, namely: Talbot; Leonard; and William A., who is yet an infant. Mr. Forbes is a Director of both the Pack- ard and Conway National Banks, Vice-Presi- dent of the Greenfield Savings Bank, of which he is also chairman of the Financial Commit- tee, and is a Director of the Greenfield Gas Company. He is a Democrat in politics, and was elected a representative to the legislature in 1883 from a Republican district. He is a Master Mason and a thoroughly successful business man. Mr. Forbes and his son reside respectively at 44 and 46 Ferel Street, Greenfield. »RS. NANCY D. GALE, a highly respected resident of Heath, widow of the late Daniel Gale, was born in the town of Rowe, and is the daughter of Joseph S. and Sarah (Angel) Dodge. Her father was a son of Joshua and Rhoda (Smith) Dodge, the former a native of Bev- erly, Mass., and a cooper by trade, who set- tled when a young man at Brimfield. Later he conducted a saw-mill and grist-mill at Whitingham, also owning a farm ; and finally he sold his property there, and purchased a farm in the township of Rowe. He died in the latter place at the age of eighty-three. His first wife, who died at the age of fifty years, bore him two children : Joseph and Rhoda. His second wife, who was Mrs. Sally (Langdon) Cheney, died at the age of ninety- three years. Joshua Dodge was a Whig in politics. In his religious views he was a Uni- tarian. Joseph S. Dodge, Mrs. Gale's father, whose birth occurred at Rowe, June 19, 1794, resided on the old homestead during his active life, and spent the last years with his sons in Illinois, where he died at the age of sixty- seven years. He was married March 2, 181 5, to Miss Sarah Angel, who was born July 16, 1796. She was called to her final rest May 31, 1893. Joseph Dodge and his wife were the parents of the following children : Rhoda, Nancy, Sarah, Sarah J., John A., Eliza D., Joseph P., Ellen M., George C, and Mary F. Nancy Dodge was united in marriage on May 24, 1843, to Daniel Gale, whose birth occurred at Heath on May 26, 1816. He was the son of Luther and Sally (Spooner) Gale, a more extended account of whose ancestors may be found in an article relative to the career of D. J. Gale, which appears elsewhere in this work. Daniel Gale resided with his parents until reaching manhood. He pur- chased a small farm upon the banks of the Connecticut River, in the vicinity of Spring- field, which he cultivated for a period of ten years, and then moved to the town of Rowe, where he bought one hundred acres of land, upon which he resided the following seven years. He then sold that property for the purpose of buying another farm in the same town; and, after residing thereon six years, he removed to Dell, in the town of Heath, where he settled upon the estate which his widow now occupies. This farm, which con- sists of one hundred and twenty-five acres of valuable land, was known as the Deacon Smith homestead for a period of seventy years. The residence was erected by Colonel Snow; and upon acquiring possession Mr. Gale built a carriage-house, and made other important improvements. Daniel Gale was a public- spirited man, and attained a position of promi- nence in the town government, serving as a Selectman, Assessor, School Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace; and he represented his district in the legislature during the season BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW of 1869. He was a Unitarian in his religious views, and Mrs. Gale also adheres to that liberal religious faith. -AMES L. FARR, a farmer of Green- field, was born in Windham, Vt., De- cember 7, 1831, son of Micah and Sally (Stearns) Farr. His grandfather, Joseph Farr, who was a native of New Hampshire, followed the profession of a school teacher for a number of years, but later in life became a farmer. He died at Windham when forty- nine years of age, leaving a wife, who lived to a good old age. They were members of an Orthodox church, and in politics he was a Whig. They had nine children who grew up, only one of whom is now living, Iva N. Farr, residing in Westminster, Vt. Micah Farr, son of Joseph, was born in Chesterfield, N. H., in March of the year 1800. He passed his boyhood days and early manhood in New Hampshire, but spent his maturer years in Windham, Vt., where he owned and worked a farm. He took an active interest in the affairs of the town and at various times held public offices. In his religious views he was liberal, and was an attendant of the Con- gregational church. He died at the age of sixty-one; and his wife, Sally (Stearns) Farr, born in Windham, Vt., in November, 1799, died at seventy-nine years of age. They had six children, four of whom grew to maturity; and three are now living. Martha died in 1 861, thirty-one years of age; Almon died when a little over four years of age; Alfred, when not quite two years of age; James L. Farr is the eldest of those now living; George A. Farr now resides in Chester, Vt. ; Sarah E. became the wife of R. W. Carpenter, and they reside in Westminster, Vt. James L. Farr spent the early years of his life in Windham, Vt. , where he received his early education in the public schools. Until twenty-one years of age he lived at home, but then began farming for himself, purchasing one hundred acres of land in Windham, the first piece of property he ever owned, on which he lived for two years. After farming in his native town for nine years, he sold his place there, and, moving to Westminster, there bought a farm, on which he resided about two years; but, again selling out, he went to Graf- ton, Vt. , and bought another farm, on which he lived two years. Selling this farm he re- turned to Windham,' where he purchased a place on which he lived six years. From Windham he removed to South Vernon, Vt. , where he rented land for three years, and then, in 1876, he moved to Greenfield; and, after renting land for seven years, in 1883 he bought the place where he now resides. Hav- ing disposed of his farm, he has in view the erection of a fine residence at no distant day. He was married in 1856 to Mary H. Stiles, of Grafton, Vt. She died in October, 1871 ; and in May, 1873, he married Mrs. Julia (Dunklee) Banks, of Sunderland, Mass. Mr. Farr had two children by his first wife, and is the father of one by the present Mrs. Farr. Mary A., daughter of the first wife, died at the age of fourteen years. Myron J. Farr, his only son, a lumber dealer, resides in Green- field. Vinnie M., the daughter by the second marriage, lives at home. Mr. Farr and his wife are both members of the Congregational church, and in politics he is a Republican. While in Windham he served two years in the capacity of Assessor, and since coming to Greenfield has taken an active interest in all movements pertaining to the welfare of the town. Mr. Farr has re- tired from the hard work and active pursuits of the morning of life, and is spending the BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 19 afternoon of his days in the enjoyment of the fruits of his labors. [AMES W. ADAMS, an extensive agri- culturist and an active dealer in real estate, residing in the town of Orange, was born January i, 1828, in New Salem, Franklin County, and is a son of Samuel and Arethusa (Whitney) Adams. His grandpar- ents, Amos and Lydia (Adams) Adams, lo- cated in New Salem in 1795. Of this branch of the Adams family the immigrant ancestor was John Adams, who set- tled in Cambridge, Mass., about 1650, and died there in 1706. He was a millwright by occupation and quite a well-to-do man. He left six children, namely: Rebecca, born in England; Mary; John; Joseph; Hannah; and Daniel. Joseph, the second son, born in Cambridge in 1657, died in 1701, He was a farmer, and after his marriage with Margaret Eames bought a farm in West Cambridge, where they reared their five children : Joseph, Daniel, Cherry, John, and Abigail. Their son Joseph, the second of that name, was born in West Cambridge in 1688, and died in 1774. He was a prosperous farmer and a man of in- fluence, being active in politics and holding many of the town offices. He married for his first wife Rebecca Cutter; and they reared three children : Thomas, Joseph, third, and Margaret. Joseph Adams, third, was born in Cambridge, July 3, 1715, and died May 3, 1794. He was a thrifty agriculturist and one of the largest land-owners of his native town. He was Deacon of the church in Menotomy, now Arlington, and Selectman four years. The maiden name of his wife was Hannah Hall. She bore him ten children, as follows: Thomas, Rebecca, Susanna, Mary, Nathan, Joel, Amos, Daniel, Abigail, and Ann. Amos Adams, the paternal grandfather of James W., of whom we write, was born August 23, 1765, twin with Joel, and lived in Cambridge the first thirty years of his exist- ence. Removing then to Franklin County he purchased two hundred acres of wild land in the town of New Salem ; and this he partially cleared and placed under cultivation, further improving it by the erection of substantial buildings. He was highly respected as a man and as a citizen, being among the foremost in political matters. He was also an active worker in religious circles, being Deacon of the Congregational church. He lived to the ripe age of seventy-eight years. His good wife survived him, attaining the age of eighty- six years. They reared a large family of chil- dren ; namely, George, Amos, Samuel, James M., Nancy, Lydia, Hannah, Betsey, and Maria. Samuel Adams, the third son of Amos, was born on the paternal homestead at New Salem, September 25, 1805, and was reared to farm- ing pursuits. He inherited the farm from his father; but he subsequently sold a part, pur- chasing another adjoining, on which he made many improvements, and carried on lumbering in addition to tilling the soil, becoming one of the leading business men of the town. In him the Republican party found one of its most faithful adherents, and he filled satisfac- torily the offices of Assessor and Selectman for several years. He was, likewise, one of the Directors of the Springfield & Athol Railway Company, holding the office until his death, October 30, 1871. His wife, who bore him three children — James W. , Lydia A., and Sarah E. — lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years. James W. Adams completed his school life at the New Salem Academy, and when ready to establish himself in life assumed charge of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the home farm, which he managed successfully for two years. Following the star of empire westward, in 1857 Mr. Adams went to Michi- gan, settling in Deerfield, Lenawee County, where he bought a farm, on which he lived six years. He then enlisted in the Eighth Mich- igan Infantry for three years as a musician, playing the B-flat cornet, and at the expiration of six months was discharged by general orders, along with a large number of bands, from the army. He then came East on a visit, and while here engaged with J. Wiley at Cooley- ville in the manufacture of palm-leaf hats and in general mercantile business. He manufact- ured hats for two years at Prescott, making them on contract for other parties ; and in the succeeding three years he was engaged in mercantile business at Bond's Village, in the town of Palmer, Hampden County. Return- ing then to his native county, Mr. Adams bought the W. ReynoMs farm, containing fifty-three acres of choice land, finely located, south of Orange; and here in 1886 he erected a commodious brick residence and two con- veniently arranged barns, and has carried on general agriculture with excellent success. As a dealer in real estate he has exhibited energy and enterprise, having laid out fourteen acres in village lots, many of which he has sold. He has also built several houses, some twenty-three in all; and of this number he has but seven now remaining, they having met with a ready sale. Mr. Adams is the posses- sor of five hundred acres of land in New Salem, including the original homestead prop- erty of his paternal grandfather. On Thanksgiving Day in November, 1848, Mr. Adams was united in marriage with E. Augusta Cleveland, who was born at Rutland, Mass., March 18, 1826, a daughter of Shubael and Abigail (Jewell) Cleveland, the former a well-known shoemaker. Mrs. Adams passed to the spirit world June 17, 1871, leaving seven children, namely: Emma P., born Au- gust 3, 1849; John C, born January 15, 185s; Walter ]., born June 16, 1859, who married May Clark, and is the father of two children — Elmer and Marjory; James S. , born June 13, 1863, who married Lulu Bas- sett, and has three children — Vera M., Lu- cinda L, and Emma A. ; Albert J. and Arethusa W., twins, born October 4, 1869; and Abbie A., born April 28, 1871. After the death of his first wife Mr. Adams married Miss Emily Jilson, who was born in Rich- mond, N. H., March 5, 1842. She is a most estimable woman and a home-keeper in the truest sense of the word. Politically, Mr. Adams is a stanch Repub- lican. He has served with credit in many of the town offices, having been Selectman, Assessor, and a member of the School Com- mittee. Socially, he is prominent in Grand Army of the Republic circles, belonging to Orange Post, No. 17; and he is also an active member of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M. "IjVpjATTHEW CHAPMAN, a retired 1=1=/ manufacturer of Greenfield, Mass., ^ V_^ Farms, Franklin County, Mass., was born in the adjacent town of Montague, October 15, 1833, son of Noadiah and Lu- cretia (Ward) Montague. His great-grand- father, Daniel Montague, son of Samuel Montague, was a native of Sunderland, Mass., where he followed agriculture. Medad Mon- tague, son of Daniel, was born in Sunderland, which is in the southern part of Franklin County, and settled in the North Parish thereof, now Montague, previous to the incor- poration of this town in 1753. After serving in the Revolutionary War, he became a pros- perous farmer, and was a Selectman twenty years, besides representing his district at the General Court for several terms. He died at the age of eighty-two years. He was three times married, and was the father of nine chil- dren. CHARLES B. WELLS. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 79 Noadiah Montague, Mr. Montague's father, was born in Montague, and, after completing his studies in the district schools, assisted his father upon the home farm, of which he event- ually became the owner, and resided there until reaching the age of fifty-eight years. He then purchased the farm now owned and occupied by his son, Henry W. ; and here he died three years later. Noadiah Montague married Lucretia Ward, a daughter of William Ward, a lawyer and a lumber dealer of Shutes- bury. She became the mother of four chil- dren, of whom Henry W., with whom she passed her last days, is the only survivor. Mrs. Lucretia W. Montague died at the age of eighty-two years. Henry W. Montague passed his boyhood in attending the district schools of his native town, and remained with his parents until reaching the age of twenty-one, when he com- menced to learn the carpenter's trade. Three years later he returned to the parental roof, and after the death of his father succeeded to the possession of the home farm, which he has since conducted with success. In 1866 Mr. Montague was united in marriage to Mary E. Field, daughter of Horace F. Field, of North- field. The fruit of this union is one son, Frank H. Montague, who resides with his par- ents. He has a good education, having at- tended successively in his youth the schools of Northfield, the seminary at New Salem, and the Albany Business College. Mr. Montague is a member of the Masonic Lodge of Northfield. He is a Republican in politics, has served as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor for nine years. In 1882 he represented his district in the State legislature, and he was for four years Post- master at Northfield Farms. For the past eleven years he has discharged with ability the duties of the office of Justice of the Peace in Montague, having his first appointment thereto from Governor George D. Robinson and his reappointment from Governor William E. Russell. 7TAHARLES BARNARD WELLS, I V'^ whose portrait appears on the opposite ^•^ ^ page, a well-known and highly re- spected farmer of Greenfield, was born Decem- ber II, 1829, in Rowe, Mass., another Frank- lin County town. Plis great-grandfather, Joel Wells, was one of the early settlers of Green- field, which at that time was a part of Deer- field. In his day Indians and game abounded throughout this part of the country, and the pioneer settlers required skill in the use of the musket as well as the axe and hoe. He mar- ried Hannah Bascom, and followed the occupa- tion of farmer till his death, which took place in Greenfield. His son, also named Joel and also a tiller of the soil, resided at different times both at Greenfield and Rowe, but died at North Adams, Mass., at the age of eighty-five. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Abi- gail Hawks, and who died somewhat younger than he, were members of the Unitarian church. They had five sons and two daughters who grew up, all of whom are now cieceased. Alpheus Wells, son of the foregoing and father of Charles Barnard Wells, was born in Greenfield in 1789, and grew to manhood, and received his education in the schools of that town. When a young man he moved to Rowe, where he secured a good farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was industrious and progressive, to which qualities he owed his success. He married Content Nash, who was born in Greenfield about 1789, daughter of Daniel and Abigail (Atherton) Nash. Daniel Nash was an early settler of Greenfield, and was actively identified with the affairs of his town, including religious matters, being a 8o BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW member of the First Congregational Church. Alpheus Wells was liberal in his religious views, while his wife faithfully adhered to the church of her father. In politics Mr. Wells was a Republican. He died at the age of fifty- seven years, his wife having lived to the age of forty-nine. They had two sons and two daugh- ters, namely : Sarah Ann, who died at seven- teen years of age ; Isabella G., born in Rowe, July 13, 1825, and now living with her brother, Charles Barnard ; George Nash, who died at the age of seventeen years ; and Charles Barnard, the immediate subject of this biography. Charles Barnard Wells resided in his native town of Rowe seventeen years, and then re- moved to Greenfield, where he has lived ever since. Having worked out at farming and lumbering a number of years in early manhood, in 1875 he bought the farm which he now oc- cupies ; he also owns a tract of twenty-five acres in Leyden. A hard-working man, by his undaunted energy and practical sagacity he has attained to a fair degree of success. He has never married, but lives with his maiden sister, Isabella G. Wells, on the old Smead farm. Miss Wells is a faithful and valued member of the First Congregational Church of Greenfield, while her brother holds liberal views in religion, and is guided by Re- publican principles in politics. As will be gathered from the brief record above given, they are the last of their immediate family; and it is, therefore, a happy circumstance that the likeness of Mr. Wells is herewith pre- sented for safe keeping, to be viewed with in- terest by the present and future generation of readers. ■ SA PHELPS, a prosperous farmer and prominent man of Monroe, was born in this town, July 27, 1823, son of Dana and Prudah (Bullock) Phelps. His grandfather, Francis Phelps, was a native of Guilford, Vt., and settled in Halifax in that State, where he engaged successfully in agri- culture. He was a soldier in the Revolution- ary War, and drew a pension for his military services. In politics he was a Whig. He died at the age of seventy-five years, highly respected by all his neighbors. His children were : Francis, Barney, Porter, Jonathan, and Dana. Dana Phelps was a very active man, and in his younger days surpassed all the farmers in his neighborhood in the amount of farm work accomplished. Although not ordained, he was active in evangelical work, and for years preached the Universalist doctrine, minister- ing to souls in Monroe, Mass., in Readsboro, Vt. , and in Florida, Mass. In Monroe he was a prominent man and held most of the town offices. His wife, who was a woman of rare capability, strong in mind and body, was the mother of thirteen children, nine boys and four girls, whom she clothed with the products of her own deft hands, carding, spinning, and weaving the wool and flax for their garments during the first twenty years of her mother- hood. Asa Phelps was educated in the district schools and at Whitingham Academy, and at the age of nineteen began teaching school, which occupation he continued for six terms. He then bought a farm of thirty-two acres, known as the Phelps place ; but after a short time he sold it and purchased his present farm of one hundred and thirty acres, which he im- proved and upon which he erected a substantial dwelling. Later he built a small store, which he conducted for some time with fair success. His farm is well stocked and has a small but good dairy, and his place presents the thrifty appearance of the well-kept homestead of a typical New England farmer. Mr. Phelps is BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW a man of influence in his town, and his opin- ion carries weight in public affairs. He is independent in politics, and has served as Jus- tice of the Peace for seven years, also as Se- lectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, has been a member of the School Committee for twelve years, and has twice served on traverse jury in the Superior Court. On July 3, 1845, he was married to Miss Lydia S. Bassett, daughter of Erastus and Lydia (Yaw) Bassett, well known and es- teemed citizens of this locality. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are the parents of the following chil- dren : Leonard A., born August 15, 1846, who married Sarah Crocker, and has two chil- dren ; Homer A., born October 6, 1853, who married Cora D. Phelps, and has one child, Edna M. ; Lydia-C, born December 16, 1855, who died in early childhood, April i, i860; and Edna S., born March 2, 1861, who died at twenty-four. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps stand high among the people of the town of Monroe for their many sterling qualities, which they have doubtless in part inherited from their sturdy New England ancestors. They may well be regarded as representative citizens of Franklin County. "OSIAH P. DAY, a retired blacksmith of Bernardston and a veteran of the late war, was born in Cattaraugus County, New York, August 4, 1837, son of Robert and Adeline (Pomeroy) Day. The Days trace their-ancestry back to Robert Day, who in April, 1634, came to this country and settled in Newtown, now Cambridge, Mass., and later moved to Hartford, Conn., where he died. His name may be found recorded on a monument in that city erected to the memory of the first settlers. His son, Thomas Day, was the founder of the Springfield branch of the fafnily. John, the son of Thomas, was the first of the family to make his home in West Springfield. His son John was born in West Springfield, as were also his grandson Joel, James, son of Joel, and Robert, son of James and father of the subject of this memoir. Josiah P. Day came to Bernardston when but twelve years of age, and received the ad- vantages of the district schools of the town and also of the Goodale Academy. He began to learn the blacksmith's trade when seventeen years of age, and served three years, at the end of which time he found employment as a jour- neyman blacksmith in different places. On August 14, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Tenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, which was in the following battles: in 1862, siege of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks (two battles), Charles City Cross-roads, Glen- dale, Malvern Hill, Antietam, and Fredericks- burg; in 1863, the Mud Campaign, St. Mary's Heights, Salem Heights, Franklin Crossing, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, and Mine Run; in 1864, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. Mr. Day's record was an event- ful one, and he saw much hard service. His first battle was Antietam ; and in. all he par- ticipated in fourteen or fifteen engagements, having two narrow escapes from death. At Salem Heights they had driven the rebels into the woods and received orders to halt and lie down. Mr. Day was on his knees, arranging his knapsack, and just dropped on his face as a ball struck the knapsack and lodged in his underclothing. At another time he was on one knee with his gun before him, when a ball from a sharp-shooter struck the gun-barrel di- rectly in front of his face, cutting the gun strap and stock in two and glancing off. He was honorably discharged from the service July I, 1864. At the close of the war he re- 82 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW turned to Bernardston and re-engaged in the blacksmith business ; but owing to poor health, brought on by the hardships of army life, it was several years before he was well able to stand the wear and tear of his work. For twenty-two years, however, Mr. Day could be found most of the time at his forge in the shop that he purchased in 1867. His untiring in- dustry was attended with success ; but at length he was obliged to give up this labor on account of rheumatism, and now, retired from active business, is spending his time in rest and quiet at home. He married, January 2, 1868, Lucy A. Haskell, who was born in Montague, Mass., daughter of Abram K. and Esther (Kellogg) Haskell. The father was born in Shutesbury, Mass., and the mother in New Salem, Mass. Mr. Haskell was a mechanic by trade, but during the last years of his life he worked as a farmer. He died at the age of seventy-four years. His wife is still living in Bernardston. Mr. and Mrs. Day have a daughter, Josephine E., who graduated from Powers Institute in 1 891, and also graduated in shorthand, type- writing, and book-keeping from Childs's Busi- ness College in June, 1893. Mrs. Day is a member of the Congregational church. Polit- ically, Mr. Day is a Republican. He belongs to the Edwin E. Day Post, No. 174, Grand Army of the Republic, of Greenfield, Mass. Tt^OLLIN C. WARD, M.D., a promi- \^\ nent physician of Northfield, Mass., -L^ V-^ "^2is ■ born at West Rutland, Vt. , April 6, 1838, son of Aaron and Olive B. (Southworth) Ward. Dr. Ward's great-grand- father, Jabez Ward, born in 1735, married Je- mima Allen, a near relative of Colonel Ethan Allen of Ticonderoga fame, and took a leading part in local public affairs in the Colonial pe- riod. He died in 1786, at his home in New Marlboro, Berkshire County, Mass., at the age of eighty-two years. His son Jabez married Eleanor Warner, of New Marlboro, and re- moved to Rutland, Vt. , where he was for some years a prosperous farmer, and died there at the age of sixty-six. The immigrant pro- genitor of this branch of the Ward family in America was William Ward, who received a grant of land in Sudbury, Mass., in 1639, and represented that town in the General Court in 1644. He was great-great-grandfather of the first Jabez here named. Aaron Ward, son of the younger Jabez, was educated in the district schools, and trained to agricultural pursuits, which he followed through life. He succeeded to the possession of the old Rutland homestead, but, after resid- ing there for a few years, sold it to his brother, and for some time conducted a large boarding-house in the neighborhood of the quarries in West Rutland. Aaron Ward died at the home of his son, Rollin C. Ward, in Orwell, Vt. , aged seventy-seven years. He and his wife were members of the Congre- gational church. Mrs. Aaron Ward was a daughter of Isaac Southworth, a prominent farmer and an old resident of West Rutland, who was active in church affairs in that town. She died at the age of eighty-five years, hav- ing been the mother of twelve children, of whom four are now living; namely, Lorenzo, Silas, Selah, and Rollin C. Rollin C. Ward received his education in the schools of his native town, including the select school, the Castleton Seminary, and the Troy Conference Academy. Beginning to teach at the age of seventeen, he taught in both the district and select schools for several years, also doing some farm work during that time. On May 17, 1861, he enlisted as a Union soldier, and was made Fifth Sergeant BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW &3 in Company B, Second Vermont Volunteer Infantry, which on being mustered into service was attached to the Sixth Army Corps ; and, passing upward from rank to rank until De- cember 20, 1862, was then promoted to that of Captain. He led his company through many memorable engagements, and received a gun- shot wound in each thigh at the battle of Spottsylvania, which confined him in the hos- pital for some time, and eventually incapaci- tated him for further service. He was dis- charged at Berryville, Va. , but attached him- self to the forage department of the army at City Point, and remained until the close of the war. Returning to Vermont, he purchased a small farm at Orwell, which he conducted for a short period ; and it was at this time that he first entered upon the study of medicine, devoting to it all the leisure hours he had when not employed in teaching. After graduating from the Harvard Medical School on June 28, 1870, Dr. Ward began the work of his profession in his native State. In 1872 he settled in Northfield, where he has since conducted a successful practice and en- joyed the respect and esteem of the entire community. In 1868 he was united in mar- riage to Miss Lucy Cushman, daughter of Earle and Lucy (Young) Cushman, the former of whom was a physican of Orwell, Vt., and died at the age of seventy-seven years, during fifty-three of which he had been in active prac- tice. Mrs. Ward's mother, a native of Athol, died at the age of fifty-five years. Dr. Ward is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Northfield, and is also connected with the Chapter and Commandery in Orange. He is a comrade of Post 171, Grand Army of the Republic, of Northfield, of which he has been commander for several years. He is a Demo- crat in politics; was Postmaster from 1885 to 1890; was a Selectman for three years, during which he served as Chairman one year; was Chairman of the School Board six years ; and has served upon the Library Board since its organization. He has been President of the Franklin Medical Association and a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. He was a candidate for State Senator for two years, and, although defeated, was complimented with a very large vote. He is liberal in his religious views. 7TAHARLES HAMILTON, a prominent I jp farmer of Heath, was born at Shutes- V,^_^^ bury, November 19, 1823, and is a son of David and Betsey (Upton) Hamilton. His paternal grandfather was a native of Prov- incetown, Cape Cod, Mass., and extensively engaged in the fishing industry. He also owned considerable land in, that vicinity, but moved to Pelham, and later to New Salem, where he resided during the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty years. He was twice married. The children by his second wife, whose maiden name was Ann Eldridge, were Elijah and David. David Hamilton, who was also born on Cape Cod, accompanied his parents to New Salem. In early manhood he purchased two hundred acres of land in the town of Shutes- bury, and, clearing a portion of this for farm- ing purposes, he also carried on a lumber business and operated a saw-mill, attaining a position of business prosperity. He died at the age of sixty-eight years. He was origi- nally a Democrat, but in his later years sup- ported the Republican party. In religion he was a Baptist. His wife was a daughter of Benjamin and Betsey (Trask) Upton, who were residents of Shutesbury. Her father was a prominent farmer of that town, who served in the Revolutionary War, and was wounded at 84 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the battle of Bunker Hill. Their children were : John, P'anny, Mabel, Betsey, and Dor- cas. Mrs. Betsey Hamilton died at the age of sixty-three years, having reared the following children : David, William, Charles, Ann, John, Joseph, Sarah, and Elmira. Charles Hamilton left his home at the age of ten years, and for the succeeding three years was employed by a farmer and butcher, from whom he received for his services his board and clothing. From fourteen to seventeen years of age he continued to follow the occu- pation of a farm laborer, his wages being sixty dollars per year, with the privilege of attend- ing school winters. Next he rented a farm for two years, after which he purchased the homestead of his wife's father, consisting of sixty acres. He also purchased some timber land, and was engaged in lumbering upon it for six years. Having sold this property, in 1855 he moved to the town of Heath, where he bought the estate of sixty acres known as the Williams farm. Later he added to his farm a tract of seventy-five acres, some of which is in the town of Rowe, and has effected several noticeable improvements, among them being a new house and barn. He makes a specialty of stock-raising, conducts a choice dairy, and owns one of the finest hay farms in the locality. His property is exceedingly valuable from the fact that it is located upon the mineral belt, in the immediate vicinity of the well-known Davis sulphur mine. On August 27, 1862, Mr. Hamilton enlisted in Company B, Fifty-second Massachusetts Regi- ment, under the command of Colonel Green- leaf, for nine months' service, but remained for a period of one year, during which time he participated in the battle of Port Hudson and other engagements. Mr. Hamilton is a Republican in politics, and is liberal in his religious views. On November 22, 1848, Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage to Miss Maria L. Baker, daughter of Jonathan S. and Louise (Horr) Baker. Their union has been blessed with the following children : Julia, born March 3, 1850, who married first Martin L. Blanchard, and, after he died, leaving one son, married second Dennis W. Jones (also deceased), and is now the wife of Chandler H. Blanchard and resides at Greenfield, having one child, Grace L. ; Charles A., born July 12, 1853, who married Ellen Goodacre, and died at the age of forty-one years; James N. , born February 28, 185s; Adelaide A., born July 16, 1857, who married Edward S. Smead, and has one child, named Nellie L ; and Myron S. Hamil- ton, born July i, 1861, who married Bessie L. Harris, and has two children, Carrie M. and Earle R. NDREW SAUER, a much esteemed citizen of Buckland, Franklin County, Mass., a successful dealer in gentle- men's furnishing goods, was born in Saxony, Germany, on February 14, 1841, son of Simon and Steina (Amstein) Sauer, both of whom were natives of the same place. Simon Sauer successfully engaged in the vocation of a car- penter and joiner. He died at the early age of forty-eight years. His wife, Steina Amstein Sauer, died when but fifty-six years of age, hav- ing borne him five children, as follows : George, Anna E. , Andrew, Casper, and Anna. Andrew Sauer lived with his parents during his youth, receiving a good practical education in the schools of his native country. At nine- teen years of age he came to America, landing in New York, from which place he came to Franklin County, Mass., and secured a posi- tion in the Lamson & Goodnow cutlery manufactory at Shelburne Falls as a me- chanic, remaining with them ten months. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 8S The Civil War was then in progress; and he enlisted in Company H of the Tenth Massa- chusetts Regiment, under Captain Miller. After a faithful service of three years, during which he took part in many important engage- ments, he received his honorable discharge on June 21, 1864. He then returned to Shel- burne Falls and again engaged in the cutlery manufactory, continuing in that position until 1 871, when he purchased the clothing business of A. Sherwin, which he has since conducted with increasing success. His store is located in the Methodist Episcopal society's block, and he carries a good assortment of clothing, hats, and other gentlemen's furnishing goods. He owns two houses and lots in Buckland, one being his residence on Williams Street, which he erected, and the other a tenement-house. On July 9, 1864, Mr. Sauer was united in marriage with Miss Christie Witzeman, daughter of George Witzeman, of Germany. They have one child, a daughter, Jessie B. , who was born November 29, 1880. In politics Mr. Sauer is an independent Democrat. He has ever merited the respect of his fellow-citizens; and that they are not un- mindful of his ability, his public spirit, and upright character, is shown by the various offices of trust to which he has been elected, including that of Selectman, of Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, he having served in the latter capacity for five years. Since 1862 he has held office in the fire department, in which he is actively interested. Fraternally, he is a member of the Alethian Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Post No. 93, Grand Army of the Republic, of Shelburne Falls. He is also President of the Gun Club and Vice-President of the Turn- verein Lodge. Mr. Sauer and his estimable wife are active and influential members of the Congregational church of Shelburne Falls. RSON BALLOU CURTIS was for many years one of the most prominent business men of Colerain and a citi- zen who made his influence very much felt in the management of local affairs. He was a na- tive of New Hampshire, his birth having oc- curred January 27, 1825, in the town of Rich- mond, which was also the birthplace of his father, Orson Curtis. (A record of the Curtis family may be found in the history of Rich- mond, N. H.) Orson Curtis remained in the town of his nativity until after his marriage, on May 16, 1824, to Betsey Ballou, a daughter of New Hampshire. In 1829 they removed to Colerain, Mass., where Mr. Curtis followed the trade of shoemaking, both he and his wife passing their remaining days in this town. They reared a family of four children; namely, Orson Ballou, Semantha, Seth, and Henry, the latter, the youngest of the family, a resident of Colerain, being the only one now living. Orson Ballou Curtis was but five years old when he came with his parents to Colerain and began to attend the district schools. He com- pleted his education at a select school in Hali- fax, Vt. , where he afterward opened his career as a pedagogue. He also taught school sev- eral terms in Colerain previous to beginning mercantile life here as a clerk for Mr. Calvin Shattuck, in whose employ he acquired a good knowledge of business. He then opened a small grocery store in the village, in company with Mr. Walkup, also of Colerain ; but after- ward he bought out the interest of his part- ner in the store, and continued its manage- ment alone until his decease, April 21, 1888. He was a man of good business capacity, hon- est and upright, a most pleasant man to deal with, and soon built up a large and lucrative trade, having one of the most completely stocked stores of general merchandise in the vicinity. He was a sound Republican in 86 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW politics, and in public affairs was energetic and influential, representing his district in the legislature one term, serving as a member of the School Board, as Justice of the Peace for several years, and as Postmaster, an office which he was holding at the time of his de- mise. In religious matters he was actively interested, being a valued member of the Methodist Episcopal church, one of its officers for many years, a member of both boards, as well as superintendent of its Sunday-school for many years and the leader of its choir. Mr. Curtis was twice married. His first wife, to whom he was united September 5, 1849, ^^^ Mary S. Barber, a native of Cole- rain. After a brief term of wedded happiness she passed to the higher life, April 27, 1856. Mr. Curtis was married November 3, 1858, to Miss Sarah J. Shaw. She was born July 15. 1833, in Lowell, Mass. Her father, Philo S. Shaw, was born in Middleboro, Mass. He was a carpenter by trade, and in the latter part of his life worked as a loom builder. He married Adaline D. Cheever, a native of Lowell, Mass., and ten children were born to them, nine of whom grew to ma- turity, and five are now living, namely: Sarah J. (Mrs. Curtis); Kate A., of Griswoldville ; Helen A.; Charles H., of California; and Edwin C, also a resident of California. The names of the departed were as follows: Ada- line, William H., Rose B. , George S. , and Lewis C. Shaw. Mrs. Curtis is a woman of great personal worth, and is held in high es- teem throughout the community in which so many pleasant years have been passed. She is a devoted Christian, active in the work of the church, and an efficient teacher in the Sunday- school. In her attractive home she has the companionship of a niece. Miss Bessie Ballou Curtis, who ably assists in hospitably entertain- ing their many friends and acquaintances. AMUEL SAWYER, who is engaged as a wood-turner at the works of the Miller's Falls Company, on Miller's River, in the town of Erving, Frank- lin County, opposite the village of Miller's Falls, was born at Richmond, N. H., May 3, 1836, son of John M. and Rowena Sawyer. His grandfather, Nathaniel Sawyer, was a na- tive and life-long resident of Rutland, Mass. John M. Sawyer, who was born in Rutland, abandoned the parental roof on attaining his majority, and purchased a farm in Richmond, N.H., where he engaged in cultivating the soil and operating a saw-mill. In 1848 he sold his property there, and purchased a farm in Win- chester, N. H., where he resided until his death, which occurred at the age of seventy- three years. He was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. John M. Sawyer mar- ried Rowena, daughter of Eli Sawyer, a farmer of Westminster, where her parents passed their entire lives. She was the mother of four children, all of whom are still living; namely, Joseph, Samuel, David, and Henry. The mother died in Winchester at the age of seventy-one years. Samuel Sawyer attended both the district and the graded schools, and after the comple- tion of his studies followed agriculture for a time, later finding employment in a saw-mill in Winchester village. He next went to Orange, where he acquired the trade of a founder; and, after the destruction of the foundry by fire, he engaged in the occupation of a millwright. He travelled for the Rodney Hunt Machine Company, setting up and ad- justing machinery, and, after continuing with that concern until 1869, came to Miller's Falls for the purpose of constructing the dam and erecting the shops for the Miller's Falls Company. He commenced the extensive un- dertaking in April of that year, and in the fol- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 87 lowing December had completed the dam, during which time he superintended each par- ticular part of the work, from the cutting, hauling, and manufacturing of the lumber used in its construction to the figuring of the pay- roll. After the completion of this work he leased the old saw-mill at Miller's Falls, in which he conducted a jobbing business for a period of three years, at the expiration of which time he sold, and for the next year was engaged in the construction of buildings for industrial purposes at Rochester. He then went to the State of Michigan, where he re- mained for one and one-half years, and, return- ing East in 1877, engaged in his present busi- ness, which he has since successfully followed. In 1856 Samuel Sawyer was united in mar- riage to his first wife, who was Miss Sarah H. Starkey, daughter of Melvin Starkey, of Keene, N. H. The only child of this union, Hattie M., married Mr. E. E. Angel, of Somerville, Mass. ; and they have two chil- dren, named Pearl and Mildred. Mrs. Sarah H. Sawyer died in 1866; and Mr. Sawyer wedded for his second wife Sarah S. Pratt, a sister of Henry L. Pratt, of the Miller's Falls Company, and a native of Shutesbury, where her father was an extensive farmer and a well- known surveyor. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have one son, Charles L., who is a tool-maker, and foreman of one of the departments in the Miller's Falls Company's shops. He married Alice E. Dibble, of Chester, Mass. ; and they live at Miller's Falls. Mr. Samuel Sawyer is a Republican in poli- tics. He has served the town of Erving as a Selectman for eight years, also as Assessor; has served as Moderator of the town meetings fifteen years in succession ; and has held other town offices. Charles L. Sawyer is a sup- porter of the same political party. The family attend the Congregational church. AMES PORTER, superintendent of the Greenfield Water Works, a public- spirited and influential citizen of the town, was born in the town of New Hartford, Conn., May 25, 1836. On the paternal side of the family he is of English stock, his father, the late Jesse Porter, having been born about nine miles from the city of London, May 22, 1798. Jesse Porter was a wool stapler. When a young man he came to this country, and was engaged in buying wool for the New York and New England manufacturers for several years. In 1832 he married Mary Lester, a native of Northampton ; and they soon after started west- ward, the Territory of Michigan being their point of destination. The journey from North- ampton to Detroit was made with a horse and wagon, a large portion of their way being through an almost trackless wilderness. They spent some time in Detroit, where their eldest son was born, and bought land not far from that place, being for many years owners of a quarter-section in Oakland County. Return- ing to New England, they lived for a while in New Hartford, but in 1838 removed to North- ampton, Mass. Mrs. Porter died April 4, 1848; and five weeks from that day her hus- band was buried by her side in the Northamp- ton cemetery. They left an orphan family of six children, the youngest being five weeks old, and the eldest fourteen years. Their rec- ord is as follows: Jesse is a dentist in Chico- pee. James is the subject of the present sketch. George W. died in October, 1866, at the age of twenty-nine years, leaving a widow. He was a brilliant and ambitious scholar in the Freshman class at Yale College, but gave up his literary aspirations to fight for his country's flag, enlisting in 1861 in Com- pany E, Tenth Massachusetts Volunteer In- fantry, going out first as a scout, and was in 88 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Richmond when McClellan was on the Penin- sula. His last two years of service were spent in Washington, where he was chief clerk at the Department of Washington head- quarters, his ofifice being on the spot where Philip Barton Key was killed. Hannah M., a graduate of the Mount Holyoke Seminary, and for many years a successful teacher, died at South Hadley in February, 1866, aged twenty-five years. Albert E. died December 31, 1876, at Chicago, leaving a wife and one son, Albert. He too was a soldier in the late Civil War, enlisting when but sixteen years old, going to the front as a private in the New York Hawkins Zouaves, and participating in the battles of Big Bethel, Roanoke, and Fred- ericksburg. He was subsequently general ward master at the Harewood Hospital in Washington, until the expiration of his term of enlistment. Being physically disabled by the fatigue and exposures he had endured, he never recovered his health, but died about the time his little son was born. Mary L. , the youngest child, lived but a year and a half of earthly life. Jesse Porter and his wife were devout Christian people, the former belonging to the Church of England, and the latter being a believer in the Methodist faith. James Porter finished his education at the Wilbraham Academy, and in 1854 began to learn the trade of a tinner and plumber. In 1857 he established himself in business in Palmer. Two years later he sold out, and for another two years was engaged in journeyman work, settling then in Northampton, where he was in business several years. In 1864 Mr. Porter entered the employment of P. P. Stew- art, as sale agent for his stoves; but "Black Friday," which discouraged all business men, broke up that enterprise, and he subsequently became book-keeper and cashier for a whole- sale and importing crockery house in New York. In 1865, owing to impaired health, Mr. Porter removed to Greenfield, buying the house at 30 Devens Street, where he has since lived, except the year 1876, when he was in New York City or on the road selling stoves. He first opened a store for the sale of the Stewart stoves, and handled nothing but Fuller & Warren's goods until 1867, when he sold out, his health being still too poor to allow of close attention to business. He then accepted the position of superintendent of the gas works, an office which he filled with satis- faction ten years. During the construction of the present system of water works Mr. Porter was clerk of the district and paymaster, and up to the fall of 1872 he was superintendent of the same. He was again appointed superin- tendent of the water works in 1882 for a term of three years, and from that time until 1888 was again connected with the gas company as superintendent. In 1889 Mr. Porter was elected superintendent and collector of the water works for the third time, and has filled the position with fidelity and ability up to the present, having won the trust and confidence of all concerned. Mr. Porter was united in marriage May 27, 1857, to Harriet J. Burnett, of South Hadley, a daughter of Stoughton W. Burnett. Four children have been born to them, namely: Edward L. , who passed away at the age of nineteen months; Byron A., who died in in- fancy; Fred H., who is correspondent in the Wells-Fargo and National Express Office in Boston ; and Francis Russell, who is in Bos- ton, with the National Express Company. Mr. Porter was in his earlier years a supporter of the principles of the Republican party, but since 1872 has uniformly cast his vote with the Democratic party. He is a man of liberal views on all subjects, and is free in religious thought. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 89 \A]. PHARCELLUS D. BRIDGES is a prominent farmer in South Deerfield, and still resides upon the homestead where he was born on December 21, 1846. His father, Benjamin F. Bridges, was born at Hardwick, Mass. ; and his paternal grandfather was Isaac Bridges of that town. Benjamin F. Bridges, who was a clothier by trade, owned and operated a mill at Sunder- land, Mass., for many years, which he iinally disposed of, and purchased the farm now occu- pied by his son. He continued to follow agri- cultural pursuits until compelled to relinquish active labor at the age of about seventy-five years, and died at the ripe old age of nearly ninety-five, in the full possession of his fac- ulties, after an illness of but a few days' dura- tion. His wife, Harriet A. Hubbard, a daugh- ter of Spencer Hubbard, of Deerfield, still survives, making her home with her son. Major Bridges, who is one of nine that are now living out of a family of fourteen chil- dren. Pharcellus D. Bridges received his elemen- tary education in the district schools, and, after completing his studies at the Deerfield Acad- emy, taught in both district and graded schools for a period of five years, subsequently enter- ing mercantile life at Broad Brook, Conn., where he remained for some length of time. Later, in company with a twin brother, he assumed the responsibilities of the home farm, and also engaged in the buying and shipping of country produce, which he has since carried on extensively with profitable results. In politics Major P. D. Bridges is a Repub- lican. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs, and has held various offices of trust. In 1875 he was elected a member of the School Board of the town, upon which he has served continuously ever since, and for the past eighteen years has been its Chairman — a position for which, by virtue of his experience as a teacher, he is especially adapted. In this capacity he has been mainly instrumental in improving the educational system of his native town, and also in securing the erection of the present school buildings for the better accom- modation of the pupils. The task of examin- ing and selecting teachers has likewise de- volved upon him for several years past, and he now has under his supervision a corps of twenty able instructors. In 1888 he was chosen Se- lectman, and has been Chairman of the Board from that time to the present, also having been Tax Collector for a period of seven years. In 1876 he was elected to the General Court, was re-elected in 1884, and again in 1893, when he was on the Committee on Military Affairs, being the only Representative in his district who has served three terms in the State legislature during the past thirty years. He has also served as Moderator of the annual town meetings twelve consecutive years. Major Bridges's military career has been as active and honorable as his political service. He enlisted as a private in Company H, Sec- ond Regiment of South Deerfield, under com- mand of Captain Babcock, and rapidly rose from rank to rank, till he became Captain. After his discharge he was unanimously re- elected, and he served as Captain of a company for a period of twelve years. In 1888 he was elected Major of the Second Regiment, Massa- chusetts Volunteer Militia, under the com- mand of his uncle. Colonel Benjamin F. Bridges, Jr., which rank he holds at the pres- ent time, having been in the service for a pe- riod of twenty-five consecutive years. Major Bridges was made a Mason in Morning Star Lodge, No. 28, of Ware Point House, Conn. He is also connected w-ith the Knights of Honor, and is a member of the Congregational church at South Deerfield. 9° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW kiss MARY T. BUTTON, of Northfield, was born in the house where she now resides, daughter of Samuel W. and Mary F. (Dascomb) But- ton. Miss Button's great-grandfather, Timo- thy Button, who was a native of Hebron, Conn., settled at Northfield when nearly sixty years old, about the year 1796. He was known as both Beacon and Squire Button; and he resided in Northfield, where he was a prosperous merchant, until his death, Au- gust 31, 1 8 14. Timothy B. Button, son of Timothy and Martha (Bartholomew) Button, was born in Hebron, Conn., in 1776. He was an ensign in the militia, a deacon in the church, a merchant for some time in com- pany with his father, and was a member of the Board of Selectmen in Northfield five years. He died in 1821. Samuel W. Button, son of Timothy B. and Mary (Williams) Button, was born in North- field, May 13, 1813. He passed his entire life in this town, conducting mercantile busi- ness in company with a Mr. Osgood for a pe- riod of forty years. In addition to this, being a man of superior executive ability and of well-known integrity, he attended to a great amount of public business, and was called upon to settle many large estates. He served as Town Treasurer twenty-nine years, Town Clerk eighteen years, as a member of the School Committee twelve years, and was a representative to the State legislature in 1863. He was also a deacon for forty years, being very prominent in church affairs from early manhood until his death, at the age of sixty- three years. Beacon Button married Becem- ber 3, 183s, Mary Bascomb, born June 3, 1797, daughter of Jacob Bascomb, of Wilton, N.H., and grand-daughter of James Bascomb, who was son of an English emigrant. Jacob Bascomb was born August 15, 1760, and died in 1827. He served in the Revolutionary army, in the Massachusetts line. After his marriage, on August 11, 1783, to Rachel Bale, as we learn from the History of Wilton, N.H., he lived in Lyndeboro, N.H., till 1809, when he removed to Wilton. In the former town he served several years as Town Clerk and Selectman. Beacon Samuel W- Button and his wife were the parents of two children, namely: Samuel B., who served with distinction in the Civil War, and now re- sides in Nebraska; and Mary T., the subject of this sketch. The mother died in 1867, at the age of fifty-three years. Mr. Button's second wife was Mary A. White; and she died February 3, 1895, leaving no children. In the public schools of Northfield Miss Button obtained a good knowledge of the com- mon English branches, and then, entering Mount Holyoke Seminary at South Hadley, now Mount Holyoke College, applied herself to higher studies, but by her mother's fail- ing health was prevented from finishing the course. She is pleasantly situated at her comfortable home in Northfield, in the sub- stantial dwelling erected by her father in 1835- As is clearly shown in these brief memorial paragraphs, the Button family has occupied a position of usefulness, influence, and honor in Northfield for nearly a full century. It is herewith further represented by a portrait of one of the best-known of its departed worthies. Beacon Samuel W., father of Miss Mary T. Button. Better be heir to a good name than the heritor of great riches. T^LARENCE M. LONG is the owner I J[ of a valuable homestead property in ^^i_^ Shelburne, which has been in the possession of the Long family for more than SAMUEL W. DUTTON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 93 a hundred years. The house, a well-built, substantial structure, his own birthplace and that of his father, was erected by his grand- father, Aaron Long, in 1784. His father, Lewis Long, was born on August 21, 1801, and he on September 13, 1840. The Long family originated in Scotland, whence they emigrated to the north of Ireland, where John Long, the great-grandfather of the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch, was born January 19, 1720. When six years of age he came to America with his parents, who settled in Eastern Massa- chusetts. Later, having grown to manhood, he became a pioneer of the town of Upton, in Worcester County, where he lived until 1780, when he removed with his family to Franklin County and bought the land now known as the Long homestead, which our subject owns and occupies. He carried on general farming, with the assistance of his son Aaron, until his death, September 30, 1797. He reared a family of ten children. Aaron Long was born in Taunton, Mass., August 27, 1764; and, when he came to this farm in 1780 with his father, John Long, above named, it was almost in a wild state, the only improvements being small clearings and a rude log cabin. By well-directed labor and indomitable perseverance he succeeded in placing a large portion of it under culture, and here reared his family of eleven children to be useful men and women. He was twice mar- ried. His first wife, Mary Miller, a native of Colerain, born April 26, 1767, died September 21, 1823, after a wedded life of thirty-seven yelrs, their marriage having been solemnized February 16, 1786. In April, 1826, he mar- ried Mrs. Clarissa Severance, who was born in 1777, and died March 10, 1834. Aaron Long was a man of irreproachable character, clear- headed and public-spirited, a faithful member of the Congregational church, to which his first wife also belonged. His second wife was a member of the Baptist church. The record of his children is thus given : Polly, born July 9, 1787, died October 20, 1809; Anna, born August 6, 1789, died August 4, I793; Peggy, born March 19, 1792, died August 28, 1835; Melinda, born September 25, 1794, died Sep- tember II, 1845; Aaron, born January 10, 1797, died January 17, 1864; Anna, born March 18, 1799, died September 10, 1878; Lewis, born August 21, 1801, died October 12, 1868; Joel, born August 28, 1803, died April 9, 1808; Alonzo, born October 22, 1805, died January 14, 1863; Joel, born Janu- ary 14, 1808, died February 5, 1834; and Robert M., born July 9, 1810, died March 9, 1839. Lewis Long, the seventh-born, was a life- long resident of the family homestead, and was one of the successful farmers of the town, own- ing one hundred and seventy acres of land, which he tilled with good results, continuing the improvements inaugurated by his father. He was a man of sterling worth and ability, a Republican in politics, and a Congregational- ist in his religious beliefs. He married Sally Bardwell, a native of Shelburne, born August 12, 1804. The name Bardwell, which is of English origin, was originally spelled and pronounced Bordwell; and some branches of the family still adhere to the old way, al- though the most prefer the more modern Bard- well. Mrs. Long's first ancestor in this coun- try was Robert Bardwell, who was apprenticed to the hatter's trade in London, England, in 1665, and who five years later came to America, arriving in Boston during the time of the Ind- ian troubles. He was sent directly to Had- ley, but afterward he settled in Hatfield, where he was married November 29, 1676, and where his death occurred in January, 1725. Samuel 94 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Bardwell, the second of the four sons of Rob- ert, settled in Deerfield after his marriage, and reared a family of thirteen children. Gideon, the seventh child, who was born July 2, 1724, and died January 20, 1814, settled in Montague, and reared seven children, one of them being Gideon, Jr., born December i, I7S4- In 1777 or 1778, Gideon Bardwell, Jr., set- tled at a point on the river's bank that became known as Bardwell's Ferry, he keeping a boat there for many years to transport passengers and goods. He died September 11, 1828. On February 11, 1779, he was united in mar- riage with Keziah Foster, who was born March 10, 1761, and died October 23, 1845. The record of their children is as follows: Joel, born August 8, 1780, died March 9, 1849; Melicent, born July 9, 1783, died April 14, 1 8 10; Aaron, born November 8, 1785, died in March, 1855; Sally, born May 6, 1789, died December 25, 1797; William, born September 17, 1791, died May 30, 1867; Loren N. , born October 18, 1794, died Oc- tober 14, 1797; Hannah, born March 12, 1799, died July 6, 1839; ^"d Sally (Mrs. Lewis Long), born August 12, 1804, died January 23, 1875. Five children were the fruit of the union of Lewis and Sally (Bard- well) Long, as follows : Melinda B. , who mar- ried William Nims, was born April 12, 1832, and died December 7, 1863; Melissa J., born October 15, 1834, married Zenas D. Bardwell, and died February 28, 1889; Melicent A., born October 15, 1834, married Zerah C. Al- vord, died March 18, 1887; Clarence M. is the subject of this sketch; Solomon L. , born August 28, 1844, a carpenter by trade, lives in Buffalo, N.Y. Clarence M. Long was educated in the dis- trict schools and at a select school in Shel- burne Centre. From earliest boyhood he assisted in the manual labor of the farm, and when quite a young man he assumed its entire management. After the death of his father he bought out the interest of the other heirs, and has since been prosperously engaged in general farming and dairying. Possessing good finan- cial ability, he has also carried on a successful business in buying and selling cattle, and has acquired a comfortable competency. He is a man of unquestioned integrity and every way worthy of the high regard in which he is held. On May 23, 1865, Mr. Long was united in marriage with Emeline M. Rice, who was born March 3, 1 841, in Colerain, a daughter of Moses and Ann (Smith) Rice, and great- grand-daughter of Major Hezekiah Smith. Mr. Rice was born October 4, 1799, at Han- cock, N. Y., and Mrs. Rice February 19, 1798, in Colerain. He was a shoe dealer, and car- ried on an extensive business in Holyoke, liv- ing there until his death, November 24, 1853. His widow and five children survived him. Mrs. Rice is still living, but two of the chil- dren have since passed away, namely : Clark M., born December 26, 1831, who died Au- gust 29, 1855; and Prudence B. Niles, born October 2, 1830, who died February 5, 1859. The living are: Jennie A., born April 11, 1834, the wife of Elias Stone, of Halifax, Vt. ; Nathaniel S. , born August i, 1836, residing at Rowe, Mass. ; and Emeline M., Mrs. Long. Three children came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Long, one of whom, Delia M., born November 6, 1866, died March 19, 1891. Louis R. Long, born October 12, 1868, is a farmer, and lives with his parents. Archie C. Long, born August 24, 1872, is also a farmer, and lives on the old homestead. Mr. Long is a Republican in politics, as are his sons ; and for fifteen years he served accept- ably as a member of the School Board. Mr. and Mrs. Long and their sons are members of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 95 the Congregational church, and are highly es- teemed throughout the community, being ex- emplary citizens, kind and obliging neighbors, and agreeable friends, their home being the centre of a gracious hospitality. /^HARLES S. HILLMAN, one of the I jp oldest and most respected residents of ^^ ^ Colerain, Franklin County, Mass., was born in Conway, March i, 1814. He is the son of Presbrey and Editha (Hitchcock) Hillman, both natives of Conway, and the grandson of Lot Hillman, one of the early set- tlers of that town. Grandfather Lot Hillman was a cowboy in his early years, in England, his native country. On coming to America he spent a short time at Martha's Vineyard, and then settled in Conway, being one of the sturdy pioneers whose determined will, ably seconded by muscle, reduced the wilderness to a condition adapted to the needs of civilized life. " Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, Their labor oft the stubborn glebe has broke ; How jocund did they drive their team afield ! How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke ! " Lot Hillman died in his prime. His wife, whose maiden name was Lovie Luce, lived to a good old age, dying in Colerain. They had ten children, all of whom reached maturity, Presbrey, the father of our subject, being the eldest. Presbrey Hillman grew to manhood in Con- way, and there engaged in farming, also deal- ing in stock. He moved to Colerain in 1822, and settled on a farm adjoining the estate on which his son Charles S. now lives. As a farmer he was very successful, and he was one of the largest stock dealers in this vicin- ity. In politics he was a Whig, and later a Republican. He served three terms as a rep- resentative to the State legislature, and also filled various town offices, including that of Assessor. He died on his farm in Colerain at the age of sixty-eight, his wife living to be seventy-five. They had six children, one of whom, Sylvanus T., died in infancy. The others, who were named as follows: Eleanor H., Charles S., Henry M., Daniel D, and Nancy T., all grew up, were married, and all but one have passed away, Charles S. being the only survivor. Charles S. Hillman was eight years old when his parents moved to Colerain, and here in the district school he received his education. He has followed farming since boyhood, succeed- ing to the ownership of the farm of his fathers, which comprised fifty-six acres when it came into his possession. On that farm he spent twenty years. He has owned various other farms, and in 1879 purchased the one upon which he now lives, which covers one hundred and twenty acres. Mr. Hillman has literally "earned his bread by the sweat of his brow," working early and late to win success. He was married on November 14, 1839, to Jane Wilson, daughter of Robert Wilson and grand-daughter of David Wilson, one of the first settlers in the town. Mrs. Hillman was born in Colerain, June i, 1819, and died at her home in this town, September 8, 1890, leav- ing three children. A daughter, Mary A., wife of H. W. Thompson, had died some time previous, at the age of thirty-seven. The liv- ing children are: Flora A., wife of Arthur A. Smith, of Colerain; Charles W., who lives on the farm with his father; and Daniel D., who resides in Colerain. Mr. Hillman is a Republican, and has been Selectman during one term, and has filled several minor offices. One of the oldest citizens of the town, he holds a high place in the esteem of his fellow- men. 96 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ^YLVANDER G. BENSON, a well- known farmer of Heath, was born in this town on September i6, 1856, and is a son of Squire and Elvira (Buck) Ben- son. His grandfather, also named Squire Benson, who married Hannah Green, was a son of Berrick and Sarah (Comstock) Benson. Berrick Benson was a native of Thompson, Conn., where he followed agricultural pursuits and was a very prosperous farmer. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War, was a Whig in politics, and both himself and wife lived to reach a ripe old age. Their children were: Jonathan, Ebenezer, Berrick, Jr., Job, Daniel, Joseph, Louise, Deborah, Sarah, Eu- nice, and Squire. The last named, whose birth occurred at Burroughsville, Conn., in 1785, first settled at Thompson, but moved to Lleath, Mass., previous to the year 181 3, where he purchased a small tract of land situ- ated upon Burned Hill, and became one of the first settlers of the town. Pie cleared a good farm from the wilderness, which he occupied for many years ; but during the latter part of his life he resided at Shelburne P'alls, where he died on May 20, 1870. His wife died in 1 87 1. She was born in 1792, and she was a daughter of Henry Green, a veteran of the Rev- olutionary War. They were the parents of the following children, three of whom died in in- fancy ; the others, who grew to maturity, were as follows: Seymour B. , Nelson H., Hannah, Orinda, Sylvander, Russell F. , Squire, Jr., Mary E., Frederick O., Charles D., Eucla E. , Lucy O. , and Francis O. Squire Benson, Jr., was born at Heath, July 6, 1823, and, when a very young man, commenced work in a tannery, where he was employed to grind bark. He followed that in connection with farming for several years, or until his marriage, which oc- curred on February 14, 1850, to Elvira Buck, daughter of John and Elvira (Lee) Buck. Her parents, who were early pioneers of Heath, later moved to New York State, where they died at a ripe old age. Squire Benson, Jr., having purchased the Buck farm immediately following the ceremony of his wedding, made many noticeable improvements in the prop- erty, which he successfully cultivated for many years. Both he and his wife are now passing their declining years in the enjoyment of good health. Their children are: Frederick, who married Audelle Vincent; Sylvander G. , of Heath; and Sarah S. , who wedded George A. Stetson. One daughter, Eucla E. , died at the age of nineteen years. Sylvander G. Benson resided with his par- ents until reaching manhood, and was engaged to some extent in following the trade of a car- penter. In 1888 he wedded Miss Rose Gould, of Heath, only daughter of George and Jane (Merrifield) Gould, the former born in this town on April 18, 1828. He was the son of Captain David and Sarah (Green) Gould, and grandson of Eli and Bernice (Johnson) Gould, who settled upon Burned Hill, where they cleared a good farm and became very prosper- ous. They lived to attain a ripe old age, and reared the following children: Samuel, David, Stillman, Eli, Willard, Betsey, Elmira, and Arethusa. David Gould became an extensive land-owner and very successful farmer. He was a Captain in the State militia, and held most of the important ofifices in the town where he resided for his entire life. He died at the age of seventy-two years, his wife at sixty- eight years. They had reared twelve chil- dren, as follows: Caroline, Henry, Angeline, George, Bernice, Jane, Almira, Lyman, Lou- isa, Willard, Ann, and Charles. George Gould, upon attaining his majority, settled upon the farm where Mr. Benson now resides. He was-a very successful farmer and stock-raiser, to that branch of business devot- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 97 ing his principal attention until his decease, at the age of fifty-six years. He married on October 7, 1856, Jane Merrifield, daughter of Robert Merrifield, Jr., and Mary Faulkner Merrifield. The other children of Mrs. Gould's parents were: Rufus, Emerson, John, Mary, Esther, Emily, Lawson, Fanny, Laura, Sarah, and Lucy. Mrs. Gould's paternal grandparents, Robert and Rebecca (Fisher) Merrifield, emigrated from England and settled upon a farm of one hundred acres in the town of Colerain, Mass., a few miles east of Heath. Subsequent to his marriage Mr. Benson as- sumed charge of the Gould farm, and has since managed it with the most pronounced success. He carries on general farming and conducts a well-equipped dairy. Mr. and Mrs. Benson are members of the Union church. "HiDWARD B. ARMS, President and Di- P rector of the Arms Manufacturing Company, in which he owns a large amount of stock, was born at his present home in Deerfield, October 7, 1867. His parents were Charles and Harriet D. (Palmer) Arms, his father being a native of the town of Deer- field, as was also his grandfather, Dennis Arms, who was a shoe dealer and manufact- urer and the founder of the pocket-book manu- factory in this town. In his day the nearest depot from which he could secure his supplies and material was Albany, whence he used to fetch them by ox teams, shipping his goods to market by way of the river. He died in Deer- field, at the age of sixty-four years, highly re- spected by all. Charles Arms was one of four children, three boys and one girl, James only now liv- ing. Charles was brought up in the village of Deerfield, receiving his education in the dis- trict schools of the town and at Shelburne Falls Academy. At an early age he acquired a knowledge of agricultural methods, and at the age of eighteen entered his father's fac- tory, soon gaining a good knowledge of the business, and becoming overseer. Later, in connection with his brothers, he purchased an interest in the factory; and after his father died he bought out his brothers' interests, and conducted the business alone for some years. At a still later period he formed a company; and the firm name was changed from that of Charles Arms to the Charles Arms Manufact- uring Company, Mr. Arms remaining promi- nently connected with it until his death, at the age of fifty-seven, on April 15, 1888. He had always been active in public affairs, and was a member of the Board of Selectmen. He was also a Director of the Franklin Sav- ings Bank and the Smith Charity Fund. His death was partly due to his over-exertions in the superintendence of various public and town affairs, and was deeply deplored by his fellow- citizens. His wife, Harriet D. Palmer, a daughter of Squire Palmer, was born in Deerfield. They had three children: Hattie E. ; Minnie L. ; and Edward B., whose name appears above. Both parents were members of the Congregational church. Mrs. Arms still survives, and is a resident of Deerfield, making her home with her son, Ed- ward B. By a previous marriage to Harriet Clark, of this town, Mr. Arms had one child — Julia M. — who married William W. Fos- ter. Edward B. Arms was educated in the dis- trict schools and high school of Greenfield, Mass., and subsequently took a course at a business college in Springfield. He began to work for his father at the early age of four- teen; and at the age of eighteen, after com- pleting his studies, he took a position with the firm as shipping clerk, remaining thus en- 98 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW gaged until the death of his father. At that time the present company was formed, he then taking a position as clerk in the office. He was elected President of the company in 1892. The importance of the concern may be judged from the fact that of the eighty-four large pocket-book manufactories in the world it is considered as the second. Mr. Arms is a very popular and prominent young man in his town. He is a Republican in politics, and is a worthy successor of his father, who was one of the leading men of this locality. Mr. Arms was married in October, 1893, to Miss Martha F. Munyan, who was born in East- hampton, daughter of Aubrey Munyan, an en- gineer in the employ of the Boston & Maine Railroad Company. Mrs. Arms, like her husband, is a favorite in the social circles of Deerfield. iHARLES M. BALLOU, a well- known farmer, hotel proprietor, and horse dealer of Wendell Centre, was born in the town of Wendell, Franklin County, Mass., January 19, 1867, son of Stephen and Josephine M. (Beach) Ballou. His grandfather, Francis Ballou, was a native of Canada, being son of a French emigrant. Francis Ballou was brought up a farmer in that province, but removed to the United States and settled at Stafford Springs, Conn. His death, however, occurred at the home of his grandson, Charles M., in the town of Wendell, Mass. Stephen Ballou, son of Francis, was born in Connecticut, and there reared to agricultural pursuits . He came to Wendell in 1865, and resided in the town for twenty-five years, dying at the age of forty- four, at the present home of his son, Charles M. Ballou. His wife, Josephine M. Beach, was a native of the town of Wendell, where her father was a practical farmer. They reared three children: Charles M., the subject of this sketch; William H. ; and Anna B., who married John Maddern, of the town of Orange. The mother is still living, and makes her home in Connecticut. Charles M. Ballou spent his boyhood on the home farm with his parents, and acquired his education in the district school. At the death of his father he came into possession of the farm, which contains fifty acres of good land, and has since occupied himself in bringing his land into a high state of cultivation and other- wise improving the property. He has been quite successful in attaining the object of his modest ambition, and is classed among the most enterprising and prosperous agricult- uralists of Wendell. He is a Democrat in politics. That he is a man who faithfully performs the duties of citizenship, and is pos- sessed of ripe judgment and good business qualifications, may be gathered from the fact that he has been called upon to serve his town in several public capacities, having been Con- stable and Assessor for 1895. Mr. Ballou was married September 11, 1890, to Laura Brown, daughter and only child of Robert O. and Mary A. Brown, resi- dents of the State of Connecticut, where her father was engaged in mercantile business. Mr. and Mrs. Ballou have one child, Frank E. , a bright boy, who bids fair to be a credit to the family in years to come. Mrs. Ballou attends the Congregational church, and stands high in the estimation of her neighbors for her true womanly qualities. KREDERICK DWIGHT KELLOGG, Associate Manager of the Ne-w Home Sewing Machine Company foundry, of Orange, Mass., is a man well fitted for this position of trust, and is fulfilling its responsi- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 99 ble duties with commendable fidelity. He was born November 29, 1840, in the town of New Salem, Franklin County, and is a son of P"red- erick and Elizabeth (Putnam) Kellogg. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Kellogg, was born and reared in New Salem, where, after marrying Susan Felton, he bought a farm, on which he lived for many years, he and his wife both dying there. They reared a large family of children, of whom the following are de- ceased : James, Lucy, Joseph, M.D., Samuel, Nancy, Hannah, Sally, Susan, Henry, Na- thaniel, and Roxanna. Esther and Frederick are still living, enjoying the twilight of a long and usefully spent life. Frederick Kellogg was born in New Salem, January 21, 1816, and there received as good an education as the district schools of that day afforded. He became a farmer by occupation, and when fifty-five years of age moved to Orange, where he for a time engaged in mer- cantile pursuits. Being better pleased with a farmer's life, he bought at length a farm of one hundred and fifty acres and started a dairy business, which has since become extensive and profitable. About fifteen years ago he had the sad misfortune to lose his eyesight, and is now obliged to hire a man to carry out his instruc- tions in regard to the work, which goes on in the same systematic manner as of yore. Broad in his views, a true and loyal citizen, and pos- sessing the courage of his convictions, he is a steadfast Republican in politics, and with his wife is a consistent and worthy member of the Unitarian church. His wife, formerly Eliza- beth Putnam, is a daughter of Amos Putnam, who during his life was one of the progres- sive and worthy farmers of New Salem. They reared a family of three children: Frederick, Edwin N., and Susan E. Edwin N., who died in November, 1885, was born May 18, 1843, married Eliza Moore, and they were the parents of four children: Agnes E. , Nathan- iel P., Grace E. , and Charles L. Susan E. , born June 16, 1845, is the wife of William Orcutt, a farmer of New Salem, and the mother of three children: Frank A., George A., and Mary E. Frederick D. Kellogg acquired the rudi- ments of learning in the public schools of New Salem, afterward attending the academy, where he pursued the higher branches. When a youth of seventeen years he began teaching, and for six winters thereafter was thus en- gaged, while during seed-time and harvest he worked on the farm. He was employed as a clerk by his brother Edwin during the succeed- ing four years, at the expiration of which pe- riod he entered ihe' service of the New Home Sewing Machine Company, being engaged the first winter in the humble capacity of truckman and general workman. Proving himself emi- nently trustworthy and capable, he was offered a position in the office as assistant book- keeper; and here his efficiency soon earned for him an unasked promotion to the office of pay- master at the foundry. His duties have since been increased, so that now he has general charge of buying the iron, coal, wood, and other supplies, answering correspondence, and similar confidential work. Mr. Kellogg's business qualifications are of a high order; and much of the work connected with the foundry is left to his good judgment, and is carried on in a manner highly satisfactory to his employers. The union of Mr. F. D. Kellogg with Miss C. R. Bragg was celebrated in 1862. Mrs. Kellogg was born in Royalston, and is a daughter of the late Benjamin and Mary G. (Snow) Bragg, the former of whom was for many years engaged in the manufacture of sati- net and woollen goods. Mr. Bragg departed this life when but sixty-five years of age; but BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW his widow survived him, living to the advanced age of fourscore and five years. Both were devoted members of the Congregational church, and reared their children to the same faith. Their family circle included eight children, of whom four grew to maturity, namely: Sarah P., wife of Newell Holman; C. R., Mrs. Kellogg; Mary S. , who makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg; and Benjamin L. , who married Frances M. Ses- sions. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg has been blessed by the birth of two chil- dren: Frederick L. , born May 26, 1867, now one of the physicians of Somerville, who mar- ried Miss Grace Warren; and Edwin D., born January 29, 1882. In 1873 Mr. Kellogg built the fine house on Main Street which he has since occupied, and where he is interested with his father in the milk business. It is a commodious and conveniently arranged dwell- ing, and under the supervision of his estimable wife is the centre of a generous hospitality. A stanch Republican in politics, he is ever too much engrossed by the cares of his business to accept political office. His financial ability and sterling integrity are recognized by all, and he is now serving as one of the Trustees and as Auditor of the Orange Savings Bank. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg are esteemed and active members of the Congregational church and liberal contributors toward its support. -OHN A. ANDREWS, whose death oc- curred on his homestead in Shelburne, Franklin County, March 15, 1894, was born in this town on June 26, 1818. The an- cestors of Mr. Andrews were among the early settlers of Eastern Massachusetts. His pater- nal grandfather, James Andrews, is supposed to have been a native of Taunton, Mass. He was a farmer by occupation, and after his mar- riage removed to Conway, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, being one of those sturdy pioneers who did so much at an early day toward developing the natural resources of this county. John Andrews, son of James and father of John A. Andrews, was born in Taunton, Mass., and when little more than an infant was brought by his parents to Conway, where he grew to manhood. He was trained to farm- ing pursuits, and also learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed in connection with the former. He lived for some years in Con- way, going thence to Hawley, and coming from there to Shelburne. Here he bought a tract of land in the southern part of the town ; and in the course of a few years he established a fine homestead, on which he engaged in gen- eral farming and stock-raising during the years of his activity. His declining years were passed at the home of his sons, John A. and Edwin Andrews, where his death occurred at the age of seventy-six years. He married Content Hawks, who was born in Deerfield ; and they became the parents of six children, who grew to mature years, four of whom are deceased; namely, John A., Mrs. Dolly New- hall, Valoris, and Frederick. The survivors are Mrs. Caroline Holmes and Edwin. Like his father, John A. Andrews wisely chose farming as the means by which he should earn a livelihood. In company with his brother Edwin he bought the old Bardwell farm, and this they managed in partnership for some years. Later the property was divided ; and in 1879 Mr. John A. Andrews moved on to the homestead now occupied by Mrs. Andrews and her children, which contains three hundred and thirty acres of rich and valuable land, and whose cultivation and improvement he continued until his death. Mr. Andrews was a man of marked intelligence and ability, and was one who ex- FRANK L. BURROWS. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 103 erted a beneficial influence in the community. In educational matters and in whatever con- cerned the general welfare and advancement he took a deep interest, and served in various town offices with great acceptability, having been Selectman two years, a part of the time being chairman of the board. He was a faith- ful member of the Congregational church, which he joined when a young man. Mr. Andrews was twice married. His first wife, Elvira Kingsbury, lived but a brief time after her marriage. Two children, John R. and Georgianna, were born to them, both of whom died in infancy. Mr. Andrews subse- quently married Sarah A. Carpenter, the daughter of George Carpenter, of Shelburne, a further account of whose family may be found on another page of this volume in connection with the sketch of Walter W. Carpenter. Three children were born to Mr. John A. and Mrs. Sarah A. Andrews, namely: Anna T., July 16, 1857; Benjamin W., August 13, 1861; and Elvira K., June 9, 1865, all of whom live on the old homestead with their mother. The Andrews estate is still owned by Mrs. Andrews and her children, and is practically under the management of the son, who is a thorough-going and capable agricult- urist. He is carrying on general farming, stock-raising, and dairying, keeping from thirty to thirty-five head of cattle and about seventy sheep, and is meeting with excellent success. Benjamin is a stanch Republican in politics, as was his honored father, a straightforward business man, and a useful and valued citizen, enjoying the confidence and esteem of his fellow-men. LPRANK L. burrows, formerly a pi conductor on the New York Central Railroad, now a well-to-do farmer of Bernardston, Mass., his native place, was born on August II, 183 1, son of Isaac and Rebecca L. (Connable) Burrows. Amos Burrows, father of Isaac, was born in Connecticut, whence he moved to Leyden, Franklin County, Mass., being one of the early settlers of that town. After working for some years at blacksmithing, later he turned his attention to farming, and in the course of time became the owner of a square mile of land in Leyden and Bernardston. He was very successful, and accumulated considerable wealth before his death, which occurred on the place where Nelson Burrows now lives, at the ripe old age of ninety-four years. He had a family of six sons and three daughters, and left each of his children a good property. Even after he had passed his ninetieth year, he was a remarkably active man. For his wife he kept a carriage, but he himself always rode on horseback. Isaac Burrows was born in Leyden, Mass., in 1797, and spent most of his life there and in Bernardston, following the vocation of farmer. He was a hard-working man and a prominent citizen, serving as Selectman of Bernardston for over twenty years, and was a member of the State legislature one term. In religion he was a Universalist, and in politics a Democrat, like his father. October 30, 1 82 1, he was married to Rebecca Connable, who was born in Bernardston in 1803, and died here, April 6, 1874. His own death took place at Bernardston, December 4, 1865. Their children, all natives of Bernardston, are as follows: George H., born December 21, 1822, lives in Buffalo, N.Y., and was for many years Superintendent for the New York Central Railroad; Julia L., born September 21, 1826, became the wife of Barnabas Snow, a farmer of Greenfield; Melissa M., born March 8, 1829, was married to Silas N. Brooks, and they now reside in Chicago; Frank L. Burrows is further mentioned below; I04 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Edwin C. Burrows, born February 6, 1834, is a farmer, residing in Bernardston; Henri- etta W., born February 6, 1827, now wife of Ezekiel C. Hale, resides in Bernardston; Frederick A. Burrows, born July 12, 1839, is a farmer, living in Illinois; Abbie M., born February 7, 1841, is now the wife of Lucian S. W. Coy, residing at Little Rock, Ark. Frank L. Burrows was educated in the pub- lic schools of Bernardston, where he grew to manhood. At the age of twenty-one he en- tered upon his career as a railroad man, start- ing as a fireman on the New York Central Railroad, at the end of six months being made engineer, and serving in that capacity for three years, when he became a conductor on the Wabash Railroad, which position he re- tained for eighteen years. Thereafter for two years he held the office of Assistant Superin- tendent of that road, then returned to the New York Central as a conductor, and for twelve or thirteen years ran passenger trains between Syracuse and Buffalo, being finally obliged, on account of ill-health in his family, to give up railroading. Removing to Bernardston, Mr. Burrows purchased in 1887 the old farm where he had spent his boyhood days, and now gives his whole time and attention to farming and stock-raising. He owns in all about two hundred acres, on which are situated some fine buildings. On the 28th of November, 1855, Frank L. Burrows was united in marriage to Josephine S. Carrier, who was born in Bernardston, No- vember 3, 1834, daughter of Amos Carrier. Mr. Carrier was a shoemaker by trade. He died at about seventy, and his wife, the mother of Mrs. Burrows, at nearly ninety-four years of age. Mrs. Josephine S. C. Burrows died September 15, 1892, aged fifty-eight years. Mr. Burrows has one daughter — Maveret P., born August 10, 1867, now the wife of H. A. Perry, a commission merchant of Man- hattan, Kan. Energetic, open-handed, public- spirited, ever ready to help in all works of im- provement, Mr. Burrows is easily a foremost citizen of Bernardston. As a religionist, he is of the liberal type; and, as a voter, he afifil- iates with the Republican party. He has a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and many who turn the leaves of this book will be pleased to recognize his portrait on an adjoin- ing page. ■<-***-» HRANK E. LOWE, of the firm of Lowe Brothers & Co., commission merchants, wholesale dealers in meats and provi- sions, with stores located at Fitchburg, Gard- ner, and Greenfield, has charge of the estab- lishment in the last-named place, his trade also extending into the surrounding towns. These gentlemen handle the finest beef obtain- able, direct from Swift & Co., of Chicago, and buy their other provisions from the leading markets of the country, carrying none but the most desirable goods in any line. Their busi- ness was first established in 1871, at Fitch- burg, by the older brothers — Waldo H., Ira A., and Albert N. — and is now under the management of a fourth brother, Orin M. Lowe. In April, 1887, the store in this town was opened, and has since been carried on by Mr. Frank E. Lowe, who has built up a thriv- ing trade. The market at Gardner was started soon after the Greenfield one, and placed on a paying basis, under the efficient management of George R. Lowe, another brother. The name of Lowe has been prominent and honored in the annals of Fitchburg, Worcester County, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch having been a large landholder of the town and one of its most active and influ- ential citizens. His son David was a mason BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW i°S by trade and a life-long resident of that place. He married Sarah Messenger, also a native of Fitchburg, born in 1800 and a resident of the town until her decease, at the age of sixty-six years. They reared a family of nine children, who became useful and respected members of society. John Lowe, their first son, who was born in 1824, is a highly esteemed citizen of Fitch- burg, and one of the most active, being en- gaged in the meat and provision business with his sons. He has been twice married, and is the father of twelve sons and five daughters, all living, the sons being industriously en- gaged in life's vocations. His first wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Mead, died in 1866, at the age of forty-two years, leaving nine sons and three daughters, of whom Frank E. was the eleventh child and eighth son. He subsequently married Mary Lowe, a daugh- ter of John Russell and widow of George Lowe ; and of this union five children were born — three sons and two daughters. Frank E. Lowe was educated in the fine public schools of his native city, and on the completion of his studies began his mercantile career, going at first to that busy mart of the West — Chicago — where he acquired a prac- tical insight into the business in which he is now engaged, being for some time in the employ of Swift & Co., a firm well known throughout our own country and the European continent. Returning from Chicago to Fitch- burg, Mr. Lowe there spent a year and a half before opening his present establishment in Greenfield, as above mentioned. He is a level-headed, keen, and sagacious man of busi- ness, sustaining a good reputation for honora- ble methods and fair dealing, is very popular among his associates, and is a valued member of the Greenfield Club. In politics he agrees with the views publicly expressed at the polls by his father and brothers, who at the last Presidential election cast twelve Republican votes. Many positions of trust have been held by members of the family, one brother, Arthur Houghton Lowe, having been Mayor of Fitch- burg and President of Board of Trade, and the father and three of the brothers having been Councilmen. A few months ago the subject of electric street railroads from Greenfield to Turner's Falls, and from Turner's Falls to Miller's Falls, was agitated. This met with considerable opposition, which was finally overcome by the persistent effort of Mr. Frank E. Lowe, the subject of this sketch, and other leading business and professional men. Mr. Lowe was one of the first to become interested in the scheme, and is the largest local stock- holder. In recognition of his willing service and untiring efforts in behalf of the roads the stockholders honored him with a call to the Presidency of both the Greenfield and Turner's Falls Street Railway Company and the Mon- tague Street Railway Company. Mr. Lowe is also a partner in the Falulah Paper Company of Fitchburg, with his brothers Albert N. and Herbert G., and their uncle, Seth D., doing a large and prosperous business in the manu- facture of fine-coated Manila paper. TT^EPHAS CLESSON SEVERANCE, a I Y^ highly respected and prosperous V J? ^ farmer of Leyden, Franklin County, was born where he now resides, April 23, 1 812, son of Matthew and Mary (Wells) Sev- erance. His grandfather, Matthew Sever- ance, Sr. , was a native of Fort Dummer, Brat- tleboro, Vt., where he was born in June of 1735. He settled in Greenfield and lived there for several years ; but finally, about 1807, he removed to Leyden, where he sue- io6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW cessfully engaged in farming. He served as a patriot soldier in tlie French and Indian War, during which, on June 25, 1758, he was taken prisoner, but made his escape, and to avoid recapture was forced to conceal himself in a hollow log. He died March 14, 18 16, at the home of his son Matthew in Leyden. His wife, Experience Nash Severance, was born in Greenfield, Mass., in May, 1745, and died a few years after his decease. She and her husband were the parents of twelve chil- dren, of whom eleven grew to maturity ; but all have now passed away. Their son, Matthew Severance, resided in Greenfield up to the time of his marriage. In 1793 he removed to Leyden and settled on the farm where his son, Cephas Clesson Severance, now resides. But little had then been accom- plished in the settlement of the town, and the country was still in a wild and uncultivated state. Roads even were almost unknown, the traveller being guided by marked trees and similar devices; and of human habitations there was nothing more pretentious than the log cabin. Mr. Severance owned an excellent farm ; and, being endowed with a good fund of energy, in addition to his agricultural pursuits he also successfully engaged in the vocations of a tanner and shoemaker. In politics he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, which he afterward supported. He served as a Captain in the State militia. He and his wife, Mary Wells Severance, were the parents of ten children, of whom Cephas Cles- son is the only survivor. Mehitable, born Au- gust 7, 1787, died April 6, 1805; Mary, born March 4, 1790, died July 20, 1820; Matthew, born November 2, 1793, died September 21, 1805; Cyrus, born November 15, 1796, died in 1 861 ; Chester, born April 20, 1799, died December 3, 1884; Miranda, born January 29, 1802, died December 5, 1805; Emorancy, born March 21, 1804, died November 23, 1871; Matthew, born August 9, 1807, died August 2, 1867; Ross, born May 12, 1810, died May 28, 1810. Their father's death oc- curred October 29, 1834, at the home place, and that of their mother several years later, in October, 1845. Cephas Clesson Severance was reared on the old home farm, acquiring a good practical edu- cation in the district school. Throughout the active period of his life he was successfully engaged in agriculture, and now owns an excel- lent farm of seventy acres. On November 19, 183s, Mr. Severance was united in marriage to Miss Harriett Miner, a native of Leyden, who was born May 4, 1810, and died Septem- ber 25, 1853. Their union was blessed by the birth of five children. Samuel C. , the eldest, who was born August i, 1836, carries on the home place. He served eleven months in the Civil War as a soldier of Company B, Fifty- second Massachusetts Regiment. On October 29, 1872, Samuel C. Severance was married to Miss Anjanette Deane, who was born June II, 1843, in Gill, Mass., and they have six children: Edith L., born November 26, 1873; Leon H., born February 15, 1875; Harriett G. , born December 2, 1876; Herman W., born November 22, 1881 ; Mildred E., born February 15, 1883; and Guy R., born Novem- ber 2, 1889. Harriett A. Severance, born October 5, 1838, died October 31, 1892. Henry H., born January 7, 1841, died July 28, 1843. Mary Meroa, born August 4, 1843, resides at home. Charles F., born July 11, 1848, is a farmer in Leyden, where he has served as Selectman and in other offices. He was married November 21, 1871, to Miss Ella S. Vining, of Bakersville, Vt. , born January 7, 1852, and they have had two daughters: Gratia Ethel, born July 6, 1874; and Flor- ence Agnes, who was born May 26, 1876, and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 107 died May 22, 1892. On May 10, 1855, Cephas Clesson Severance was married to his present wife, Miss Nancy B. Legate, who was born in Charlemont, Mass., October 4, 1813, daughter of John and Sally (Blodgett) Legate. Mr. Severance is a stanch supporter of Re- publican principles, and since reaching his majority has missed but two town meetings, an example well worthy of imitation. He and his wife are consistent members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Although well ad- vanced in years, Mr. Severance still possesses a good degree of mental vigor and has a most excellent memory. M R. CHARLES LEE FISK, the oldest resident physician of the town of Greenfield, Mass., and the senior member of the Masonic fraternity living in the Connecticut valley, has achieved a large measure of success in his chosen profession, the natural result of superior ability, untiring applica:tion, and the personal qualities that win respect and confidence. The Doctor is of thrifty Scotch ancestry and a native of Con- necticut, having been born December 25, 1804, in the town of Hampton, Windham County, which was also the place of nativity of his father, Ezra Fisk, who was born in 1777, and died at the age of fifty-four years, of typhoid fever. Amaziah Fisk, the father of Ezra, was for many years a substantial farmer of Windham County, Connecticut, carrying on his occupa- tion in the towns of Hampton and Chaplin, his death occurring in that county at the age of eighty-six years. He was twice married, his first wife being the mother of all of his children, four sons and four daughters. The sons were : David, Ezra, Alba, and Bingham. David died in early youth. Ezra, as noted above, was the father of Dr. Fisk. Alba, a skilled machinist, was for a long time in charge of the United States Arsenal at Springfield. He died at the age of fifty-five years, leaving an estate valued at more than fifty thousand dollars. He was one of a com- mittee who called on President Jackson, in 1833, to ask him not to remove the public de- posits from the United States Bank, but met with a scathing rebuke from "Old Hickory," who told them very plainly to go home and attend each to his own business, his mind being already made up. Bingham, who was a farmer in Chaplin and Hampton, died at the age of threescore years, of consumption. Ezra Fisk married Mary Downing, a daughter of James Downing and a native of Brooklyn, Conn. Mr. Downing was a farmer by occupa- tion and amassed considerable property, but was a heavy loser by the depreciation of con- tinental money. Mrs. Fisk survived her hus- band a few years, living to the age of sixty, her death then being caused by a throat dis- ease ; and her body was laid to rest in the rural cemetery at Brookfield, Vt. Ten children were born to her and her husband, the sons and daughters being equally divided; and of these Dr. Fisk is the fourth child and the sole survivor of his family, having neither brother nor sister, neither uncle nor aunt, left. Dr. Charles Lee Fisk, Sr., is a typical rep- resentative of the self-made men of our coun- try, having begun at the age of ten years to contribute to his own support by driving an ox team for the mere pittance of ten cents a day, toiling until late and then making his supper on bean porridge. He subsequently attended the district school in the winter seasons; and, being very diligent, he made such progress in his studies that at the age of seventeen years he began to teach school, receiving six dollars per month. Two years later he bought his io8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW time for one hundred dollars, and at the age of twenty-one had paid the debt and saved one hundred dollars, having been employed in teaching during the winter and in farm labor throughout the summer. In the autumn of 1825 he removed to Pittsburg, where he was engaged in teaching for three years, when fail- ing health compelled him to resign his posi- tion. Placing himself under the care of an old-school physician, he was nearly killed by a too free use of calomel, but afterward re- gained his health by a judicious use of medici- nal herbs. This experience caused him to study the nature of plants, and finally to take up the practice of botanical or eclectic medi- cines. Returning to Pittsburg he accepted the principalship of the high school at a salary of sixty dollars a month, ten times the amount he received in his first school. While in that city he began the study of medicine, and com- pleted his course in Connecticut, being gradu- ated from the Botanico-Medical Society, May 14, 1850. Dr. Fisk began his professional career at Chaplin, afterward removing to Killingly, now Danielsonville, Conn., where he had at one time one hundred and fifty cases of small-pox and varioloid, fifty of them being malignant, which he battled with most successfully, los- ing but one case out of the whole. In March, 1853, he came to Greenfield, where during the many years of his activity he built up an exceptionally fine practice, his field of labor covering a wide territory. Though never a robust man, his wonderful energy and endur- ance enabled him to brave all kinds of weather when called to the bedside of the suffering by night or by day ; and his success was as emi- nent as it was deserved. Dr. Fisk is a re- markably bright and intelligent man, bearing his burden of ninety-one years as lightly as many men a generation younger, and, but for the loss of his eyesight some six years since, might yet be in active practice. On December 20, 1828, five days prior to the anniversary of his birth, Dr. Fisk was united in marriage with Miss Emeline Moul- ton, of Chaplin, the ceremony being solem- nized at the home of Parson Jared Andrews, of the Congregational church. The Doctor was at that time engaged in a mercantile business in company with his brother William, who subsequently died in Maiden, 111., in 1872, in the seventy-third year of his age, being one of the wealthy and influential citizens of that place. Two children blessed the union of the Doctor and his wife, the elder being Dr. Charles L. Fisk, Jr., of Greenfield, who is married and has three sons and one daughter. The younger child is Caroline, wife of Calvin L. Butler, of Greenfield; and she has two children, one son and one daughter, both of whom are now married. Mrs. Fisk passed to the higher existence May 2, 1890, aged eighty- one years, having lived in happy wedlock sixty-one years. On the day that marked the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage they celebrated no golden wedding, feeling that their union was for time and eternity. Its earthly period was one replete with joy and harmony, not even the Angel of Death crossing their threshold until it bore the devoted wife and affectionate mother to her eternal home. For more than threescore and ten years has the Doctor been a member of the Masonic Order, having been initiated the evening of his twenty-first birthday into the Masonic Lodge of Lawrenceville, then a suburb, but now included within the limits of Pittsburg, Pa., an uncle of his being Master of the Lodge at that time. Dr. Fisk was made a Knight Templar a full half-century ago ; he has served as Senior Warden, the highest office but one, of the Royal Arch Masons, and likewise oc- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 109 cupied the same position in the Connecticut Valley Encampment of Knights Templars. Politically, the Doctor was in his earlier years a Jeffersonian Democrat; but, having a heart- felt sympathy for the oppressed, he joined the antislavery party, adopting for his motto that of the Liberator — a paper established in Boston, in 1831, by William Lloyd Garrison — " My country is the world, my countrymen are all mankind." He was a warm advocate of the views of that party, and, as " depot mas- ter " on the underground railway at Kill- ingly. Conn., assisted many a poor refugee on his way to freedom. He became personally acquainted with many of the leaders of that cause; and a warm friendship sprung up be- tween the Doctor and William Lloyd Garrison, at whose table he has dined. Dr. Fisk has always stood high among those of position and influence wherever he has lived, and in the management of local affairs has been quite prominent, having served a:s Constable and as Justice of the Peace for years, and, while a resident of Connecticut, came within one vote of becoming a member of the State legislature. He has ever taken a deep interest in the cause of education ; and he as- sisted in establishing the Danielsonville Acad- emy, being one of the contributors to that enterprise, and later one of the examin- ing committee when enrolling the corps of teachers. He was also one of the founders of the Eclectic College at Worcester, Mass. Dr. and Mrs. Fisk joined the Congregational church at Chaplin, Conn., and were among its leading members for some years; but, having taken a decided stand on the slavery question, he, with about twenty-five others, remonstrated with the church for communing with and al- lowing pro-slavery men to preach. The re- monstrance being of no avail, they all withdrew from the church ; and since that time the Doc- tor has been classed as a Free Thinker. He has a taste for music, and a talent for litera- ture which often finds expression in rural verse, as he terms it, and has produced many manu- script works, besides more than a hundred beautiful poems that have been printed, about thirty of them commemorative of his birthday, including one written on his ninetieth anni- versary, which lack of space prevents us from publishing. It is pleasant to record that the gloom of loneliness and blindness besetting the worthy Doctor's declining years has been in great measure dissipated through the kind and judicious ministrations of his excellent housekeeper, Mrs. E. D. Chase, who not only manages his domestic affairs and has charge of his finances, but reads to him, conducts his correspondence, and dispenses medicines to the patrons that still call at his office for well- tested pills and potions. Mrs. Chase has been a widow for some years. Her maiden name was Cantrell, and she is a native of Deerfield. ILBERT G. HILLIARD, who for S I over thirty years has been a resident and prominent farmer of Northfield, Mass., was born in Cornish, N. H., December 17, 181 1, being a son of Amos A. and Sarah (Huggins) Hilliard, of that town. Amos A. Hilliard, having spent his boyhood and youth on his father's farm, on reaching his majority purchased a tract of timber land and at once began the work of clearing and getting the land into a state of cultivation. At first he made his home in a log house, but long after erected frame buildings, and still later on built the brick house in which he lived up to the time of his death, which occurred in his eighty-sixth year. His wife was Sarah Hug- gins, of Cornish, and they had six children, of whom but two are now living: Gilbert G. , BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the principal subject of this sketch ; and So- phia, who married Kimball Smith for her first husband and afterward a Mr. Martinsdale, and is now ninety-four years old. The mother died in Cornish at the age of eighty-two. Gilbert G. Hilliard spent his early years on his father's farm in Cornish, N. H., where he was educated in the district school. As a boy he assisted in the task of clearing the farm, con- taining one hundred and fifty acres, which he became the owner of at his father's death, residing there up to 1858, when he sold it and came to Northfield Farms to the place where he now resides, a farm of about thirty acres, in connection with which he has another near by containing about forty acres. In 1833 he married Sophia Plastridge, the daughter of Caleb Plastridge, of Cornish, N. H., and to them six children have been born, namely: Ellen, who married Fordyce H. Smith, an employee of the Estey Organ Company of Brattleboro, Vt., and has a daughter Mabel and a son Gilbert H. ; Sula, who married Marshall Stearns, of Northfield, and died at the age of thirty-six, leaving three daughters — Kate L., Eunice L., and Rosa M. ; Sarah, who married Frederick Morgan ; Freeman, who lives with his father on the farm and has been thrice married, his first wife being Isadore Wright, who died at the age of twenty-three, leaving one child, Fred W., his second wife Ellen Hay ward, who died at the age of twenty-eight, and his present wife Sarah G. , who is the mother of their daughter, Emma; Emma, who married George Merriam, of Greenfield, and died at the age of twenty-six, leaving one daughter, Florence; Ada, who first married Dr. Morgan, by whom she had one son, Carl, and afterward George Chamberlain, by whom she has one daughter, Marguerite. Mrs. Hilliard died in 1 88 1, at the age of sixty-four. Mr. Hilliard is a Democrat, and was for- merly a member of the Baptist church, but later embraced the Methodist faith. He has served as Sunday-school superintendent and class leader, and is one of the prominent men of the church. /JC^Taiv AMALIEL D. GODDARD, son of y^J George and Caroline F. (Wales) Goddard, is a native-born citizen of the town of Orange, where he is an important factor of the agricultural and business inter- ests, owning a finely improved farm within its limits, and being extensively engaged in the manufacture and selling of lumber. He was born March 19, 1844, and is descended from worthy pioneer stock, his grandfather, John Goddard, having been an early settler of the place. John Goddard was born and bred in Ver- mont. In early manhood coming to Orange, he was for many years one of its w^ll-known citizens and very active in advancing its wel- fare. In 1794 he built a substantial house near North Orange; and this is now standing, in fairly good repair. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Forrester, bore him four- teen children, nine of whom grew to maturity; namely, Amos, Solomon, Lucinda, Augusta, John, David, Charles, Mary, and George. He was a very prosperous tiller of the soil, clear- ing a good farm before his death, which oc- curred while he was in the prime of a vigorous manhood, being but fifty-six years old. His wife survived him many years, living to the age of fourscore. He was a very large and powerful man, a veritable athlete, tall and well proportioned ; and many stories of his wonderful strength are still told. His wife was also a woman of fine physique, and their children, naturally inheriting the physical char- acteristics of their parents, were stout and well built; and it is noted that the parents and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW their nine children, at the time the youngest child was ten years of age, weighed two thou- sand and two hundred pounds. George Goddard, son of John and Hannah F. , was born in North Orange, November 2, 1811, and, being reared on a farm, was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits. He purchased a tract of land in Orange, which he ably managed several years, and in addi- tion carried on for some time a successful butchering busines. He subsequently re- moved to Athol, where he took a contract for laying the rails on the Fitchburg railway, a business for which his great strength made him peculiarly adapted, he being able to lift three rails at a time. He next went to Indiana, and was there engaged in a like occupation for two years, when he returned to Athol to accept a position in a machine-shop. Three years later he purchased the old homestead, where he spent his remaining days, living to the ripe age of eighty-one years. His wife, Caroline F. Wales, attained the venerable age of four- score and four years, passing to the bright world beyond in March, 1895. Six children were the fruitage of their union ; namely, Lucinda, Augusta, Sumner, Emerance, Milly, and Gamaliel. Gamaliel D. Goddard acquired a practical education in the North Orange schools, and first worked for wages in a furniture-shop at Tully. When very young he was one of the volunteers of the Civil War, having enlisted August 3, 1862, in Company F, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, in which he served bravely for a little more than a year. Returning to the duties of private life, Mr. Goddard resumed his position in the furniture- shop, remaining there eleven years. He then began investing his money in real estate, first buying the old Goddard homestead ; and since that time he has bought and sold several farms, and now owns about one hundred and fifty acres of land, one of his places being known as Wilbur Mill. In 1893 Mr. Goddard built a fine residence, one of the most comfort- able and convenientl)' arranged of any in the vicinity. In September, 1888, he formed a partnership with F. P. Williams in the lumber business, and since that time has been prosper- ously engaged in buying wood lots, from which he has cut the timber, sawing it into lumber and marketing the same. His trade is very large, three hundred thousand feet a year being a small estimate of the amount. Mr. Goddard was united in marriage in 1867, to Hattie P. Forrester, who was born in North Orange, November 2, 1844. Her father, Nathaniel Forrester, was born August 6, 1 82 1, and is a well-to-do and respected farmer of North Orange. He married Frances Goddard, who was born in Boston, July 16, 1821; and they became the parents of three children : Fannie, Hattie, and Waldo. The home circle of Mr. and Mrs. Goddard has been cheered by the birth of three children : Ger- trude, born November 28, 1868; Elliott, born August 7, 1870; and Albert, born September 16, 1872. In his political views Mr. Goddard is a stanch Republican, and has served his town with credit as Selectman. Socially, he is an esteemed member of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, Post No. 17, and of North Orange Grange, No. 86. LISHA D. ALEXANDER, one of the prominent business men of Colerain, Franklin County, Mass., was born in the adjoining town of Leyden, July 21, 1818, son of Elisha B. and Mary (Brown) Alexander, the former a native of Colerain, the latter of Leyden. Solomon Alexander, father of Eli- sha B., was a native of Connecticut, and was BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW one of the early settlers of Colerain, where he cultivated a farm. He died at Leyden at an advanced age. He was twice married, his first wife bearing five children, and his second wife, who was also a native of Connecticut, and lived to be eighty-two years of age, bear- ing one son, Elisha B. , above named. Elisha B. Alexander was born and brought up in Leyden, owning a farm in that town, and was a veterinary surgeon of some note. In politics he was a Democrat. He belonged to the State militia, bearing the rank of Cap- tain for some time, and receiving promotion to that of Colonel shortly before his resigna- tion. He died in Shutesbury, at the age of eighty; and his wife lived to be eighty-five. They were both members of the Methodist church, in which he was class leader for years. They had eight children, six of whoin are now living, namely: Almira, widow of Josiah Gates, in Leyden; Elisha D., our subject; Jerusha, widow of Edwin Gibbs, at Lock's Ponds, Shutesbury; Esther, widow of Peter Gates, in Bernardston ; Nancy, widow of Stephen Brown, in Scott, N.Y. ; William, residing in Leyden, on the old farm. Electa P., wife of William Babcock, died at the age of seventy-two; and Henry S. Alexander died at forty-six. Elisha D. Alexander lived on his father's farm in Leyden until forty years of age. When a young man he learned the carpenter's trade and also that of carriage-making. In 1865 he established himself at his present place of residence, where he shortly became busily engaged in conducting a farm, grist- mill and saw-mill conjointly, besides making use of the skill acquired in his youth in mend- ing wagons and doing other mechanical work, keeping a general repair-shop. Mr. Alexander is a first-class business man, widely known in these parts as a dealer in flour, grain, wood, lumber, and fertilizers. His post-oflfice ad- dress is West Leyden. On January 20, 1848, he was married to Maria F. Stewart, of Colerain, a sketch of whose family history will be found in the no- tice of her brother, Edmund B. Stewart, on another page. Mrs. and Mrs. Alexander had nine children, four of whom are deceased, namely: Orrin and Orise, twins, and Leroy and Linnia. The living are: Mary, wife of Albert Robertson, of Winooski, Vt. ; Eva E., wife of George Mattison, of Colerain ; Elisha L. , who has a laundry in Springfield; Emma H., wife of Lewis G. Blodgett, of Greenfield; and Edmund S. , who lives with his parents. He was born December 31, i860, and went to work in his father's mill when a boy. In 1886 he bought the mills of his father, and now gives his whole attention to milling, turn- ing out large quantities of lumber ready fin- ished for building purposes, and carrying on an extensive trade in feed, which is manufact- ured at the grist-mill. Elisha D. Alexander votes the Democratic ticket. He and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which both are members; and they are among the oldest and most es- teemed residents of the town. Mr. Alexander is a genial and whole-souled man, whom the cares of life have not soured or spoiled; and it is a pleasure to meet him in business or friendly relations. YgTENRY C. HASKELL is a well- \^\ known and highly successful farmer J-^ V of Deerfield, whose property extends along the river-bank, and occupies a very de- sirable location. He was born at Wendell, in the eastern part of Franklin County, on Octo- ber 25, 1837; and his father, Nye Haskell, was also a native of that town, being a son of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 113 Nathan Haskell, who moved there from Hard- wick, Worcester County, Mass., and settled on a farm. The descent of Nathan Haskell from his first American ancestor, as gathered from the History of Hardwick, may here be briefly given, as follows: Roger Haskell, who was born in England, died in Beverly, Essex County, Mass., in 1637. His son Mark re- moved to Rochester, Plymouth County, in 1693, was Town Clerk there in 1697, and died in 1699. Mark's son Roger married Mary Swift, of Sandwich; and their son Ephraim bought land in Hardwick in 1773, which was occupied after his death, within less than a year, by his son Ephraim Haskell, Jr., who married Eunice Nye, of Rochester, and be- came the father of Nathan Haskell. Nye Haskell was the youngest of the two children of Nathan and Lucy (Knowlton) Haskell, and he resided with his parents until their decease. He succeeded to the posses- sion of the homestead in Wendell, but sold the property in 1840 or 1841, and then for a short time conducted the Lake Hotel, which he soon sold, and became interested in a stage line from Greenfield to Barre. He finally moved to Deerfield, where in 1842 he pur- chased the farm now owned and occupied by his son, which he improved to a considerable extent in the way of rebuilding, and here fol- lowed agricultural pursuits with the most pros- perous results until his death, which occurred in i860, at the age of fifty-four years. He married Esther Field, daughter of David Field; and their union was blessed with two children — Henry C. and John G., the latter being also a successful farmer of Deerfield. Mrs. Esther Field Haskell died at the home of her son Henry, aged sixty years. She was a descendant of Thomas Clarke, of whom an early historian of Plymouth says, "It is a well-received tradition that this ancient man was the mate of the ' Mayflower ' and the one who first landed on the island which bears his name." As a settler, Thomas Clarke arrived at Plymouth in the "Ann" in 1623. The question whether the latter was an officer of the "Mayflower" in 1620 is one which the genealogist, S. C. Clarke, who has compiled a record of some of his descendants, says "cannot now be settled with any certainty." Thomas Clarke appears to have been one of the leading men in the Plymouth Colony, being a deacon of the church from 1654 to 1697, when he died, at ninety-eight years of age. He was representative to the General Court in 1651 and 1655. Henry C. Haskell received both a common- school and an academic education, and at home, assisting his father in carrying on the farm, was carefully trained in various branches of agriculture. After his father's death he purchased his brother's interest in the home- stead property, consisting of about eighty acres, and has since carried on general farm- ing with energy and ability, which has pro- duced most satisfactory results, his place bear- ing evidence of judicious husbandry. He conducts a well-equipped dairy, for the main- tenance of which he keeps a very fine herd of Jersey cows; and he also deals quite exten- sively in agricultural tools and implements, including Adriance Buckeye Mowers and De- laval Cream Separators. In 1868 Mr. Haskell was united in marriage to Miss Rhoda McClellan, daughter of James McClellan, a prosperous farmer of Deerfield, who moved to this town from Colerain in 1840. Mr. Haskell is a Democrat in politics, and has always taken an active part in public affairs, having served as a Selectman for six years, three of which he has been Chairman of the Board, and Assessor two years; and, al- though his district is strongly Republican, he 114 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was elected a Representative to the State legis- lature for the years 1887-88. He is of the liberal type in religion, and attends the Uni- tarian church. MOS L. AVERY, the oldest merchant and one of the leading citizens of Charlemont, where he was born April 6, 183 1, is a business man of much prominence in the western part of Franklin County. His parents were Abner and Dorinda (Barnard) Avery. Several of his ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were of Connecti- cut birth. His father's father, Amos Avery, was born and reared in Montville, Conn., and there in youth and early manhood engaged in agricultural pursuits. Coming to Franklin County, Massachusetts, when it was mostly a wilderness, he settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Haskins, and built a tannery, which he operated for many years; and in addition thereto he worked at the shoemaker's trade to some extent. He cleared and improved a good farm and raised fine stock, including some noted horses, of which he was a great lover, making a thorough study of their habits and their care, he being' for many years the only veterinary surgeon in the vicinity. He was a man of great influence, active in all works for the public good, and served in many of the local offices. In politics he was a Whig. He married Eunice Avery, a daughter of Oliver and Abigail (Sears) Avery, who was not a relation, although bearing the same sur- name. Her father was born on November 10, 1728, and died June 27, 1815, and was an original settler" of the town of Charlemont, coming here when most of its territory was in its original wildness, and buying a large tract of land, which has since been divided into seven good-sized farms. After building the typical pioneer log cabin, Oliver Avery went to Greenfield for his bride, returning with her in an ox cart. Early and late, with undiminished energy, he labored in felling trees and improving the land; and before many years comfort and prosperity smiled upon his efforts, his homestead being one of the best tilled and cared for in the locality. He re- placed the original log structure by a substan- tially built frame house, which, although erected one hundred and fifteen years ago, is still in fine condition, and occupied by Deacon David Avery, a hale and hearty man, who was born there January 19, 1805. Captain Oliver Avery was an expert in the use of the rifle, and kept the family larder well supplied with game, having shot on or near his farm, in one year, thirty wolves, nineteen bears, sixty deer, and two moose. His wife was a faithful help- meet, and spun the flax which they raised, weaving it and making it into clothing and bedding. Amos and Eunice (Avery) Avery reared fifteen children; namely, Azubah, Abner, Betsey, Charlotte, Rebecca, Eunice, Abigail, Louis, Freelove, John, Abel, Oliver, David, Amos H., and Lucretia. Abner Avery, their second child, was born March 19, 1786, on the old homestead, which he afterward bought. Following in the foot- steps of his ancestors as regarded his politics, he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and in his religious views was an Orthodox Congregationalist. Mr. Abner Avery spent his last years at Charlemont village, where his death occurred December 26, 1857. His first wife was Dorinda Barnard, of Shelburne, who was, born September 24, 1787, and died October 24, 1833. His second wife was Sarah Dean. Of the two unions twelve chil- dren were born, the offspring of the first being William B. , Rhoda A., Gardner F., Amanda BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW IIS L. and Clarissa (twins), and Amos L. , of whom we write; and of the second, Charlotte M., John D., Wales T., Sarah D., Prudence R., and Abner D. Amos L. Avery began when a boy of four- teen years to work out as a farm laborer, after- ward entering a factory, where he was engaged for five years in making scythe snaths. At the age of twenty-three he became a clerk for May- hew & Avery. Later he entered the employ of J. H. Wells, in East Hampton, remaining there a year, and was then engaged five years in Bernardston with R. F. Newcomb in the old brick store. In 1861 Mr. Avery decided to establish himself in business, and accord- ingl)' came to Charlemont and rented from the Mayhew heirs the store he now owns, pur- chasing it on the ist of April, 1868. Begin- ning his mercantile career in a very modest way, he has gradually increased his business, adding to its departments, and has been obliged to enlarge his original building and erect a new storehouse. Mr. Avery now has one of the finest-equipped stores of general merchandise to be found in this part of the State, carrying a stock including everything, apparently, that the most exacting customer can call for, from hardware to dry goods. Strictly honorable in his dealings, prudent in the management of his affairs, and giving close attention to his business, he has won the confidence and es- teem of his patrons. The union of Mr. Avery and Ellen R. Car- ter was celebrated June 7, 1859, and has been hallowed by the birth of one son, Oscar C, born September 15, i860, now in business with his father. He married Henrietta M. Eldridge, and they have one child, Henry L. Mrs. Avery was born November 23, 1836, and is a daughter of M. T. and Rosina (Scott) Carter, respected residents of Hawley, where she was reared to womanhood. OLON J. OLIVER is an excellent representative of the industrial in- terests of North Orange, being prosperously engaged in a mercantile dairy and blacksmithing business, and noted throughout this locality for his enterprise and practical ability. He was born June 21, 1845, in the town of Athol, Worcester County, his parents, Franklin and Emily (Woodward) Oliver, having been natives of the same place. His grandfather, Esquire James Oliver, was a direct descendant of the Olivers who emigrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland, and thence to America. Four brothers — John, Robert, William, and James — came to Massachusetts in the fall of 1735 or spring of 1736, staying for a short time in Hatfield, and thence going to Athol, and settling on Lyon's Hill. Robert, Will- iam, and James subsequently removed to other States, John alone remaining. His chil- dren were: Aaron, Jemima, Moses, Rachel, Hannah, Zirvah, Mary, Amara, John, Jr., Rachel, second, and Elizabeth. Aaron mar- ried, settled in Athol, and had the following children: Meribah, George, James, Caleb, Asaph, Mary, and Lucy, James, the third child, being the Esquire James Oliver above mentioned. This intelligent and influential citizen spent his entire life in Athol, where, having been bred to agricultural pursuits, he bought a farm pleasantly located on Lyon's Hill; and in addition to general husbandry he ran a distillery for many years. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Kendall, seven children were born; namely, Aaron, James, Cinda, Franklin, Lucinda, Thomas, and Nancy. He was also a civil en- gineer, and in that capacity assisted in survey- ing and laying out much of the land in that vicinity. A man of much general information and of sound sense, his opinion was highly ii6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW valued on the important questions of the day; and for a number of years he served as Justice of the Peace and as Deputy Sheriff. Politi- cally, he was a stanch member of the old Whig party, and on the formation of the Re- publican party became identified with that. Franklin Oliver was born March 24, 1810, and lived and died in the vicinity of his native place. He began his life career as a clerk for his brother, in a store of general merchandise, afterward working in a pail and tub factory. He then started in business for himself, run- ning a store of general merchandise for several years, and buying timber lots at South Athol, where he also erected a saw-mill, and, clearing off the land, manufactured lumber, in which he was an extensive dealer, continuing in this occupation until his decease, in the eightieth year of his age. His wife Emily, a daughter of Bartholomew Woodward, a well-to-do farmer of Athol, died in the prime of life, being but fifty-four years old. She was an amiable and estimable Christian woman, and a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he likewise belonged. Their family consisted of eleven children; namely, Ozi, Sylvenus E., Otis, Franklin, Jr., Sally E., Franklin, second, Solon J., Orville O., Orrin O., Edd O., and Lilia E. Of these Franklin, the fourth child, died before the end of his second year; and Sylvenus died in An- dersonvilje Prison, at the age of twenty-nine, having been captured by the Confederates at the battle of Cold Harbor. He was a private in the Massachusetts Volunteers, enlisting in 1 86 1 with three other brothers, who remained in the army to the close of the war. The re- maining nine children are all now living, all but one of them married and having families and children. Solon J. Oliver was reared in the place of his nativity, and in its public schools obtained a good education. His natural ability led him to select a mechanical occupation; and at the age of eighteen years he left the paternal roof-tree, coming to North Orange, where he secured work with the Furniture Manufactur- ing Company, with whom he remained for six years. At the expiration of that period Mr. Oliver, who was a young man of a good deal of push and energy, in connection with Mr. N. F. Blodgett, opened a blacksmith's shop; and at the death of Mr. Blodgett he bought out his interest in the same, and has since conducted it alone, having won the confidence and the patronage of hosts of people. His accumulations have been wisely invested. A few years since he bought the farm at North Orange known as the Captain Bishop place, adding to it by the purchase of other lands, making a farm of upward of eighty acres; and here he keeps a small dairy. In 1890 Mr. Oliver added to his other industries the busi- ness of a merchant, buying the Johnson store, where he carries a fine stock of general mer- chandise, well adapted to meet the wants of his numerous customers. A busier and more popular man in this section of the county it would be hard to find, he being Assistant Postmaster, and for three years was Tax Col- lector, besides attending to his private inter- ests. In him the Prohibition party finds one of its most earnest advocates, and the A. P. A.- Association, the Good Templars, and the North Orange Grange an esteemed and influ- ential member, as does also the North Orange Co-operative Creamery Association. Relig- iously, he is a faithful member of the Congre- gational church, superintendent of its Sunday- school, and a worker of the Christian En- deavor Society. In 1868 Mr. Oliver was united in marriage with Angela M. Putnam, who was born in North Orange, October 30, 1848, being one of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 117 the five children of Joseph K. and Sophia B. (Bishop) Putnam. Mr. Putnam was a native of New Salem, but after his marriage settled in North Orange, where his death occurred, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. His wife sur- vived him many years, living until seventy- two years old. Their children were: Jane, Julia (the first), Julia (the second), Angela, and George. The wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver has been made happy by the birth of four children, namely: George S., born September 8, 1870, now a resident of Boston; Walton F., born July 28, 1874; Arthur C., born September 23, 1882; and Urban M., born September 12, 1889. ILLIAM E. KEITH, a young and progressive lawyer and highly re- spected citizen of Shelburne Falls, Mass., was born in Jackson, Me., August 28, 1871, son of Justin L. and Angeline (Craig) Keith and grandson of Samuel Stillman Keith. The latter was a native of Brooks, Me., where he successfully followed the healthful vocation of an agriculturist. He died in Jackson, Me., at eighty-five years of age. In political affiliation he was a Repub- lican, and in olden times a Whig. Samuel Stillman Keith married Thankful N. Ellis, who bore him four sons and five daugh- ters, as follows: Stillman, Isaiah, Justin L., William, Emily, Caroline, Sarah, Eliza, and Mary Elizabeth. Justin L. Keith was born in Brooks, Me., in 1839, and spent his early youth there on his father's farm. At twelve years of age he went to Belfast, Me., where he was appren- ticed to the trade of a shoemaker; and at the age of eighteen he carried on the business on a small scale for a short time at Dixmont, Me., doing the work by hand. Later on he continued that business in Monroe, Me., from which place he went to Jackson, where, in connection with his trade, he engaged in agriculture, purchasing a farm of one hundred acres, on which he erected a large barn and finished other buildings, and remaining there sixteen years. In 1876 he moved to Still- water, Me., and two years later engaged in business in Oldtown, Me. It was in the last- named place that he began to attract especial attention as the manufacturer of the Keith River Driving Boot, of which he was the originator. From a small beginning, with but one or two men, his business rapidly in- creased; and a factory was afterward erected, in order to meet the demands for his specialty. Still later, in 1893, his son Alford Justin being then in business with him, they gave up the hand work, and put in machinery; and in 1895 a stock company was formed, known as the Keith Shoe Company, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. They now em- ploy about fifty hands, and are doing a very successful business. His wife, Angeline Craig Keith, was a daughter of William Craig. They are the parents of five children, namely: Alice J., the wife of Samuel Elmer, who lives in Buckland, Mass., and has two children — Blanche and Blaine Everett; Al- ford J. Keith, who is a graduate of the Maine State College, class of 1880, a civil engineer by profession, and who married Miss Hattie Ballard, by whom he has two children — Bal- lard and Marian — and is now in business with his father; Samuel S. Keith, who mar- ried Miss Eliza Clancy, and is engaged in the retail boot and shoe business in Bangor, Me. ; Wilson P. Keith, who died in 1890, at twenty- two years of age; and William E. Keith. In politics the father is a Republican, and in religious views he is liberal. William E. Keith received his early educa- ii8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW tion in the public schools of Oldtown, Me. ; and later on he attended the Maine State Col- lege, where, like his older brother, Alford J., he took up civil engineering. He then studied medicine with Dr. Charles B. Porter, but afterward returned to college, and fitted for law, which he studied with Joseph F. Gould, of Oldtown, Me., Samuel T. Fields, of Shelburne Falls, Mass., and Peregrine White, of Bangor, Me. During his college days he taught the grammar school at Great- works, Me., in 1889, and later, in 1891, the village school at Veazie, Me. During his college course he took an active interest in athletics, playing on the 'Varsity Bise-ball Team five seasons in succession, captaining the same a part of the time. He was Captain of the Coburn Cadets of the military depart- ment connected with the college during his Senior year. William E. Keith was admitted to the Penobscot bar at Bangor, Me., in Au- gust, 1894, and to the Franklin County bar at Greenfield, Mass., in May, 1895. Mr. Keith commenced practice at Oldtown, Me. ; and in April, 1895, he came to Shelburne Falls, where he is fast gaining a reputation. He has an office in the Bank Building on Bridge Street. Mr. Keith is a stanch Republican and an active man in his party. In religious belief he is a Universalist. < * » » > /^TeORGE ANDREWS COOKE, M.D., \J5 I a young and popular physician and surgeon of Miller's Falls, Mass., is a native of New Britain, Conn., where he was born November 8, 1866, being the son of Frank Homer and Mary (Andrews) Cooke. David W. Cooke, Doctor Cooke's paternal grandfather, was a native of South Hadley, Mass. He followed the vocation of a contrac- tor and builder in Worcester, and there gained such a reputation for good workmanship that he was engaged on many of the finest build- ings erected at that time, among which was the Asylum for the Insane, where he had full charge, being State Superintendent over all contractors in its erection. His last years were spent in Worcester, where he died, at the age of seventy-nine. Frank Homer Cooke was born in Belcher- town, Mass. His special line of work was ornamental painting, in which he was very successful, and which he learned under the guidance of Major Stiles, of Worcester, one of the best decorative painters in that city. Mr. Cooke was engaged by the Worcester Car Company to do the frescoing on the inside of railway cars. Unhappily, the nature of his occupatiorl shortened his days, his death at thirty-two years of age resulting from lead poisoning. His wife was Mary Andrews, the youngest daughter of Dr. John A. Andrews, of Worcester, who for sixty-three years has been engaged in successful practice. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont, which was formerly located at Woodstock, and also of Batavia College in Forsythe, Ga. The record of Dr. Andrews's children, of whom four are now living, is as follows: William is a farmer in Montague; John is a brass- moulder in Worcester; Orrin, the youngest son, who practised medicine in Wendell, Mass., for twenty years, died in that place in 1879; Melinda married Major Stiles, of Worcester; Mary is Mrs. Cooke, as above mentioned. Their father, the venerable Doc- tor, is still living in Worcester, being now, in 1895, ninety-three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Cooke reared two children: George Andrews; and Frank, who was edu^ cated at Becker's Business College in Worces- ter. Mrs. Cooke is a Unitarian, as was her husband. GEORGE A. COOKE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 121 George Andrews Cooke was but eleven years old at the time of his father's death, after which he made his home with Major and Mrs. Stiles, the latter being his aunt. While he lived with them, he attended school in Worcester, and at the age of sixteen began the study of medicine under the guidance of Dr. J. A. Andrews, his maternal grandfather, with whom he continued two years, and then went to Marlboro, Mass., where for three years he studied with Dr. S. S. Shepherd. He next spent three years in the Long Island College Hospital, where he was taken with a seven months' illness. On his recovery Dr. Cooke went to Boston, and there engaged in regular practice in connection with Dr. F. F. Whit- tier, an eye specialist, in Tremont Temple. In addition to this Dr. Cooke had charge of the Ruggles Street Dispensary, was a member of the surgical staff of the North End Hospital on Charter Street, and also had visiting days at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Blackstone Square. The multiplicity of his duties and the amount of time he was obliged to devote to them (being frequently engaged from eight in the morning to eleven or twelve o'clock at night) soon told upon his strength; and, find- ing that his health was breaking down, he left Boston, and came to Miller's Falls, where he has had a constantly increasing practice, be- sides being often called to surrounding towns in consultation on serious medical cases, and also in cases where surgical skill is required, as he makes a specialty of surgery. He also has a special diploma for physical diagnosis. His office is on Main Street, opposite the O'Keefe Hotel, in the Amidon Block. On September 9, 1889, Dr. George A. Cooke was married to Carrie E. Emerson, daughter of Parker F. Emerson, superintend- ent of a shoe and leather concern in Ashe- ville, N.C., in which place the ceremony was performed. She was born in Manchester, Mass., being one of four children, and was educated at the English High School of Marlboro, where her father was at one time superintendent of the Boyd & Corey Leather Company, the second largest in the world. Mrs. Cooke was a most lovable and beautiful young woman, a devout member of the Unita- rian church; and her death, May 12, 1891, but three months after the completion of her husband's college course, was a severe be- reavement to the young doctor, just starting on his life-work. On June 5, 1895, Dr. Cooke was married to Miss Lydia Cecil Bemis, of Worcester, Mass. Miss Bemis was born in Southboro, Mass. ; but her parents now live in East Woodstock, Conn., her father being an extensive market gardener. In politics Dr. Cooke is a Republican; and, socially, he belongs to the A. F. & A. M., being a Master Mason of Bay State Blue Lodge of Montague and a member of Franklin Royal Arch Chapter of Greenfield. Dr. Cooke is likewise a member of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society of Greenfield, and is medical examiner for the State Mutual Life Insurance Company of Worcester, the Green- field Life Association of Greenfield, Mass., and railroad surgeon for the Fitchburg and New London & Northern Railroads. He is an attendant of the Unitarian church. A faithful likeness of Dr. George A. will be found among the portraits that illustrate the present volume. ^/^LIA ILLIAM E. RYTHER, who was a iter by trade and for some years a successful newspaper publisher in Brattleboro, Vt., spent the last forty-two years of his long and active life in his native town, Bernardston, Mass., where he died, August i, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 1893. He was born April 5, 1807, son of Gideon and Sylvia (Alexander) Ryther. His grandfather, David Ryther, who was of Eng- lish descent, settled in Bernardston about 1740, buying a large tract of land, and build- ing the house which is still known as the Ryther home. He was the father of twelve children, as follows: Hannah, David (first), Peter, Hophpi, Rebecca, Martha, David (sec- ond), Abigail, John, Anna, Elihu, and Gideon. Gideon Ryther was born in Bernardston, November 28, 1768. He graduated from Dartmouth College about 1790, when twenty- two years of age, and then studied medicine with Dr. Prentice, of Northfield, Mass., after which he settled in Bernardston, where he re- sided till his death. Dr. Ryther was a suc- cessful physician, but not a good financier, being very moderate in his charges and too lenient in collecting fees to lay up for himself any great worldly treasure; but he left a fra- grant memory for deeds of charity, and was rich in the blessings showered on him by the poor. Dr. Ryther married Sylvia Alexander, who was born in Northfield, Mass., November 16, 1764. They had a family of eight chil- dren, the youngest being William E., of the present sketch. The others were as follows: Alphae, born February 3, 1792; Martha, born October 3, 1793; Alexander, born August i, 1795; Sophia, born March 12, 1797; Charles Jarvis, born February 26, 1799; D wight L., born April 9, 1801 ; Sylvia A., born February 17, 1803. All are now deceased. William E. Ryther was educated and grew to manhood in the town of Bernardston. At fourteen years of age he was apprenticed to Mr. Phelps, of Greenfield, to learn the printer's trade. Leaving Mr. Phelps, he worked two or three years at his trade in Springfield, Mass., but returned, and finished his apprenticeship. He subsequently went to Brattleboro, Vt., and there became the pub- lisher of the Independent Itiquirer; and in September, 1834, in company with O. N. Piatt, he became interested in the Vermont Phcenix, and later became the sole owner of that paper. In April, 185 1, owing to death in the family and also to his own poor health, he sold the entire business to Mr. Piatt, and returned to the old home in Bernardston. Here he cultivated his farm of seventy-five or more acres until his death, which occurred a little more than two years ago. Mr. Ryther was an industrious and worthy citizen, very successful both in the publishing business and in farming, and accumulated a fine property. In politics he was a Republican, and in relig- ion he held to the liberal faith. February 28, 1836, Mr. Ryther married his first wife, Delia P. Jewett, who was born June 2, 1810, and died November 5, 1855. She bore her husband seven children, only one of whom is now living, namely: George Holton Ryther, born April 20, 1852, now a lawyer of Boston. The other children were: William E., born September 18, 1837, who died De- cember 16, 1838; William G., born Septem- ber 6, 1839, who died June 5, 1840; Daniel Jewett, born June 5, 1841, who died Septem- ber 28, 1865, a soldier in the Civil War; Frances E., born May 4, 1843, who died May 14, 1865; Dwight S., born November 5, 184s, who died December 3, 1847; and Charles S., born April 22, 1850, who died June 20, 1852. On June 7, 1859, Mr. Ryther married his second wife, Martha Clark, who was born in Dummerston, Vt., October 30, 1 8 19, daughter of Thomas and Martha (Ten- ney) Clark. Her father, Thomas Clark, was born in Dummerston, July 20, 1777, and there spent his life. He was a practical farmer, also the owner of a slate quarry, and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 123 was known as a man whose word was as good as his bond. He was a liberal in religion and a Republican in politics. He died November 24, 1865, aged eighty-eight years. His wife, Martha Tenney Clark,, was born in Barre, Mass., August 5, 1785, and died October 31, 1840, aged fifty-five years. Mr. Clark was her second husband. By her first husband, Samuel Bond, born in Winchester, N.H., in August 28, 1783, and died in Walpole, N.H., March 9, 1809, she had two children; and of her union with Mr. Clark four children were born, two of whom are living, namely: Mrs. Ryther, who is the elder; and Eli Clark, who resides on the old homestead in Dummerston. Thomas Clark and Mary Clark Button are de- ceased. The residence of Mrs. Martha Clark Ryther, which, notwithstanding its age, is a most comfortable home and in a fine state of pres- ervation, is one of the old landmarks in Western Massachusetts to-day. Its fame has attracted visitors from near and from far, and for this reason: In 18 12 a British refugee came to the Ryther homestead, and asked per- mission to remain for a time. With their ac- customed hospitality the family made him welcome; and in return for their kindness he decorated the walls of the front room with paintings of fantastic designs. The walls were of a rough finish, which gave a better effect to the queer figures and pictures of old-time scenes — of ships, horses with quaintly dressed riders, and different kinds of fruit which he put upon them, no two figures being alike. One day, however, officers came, hav- ing traced the refugee to his retreat, hand- cuffed the unknown artist, and took him away; and nothing more was ever heard from him. But his paintings on the walls of this front room are still admired and preserved un- touched as a relic in memory of "ye olden time," the colors seeming to be as bright as when they were painted more than eighty years ago. /T^HARLES H. SCOTT, a prominent I jr^ and highly respected citizen of Rowe, V ^ ^ Mass., was born in Halifax, Vt., February 23, 1840. He is a son of Thomas and Caroline (Grant) Scott and grandson of James and Clarissa (Smith) Scott. His great- grandparents, James and Sarah (Heale) Scott, who were of Scotch-Irish descent, came from Ashford, Conn., to Halifax, Vt., where they purchased a large tract of land, and were among the pioneer settlers of that town. James Scott, Sr., was an energetic farmer, succeeding in clearing a large portion of his land. His son James, who was born in Hali- fax, when he had grown to manhood purchased of him two hundred acres of land, and also successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. In politics James Scott, the elder, was a Whig, and took great interest in public af- fairs. He served as Captain of the State militia. He died at sixty-seven years of age, being long outlived by his wife, Clarissa Smith Scott, who reached the advanced age of ninety-one years. Their union was blessed by the birth of eleven children — Thomas, Henry, Jonas, Alson, Oshia, James, Clarissa, Martin, Horace, Lucy, and Sarah. Both par- ents were members of the Congregational church. Thomas Scott was born in Halifax, Vt., January 2, 181 1. At the age of twenty-one years he engaged in the tannery business in his native town; and in 1841 he removed to Rowe, Franklin County, Mass., where he pur- chased the old tannery, and continued in that line of business for forty years with success. He also owned a small place, consisting of a house and barn and forty acres of land in the 124 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW village of Rowe, to which he retired when he went out of the tanning business; and here his. last days were spent. In politics he was a Whig until the organization of the Republi- can party, which he afterward supported, ren- dering efficient service in various town offices, as that of Selectman, of Assessor, and of Overseer of the Poor, to which he was elected for several terms. He died at seventy-nine years of age; and his wife, Caroline Grant Scott, who was a daughter of Joshua and Me- lissa (Hinckley) Grant, died at eighty-seven years of age. Her parents were large land- owners and successful farmers of Halifax, Vt. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Scott had the following children: Lyman, Charles H., Albert, S. Walter, and Carrie. Both parents belonged to the Baptist church. Charles H. Scott received a good practical education in the schools of Rowe, Mass. He then assisted his father in the tanning busi- ness, in which he later purchased an interest. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in Company C of the Thirty-first Massachu- setts Regiment, under the command of Colonel Albert P. Goodwin, and took part in several prominent battles, among them that of Port Hudson, Red River, and the siege of Mobile. He received his honorable discharge on Sep- tember 28, 1865, having served four years. On his return home he continued in the tan- nery business, in which he was engaged up to 1885; and since that year, in addition to carrying on a small farm which he owns in Rowe, he has devoted considerable time to selling monumental work. On November 9, 1871, he was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Hayward, daughter of Charles and Almira (Stacy) Hayward. Charles Hayward, who was born in Wood- stock, Conn., son of Thomas and Sarah (Ester- brook) Hayward, his father being a successful farmer of that place, was educated at Wilbra- ham Academy. He chose the ministry as a vocation, became a member of the New Eng- land Methodist Episcopal Conference, and began preaching at an early age. He con- tinued in this profession a number of years, until failing health necessitated a change, when he retired to a large farm which he pur- chased in Gill, Mass. He was, however, fre- quently called upon to fill pulpit vacancies. He died at eighty-one years of age. His wife, Almira Stacy Hayward, was a daughter of Gilbert and Azubah (Field) Stacy, and their union was blessed by the birth of the fol- lowing children: Martha, Clarence, Lillie B., Ellen, Jennie, Charles, and Flora. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have one son — Edmund — born June 19, 1873, who lives with his parents. Mr. Scott is a Republican, and has taken an active and prominent part in the affairs of his town, which he has faithfully and accept- ably served in various offices, having been Town Clerk and Treasurer, Tax Collector, and a member of the School Committee; and for twenty-five years he has acted as Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the Arthur Miller Post, No. 93, Grand Army of the Republic, of Shelburne Falls. In religious views Mr. Scott and his wife are members of the Baptist church. 5. FRANK SEVERANCE, an active and prosperous agriculturist of the town of Shelburne, is a fine repre- sentative of the native-born citizens of this part of Franklin County, his birth having oc- curred March 2, 1 841, on the farm where he now resides. His parents were Lorenzo and Amanda C. (Stewart) Severance, both natives of Shelburne, his father having been born March 25, 18 13, and his mother, Novem- ber 17, 1809, on this same homestead. Mr. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW I2S Severance is of substantial English and Scotch ancestry. John Severance, an early immigrant to Massachusetts, a freeman in 1637, was one of the original proprietors of the town of Salisbury, in Essex County. He died in 1682. One of his sons, who also bore the name John, was born in 1647. John Severance, Jr., removed from Salis- bury, Mass., some years after his marriage, to Sufifield, Conn., and there, in October, 1682, was born his fourth child, Joseph. A few years later the family came to Franklin County, Mass., and for a few years made their home in Deerfield, where a daughter Abigail died in 1691. John Severance, Jr., did not remain permanently in Deerfield, but made another removal, leaving his land in that town to his son Joseph. This was about the year 1706. Martin Severance, son of Joseph and Anna Severance and great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born September 10, 171 8, in Deerfield. After his marriage with Pa- tience Fairfield, who was born in 1728, he settled in what is now Shelburne, being among the few white men to venture into the wilderness then known as Deerfield Pasture, or "North-west," coming here first in 1760, but being so harassed by the Indians that he went back to Deerfield, where he remained two years. He then returned to his land, and on it in 1775 built the house that is now owned and occupied by Samuel Bardwell. Martin Severance was a brave soldier of the French and Indian War, in which he was taken captive; and he also fought in the Rev- olution. He died at Shelburne Falls, April 10, 1810, nearly a year after the death of his wife, which occurred May 25, 1809. They had a family of twelve children, of whom Selah was the eleventh. Selah Severance was born September 26, 1771, at Shelburne Falls, and was reared to a farmer's occupation. He formerly owned the farm now in the possession of O. and E. Bardwell; and on this farm he successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, October 8, 1832. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Putnam, was born October 24, 1780, in the town of Heath, and died May 30, 1854. Both were faithful and much esteemed members of the Congrega- tional church, being people of sterling char- acter. Lorenzo was the eighth child of a family of thirteen born to Selah and Hannah (Putnam) Severance. He learned the trade of stone- mason when a young man, and worked at that in connection with farming. In 1841 he settled on the farm now owned by his son, B. Frank, making it his abiding place until his decease, September 22, 1887. He was a man of good business ability, an untiring worker; and his labors were crowned with success. He was a strong Republican in politics, and, like his wife, a Congregationalist in religion. He married Amanda Charlotte Stewart, and they were the parents of six children, of whom two are now living, namely: B. Frank, of Shelburne; and his elder sister, Martha A., who was born May 3, 1839, and is the wife of Henry O. Draper, of Ware. The others may here be briefly named: Calvin C, born Octo- ber 10, 183s, died March 27, 1836; Mrs. Mary E. Field, born May 3, 1837, died March 10, 1890; James H., born September 4, 1844, died February 15, 1846; and Herman L., born November 4, 1854, died February 10, 1855. Mrs. Amanda C. Severance now makes her home with her son on the farm where her pa- ternal grandfather, John Stewart, settled on October 19, 1773. Mrs. Severance is a lineal descendant of an earlier John Stewart (Stuart, as sometimes spelled), who was one of the first sixteen settlers of Londonderry, N.H., 126 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW in 1719. In Morrison's History of Windham, N.H., he is spoken of as Charter John, or one of the original grantees of Londonderry; and interesting particulars are there given of the family history, from which we glean the fol- lowing: — "Robert Stewart (or Stuart) is said to have been of royal blood and a landed proprietor in Scotland. He is supposed to have been one of the Covenanters who took part in 1679 in the battle of Bothwell Bridge, subsequently fleeing to Londonderry, Ireland. At his death, about 17 19, he left a widow and five children. His eldest son, John, the immi- grant above named, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1682. The land originally as- signed to him in New Hampshire consisted of sixty acres in what is now East Derry, near the meeting-house. In 1728 Charter John Stewart was one of the fourteen dissatisfied men to whom additional land was laid out in the Windham Range. This land furnished a home to his descendants for two generations. It was first occupied by his son John, who was born about 171 5. John Stewart, the second of the name, became a prominent citizen of Windham, N.H., being invoice-taker in 1743, Selectman in 1745, surveyor in 1748, and tithing-man in 1747, 1758, 1759. He mar- ried Mrs. Rebecca Costa Patten, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and who after her husband's death moved with her son John, the third, to Shelburne, Mass., where she died, at the age of ninety-five years." John Stewart, third, son of John and Re- becca (Costa) Stewart, was born September 22, 1743, at Windham, N.H., and came here a young man, being one of the first white settlers of the vicinity. He built a log house, and during the first years of his life in this locality was largely dependent on the game to be found in the woods for his subsistence. On December 31, 1765, he was united in marriage with Rebecca Stewart, of Colerain; and they brought their household goods from Windham to Shelburne in an ox-team, travel- ling about eight miles a day, the wife riding on horseback. He was a man of prominence in the town, and served as Selectman in 1806 and in 1807. He died in 1815. John Stew- art, fourth, was a babe of a few months old when his mother brought him in her arms on horseback to the home farm, where he after- ward spent his life, an independent farmer. He died here in 1843, aged seventy years. He married Charlotte Flagg, a native of Brookfield ; and they reared five children, one of them being Amanda Charlotte, now the widow of Lorenzo Severance. B. Frank Severance was reared on the homestead, and acquired a good common- school education in his native town. Being early initiated into the details of agricultural arts, he has given his attention to farming, residing here his entire life, with the excep- tion of three years spent in Colerain. The estate, which he now owns, contains eighty acres of productive land,^ and is well supplied with substantial and convenient buildings for carrying on his work. The farm is known as Spring Farm, being named from its springs of living water, eighteen in number. Mr. Sev- erance makes a specialty of dairying, keeping twelve head of sleek-looking grade Jerseys, and finds this a very profitable branch of in- dustry. On Christmas Day, in the year 1875, Mr. Severance was united in marriage with Lizzie M. Kimball, who was born July 27, 1847, at Weathersfield, Vt., a daughter of Samuel and Electa (Morgan) Kimball. Her parents were natives of Weathersfield, and both born in the same year, 1804, the birthday of Mr. Kimball being June 6, and of Mrs. Kimball January BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 127 20. They both spent their lives in the place of their nativity, and in death, in 1877, were not long separated, she passing away March 21, and he April 22. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kimball were liberal in their religious views, and he was a stanch Republican in politics. Six children — four sons and two daughters — were born to them, of whom two, John and Mary, are deceased. The three brothers of Mrs. Severance are: Chauncey M., born June 24, 1 83 1, living at Weathersfield ; Daniel, born January i, 1833, residing in Claremont, N.H. ; Amos M., born February 27, 1836, living at Lake Geneva, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Severance have no children. Their home is pleasant and attractive; and they are highly esteemed in the community, being faithful members of the Congregational church. In politics Mr. Severance is a steadfast Republi- can. ION N. PETERSON, an extensive land-owner and some time farmer of Heath, Franklin County, Mass., now occupying a position of responsibility in the United States Navy, was born in Colerain, October 19, 1857, and is a son of Jonathan and Chloe (Stratton) Peterson, former resi- dents of that town, which joins Heath on the east. Mr. Peterson's paternal grandfather, Sylvanus Peterson, was a son of Jonathan Peterson, a native of Middleboro, Mass., who became one of the first settlers in the town of Colerain, where he figured prominently in public affairs, and died at the advanced age of ninety-one years. Sylvanus Peterson was born in Colerain, and succeeded to the posses- sion of his father's farm, which he conducted for many years. He died at the age of sev- enty-nine years, having passed the latter por- tion of his life in retirement. He married Lavinia Call, who died, aged seventy; and their children were as follows : Olive, Mary, Cynthia, Fanny, Rhoda, Louis, Jane, Char- lotte, Nelson, John, George, Harlow, Jona- than, and another child, who died an infant. Jonathan Peterson, son of Sylvanus and Lavinia, purchased in his early manhood one hundred acres of land in Colerain, which he later sold, and, moving to Heath, here bought a farm of two hundred and three acres. He followed agricultural pursuits successfully for several years, but finally retired from active labor, and is at present residing with his daughter in the State of Washington. He was a Republican in politics, and held the ofifices of Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor for several terms. His wife, who died at the age of sixty years, was a daughter of Alvin and Loantha (Sherman) Stratton, her brothers and sisters being Philoe, Clark, Frank, Lydia, and Triphena. The parents were early settlers of Hardwick, Vt. ; but somewhat late in life they removed to Cole- rain, Mass., and there passed the remainder of their days. They were in prosperous circum- stances, owning and occupying a large farm. Mr. Stratton died at the age of sixty-seven, and his wife at seventy-six. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Peterson were named as follows: Loantha, Lavinia, Bion N., Arthur J., Nettie, Frank, Josie E., and John A. Bion N. Peterson attended the common schools, and after the completion of his studies, when he was eighteen years of age, engaged in agricultural pursuits in the State of Connecticut for a period of one year. He then entered the employ of Luce Brothers, who ran steamers that were engaged in the menhaden fisheries, and remained with them six years, during which time he rose to the position of mate of what was known as the "Quick-step" steamer. Tiring of sea life, he 128 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW once more became engaged in farming; but two years later he received and accepted an appointment as pay clerk in the cadets' store at Annapolis, Md., which position he held for the succeeding three years. Returning to his native State in 1889, he settled at Heath, where he purchased the Clark farm, consisting of one hundred and seven acres. He also owns another farm, which lies in the immedi- ate vicinity of his last purchase; and these he has continued to operate together, devoting his attention to general farming and dairying interests, also raising sheep, and dealing in live stock. He is a Republican in politics, and has served as a Selectman and a member of the School Board, and is at the present time a Justice of the Peace. He has recently ob- tained another position in the United States navy, and is now (September, 1895) stationed at the New York Navy Yard, in charge of the government stores on the receiving ship, "Vermont." On November 27, 1881, Mr. Peterson was united in marriage to Cornelia Reynolds, daughter of William and Delia (Guirley) Rey- nolds, of Connecticut, the former of whom was for many years connected with the iron manu- facturing industries. Mrs. Peterson's grand- parents, Thomas and Mary (Mitchell) Rey- nolds, emigrated from England, and settled at Birmingham, Conn., where her grandfather became an iron manufacturer, and resided there until his decease, which occurred at the age of eighty years. His children were: Lucy, Thomas, Henry, and William. Will- iam was born at Fall River, Conn., adopted his father's business, and also erected several prominent iron manufactories. He finally sold his enterprises in the East, and became superintendent of the St. Louis Iron Works at St. Louis, Mo., from which position he retired some time since. His wife died at the age of fifty-six years, leaving three chil- dren — Augustus, Jessie, and Cornelia. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have had three children: France, born August 13, 1888; Alice, born July 20, 1890; and Jonathan, born August 10, 1893. ^■♦•^» ERBERT COLLINS PARSONS, as- sociate editor of the Greenfield Ga- zette and Courier, was born at Northfield, Mass., January 15, 1862, his father, Albert C. Parsons, having been born in the same town, July 31, 1812. The birth- place of both father and son was the dwelling- house built by the grandfather, Jabez Parsons, who was born at Enfield, Conn., in 1777, and settled at Northfield, Mass., about the year 1798. He was a currier by trade, and estab- lished a tannery, which he carried on for some years, being at length disabled through loss of eyesight, from which he never re- covered, his blindness extending over a period of forty years. He died in February, 1876, aged nearly ninety-four years. His wife, Lovicy Prior, of Enfield, was the mother of five children, four of whom grew to maturity. Albert C. Parsons married for his first wife Hannah Stevens, of Warwick, who became the mother of four children, two of whom lived to reach maturity; and one is now living, Albert Stevens Parsons, of Lexington, Mass., treas- urer of the Cambridgeport Diary Company. His first wife having died in 1855, Mr. A. C. Parsons wedded for his second wife, in 1858, Mrs. Susan E. Lane Beach, widow of Joseph Beach and daughter of James Lane, of Ala- bama, a circuit judge, who was a lineal de- scendant of Ralph Lane, one of the founders of the Jamestown Colony, Virginia, in 1609. Susan E. Lane was born in Greenville, Ala., August I, 1822, and married her first husband, Joseph Beach, at Charleston, S.C., accom- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 129 panyinghim to his home in Northfield, Mass., where he died. Mr. Albert C. Parsons, at the age of eighty-three years a well-preserved and active old gentleman, now retired from mercantile business, which he followed for fifteen years previous to 1885, still resides at the farm in Northfield that he inherited from his father. He has been prominent in the local town government, and was conspicuous as an anti-slavery worker in the early days of the abolition movement. He became a Re- publican with the formation of that party, but in 1884 joined the Prohibition party. He has been a Selectman, a member of the legislature in 1861, of the Senate in 1865, and has been a candidate on the Prohibition ticket for the same position. He is one of the oldest mem- bers of the Unitarian church in Northfield, and was at one time President of the Connecti- cut Valley Conference of that denomination. Herbert Collins Parsons is the younger of two children born to his parents, Albert C. and Susan E. (Lane) Parsons, and the only survivor, his sister, Mary Lane Parsons, a cul- tivated and accomplished young lady, a fine pianist, having died in 1890, at the age of thirty years, a short time after the death of their mother. After attending the public schools until reaching the age of nine years, young Parsons completed his education at a private school, and at the age of fifteen years became a salesman in his father's store, of which he became proprietor in 1885. He came to Greenfield in 1889, and entered the office of the Greenfield Gazette and Courier as associate editor. On June 30, 1891, Mr. Herbert C. Parsons wedded Miss Charlotte C. Severance, daugh- ter of the late P. P. Severance, whose widow, Harriet (Converse) Severance, is a resident of Greenfield. Mr. Severance left four children — three by his first wife — his daughter Char- lotte having been the only child of his second marriage. He was a farmer during his active years, and was a life-long resident of Green- field, where he took a prominent part in local public affairs. Mr. Parsons has always been a Republican in politics, and while a resident of Northfield was chairman of the School Board. He is chairman of the Republican Committee of Greenfield, has several times served as dele- gate to the State Convention, and in 1888 he was a candidate for representative to the legis- lature, but was defeated, the district being strongly Democratic. He is Secretary of the Greenfield Club, a Master Mason, and a mem- ber of the Unitarian church. As well befits the editor of a local paper and a scion of an- cient and worthy stock, he is particularly in- terested in historical subjects, and is one of the counsellors of the Pocumtuck Valley Me- morial Association. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have lost their only child, a son, who died in infancy. rDRGE C. ADAMS, who carries on a dairy and general farming business at Greenfield, Mass., was born in this town, January 16, 1829, on the farm where he now resides. He is the son of George Allen and his wife, Mary Wells Par- menter Allen, and a lineal descendant of William Adams, who was born in England, February 3, 1594, three full centuries ago, and came to Massachusetts early in the Colo- nial period. Andrew Adams, grandfather of George C, was of the sixth generation from William, the four intervening being repre- sented by Samuel, Nathaniel, Samuel, and John, in the order here given. Andrew Adams, son of John, was born in Sutton, now Northbridge, Mass., November 7, 1759, and came to Franklin County when 13° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Greenfield and its surroundings was one vast wilderness, the abode of Indians and game, with here and there a white settler. Wild turkeys were abundant in those days, and many a bountiful feast did they furnish to the inmates of the little log house which Andrew Adams bad constructed with the help of his good axe. He was a hard-working man and successful in what he undertook. His wife was a Congregationalist, and he an attendant of that church. In politics he was a Whig. He died in the house where George C. Adams now resides, June 30, 1822, at about sixty-two years of age; and his wife, Betsy (Chapin) Adams, died January 3, 1846, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. He had four chil- dren by his first wife: Nahum, a Major in the War of i8i2; George, a farmer and lumber- man ; Eliza, who became the wife of B. New- ton ; and Peleg, a farmer. George Adams was born in Pawtuxet, R.I., and his wife, Mary, in Gill, Franklin County. He grew to manhood and spent all the days of his active life in Greenfield. Like his father, he was a hard worker, and won a fair degree of success in his business of lumberman and stock dealer, and owned the farm which is now occupied by his son, George C. Adams. It was considered a very good farm, and con- tained two hundred and twenty-five acres, most of the buildings on which were constructed by him or his father. He was prominent in the affairs of his town, and at various times filled the offices of Selectman, Assessor, and Over- seer of the Poor, and also settled a large num- ber of estates. In religion he was liberal. In politics he was a Whig and Republican. He died on the old farm at the age of sixty- five years, but his wife lived to the age of eighty-five. They had three children, two of whom- are now living: the eldest child, Mary Wells, died March 31, 1853, aged twenty- seven; the next was George C. Adams; So- phia, the youngest, is the wife of John W. Thompson, of Greenfield. George C. Adams attended the schools of Greenfield, and later the high school and acad- emy of Bernardston. Arriving at man's es- tate, he chose for himself the line of business at which his father and grandfather had been so successful — that of farmer. In addition to his general farming, he has until recently carried on a dairy, and sold milk at Turner's Falls and Greenfield. On November 24, 1859, he was united in the bonds of wedlock to Mary Aurelia Parmenter, who was born in West Troy, N.Y., June i, 1838, daughter of Flaviel and Betsey (Davis) Parmenter. Mr. Parmenter was born in the town of Gill, Franklin County, Mass., and his wife in Savoy, Berkshire County. He was a machin- ist and a good business man. At Troy he was engaged in the manufacture of gun-carriages for the United States government, and also in iron roofing and other government work. His first wife having died, he was again married to Angeline Davis, who was a sister of his first wife, and who died at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Parmenter had seven children — two by his first wife and five by his second — and three are now living: Mary A., the eldest, is the wife of George C. Adams; Miss Florie Isabella now resides in Orange, Mass. ; and Angeline Roxana married Mr. Lowe Gary, and resides in Indianapolis, Ind. William H. and two others died in infancy, and George T. died at two and one-half years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Parmenter were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in poli- tics he was a Republican. George C. Adams and wife still reside on the old farm, which must be fruitful of many pleasant and tender recollections to Mr. Adams as he thinks of the days of his boy- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 131 hood, and remembers that here his father and grandfather spent the greater part of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have reared four children. Frederick G., the only son, mar- ried Ellen Hartney. They live in Greenfield, and have two children — Francis Parmenter and Charles Frederick. Angeline E., the eldest daughter, resides with her parents. Nellie S. became the wife of Dana E. Wis- wall, and resides in Turner's Falls. They have had two children, of whom Ethel May, the elder, died at three years of age; and Elsie E. is the only living child. Carrie M. Adams, the youngest daughter, resides with her parents at the old homestead. George C. Adams and his wife are members of the Con- gregational church at Turner's Falls, and are highly respected and esteemed by their many acquaintances. Mr. Adams has always be- longed to the Republican party in politics. (s>rLFRED A. PARKER, a loyal Ameri- f^\ can citizen, who fought for the Union ^^ '^ V.^ in the Civil War, now a retired merchant living at Orange, Franklin County, is a native of Massachusetts, having been born- in New Boston, then a part of the town of Winchendon, and is a worthy descendant of honored Revolutionary patriots, the family being of substantial English stock. Its earli- est representative in America was Thomas Parker, who, with his wife, Amy, came from London in the "Susan and Ellen" in 1635, and settled in the town of Reading, Middle- sex County, Mass., where he became one of the influential citizens, holding the office of Selectman and Deacon of the church, and as- sisting in the pioneer labor of building up the now thriving town. Amos Parker, the great-grandfather of the subject of this brief record, was a son of An- drew, grandson of John, and great-grandson of Hananiah, who was the second son of Deacon Thomas Parker, the immigrant. Amos was for some years a farmer in Lexington, but sub- sequently removed to Holden, Mass., in 1745, and later to Shrewsbury, where he and his wife passed their remaining years. They were noted for charity and piety, and be- longed to the Congregational church. They reared seven sons and one or two daughters; and six of the sons, it is said, served in the Revolution. Nahum, the sixth son of Amos, was born March 4, 1760, at Shrewsbury, and when a youth of sixteen years enlisted in the Conti- nental Army, and served throughout the war, being present at the surrender of General Bur- goyne at Saratoga in 1777, and late in life drawing a pension. He settled at Gerry, now Phillipston, Worcester County, where he lived until 1786, when he removed to Fitzwilliam, N. H. Although his early educational advan- tages were very limited, he became interested in reading instructive books through his mother's influence, and gradually obtained a superior education by his own efforts. He had great native ability, with much force of character, and, being very public-spirited, was kept almost continuously in town or county office, being Selectman and Moderator many years. Representative for two years, likewise a Counsellor and a member of the State Sen- ate, of which he was chosen President; and for a score of years he served as judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1806 he was chosen by the legislature United States Sena- tor. Both he and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Deeth, rounded out a full pe- riod of years, and were the parents of nine children : Hannah, Austin, Maria, Amos, Ephraim, Nahum, Selina, Almon, and Sid- ney. 13^ BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Ephraim Parker, familiarly known as Cap- tain Parker, the next in the line now being considered, of the State militia, was born August 1 8, 1793, at Fitzwilliam, N. H., and completed his education at the New Salem Academy, in this county. He was a mill- wright by trade, and, being quite a mechani- cal genius, made many inventions, some of which are in use to-day. He built mills at New Boston, from which place he removed to Fitzwilliam, where, in addition to milling, he served as Deputy Sheriff and Selectman for several years. After owning and operating mills at Ashby, Mass., and other places, he bought the patent right of the Woodruff plan- ing-machine, which he took to Richmond, Va., it being the first planing-mill in the South. He next went to Rock Island, 111., where he lived a short time, returning thence to Massachusetts, where he purchased the land and mills on the south side of the river in Orange, the former being now occupied by the New Home Sewing-machine Company plant. Disposing of that property, he then bought a rotton factory at Athol, and, at once becoming identified with the local interests, was largely instrumental in getting the Vermont & Massa- chusetts Railway through that town. On De- cember 7, 18 16, he married Lucy Stone, who was born June 3, 1795, a daughter of Captain David and Ruth (Miller) Stone, and who died while they were living in Rock Island, 111., in 1852. He survived nearly thirty years longer, dying from the effects of a paralytic stroke while visiting his son in Orange, Oc- tober 24, 1880. He was a man of marked ability and enterprise, and always lived some- what in advance of his generation. The names of the children born to his household were as follows: Julia S., Alfred A., Edward N., Horace M., Eliza A., Charles A., and Ja- nette F. Alfred A. Parker received his elementary education in the common schools of Fitzwill- iam, N.H., completing his schooling at the academy in Jaffrey, N.H. When sixteen years old, he went West with his father, and, being favorably impressed with the country, concluded to remain for a while. While in search of employment, he drifted down to St. Louis, Mo., where he finally secured work, being taken on trial as clerk for Nathaniel Phillips in a music store, and gave such satis- faction that he remained three years, when, wishing to visit his home friends, he sent for his brother to take his place. While at home, he assisted as superintendent of the Athol cotton-mill, and also attended the Leicester Academy for a year and a half. Returning then to St. Louis, Mr. Parker opened a store for the sale of gentlemen's' furnishing goods, his reputation for business tact and ability having been previously so well established that he had no trouble in securing financial as- sistance. At the end of six years he had se- cured a competency; and, being burned out soon after, he took his insurance money, and at once erected a substantial, three-story brick building, which is still standing, and there continued his mercantile business. Subse- quently selling out to his brother, he em- barked in a wholesale dry-goods business, which he carried on successfully until the breaking out of the late Rebellion, when he disposed of it, and, sending his wife and fam- ily East, he enlisted as a soldier in the State militia of Missouri, being at first under the command of General Frank Blair, and later under General Lyon. He served until the close of the war, participating in many of the more important battles in the South-west. Returning to his family in Massachusetts, Mr. Parker formed a partnership with George Whipple, and for three years was engaged in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 133 mercantile business in Orange. Disposing of his interest in that store, he subsequently opened a stove and tinware shop; and by steady application and good judgment he se- cured an extensive trade in the town and sur- rounding country, continuing at the old stand nearly twenty-five years. He is now enjoying his well-earned retirement with his family at his pleasant home on Grove Street. Mr. Parker was united in marriage March 30, 1857, with Miss Frances A. Whipple, who was born in Athol, September 19, 1834, and died November 6, 1891, being a daughter of John R. and Martha (Holbrook) Whipple. Four children — two sons and two daughters — were born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker. The daughters, Mary P. and Martha F. , are now living. Alfred W. , born January 2, 1859, died December 17, 1887. John R., born Sep- tember 9, 1861, died December 9, 1889. Mr. Parker is a man of strong convictions, a stanch Republican in politics, and liberal in his religious views. Mrs. Parker, whose death was a loss to the community, as well as to her immediate family, was a consistent and esteemed member of the Congregational church in Orange. iRS. ISABELLA RUSSELL, a much respected resident of Green- field, widow of the late Francis B. Russell, is a daughter of Henry W. and Ann C. (Hilliard) Clapp. Her father was born in Springfield, Mass., in 1792, and was the eldest son of Parsons Clapp, who was born in 1772, and was married in 1796 to Phebe Wells, a memoir of whose father, Henry WelLs, will be found appended to this sketch. Parsons Clapp was a resident of Springfield, and a man of some local fame, being Deputy Sheriff of the county. After some years' resi- dence in Springfield he moved to Montague, and later to Wilmington, where he died Feb- ruary 27, 1854. Henry Wells Clapp was mar- ried to his first wife, Eliza Baldwin, in 1823, and to his second, Ann C. Hilliard, of New York City, on June 2, 1833. The latter, who was born October 5, 1807, was a daughter of Robert Bell and Sophia (Crane) Hilliard, her father's parents being Nicholas and Jane Bell Hilliard, and her mother's William and Ann Pennington Crane. Henry Wells Clapp was a goldsmith, and conducted a successful business in New York City for many years, being a member of the firm of Palmer & Clapp, who commenced busi- ness on Reed Street, New York, in 1820. Retiring from the firm in 1835, he settled in Greenfield, at the corner of Main and High Streets, where he owned a large property. He became interested in real estate, and laid out Franklin Street — on which his daughter, Mrs. Russell, now resides — besides engaging in other enterprises. He was a large stock- holder in the Russell Cutlery Company, was President of the Connecticut Railroad, the Franklin County Agricultural Society, the Greenfield Bank, Franklin Savings Institu- tion, Greenfield Cemetery Association, and the Gas Company, and was always ready to support with financial aid and practical busi- ness ability any well-concerted enterprises that promised to be of benefit to the commu- nity. He was a prominent member of the Episcopal church, and gave liberally toward the erection of St. James's Chapel. He was a man of literary and artistic tastes, possess- ing a good knowledge of ancient and modern history, general English literature, and much genealogical information. He combined jus- tice with charity, and gave freely of his wealth, always using, however, a wise dis- crimination. His death occurred in Green- 134 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW field on March 17, 1869. He had" five chil- dren by his first wife, all of whom reached maturity, and became heads of as many re- spective families. His daughter Isabella, Mrs. Russell, was educated in Miss Stone's school at Greenfield, and also attended Bent's private school in Worcester, Mass. Her marriage to Francis Burg Russell, son of John Russell, occurred July IS, 1863. Mr. Russell died July 4, 1870, he and his wife having been the parents of three children, two sons dying in infancy. The surviving child is a daughter, Kate Den- nison Russell, who resides with her mother. Mrs. Russell is a communicant of the Episco- pal church in Greenfield, where she has passed most of her life. She is a lady highly es- teemed in the community, and has many friends in Greenfield and elsewhere. "ENRY WELLS, third son of Obadiah and Mary (Conkling) Wells, was born li® ^ ^ at what is now known as Union, Essex County, N.J., June 14, 1742, and re- ' sided in New York City for a period of twenty years from 1746. He entered Nassau Hall, or the College of New Jersey, at an early age, and obtained his bachelor's degree at the age of fifteen, an uncle, who was five years his senior, having been a member of his class, to- gether with Nicholas Baird, of New York, and Peter Faneuil, of Boston. He studied medi- cine with Dr. Hull at New Haven, and in 1760 received the degree of A.M. from Yale College. On May 26, 1764, he married Han- nah Stout, who was born in New York on February 19, 1747; and their married life ex- tended over a period of nearly half a century. In 1757 he moved to the then wilderness of Vermont, being one of the twenty-three orig- inal patentees of the town of Brattleboro, the tract of land which he improved consisting of one thousand acres. There upon the brow of a hill, where the cemetery is now located, was erected the first church in that vicinity. Mr. Wells built a substantial frame dwelling, which stood for more than one hundred years, and in which he resided for a considerable period, conducting a large medical practice among the early settlers. Although his time was much occupied in professional labor, he found opportunities to serve in various public ofifices ; and his name appears upon an original covenant, second among the seventy-nine sig- natures, a document written upon parchment, which is still preserved at Brattleboro, Vt., it having been executed on November 12, 1770. Seven children were born to him previ- ous to 1 78 1, when he relinquished his estate, which had cost him so much time and patient sacrifice to improve, and removed to Mon- tague, Mass., then a quiet agricultural town, where he won a wide reputation as a physi- cian, his practice extending far beyond the local boundaries; and he frequently received calls from Boston, Albany, and distant parts of New England. During the epidemic that occurred at Greenfield in 1802 he rendered such distinguished service as to receive the recognition of Dartmouth College, and he realized a handsome fortune from his profes- sional work. He was noted for his upright walk in life, his genial disposition, noble generosity, and kind consideration for the poor and needy, whom he was ever willing to assist both professionally and financially. His useful and honorable career was brought to a close on May 24, 18 14, at the age of sev- enty-two years, his estate continuing in the family's possession for over eighty years. Phebe Wells, third daughter of Dr. Wells, born at Brattleboro, October 28, 1777, was united in marriage on November 13, 1796, to CHESTER W. SEVERANCE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 137 Parsons Clapp, a son of Daniel and Abigail (Root) Clapp. Parsons Clapp was a farmer and a mechanic, who suffered from feeble health, and in middle life was crippled by an accident, but whose latter years were made comfortable by the thoughtful care of his children. The eldest son, Henry Wells Clapp, devoted his wealth unstintingly to the special object of bringing happiness to his parents' declining years. Mr. and Mrs. Par- sons Clapp reared a family of ten children — six sons and four daughters. 7TAHESTER WELLS SEVERANCE, a I Sj^ highly intelligent farmer and repre- ^^ ^ sentative citizen of Leyden, Frank- lin County, was born here, February 27, 1831, son of Chester and Martha Smith (Nash) Sev- erance. Chester Severance, who was a son of • Matthew Severance, the date of his birth being April 20, 1799, was also a native of Leyden, where, after he had grown to man- hood, he was successfully engaged in the varied occupations of farmer, tanner, and shoemaker. His wife, Martha Smith (Nash) Severance, was a native of Greenfield; and her birth occurred March 31, 1793. Their union was blessed by the advent of three sons and four daughters, six of whom reached adult life, and four are now living, namely: Ade- liza, born May 5, 1823, the wife of John Thayer, of Rochester, N.Y. ; William S., born March 24, 1829, a successful physician of Greenfield, Mass. ; Chester W. ; and Charles Earl, born August 27, 1833, a skilful medical practitioner of Brattleboro, Vt. The others were: Martha, born October 7, 1826, died August 23, 1828; Mary M., born Octo- ber 20, 1824, died September 20, 1871; Helen, born February 13, 1840, died October 14, 1865. Chester Severance, the father, died December 3, 1884, having outlived his wife nearly a quarter of a century, her death having occurred October 29, i860. In relig- ious views Mr. Severance was a Methodist, and in politics a stanch supporter of Republi- can principles from the formation of the party. He faithfully served his town as Selectman several years and in other offices. Chester Wells Severance received his early education in the district schools of Leyden, which was supplemented in the academies of Bernardston and Shelburne Falls. At seven- teen years of age he began teaching school, which occupation he followed for several years in Leyden and vicinity. He then conducted the Union Store at Leyden for a year. Up to this time he had made his home with his parents. He now took up the vocation of a farmer, and established a home for himself, buying in 1852 a farm of one hundred and fif- teen acres, where he still lives, having added to it by subsequent purchase, so that it now comprises about two hundred and fifty acres. His land and buildings are in good condition; and he is successfully engaged in general farming, being energetic and a good business manager. On November 25, 1857, Mr. Severance was married to Miss Catherine M. Wilkins, who was born February 10, 1840, youngest child of Dr. Willard A. and Laura (Stone) Wil- kins, the former of whom was a native of Guilford, Vt., and a successful physician. Dr. Wilkins died at the early age of thirty- nine years; but his wife, who again married, lived to be eighty-three years of age. They had three children: Joseph S., born September 12, 1831, died October 22, 1831; Daniel G., who was born December 25, 1832, and died December 5, 1880, was a druggist in Boston; and Catherine M. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Severance, of whom four 138 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW are still living: Lillian L., born September 20, i860; Willard W., born July 30, 1862; Etta May, born May 17, 1865; and Chester Gilbert, born September 29, 1869; Kate F., born Octo- ber 17, 1858, died August 28, 1878; a child born May 27, 1864, died in infancy; Ulysses Grant, born December 15, 1867, died March 10, 1868; and George H., who was born Feb- ruary 2, 1873, died January 21, 1876. Mr. Severance is prominent in local public affairs, and has frequently been called upon to hold offices of responsibility and trust; for thirty years he has served on the school com- mittee, and for sixteen years as Selectman. He has also most acceptably filled the offices of Constable and Collector, as well as other positions. At the present time he is Trustee of the library. He is a member of Republi- can Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Greenfield. Mr. Severance, being endowed with musical talent, which he has cultivated to a considera- ble extent, has been engaged as a teacher of both instrumental and vocal music, and since he was seventeen years of age has led the choir of the Leyden Union Church. On an accompanying page will be found a portrait of this worthy scion of ancient Colo- nial stock, whose genealogy is further treated in sketches of other members of the family. tLFRED SCHOFF, proprietor and manager of the Mansion House at ^^, Greenfield, Mass., is a genial, ener- getic, and keen-sighted business man, who in his character of host has won the respect and esteem of a large number of patrons. He was born in Newton, Middlesex County, Mass., November 8, 185 1, and is a son of Stephen A. Schoff, a native of Newburyport, Mass., but now a resident of Greenfield, making his home at the Mansion House. Stephen A. Schoff was gifted by nature with a taste for art, and when but thirteen years of age, in 1831, left his ancestral home, in order to cultivate his talent in that direc- tion. • Going to Boston, he apprenticed him- self to Joseph Andrews, who was the leading line engraver of that time in this country. In order to attain greater proficiency in line "en- graving, when about twenty years old, Mr. Schoff went to Paris, shipping before the mast as a common sailor, to defray the ex- penses of the voyage. After studying there three years, he returned to his native land, and opened an office in Boston, where he soon earned an enviable reputation for artistic work, and won many friends, among the more valued being the late William Morris Hunt, whose favorite picture, " The Bathers," he was engaged by Mr. John A. Lowell to repro- duce in the finest style of his art some time after the death of the painter. Mr. Schoff en- graved the Ralph Waldo Emerson portrait by Rouse, and for the past five years has done the engraving for the New England Insurance Company's calendars. He has given much attention to bank-note work, and stands very high in his profession, his portraits and vign- ettes being considered among the very best produced, some of the heads, " for delicacy, taste, and excellence of execution, being al- most unequalled in this branch of art." In 184s he married Josephine Ha.stings, of Stow, Mass., and for some forty years there- after resided in Newton, where were reared the five children briefly mentioned below: A. H. Schoff, a woollen commission mer- chant in New York City, is senior member of the firm of A. H. Schoff & Co. ; Frederick, a manufacturer of machinery, lives in Phila- delphia; Alfred, in Greenfield; John I. died at the age of nine years; and Gertrude lived on earth but six years. The mother of these BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ^i9 children passed to the higher life January 1 8, 1882, and was laid to rest in the Newton cemetery. Alfred Schoff was educated in the schools of his native town, being graduated from the Newton High School in the month of January, 1870, and studied drawing with Charles H. Moore, now a professor at Harvard College. After engaging in the woollen commission business for a time, Mr. Schoff began his career in the hotel business, buying a part in- terest in the Kearsarge House at North Con- way, N.H., in January, 1884. Subsequently he bought the entire property, and carried it on for five years, when he rented it, and came to Greenfield to take possession of the Man- sion House, which had also been under his management for two years, he having leased it in January, 1886. This house is one of the leading hotels of the town, and under the con- trol of Mr. Schoff has a reputation for comfort and good cheer that attract the best class of the travelling public. Mr. Schoff was married October 2, 1873, to Mary E. Keyes, a daughter of H. L. and Clara (Woodman) Keyes, of Newton. After a happy wedded life of a little less than seven years Mrs. Mary E. Schoff died, April 10, 1880, leaving two children, namely: Bertha, now an accomplished young lady of twenty years, already well versed in music, having studied it for fourteen years, and for four years been a successful teacher, but still pur- suing the study of the art in Boston; and Olive, fifteen years old, and now a student at Waltham. Mr. Schoff married for his second wife Miss Rose Sauter, who is of German parentage, being a daughter of the late Jacob and Christine Sauter, the latter a resident of Greenfield, where her married life was passed. Two children have been born of this union, namely: Christine, born March 13, 1883; and Josephine, born January 23, 1895. Mr. Schoff was by birthright a Republican in poli- tics, but has so far departed from the faith that he now supports the Cleveland adminis- tration. ■tp)TENRY H. DENNISON, of the firm l-^-j of Wood & Dennison, general store- -11® ^^^ _, keepers at Griswoldville, in the town of Colerain, has reached his present po- sition of prosperity through his own personal energy and perseverance. He was born at Wilmington, Vt., October 4, 1861, and is the son of Charles H. and Mary W. (Jenkins) Dennison, his father having been a native of Marlboro, Vt. , and his mother of Massachu- setts. Mr. Dennison's paternal grandfather, Samuel Dennison, was an early settler in Marlboro, Vt. , where, having made for him- self a home by clearing a farm from the wil- derness, he continued to reside during his ac- tive life, dying in Wilmington at the age of seventy-six years, his wife, Sophia Dennison, having lived to attain ripe old age. Of their family, which consisted of nine children, all born in Marlboro, two are now living, namely: Holland Dennison, of Wilmington, Vt.; and Mrs. Melissa Harris, of Esperance, N.Y. Charles H. Dennison was both a carpenter and a farmer; and subsequent to his marriage, which occurred at Abington, Mass., he pur- chased a farm in Wilmington, he and his wife having travelled thither by stage, the distance being one hundred and fifty miles. He re- sided in Wilmington, and continued to follow these occupations until 1878, when he moved to Colerain, and settled at Griswoldville, where one year later his residence was washed away by a freshet, carrying with it his entire worldly possessions. He continued a resident of Griswoldville until his decease, which oc- curred on December 22, 1892, at the age of 14° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW seventy-nine years. His wife, who still sur- vives, and resides with her son Henr}' H. Dennison, was the mother of seven children, three of whom are now living, as follows : Adelbert E. ; Mary A., wife of William H. Norton; and Henry H. — all of Griswold- ville. Those deceased were: Lysander A., Emma E. , Alice M., and Charles A. Henry H. Dennison, having secured his education in the public schools, at fifteen years of age entered the cotton-mills of the Gris- woldville Manufacturing Company as an opera- tive, and continued in that employment until 1880, at which time he was given a position as clerk in the company's store. In that ca- pacity he served faithfully and efificiently for fourteen years, or until October, 1894, when, in company with Mr. Wood, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, he pur- chased the business. They conduct a large and well-equipped establishment, carrying a stock valued at about five thousand dollars, their sales amounting to about twenty thou- sand dollars per annum. On June 29, 1888, Mr. Dennison married Mary E. Call, of Colerain, daughter of Charles H. Call, who now resides in Shat- tuckville, Mass. They have two children: Leon Earl, born October 26, 1889; and Gladys May, born March 10, 1893. Mr. Den- nison is a Republican in politics; and both himself and wife are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, in which he has been superintendent of the Sunday-school for one year and steward for several years. (^Thoi HOMAS T. FYFE, M.D., an active (^1 practitioner of the homoeopathic school of medicine, is one of the younger phy- sicians of Greenfield, and comparatively a recent comer, but has already won a good reputation for professional knowledge, prompt- itude, and skill. He is a native of Scotland, and the date of his birth was May 18, i860. His father, Hugh Fyfe, was born in Scotland in 1820, was there reared and married, and lived there until 1869. In that year he emi- grated to the United States with his wife and family, which consisted of twelve children — five sons and seven daughters — of whom but two of the sons and five daughters are now living. He was a civil engineer by profes- sion, and, after being employed in that capac- ity in several cities and towns, settled in East Bennington, Vt., but after two years moved to Blackinton, Mass., where he died in 1876. His widow, whose maiden name was Annie Downly, survives him, living at North Adams, Mass., and at seventy years of age is strong and active both mentally and physically. Thomas was a lad of nine years when the family came to this country, and had obtained the rudiments of his education in the public schools of Scotland. After landing on these shores, he continued his studies in the graded schools of Cleveland, Ohio, being graduated from the high school in due course of time, and subsequently studying for his profession, and receiving his medical diploma at the Homoeopathic Hospital College of that city. In 1889, in the month of November, Doctor Fyfe settled in Greenfield; and during his residence here he has gained the good will and confidence of all with whom he has had dealings in a professional, social, or business way, and has acquired a lucrative practice. Dr. Fyfe was united in marriage March 8, 1881, to Miss Elizabeth Ingraham, their nuptials being celebrated at the bride's home in North Adams, Mass. At their pleasant residence, which he purchased in March, 1893, on Federal Street, the Doctor and his BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 141 wife exercise a genuine hospitality, entertain- ing their many friends with social converse and right good cheer. Dr. and Mrs. Fyfe are not connected by membership with any religious organization, but both are regular attendants of the Congregational church. In politics the Doctor affiliates with the Repub- lican party, being one of its stanchest allies. ■OHN S. HUNT, a respected resident of Miller's Falls, where he carries on business as a blacksmith and wheel- wright, was born in the town of Rowe, Frank- lin County, Mass., February 14, 1861. His father, Moses Hunt, was a native of Hawley, Mass. ; and his grandfather, Atherton, was a long-time resident of that town, where he owned and cultivated a farm, and where his death occurred. Moses Hunt, father of John S., was one of five children. He received his education in the public schools of the town, remaining with his father until he came of age. He then purchased a farm in Rowe, which he cultivated until his death, at the age of forty- nine years. His wife was Ursula Dalyrimple, a native of Reedsboro, Vt., where her father, John S. Dalyrimple, was a prosperous farmer. By her marriage to Mr. Hunt she became the mother of three children, as follows: Martha, wife of Sylvester Davis, of Charlemont ; Mary, wife of S. C. Smith, of Colerain; and John S. Mrs. Moses Hunt is still living in Rowe. Both she and her husband were at- tendants of the Unitarian church. John S. Hunt spent his early years on his father's farm in Rowe, attending the public schools of the town, his education including a high school course. He then learned the trade of wheelwright and blacksmith, conduct- ing a business here for ten years, after which he sold out, and spent two years in the brace shop at Miller's Falls. He later purchased an interest in the shop he now conducts in connection with Philip Cavanaugh, and has been quite successful in building up a good business. In 1886 Mr. Hunt was married to Miss Alice Newell, daughter of Charles Newell, a well-known farmer of Rowe. Mrs. Hunt was born in Shelburne Falls, and was one of a family of four children, all of whom are now living. Mr. Hunt is independent in politics, casting his vote in accordance with his best judgment. He is liberal in his religious opinions, and takes an active interest in polit- ical, social, and religious matters. He is a man of intelligence and information, giving much of his leisure to the perusal of books, particularly works of biography, in which department of literature he has a discriminat- ing taste. J~X AVID M. PIERCE, a leading farmer —J and extensive real estate owner in ^ Colerain, was born in this town, October 21, 1842, son of Morris and Sylvia (Upton) Pierce. He traces his descent on the paternal side from Captain William Pierce, who fought in the French and Indian War, and whose two sons, Zebulon and Gad, also participated in that struggle. Zebulon took up arms again later in life, being one of the patriots of the Revolution. He died on July 2, 1800, at the age of sixty-six; and his wife, Molly, died in July, 18 18, aged seventy- three. Their son Samuel, who was the grand- father of David M., was born in Stow, Mass., April 15, 1779. He established ai permanent residence in Colerain, and became quite a prominent man here, cultivating a large farm and taking an active interest in public affairs. He was a well-informed man, 142 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and was connected with a library and a histor- ical society. In politics he was a Whig, and represented his town in the State legislature; and for several years he was Town Clerk and Treasurer. He died February i, 1850, at the age of seventy-one. His wife, Rachel Smith, to whom he was married November 26, 1801, was born February i, 1782, and died at the age of sixty-five. Both Grandmother and Grandfather Pierce were members of the Bap- tist church. They had a large family, but only two sons and two daughters reached maturity. Morris Pierce was born in Colerain, April II, 181 1, and became one of the leading men of the place, owning a farm of three hundred acres at one time, and also running a saw- mill. He belonged to the old Whig party, and later was a Republican. He was several times elected Selectman and Assessor, and was in good standing as a member of the Bap- tist church. He died at the age of seventy- one. His wife, Sylvia Upton, who was born in Charlemont, December 12, 181 3, died May 29, 1 88 1, when sixty-eight years of age. She was a daughter of Ebenezer Upton, of Charle- mont, and great-grand-daughter of Josiah Upton, a native of North Reading, who was fourth in line of descent from John Upton, the immigrant ancestor of the Uptons of New England. Mr. and Mrs. Morris Pierce had four children, of whom David Morris is the second. Samuel Sabin Pierce, born August 31, 1837, is deceased; Albert J., born March 30, 1847, iiow resides in Amesbury, Mass.; George Landon Pierce, born April i, 1852, lives on the old homestead where his grand- father died. He carries on general farming, making a specialty of fruit-growing and dairy products, and owns several head of stock, including sheep and Holstein and Jersey cat- tle. He has been twice married. His first wife, Sarah L., daughter of Thomas and Fanny Purington, of Colerain, died, leaving two children, Fanny M. and Wayne M. His second wife, Mary E., widow of H. D. Townsley, is the daughter of Charles and Philana (Lyon) Elmer, of Ashfield, who are both deceased. David M. Pierce grew to manhood in Cole- rain, receiving here his early education, which was supplemented by four terms at Powers Institute. After the death of his father, with whom he had then been in com- pany for eleven years, he bought the mill interest, and continued the business of manu- facturing wooden boxes for dairy products and other articles. For some years he was en- gaged in mechanical work, milling, and farm- ing, at one time raising and packing large quantities of tobacco. In 1875 he bought the farm where he now resides of his uncle, David S. Pierce, who had been in business with his father; and in 1891 he disposed of his inter- est in the mill, in order to attend more closely to his agricultural pursuits. He now owns a large territory of farm and pasture land, including one hundred acres in Charle- mont, which bears the Indian name, Pocom- tuck. Mr. Pierce carries on general farming and fruit-raising on an extensive scale, and has some fine cattle. He gives his personal supervision to every branch of his work, and the results speak for themselves. On June 2, 1880, he was married to Alice, daughter of Ephraim and Chloe (Peck) Trues- dell, of Rowe, where Mr. Truesdell is well known as an old resident and a public-spirited citizen. They have two children, Percy F. and Clara S. Pierce. Mr. Pierce votes the Republican ticket, and, true to the family tra- ditions, is a member of the Baptist church. Besides his real estate, he is concerned in the Shelburne Falls Creamery Association. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 143 LMON B. EDDY, a prosperous farmer and highly esteemed citizen of Con- way, was born in Buckland, Frank- lin County, Mass., February 7, 1854, son of Benjamin and Nancy (Parks) Eddy, and grand- son of Joel Eddy. The grandfather, Joel, was a native of Vermont, where he was success- fully engaged as an agriculturist. He died at the advanced age of ninety-three years, and his wife at the age of seventy. Benjamin Eddy, who was born in Vermont, remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age. He then removed to Buckland, Mass., where he was employed in the cutlery manufactory for a few years, after which he purchased a farm in Vermont, and was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits until he retired from active labor. He is now living with his son Almon B., and, though advanced in years, is still active, and enjoys a fair degree of health. In political views he is a Prohibitionist. His wife, Nancy Parks, was born and reared in Bernardston, Mass., daughter of Reuben Parks. She bore her husband a son and daughter, Lucinda E. and Almon B. The mother's death occurred when our subject was quite young. Both parents were communi- cants of the Methodist Episcopal church. Almon B. Eddy removed in childhood with his parents from Buckland to Vermont, where he grew to manhood, receiving a practical education in the public schools. On attain- ing his majority he went to Iowa, and was there successfully engaged in farming for seven years. He then returned East, and settled in Conway, purchasing the small farm on which he now resides. He is profitably engaged in general farming, and in connection with his agricultural work is also employed by the Conway Creamery Company. In 1881 Mr. Eddy was joined in marriage with Miss Nettie I. Lee, of Conway, daughter of Dennis Lee. Their home has been brightened by the birth of two children — a son and daughter — Walter C. and Jessie May. In political affiliation Mr. Eddy is a Repub- lican. He is a member of the Deerfield Ag- ricultural Society, and is a Master Mason, having taken the third degree in the Morning Sun Lodge of Conway. LIZA B. LEONARD, of Greenfield, Mass., is a native of Boston and the descendant of a family noted for their mental attainments and for estimable traits of character that gave them distinction among the leading members of their genera- tion. She is a daughter of the late Theodore and Elizabeth (Babcock) Leonard, the former a native of Sandwich, Mass., born March 24, 1802, and the latter of Boston, born February 24, 1809. The paternal grandfather of Miss Leonard, named Jonathan Leonard, was born at Bridge- water, Mass., on February 7, 1763, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1786. He studied for the medical profession, settled at Sandwich, Mass., in 1788 or 1789, and was for many years the foremost physician and surgeon of that locality. He was succeeded in his practice by his son Jonathan, also a Harvard graduate; and the latter in his turn has a son named Jonathan, who is now a stu- dent at Harvard, preparing for the hereditary calling. Dr. Jonathan Leonard, Sr., married Temperance Hall, of Sandwich, their nuptials being solemnized May 10, 1796, and they reared five sons, namely: Francis Dana, who passed the larger part of his life at Yellow Springs, Ohio, and who was always actively interested in advancing the cause of education, giving his daughters the advantage of a thor- ough course of study at Antioch College; 144 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Theodore, father of Miss Leonard ; Jonathan, a physician, at Sandwich, as above mentioned, who was twice married, his first wife having been Alice Babcock, a sister of Miss Leon- ard's mother; George Kingman, for many years engaged in business in Boston, where he died, aged forty years, leaving two sons and two daughters; and Charles Cushing, who was probably lost at sea by the burning of the ship "President." Both grandparents attained the venerable age of eighty-six years, the grandfather dying in 1849, ^^d his widow in 1854. Theodore Leonard and Miss Elizabeth Bab- cock were united in marriage on the twenty- fifth day of September, 1832; and during the first few years of their wedded life they re- sided in different places, including Boston, Baltimore, Md., Mobile, Ala., and Dudley, Mass. In 1843 they settled in Greenfield, which they made their permanent home, in 1853 purchasing the fine large residence at 50 Federal Street, now owned and occupied by the subject of this brief sketch. Mr. Leonard was interested in the manufacture of woollen cloths, such as doeskins and cassimeres, until 1857, being agent for the company, which failed in that year; and he, being the largest creditor, succeeded to the business, being actively and prosperously engaged therein for some ten years. He was in reality the archi- tect of his own fortune, having begun life as clerk in a Boston establishment, and, dili- gently applying himself, by his own energy worked his way up to a recognized position among the successful business men of the day. His years were well spent; and his death, which occurred May 7, 1872, was universally regretted. His widow survived him, living until January 9, 1892. Both were people of culture, liberal in their social and religious views, and consistent members of the Unita- rian church. Mrs. Elizabeth B. Leonard was a daughter of Samuel H. and Eliza (Brazer) Babcock, both natives of Boston, who were the parents of thirteen children, four of whom died when young. Nine grew to ma- ture life, as follows: Samuel B. (deceased) was for forty years rector of St. Paul's church at Dedham, Mass.; William G., a retired Unitarian minister, is living at Dorchester, Mass. ; Charles A. (deceased) was formerly in mercantile business in Boston; John, a manu- facturer, resides in Boston; Charlotte L., the widow of a prominent druggist of Boston, was the third child in order of birth, and is now an active and interesting woman of eighty- five years; Alice, deceased, was the wife of Jonathan Leonard; Caroline, deceased, mar- ried Theodore Dunn, of Dover, Mass. ; Sarah, deceased, married Augustus Whittemore, a well-known merchant of Boston; and Eliza- beth, as above mentioned, became Mrs. Theo- dore Leonard. Eliza B. Leonard was the only child born to her parents, and much attention was paid to her early education, which was obtained in private schools of Greenfield, and under the tuition of Professor Louis and Mrs. Elizabeth C. Agassiz, at the historic old town of Cam- bridge, Mass. Being somewhat dependent upon her own resources, she early began to make use of her abilities and attainments, and for a period of fourteen years taught French and music in Greenfield, but on account of failing health was obliged to relinquish her work. Miss Leonard has since filled her house with congenial boarders, and takes delight in providing them with the comforts of a pleasant home. She occupies a high position in the society of Greenfield, having many warm friends among the best people of the place, her liberal mind, large heart, and sympathetic nature commanding the respect AMOS STEWART. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 147 and winning the love of all with whom she is brought in contact. MOS STEWART, a prosperous farmer and fruit-grower of Colerain, Franklin County, Mass., is a sturdy repre- sentative of the old Scotch Stewart family, members of which settled in the town in 1740. An old gravestone in the cemetery bears the name of one of Mr. Stewart's ancestors, with date of birth — James Stewart, 1680 — who was the first member of the family to make his home in Colerain. The parents of the subject of this sketch were Amos and Margaret (Oak) Stewart, both natives of Colerain, the former of whom was a successful farmer and for many years a prominent figure in public affairs, he having served his town as Selectman, and represented his district in the State legislature for several terms. He was a Presbyterian in religion. His death occurred June 17, 1867, at the age of seventy-four years, nearly seventeen years after that of his wife, Margaret Oak, who was called to rest in August, 1850, at the age of fifty-three. Of their ten children the only survivors are four sons: Amariah H., who resides in Connecticut; William, a resident of Colerain, and whose sketch with further genealogical data appears elsewhere in this work; David, who is now a resident of Michi- gan; and Amos, the father's namesake. Amos Stewart, Jr., attended the schools of his native town in his early years, and at the age of eighteen, under the influence of the gold fever, made an overland trip to California with an ox-team, leaving Greenfield in April, 1852, and arriving at his destination in Octo- ber, a six months' journey, which must have been tedious to a degree, although unrivalled for leisurely opportunity of sight-seeing, and doubtless diversified by incidents of exciting and even of perilous nature, whose story one would like to hear. Hopeful and energetic, the young adventurer went immediately to the mines of Sonoma County, where he worked for three years, his expectations of sudden wealth, however, like those of many others, failing of realization. He returned East by way of the Isthmus; but, before settling down in his native place, he went to Wisconsin, where he remained for a year and a half, at the end of which time, not altogether satisfied with that part of the country, he returned to Colerain, and in 1857 purchased the seventy-acre farm that he now occupies. Having, however, since added to the original acreage, he now possesses a fine farm of about one hundred and twenty acres, which is admirably located and in a high state of cultivation. Besides being extensively engaged in fruit-growing, having a large and productive orchard which yielded last year over four hundred barrels of apples, he also devotes considerable attention to dairying interests with profitable results. The Stewart place, with its convenient and comely dwelling and its remodelled farm buildings, is one of the pleasantest and most comfortable homes in this vicinity. On April 14, 1858, Mr. Amos Stewart was united in marriage to Miss Mary Cone, who was born at Marlboro, Vt., October i, 1836, daughter of Jesse and Abigail (Nelson) Cone. Mrs. Stewart's parents are no longer living. Her father was formerly a merchant of Marl- boro, Vt., where he was an early settler, and became a prominent citizen, long serving as Justice of the Peace, Postmaster, Town Clerk, and Treasurer. He was successful in busi- ness, and was highly esteemed. He was twice married, and of his three children Mrs. Stewart is the only survivor. Mrs. Stewart's paternal grandparents were Robert and Sarah 148 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW (Cook) Cone, the former of whom was a native of Saybrook, Conn., and became an early set- tler in Colerain, where he combined the occu- pations of farming and shoemaking. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His death occurred at the age of sixty-three years. His wife, Sarah Cook, who was from Wil- mington, Vt., survived to the age of eighty- four. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have had three chil- dren, but have been called to mourn the loss of two: Jennie, who died January ig, 1875, ^t the age of sixteen years; and Abbie, Mrs. W. T. Holton, who died January 8, 1891, at the age of twenty-five years, in Redlands, Cal. Charles Amos Stewart, the only son, born April 14, 1871, is now superintendent of a fruit ranch at Redlands, Cal. Liberal in their religious views, Mr. Stewart and his wife are among the most respected residents of Colerain. He is a Republican in politics, has served as Selectman and Assessor for three terms, and is now Special County Com- missioner. As might be expected, he is a member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society. A portrait of Mr. Amos Stewart, which his acquaintances will have no difficulty in recog- nizing, and which will give pleasure to many friends, will be seen on an adjoining page. T^HARLES M. CONANT, a well-to-do I jp farmer of Gill, an interior town of V»^^^^ Franklin County, was born in War- wick, a few miles east of his present home, February 4, 1827, son of Jonas and Anna (Rising) Conant. Mr. Conant's great-grand- father, Benjamin Conant, was born in Beverly, Mass., in 1698; and in 1732 he became one of the incorporators of the town of Dudley, in Worcester County. He resided there for thirty-five years, during which time he was prominent in public affairs, and then moved to Warwick, where he died September 20, 1767. For a more extended account of the family genealogy the reader is referred to a work entitled "A History of the Conant Fam- ily," which was published in Portland, Me., in 1887. Asa Conant, Mr. Conant's grand- father, was born in Dudley in 1750, and set- tled in Warwick, where he became an inn- keeper, and died February 21, 1832. Jonas Conant, son of Asa, was reared to agricultural pursuits. He erected a grist-mill in Warwick, which he operated for a time, but disposed of it later, and moved to Vermont, where he carried qn a farm for eleven years. In 1840 he returned to Warwick, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-one years. Jonas Conant was a member of the Congregational church at Warwick. By his first wife, Sarah Leonard, daughter of Jonas Leonard, he had four chil- dren, who have all passed away. Charles M. Conant is the only child of his union with his second wife, Mrs. Anna Rising Barker, daughter of Jonathan Rising, of Marlboro, Vt. The mother died in Whitingham, Vt., aged ninety-three years. Charles M. Conant received his education in the district schools and at Cambridge, N.Y., and resided with his parents until his father's death. He taught school for one winter, then followed carpentering and shoe- making, being engaged for some time in a particular branch of the latter trade — that of bottoming boots — and also carried on a farm. In 1864 he sold his property in Warwick, and settled upon his present farm in Gill, which consists of forty-five acres of well-improved land; and this he conducts with good results. In 1852 Mr. Conant was united in marriage to Emelia Johnson, daughter of Daniel John- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 149 son, who was a prominent farmer of Warwick, but a native of Orange. Mr. Johnson died in Warwick, at the age of forty-one years. He and his wife, Sarah Ward, a grand-daughter of William Burnett, were the parents of six children, four of whom are still living, namely: Caroline, wife of Jonathan Blake, who resides in Gill; Emelia; Sarah, who married Dwight Fuller, of Springfield ; and James G., who resides at the old homestead. Mrs. Johnson passed her declining years with her daughter Emelia, Mrs. Conant, and died at the age of seventy-four. Emelia Johnson was well educated at the common and select schools of Orange, and, after completing her studies, taught school for one year before her marriage to Mr. Conant. Mr. and Mrs. Conant have had two daugh- ters; namely, Alice, who died at the age of twenty-one, and Sarah at twenty-three years. Both were liberally educated, and Sarah had already entered upon a useful career as a teacher. Mr. Conant is a Republican in poli- tics, but has never aspired to public office. He and his wife are attendants of the Congre- gational church. 'ON. WILLIAM BARRETT WASH- BURN, LL.D., a resident of Green- ly V^ ^ field from 1857 to his death in 1887, and Governor of Massachusetts for the years 1872 and 1873, was born in Winchen- don, Mass., January 31, 1820. His paternal grandfather, Elijah Washburn, who was born October 8, 1758, and who served in the Con- tinental Army during the Revolutionary War, was for some time a resident of Leicester, Mass., from which place he went as a pioneer settler in 1786 to Hancock, N.H. He was a blacksmith by trade, but engaged in agricult- ure in connection with other business pur- suits. He married Elizabeth Watson, of Leicester, Mass.; and they became the par- ents of a good old-fashioned family of twelve children. Mr. Washburn died in 1836, at the age of seventy-eight, his wife following him three years later, at the age of seventy- seven. The Washburn homestead in Hancock is still in possession of their descendants. Their son Asa, who became the father of the Hon. William B. Washburn, was born in 1790, and in 18 17 married Phebe Whitney. Asa Washburn died October 21, 1824; and after his death his widow married in 1827 John Woodbury, by whom she had one daugh- ter — Mary Jane — who died in her thirteenth year. Mr. Woodbury died in Winchendon, Mass., in 1870, when in his eighty-seventh year. Governor Washburn's mother, having survived her second husband, laid down the burden of life at the residence of her son, Nelson P. Washburn, Nashua, N.H., on March 7, 1876. William B. Washburn prepared for college at the academies of Westminster, Mass., Han- cock, N.H., and Groton, Mass., and in 1840 entered Yale College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1844. He had in- tended to enter the legal profession, but, yielding to the request of his uncle, William B. Whitney, who was in poor health, he assumed charge of the latter's extensive busi- ness interests at Orange, Mass. He early exhibited remarkable business ability, to- gether with a strict personal integrity, which soon brought him into public notice, and led to his being selected in 1850 as a fit candidate for the State Senate, where the foundation of his political career was laid. After serving one term in the House in 1854, he repre- sented his district in the thirty-eighth, thirty- ninth, fortieth, forty-first, and forty-second sessions of Congress, and in November, 1871, 15° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was elected to the office of Chief Executive of the State, being inaugurated January, 1872. His record in this exalted position is well known, and need not be here enlarged upon. Suffice it to say that he proved himself a worthy successor to the many able and virtu- ous men who had preceded him in office, and showed himself abundantly endowed with the essential qualities of a true statesman and leader of men. He was twice re-elected, and in April, 1874, resigned the governorship, having been appointed by the legislature to succeed the Hon. Charles Sumner in the United States Senate. He took his seat in that body on May i, 1874, and completed the unfinished term of his illustrious predecessor, which closed on March 3, 1875. During his residence in Greenfield he filled a prominent place in the business world. He was elected President of the State Bank and of its successor, the National Bank, which position he held until his death. He was a Trustee of Yale College for nearly twelve years, a member of the Board of Overseers of Amherst College, and a Trustee of the State Agricultural College at Amherst. At the time of his death he was a Trustee of Smith College in Northampton and of the Moody School at Northfield, and was a Director of the Connecticut River Railroad Company. He was actively interested in all public affairs, both State and national, often neglect- ing his own private business to promote meas- ures for the general good of the community, and will long be remembered as a cheerful giver, a liberal benefactor to the Greenfield Library and other deserving institutions. In the midst of his useful and honored career, while attending in Springfield, Mass., a meet- ing of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, of which he was a cor- porate member, he was summoned from earth on October 5, 1887, aged sixty-seven years, eight months, and five days. William B. Washburn was married on Sep- tember 6, 1847, to Miss Hannah A. Sweetser, of Athol, Mass., of which town both her par- ents were natives, and where their marriage took place in 1823. Mrs. Washburn has been the mother of six children — two sons and four daughters — as follows: Maria Augusta, who died January i, 1851, at the age of four- teen months; William Nelson, now residing in Greenfield; George Sweetser, who died in May, 1870, in his sixteenth year; Anna R., who married Walter Osgood Whitcomb Jan- uary 15, 1885, and is now a resident of New York City; Clara Spencer, who was married February 19, 1885, to James C. Deane; and Mary Nightingale Washburn. Clara and Mary reside with their mother at the Washburn mansion, 151 Main Street, Greenfield. ,EV. ALPHEUS CLARK HODGES, of Buckland, pastor of First Congre- gational Church and editor and publisher of several religious newspapers, was born at Rochester, N.Y., in February, 1853. His father, Willard Hodges, a native of Tor- rington. Conn., was a son of Erastus Hodges, who was also born in that town. Mr. Hodges's great-grandfather, Elkanah Hodges, was a physician and one of the first settlers of Torrington, where, aside from his pro- fession, he engaged in mercantile pursuits and farming, residing there until his death. Erastus Hodges was a merchant in Torring- ton, both he and his wife, Laura Loomis, being life-long residents. Willard Hodges received his early educa- tion in Torrington, and, after two years' study at the Suffield Literary Institute and the same period at Williams College, was graduated at BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 151 Yale with the class of 1845. He was for a time a merchant in New York City, but re- moved shortly to Rochester, N.Y., where he purchased a farm, and resided thereon until his death, which occurred in the month of July, 1888. His wife, who still resides at Rochester, was before her marriage Jane A. Bradley. She is a daughter of Gurdon B. and Phebe Bradley, of Fairfield, N.Y., and the mother of six children — Henry, Alpheus C, Jane R., Amy M., Louise M., and Fanny L. Alpheus C. Hodges, the second son, as above named, received his elementary and col- legiate preparatory education in the schools of Rochester, and was graduated at Yale College in 1877. He then entered the Theological Seminary at Hartford, Conn., graduating in 1 88 1, and on November 16 of that year was ordained and installed a pastor at Buckland, Mass. In 1890 Mr. Hodges established a weekly newspaper at Buckland, called Our Country Cliurcli^ which is devoted to the inter- est of country churches and local church papers. At first the paper gave some space to local news, but, finding that its circulation was principally abroad, that department was trans- ferred to another publication ; and Our Country C/iurc/i, which was changed to a monthly, has now developed into a journal of sixteen pages, with Mr. Hodges as its editor. He also pub-' lishes the Connecticut Valley Congregationalist, the Deerfield Endeavorer, the Springfield Dis- trict Methodist, besides issuing a number of papers for different localities. In 1893 the Rev. Alpheus C. Hodges was married to Eleanor R. Squire, who was born at Dorchester, Mass., and is a daughter of the Rev. Edmund and Sarah M. Squire. Mr. and Mrs. Hodges have one son, named Benja- min Redfern. Mr. Hodges has been a liberal donor to the Public Church Library of Buck- land, which was established in 1890. ILLARD HENRY PIER:CE, M.D., physician and surgeon, with his home and office at 163 Main Street, Greenfield, has a large and increasing practice in this part of Franklin County, and, al- though young in years, has already performed feats in surgery that have brought him into prominent notice in the medical fraternity as well as before the general public. One espe- cially worthy of mention is a difficult case of laparotomy performed by the Doctor in 1890, the very first operation of the kind by a resi- dent physician in the entire county, and being entirely successful. Dr. Pierce is a native of Vermont, having been born November 21, 1863, in the town of Westminster, which was the birthplace of several of his ancestors and life-long residence of his grandfather, Moses Pierce. Nathan G. Pierce, the Doctor's father, was born in Westminster in 18 16, being one of a family of three children — two sons and a daughter. He was a representative agricultu- rist of that part of Vermont, and a man of broad knowledge and sound sense, wielding quite a strong influence in local and State affairs; and, besides holding town offices, he served two terms in the State legislature. He was a stanch Republican in politics, and fearless in the expression of his principles. He died in December, 1888. He was twice married, both of his wives being daughters of John Keach, of Westminster. His first wife, Melissa Keach, died in the prime of young womanhood, leaving two sons: Hart Benton Pierce, a member of the detective force of Providence, R.I.; and Milton, who died at Camp Griffin during his enlistment in the late war. His second wife, Roxanna Keach, bore him five children, namely: Edwin R., man- ager of the Glendower Hotel at Springfield; Ella, who died in childhood; George W., who IS2 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW has charge of the Asylum Farm at Brattle- boro, Vt. ; Lilla Jane, a young lady of rare promise, who passed to the higher life at the early age of sixteen years; and Dr. Pierce, of whom we write. Willard H. Pierce was reared on the pleas- ant home farm, and attended the district school as a boy, being afterward fitted for col- lege in the Vermont Academy, at Saxton's River, near Bellows Falls. His inclinations leading him to choose the profession of medi- cine, he entered the University of Vermont, from the medical department of which he was graduated with the degree of M.D. in June, 1885. The following September Dr. Pierce, being then twenty-one years old, opened an office in Bernardston, Mass., remaining there until January i, 1893, when he took advantage of a favorable opening, and came to Green- field. As indicated above, he has gained an extended reputation for skill in surgery, to which he pays special attention, and has won the confidence and esteem of his many pa- tients, his eminent success proving that his life-work has been wisely chosen, and thus far faithfully followed. In September, 1894, Dr. Pierce established his hospital at 2 West Main Street, in a large brick dwelling, where he has the most modern appliances for success- fully attending to his suffering patients, giv- ing them his personal care and supervision. On the 7th of September, 1888, Dr. Will- ard H. Pierce and Nellie May Gray were united in marriage, and of their union two children have been born, namely: Roxy, a beautiful little girl of three years; and Frank Gray, who died in infancy. Mrs. Pierce is a daughter of Ormando and Roxcena (Arnold) Gray, of Bernardston, Mass., where they are now living, the former being the well-known map and atlas publisher, although he is now retired from active business. Politically, the Doctor is a warm supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and, socially, is an advanced member of the Ma- sonic order, being a Knight Templar, belong- ing to the Greenfield Commandery. He is prominent in medical circles, belonging to the Massachusetts Medical Society, to the Frank- lin District Medical Society, and to the Con- necticut Valley Association, and is a frequent contributor to the various medical journals of the country. Both he and his estimable wife are in hearty sympathy with the liberal faith and advanced thought of the Unitarian church, of which they are regular attendants. Y^TERBERT E. WARFIELD, an exten- |p!l sive farmer of Charlemont, was born -1-^ V_^ in the adjoining town of Heath, Mass., November 25, 1855, and is a son of Edward E. and Martha A. (Gleason) War- field. Mr. Warfield's grandparents were Job and Nancy (Thompson) Warfield, the former of whom was a son of Joshua Warfield, whose father, also named Job Warfield, was the first member of the family to settle in Franklin County. The first Job Warfield, who was a native of Milford, Mass., and a veteran of the Revolu- tionary War, became one of the original set- tlers of the town of Heath, where he purchased a tract of wild land, which he improved into a good farm. He resided there until his death, on July 21, 1835. The maiden name of his wife was Prudence Bush. Their son Joshua was born at Milford, and accompanied them to Heath. He also followed agricult- ural pursuits successfully. Job Warfield, son of Joshua, was born at Heath, and there grew to manhood. After marriage he purchased a farm in the eastern part of the town, a considerable part of which BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 153 he cleared, and cultivated grain to some extent. In 1867 he sold his property in Heath, and moved to Buckland, where he resided until his death, which occurred on October 28, 1871, after fifty-six years of mar- ried life, he and his wife having celebrated their golden wedding in 1865. Mrs. Job Warfield was a daughter of Stephen and Phebe (Chapin) Thompson, and she lived to the age of eighty-two years. She and her husband were members of the Congregational church and Mr. Warfield was a Republican in poli- tics. Their children were: Stephen, Lucy, Edward E., Alexander, Nancy I., Sarah U., and Henry L. Edward E. Warfield was born at Heath on August 21, 1820. When a young man, he acquired the trade of a tanner, and, after fol- lowing that occupation for a few years, pur- chased a small farm in his native town. Five years later he traded that estate for the prop- erty known as the J. Twing farm, which he conducted for the succeeding eight years, when he sold, and moved to Wilbraham, where for some time he had charge of the academy boarding-house. In 1869 he re- moved to Charlemont, and purchased the Miner farm, which formed a part of the prop- erty known as the C. Rice tract, of one hun- dred and fifty acres, which is now owned by his son Herbert, and which at that time was in a very rough state. He cleared a consid- erable portion of the land, constructed a new road to the village, erected a new house and barn, and successfully devoted his energies to general farming, keeping during the latter part of his life thirty head of choice cattle. In politics he was a strong Republican, and served the town as a Selectman and Assessor, and as Overseer of the Poor for four terms. He also had charge of the town farm for one year. His own farm, on account of its healthy location and pleasant surroundings, became a noted resort for summer boarders, and has been known to accommodate as many as forty guests in a season. His wife, whom he married on June 7, 1843, was Martha, daughter of Abijah and Elizabeth (Bevins) Gleason, both of whom were natives of Heath. Abijah Gleason, who was a progressive farmer, died in 1852, aged fifty-nine years, his wife having passed away in 1844, at the age of forty-six years. Their children were: Salmon, Elizabeth, Reuben, Susan, Martha, Edward, Abigail M., Allen B., William F., Samuel K., and Charles A. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason were members of the Congregational church. Edward E. Warfield died at the age of sixty-nine years. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, who survives him, is still bright and active. She has reared three children, as follows: Abbie J., wife of Dr. Temple, a resident of Charle- mont; William S. ; and Herbert E. Herbert E. Warfield received his education in the public schools and at the Wilbraham Academy. He continued to reside with his par- ents; and after his marriage, which took place in his thirtieth. year, he purchased his father's farm. He has since established a creamery, and has added two hundred and ten acres of adjoining land for pasturage purposes. He keeps a herd of twenty choice cows, an equal number of fine young stock, five horses, and a pair of mules. There are unmistakable signs of mineral products upon his farm, sulphur being plainly visible; and in 1894 Mr. Davis, proprietor of the well-known sulphur mines, opened a silica mine upon the property, which he worked to some extent. Mr. Warfield and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Warfield is a Republican. On January 22, 1885, Mr. Warfield was 154 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW married to Miss Mary T. Bassett, daughter of William O. Bassett, of Hawley, an account of whom may be found elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Warfield have two children, namely: Marjorie B., born April 4, 1890; and Horace E., born October 26, 1893. In the History of Milford, the birthplace of Joshua Warfield, as mentioned above, it is said that the Warfields of that town "all descended from Deacon John, of Mendon," who was in Dedham as early as 1642, and was later appointed the first schoolmaster in Mendon, certainly a far-off ancestor worthy of being held in remembrance. -OSHUA GRIFFITH SEARS, a retired merchant and highly respected citizen of Shelburne Falls, Franklin County, Mass., was born in the town of Ashfield, a few miles distant, September 5, 1822, son of Ahira and Aurora (Griffith) Sears. The Sears family genealogy in America is traced back to Richard Sears, of English parentage, who was taxed in Plymouth Colony, Mass., in 1633, and in 1639 removed to Cape Cod. Begin- ning with him, the lineal representatives of this branch of the family are as follows: Richard, Silas, Joseph, Zachariah, and Ro- land, the last-named being the grandfather of Joshua G. Sears. He was born in Yarmouth, Mass., February 3, 1745, and lived there until twenty-eight years of age. In 1773 he and Paul Sears removed to Ashfield, Franklin County, where they took up a grant of two hundred acres of land on what is now known as Cape Street. When they settled there, the country was new; and the farms were often separated by large tracts of wild or thickly wooded land. They cleared their land together, and they be- came successful and progressive agriculturists. Later in life they divided their grant equally, so that each had a farm of one hundred acres. Roland Sears served as a patriot soldier in the Revolutionary War. In political affiliation he was a Whig, and he was a member of the Congregational church. Ahira Sears, son of Roland and Jedidah (Conant) Sears, was born December 12, 1783. Having grown to man- hood, he continued to live with his parents, whom he cared for in their last days; and at their death he became the owner of the farm, on which he afterward erected a substantial new house and barn. He was also a success- ful agriculturist, and spent his whole life on the old Ashfield homestead, where he died January 18, 1870.. In politics he was a Whig, and in religious views a Congregation- alist. His wife, Aurora Griffith Sears, by whom he had six children, was born in Had- dam, Conn., in 1791, died in 1881, leaving two sons and one daughter; namely, Thomas Conant, Joshua Griffith, and Harriet Bement (Mrs. Spellman). Joshua G. Sears grew to manhood on the old homestead, receiving a good practical edu- cation in the district schools of Ashfield, Mass. In 1848 he removed to Shelburne Falls, where he purchased horses and the nec- essary outfit, and for five years was profitably engaged as a teamster from this place to Greenfield. At the end of that time he opened a livery stable, which he conducted for two years with good results. He next en- gaged as a clerk in the store of Joel Thayer; and later on, in company with Mr. Good- nough, he conducted a general grocery store for a year. He then purchased his partner's interest, and for ten years conducted a pros- perous business where Mr. Halligan's store is now located, after which he sold out, and retired from active business. Mr. Sears has twice married, but has no BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW iSS children. His first wife, Miss Mary El- dridge, daughter of Eli and Susan (Hall) Eldridge, died when but twenty-five years of age. Mr. Sears's present wife was before marriage Miss Hannah C. Sears, and is a daughter of Edmund and Betsey (Crowell) Sears, of Dennis, Mass., where her father was a prosperous farmer, and was also engaged in salt-making. Mr. Joshua G. Sears is a sup- porter of Republican principles; and he takes a keen interest in town affairs, but has at all times declined to serve in office. He and his wife are influential members of the Congre- gational church. They reside at 24 Main Street, in the pleasant and comfortable home which he has remodelled since he purchased the property. A granite monument, erected in Yarmouth cemetery by the late Hon. David Sears, of Boston, to the memory of his ancestors, bears this noteworthy inscription: — "Worth is better than wealth, Goodness greater than nobility, Excellence brighter than distinction." -OHN H. CLARK, a skilful wagon- maker, doing a good business at Fac- toryville, in the town of Gill, is a native resident of Franklin County, having been born in Greenfield, July 20, 1823. He is a son of John and Phoebe Fish (Henry) Clark, and grandson of Daniel Clark, whose father came to Massachusetts from Ireland, and settled in Colerain, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his active life. Daniel Clark in his boyhood and youth acquired a practical knowledge of agriculture on his father's farm; and there he remained employed until reaching his major- ity, when he settled on a farm that he had purchased for himself in the same town. He was the father of four children, of whom John, father of John H., above named, was the third. John Clark was reared a farmer, but later acquired the blacksmith's trade, which he made his regular occupation until 18 12, when he removed to Greenfield, and engaged in the manufacture of woollen cloth, following this for some years. He finally resumed his labors at the anvil, which he continued, so far as he was able to work, up. to the time of his death, at the age of eighty-three. His wife, Phoebe F. Henry, a native of Halifax, Vt., was the mother of two children, John H. and Henry. She died at the age of eighty-two years, hav- ing spent her last years at the home of her son, whose name heads this sketch, the house purchased by her husband in 1828. Mr. and Mrs. John Clark were both church members in good standing, and were highly esteemed by their neighbors. John H. Clark, to whom we now return, spent his early years at home, attending the district school as opportunity afforded, and working in his father's shop until the age of twenty-one. He then went to work as a jour- neyman in the town of Greenfield, being there engaged in house carpentering for five years, and subsequently employed for some eight years as a machinist in a large woollen mill in that vicinity. He finally returned to the old homestead, and took charge of the place, both shop and farm, which he has managed successfully ever since, acquiring a good repu- tation for the quality of his work as general blacksmith and wagon-maker. He was first married, in 1855, to Eveline Severance, daughter of Obed Severance, a farmer of Gill, in which town her remote ancestors were very old settlers. Mrs. Eveline S. Clark died after eight years of happy married life, having reared one child — George C. Clark — who 156 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW married Delia Blackmer, of Gill. Mr. Clark took for his second wife Miss Mary Hale, daughter of I. S. Hale, a prominent lumber- man and carpenter of Berna-rdston. Mr. Clark is a Democrat in politics, as was his father, and is a man highly esteemed by his neighbors and fellow-townsmen for his intelligence, sound business sense, and unim- peachable character. With such qualities it need cause no surprise to learn that he has ably filled several important ofifices, among them those of Selectman, Assessor, and Over- seer of the Poor, holding the latter office for twelve years, having been re-elected eleven times — a proof of the confidence of the people in his capacity for public affairs. He and his wife are attendants at the Congregational church. They are people who stand high in the community in which they dwell, and are representative citizens of their town and county. (sYt-NSEL HARRINGTON, a respected l^ resident of Tully, in the town of ^ ® V_^ Orange, is the worthy representa- tive of one of the early pioneer families of the town, being a great-grandson of Jason Harrington, who settled on the east side of Tully Mountain in old Colonial days, and there became an extensive landholder, clear- ing and improving a good homestead. He was a native of Weston, Mass., born in 1734, and died in Orange, January 8, 1821. He married Priscilla Lebetter, who was born in 1741, and lived until April, 1793. They reared a large family of children; namely, Isaac, Daniel, Rest, Millie, Sarah, Nancy, Susanna, Nabby, Obadiah, Molly, Azubah, Allen, and Jason. Daniel Harrington, second son of Jason, was born at Grafton, Mass., in 1762, and was a farmer by occupation. His first purchase of land was a farm west of Tully Mountain, con- sisting of one hundred and sixty acres of land, which are now included in the farm of A. N. Harrington. The land was partially in its primitive wildness at the time he bought it, and much hard labor was required to place it under cultivation; but he succeeded well in this undertaking, and further improved the place by erecting good farm buildings, living there until his demise, in 1843. The maiden name of his life companion was Sally Lord. She was born December 30, 1762, and died June 5, 1849. The following children were born of their union: Daniel, Sally, Molly, Lyman, Reuben, Emory, Polly, Abram, Asa- hel, and Ansel. Abram Harrington was a native of Orange, born January 14, 1802, and, being bred a farmer, continued in agricultural pursuits on the old homestead throughout his entire life, having bought the estate after the decease of his parents. In the course of time he made substantial improvements, erecting a new house and other needed buildings. He died at fifty-eight years of age, in i860. His wife, whose maiden name was Esther God- dard, died in the prime of early womanhood, in 1 84s, leaving six children ^ — Ansel, Asa G., Daniel, A. Nelson, Mary J., and Esther. Mr. Abram Harrington was a man of strong convictions, and was very liberal in his relig- ious belief. Ansel was the eldest child born to his par- ents, Abram and Esther (Goddard) Harring- ton. He acquired his education in the district schools, attending mostly in the winter sea- sons, and working on the home farm during the remainder of the year. At the age of nineteen years, which was in 1849, he having been born October 24, 1830, he turned his attention to mechanical pursuits, entering a furniture shop in Tully, where he worked for DAVID ASHCRAFT. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 159 six years. He was next employed in the same business at Templeton for about seven- teen years, subsequently remaining a resident of that place for four years longer, being en- gaged as railway station agent. Coming back then to Tully, Mr. Harrington bought the Mellen farm, on which he now resides, and to which he has added other land by purchase. He has entirely remodelled the house, and built a new barn, making it one of the finest and best improved homesteads in this section of the county. He is a man of excellent judgment and sound principles, a loyal and true-hearted citizen, taking a deep interest in local affairs, and is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Republican party. Religiously, he is a Spiritualist, and, socially, is a member of the Grange. Mr. Harrington has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was united October 24, 1854, was Hannah M. Mellen, who was born in Spafford, N.Y., May 3, 1833. Her father, Nathaniel K. Mellen, was a native of Mendon, Mass., and in his early years was a school-teacher and quite a musician, and later a practical farmer. He married Miss Ruth C. Wales, and they reared the following- named children: Jonathan W., James E., Lucetta, Mary Adeline, Hannah M., David D., Nathaniel, and William H. His first wife dying September 23, 1890, Mr. Harring- ton was again married August 30, 1892, to Mrs. F"annie L. Stratton, a daughter of Na- thaniel C. and Frances (Goddard) Forrester, her father a respected farmer, a descendant of the well-known and prominent Forrester fam- ily of Orange. Mrs. Harrington had previ- ously been twice married. Her first husband, Edwin S. Thompson, died February i, 1868, leaving her one son, Loren S. Thompson. She subsequently became the wife of Abner G. Stratton, who died March 26, 1882. This estimable woman is a native of Franklin County, born in Orange, May 4, 1843. The wife of a thrifty Franklin County farmer, it may safely be assumed that "she looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." M AVID ASHCRAFT, an old resident and well - to - do farmer of East Whately, in the extreme southern part of Franklin County, Massachusetts, was born at Guilford, Vt., May 28, 1821. His father, John Ashcraft, was also a native of that town and State, his grandfather, Daniel Ashcraft, who resided for a time at Fisher's Island, in Long Island Sound, a part of the town of Southold, Suffolk County, N.Y., hav- ing removed thence to Guilford, where he followed agriculture, and also engaged in manufacturing bricks. John Ashcraft was reared to farm life, and, having grown to maturity, continued to follow agriculture as an occupation. He had charge of the old homestead at Guilford during his father's declining years, and, succeeding to its possession at the latter's decease, which took place at the age ' of eighty-two, resided there the remainder of his life, which was brought to a close at the age of fifty-five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa Stock- bridge, was a daughter of David Stockbridge, a merchant of Hadley, Mass. She became the mother of thirteen children, who lived to reach maturity, of whom three still survive, namely: Amarette, who married for her first husband Henry Stedman, and for her second Melvin Chandler; Elizabeth, wife of Levi Stockbridge; and David, the subject of this biographical sketch. Mrs. Clarissa S. Ash- craft lived many years a widow, attaining the age of fourscore. Both herself and husband i6o biographical; review were earnest and sincere in their religious belief, and were members of the Universalist church. The boyhood and youth of David Ashcraft were passed upon the home farm in company with his six brothers and an equal number of sisters ; and he acquired his education in the district schools of Guilford. On reaching the age of twenty-two years, he came to Whately; and here he worked as a farm laborer for a period of two years. He then returned to his native town, where he married, and for the two succeeding years resided at the old home- stead. At the expiration of that time he pur- chased a farm in Halifax, Vt. ; but after a residence there of five years he sold that place, and removed to Colerain, in the north- ern part of Franklin County, Massachusetts, where he was engaged in farming for three years. Finally settling upon his present farm in East Whately, which he purchased in 1857, he has since devoted his time and energies to general farming, with satisfactory results. In the month of January, 1845, he was united in marriage to his first Wife, Cynthia Cole, who was born at Rehoboth, daughter of Samuel Cole, later a miller of Colerain. She became the mother of two children : Henrietta M., now wife of Frank Elwell, an employee at the United States Armory in Springfield; and Henry C, who married Amy Sears, and is now a merchant at East Whately. Mrs. Cynthia C. Ashcraft having died at the age of sixty-seven years, Mr. Ashcraft married for his second wife Marion Denison,. daughter of Edward Denison, of Leyden, where she was born. Her father, who is no longer living, was a prosperous farmer. Her mother still survives. Mr. Ashcraft is a Democrat in politics, and has participated actively in local public affairs. He served as a Selectman in 1870, was again elected to office in 1890, and has served in that capacity ever since, being also an Overseer of the Poor. The family attend the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Ashcraft is a member. In calling the attention of our readers to the lifelike portrait prefixed to the present sketch, it may be further mentioned that Mr. David Ashcraft is a true son of the American Revolution, whether his name appears on the membership list of any society thus entitled or not, his grandfather, Daniel Ashcraft, as we learn from Volume I. of the Archives of the State of New York, having held a cap- tain's commission in the "First, or Lower, Regiment, Cumberland County Militia." Captain Daniel Ashcraft is supposed to have been a lineal descendant of John Ashcraft, who was in Stonington, Conn., in 1662. s UANE B. DUNHAM, superintendent of the Ashfield Co-operative Cream- ery, is a man of push and enterprise, possessing good executive ability, and during hi§ residence in this part of Franklin County has won the esteem and confidence of the com- munity and a large patronage for the cream- ery. A native of the Empire State, he was born August 29, 1847, in Lewis County, being a son of Orrin and Eliza (Towsend) Dunham. Orrin Dunham was born July 15, 1821, in the town of Denmark, Lewis County, N.Y., and received a practical education in the dis- trict school. He was entirely dependent upon his own resources, and began the battle of life as a pedler of dry goods and Yankee notions, travelling in and around Lewis County. Hav- ing in this manner accumulated some money, he purchased a tract of land, most of which was covered with timber; and from this he cleared and improved a good homestead prop- erty. On the land he found a large bed of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW r6r lime; and this he quarried, opening a kiln, which was then a new way of preparing it for market, and considered a wonderful improve- ment. Having followed quarrying and gen- eral farming for six years, he sold out, and bought a hotel at Denmark, N.Y., and man- aged it, in connection with teaming, until his decease, at the age of fifty-two years. His widow is still living. The following children were born to them : Harriet, who married George W. Pamater, a builder and contractor, of Carthage, N.Y. ; Dennis H.; Duane B. ; Marietta E., who died at the age of forty-five years; Edgar, who resides in Watertown, N.Y.; Marion, who married J. E. Knapp, of Denmark, N.Y. Duane was educated in the common schools of his native county, and continued to live at home, working with his father at teaming until 1873, when he began the manufacture of butter and cheese, in time becoming very pro- ficient in the business. In 1884 he came to Massachusetts, and, settling in the town of Hatfield, there opened the first creamery ever established in the New England States, and for three years continued as its superintendent and salesman. During the succeeding six years Mr. Dunham filled a similar position at Peterboro, N.H., coming thence to Ashfield in 1889, to take charge of the Ashiield Co- operative Creamery. He carries on a large business, manufacturing a choice brand of fancy package butter, which meets with a ready sale at the highest market price, the product sometimes reaching as high as four thousand pounds per week. On March 19, 1869, Mr. Dunham was united in marriage to Miss Louisa H. Loomis, who was born in Canada, October 26, 1847, a daughter of Ashley and Hattie (Francis) Loomis. Mr. Loomis was born in Jefferson County, New York, not far from Phelps Mills, where his paternal grandfather settled when the country was in its primitive wildness. After growing to manhood, Mr. Loomis moved to Canada, and for two years engaged in till- ing the soil, but, not being satisfied with his prospects, returned then to Phelps Mills, and was employed in blacksmithing for a while. He subsequently removed to Carthage, where he carried on a lumber business for a short time, but later bought, or rather built, a tannery, which he operated successfully for twelve years. Disposing of that, he bought a farm in Franklin County, New York, but soon after sold out, and migrated westward, locat- ing in Missouri, where he bought a coal mine, which he is successfully operating. He has two children, one being Mrs. Dunham, and the other Dr. Horace A. Loomis, a dentist in New York City. The wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Dunham has been blessed by the birth of three chil- dren, namely: Carrie A., born September 21, 1870, now the wife of Charles E. Henry, of Peterboro, N.H.; Mittie G., who died at the age of nine years; and Wesley L., born June 19, 1879. As a man of business, Mr. Dun- ham is strictly honorable in his dealings, and in politics is a warm advocate of the princi- ples promulgated by the Prohibitionists. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. /2)eORGE H. davenport, manu- \^J^ f acturer of Davenport's Silver Polish, a well-known resident of Bernards - ton, and a veteran of the late war, was born in Lowell, Mass., October 6, 1837, son of Warren T. and Pamelia W. (Thayer) Daven- port. Mr. Davenport traces his ancestry back to John Davenport, who came across the water in 1637, landing in Boston, was among the l62 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW first settlers of New Haven, Conn., in 1638, and was pastor of the first Puritan church of that place. Warren T. Davenport, the father of the subject of this sketch, a farmer residing most of his life in Petersham, Mass., was born in that town, and his wife in Athol, Mass. A hard worker, successful in his career as a farmer, and taking an active part in the affairs of the community, he served as a School Committee-man and Road Surveyor of his town. He was a Baptist, and in politics a Whig, and later a Democrat. His death took place at the age of seventy-six, while visiting his son George H. at Athol, Mass. His wife still lives in Petersham. They had three children: Emory W. Davenport died at twenty-nine years of age, while a member of the Second Massachusetts Heavy Artillery; George H. Davenport is the elder of the two sons now living; the youngest son, Nathan T., a painter, resides in Worcester, Mass. George H. Davenport grew to manhood in Petersham, where he attended the public schools, and at the age of eighteen began to learn the carpenter's trade, which business he followed till the breaking out of the Civil War in April, 1861. In 1861 he took a con- tract to build on East Rock, New Haven, Conn., an observatory, the tower of which was to have been sixty feet high. He commenced the erection of the stone tower; and it had reached the height of about fifteen feet when Mr. Stewart, for whom it was being built, became financially embarrassed. Upon learn- ing of this state of things, Mr. Davenport at once laid down his tools, and enlisted in the Union Army. In 1894 Mr. Davenport, chanc- ing to be in New Haven, found his tower still standing, it having been converted into a refreshment-room. In a conversation with the proprietor thereof he heard a story which had been current for years — how the man who had started building the tower had dropped his tools at the rousing of the North, on the fall of Fort Sumter had joined the federal forces, and been killed during one of the bloody bat- tles of the Rebellion. Mr. Davenport's term of enlistment dates from August 8, 1861, at which time he became a private in Company C, Tenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. He was afterward promoted to Sergeant, and then Lieutenant, and, after having served about two years in Company C, became attached to the Quarter- master's Department of the United States Service, where he remained two years longer. He was in the battles of Roanoke Island, Newbern, Whitehall, Kinston, and the siege of Fort Sumter, besides numerous minor en- gagements, during one of which he was struck by a piece of shell, and wounded. He was a brave officer, and displayed particular gallan- try in the battles of Roanoke Island and New- bern, and was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain of the Quartermaster's Department. He served during the entire time of his enlist- ment, and was honorably discharged in June, 1865. At the close of the war he went to Meriden, Conn., and once more engaged in the business of contractor and builder, living there three years. Mr. Davenport's resi- dence in Bernardston dates from 1890. In 1876 he invented what is now known as Dav- enport's Silver Polish, an article used for cleaning and polishing gold, silver, and other metals, besides glass, and has since devoted his entire time to pushing its sale. On the 9th of November, 1866, Mr. Daven- port was married to Emma A. Cleveland, born in Hardwick, daughter of Charles R. and Eunice S. (Thayer) Cleveland. Her father was a farmer, and died at the age of seventy- four, and her mother died at sixty-one, both deaths occurring at Athol, Mass. Two of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 163 Mrs. Davenport's great-grandfathers, Asa Wait and Colonel Abija Thayer, are said to have served as soldiers in the Revolution. With what regiments they were respectively connected and in what battles they took part the present writer is not able to state. The son of the latter, Nathan Thayer, served in the War of 1812; and Mrs. Davenport's father was a soldier in the late Civil War, a private in Company A, Thirty-first Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport have had four children: Clarence, deceased; Gertrude E. ; Mabel B. ; and Ernest R., deceased. Gertrude E. is the wife of Abijah N. Pierce, now living in Greenfield, engaged in business as a plumber. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have three sons: George N., Abijah D., and Raymond R. Mabel B. Davenport is at home with her parents. LONZO GRAVES, a retired farmer of Greenfield, was born in Whately, Franklin County, Mass., April 15, 1818, son of Plyna and Lucinda (Field) Graves. His great-grandfather, Oliver Graves, born in Hatfield about 1725, son of Nathaniel and great-grandson of Thomas Graves, was an early settler of Whately, which place was for- merly the northerly part of the town of Hat- field. Selah Graves, son of Oliver, was a successful farmer and the owner of a fine farm in Whately, on which he and his wife, Mary Strong Graves, resided until the time of their death, each living to a good old age. They reared seven sons and two daughters. Their son Plyna, father of Alonzo Graves, was born February 21, 1786, and spent the whole of his life of seventy-two years in Whately. He was a carpenter and joiner, and gave that trade his principal attention, but also owned and carried on a small farm. He was a man of sterling character, a Republican in politics, and served his town as Selectman. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucinda Field, died at the age of sixty-six years. They had five sons and four daughters, one of whom died in infancy. The rest grew to maturity, and four are now living, namely: Alonzo; Edward, whose home is in Charle- mont; Clarissa, widow of Edward Atkins, residing in Whately; and Jane, widow of Chester G. Craft, residing in Greenfield. The deceased are: Franklin, Noah first, Noah second, Lucinda, and Mary. Alonzo, who is the eldest of the family sur- viving, having received his early education in Whately, when fourteen years of age began to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner, and started in business for himself at the age of twenty-one. The first property he ever owned was a saw-mill in Deerfield, which he managed for about twenty years, also owning a small farm at that place. In the spring of 1865 he bought the farm in Greenfield, where he has since resided. In 1870 his buildings were burned to the ground, but with true manly courage he did not let the sun go down on the smouldering ashes before he commenced to get out timber for another house; and in a few days he had erected a new shelter for his family. In Hawley, Mass., March 27, 1845, when nearly twenty-seven years of age, Mr. Graves was united in marriage to Sophronia G. Rice, who was born in Hawley, October 6, 1824, and died August 26, 1854, leaving four chil- dren. Mr. Graves was again married March 2*1, 1855, to Sophronia L. Field. She was born in Bernardston, in this county, December 26, 1829, daughter of Jesse and Lurancy (Par- menter) Field, both natives of Bernardston, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Field were the parents of six children: Mary H., the first 164 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW born, whose birth date was March 30, 1820, died May 30, 1888; Aaron W. died at the age of three; John B., the eldest now living, is a farmer, residing in Bernardston; Harriet L., widow of Otis Chittenden, resides in Hadley, Mass.; Sophronia L. is now Mrs. Graves; and Aaron W., a Congregational preacher of Sandisfield, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Graves have a family of seven children, namely: Ashmun T., a farmer of Shelburne, Franklin County; Clark O., also a farmer, residing in Greenfield; Cary C, a resident of Denver, Col.; Sophronia A., wife of Nathan J. Alger, of Cochesett, Mass. ; Burke F., residing in Greenfield, where he follows the business of farmer and dairyman ; Cyrus S., also a farmer of Greenfield; and Mary L., wife of John D. Cromack, a clerk residing in Greenfield. Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Graves are among Greenfield's oldest and most esteemed citizens. Mr. Graves is a Prohibi- tionist in principle and practice, having never bought a drop of liquor in his life to be used as a beverage. Mrs. Graves is a member of the Baptist church. They have fourteen grandchildren living, and are enjoying their latter days in the consciousness of long years usefully spent, many duties faithfully per- formed. rORGE H. WILKINS, of the firm of Mayhew & Wilkins, silk manu- facturers of Shelburne Falls, was born in Antrim, N.H., June 7, 1861, son of Joel N. and Mary E. (Wright) Wilkins. His grandfather, Joel Wilkins, worked at shoemaking during the early part of his life in Antrim, and later owned and cultivated a large farm in the northern part of the town, living to an advanced age. Joel N. Wilkins was born in Antrim, N.H., June 9, 1828. He attended the dis- trict schools of his native town and the acad- emy at Hancock, N.H., and, on finishing his education, served an apprenticeship to cabinet- making in Reading, Mass. He spent some time in the West, at Bunker Hill, 111., but, his health being impaired by the climate, he returned home; and the rest of his life — with the exception of three years spent in Lowell, Mass. — was passed in his native town, working at his trade. He died at the age of fifty-nine. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary E. Wright, was a daughter of Imla and Rachel B. (McMaster) Wright. In politics Mr. Wilkins was a Republican. He was a member of the Methodist church, and his wife was a Presbyterian. They had but one child — our subject. George H. Wilkins acquired his elementary education in the district schools, and at the early age of thirteen went to work for wages, first obtaining employment in an establish- ment where apple-parers were manufactured. After that he worked on cutlery at Antrim, N.H., four years, and then entered the silk manufactory of J. N. Kelsea, commencing at the bottom, and winning his way up to the position of overseer of various departments. Intermitting his labors for a time, with a view to finishing his education, he took a course of study at Francestown Academy; and in May, 1881, he was tendered the position of overseer in the silk mills of Streeter & Mayhew at Shelburne Falls, the company being later known as the Mayhew Silk Com- pany. Mr. Wilkins subsequently became superintendent; and in 1891, in company with Francis Mayhew, he rented the building and machinery. Here, under the name of Mayhew & Wilkins, silk commission throw- sters, they carry on a thriving business, giv- ing constant employment to sixty-five hands. Mr. Wilkins was united in marriage No- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIP:W i6s vember 19, 1883, to Nellie M., daughter of W. B. and Ann (Orr) Jones, and the follow- ing children have blessed their union: Anna M., born January 28, 1887; Marion R., born October 14, 1888; and Bertha E., born Sep- tember 15, 1891. Mr. Wilkins votes the Republican ticket. He belongs to Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M., being at present Grand Master. /^^TeORGE R. PURINTON, a leading yj5 I farmer in Colerain and a scion of one of the oldest and most respected families in this vicinity, was born on the farm where he now resides, October 18, 1853, son of Thomas and Eunice (Hawkes) Purin- ton. The family springs from two brothers, who came from France, and settled in Amer- ica in Colonial times — one in Maine, the other in Massachusetts. From the latter Mr. Purinton is descended. His great-grandfather, Joseph Purinton, who settled on this farm in 1784, was the first of the family to live in Colerain. Though a hard-working farmer, he was a well-educated man, and had the Bible at his tongue's end, becoming famous among his neighbors for his ready and apt quotations. He died here at an advanced age. David Purinton, son of Joseph and father of Thomas, was a child of nine years when the family came to Colerain. He, too, was a man of some culture, and took an active interest in educational matters, aiding materially in the establishment of the Frank- lin Academy at Shelburne Falls. He died on the farm where his father had passed away, and to the ownership of which he had suc- ceeded. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Wilkinson, lived to an advanced age. Grandfather and Grandmother Purinton were Baptists; and he, like his father, was a Deacon. Thomas Purinton first opened his eyes to the light in the old house where his grand- father and father had looked their last on earth. He was born on October 10, 1825, and spent his life on the farm, taking, never- theless, an active interest in town and State matters. He was Selectman and Assessor of the town for years, and was Captain in the State militia, being popularly known as Cap- tain Tom Purinton. He died at the old home on April 18, 1879. His widow is still liv- ing, and makes her home with her children. Mr. and Mrs. Purinton were members of the Baptist church, he a Deacon, the third of the Purinton family to hold that office. They had seven children, with two of whom they were early called to part — ^ Julia, who died at the age of fifteen, and Myron at two and a half years. Martha is the wife of E. Hillman, of Grand Junction, Iowa; Winnie E. is the wife of Nelson H. Purinton, of Colerain; Marian is the wife of Orrin Purinton, of Worcester, Mass.; and Jesse M. also lives in Worcester. The childhood of George R. Purinton was spent on the old farm, amid the same scenes and pursuits that had filled the daily life of his ancestors. Besides attending the district school, he studied during two terms at Powers Institute; and at the death of his father, he being then in his twenty-sixth year, he took charge of the home farm, which now covers one hundred and ninety-six acres. Here he carries on general farming and fruit-growing, and has a good dairy, prospering in his line, and taking "no steps backward." The build- ings on his farm are among the old landmarks of the town; and the house, which was built about 1827, has the broad and generous pro- portions characteristic of the domiciles of that day. On March 8, 1882, Mr. Purinton was mar- ried to Hattie M., daughter of Hiram W. and i66 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Melinda W. (Slate) Dean, the former born in Burlington, N.Y., in 1811, the latter in Ber- nardston, Mass., in 18 13. Mr. Dean was a well-to-do farmer, residing in Gill, Mass., for many years, where Mrs. Purinton was born. He was a stanch Republican, and he and his wife were members of the Congregational church. They had eight children, seven of whom are now living; namely, Anjanette, James L., William H., Charles W., Edward P., Clifton S., and Hattie M. (Mrs. Purin- ton). Mr. and Mrs. Purinton have no chil- dren of their own, but have taken into their home an adopted daughter — Eva L. Purinton. Politically, Mr. Purinton favors the cause of prohibition. He maintains the family pres- tige in the town, holding the office of Select- man four years, and Assessor one year, and attends the Baptist church, of which he is a Deacon, being the fourth of the line of Purin- ton to hold that office. rrajI^ENRY HINSDALE, a prosperous \^\ farmer and highly esteemed citizen li® V ^ of Monroe, FrankliH County, was born in this town, June 25, 1830, son of Chester and Lucy (Allen) Hinsdale. His grandfather, Darius Hinsdale, was a farmer in Greenfield, Mass., where he died, at the age of fifty-eight years, leaving a widow. Electa Graves Hinsdale, who died there at seventy- five years of age. They were the parents of six children: Daniel A-» Chester, Ariel, Ebenezer, Fidelia, and Mary A. Chester Hinsdale was born in Greenfield, and there in early manhood learned the trades of tanner and shoemaker. He afterward pur- chased a small tannery, which he ran for a time, also engaging in shoemaking, but at length sold out, and during the succeeding four years carried on his father's farm. He next purchased fifty acres of land in Monroe, on which he built a log house, and proceeded to clear off the timber. That work being accomplished, he sold the place, and in 1835 bought the' farm of two hundred acres on which his son Henry now resides. This farm, which was first settled by Hosea F. Ballou, then consisted for the most part of wild or un- cultivated land. Its new owner erected a sub- stantial frame house, and also built a shingle- shop, where for years he was successfully engaged in the manufacture of shingles. In politics Mr. Chester Hinsdale supported the Republican party, and served acceptably in the town offices of Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. He was a member of the Universalist church. He died at sixty- seven years of age; and his wife, Lucy Allen Hinsdale, lived to about the same age. They reared ten children, as follows: Daniel A., Miriam, Chester, Henry, Fidelia O., Diana, Lucy, Chester, Electa, and Louisa A. Henry Hinsdale, who has always lived on the home farm, received his education in the district schools of Monroe. He cared for his parents during their declining years, and at their death purchased the interest of the other heirs, and became the owner of the farm. He has since remodelled the buildings and cleared a good portion of the land. In addition to general farming, he is engaged in dairying, and keeps eight head of choice grade Jersey cows. Mr. Hinsdale's marriage to Miss Han- nah L. Porter was solemnized on August 31, 1862. She was born December 19, 1836, daughter of Joseph and Oritha (Whitcomb) Porter, and died January i, 1887, leaving two children: Lyman E., born May 30, 1869, who died at seven years of age; and Eunice M., born March 17, 1873, who married George H. Bishop, of Readsboro, Vt., and has one child — Gertie — aged two years. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 167 Mr. Hinsdale was again married on April 3, 1885, his bride being Miss Isabel A. Brown, a daughter of Nahum P. and Sarah (Pettingill) Brown, of Cummington. Mr. Brown was born in Florida, Berkshire County, Mass., December 16, 1815, son of Harvey and Rizpah (Thatcher) Brown, the former of whom was a successful farmer of Goshen, where he lived to be forty-five years of age, and his wife seventy-nine years old. They reared six chil- dren: Nahum P., Harvey R., Minerva, Al- mina, Sumner, and Achsah. Nahum P. Brown died January 25, 1878. By his first wife, Sarah Pettingill Brown, who was born May 30, 1 81 7, and died September 3, 1850, he had three children; namely, Osro P., Orrilla E., and Isabell A. Mr. Brown mar- ried for his second wife Miss Clarissa Hawkes, who survives him, and is now living in Savoy, having reared five children: Edwin A., Orline H., Ida S., Achsah, and Inez L. Brown. In political affiliation Mr. Hinsdale is a Republican, and has rendered faithful service in town offices. He is a quiet and unostentatious man, and is esteemed for busi- ness ability and sterling character. EEWIS L. HASTINGS, one of Gill's most progressive and well - to - do _ ^ farmers, was born in this town, June 5, 1843. His father, Onesimus Hast- ings, was born in Greenfield, as was also his grandfather, Oliver Hastings, the latter hav- ing been a farmer in that town for some years. In 1820 Onesimus Hastings moved to Gill, where he passed the latter years of his life upon the farm now owned by his son, and died here in 1891, at the age of ninety-six. His wife, who before marriage was Mary Newell, was a daughter of Rufus Newell, and was born at Wardsboro, Vt., from which place her parents moved to Bernardston, Mass., where they resided until their decease. She became the mother of seven children, as follows: Richard, who died in infancy; Mary, who married Josiah Rice, of Greenfield; Laura, widow of William Boyle; Willard; George; Abbie, who married Peter King, of Northamp- ton; and Lewis L. The mother passed her declining years with her son Lewis, but died, at the age of eighty-nine years, at the home of her daughter Laura. Lewis L. Hastings received a good educa- tion in the schools of his native town, and has spent his entire life upon the farm which he now conducts. He tenderly cared for his par- ents in their old age, and at their decease suc- ceeded to the possession of the old homestead, which is a very desirable piece of farm prop- erty, being well improved and in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Hastings is considered by his fellow-townsmen to be one of the most successful farmers in the locality. On December 30, 1864, he was united in marriage to Martha A. Hayward, daughter of the Rev. Charles and Almira (Stacy) Hay- ward, of Royalston, Mass. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Hastings may here be briefly named, as follows: Ellen, now deceased; Jen- nie, who married Charles Scott, of Rowe; Clarence, now a resident of Louisville, Ky. ; Flora; Charles; Lilla Belle and Hattie, deceased. Mrs. Hayward was called to rest at the age of sixty-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Hastings have two children: Clarence married Minnie Farrel, and lives on an adjoining farm. He has three children: Walter, Lewis, and Myra. Lilla Belle is still at home with her parents. Mr. Hastings is a Republican in politics, and very active in the local government. Both himself and wife are members of the Methodist church, of which he is a Trustee 1 68 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and very prominent in all its affairs. Mr. Hastings is a progressive as well as a success- ful farmer, possessed in a high degree of the intelligence and practical ability needed in these later days to carry on agriculture with profitable results. Mr. Hastings is proud of his Holstein cattle, having a herd of about twenty registered animals, at the head of which we find a noted bull — "Belle Douglass Sir Colantha," No. 18365; "The Black Gal," No. 5071, and Pemsi, 2d, No. 9558, the two cows, being the ones from which his herd springs. ^OLOMON H. AMIDON, the origi- nal of the portrait on the opposite page, an extensive contractor and builder at Miller's Falls, was born in Monroe, Franklin County, Mass., September 28, 1840. He is a son of David Amidon, a native of Reedsboro, whose father, Jedediah Amidon, was also born in that town, and there followed agricultural pursuits until his decease. , David Amidon acquired the trade of shoemaking, at which he labored for some years in Reedsboro, later in life moving to North Adams, Berk- shire County, where he died, at the age of sixty-nine years, having been a captain in the State militia. His wife, whose name before her marriage was Bertha Dunbar, was a native of Plymouth, Conn., daughter of Isaiah Dun- bar, of that place; and she was the mother of nine children, of whom six are now living, namely: Moses; Charles; William; Sarah Jane, who married John Taft, a resident of North Adams; Lucy M., wife of Stewart Lamon; and Solomon H. Mr. Amidon's par- ents were members of the Methodist church; and his mother, who died at North Adams at the age of eighty-one years, was especially noted for her earnest piety and Christian-like character. Solomon H. Amidon received his early edu- cation at the schools and academy of North Adams, later attending a select school at Williamstown, and, after completing his stud- ies, went to Greenfield, where he was em- ployed in the planing-shop for a period of three years. He then enlisted as a private in Company G, Tenth Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers, serving three years, during which time he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. He was discharged at Boston, hav- ing been present at most of the famous battles participated in by the Sixth Army Corps. Returning to his former occupation at Green- field, he was there engaged one year, and then worked as a carpenter in this vicinity until 1865, when he went West, and was employed for a time at Altona, 111. On his return to the East he settled at Miller's Falls, where he has since resided. He has erected a fine block at this place, the silverware factory at Green- field, the stone for which he quarried from a ledge near by, and has also built all of the houses on both sides of the river at Miller's Falls, numbering one hundred and forty, together with various factories, churches, and other structures in this locality, having just completed a dam, eighteen feet high and two hundred feet long, across Miller's River, to be used for furnishing electric power for the electric railroad between Miller's Falls and Greenfield. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss Miriam A. Jones, daughter of Charles H. Jones, of Cortland, N.Y., a cabinet finisher by trade, whose ancestors were New England farmers. Mr. Jones and his wife, Julia Love, of Ithaca, N.Y., still reside at Cortland. They have had four children, two of whom are now living, namely: Miriam A.; and An- nette, who married C. H. Cook, of Cortland. Mrs. Amidon's mother is a member of the Missing Page Missing Page BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 171 Presbyterian church; and her father, together with his ten brothers and sisters, are all united with some church. Mr. and Mrs. Amidon have three children, namely: Minnie; Charles H., a carpenter, who is engaged in business with his father; and L. E. Cleveland Amidon. Mr. Amidon is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the United Friends at Turner's Falls, is a Democrat in politics, having served as Assessor five years, a member of the Board of Health one year. Road Surveyor and Con- stable for several years, and is now serving his fourth year as Selectman, having been first elected in 1892. In his religious views he is of the liberal faith; and Mrs. Amidon is still a member of the Presbyterian church of Cort- land, N.Y. |ISS CARRIE CANNING, a highly successful teacher, who for some time has been actively identified with the schools of Gill Centre, was born in the town of Gill, where also her father, the late Josiah D. Canning, was born, August 13, 1 8 16. Her grandfather, the Rev. Josiah W. Canning, was a native of New Braintree, Worcester County, Mass., and was the son of Cornelius Canning, who was likewise a native of this State. Two of Miss Canning's great- grandfathers, maternal and paternal, served through the Revolutionary War from the bat- tle of Bunker Hill to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Josiah W. Canning, who was ordained a minister of the gospel at Gill in 1806, later became a teacher at Williamstown, Mass., and also New York State, and fitted many young men for college. He preached in Gill at two different periods, nearly thirty-six years in all, during the greater part of the time as pastor of the Congregational church, and died there, at the age of seventy-four or seventy-five years. Throughout his active career as a minister he was exceedingly busy, both in pastoral work and with his pen, and at his decease left a collection of eighteen hundred complete sermons. All of his sons were engaged in editorial or other literary work. His wife, Miss Canning's grand- mother, whose maiden name was Almira Smith, and who was a native of New Marl- boro, Mass., was the mother of five sons, one of whom, Ebenezer S., an editor at Detroit, died of cholera; another, Edward W. B., studied for the ministry; Josiah D. became a prominent resident of Gill; William Pitt be- came a surgeon in the navy, and died of yel- low fever; Joseph C. was also a surgeon in the navy during the Civil War, and later In- ternal Revenue Collector at New York City. Mrs. Almira Smith Canning died at Gill, aged seventy-four. She was a member of the Congregational church. Josiah D. Canning was born and reared on the old Canning homestead, which is situated nearly opposite to his daughter's present resi- dence, and at a very early age exhibited an aptitude for literary pursuits, in which he soon displayed marked ability. At the age of thirteen he constructed a printing-press, and by its aid he inaugurated the publication of a journal known as T/ie Village Post. This paper was quite ably conducted, as is shown by its complete file for two years, which is now in possession of his daughter; and, as it had a large circulation, extending from New England to Texas, the juvenile editor and pro- prietor became favorably known as a writer upon various subjects. Young Canning re- ceived a liberal education, and after finishing his studies was employed in a printing-office at Greenfield, from which he later went to Wheeling, West Va., where the journalistic 172 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW experience obtained in his youth became of special value to him. Having spent several years in the latter place, he returned to the old homestead for the purpose of assisting in caring for his parents during their declining years. He next engaged in agriculture, vary- ing the monotony of farm life by making fre- quent and able contributions to different newspapers, which were received with favor, being largely read; and thus he continued to be occupied for the remainder of his active life. His last literary effort, which was known as "Connecticut River Reeds," was published in 1892, a short time subsequent to his decease, at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. Canning was a strong and well-preserved man both physically and mentally, and had been out and around during the day on which that event occurred. He possessed a very retentive memory, both for places which he had visited and the vast amount of literature which had fallen under his notice; and his fame as a writer not only extended over the United States, but also reached across the Atlantic, his work receiving most favorable commenda- tion on the other side. He was Town Clerk and Treasurer for at least a quarter of a cen- tury, and was chosen Selectman, but was pre- vented from serving in that capacity by excessive labor in other directions. He was a member of the State legislature in 1866, served as Postmaster for fifty years, and fre- quently appeared as an orator in different sec- tions of the State, he being a widely known and thoroughly-respected citizen. Some of the older readers of these pages will, no doubt, recall the fact that a collection of poems by Josiah D. Canning was published in 1838, and that in 1852 another volume, en- titled "Harp and Plough," was also issued by him, which enjoyed a very extensive sale. He married in 1842 Josephine M. Purple, daughter of Ezra Purple, a farmer, who re- sided at what was known as Grass Hill Farm, now the site of the Mount Hermon School. Her family was a prominent one in that local- ity, a brother having been upon the School Board for many years; and her parents died at the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Canning were the parents of six children, namely: Nellie, who died at the age of twenty-three years; Clara, who died aged about eighteen months; George, who occupies the old Can- ning homestead; Donald, who died in Flor- ida, aged twenty-nine years; Sarah, who married E. S. Chapin, a business man of Boston, and resides in Cambridge; and Car- rie, whose name introduces the present sketch. The mother passed from earth at the age of fifty-nine years. She was an attendant of the Congregational church. Miss Carrie Canning, who seems to have inherited from her father a love of learning and a capacity for scholarly attainments, after completing the usual course provided at the district school, pursued more advanced studies successively at Bernardston and at the Berk- shire Institute in New Marlboro. She then commenced the arduous profession of teaching in her native town, her superior natural abili- ties and well-trained mind standing her in such good stead that she has continued to pre- side over one school for a period of twenty- seven consecutive terms. She has always displayed a deep and undivided interest in her work, and has never allowed outside mat- ters of any kind to interfere with proper atten- tion to her professional duties, testimony as to her personal worth, her sound judgment, and practical ability as an educator being afforded by the fact that for three years she has been called upon to serve as a member of the School Board. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 173 jUGENE A. NEWCOMB, junior mem- ber of the firm of Sheldon & Newcomb, hardware merchants, of Greenfield, has filled the office of Treasurer of Franklin County with fidelity and ability continuously since his first appointment to this responsible position in June, 1891, having given such universal satisfaction that he was elected November, 1891, for three years, and for an- other term of three years in November, 1895. He is a native of the county, having been born November 17, 185 i, in the town of Ley- den, on the same farm on which his father, Thomas Jefferson Newcomb, first drew the breath of life in 1808. The latter was of the eighth generation in direct line from Captain Andrew Newcomb, a well-known shipmaster on the New England coast in his day, who married his second wife in Boston in 1663. The intervening genera- tions were successively represented by a sec- ond Andrew, who bore the title Lieutenant; Simon; Hezekiah, born in 1694; Peter, 171 8; Hezekiah, 1747; and Hezekiah, 3d. Lieu- tenant Andrew, who was. son of Captain New- comb's first wife, was living, it is supposed, on or near the Isles of Shoals in 1666, but removed with his family about 1675 to Edgar- town, on Martha's Vineyard. His son Simon, who was born about the year 1666, removed in 1713 to Lebanon, Conn. In that old town was born in 1769 Simon's great-grandson, Hezekiah, who is recorded as having been Justice of the Peace thirty years and a member of the General Court twenty years. This was when he was living in Bernardston, Mass., in the western part, now Leyden, to which place he removed with his parents when about three years old. Thomas Jefferson Newcomb was devoted to farming during his early life, but afterward travelled for a commercial house until 1877, when he retired from active pur- suits. In 1835 he married Rebecca S. Hitch- cock, a native of New York City; and they became the parents of twelve children, of whom three sons and five daughters grew to mature years, and are yet living. Eugene A. Newcomb was always of an en- ergetic and self-reliant disposition; and, al- though he was obliged to contribute toward his own support from the time he was eleven years old, first beginning work for the neigh- boring farmers during the summer seasons, and attending school in winters only, he ob- tained a good and practical education. When a little older, he worked in Guilford and South Deerfield throughout the harvest season, and in the winter was a student at Powers Insti- tute, Bernardston, where he made excellent use of his time. Mr. Newcomb began his mercantile career as a clerk in the hardware store of George A. Arms in this city, selling goods for him for eleven years, in that time becoming conversant with every detail of the business. In 1881 Mr. Newcomb and his present partner, John Sheldon, bought out the stock and good will of bis former employer; and they have since carried on an extensive and lucrative business, with an enviable repu- tation for fair dealing. Mr. Newcomb is noted for his good judgment; and he possesses traits of character that have given him influ- ence in business, political, and social circles, and gained him a host of friends and well- wishers. In politics he zealously supports the Republican party, and for many years has been one of the Greenfield Board of Regis- trars, and is at present one of the Water Com- missioners. He is prominent in the society of Odd Fellows, having passed all the chairs of the subordinate lodge, and is a supporter of the Congregational church, of which he and his wife are attendants. Mr. Newcomb was united in marriage May 174 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW lo, 1872, to Hannah T. Deakin, who was born in Sheffield, England, January 23, 185 1, and at the age of thirteen years came with her parents, William and Hannah T. (Thompson) Deakin, to this country. Her father was for many years a commercial traveller, but subse- quently established himself in the coal busi- ness in London, England. He is now living in Philadelphia, Pa., and has retired from active pursuits. His wife died in 1876, in the fifty-third year of her age, leaving three sons and two daughters. The wedded path- way of Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb has been brightened by the birth of four children, namely: William J., a graduate, of the Green- field High School, now a clerk in his father's store; Edith, who was graduated from the same school in 1895; E. Robert, twelve years of age; and Rebecca S., a bright little miss, two and one-half years old. They have a very pleasant home at 18 Highland Avenue, into which they moved in 1888, and where their many friends are always sure of a warm greeting. "ENRY J. SMITH, one of Colerain's representative citizens, owns a pro- lix V,^ ductive farm near Griswoldville, and occupies a fine comfortable residence, which he erected in 1894. He is the descend- ant of an old family, his ancestors having settled here at an early date. He was born at Colerain, February 15, 1847, son of David and Emeline (Johnson) Smith, the father being a native of the above-named town. The grandfather, John Smith, was also born in Colerain, a son of David, one of the early set- tlers of the town, who there passed his life in agricultural pursuits. John Smith was a suc- cessful farmer and a very prominent citizen, liolding various town offices. The latter por- tion of his life was passed in New York State, where he died, at the age of nearly eighty years. He was a Whig in politics and an attendant of the Baptist church. David Smith, father of our subject, passed his entire life in Colerain, where he became a prosperous farmer, and, besides the old Smith homestead, owned at one time about six hun- dred acres of land, being one of the most extensive farmers of the town. He served as a Selectman and Assessor, and was for many years a member of the School Board. He was liberal in his religious views, and in politics was a Republican. His death occurred in his seventy-ninth year. His wife died at the age of seventy-four, having been the mother of eight children — six sons and two daughters — as follows: Lysander and Eva, both resi- dents of Greenfield; Emma, a twin sister of Eva, residing in Charlemont; Henry J., the principal subject of this article; Edwin C. and Charles W., both of Colerain; Frank A., of Shelburne Falls, and Fred A., twins, who reside in Greenfield. Mr. Smith received his education in the schools of Colerain and Shelburne. He adopted agriculture as an occupation, and re- mained at home until reaching the age of twenty-five, at which time he moved to Cort- land County, New York. After residing there for seven years, he returned to Colerain, and some years later, in 1888, purchased his present farm, a part of his grandfather's origi- nal estate, which has been in the family for a period of one hundred years. He now pos- sesses two hundred acres of very valuable land, upon which he conducts general farm- ing, giving special attention to dairying. On September 20, 1872, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Lelia Mather, of Cole- rain, daughter of Frederick and Betsey Mather; and they have five children, as fol- lows: Allen F., a clerk at Griswoldville; BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 175 William D. ; Emma B. ; Frederick; and Sarah — all of whom reside at home. Mrs. Smith's parents are no longer living. Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics, and has served as Selectman two years and Assessor one year. He is industrious and energetic as a farmer, and is a gentleman, courteous and affable in manner. He is liberal in his religious views, while Mrs. Smith is a member of the Methodist church. ■OSEPH H. LAMB, proprietor of a finely equipped store at 8 Bank Row, in Greenfield, carries a fine stock of musical merchandise of all kinds, also watches, jewelry, and spectacles, in which he has a large and profitable trade. He is a native of the Green Mountain State, born October 11, 1830, in the town of Vernon, where his father. Mason Lamb, was engaged in general farming for many years. Mr. Lamb's paternal grandfather, Nathan Lamb, was a descendant of a captain in the British army, who emigrated to the United States about the time of the Revolution, and soon after the close of that war settled at Framingham, Mass. He there married Lucy Pepper, and after a few years of farming in that vicinity removed in 1799 to Guilford, Vt., where his death occurred in 1809. His widow survived him many years, dying in 1854, at the ripe old age of eighty-six. They reared a large family of children, of whom one son, Amherst Lamb, was a Baptist minister of ability and mark, having been ordained to his sacred calling December 18, 1821, in the town of Guilford. He was at one time a representative to the Vermont legislature from the town of Whitingham, where he was long a resident, and where he departed this life in 1870, aged seventy-four years, leaving two sons. Another son, John Lamb, was a noted local preacher of the Methodist denomination. Mason Lamb was born in 1799, probably in Guilford, Vt., and was a practical and pros- perous tiller of the soil. After his marriage he settled on a farm which he bought in the town of Vernon. His earthly career was not long as measured by years, his death occurring in 1848, while he was yet in the prime of manhood. He married on April 9, 1828, Mrs. Alice Pierce Tyler, a daughter of Benja- min and Lucinda (Sargeant) Pierce, of Dum- merston, Vt., where she was born in 1795. Several children were the fruit of this union, of whom two died in childhood, and three are now living, namely: Joseph H., of whom we write; Lucy Ann, wife of William Cole, of Putney, Vt.; and Albert E., of this city. The mother had been previously married, her first husband, to whom she was united Decem- ber 6, 1819, having been Jesse Tyler, a well- to-do farmer, who died in his thirty-fourth year, leaving her a fair estate and a family of six little ones, of whom the following is a brief mention: Roxanna is the wife of George W. Kinney, ot Perkinsville, Vt. ; Sophia, of Worcester, Mass., is the widow of the late Jesse Frost; Nancy M. is the widow of Rufus Scott, of Dummerston, Vt. ; Betsey, widow of Orrin Weatherhead, of Guilford, Vt. ; Jesse died in Guilford; and Benjamin P., a resident of Staceyville, Iowa. The mother lived to a venerable age, dying in 1873. Joseph H. Lamb was reared a farmer's boy in his Vermont home, and after leaving the district school was a student for a year and a half at the village academy. He early became familiar with agricultural labors; but, finding them neither pleasant nor profitable to him, he left home in the spring of 185 1 to seek his fortune in Greenfield, and the first year there- after worked for the Russell Cutlery Company, 176 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW during the next six years being employed by the Greenfield Tool Company. Prudent in his expenditures and wise in his savings, Mr. Lamb had by this time accumulated some money; and now, in partnership with one of his associates, he opened a grocery store and restaurant. Six months later he bought out his partner, and continued the business alone until 1861. In 1866 he embarked in his pres- ent enterprise. Having begun with sales of the Estey organ, which has a world-wide re- nown, he has added other instruments and all kinds of musical articles, being the oldest man in the music trade in this part of Massa- chusetts. He has met with excellent success in his business, and has the reputation of being a thoroughly trustworthy man to deal with. On the 6th of July, 1854, he was united in marriage with Mary A. Potter, daughter of George W. and Betsey G. (Guillow) Potter; and very soon after they settled in the home they now occupy, at 58 Federal Street. Their home circle was gradually increased by the birth of seven children, of whom we record the following: George F., a wholesale grain dealer in this city, has a wife and two chil- dren; Joseph E., who is in the grocery and grain business in Greenfield, has a wife and four children; F. A. Lamb, who is in the employment of his brother, has a wife and two sons; Isabelle, the widow of Z. L. Snow, re- sides at Melrose Highlands, near Boston, and has one son; Nettie, the wife of A. E. Snow, also resides at Melrose Highlands, and has one son and one daughter; Grace L., who was educated at Wilbraham, Mass., is an assistant in her father's store; and Bonner M. is a young law student at the Albany Law School. Mr. Lamb is a Master Mason, and, politi- cally, a Prohibitionist from the Republican ranks, taking an intelligent interest in local and State affairs, but has never sought or de- sired public office. Since November 12, 1865, he has been an active member of the Methodist church, which he has served as Steward, Trustee, and superintendent of the Sunday-school for a quarter of a century. OSEPH D. NOYES, a successful and progressive farmer in Colerain, was born in Guilford, a border town of Ver- mont, May 30, 1823, son of James and Mary (Taylor) Noyes, both natives of Guilford. His grandfather, John Noyes, was one of the pioneer settlers of South Guilford, coming there from Rhode Island with his young wife, who belonged to the Rogers family. They journeyed from that State on horseback to their new home, daring the perils of the wilderness with quiet heroism. On the way they were often saluted with, "Going where the Indians will kill you!" and she calmly answered, "I am going." Their destination safely reached, Grandfather Noyes made a clearing and built a small log house ; and Grandmother Noyes soon had given to the rude dwelling the air of home comfort that only a woman knows how to impart. As the settle- ment grew. Grandfather Noyes became a prom- inent man in the community. He was a stanch Democrat, and was the first man sent to the State legislature to represent the town of Guil- ford. He and his wife believed firmly in the sustaining power of religion, and were pro- fessing members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had seven children, as follows : John, Nathan, Prentiss, Joseph, Isaac, James, and Betsey, all of whom are deceased. James Noyes, son of John, also spent his days in Guilford, residing on the farm cleared by his father, to which he added considerably, also erecting new buildings. His farm cov- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 177 ered two hundred and fifty acres, and was one of the best in that part of the town. He was an industrious and capable farmer, a man of good judgment in affairs. A Democrat in political views, he held many offices, being chief Selectman for several years, and Justice of the Peace for forty years. He died at the old farm at the age of eighty-four, and his wife passed away at eighty-three. They were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had eight children, five daughters and three sons, four of whom are now living, Hannah, Mary Ann, Almira, and James M. being de- ceased. The others are located as follows: Harriet, Mrs. Carpenter, in Boston ; Betsey, Mrs. Burdick, in Guilford; Jeremiah, in Brat- tleboro, Vt. ; Joseph D., who is the youngest in the family, in Colerain. Joseph attended the district schools of Guil- ford in his boyhood, and continued living in that town and working at farming until Feb- ruary, 1850, when he moved to Colerain, and took charge of Mr. Franklin's farm. After being thus engaged for twenty-seven years, on New Year's Day, 1879, Mr. Noyes moved to his present residence. His estate com- prises two hundred and fifty acres, in good cultivation, with well-made and convenient buildings, and every needed facility for skil- fully carrying on general farming, as he evi- dently does, with intelligent painstaking and to good profit. On January 5, 1848, Mr. Noyes was mar- ried to Elvira Franklin, daughter of Aaron and Sarah (Stowell) Franklin, who was born December 7, 1824. Her father was a native of Guilford, a hard-working farmer and a good citizen, a Democrat in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Franklin spent his last years at the home of his son-in-law, Mr. Noyes, dying at the age of ninety-one. His wife, Sarah, whose maiden name was Stowell, was born in Bainbridge, Chenango County, N. Y. , and died at the age of fifty-eight. She, too, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; and the four daughters born to her were brought up in that faith. They were as follows : Elvira, wife of Mr. Noyes; Augusta, Mrs. Esterbrook, living in Iowa ; Mary Ann, Mrs. Barber, in Kanka- kee, ' 111. ; Sophia, Mrs. Cobb, who died in Chicago, 111., at the age of fifty-eight. Mr. and Mrs. Noyes had one daughter, Elladora S. , who was born December 21, 1850, married Robert Miller, and died February 9, 1888, leaving no children. Mr. Miller lives with his father-in-law, ably assisting him in the management of the farm. In politics Mr. Noyes is a Democrat, and in religion holds liberal views. Though working late and early and hardly knowing what rest means, he enjoys perfect health, and has required the attendance of a physician but once in his life. is ,ROCTOR P. PURPLE, a well-known and highly respected farmer of Franklin County, Massachusetts, re- siding in Gill, near the Centre, was born in this town October 27, 1826. He is a son of Roswell Purple, a native of Bernardston, and grandson of John Purple, who was a farmer residing in that town, a prominent citizen in his time. Roswell Purple, having been reared to agri- cultural pursuits, purchased a farm in Gill, on which he built a fine house and barn, took to himself a wife, and devoted his attention to farming till his sons were grown up. He then purchased a hotel at Gill Centre, and took the management of the stage routes of the locality, many stages being under his direction. Later he sold the hotel, and returned to the farm, where he lived to the remarkably advanced age lyS BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW of ninety-four years, vigorous and well-pre- served to the last. He was a well-known auctioneer in this vicinity, following that business, as occasion called, till eighty years of age. Mr. Roswell Purple held many civil offices in the town. He was on the Board of Selectmen many years, and he was an Assessor and Overseer of the Poor. In politics he was an old-fashioned Whig. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Roberts. She was the daughter of Amaziah Robert.s, a farmer for many years in the town of Gill, and was born on the old homestead where Mr. Purple now lives. She died in Gill, at the age of seventy-four. Her only brother was named Ozias. The children of Roswell and Mary Purple, who grew to matu- rity, were thirteen in number, of whom seven are still living. Their names are here given, as follows : Nancy, widow of George Brock, of Athol ; Proctor P. ; Clarissa, wife of Obed Morgan, of Deerfield; Eliza, wife of Abner Bascomb ; Edwin ; Sophia, wife of Edgar Hale, of Springfield, Mass. ; and Henry. Proctor P. Purple spent his early years with his father, attending the schools of the town, and at eighteen began work for himself on a railroad; but after a time he returned to his father's farm. In 1864 he came to his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on which he has since resided, giving his princi- pal attention to dairying. In 1847 Mr. Purple was married to Miss Isabel Holton, a daughter of Horace and Polly (Dickinson) Holton. Her father was born in Northfield, and both he and his father, John Holton, said to have been a Lieutenant in the Revolution, were farmers, who spent their lives in that town. Mrs. Purple's mother, Mrs. Polly Dickinson Holton, was a daughter of Benoni Dickinson, and was born in Northfield, where her father was a farmer. She was one of seven children, and became the mother of thirteen, three only of that number having survived till now. The names of the three are Horace, Isabel (Mrs. Purple), and Fidelia. Mrs. Holton died in Northfield, at the age of ninety-eight. She was a member of the Unitarian church. Hor- ace Holton died April 22, 1858, aged about seventy-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Purple have had three chil- dren, two of whom are now living, namely : Florine, wife of William Richmond, a manu- facturer of saddlery in Waterbury, Conn. ; and Clayton, who was born on the old homestead, January i, 1854, and is now in charge of the farm. He married in February of 1881 Miss Stella F. Lander, daughter of Benjamin Lander, a farmer of Greenfield ; and they have four children : Warren Ray, Bessie E. , Isabel M., and Carl Clayton. Mr. Purple and his son are Democrats in their political principles, and the former has been Tax Collector for many years. He and his household occupy a prominent position among the old, well-to-do families of Greenfield, the home of so many generations. <■*•*-> LONZO G. MINER, who has been inti- mately associated with the mercantile interests of Greenfield for upward of twoscore years, is one of its representative citizens, and in every respect merits the high esteem universally accorded him. He was born in the town of Colerain, this county, in February, 1826, and is a lineal descendant of Thomas Miner, who emigrated from England in 1 64 1, he being probably the first of the name to settle in America. He settled in Connecticut, the second in line of descent being Elnathan Miner, followed by his son Nathan Miner, the next generation being rep- resented by the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Richardson Miner, who BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 179 was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1748, and late in life drew a pension for hiis services in the Revolutionary War. He was a saddler and harness-maker by trade, and long followed that occupation ; but in the year 1802 he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres in the town of Colerain. He made the journey hither from Stonington, Conn., on horseback, bringing the silver to the amount of two thousand, two hun- dred and iifty dollars, to pay for his land, in his saddle-bags. This homestead property has ever since been in the possession of the family, Mr. Alonzo G. Miner having now held the deed of it for a quarter of a century. Richard- son Miner married Sarah Holeman, of Hart- ford, the daughter of a sea captain, who met a tragic death, having been taken prisoner by the British, and, as the tradition is, by them poisoned. Mrs. Sarah H. Miner bore five daughters and two sons, and lived to quite an old age. After her decease her husband mar- ried again at the age of seventy-five years, and lived with his second wife a period of twenty- two, years, his demise occurring in his ninety- seventh year. He was very active in religious works, and for many years served as Deacon of the Congregational church. Gilbert S. Miner, who became the father of Alonzo G. , was born February 9, 1792, at Stonington, Conn., and in early life learned the mason's trade, which he carried on in con- nection with general farming, on the paternal homestead, at Colerain. He was very active in military circles, being for twenty-seven years Captain of a company, which he called out at the beginning of the war of 181 2. In 1 814 he married Betsey Lyons, daughter of Jerry Lyons, of Colerain, and they became the parents of seven children: Mary R., who be- came the wife of Joel A. Hall, of Charle- mont, and died in Keokuk, la., leaving one daughter; Elizabeth S., now the widow of Joel Wilson, living in Greenfield; Sophronia A., who married Charles A. Shearer, and died in Colerain, leaving two sons and two daughters; Emily A., who died of consumption at the age of nineteen years; Alonzo G. ; Melissa N., Mrs. L. B. Stewart, of Colerain, who died at the age of twenty-four years, leaving an infant daughter; and Jerry L. , who resides on the old homestead. The father departed this life in 1865, aged seventy-three years, and the mother in 1873, at the age of fourscore years. Alonzo G. Miner acquired his education in the district and a select school, living on the home farm until twenty-two years of age, when he started out in life on his own account, try- ing various kinds of employment, being for some time a pedler. In 1853 he came to Greenfield as a clerk in the mercantile house of his brother-in-law, Joel Wilson, who was an extensive dealer in windows, doors, blinds, and paper hangings. Three years later Mr. Miner became an equal partner with Mr. Wilson; but in 1 86 1 Gideon H. Strong purchased Mr. Wilson's interest, and the firm, under the name of Miner & Strong, carried on a good business for six years, when Mr. Wilson again became interested, being for ten years the firm known as J. Wilson & Co. In 1877 Mr. Miner bought the entire business, which he has since controlled, and, in addition to his previous stock, has added paints, oils, and var- nishes, having now a very large and lucrative trade. He possesses excellent practical abil- ity, and has a first-class reputation as an hon- orable and upright man of business. Mr. Miner was married June 5, 1849, to Sybil A. Shepardson, to whom he had been devoted from childhood days, when they at- tended the same school. They removed to Greenfield in 1854, at once taking possession of their pleasant home, at No. 30 Chapman BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Street. After more than forty years of happy wedlock, and having reared four children, Mrs. Miner passed onward to the home above on April 25, 1892. Four children have been born of their union. The youngest daughter, Lillian E. S. , the wife of Merrill P. Reed, died at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving two sons and one daughter. The only surviv- ing daughter, Rosa E. A. Miner, who keeps house for her father, has inherited musical tal- ent from her father and mother, is accom- plished both in vocal and instrumental music, and has been organist at the Methodist Epis- copal church for several years. One son, Clarence H. G. Miner, for seventeen years commercial traveller for a New York house, resides in Dorchester, Mass., and has a wife and one son, Roy M. Simpson; and Carroll A. L. Miner, a salesman in Chicago, is married, but has no children. In politics Mr. Miner was reared a Whig, but has been an ardent supporter of the Repub- lican party since its formation. In his early years he was a regular attendant of the Congre- gational church, in which faith he was reared ; but some forty-three years ago he united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been an official member much of the time since, taking a leading part in its prayer meetings and song services, and, as a member of the choir, playing the violin. kRS. LOUISA D. CHENERY, a well-known and highly esteemed resident of Montague, widow of Hollis Chenery, formerly a prominent mer- chant of this pleasant town in the Connecticut valley, was born in Heath, a neighboring town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, in 181 8. She is a daughter of Aaron Brown, a native of that town, and grand-daughter of Deacon John Brown, one of the early settlers of Heath, who carried on farm operations during most of his life there. Aaron was one of thirteen children, and lived with the family at the homestead, where he was brought up a farmer, and took care of his parents in their old age. He married Miss Rebecca Dickinson, who was born in Hatfield, being one of a family of five children of Daniel Dickinson ; and their later years were spent at the old Dickinson homestead in Hatfield, amid the scenes of her youth. Aaron Brown died at the age of seventy-two years. He and his wife were members of the Congregational church in Heath, and were parents of two children, namely: John; and Louisa Dickinson, who became Mrs. Chenery. Louisa Dickinson Brown resided in Heath during her early childhood, and at nine years of age went to her mother's early home in Hatfield, where she remained until her mar- riage. She attended the schools of the vicin- ity, and later became a teacher. On March 9, 1845, she was married to Mr. Hollis Chenery, a native of Montague, whose father, Nathan Chenery, was a life-long resident and a suc- cessful merchant of that town. His mother was before her marriage Miss Sophia Gunn; and she became the mother of five children, none of whom are now living. Her death took place in Montague. Hollis Chenery was educated in the best schools of the locality, and began his mercan- tile career with an uncle in the town of Gill, Franklin County. Later he went West as far as the Mississippi River, and settled in Ful- ton, 111., where he established a business of his own, which he carried on with success until the death of his brother, who had been engaged in mercantile business in Montague. Mr. Chenery, then concluding to take up his brother's work, left Fulton in 1842, and, re- HOLLIS CHENERY. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 183 turning East, established himself in Montague, where he conducted a successful trade until his death in 1850, at the early age of thirty-five years. Only one child had been bora to him and his wife, a daughter named Harriet L., who is not now living. Mr. and Mrs. Chenery have been highly respected in the community; and Mrs. Chenery, an exemplary member of the Congregational church, who is now in her seventy-seventh year, with well-preserved fac- ulties, intelligent and active, is passing the serene sunset of a life early clouded by be- reavement, cherishing the memory of her hus- band and daughter, who have but gone before, soothed by the love and regard of appreciating neighbors and friends, and trusting in the Grace Divine that ruleth all things well. Mr. Hollis Chenery was a Whig in politics. In his brief active career he acquired a reputa- tion as a capable, energetic, and substantial man of business. We are happy to present his portrait herewith as that of a representative Franklin County tradesman of the first half of the century. ^/Tllia ILLIAM E. TRAVER, a wealthy ive resident of Greenfield, now living in retirement, is the son of Philip and Matilda Traver. His father was born in New York State. After acquiring his education, William E. Traver entered the Franklin National Bank as a clerk, from which he rapidly rose to a high position of trust and responsibility; but fail-, ing health compelled him to relinquish active business, thus depriving the community of the services of one whose career had promised so much future usefulness. On March 11, 1884, Mr. Traver wedded Mrs. Julia Demarest, widow of the late James Demarest, and daughter of Joseph P. and Lucy (Fiske) Hale. Her father was born at Bernardston, Franklin | County, Mas.s., October 24, 18 19; and her mother, whose birth occurred at Kinderhook, N. Y. , on May 7 of the same year, was reared and educated at Lexington, Mass. Joseph P. Hale in his earlier years followed the trade of a house painter, later becoming a contractor and builder at Worcester, Mass., from which city he went to New York, where he was for a time engaged in the crockery business. He became interested in pianoforte- making, and eventually entered largely into the business, which through his energy de- veloped into an important industry, the Hale piano occupying a conspicuous place among its competitors. He conducted an extensive and very successful business, pecuniarily as well as otherwise, which he continued until about the year 1873, when impaired health caused him to retire permanently from active pur- suits. He died October 15, 1883, leaving a widow and two daughters : Augusta Hale, who married Charles H. Stone, and died August 27, 1887, at the age of thirty-eight years, hav- ing had two sons ; and Julia, wife of William E. Traver. Julia Hale was carefully educated in New York City, where she attended the public schools, and later completed her studies at a private institution of learning. On July 12, 1870, she was united in marriage to her first husband. Dr. James H. Demarest, grandson of a wealthy New Jersey landholder, who was an early settler in that State, owning at one time a tract of valuable land twenty miles in length, and extending from the Hudson River inland two miles. Dr. Demarest, who was a success- ful dental practitioner, died on March 21, 1876, leaving two children: Josie M., now a young lady residing with her mother; and Samuel A., who is at present a student at the New York Dental College. Mr. and Mrs. Traver have had two children, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW namely: Alfred William, who died January 14, 1885; and Arthur E., now a bright and promising lad of seven years. They occupy a very handsome and substantial residence at No. 2 Church Street, which was erected by Mr. Traver's father in 1892. Mrs. Traver's mother, Mrs. Lucy F. Hale, who, although now seventy-six years of age, is still active both mentally and physically, resides in New York City. She is a member of the Blue Anchor Society, the aim of which is to provide for the wants of shipwrecked sailors. T^HARLES BOWKER, M.D., a well- I jy known physician and public-spirited ^■^ ^ citizen of Bernardston, was born in the town of Savoy, Berkshire County, Mass., September 16, 1824, son of Melvin and Betsy (Willett) Bowker. Dr. Bowker's grandfather. Liberty Bowker, was a native of Pembroke, Plymouth County, Mass., where the family was numbered among the early settlers. He was a box-maker in his earlier days, and later in life became a hotel proprietor in Savoy, Mass., where he died at seventy-two years of age. His wife's maiden name was Guerney. They had a family of four sons and two daugh- ters, all of whom grew up, and one, Calvin Bowker, still lives in South Adams, Mass. The others were : Melvin, father of Dr. Bowker; David; and James Madison. One daughter married Jesse W. Johnson, the other married Robert Sturtevant. Dr. Bowker's maternal grandfather, John Willett, a farmer and manufacturer of ship's spars, residing in the town of Hanson, Plymouth County, Mass., was also a native of Massachusetts, and was a successful business man. He died on his farm at Hanson, when over eighty years of age. He and his wife had a family of three sons and two daughters, all of whom are now deceased. Melvin Bowker, son of Liberty Bowker, was born in Pembroke, Mass., March 13, 1798. At an early age he went to Hanson, and there grew to manhood. Later he owned a good farm at Savoy, and carried on a successful business of farming and dairying. He died in that town at the age of seventy-seven years. His first wife, Betsy Willett by maiden name, was born in Hanson, Plymouth County, and died when her son Charles was four years old. After her death Mr. Bowker married Electa Mason, who died when about seventy-seven years of age. Politically, he was a Democrat, till the formation of the Republican party, when he joined that party, and remained a faithful adherent till the time of his death. He was for many years a Selectman, and also held the offices of Town Clerk and Town Treasurer; and in 1839 and 1840 he was a Representative in the State legislature. Mr. Bowker had four children by his first wife, two of whom, Calvin and Betsy, died in infancy. One son, Alonzo Melvin Bowker, M.D., died at about forty years of age, his brother Charles, subject of the present sketch, being the only one now living. By the second marriage Melvin Bowker had one daughter, Sarah Frances, who married Plenry Thayer, of Adams, Mass. Charles Bowker grew to manhood in the little hill town of Savoy, Berkshire County; and the foundation of his education was laid in the public schools of that place. Com- mencing at the age of nineteen years, he taught school for eight years, and then began the study of medicine under the instruction of his brother, Alonzo M. Bowker, after which he attended the Medical College of Pittsfield, Mass., for three years, graduating in the year 1854. He began practice in Readsboro, Vt. , remaining there a short time, when he re- moved to Plainfield and stayed one year, re- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW turning thence to Savoy, where he remained four years. The next four years were spent in Wilbraham. In 1864 he served one year in the United States Service as Contract Surgeon, and was in the hospitals of Washington and Alex- andria. The following year he settled in Ber- nardston, and has remained here ever since, being now the oldest physician in the town. Dr. Bowker was married in 1847 to Delcy D. Dunham, who was born in Savoy, and died in 1852, leaving no children. In 1853 he married his second wife, Harriett P. Dawes, who was born in Berkshire County, daughter of Samuel and Philena E. (Hume) Dawes, the former of whom was born in Windsor, June 19, 1798, and his wife at the same place, June 5, 1804, both being now deceased. They had two children : Harriett P., now Mrs. Bowker; and her sister, the wife of George Crittenden, of Shelburne P"alls. Dr. and Mrs. Bowker are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Bernards- ton, he being on the official board of that church. They have six children living. One son, Charles Willett, died at the age of two and one-half years. The others are : Delcy Harriett, who was born in Savoy, February 21, 1854, married George W. Swasey, and resides in Centralia, Wash., where she is a teacher of music; Alphonso V. , born in Savoy, January 17, 1857, now a physician at Athol ; Samuel Dawes, a medical practitioner, born in Wilbraham, June 22, 1863, living at Rowe, Franklin County; Arthur Hume, born in Ber- nardston, April 18, 1867, employed in the shoe factory at Athol; Effie L. , born in Ber- nardston, September 13, 1868, a book-keeper in Greenfield; Rosa Evelyn, born in Bernards- ton, March 16, 1870, a music teacher living with her parents; Charles M. Bowker, born in Wilbraham, July 10, i860, and died March 2, 1863. Dr. Bowker is a prominent and esteemed citizen of his town. He is now Chairman of the Selectmen and Overseer of the Poor, and is serving his fourth term as Selectman. He is also a trustee of the Cushman Library, and has been a trustee of the high school since first coming to Bernardston. < • ■ » » KYDIA E. STOCKWELL, whose fam- ily name has been known in the annals ,,.,0^ of New England for several genera- tions, is an esteemed resident of the town of Gill. She was born in Hadley, Hampshire County, daughter of P"lavel Stockwell, whose early ancestors emigrated from England to the United States in old Colonial times. In the history of Sutton, Mass., it is said that the emigrant ancestor settled in Ipswich, married, and had five sons — William, John, Jonathan, Ebenezer, and David — all of whom settled in Sutton. The first John Stockwell married and had several children, including a son John, who, according to the same record, married first, in 1730, Margaret Smith, of Andover; second, Lydia Elliott, in 1737; and, third, Lydia King, in 1749. John Stockwell, a descendant of the Sutton family of Stockwells, became one of the prominent farmers of Lever- ett in this county, where he spent his last years. His son, Charles Stockwell, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Athol, Mass., and for a number of years a resi- dent of that town. He was a sturdy tiller of the soil, and made his first purchase of land in the town of Colerain, where he lived a short time, but later became one of the pioneers of Leverett, in that capacity assisting in its development and growth. He finally went to New York, and was never heard from in these parts afterward. He married Martha Moore, i86 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW who bore him six children : Dexter, Daniel, Flavel, Mary, Stillman, and Eliza. Flavel Stockwell was born during the resi- dence of his parents in Colerain, and was there educated in its district schools, on the home farm in Leverett being drilled in the element- ary branches of agriculture. At the age of eighteen years he removed to Hadley, where he learned the trade of a broom-maker, which seemed to him preferable to farming. He worked at that until 1830, when he came to Gill. Here he purchased the property now owned by his daughter Lydia, and engaged in the occupation to which he was reared, becom- ing a successful agriculturist. The estate consists of eighty acres of land, all of which he placed under cultivation, making many and substantial improvements, continuing here until his death, in 1876, at the age of seventy- four years. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Merriman, was a daughter of Elijah Merriman and grand-daughter of Samuel Merriman, both of whom were life-long residents and well- known farmers of Northfield, Mass. Elijah Merriman married Rebecca Clendenning, and they settled on a farm in Northfield, and there they reared their three children : Rebecca, the eldest, who married Flavel Stockwell; Elijah, named for his father; and Lydia, the wife of Nathan Smith, now living in Clinton. Mr. and Mrs. Flavel Stockwell became the parents of five children, namely: Elijah S. and Lucy Ann, twins, both deceased, the former at the age of nineteen years, and the latter twenty- one; Luther A., also deceased; Ellen Re- becca, who married William H. Deane, and died leaving two daughters — Carrie Leona and Lucy Irene; and Lydia, of whom we write. Mrs. Stockwell, who survived her husband many years, resided on the Stockwell home- stead, tenderly cared for by her daughter Lydia until her death, June 8, 1892, at the venerable age of eighty-eight years. She was a woman of rare personal worth and greatly beloved, a firm and trustful believer in the truths of Christianity, and with her family was a regular attendant of the Congregational church. Lydia was a little girl of six years when her parents removed to the home which she now owns and where she has since lived. In her younger days she was thoroughly drilled in the domestic arts, and, after arriving at years of maturity, devoted herself to the care of her parents, lovingly administering to their wants, making the last years of their earthly life com- fortable and happy. On the death of her sister Ellen she adopted the two orphan girls, Car- rie L. and Lucy I., and gave them a mother's care. They received excellent educational advantages, attending the Powers Institute, and afterward completing their studies at Northfield Seminary, where they took a special course. Carrie Leona still lives with her aunt; and Lucy Irene is the wife of Franklin P. Grout, a native of Warwick, but now a prosperous farmer of Gill. Inheriting the re- ligious belief of her worthy parents, Miss Stockwell is a regular attendant of the Con- gregational church, and is active in charitable works. fISENLIO D. THOMPSON is a well- known farmer in the town of Heath and a veteran of the Civil War. He was born at Colerain, Mass., July 29, 1839, and is a son of Gurdin and Sophronia (Wilson) Thompson. His grandfather, Hugh Thompson, also a native of Colerain, owned and conducted a farm of two hundred and forty acres, and was very prosperous in worldly affairs. He supported the old Whig party in politics, and was a Congregationalist in his BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 187 religious belief. He died at the age of seventy-five years, having reared the following children: Levi, John, Adolphus, Gurdin, and Hugh. Gurdin Thompson was born September 8, 1 801, and during his younger manhood fol- lowed farming, together with the trade of a stone-mason, which constituted his occupation until he succeeded to the possession of the parental homestead by purchasing the interests of the other heirs ; and then he engaged exten- sively in stock-raising. He attained to a posi- tion of prominence in public affairs, was a Whig in politics, and, like the majority of that political element, joined the ranks of the Republican party at its formation. He very acceptably served as a Selectman, and also held other important town ofTices. He died aged sixty-nine, and his wife at the age of sixty-two. Their children were: Franklin B. , Laura A., Hugh W. , Visenlio D., Gurdin A., Almira, Julia, and an infant who died. Visenlio D. Thompson commenced farming upon his own account at the age of twenty-one years, but in 1862 enlisted as a private in Company B, Fifty-second Massachusetts In- fantry, and served one year in the Civil War, during which time his regiment was attached to the Department of the Gulf. He was pres- ent at the siege of Port Hudson, but, after participating in several minor engagements, became ill from exposure and forced marches of long duration under Major-general Banks, and was confined in the hospital at Baton Rouge for a period of three months. Having completed his term of service, he returned North, and bought a farm situated in the town of Charlemont, known as the Thatcher place, which consisted of one hundred and fifty acres. After residing there for a time, he sold the property and removed to Heath, purchased his present farm of one hundred acres, which had been known as the Clemens property. He has erected a new and spacious barn, besides mak- ing other improvements, and is extensively engaged in dairying and sheep-raising. Mr. Thompson has been twice married. On February 25, 1864, he wedded for his first wife Miss Flora J. Purrington, daughter of Thomas Purrington; and she was called to rest at the age of twenty-five years, leaving three children, namely: Francis H., who married Lillian McLean, and resides at Colerain ; Mor- ris L. ; and Flora J., who is now the wife of Adelbert Stetson, of Heath, and has two chil- dren — Alice M. and Leoa H. On November 24, 1870, Mr. Thompson was united in mar- riage to his present wife, Harriet A. Daven- port, daughter of Gano S. and Caroline (Gould) Davenport, her father being a progres- sive farmer of Heath. Mrs. Thompson's mother died about twelve years ago, she and her husband, who is now living, having been the parents of twelve children, named as fol- lows : George J., Sarah J., David S. , Harriet A., Carrie L. , Celestia L. , Frank H., Charles G. , Ella D., Lucas E., Addie M., and one child who died in infancy. Mr. Thompson's children by his second marriage are: Laura S. , who married Charles R. Clark, of Granby, and has one child, named Walter S; Hugh L. ; Jessie G. ; Edward D. ; and Oscar R. Mr. V. D. Thompson is a Republican in politics, and both himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Yu^EV. STILLMAN BARBER, an influ- I I^Y^ ential and much respected citizen of J-^ V_^ Bernardston, and of late years en- gaged in farming, was born in Warwick, an- other Franklin County town, July 21, 1818, son of Azariah and Broda (Temple) Barber. His grandparents, Zachariah and Patience BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW (Whitney) Barber, were natives of Sherborn, Middlesex County, Mass. Zachariah Barber was a hard-working and successful farmer, and died in Warwick at the age of sixty-nine, his wife long surviving him, and dying at the same place, at eighty-nine years of age. They had four sons and three daughters who reached maturity, namely: Patty, Patience, Abigail, Azariah, Elisha, Cyrus, and Ebenezer. Aza- riah Barber, whose name appears fourth in the list, was born in Warwick, February i8, 1782, and resided there all the days of his life on a part of the old Barber homestead. He was an excellent farmer and a good man, hon- est and upright in his dealings, liberal in his religious views, and in politics a Whig. He died at the age of sixty-five; and his wife, who was born in the adjoining town of Orange, Mass., July 25, 1789, died at eighty-three. They had six children, only two of whom are now living: Stillman, the subject of this sketch; and Azariah R., a farmer of North- field, Mass. The deceased were: Harlow, Hervey, Albert G. , and Elizabeth T. Stillman Barber acquired his elementary education in the common schools of Warwick, and later enjoyed the advantages of two or three terms at a select school and two terms at the New Salem Academy. Being of a studious nature, he lost no opportunity to improve his mind. He would take his books into the field with him ; and, poring over them without any instructor, he added not a little to the store of learning he had gathered in the schools. He committed to memory the first epistle of Pope's "Essay on Man " by keeping the book open before him while making shingles in his father's shop. When seven- teen years of age, he took charge of his father's farm, and, when eighteen, began to teach school, which he continued for seven terms; and at twenty-two he engaged in business for himself. Remaining in Warwick until 1844, he then moved to Lowell, Mass., where he lived for two years, at the end of which time he went to Meadville, Pa., and entered the Theological School. Shortly after graduating, in 1848, he took a pastoral charge at Como, 111., which he held but briefly, going thence to Rockford, 111., but not to remain long. Re- turning to Massachusetts, he made his home once more in Warwick, preaching at various surrounding places till January, 1850, when he went to Rowe, in the extreme north-western part of the county. He was ordained in the following June, the Rev. P'rederick D. Hunt- ington, now Bishop Huntington, preaching the sermon ; and he held the pastorate of the First Congregational or Unitarian Church of that place three years. From Rowe he re- moved successively to Plubbardston, Worcester County, where he was pastor for a year and a half, to Townsend, Middlesex County, for two years, to Mendon for four years, and to Tyngs- boro, where he remained eight years. From Tyngsboro he came to Bernardston in 1868, and for three years he was pastor of the Ber- nardston Congregational or Unitarian church. In 1872 he bought his farm, but did not move on to it till the next year, since which time he has given his entire attention to farm- ing. He owns a farm of sixty acres, with good buildings; and the fact that he has in- creased its productiveness nearly three hundred per cent, is striking evidence of intelligent husbandry and assiduous toil. Having joined the Agricultural Society of Franklin County when he first came to Bernardston, he has held in it the offices of Vice-President and Trustee ; and he has also been President of the Farmers' Institute. Mr. Barber was married April 22, 1 84 1, to Mary Cobb Fisher, who was born in Warwick, December 28, 1819, daughter of Moses and Lydia (Fisk) Fisher. She was but BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 189 two years of age when her mother died, her father having died before she was born. Till the time of her marriage, her early life was passed in Warwick, where she had a good home, and where, after receiving her education in the public schools, she taught school for two terms. Mr. and Mrs. Barber are looked up to as among the leading citizens of Bernardston in intelligence and worth. They hold Unitarian views in religious matters, and he is independent in politics. They have two children : a son, Charles S. ; and a daughter, Caroline Augusta. Charles S. Barber, born in Rowe, August 21, 1852, is a commercial traveller for the firm of Mcintosh & Co., of Springfield, Mass., having been connected with this company for twenty- .two years. He married Grace E. Allen. They have two children — Edith L. and Mary E. ; and they make their home with his par- ents. Caroline Augusta Barber was born Jan- uary 18, 1859, in Mendon, Mass. She is a graduate of Framingham Normal School, has taught school continuously since 1878, and is now engaged in teaching in Plainfield, N.J. Franklin Stillman Barber died in Mendon when about two years of age. The Rev. Still- man Barber, having a strong love for the work of the ministry, has continued to engage in it when called on for occasional services up to the present time; and, though well advanced in life, he is still able to attend to the duties of his farm, and is as enthusiastic in the pur- suit of knowledge as in his youth. Yp)TENRY O. ROOT, of Bernardston, a f^\ representative farmer of Franklin Ji® ^__^ County, was born in this town June 30, 1830, son of Oliver and Elizabeth (Nich- ols) Root. His grandfather, Moses Root, was born in Montague, Mass., October 7, 1742; and his grandmother, Anna Bardwell Root, was born at the same place, March 29, i743- Their distant ancestors were English. Moses Root was a blacksmith, and diligently followed that trade through life, keeping the sparks flying from his anvil early and late. In poli- tics he was a Whig. He and his wife had eight children: Eunice, Anna, Rufus, Moses, Elihu, Oliver, Salmon, and Samuel, all of whom are now deceased. Moses Root died in Montague, December 17, 1817, his wife Anna having died November 24, 1809. Their son Oliver lived in Montague till of age. While yet a boy, he was apprenticed to learn the trades of tanner and shoemaker, and, when he removed to Gill, he started in business in these lines for himself ; but, after living in that town for eight or ten years, being thus employed, he removed to Bernards- ton about the year 18 10, and here, purchasing a large estate, he turned farmer, at which occu- pation he was very successful. At the time of his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-eight, he owned two hun- dred acres of land. His last days were spent on the farm, which to-day is owned by his son. His wife, Elizabeth Nichols Root, was born at Guilford, Vt., August 29, 1793, and died in 1867, at the age of seventy-four years. They were both members of the Unitarian church, and for many years Oliver Root offi- ciated as Deacon. He was a Republican, and was a citizen of more than usual note, both in Gill and Bernardston, being a Selectman in Bernardston, and also filling sundry other offices. Henry O. was the elder of the two chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Root. His sis- ter, Sarah E., now Mrs. Holton, resides in Winchester, Mass. Henry O. Root grew to manhood in Bernardston, receiving his educa- tion in the public schools of that town and in 1 go BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Goodell Academy. He took up farming as a means of gaining a livelihood, and, being in- telligent, diligent, and painstaking, has fol- lowed it with marked success. He now owns the old farm, and has added more land, making- all together about two hundred acres of land. A man of great energy, combined with good business tact, and one who has always shown a lively interest in the general welfare, his ad- vice carries weight in matters pertaining to the good of the town. Mr. Root has been Se- lectman for nineteen years, and has held other local offices. On November 25, 1858, he was married to Alma O. Hale, who was born in Bernardston, September 16, 1834, daughter of John F. and Alcy (Weeks) Hale. Mr. Hale was a native of Bernardston, and his wife of Halifax, Vt. He was a farmer, and died at the age of eighty-seven. His wife is still living on the old homestead, now aged eighty-seven years. They had three children: Fanny C, who became Mrs. Whitehead, died at the age of fifty-four; Ellen A., now Mrs. Shattuck, re- sides in Bernardston. Mrs. Root is the younger of the two living. Mr. and Mrs. Root have two sons: Frank O. Root, born August 23, 1859, and now residing in Rochester, N. Y. , is a commercial traveller for a boot and shoe house; Warren H. Root, who was born August 9, 1870, is a clerk in the wholesale boot and shoe house of Mcintosh & Co., of Springfield, Mass. Lizzie M., the only daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry O. Root, died at the tender age of four months. Mr. Root and his wife are mem- bers of the First Unitarian Church of Ber- nardston; and in politics he is a Republican. He is an active and valued member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, with which he has been identified since he became of age. rWTo EORGE PIERCE, Assessor of the Vp I town of Greenfield and a veteran of the Civil War, was born at North- ampton, March 2, 1830. His father, George Pierce, Sr. , was born in Greenfield' in 1804, and died at Deerfield in 1878. He was a son of Samuel Pierce, a native of Middletown, Conn., who settled at Greenfield in 1790, and there followed his trade, that of pewter-smith, manufacturing spoons, platters, and other arti- cles of table and kitchen ware. He erected a factory and salesroom on Main Street, south side, near the railroad arch, and later pur- chased the land opposite the Mansion House, where in 1811 he built a brick block, in which he conducted his business upon a larger scale. He manufactured also tinware and lead pipe, his sons being connected with him in the enterprise, which was carried on successfully between 181 2 and 1845, they being the pioneer stove dealers of the town. He owned a large tract of land on High Street, extending from the top of Rocky Mountain through Highland Avenue, west to Congress Street, Highland Avenue then being the old turnpike road to Albany. Samuel Pierce was one of the founders of the Episcopal church in this place. He mar- ried Anna Joyce, of Middletown, and raised a family of ten children, three of whom became victims of an epidemic which occurred in 1804. Of those who lived to reach maturity, all married and became heads of families with the exception of Phebe, who accompanied her brother Samuel to Iowa. Their names were as follows: John J., Phebe, George, Henry, Hubbard, and Samuel. Samuel, Sr., died about 1 841, aged seventy-two years, his widow passing to her rest in 1844, aged about seventy-four. The maiden name of Mr. Pierce's mother was Olive D. Wilson. She was born at Cole- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 191 rain in 1808, daughter of William and Polly (Sisson) Wilson. Her marriage to George Pierce, Sr. , occurred about the year 1825 ; and their four children were as follows: James D., who was born in 1827, and is now a merchant of Milwaukee, where he has been in business for over thirty years; William, who was a tinman by trade and an early pioneer in Cali- fornia, and who died in Greenfield, January 15, 1868, aged thirty-nine years, leaving a widow and three children; George; and Henry H., who died while engaged upon a military expedition to Puget Sound in 1889, aged fifty- eight, leaving a widow and two children. Plenry H. Pierce was a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted in the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, in which he rose from a private to the rank of Major, serving in the Army of the Potomac. As a reward for his bravery and valuable service, he was tendered a commission as Lieutenant in the regular army, being at the time of his death brevet Captain and Adjutant of the Twenty - first United States Infantry, stationed at Fort Van- couver, near Portland, Ore. He was a graduate of Trinity College, Hart- ford, and, after his appointment to the regular army, was for six years professor of mathe- matics and military tactics at Morgantown, W. Va., subsequently filling a like position at the University of Michigan. He was a re- markable classical scholar, and during his leisure moments completed a translation of Virgil, which has been published by Lippin- cott, and is considered by scholars a most cred- itable production. His widow, who was the daughter of a prominent Washington clergy- man, now resides at Baltimore, where she is educating her son. Her daughter Katherine is the wife of a clergyman named Waters, liv- ing in Dubuque, la. Mrs. Olive D. Pierce died in 1838; and the father married for his second wife Sarah Ann Kemp, his children by this union being: Phebe, widow of William McClellan, of Springfield, an accomplished soprano singer; and Samuel R., a musician and piano-tuner in New York State. George Pierce received a good education in the Greenfield public schools, and resided with his uncle Samuel for three years subsequent to the death of his mother. At the age of fifteen he began to learn the trade of a tinsmith in Northampton, and, after serving an apprentice- ship of four years, returned to Greenfield, where he worked with his brother for two years, at the end of which time he purchased the business, and continued it until 1858. In 1859 he was appointed a custom-house in- spector in Boston, and served in that position until 1861, when he resigned, and, enlisting at Greenfield, was commissioned First Lieu- tenant of Company G, Tenth Massachusetts Infantry. He succeeded to the command of his company, following the death of Captain Edwin E. Day, who was killed at the battle of Fair Oaks, and re-enlisted in 1864, being detailed to command a detachment of recruits and re-enlisted men of the Tenth, which were transferred to the Thirty-seventh Regiment the day preceding the battle of Winchester, where they were ordered into action. Captain Pierce commanding the advanced company. He was there wounded in the right shoulder, the wound being of such a serious nature as to incapacitate him for further service, he having previously been slightly wounded at the battles of Malvern Hill and Spottsylvania. He was engaged in the expedition which opposed Early's raid on Washington. Captain Pierce was mustered out November 13, 1864, having been in active service three years and five months. After returning from the army, he engaged in the crockery and glassware business, pur- 192 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW chasing the store of Frank Long, which he conducted until 1875. Having spent the next two years as a commercial traveller, in 1877 he was appointed Assessor, a position which he still holds, his present term not expiring until 1897. He is also Clerk for the Board of Selectmen and Town Clerk, and is a Democrat in politics. He is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, having been commander of the first post organized here; was made a Mason in 1854, in which he has advanced to the Knight Templar degree or Commandery, having filled important chairs in the various lodges. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Encampment, being one of the petitioners for the new lodge. In 1857 he wedded Miss Catherine L. Scott, the marriage ceremony taking place at the St. James Church, January 13, at seven a.m., the officiating clergyman being its rector, the Rev. Titus Strong. Their three children are: Edwin F. , a resident of Milwaukee, and secre- tary of the Electric Supply Company of Wis- consin ; Harry C, of Greenfield, an employee of the American Express Company, who is married and has two children; and Dorus M. Pierce, a practical printer, who is engaged with the Yontii' s Companion Company of Bos- ton, and resides in that city. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce attend the Episcopal church. Their pleasant home is at 52 Davis Street. Mr. Pierce has invested to a consid- erable extent in real estate, and owns some very valuable residence property. ALTER W. SANDERSON, of Whately, is a descendant of one of the first settlers of that town, and resides upon a farm which was reclaimed from the wilderness by his ancestors, and is situated about one and a half miles from the Sunderland bridge. Llere his birth occurred July 25, 1843, he being a son of Elijah D. Sanderson, who was born on February 10, 1 807, and who is represented in this volume by the lifelike portrait which appears on the opposite page. Mr. Sanderson's grandfather, Elijah Sander- son, who was born on October 28, 1782, was a pioneer farmer of the town, and cleared a greater portion of the present Sanderson farm, a part of the original house which he erected being still in existence. He was one of two Sandersons who owned a very large tract of land, extending from the Connecticut River to the Conway line, a distance of about four and a half miles. He served as an Ensign in the militia during the War of 181 2, and marched with his company to Boston, a distance of one hundred miles, where they reported for duty. He became a very prosperous farmer, and died in Whately on August 28, 1823. He was an earnest supporter of the Congregational church ; and both himself and his family were so religious that it was said that even the old family dog had acquired through instinct a certain respect for the Sabbath, as he was never known to leave his accustomed place under the bed on that day unless compelled to do so. Elijah D. Sanderson, who was but sixteen years of age when his father died, continued thereafter to reside at the family homestead. He attained a thorough knowledge of the cloth- dresser's trade, and followed that occupation until handwork was superseded by machinery, after which he gave his entire attention to agricultural pursuits, becoming a very prosper- ous farmer. He was well known in the com- munity as a man of strict integrity and of sound judgment, and his advice was often sought for and relied upon by his fellow-towns- men. He was a member of the Congregational ELIJAH D. SANDERSON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW I9S church, in which he served as parish cleric for many years, dying at the old homestead on September 15, 1886. His faithful companion and life partner was Zelinda Wing, daughter ■of Dr. Walter Wing, of Otsego County, New York. She was one of a large family; and she became the mother of three children, all of whom are still living, namely: Silas A., a resident of Putney, Vt. ; Walter W., of Whately ; and Jane E., who married Otis Hager, of Deerfield. Mrs. Zelinda W. San- derson passed from earth in 1878, at the age of sixty-three, eight years before her husband. Walter W. Sanderson in his boyhood en- joyed good educational advantages, attending first the district schools of his native town, and later pursuing higher studies successively at the Deerfield Academy and Powers Institute in Bernardston. He then spent some time with his father working on the home farm ; but, after reaching his majority, he became a travelling salesman, going through the State of Pennsylvania and a portion of the West. He continued thus engaged at intervals for a period of five or six years, at the expiration of that time returning to the parental roof for the purpose of assuming charge of the farm, having been requested to do so by his father, whose life was fast approaching its close. After the death of his father, whom he had tenderly cared for, by purchasing the interests of the other heirs he succeeded to the old homestead, and has since enjoyed a prosperous career. The farm consists of eighty acres, is all till- able, and can be readily adapted to the culti- vation of the various farm products that are suited to the New England climate. Mr. Sanderson devotes his special attention to the raising of tobacco. Mr. Sanderson was married in 1880 to Miss Emmagene Whitney, daughter of J. A. Whit- ney, a prosperous farmer and a highly es- teemed citizen of Gardner, who still survives at the age of eighty-one years. Mrs. Sander- son's mother, who was a native of Whately, died at the age of forty-five years, having reared a family of six children. A Republi- can in politics, Mr. Sanderson has been solic- ited to accept town offices, but has invariably declined to serve in any public capacity. He was made a Mason by the Columbian Lodge of Walpole, N. H., in 1875, and now belongs to Republican Lodge of Greenfield. Both him- self and wife attend the Congregational church at South Deerfield. Mr. and Mrs. Sanderson have one son, Walter Whitney, a very bright and prepossessing lad of four years, who is the life of their home and the object of their lov- ing care and fondest hopes. BENEZER S. HULBERT, manufacturer of agricultural implements and cutlery at Bernardston, who served as a Union soldier in the Civil War of 1861-65, was born May 27, 1820, in Burlington, Otsego County, N. Y. , his parents being Ambrose and Elizabeth (Sheldon) Hulbert. The first of the family to come to this country was Will- iam Hulbert, who settled in Dorchester, Mass., in the year 1632. William was a blacksmith; and the trade has had representa- tives in the family in every generation down to the present day. Ambrose Hulbert, the father of Ebenezer S., was born in Bennington, Vt., in 1782; and his wife was born in Bernardston, Mass. Learning the trade of blacksmith of his father, he followed it through life, and acquired the reputation of being a first-class mechanic. He died at eighty-eight years of age, and his wife died between sixty-one and sixty-two years of age. They had six children who grew up, four of whom still live, Ebenezer 196 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S. Hulbert being the eldest. Louisa died at seventy-two years of age; Charles G. Hul- bert is a farmer, living in Minnesota; Mary M., Mrs. Green, is living in Greenfield; Abby L. Hulbert lives in Burlington, N. Y. ; Eri B. Hulbert died on his way to California. Ebenezer S. Hulbert grew to manhood in Burlington, N.Y. , was educated in the public schools, and began when a boy of fifteen to learn the hereditary trade of blacksmith, living at home till he was twenty-eight years of age. After that he followed his vocation in various places in the State of New York and in Massa- chusetts. In 1849 the firm of S. A. Millard & Hulbert was formed to manufacture agricult- ural implements, the factory being located in Clayville, Oneida County, N.Y. In Decem- ber, 1852, Mr. Hulbert disposed of his inter- est in this concern, and moved to Bernardston, Franklin County, Mass., where he established himself in the same business at his present site. The whole plant which he now occupies was built with especial reference to the needs of his business, and is equipped with all neces- sary machinery for turning out first-class work. In addition to the manufacture of hoes and other garden tools, he began in 1882 the manu- facture of cutlery, a branch of his business that has proved very successful. He nrakes all kinds of butcher's tools, his factory having a capacity for turning out from twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars' worth of goods per year, and giving employment to from twenty to thirty men. Mr. Hulbert was married in December, 1863, to Laura Burr, who was born in Maine in 1830. Two children were the fruit of this union, both daughters, one of whom, Helen Hulbert, died in infancy. The other, Julia B., is now the wife of Fred B. Dennison, of Bernardston, and mother of two sons, Harold and Robert. In the war of the Rebellion Mr. Hulbert enlisted in the Fifty-second Regi- ment, Massachusetts Volunteers, went to the front, took part in several battles, and was wounded while in the service by the explosion of a shell. He has been Selectman of his town for twelve years in succession, and has also served one year as Representative to the State legislature. He is a member of the Republican Lodge of A. F. & A. M., Green- field, and also of the Edwin E. Day Post, No. 174, Grand Army of the Republic. iRS. MARY S. TODD WARNER, an intelligent and cultivated woman of pleasing social gifts, residing in Greenfield, is the widow of the late Volney D. Warner, who died at Montague City, Mass., October 20, 1890, at the age of seventy-one years. He was a son of Newton Warner, a native of Hampden County, Mass., but later a resident of Charlemont, Franklin County, who removed in 1840 to Montague, where it was then expected the county seat would be located. Newton Warner was a farmer by birth and breeding, and bought a large farm in that town; but this, with the exception of the old house and the newly erected residence, has recently passed out of the possession of the Warner family. The maiden name of his wife was Rachel Cobb; and, of the ten children born to them, four sons and four daughters lived to maturity, and two yet survive, namely: Newcomb Warner, an octogenarian, living at Charle- mont; and Minerva, widow of S. B. Wood, of Toledo, Ohio. Newton Warner, Jr., twin brother of Newcomb Warner, died in Charle- mont, at the age of sixty-nine years, leav- ing a family of five children. The Warners, as a family, have merited the respect of the community in which they have lived, being BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 197 home - loving, refined, and of irreproachable character. Mrs. Warner was born in Charlemont, being a daughter of Uriah and the late Mary Ann (Waterman) Todd, long-time residents of that place, her father being now eighty-six years of age. Mr. Todd has from his early years been identified with the agricultural interests of this county, and is now spending the golden sunset of life on the old home farm, which is superintended by his son, Warren U. Todd, a man of sterling worth. One daughter, Beda A., died in the prime of womanhood; and one son, Chester E. Todd, died at the age of twenty-five years. Mrs. Todd passed from earth in December, 1890, at the advanced age of seventy-nine years. She was a woman much beloved, and of whom it may be truly said, none named her but to praise. The Todds were first represented on American soil, as the story goes, by two brothers, one of whom was very tall, and the other short in stature, who came from England to the United States in the early part of its settlement, Mrs. Warner's father, who was born in Connecticut, being descended from the former. Savage's Genealogical Dictionary mentions two of this name as early immigrants in New England, saying nothing of any known relationship be- tween them : John Todd, who came to Charles- town, Mass., in 1637, and later settled in Rowley; and Christopher, in 1639, an original settler of New Haven, Conn. Mrs. Warner is a woman of fine mental attainments, having received a good education in her youthful days, completing her studies at the Shelburne Falls Academy and at a select school, where she was fitted for a teacher. She exhibited rare ability in her profession, and during the twenty-seven terms that she taught previous to her marriage was eminently successful, being thorough in her instruction, and winning the approbation of her employers and the love of her pupils. She resigned her position to become the wife of Volney D. Warner, a man of firm and noble purpose, who began the battle of life without capital, and by sturdy industry and integrity succeeded far beyond his expectations, winning a compe- tency. The larger part of his estate he left to his widow, who had materially aided him by her loving sympathy, wise counsel, and cheer- ful co-operation. Their pleasant home life was not brightened by the prattle of children of their own; but they enjoyed the love and esteem of a world of friends, who sincerely mourn the loss of a worthy neighbor, and who entertain for Mrs. Warner most hearty esteem and good will. silOlCHAEL J. ATKINS, a well-known and highly respected citizen of Buck- land, Franklin County, Mass., a scarred and pensioned veteran of the Civil War, was born in County Clare, Ireland, Jan- uary 27, 1845, son of Bryan and Catherine (Sweeney) Atkins, both of whom were also natives of that place. Having grown to man- hood in Ireland, Bryan Atkins there worked at farming till 1848, when he came to Amer- ica, landing in Boston, from which place he went to Springfield, Mass., and there during the succeeding year engaged in stone and masonry work. He then went to Leyden, Mass., in the employ of the railroad company, and thence to Shelburne Falls, where, as a mason, he assisted in the construction of some of the buildings now used by the cutlery manu- factory. He continued to work in Shelburne Falls until he was sixty-five years of age, after which he retired from active labor, and passed the remainder of his life in that town, at his home on School Street. He died there in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 1883, at seventy-one years of age. He and his wife, Catherine Sweeney Atkins, had six sons and three daughters, as follows: John (deceased), Bridget, John (deceased), Edward (deceased), Michael J., Mary, James, Will- iam, and Kate (deceased). The mother died in 1886, at sixty-five years of age. In religion both parents were of the Catholic faith. Michael J. Atkins received a good practical education in the schools of Shelburne Falls. At twelve years of age he commenced to work in the cutlery manufactory during his vaca- tions, and continued in that employment until 1863, when he enlisted in Company B of the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, and went to the front to tight for the Union. On May 19, 1864, he received a severe wound in his thigh, and, being unable to make his escape, was captured by the enemy, who took him to Andersonville Prison, from thence to Mellen Prison, from which he made his escape, joining Sherman's army at Goldsboro, N.C., finally reaching Washington, D. C, April 7, 1865. At Washington he obtained a furlough ; but, on reaching home, he was taken ill with typhoid pneumonia, and on account of his weak condition it was six weeks before he was able to return to his post. He received his honorable discharge at Boston, in June, 1865. As soon as he was able he resumed his work in the cutlery manufactory, and is still employed there. He also draws a pension for the inju- ries he received in the war. On January i, 1869, Mr. Atkins was united in marriage with Miss Anna Gallagher, who was born June 28, 1850, daughter of John and Jane (Clinton) Gallagher. Both her parents were born in County Mayo, Ireland, from which place they came to America, settling in Windsor, Vt. , where the father became a progressive and prosperous agriculturist. He died at fifty-one years of age; but his wife is still living, now, 1895, at the age of seventy- five years. Their children were: Patrick, Alice, John, Mary, Anna, Jennie, and Kate. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Atkins has been blessed by the birth of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, of whom a brief rec- ord is as follows: William F., born September 27, 1869, married Miss Mary Tehan, and re- sides at Shelburne Falls: he is a mechanic, and has one child, — Lillian M. ; Joseph E., born July 4, 1871, resides at home; John, born February 18, 1875, died in August, 1875; Jennie C. was born September 10, 1877; Henry M., born December 4, 1879; George B., born November 12, 1881 ; Mary E., born March 7, 1883; Charles F., born November 5, 1884; Anna M., born June 5, 1887; Alice M., born October 16, 1889; Paul E., born December 16, 1891 ; and John P., born De- cember 31, 1892. Mr. Atkins is an independent politician. He has rendered acceptable service as Select- man for four terms, and is now Assessor of the fire district. He is a member of Azro Miller Post, No. 93, Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Atkins and his wife are consistent mem- bers of the Catholic church. They reside on Wellington Street, on what was formerly the Fellows homestead, which has beautiful ter- raced grounds and fine shade trees ; and he also owns the vacant lot adjoining. LBERT B. WARNER, a practical agri- culturist, contributing his full share toward sustaining and extending the great farming interests of Franklin County, is pleasantly situated in Bernardston, where he owns one of the many fine farms for which this locality is noted. He was born on his present homestead April 9, 1853; and his father, Otis Warner, was born on the same BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 199 farm, August 27, 1800. This property has been in the possession of the Warner family for a full century, Pliny Warner, the grand- father of Mr. Albert B., having bought it while it was yet in its original wildness, he being one of the comparatively early settlers of the town. He was a man of exceeding energy and industry, and cleared a large farm, on which he and his worthy helpmate spent their remaining years. Here they reared their family of five sons and two daughters, all of whom have joined the silent majority on the other shore. Otis Warner finally became owner of a por- tion of the old homestead, which, as a boy, he had helped redeem from the wilderness. He was a thrifty farmer, and made many fine im- provements on the place during his long life of eighty-two years. He died February 19, 1882. His sound sense and good judgment on matters connected with the government of the town were recognized by his fellow-citi- zens, who called him to serve as Selectman and to fill other responsible positions. By his first wife, Eunice Felton, he had one daughter, Carrie M., who lives in Franklin, Vt. His second wife, whose maiden name was Mary M. Brown, was born March 12, 18 19, in the town of Guilford, Vt. She lives on the old home- stead, and still retains the mental and physical vigor that characterized her younger days. She has two sons and three daughters, namely : Augusta F., now a resident of Hatfield, Mass. ; Mary D. and Lucy H., living at home; Emer- son G., residing at Brattleboro, Vt. ; and Albert B. The subject of this sketch was reared on the home farm, and acquired his education in the schools of his native town, which are among the best in the county. Always indus- trious and capable as a lad, he was intrusted with the care of the farm when only seventeen years old, and has managed it from that time until the present day. He is one of the most extensive land-owners in the vicinity, possess- ing about three hundred acres, and has met with merited success, being in many respects a model farmer. Mr. Warner has a valuable dairy, consisting of thirty cows, and also pays some attention to stock-raising, finding both profitable. He has continually added to the improvements on the estate, having substantial buildings and all the modern conveniences for carrying on his work after the most approved methods. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors as regards religion and politics, Mr. Warner is liberal in his views oh the first sub- ject, and a steadfast Republican in the latter. In local affairs he has been quite prominent, having been Selectman two terms, besides holding minor offices, and is now Chairman of the Law and Order League of Bernardston, which was incorporated in 1894, and is one of the most active in promoting the welfare of the town. On December 11, 1878, Mr. Warner was united in marriage with Miss Carrie J. Deni- son ; and their union has been brightened by the birth of one child, Breta M. Warner. Mrs. Warner was born in Leyden, being a daughter of Captain Edward and Elizabeth E. (Hapgood) Denison. Her grandfather, Ed- ward Denison, an early settler and one of the first tavern-keepers in the place, cleared a farm on which his children were born, and which was subsequently owned and carried on by his son. Captain Edward Denison. Captain Deni- son was born on the old homestead in Leyden, in 1800, being one of the five children of his parents, Edward and Ruey (Babcock) Denison. After becoming possessor of the homestead property, the Captain bought adjoining land, increasing its acreage to three hundred acres, and remodelled the old tavern, which is to-day BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW in good repair, and is one of the oldest resi- dences in Leyden. He was a liberal in relig- ion, an uncompromising Democrat in politics, and one of the influential men of the place, being Selectman and serving in various other offices. He died on the old homestead, aged seventy-nine years. His widow, who was born April 15, 1814, in Putney, Vt., makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Ellen Sawyer, in Leyden. They reared eight children, as follows : Mrs. Frances Newcomb, of Leyden ; Mrs. Maria Howe, of Iowa; Edward H. Deni- son, of Leyden; Mrs. Ellen Sawyer; Mrs. Marion Ashcroft, of Whately ; Mrs. Eva Ware, of Northfield ; George Denison, of Ley- den; and Carrie J., Mrs. Albert B. Warner. 7TAHARLES M. DUNCAN, M.D., whos'e I jr sudden death on October 4, 1884, was ^,l£_^ a sad loss to the town of Shelburne, was an eminent and beloved physician, who had been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession for upward of half a century. He was born July i, 1808, at Dummerston, Vt., being a son of Dr. Abel and Lydia (Miller) Duncan. Dr. Abel Duncan, a son of Abel Duncan, Sr. , was a native of Massachusetts, born Feb- ruary 22, 1772, at Petersham, where his early years were spent. After fitting himself for the ijrofession of medicine, he opened his office at Dummerston, and in the few years of his active life which followed became widely known as a physician of skill and man of entire integrity, with a large heart. He died of spotted fever during the epidemic of 1813. His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Miller, was born November 8, 1778, in Dum- merston, and died May i, 1869, at Shelburne. Three children were born of their union, namely: Charles M., the subject of this brief mention; Fanny M., born June 22, 1810, now the widow of Joel Knight, of Dummerston; and Lydia Evelyn, who was born August i, 1 81 3, married Marshall Newton, and died Jan- uary IS, 1834. Charles M. Duncan grew to manhood in his Vermont home, being reared on a farm and re- ceiving the rudiments of his education in the district schools. His mother was a woman of superior character and intelligence, and no doubt aided in fostering the lad's love for learning. He was fitted for college at a select school in Brattleboro, subsequently leaving the home farm to become a student at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Me., attending lectures at the Maine Medical School and graduating from there in 1833. He afterward took a full course of lectures at the Harvard Medical School, among his classmates there being Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the witty, wise, and revered poet and citizen. After receiving his diploma, Dr. Duncan came to this county, settling in Shelburne in 1834. He was well prepared for his profession, and by his practi- cal ability, watchful care of his patients, and warm-hearted and generous sympathy won the confidence and patronage as well as the friend- ship of a host of people, including the best and most intelligent citizens of Shelburne and the neighboring towns. He was specially fond of children, and readily won their love and confi- dence. Although for some years prior to his decease he had suffered from a heart trouble which might at any minute loosen the silver cord that bound him to earth, yet he attended to his professional duties until the day upon which he was stricken; and his sudden death was a shock to his family and friends, and a profound sorrow to the entire community. On August 28, 1833, Dr. Charles M. Dun- can was united in marriage to Miss Lucinda Esterbrook, a native of Brattleboro, Vt., born BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW March 17, 1810, daughter of John Esterbrook. The home life that followed was long and filled with happiness, the golden anniversary of their wedding, August 28, 1883, being a joyous occasion. Two daughters were the fruit of their union. The eldest of these, Mrs. Fanny L. Mitchell, born March 2, 1840, resides in Shelburne Centre, and has one son, Morris Duncan Mitchell. The younger, Mrs. -Sarah M. Smead, born February 9, 1845, has been twice married. Her only son, Charles L. Upton, a graduate of Amherst College, 1 891, married Catherine Griswold, of Turner's Falls, and is now a student in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Duncan was closely and actively inter- ested in the welfare and advancement of the community in which he lived, being one of its most progressive citizens, and ever willing to encourage and aid all beneficial projects. In politics he was a firm Democrat, and served as Town Clerk and Treasurer for nearly twoscore years, and was also a member of the School Committee. He was prominent in medical circles, belonging both to the Massachusetts Medical Society and to the Franklin District Medical Society. Was a Mason, was a mem- ber of Greenfield Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and was also a Knight Templar: he likewise be- longed to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. The high esteem in which he was held by his brother physicians and Masons, as well as by his many other friends, was clearly shown by the large concourse of people that gathered at the village church on that beautiful October day to pay their last tribute of respect and af- fection, afterward following the remains to the Arms Cemetery, where the Knights conducted their impressive service over their departed brother. The Doctor was liberal in his views of religion, and generous in his contributions toward the support of religious organizations. iRS. NANCY A. CHAPIN, who owns and occupies one of the finest farms in Gill, beautifully situated near the Connecticut River, a part of the estate left by her husband, the late Eliphas Lyman Chapin, was born in this town April 19, 1820, daughter of Horatio and Eunice (Davis) Roberts. Her father was also a native of Gill, born July 25, 1789, son of Ebenezer and Submit (Brooks) Roberts, and grandson of John Roberts, a farmer who removed to Gill with his family from St. Johnsbury, Vt. Ebenezer Roberts died in Gill on February 17, 1832, having carried on for a number of years a farm owned by his wife's father, Dan- iel Brooks, one of the early settlers, who had a quarter section of land. Horatio Roberts was the fourth in a family of seven children. He lived at the parental home till his marriage, when he purchased a farm near by, on which he resided for a num- ber of years; but in the latter part of his life he removed to East Charlemont, in the western part of the county. He died in 1S64. His wife, Eunice, was the daughter of Joseph and Azubah (Morton) Davis, of Guilford, Vt., where she was born, July 23, 1797. Her father was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and was a soldier of the Revolution. Mrs. Chapin remembers sitting on the knee of her grand- father Davis, when she was a child, and listening to the stories of the war. The grandmother, Mrs. Azubah Morton Davis, daughter of David and Mary Morton, outliving her husband, received a pension in her old age. She died at the home of her son-in-law, Mrs. Chapin' s father, in 1846, aged eighty-six years. Horatio and Eunice D. Roberts were the parents of nine daughters, of whom seven are still living, namely: Nancy Azubah, Mrs. Chapin; Rhoda, Mrs. Alonzo Thayer; Calista, who is Mrs. B. Rice, of East Charlemont; BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Martha, widow of Horace Patterson, of East Charlemont; Esther, who married Edwin Bod- well, of Shelburne Falls; Jane O. , Mrs. David Thayer, of East Charlemont ; and Marinda, widow of David Fisk, of Springfield, Mass. The mother united with the Congregational church in 1821 ; and her last days were passed in East Charlemont, where she died March 9, 1864. Nancy A. Roberts in her girlhood acquired a limited education in the district school. This, however, was but the beginning, not the finish, as she has continued to keep her mental faculties in healthful activity, and with the usual happy results. Early desiring to be use- fully employed and to have the means of self- support, she learned the trade of a tailoress, at which she became a skilful worker. She was married October 25, 1844, to Eliphas Lyman Chapin, who was born in Gill, April i, 1815, son of Ebenezer Chapin, the father being an early settler who came here from Mendon, Mass., and settled on a farm, where he spent his life, rearing a large family of children. Eliphas L. Chapin subsequently became the owner of the Chapin farm, on which he and his wife, resided some twenty-five years, and then came to "The Old Purple Homestead," the present home of Mrs. Chapin, where he died June 23, 1890, at the age of seventy-five. Three children of Mr. and Mrs. Chapin grew to maturity, only one of whom is now living, namely: Edward Sumner Chapin, born November 16, 1857, who married Sarah Can- ning, and has two children, Harold C. and Edward Radcliff. He is engaged with a busi- ness firm in Boston, and resides with his fam- ily in Cambridge. Ellen L. Chapin, only daughter, born September 30, 1845, who was educated in Bernardston and became a teacher, died November 20, 1874. Frank Wells, the elder son, born January 15, 1850, married Lizzie E. Graves, of Guilford, and died Octo- ber 31, 1886, leaving two children — LeFor- rest Earle and Winfred Ernest. He had stayed on the Chapin homestead, taking charge of it after the removal of his parents to the Roswell Purple place. AMES M. HALE, a well-known farmer and life-long citizen of Bernardston, was born in this town. May 5, 1833, son of Israel Porter and Auralia (Cushman) Hale, the father having been born in Bernardston in 1807, and the mother in Greenfield in 1804. Mr. Hale's grandfather, Israel Hale, who was born May 8, 1766, was generally known throughout this region as "Leftenant " Hale, being in the State militia and left-handed, to which peculiarity the popular pronunciation of his title was supposed to have reference. He came from Connecticut with his father when a lad of nine, and was one of the first settlers in Bernardston. He learned farming, and in company with his brother acquired a large tract of land situated on the present site of Bernardston, where he erected the residence now owned by Alanson P. Hale. He was a large, well-built man, weighing two hundred and five pounds, unusually strong and vigor- ous, and was both sociable and genial. Strict and upright and honorable in his intercourse with others, he was held in high esteem by his neighbors; and many of the older residents of Bernardston to-day remember him as a good citizen and a warm friend. He was a Unitarian and liberal supporter of the church and other benevolences. In politics he was a Whig. He died August 25, 1850, on the farm now owned by his grandson, Alanson P. Hale, at the age of eighty-four years. He was twice married. His first wife, Jemima, was born December 31, 1764. The name of CHARLES SHEPARD. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 205 his second wife was Elizabeth. His five children, all by his first wife, were as follows: John, George, Joseph P., Israel P., and Phi- lander, four of whom grew to manhood. Israel Porter Hale, son of Lieutenant Israel Hale, became the owner of the old homestead in Bernardston, and followed the business of general farming to the end of his days. For several years he held the office of Selectman, and he also had in charge the settlement of various large and small estates. He and his wife were noted for their hospitality, and both were members of the Unitarian society. He was a Republican in politics. He died on the old home farm. May 29, 1883, at the age of seventy-si.\ years, his wife surviving him over nine years, dying July 24, 1892, at the ad- vanced age of nearly eighty-nine years. They had four children, all of whom are now living, namely: Huldah, wife of S. B. Slade, of Greenfield, born November 6, 1831 ; James Monroe Hale, the subject of this biographical mention; Alanson P., born March 23, 1835; and Loretta A., now the wife of Hiram Norton. James M. Hale, having spent the early years of his life in securing an education in the dis- trict schools of Bernardston and in Goodell Academy, remained at home, attending to farm work and taking care of his parents as they gradually came to feel the infirmities of age. Mr. Hale has been a general farmer all his life, and now owns about one hundred acres of the old farm, where, in connection with his general farming, he carries on a fine dairy. All the buildings and improvements that to-day make it a beautiful home have been added by his untiring energy. Mr. Hale's success in farming is due in great measure to the fact that he is not afraid of hard work. In 1856, on January i, he married Janette S. Slate, who was born in Bernardston, April 27, 1834, daughter of Seorem B. and So- phronia P. (Snow) Slate. Mr. Slate was born in Bernardston, September 5, 1801, and his wife in the same town, July 5, 1803. He was a successful farmer and prominent citizen, and for a number of years Selectman, being at the time of his death a supporter of the Demo- cratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Slate were both members of the Unitarian church. She died January it, 1856, and he on March 6, 1866. They had seven children, three of whom, Mi- nerva P., Ellen P., and Sheldon S., are de- ceased. Seorem B. , Jr., a retired farmer, who has held many public offices, resides in Green- field. Janette S., as mentioned above, is the wife of James M. Hale. Julia S. became the wife of A. P. Hale, and resides in Bernardston with her husband. The other son is George P. Slate, a farmer, living in Hinsdale, N. H. Mr. and Mrs. James M. Hale have no chil- dren. They are both members of the Unita- rian societ}', and Mr. Hale is a Republican in politics. J-xR. CHARLES SHEPARD, of =^ Whately, is a clairvoyant physician, ^jy well known in this locality for his successful treatment of many serious cases. His birth occurred in the town of Alstead, Cheshire County, N.H., on February 17, 1838; and he is a son of Gardner Shepard, a native of the same town, whose father, Simeon Shepard, moved into the State from Connecti- cut, and settled as a pioneer on a tract of wild land in Alstead. Grandfather Shepard died when he was about seventy years old. Gardner Shepard was reared to an agricult- ural life; but, after attaining his majority, he entered mercantile business, which he carried on with good success for several years, and then returned to the old homestead, where he resided until called to lay down the burden of :o6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW life, in his seventy-first year. By his first marriage he had three children, two of whom died in early childhood, and the other survived until a few years ago. His second wife, Sarah Merrifield, of Marlboro, Vt. , became the mother of nine children, of whom but three survive, namely: Susan, who married Oliver Shepard ; Sumner G. ; and Dr. Charles Shep- ard, of Whately. Mrs. Sarah M. Shepard passed into the spirit life at Alstead, N. H., aged sixty-one years. Although she and her husband were formerly adherents of the Ortho- dox Congregational faith, in their later years they became thoroughly converted to modern Spiritualism. Charles Shepard received his education in his native town, passing through both the com- mon schools and the high, and resided with his parents at the old homestead while they lived. At the age of twenty-two years he first became aware of the healing power with which nature had endowed him ; and he immediately began to use it in his neighborhood, with results which were not only of exceedingly great benefit to many sufferers, but in some in- stances quite remarkable and entirely unac- countable. He continued in active practice at Alstead until failing health made it advis- able for him to seek for a time a more mild and salubrious climate; and the winters of 1878, 1880, and 1882 were passed by him in Florida. In 1875 he came to Franklin County, Mas- sachusetts, and, after boarding for some time in South Deerfield, moved to his present resi- dence, which is one of the most pleasant local- ities upon the river. His farm, which he rents, consists of about thirty-six acres of fertile land, thirty-one of which are under cul- tivation, and the rest covered with small tim- ber. He still continues to practise, and has effected many permanent cures in this locality, having been successful in some cases from which physicians of the regular schools were forced to retire. In religious matters Dr. Shepard is of the liberal school of thought, and in politics is strictly independent, always seeking to support the candidates whom he considers the most able and qualified to hold office. To him modern Spiritualism is a fact; and he not only does not hesitate to proclaim his sincere belief in the mysterious power of which he is a living exponent, but always de- fends and explains it whenever an opportunity presents itself for him to do so. A good like- ness of Dr. Shepard graces another page of the review. m ,OLLIN P. WHIPPLE, a wide-awake, lergetic, high-minded business man, :s an extensive dealer in stoves, fur- naces, and plumbing supplies, his store being located on Miles Street in the village of Greenfield. He was born in March, 1842, at Windsor Locks, Conn., within a short distance of Warehouse Point, where his father, Joseph Whipple, was born in 1819. The latter was left an orphan at the early age of seven years, being the youngest of a family of three sons and two daughters thus bereaved. He began the use of tools at an early period of his life, exhibiting the genius of a natural mechanic ; and, being bound out to a man who was interested in his welfare, he had learned the blacksmith's trade before he was sixteen years old, and two years later he had charge of a shop. In 1837 he and his brother Henry went to New Jersey, where he took a job of making picks, and, being a very rapid and skilful workman, was soon earning three dollars a day, while the other men were making but two-thirds of that sum. He was very ingenious, and won the reputation of being able to make anything composed of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 207 iron or steel, his specialty being the man- ufacturing and relaying of axes and edged tools. His first wife was Eveline C. Pinney, whom he married at Windsor Locks, January I, I 84 1. One year of their wedded life they spent at New Jersey, and one year at Springfield, Mass., the remainder being passed at Windsor Locks, where the death of Mrs. Eveline C. P. Whipple occurred in 1862. She left five children, namely: Rollin P., of whom we write; Isadora, wife of F. G. Strickland, of Poquonock, Conn., and the mother of four chil- dren; F^veline C, widow of Julius Chapman, of Windsor Locks, who at his death left three sons; Ida, who married Harris Hatha- way, and, dying in middle life, left three chil- dren; and Lillia T. (Mrs. L. A. Morand), of 'Windsor Locks, who has one child. Joseph Whipple subsequently married Jane Shepard ; and he lived until February, 1891, when his body was laid to rest in the Windsor Locks cemetery. Few have had more earthly friends than he, and few are more deserving, he having been a man of purity and honesty, firm in his convictions and fearless in their expression. In politics he was a stanch Democrat; and besides having been for many years a Select- man, Assessor for a score of years, and a Con- stable when the position required an officer of nerve and courage, he twice represented his district in the State legislature. Rollin P. Whipple early showed an inclina- tion for the blacksmith's trade, and when a lad began to strike for his father, spending much of his leisure time when out of school in the shop. He remained at home until 1871, when he came to Greenfield as agent for the Weed sewing machines, which he had then handled for two years, making large sales. In the fall of 1876, desiring to be established in some permanent business, Mr. Whipple em- barked in the hardware trade, forming a copartnership with M. L. Farnsworth, with whom he was engaged for two years, carrying on a successful business under the firm name of Farnsworth & Whipple. In 1878 Mr. Whipple purchased his partner's interest, and has since that time continued alone, being a leading dealer in his line of goods, with a firmly established and completely stocked store, vying in its appointments with any similar plant in the place. The marriage of Mr. Whipple with Mary E. Squire, the daugh- ter of J. R. Squire, of Monson, was solem- nized October 4, 1871 ; and their home has been enlivened by the birth of two daughters, Grace and I'lorence, accomplished and winning young ladies, the elder being a student of art; and the younger, who is a pupil in the high school, bidding fair to excel in music, being gifted with a sweet and strong soprano voice. Having been rocked in a Democratic cradle, Mr. Whipple is an advocate of the political faith in which he was reared, and has served his fellow-townsmen as W'ater Commissioner. He is well advanced in Masonry, being a Knight Templar; and he attends and supports the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Whipple is an active member. In 1887 the family moved into their present residence, at No. 45 High Street, which was built by James Vick's son, and has a firm foundation, resting on the solid rock, being one of the finest and most commodious dwellings in the vicinity, and a delightful place to visit as well as a beautiful home to live in. r^B ,RS. JULIA AMIDON BROWN- ING, a highly respected resident of Rowe, Franklin County, Mass., is the widow of Arthur Browning, who was a successful jeweller and a popular and much 2 08 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW esteemed citizen of this town. Mr. Browning was a son of Horace and Catherine (Wells) Browning. Horace Browning came to Rowe from Rhode Island, his native State, and here worked at his trade as a carpenter, erecting buildings and always making improvements. His wife's father. Colonel Noah Wells, who was an early settler of Rowe, purchased and cleared a large tract of land, and became a prominent citizen of the town, living to an advanced age. Horace and Catherine (Wells) Browning here spent their wedded life, both dying at the age of sixty years. He was a Republican in politics, and rendered accept- able service as a member of the School Committee. In religious belief he was a Unitarian. They were the parents of ten children, of whom two died in infancy. The others are : Wells, Sarah, Frederick, Arthur, Katie, George, John, Nellie. Arthur Browning, whose birth occurred in Rowe on January 6, 1843, remained at home during his youth, receiving his education in the schools of his native town. He then went to Greenfield, where he learned the jeweller's trade, at which he worked until September 9, 1862, in the second year of the Southern Re- bellion, when he enlisted in Company A of the Fifty-second Massachusetts Regiment, and served one year. Not being very strong, his health gave out; and he was then obliged to return home to his father's. It was restored under influence of the pure mountain air. Later on he went to Northampton, where he was successfully engaged at his trade several years ; and he was afterward employed in Boston in the same line. He died on May 2, 1882, at the early age of thirty-nine years. In political affiliation he was a Republican, and was a member of a post of the Grand Army of the Republic. His marriage with Miss Julia F. Amidon was solemnized Sep- tember 2, 1872; and their union was blessed by the birth of a son, Frederick A., born Jan- uary 20, 187s, who is now a clerk for B. T. Henry in a general store at Rowe, and is well educated and a promising young man. Julia F. Amidon was born in Rowe, being a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Fuller) Ami- don, who were highly respected people of this town, where her father was a prosperous farmer. Daniel Amidon was the son of Solomon Ami- don, and the brother of Lucy, Roger, Joseph, Solomon, Harry, and Elbert, all of whom lived to a ripe age, some even to the advanced age of ninety. Harry Amidon, now, 1895, eighty-six, is the only surviving member of this large family. Mr. E. E. Amidon, an uncle of these brothers, now aged seventy-four, lives with his niece, Mrs. Julia Browning. He has always been an important business man in town, owning and running the village store for forty years. He is a man of fine judgment, and much respected and beloved by all who know him. There is much that could be said of the Amidon family: many pages might be filled in telling of their honesty and upright- ness of character and benevolent disposition. They could be relied on as stanch helpers in all good works, and were Republican in politics. Mrs. Browning resides in the village of Rowe; and during the summer season her pleasant home is filled with city boarders, to whom she has proved herself a most agree- able and satisfactory hostess. She is a well- read and highly intelligent woman, capable in business, and an active worker in charity and in other matters pertaining to the welfare of the community, holding as a consistent Unita- rian — she and her son being members of that church, as was her husband — that "practical religion is summed up in love to God and love to man. ' ' BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 209 iDWARD F. REECE, manufacturer of taps, dies, and screw plates, has been identified with the business interests of Greenfield for nearly a quarter of a century, and is well known throughout this part of Franklin County as an upright and honorable man in his dealings. He was born in Bir- mingham, England, which is noted for the extent and excellence of its hardware manu- factures, in 1842, and is a son of Joseph Reece, a native of the same place, who was born in 1805. Joseph Reece was the youngest of a family of six sons, four or five of whom were soldiers in the British arm}', and fought against Napo- leon, two being in the battle of Waterloo, where one was shot in the neck. Two or three of his brothers were under the command of the Duke of Wellington during the Penin- sular campaign, and were with him at the storming of Badajos, April 6, 1812. Joseph married Elizabeth Tucker, a native of Ches- ter, England, whose father was an officer in the British army, under Wellington. In 1847 they emigrated to America, having a very quick passage of thirty days, in the good ship "Constitution." They came over here with means of their own, the father having sold out his machine-shop at Birmingham before leav- ing. He had much natural mechanical in- genuity; and, while serving his apprenticeships of seven years each at the jeweller's trade and as a machinist, he made several valuable in- ventions, among them being the hook and eye machine, which finished one hundred and twenty-five hooks per minute. He was also the first to make the composition button with an eye, at Florence, Mass. After his arrival in Massachusetts he was at first a little homesick and discouraged, and had serious thoughts of returning to England with his family, but fortunately met with A. P. Critchlow, for whom he worked some years in the shop at Florence, and later at his home, making numerous practical inventions, one being the round steel belt hook for the prevention of friction. He continued in active work at Florence until his decease, in 1868. His widow outlived him many years, dying in 1891, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. They reared a family of six sons and three daughters, of whom Lucretia died at the age of nineteen years, in New York City; and James, the youngest son, who learned his trade of tool-making of the father, died at East Hamp- ton, Mass., in 1888, aged forty-one years, leaving a widow and four children. The liv- ing are: William Alfred, a retired tool manu- facturer, residing in Florence; Virginius J., a resident of Greenfield; Reuben G. , a well- to-do farmer in Williamsburg, formerly a tool-maker for the Wiley & Russell Company, now a widower, his wife having died in Green- field ; Edward F., of whom we write; and Henry, a retired tool-maker, of Florence. Although he had but a limited amount of schooling during his youthful days, Mr. Reece is well informed on all the leading subjects of the day, having been a continuous student and a reader of the best books of the time. He early developed the mechanical ability which he had inherited, and since ten years of age has worked as a mechanic or machinist, having been for six years employed as a tool-maker for the Florence Sewing Machine Company, in which his father-in-law, Carlos Humphrey, was interested. In 1870 Mr. Reece came to Greenfield, and in company with his brother, Virginius J. Reece, established the manufact- ure of screw plates, on which they have three valuable patents. In 1889 Mr. Reece sold his interest in the factory to his partner; but four- teen months later, owing to the ill-health of his brother, he bought the entire business BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and has an excellent trade. The factory was erected in 1881. It is situated on the corner of Wells and Devens Streets, and gives em- ployment to about six or seven men, the prod- ucts being sold principally through the New York and Boston jobbers, one man being em- ployed at each end of the line. On August 29, 1867, at Northampton, Mr. Reece was married to Addie E. Humphrey, daughter of Carlos Humphrey. The two chil- dren born to them are well settled in life. Their son, Edward J., a mechanic at Orange, Mass., is married, and has one daughter. Their other child, Maud H., is the wife of Edward Wilbur, of Greenfield. Mr. Reece is held in deserved esteem as a loyal and useful citizen of his adopted city, and both he and his good wife are valued members of the Baptist church. 7TAARL E. DAVENPORT, a prosperous I ]| farmer of Colerain, was born in that vi? ^ town, July 22, 1852, son of Edward Davenport, Jr., and Marietta (Maxam) Daven- port, and grandson of the Rev. Edward and Lurena (Andrews) Davenport. (For an ex- tended account of the Davenport family, see the sketch of the life of Jonathan E. Daven- port, on another page of this volume.) The Rev. Edward was born in Dorchester, Mass., September 6, 1774. The greater part of his mature life was spent in Colerain; and the time not devoted to the duties of his calling as a minister of the gospel of the Baptist faith was spent in agricultural pursuits. He was a well-educated man for his day, and, being energetic and persevering, commanded success in all he undertook. He died December 8, 1863, at the age of eighty-nine. His wife, the grandmother of our subject, was born March i, 1792, in Ashfield, Mass., and was the mother of several children. Edward Davenport, Jr., was born in Cole- rain, March 8, 181 7, and there grew to man- hood, getting a fair education in the common schools of the town. He was a thrifty farmer, and accumulated considerable property, his real estate comprising about one hundred and sixty acres. In 1847 or 1848 he bought the farm which is still in the family, and here he resided until his death, on May 5, 1883. Mr. Davenport in his latter years, after the disso- lution of the Whig party, voted the Repub- lican ticket. On May 8, 1849, he married Marietta Maxam, daughter of John and Mari- etta (Dwight) Maxam, who was born in Cole- rain, September 7, 1826. John Maxam was a carpenter, who conducted a farm for his fam- ily needs, and lived in Colerain the greater part of his life, having been born here in 1796, and passing away at the age of seventy- three. His wife, a native of Williamsburg, born in 1800, lived to be a little over seventy. Mr. Maxam was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. They had four children, daughters, two of whom are deceased. Cordelia, wife of Theodore Galer, a soldier in the late war, who died in Andersonville, died at the age of forty- two; and Prudence, the wife of J. B. Daven- port, passed away when sixty years of age. The living are: Mrs. Juliette Walden, a resi- dent of Colerain ; and Marietta, Mrs. Daven- port. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Davenport, Jr., were members of the Baptist church. They had three children, as follows : John E. , born October 25, 1850, a farmer, married April 7, 1878, to Ada Donalson, born July 6, 1854, daughter of Samuel and Louisa Donalson, of Colerain, and living in Colerain ; Carl E. ; and Rena M., born February 8, 1861, wife of Professor W. F. Lamb, residing in New York City, who has one son, F'erdinand R. Lamb, born December i, \\ BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Carl E. Davenport maintains the prestige of the family, holding the respect and esteem of all who know him. He owns the old home- stead, which comprises a good farm, one of the finest residences in this part of the county, and substantial farm buildings. He is a hard worker, and very successful in his line; a Re- publican in politics, and liberal in religious views. Mr. Davenport is still a bachelor, his mother, who resides with him, occupying the place of honor in his household. Jg ANIEL BALLARD, a successful farmer and dairyman of Franklin County, owns a finely equipped and well- improved farm in New Salem, and is widely known as a public-spirited man who has filled many offices of trust in the town, and has fully merited the confidence which his fellow-citizens have reposed in him. He comes of Puritan- stock, and from a family noted for intelligence and enterprise, descend- ants of William and Grace Ballard, who emi- grated from England to Massachusetts at an early day, and settled on one of the Andover hills. They reared several children, their son Joseph being the progenitor of the line now being considered. Joseph Ballard was an industrious farmer of Andover, and was Ensign of a company of in- fantry in 1694-99. He married Rebecca Home, or Orne, most of the members of the Home family having at an early date dropped the "H," and written the name "Orne." Of their children, Jeremiah, who was born in Andover in 1697, married in 1721 Mary Dane, daughter of Francis Dane, of the same town ; and fourteen years later they removed to Lunenburg, where they were admitted to full communion of the church of Christ, Octo- ber 3, 1736, but apparently lived in Concord a few years afterward. They came to New Salem about 1746-48, being among the early settlers of this locality. Jeremiah Ballard had risen to the rank of a Captain of a company of. infantry, and had seen service in the days of French and Indian warfare. On May 20, 1750, he and his wife united by letter from Lunenburg with the Congregational church in New Salem, of which he was elected the second Deacon. He was active and influential in church and town affairs, being one of the original proprietors of the New Salem town- ship, and filling the office of Selectman several years. He lived here until his decease, in 1 761. The names of his children were: Jere- miah, Joshua, Daniel, Joseph, Mary, Phoebe, and Hannah. Daniel, third son of Jeremiah, was a native of Andover, and for many years a resident of New Salem, having moved thither with his father. He married January 26, 1754, Ruth Houlton, daughter of Joseph and Rebecca Houlton, of New Salem, and aunt of the Joseph Houlton who founded the town of Houlton, Me. They were admitted to the church in New Salem October 2, 1763. He was Tax Collector for several years. He col- lected and paid to H. Gardner, State Treas- urer, March 24, 1780, the sum of one thou- sand, ninety-nine pounds and four pence, in part for taxes committed to him to collect for the year 1779— State tax — a large sum for so small a town. He subsequently moved to Wendell, where he bought a farm, and lived to the age of fourscore years, his departure occur- ring on May 31, 1808. His widow survived him till November 22, 1817, attaining the age of eighty-four years. She left the following children : Daniel, Phoebe, Tilly, Josiah, Lucy, Joseph Henry, James, William, and Hannah, all born in New Salem. Josiah, son of Daniel and Ruth (Houlton) BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Ballard, was born February ii, 1762, and suc- ceeded to the ownership of his father's farm in New Salem, on which he carried on mixed husbandry during his entire life. He was a progressive farmer, and bought more land, own- ing some two hundred acres in all, and doing an extensive business in real estate and in lumber. On January 20, 1789, he married Frances Jane Zuil, daughter of Alexander and Frances Zuil, of Boston, who survived him nineteen years, dying near the old homestead at the home of her son Daniel in 1856. Josiah Ballard served several months as a Revolution- ary soldier, having enlisted when but sixteen years of age in the place of his father, who was drafted. He died in June, 1837, aged seventy- five years. Both he and his wife were members of the Congregational church. They reared five children, namely: Chester, James, Char- lotte, Daniel, and Lucinda. Daniel, Ballard, Sr. , son of Josiah, and father of the special subject of this sketch, was born in Wendell, March 4, 1802, and there received the rudiments of his education. He afterward attended both the New Salem and Amherst Academies, and later on he was engaged in teaching school in the winters and farming in the summer season for several years. He finally bought a two-hundred-acre farm in Wendell, and became one. of the most prosperous farmers in the town. Possessing great individuality and forcQ of character, he was very influential in local affairs, and for many years was a member of the School Com- mittee. He was a Whig in his earlier days, but on the formation of the Republican party became one of its most earnest adherents. Both he and his wife were members of the Bap- tist church. He died November 9, 1870; his widow, whose girlhood name was Dulcenia Brown, and who was born February 21, 181 1, is still living at New Salem. They were married March 7, 1833, and became the parents of the following children : Dulcenia J., born March 19, 1834, died Jan- uary 23, 1852; Harrison W., born October IS, 1835; Lottie M., born November 19, 1837; Daniel, born January 16, 1840; Hattie L., born January 29, 1842; Milton, born March 3, 1844; Albert, born September 28, 1846; L. Annie, born March 6, 1849, died July I, 1870; and Lester, born February 6, 1852. Harrison W. Ballard was married December 6, 1S66, to Sarah Jane Larned, of Worcester, Mass. He has pursued mercantile business in Trenton and Jersey City, N.J., and Indianapolis, Ind., where they now (1895) reside. They have no children. Lottie M. is a teacher in the public schools of Wendell. Hattie L. married October i, 1868, Beriah W. p-ay, Esq., of New Salem, for many years one of the County Commissioners. Their children are Harry W. and Beatrice A. Mil- ton Ballard died February 7, 1866, from dis- ease contracted in the army during the Civil War, when he was a member of Company D, Thirty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers. Al- bert, who has a saw, shingle, and planing mill in New Salem, married August 16, 1876, Mary E. Foote, of Conway, Mass., daughter of David A. and Esther E. Foote. Their chil- dren are : Annie, P'rances, and Harold Foote. Lester Ballard, a farmer in New Salem, mar- ried September 2, 1875, Emma P., daughter of Edwin K. and Charlotte M. Parkhurst, of Chelmsford, Mass. Their children are : Wini- fred E., Hattie L., and Ruth P. As indicated above, Daniel Ballard, of New Salem, is the second son of the late Daniel Ballard, Sr. , and was born in Wendell. After leaving the public schools, he attended the New Salem Academy and the Ames Business Col- lege at Syracuse, N.Y., where he completed his education, afterward teaching in the winter BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 213 season and working on the home farm during seed' time and harvest. In 1862, inspired by patriotic ardor, Mr. Ballard enlisted in the service of his country, becoming a member of Company D, Fifty-second Massachusetts Vol- unteer Infantry, with which he was at the front under General N. P. Banks, in Louisi- ana, for nine months, when he returned home, broken down in health and reduced to a mere skeleton. Not able to do any hard labor for some time, he at first accepted the position of a clerk, and, gradually growing stronger, at length entered into the lumber business with his brothers, they carrying on an extensive traffic until burned out. In 1874 Mr. Ballard purchased the Upton farm of one hundred and fifty acres in New Salem, where he has since resided. Lie has here built a commodious and convenient barn, repaired the other buildings, and by a system of under-draining has rendered his estate one of the most productive and val- uable in the vicinity. He pays much atten- tion to dairying, having a choice herd pf Jersey cows, this being an important branch of his industry. On November 11, 1868, Mr. Ballard was united in marriage with Bessie P. Foote, a daughter of David A. and Esther (Hill) Foote, her father being a well-to-do farmer of Con- way, Mass. Mrs. Esther H. P'oote died Janu- ary I, 1858. By this marriage Mr. Foote had five children, namely: Frances, born Decem- ber 30, 1840, died July 28, 1841; Bessie P., born November 26, 1843; David A., Jr., born December 2, 1847, died September 13, 1849; Mary E., born May 27, 1852; and Etta E., born December 31, 1857, died December 15, 1878. After the death of his first wife David A. Foote married Lucetta Felton, who bore him one child, Eliza F., born April 10, 1861, who died November 5, 1879. Mr. Foote died December 18, 1869, at the age of fifty-nine years. He was a strong Republican in poli- tics, and both he and his wife were members of the Congregational church. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Ballard are the parents of four children, of whom but two are living, namely: Frederick F., born January 3, 1872; and May E., born July 14, 1873. The de- ceased are: Bessie J., born September 10, 1876, and died April 30, 1893; and Lottie L., who was born May 22, 1879, and passed to the higher life December 19, 1885. Mr. Bal- lard is a stalwart Republican in politics, and has served his town with credit as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor for ten years, as a valued member of the School Board for many terms, and in 1882 was Representa- tive to the State legislature. Lie is now one of the Trustees of the New Salem Academy. He- and his wife are esteemed members of the Congregational church, of which he is a Dea- con and superintendent of the Sunday-school, and are active workers in the cause of religion and humanity. AMES R. LONG, a well-known farmer of Greenfield, his native town, was born January 5, 1841, son of Lemuel H. and Sabrina (Flagg) Long. David Long, the grandfather of James R., married Millicindy Brooks, January 13, 1778, in Vermont, and, leaving that State, came to Greenfield, where he settled. He was a hard-working farmer, and, as a military man, served in the War of 1 812. He successfully reared a family of eight sons and eight daughters, three of whom are still living. Grandfather Long died at the age of ninety-four, and his wife at ninety years, both in Greenfield. Mr. Long's maternal grandfather, Jonathan Flagg, father of Sabrina Flagg, was born Feb- ruary 26, 1775, in Worcester, Mass.; and his 214 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW wife, Sabra Titus, was born May i6, 1775. He owned and worked a good farm in Ver- mont; but in 1826 he moved to Greenfield, and bought, in company with Lemuel H. Long, the one hundred acres of land which to-day constitute the farm now conducted by James R. Long. The house which stands on it to-day was standing then, having been built fourteen years before, and was widely known as "A. Thayer's Hostelry," it being in the centre of the business portion of Greenfield at that time. This farm Jonathan Flagg and Lemuel Long continued to work in partnership till the death of the former. Mr. Flagg was a musician of some note, and a man of dignified presence, well-known as Squire Flagg, having for many years been Justice of the Peace in Vermont. In politics he was a Democrat. He had five children, all of whom grew to maturity, but are all now deceased. Mr. Flagg died in Greenfield April 12, 1864, and his wife January 29, 1861. Lemuel H. Long was born in Marlboro, Vt. , November 10, 1799; but most of his boy- hood and youth were spent in Halifax. When twenty-one years of age, he moved to Green- field, and was apprenticed to his brother David to learn the blacksmith's trade. After a time he became a partner with his brother, and they continued the business together until 1826, when Lemuel disposed of his interest, and moved to the farm where his son now resides, where he remained, tilling the soil, till his death, which took place February 24, 1881. He was married April 22, 1828, to Sabrina Flagg, who was born in Wilmington, Vt., January 14, 1802, and died January i, 1859. On June 19, i860, Lemuel H. Long's sec- ond marriage was solemnized, the bride being Julia Hinsdale, who is a native of Upper Meadows, Greenfield. The Hinsdale family are highly esteemed and numbered among the older residents of Franklin County. Mrs. Julia H. Long's great-grandfather, Samuel Hinsdale, who was an early settler of Green- field, was born April 24, 1708, and his wife, Rebecca, June 13, 1703. Mrs. Long's father, Samuel Hinsdale, a native of Greenfield and a farmer, married Sally Clark, of Colerain. Both died in Greenfield, he at a ripe old age. They had ten children, four of whom are now living: Emily; Fanny; Julia, Mrs. Long; and Maria, now Mrs. Baker. Mrs. Long has in her possession the old family Bible, which is in a good state of preservation, and dates back to the year 1708. Mr. Long, Lemuel H., was an attendant of the Episcopal church, and in politics belonged to the Democratic party. He had seven children, five of whom grew up, and two are now living, namely : James R. Long, born January 5, 1841 ; and his sister, Sabra T. Long, born March 26, 1844. The others were: Sabra, born Febru- ary 3, 1829, died October 6, 1843; Jonathan F. , born December 30, 1830, died April 9, 1853; Saloman H., born December 31, 1832, died November 7, 1893; and Alanson B., who was United States District Attorney for the district of Louisiana, born March 26, 1835, died October 30, 1870. James R. Long was educated in the public schools in Greenfield, where he grew to man- hood, since which time he has followed the occupation of farmer. He and his sister re- side with their step - mother, Mrs. Julia H. Long, on the old home farm, where he runs a dairy in connection with fruit - raising and general farming. James R. Long and his brother. Captain A. B. Long, were mustered into the United States Infantry, Company A, Fifty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- teer Militia, October 2, 1862, to serve nine months. The regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade, Fourth Division, Fourteenth WILLIAM STEWART. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 21 f Army Corps, and participated in the demon- stration against Port Hudson, La., March 14, 1863, and also in the following engagements: Irish Bend, La., April 13, 1863; siege of Port Hudson, La., May 30, 1863; and Jackson's Cross Roads, La., June 20, 1863. The Fifty- second was the first regiment to ascend the Mississippi River from Port Hudson after the surrender of Vicksburg, Miss. The Long brothers were mustered out of service in Greenfield, August 14, 1863, James R. being Fifth Sergeant of his company. Mr. Long has never ventured on the sea of matrimony, but remains content in single blessedness, his step-mother and sister living with him. In politics he is independent. Mr. and Miss Long are Episcopalians. WILLIAM STEWA] will be recognizi iRT, whose likeness gnized on the opposite page, an influential and highly re- spected resident of Colerain, Franklin County, Mass., was born upon the farm he now owns and cultivates, September 16, 1820. He is a son of Captain Amos and Margaret (Oak) Stewart, both of whom were born at Colerain, the former on June 4, 1793, and the latter on June 15, 1797. The family are of Scotch an- cestry, being descendants of Charles Stewart, who, in company with his brothers, James and John, settled upon a tract of land in this town about the year 1740. They cleared good farms from the forests, and resided here for the re- mainder of their lives. Mr. Stewart's great- grandfather was William Stewart, a noted man in his day; and his son, David Stewart, who was born at Colerain in June, 1760, became a very active farmer. He died at the age of si.xty-nine years; and his wife, whose maiden name was Miriam Plaven, who was born at Hopkinton, Mass., December 27, 1760, died at the age of eighty-five years, having been the mother of four sons and two daughters, as fol- lows : David, Jane, Amos, Elizabeth, Will- iam, and Joram. Amos Stewart was reared to an agricultural life upon the old home farm, and resided there for his entire life. He was a hard-working and successful farmer, and a prominent man in the community, in religion always adhering to the Presbyterian faith, serving as Selectman and Assessor for many years, and representing his district in the legislature for three years. He was also a soldier and pensioner of the War of 1 81 2. He died June 17, 1867, at the age of seventy-four years, his wife having been previously called to rest on August 29, 1850, aged fifty-three years. Of their ten children, all reached maturity but one, and four sons are now living: Amariah H., a resident of Con- necticut, who was born May 13, 1818; Will- iam, of Colerain; Silas S., now deceased, who was born December 21, 1822; David, a resident of Michigan, who was born July 29, 1827; Amos, who was born December 29, 1829, and died young; Amos, 2d, a resident of Colerain, who was born May 13, 1833; Charles, also deceased, born June 29, 1836; Nancy Jane, born June 10, 1825, and died Septem- ber 16, 1849; Mary Abbie, born February 13, 1839, and died November, 1882; and George H., born June 29, 1843, and died April 6, "1888. Captain Amos Stewart was twice mar- ried, his second wife having been Lydia Bab- cock, of Colerain, who died at the age of eighty years, on January 21, 1883, leaving no children. William Stewart, like his immediate ances- tors, has passed his entire life upon the farm where he now resides, the property having been in the possession of the family for a cent- ury and a half. He received his education in the district schools, and assisted his father in 2l8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW carrying on the farm until the latter's decease, after which the estate was managed jointly by himself and his brother. Mr. Stewart suc- ceeded the ownership of a part of the old homestead, which consists of about one hun- dred acres, and is devoted to general farming. He has been a tireless worker all his life and eminently successful, being considered by his fellow-townsmen to be one of the most pros- perous farmers in the neighborhood. The land is in a high state of cultivation, being admirably located, and finely equipped and substantial buildings are kept in perfect re- pair. Although Mr. Stewart is considerably past threescore and ten, he is still actively engaged in superintending his farm, person- ally attending to all details, as has been his custom for so many years. On November 26, 185 1, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Chapin, whose father, Erastus Chapin, was born at Spring- field, Mass., in 1790. Erastus Chapin was a farmer who resided at Leyden during a greater part of his active life, and who died at Green- field, April 30, 1870. His wife, who was born at Colerain, December 26, 1790, died on June 26, 1867. Of their six children, four lived to reach maturity, but only one now sur- vives, David G. , a resident of Greenfield, born August 27, 1824. Eliza Jane, now deceased, was born April 25, 1813; Sarah E., also de- ceased, was born March 10, 181 8; Julius E. , deceased, born December 14, 1821 ; Mrs. Mary C. Chapin Stewart died July 30, 1895, aged seventy-nine; and Miriam Chapin, born August 27, 1827, died August 6, 1895. Mrs. Stewart was well known and much esteemed in the community, of which she and her husband were among the oldest residents. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, having united with it at eighteen years of age; and he also has been connected with it many years, during a greater portion of which he has held official position in the society. Mr. William Stewart has long been prominently identified with local public affairs, having served the town as Selectman and Assessor, and was a representative to the State legisla- ture in 1873. His home is in many respects a model one, and now, in the absence of the devoted wife and mother, is cheered and jDre- sided over by the only daughter, Edith E., who was born on September 20, 1870, and is also an active member of the Methodist church. -fgTENRY S. SMEAD, a capable and r^H energetic farmer of Greenfield, was ■i-^ \^ . born in that town, October 22, 1858. The Smeads were among the early settlers of Greenfield, the grandfather, Jesse Smead, being born here, January 9, 1785. When a young man, he bought the farm where Henry S. Smead now resides, and in course of time brought it into a high state of cultivation. In politics he was a Whig, and both he and his wife were attendants of the Congregational church. His death occurred at the farm Sep- tember 20, 1858. He was twice married. His first wife, Martha Allen, was born in Shelburne, December 3, 1823. For his sec- ond wife he married Matilda Allen, who died February 6, 1853. They had a family of six children, none of whom are now living. Their son, Sylvenus A. Smead, father of Henry S. , was born on the farm, August 22, 1825, and here spent his life. After growing to man's estate, he became the owner of the farm in company with his brother; and they carried on its various industries together until the brother's death, when Sylvenus bought the entire property, which at that time amounted altogether to about three hundred acres of land, besides the farm buildings, it being one BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 219 of the largest farms in the town. Politically, he was a Republican ; and his ready mind and practical business methods were called into use in public affairs, he being called upon at different times to fill various town offices, among them that of Assessor. He married Susan M. Ballou, who was born February 7, 1835 ; and they became the parents of two children: S. Gertrude, born December 13, 1864, now the wife of Charles A. Wheeler, of Greenfield; and Henry S. , the subject of this sketch. Mr. Smead died April 22, 1873. His wife survived him until August 6, 1895. Both were members of the Congregational church. Henry S. Smead attended the district and high schools of Greenfield until reaching the age of fourteen years and six months, when, on his father's death, he took charge of the farm. Inheriting the characteristic energy of his father, he applied himself to work with such good effect as to achieve a marked suc- cess, and now owns the old farm, which con- sists at the present time of two hundred and twenty-five acres. Here he carries on general farming, and also has a good dairy, keeping from thirty to forty head of full-blood Dur- hams. The buildings are in good condition, and the entire property presents a neat and thriving appearance. Mr. Smead is a stanch Republican, but does not care to hold office, preferring a private life to participation in active politics. He is liberal in his religious views.. On October 26, 1892, he was married to Alice L. Newcomb, who was born in Ley- den, April 27, 1865, the daughter of John H. and Frances (Denison) Newcomb, both of whom are now living in Leyden, Mr. Newcomb being a farmer of that place. Mrs. Smead is a member of the Congregational church ; and she and her husband, while enjoying the comforts of their pleasant home, are not unmindful of others, but lead unselfish lives, and are among the most useful and esteemed members of their community. BENEZER A. DEANE, M.D., a highly respected physician of Montague, and, with one exception, the oldest medi- cal practitioner in Franklin County, was born at Royalston, Worcester County, Mass., Jan- uary 16, 1825. Llis father, Jeremiah Deane, was a native of Warwick; and his grandfather Deane, who for many years followed agricult- ural pursuits in that town, was born at Ded- ham, Mass., and died at Geneseo, N. Y. , aged eighty-eight years. Jeremiah Deane was one of a family of nine children. On reaching the age of twenty-one, he purchased a farm at Burlington, N.Y. , which he occupied for about twelve years, when he sold it, and, moving to Royalston, Mass., bought a saw and grist mill; but, after operating the mill successfully for some years, he disposed of the property, and purchased a farm at Gill, where he resided until his de- cease, at eighty-eight years of age. His wife, whose name before marriage was Rhoda Allen, was a native of Gill, where her father was a miller and a farmer. She became the mother of ten children, two of whom are still living: Dr. Deane; and his elder sister, Rhoda A., widow of Abel Bliss, residing at West- field, aged (1895) eighty-five years, her hus- band having died in 1844. One son, the Rev. James O. Deane, who was educated at Wes- leyan Academy, and, becoming a Methodist preacher at the age of twenty-five, labored upon a circuit which embraced Hampshire, Hampden, and Berkshire Counties, died at Pelham when he was thirty-four years old. The others were: Merciline Deane, died at sixty-eight years; Hannah, also deceased, was the wife of Adams Prouty ; Hiram W., de- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ceased, aged seventy-two years; Achsah W. ; Albert E. ; Hepsibah J. ; Harriet N. ; and another daughter — who are all now deceased. Dr. Deane's parents were members of the Con- gregational church. His mother lived to the age of eighty-six years. Ebenezer A. Deane resided with his parents upon the farm until reaching the age of twenty years. In his boyhood and early youth he diligently pursued his studies in the district schools and in Goodale Academy at Bernard- ston, after which he attended the academy at Shelburne Falls, where he was engaged as assistant teacher for two years. It was during this period that he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Stephen J. W. Tabor, of Shelburne Falls. Later he attended medical lectures at Woodstock, Vt. , and then entered Berkshire Medical College at Pittsfield, Mass., from which he graduated in 1853. He imme- diately entered upon the duties of his profes- sion at Jacksonville, in the town of Whiting- ham, Vt. , where he remained eight years. In 1861 he came to Montague, and in October of that year commenced a practice which has ex- tended over a period of more than thirty-three years. When he established his residence here, he was the youngest member of the Franklin District Medical Society; and he has witnessed the passing away of all the original associates, he being at the present time next to the oldest member in the county. He has been exceedingly active, always ready to attend to the medical needs of a public distributed over a radius of many miles, and for forty-two years in all has ridden through the storms of winter and the heat of summer in the faithful discharge of his arduous duties. On May 15, 1854, he was united in mar- riage with Hannah D. Sanderson, of Wood- stock, Vt., where her father, John Sanderson, was a farmer. She was one of three children born to her mother, who was a second wife. Dr. and Mrs. Deane have two daughters, both residing at home, namely: Angelia M., a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music, who taught music for some years, but is now engaged in studying painting; and Mary, who was educated at Wilbraham. The Doctor is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, of which he has been Vice-President, and of the County Medical Society, of which he has been the presiding officer. He was sent to New York State Medical Society from the Massachusetts Medical Society as delegate to its annual meeting. He is a Republican in politics, and has served upon the School Board for many years. Dr. Deane was instrumental in securing the establishment of the Montague Public Library, of which he was a Trustee for several years. He is an active member of the Congregational church, being closely identified with its affairs and a teacher in the Sunday- school. Mrs. Deane has been President of the Ladies' Benevolent Society for many years, of which also her eldest daughter is Secretary and Treasurer. Her youngest daughter, Mary, is President of the Young People's Society for Christian Endeavor, devoting much time to church and Sunday-school work. RANK J. LAWLER, attorney - at-law in Greenfield, Mass., is a young man of great promise, possessing undeniable ability, and has a fair prospect of achieving a brilliant success in his professional career. A native of Franklin County, he was born at South Deerfield, July 31, 1863, son of the late James Lawler, who was born in 1832, in Dorola, County Cavan, Ireland. His grand- parents were Francis and Margaret (Lee) Law- ler, who came to America in 1858, and located in this county, at South Deerfield, where they BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW engaged in tilling the soil. To them fourteen children were born, seven of whom came with them to this country. They both lived more than fourscore years, the mother dying at the age of eighty-one, and the father soon after, aged eighty-three years, their bodies being laid to rest in the Catholic cemetery of Greenfield. James Lawler, the father of the subject of this sketch, followed his parents to this coun- try in i860, and lived for some years in South Deerfield, being there married to Margaret Hafey, who was born in Ballanclay, County Waterford, Ireland. He subsequently removed to Leicester, in Worcester County, where he was employed as a leather worker in a factory manufacturing cards to be used in carding wool. His health failing, he was obliged to relinquish his position, and in 1881 came to Greenfield, Mass., and was a continuous resi- dent of that place until his death, November 5, 1886. Of their children, one, Margaret J., died at the age of three years. The follow- ing is the record of the four living now : Frank J., to whom this sketch has special reference; Nicholas ]., Deputy Collector of Internal Rev- enue and a real estate and insurance broker, at Room i. Pond's Block, Greenfield; Thomas L. , of the firm of Lawler Brothers, real es- tate and insurance brokers. Room i, Pond's Block, Greenfield; and Mary A., wife of Edward Donovan, a prosperous grocer of Greenfield. The mother is still living, her residence being at No. 13 Wells Street, Green- field; and her three sons, all unmarried, live with her. Frank J. Lawler began his education in the public schools of his native town, and after- ward pursued his studies in the Leicester pub- lic schools. At the age of thirteen years, his father being in poor health, he was placed in a shoe factory, that his scanty wages might contribute somewhat to the support of the fam- ily. In 1 88 1 he came with his parents to Greenfield, and for twelve or more years was employed in the Cutler shoe factory. He was an ambitious scholar, however, and from the time he left the school-room was a dili- gent student of the best books he could pro- cure, and by application acquired an amount of general knowledge far exceeding that of many academic students. In 1888 Mr. Lawler began to devote his evenings and his leisure moments to reading law in the office of S. O. Lamb, who from the first appreciated his tal- ents, and lent him encouragement in his en- deavors. He subsequently entered the law department of the Boston University, from which he was graduated in June, 1894, and in the following month was admitted to the bar in Franklin County. He began his profes- sional career by opening an office on his own account; but soon afterward, on February i, 1895, he became the junior partner of the well-known firm of Lamb & Lawler, and dur- ing the short time he has been in practice he has had his share of patronage. He is quite prominent in social and political circles, being a member of the Father Mathew Temperance Society and of the Catholic church. He is a sound Democrat, and has been a member of the town committee. Nicholas J. Lawler was appointed United State Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue for the Fourteenth Division in the Third Dis- trict of Massachusetts in September, 1894, to succeed John E. Drew. The Springfield Re- piiblican, in its issue of September 21, 1894, says in reply to the question, "Who is Law- ler.'" "Well, he is a bright and worthy young man, full of pu.sh and energy, who has by close application and downright hard work come to the front, rising from the ranks of toilers, surprising many by his attainments in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW life, and already showing a capacity that will, no doubt, justify his appointment." Thomas L. Lawler was born in South Deer- field, October 23, 1868, and received his edu- cation in the public schools of Leicester and Greenfield, Mass. After leaving school, he learned the plumber's trade, which he followed until June, 1895, when he entered into part- nership with his brother, Nicholas J., in the real estate and insurance business. The firm name was changed to Lawler Brothers, Real Estate and Insurance Agency. Thomas L. Lawler is a bright, wide-awake young man, of good business ability. He is strictly tem- perate, a member of the Father Mathew Temperance Society and the Knights of Columbus. The Lawler boys are most worthy and indus- trious young men, of exceptional ability, and deserve credit for what they have already ac- complished by their own unaided efforts. Their widowed mother early implanted in their hearts the upright principles that have been their guides through life, and she now takes a justifiable pride in their well-doing. [HARLES H. ROBERTSON, who is foremost among the stock-raisers and fruit-growers of Leyden, Franklin County, Mass., was born in Westminster, Vt. , November 23, 1850. His parents were Will- iam and Mary (Martin) Robertson, the former a native of Brattleboro, Vt., the latter of Guil- ford; and his grandfather was one of the early settlers in the neighborhood of Brattleboro, a brief synopsis of whose career will be found in the sketch of Roswell B. Robertson, on an- other page of this volume. William Robertson was a successful farmer, and owned a good farm of about seventy-five acres. Politically, he was a Democrat, and in his religious belief a Methodist. He died at his home in Leyden on August 18, 1 891 ; and his wife followed to the better land a little more than two years later, January 29, 1894. They had ten chil- dren, all of whom reached maturity, namely: Edward W. , now deceased; Harriet, Mrs. Stewart, a resident of East Colerain ; Roswell B. , a farmer in West Leyden; Martha E. , Mrs. Brackett, living at Green River, Vt. ; Albert R., a dealer in hides and tallow in Burlington, Vt. ; James P., John H., and Alonzo M., all of New York City; Charles H., of Leyden; and Julia J., Mrs. Babb, liv- ing in Fitchburg. The childhood and early youth of Charles H. Robertson were passed in Leyden on the old homestead. At the age of nineteen he went to New York City, and engaged in the provision business, remaining fourteen years; and in 1880 he bought the farm which he now cultivates. In 1882 he returned to Leyden to live, engaging in general farming. His farm covers one hundred and thirty-five acres, and, being largely devoted to fruit-growing, makes a fine showing of all kinds to which the cli- mate is adapted. Mr. Robertson also has a good dairy and some fine stock, raising sheep, hogs, and poultry for the market ; and, besides common table produce, he cultivates a variety of small grains. On September 16, 1874, Mr. Robertson was married to Mary Delia Miner, daughter of James R. and Mary Miner, of Leyden, and a member of one of the oldest families in the town. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have one son, Walter H., born in New York, June 22, 1878. Mr. Robertson votes the Democratic ticket. His religious belief binds him to no fixed creed ; but his wife is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and he attends service with her. He belongs to the A, F. & A. M., being a member of Republican Lodge of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 223 Greenfield. His estate is a fine one, and the neat appearance of the buildings and luxuriant growth of the vegetation show that the man- ager is a man of methodical ways and abundant resources. fi, iRS. CAROLINE C. FURBUSH, of Greenfield, widow of the late Merrill A. Furbush, was born at Deerfield, her maiden name having been Stone. Her maternal grandfather was Deacon Elisha Field, of that town, who married a daughter of Major Hubbard, of Sunderland; and Mrs. Furbush is thus related to Eugene Field, the poet and journalist, of Chicago, and to Marshall Field of that city, and is also con- nected with the Montagues. Left an orphan at a tender age by the untimely death of her parents, Caroline C. Stone was cared for by her grandparents and her aunt, Mrs. Alonzo Rice, of Deerfield. She was educated in the schools of her native town, and in 1858 was married in Worcester, Mass., to Merrill A. Furbush, an extensive manufacturer. Mr. Furbush was a native of Worcester County, Mass., and in early manhood became interested in the manufacture of improved machinery for woollen mills. In i860 he transferred his business to Philadelphia, where he continued at the head of an extensive and successful enterprise. He was a gentleman who possessed much business ability, together with a thorough understanding of the general principles and conditions of manufacturing and trade at home and abroad, he having travelled much, both for the purpose of sight-seeing and the observation of the industrial methods of other countries. In the beautiful residence built by Mr. Furbush in Greenfield in 1884, the work of the distinguished architect and writer, E. C. Gardner, of Springfield, author of "Homes, and How to make them" and "The House that Jill built," Mr. and Mrs. Furbush spent the ensuing summers till his death, which occurred on March 31, 1887, at the age of sixty-eight years. After that event the business established in Philadelphia by Mr. Furbush was placed in the hands of a stock company, which was organ- ized for the purpose of conducting it, with Merrill A. Furbush, Jr., as its official head, this gentleman, who has been recently mar- ried, being the only son. Mrs. Furbush has buried one daughter, Christine, who died Feb- ruary 9, 1888, and has two others, namely: Grace F., wife of Frank Bement, of Philadel- phia, having one daughter — Florence; and Caroline C, wife of Dr. J. P. Holmes, of Milford, Mass., who is now travelling in Europe. Mrs. Furbush came to Greenfield to reside permanently in 1894. She is a lady of both literary and artistic tastes, and possesses a val- uable library filled with choice and rare books, man)' of them in rich and costly binding, en- gravings, etchings, and bas-reliefs, together with various literary curiosities, including autograph letters of celebrated poets, artists, authors, actors, singers, and dramatists. The works of art embrace a fine steel engraving of Longfellow; a portrait of Abraham Lincoln woven into silk, which Mr. Furbush purchased at Lyons, France; an etching by Baldini of the fifteenth century ; an engraving of the prophet Ezekiel, dated 1624; and an idition de luxe of the new gallery of British art. The attractiveness of the home of Mrs. F'urbush, especially to the book-lover and art student, is enhanced by the fact that this lady is a kind and agreeable hostess, evidently one who takes pleasure in giving pleasure, exemplifying the poet's word, " Make others happy. All who joy would win Must share it: happiness was born a twin." 224 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW She is a member of the Universalist church, as was also her husband. /pTTo EORGE H. GODDARD, a prominent \J5 I farmer, residing in Montague, Frank- lin County, Mass., was born in this town, November 24, 1844. He is a son of Sandford Goddard, whose father, Henry God- dard, was a native of Worcester County, and there spent most of his life, but died at the home of Sandford, in Montague. Sandford Goddard was born in Royalston, Worcester County, being one of seven chil- dren, and was brought up a farmer ; but at the age of seventeen he went to Boston, and en- gaged in trucking, soon after buying out his brother's interest in the business, and conduct- ing it independently. At the age of twenty- five he married, and went to Royalston, where he bought a farm, and resided two years. In 1837 he removed to Montague, purchasing the farm on which his son now resides, remaining here till his death, which occurred at the age of fifty-seven years. Mr. Sandford Goddard was a man well known and highly appreciated in the community, a stanch Republican, and formerly a prominent member of the Whig party, taking an active part in the politics of the day. He was elected to represent the county as State Senator in i860, served on the Board of Selectmen many years, and filled the office of trial justice for a long period of time. He married Miss Julia Kendall, of Vermont, who brought up six children, four of whom are now living, as follows: Edward L., a soldier of the late war, and now living retired at Turner's Falls; Elvira, wife of George C. Kaulback, a leather manufacturer, of Newark, N.J. ; George H ; and Julia A., wife of D. F. Hamilton, of Greenfield, an ex - Postmaster, who was also a member of the legislature one term, and is now connected with the Green River machine works of Wiley & Russell. One of the children who died was Prentice H., who served in the Civil War, and lost his life at New Orleans. The mother of these children died at the age of forty-seven years. George H. Goddard grew up on the home farm, attending the schools of the town and assisting his father till he was seventeen years of age, when he was obliged to take full charge of the place. This he continued till his father's death; and then he leased the farm, and went West. After two years' ab- sence, having spent some time in California and Colorado, he returned to the East, and took up his old employments. Mr. Goddard is now the owner of three hundred acres of land, devoted to dairy purposes, and keeps a fine herd of Holstein cows. He conducted a successful milk route to Miller's Falls for fif- teen years, but for the last three years has fur- nished milk to the neighboring creamery. Mr. Goddard was married in 1875 to Miss Julia Hammond, daughter of John Hammond, of Ashburnham, who was by trade a ship car- penter of Boston. They are the parents of two children, named respectively Hattie May and Sarah Hammond. Mr. Goddard is a charter member of the Grange, a farmers' organization of the locality, founded in 1885, in which he has held all of the offices. He is a Republi- can in politics, has been Overseer of the Poor four years, and has filled the office of Select- man since 1890. He has also been one of the directors of the Creamery Association since its formation, being at one time its President. Election to these many offices is an indication of the high regard in which this gentleman is held by his fellow-townsmen and friends. Mr. Goddard is also one of the Trustees of the Congregational church at Montague, his wife being a member, and the family being all con- EDWIN A. STRATTON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 2 2 7 nected with the Sunday-school, and taking prominent parts in its various activities. |DWIN A. STRATTON, manufacturer of spirit levels at Greenfield, Franklin County, is one who by his own exer- tions has steadily climbed the ladder of pros- perity, and occupies an honorable position in the esteem of his fellow-men. He was born at Northfield, Mass., September 15, 1819, being a son of Asa Stratton, who was born in the same town, September 10, 1786. North- field was likewise the place of nativity of Asa Stratton, Sr. , who was at the battle of Ben- nington, under the command of General Stark, and was one of the militia that went with the regulars to arrest the progress of General Bur- goyne. Mr. E. A. Stratton still has in his possession the gun which his grandfather car- ried through the Revolutionary War. The story of the ancient weapon, contributed to these pages by a great-grand-daughter of the patriot, will be found appended to this sketch. Members of the Stratton family are men- tioned in the early records of Watertown, Cambridge, and Concord, Mass., the first thus noted being Samuel, who was born in England in 1592, crossed the Atlantic before 1648, was at Watertown in 1652, and died in 1672. One of his sons, Richard Stratton, came over in the "Speedwell" in 1656. Another son was Samuel, Jr., who married Mary Fry in 1 65 I, and a few years later moved to Concord, where their son Samuel was born in 1660. Hezekiah Stratton, son of the third Samuel, removed to Deerfield about the year 171 3, and thence in 1715 to Northfield, where he was one of the earliest permanent settlers. Asa Stratton, Sr. , son of Eliezer and grandson of Hezekiah, married Lucy Woodbury, of Barre, Mass. ; and they had a family of seven sons and two daughters, of whom one daughter died young, and the remaining children married and reared families. Grandfather Stratton was quite a wealthy farmer, and of the four hun- dred acres of land included in his homestead property, much is retained in the family in the form of wood lots. The grandmother lived to the age of seventy-six years, surviving her hus- band sixteen years, his death having occurred in 1 8 16. Asa Stratton, the younger, was a farmer by occupation, carrying on mixed husbandry on the homestead farm in Northfield until 1854, when he sold out and removed to Greenfield, where he lived in retirement until his decease, April 3, 1869, being then fourscore and three years of age. The maiden name of his life companion was Sophia Holton. She was a native of Northfield, born in 1794, and was a worrian of more than average ability and brightness, retaining the use of her faculties until the close of her long life of ninety-six years, on November 4, 1891. Mrs. Sophia H. Stratton bore her husband seven children, of whom three are yet living: Edwin A. ; Sarah, wife of C. T. Buffum, of Keene, N. H.; and Oscar G. , who is unmarried, and resides in Greenfield. The deceased are as follows : Sarah, the first, who died at the age of seven years; Franklin A.; Charles M. ; and Dr. F. S. Stratton, who died September 20, 1894. Franklin A. was a Colonel of the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry in the late Civil War, and was twice wounded in battle. He was afterward a civil engineer in the government employ, at Washington, D.C., being at one time in charge of the construction department at the navy yard, going thence to California, where he worked on the fortifications at the navy yard on Mare Island. His war record was brilliant and honorable, he having risen from the ranks to the office of Colonel, in 22S BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW which capacity he acted at the surrender of Lee ; and after the close of the war he was brevetted Brigadier-general. The sword presented to him by his regiment is now one of the valued possessions of his brother Edwin. Colonel Stratton died in Philadelphia in 1879, being then but fifty years old, and left a widow, but no children. Charles M. Stratton was asso- ciated with Edwin A. in business for many years as a carpenter and builder, the partner- ship continuing until the decease of Charles, on August 3, 1893, aged seventy years. He also left a widow, but no children. Edwin A. Stratton was the third child and the second son born to his parents, and, in common with his brothers and sisters, received his education in the district school, being reared on the home farm, whence they all scat- tered to different parts of the United States. Mr. Stratton never learned a regular trade, but, in company with his brother Charles, began carpentering in Northfield, and continued his occupation in Boston and the suburban towns. In 1848 he came to the western part of the State, and in the following fourteen years built many houses in Greenfield and vicinity. From 1862 until 1865 he was em- ployed by the United States government in the Springfield Armory ; and in 1869 he and his brother established the business that he now carries on alone, building their own shop. They made many improvements in their manu- factures, including wood and metal levels, and, having begun in a modest way, built up an extensive and paying business. Mr. Stratton has been twice married, his first wife, Almira Purple, of Gill, having died after three years of wedded life, in 1854, leav- ing one daughter, Almira, who married Ered Chase, and is the mother of two interesting children, the family residing in Keene, N. H. In 1857 Mr. Stratton was united in wedlock with Ellen A. Sawyer, of Northfield, a daugh- ter of Asahel Sawyer. Two children have been born of this union: Edith A., the elder, keeping books in her father's factory; and Lena L. S. , who was graduated from Smith College, Northampton, in 1892, and is now taking a post-graduate course, devoting herself to the study of art, in which she has already shown much ability. Mr. Stratton is always an interested actor in movements calculated to advance both the material and moral welfare of his community, being a liberal supporter of institutions of education and religion. He and his family are liberal Christians of the Unitarian type, followers of Channing and Martineau. In politics first a Whig, and later, naturally, a Republican, he voted in 1840 for General William H. Harrison, and in 1888 for his grandson, Benjamin Harrison. The portrait of Mr. Stratton, herewith pre- sented, is the likeness of a worthy representa- tive of an old and patriotic New England family. THE OLD BEAR GUN. We do not know for certainty just when this old gun was brought to this country, but prob- ably it was brought from England with the first Strattons who came over. It is made like the old English guns, and, besides, it is known to have been in the family before there were any guns made in this country; and it is not probable that in coming to a new country they would have come without a gun with which to protect themselves from the wild beasts and Indians. The first account we have of the gun's figuring prominently in affairs is that our great-grandfather carried it in the Revolu- tion, where it did its share, with others like it, in helping to free our country. It was car- ried by our great-grandfather at the battle of Bennington; and it was there that he cut with a knife his initial, A for Asa, on the butt of the gun, where it can still be seen. One of the adventures in which the gun has BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 229 figured was this: There was an old bear in the neighborhood of Northfield Mountain, which people had been hunting for several days. There was a light snow on the ground; and great-grandfather, in looking for his hogs which were allowed to run in the woods, came across her tracks in the snow, and followed them until he found where she had gone under some fallen logs. He returned to the house, took his gun, and went back, followed by his two boys, Roswell and Asa. Great-grand- father then fired in where he thought the bear was, but failed to awaken her, and, saying to his boys, "I guess she has gone," he crawled under the logs to investigate, when suddenly he came upon her; but, nothing daunted, he called to Roswell to hand him the gun. Fir- ing, he wounded the bear, but did not kill her; and she went tearing off through the brush, snorting and growling. It was then nearly dark. Great-grandfather notified some of the neighbors ; and they came out the next morning with a dog, which scented and followed the bear until he found her, and then chased her over on Round Mountain. Great-grandfather heard the dog barking, and, hastily taking the old gun, started in pursuit, grandfather, then but a lad, following after as best he could. Just as great-grandfather came up to where the bear was, she seized the dog with one paw, and bit him through the neck: at the same time great-grandfather fired at and killed her. Tying up the dog's neck with a handkerchief, they started home in triumph with the bear; and they found, when they dressed her, that the bullet went straight through the heart. In some other exploit, the exact circum- stances of which are lost, great-grandfather fired at a bear, but without effect ; and before he could load again she attacked him. So he fought her with the gun ; and in the struggle, before the bear was killed, she bit into the stock, and it shows to-day where a long piece of the wood was split off. For years this gun hung in the kitchen in the old house on the mountain, always loaded, ready to shoot any thieving hawk in search of unwary chickens. When the old house was sold, the gun was brought to Greenfield, and was in the possession of grandfather's son Charles, at whose death it came to us, to rest after more than a hundred years of active service. Lena Sophia Stratton. 4 ^•^■t- ICHARD N. OAKMAN, who died recently, September 6, 1895, after an ^ \^_ ^ illness of two weeks, formerly a successful teacher, and later a farmer in Mon- tague, where he was an extremely useful, influ- ential, and valuable citizen, was born at Wendell, Mass., January 20, 181 8. His father, Joseph Oakman, was born at Chester- field, N.H. ; his grandfather, Joseph B. Oakman, at Lynn, Mass. ; and his great- grandfather, Isaac Oakman, was a native of Salem, where he followed agriculture as an occupation. Joseph B. Oakman was a shoe- maker, but his son Joseph was a farmer in the town of Wendell. His wife, Mary Nickerson, daughter of Joseph Nickerson, of Province- town, Mass., was the mother of eight children, only two of whom — Orrin and William — are now living. Her husband having died at the age of forty-nine, Mrs. Mary N. Oakman passed her declining years with her children, living to the advanced age of ninety years. Both parents were members of the Congrega- tional church. Richard N. Oakman completed his studies at the Franklin Academy, Shelburne Falls, when he was seventeen years of age, and entered upon the arduous vocation of an educa- tor, a calling for which he was, in many ways, especially adapted. He taught school contin- uously for twenty-three years, six of which were spent at the academy in Provincetown, Mass. In 1846 he came to Montague, where he purchased a farm upon which he settled, and conducted it successfully for a period of eleven years. Having succeeded in clearing the property from all financial encumbrances. ^3° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW he then disposed of it, a good opportunity occurring, and for the next six years had charge of the town farm, during which time he placed it on a self-supporting basis, thus sav- ing an expense of three thousand dollars annu- ally to the town. In 1863 he purchased the property, and resided there until 1877, when he bought the place, which remained his perma- nent home, and which he immediately occu- pied, leaving his son to carry on the old town farm, until the latter relinquished farming in order to engage in business. Mr. Oakman then sold the property and afterward devoted his time to his home farm, consisting of about ten acres of fertile land, together with one of the finest residences in this locality. Mr. Oakman was a Republican in politics, and was long identified with public affairs in the town. He was a Selectman for twenty- eight years, having been continuously in office for twenty-six years ; Overseer of the Poor for the same length of time; School Committee for twenty-three years; and a County Commis- sioner for three years. He was for twenty years a Director of the Crocker National Bank, serving as its President for sixteen years, and had in his possession a beautifully engrossed set of resolutions, expressive of appreciation and esteem, presented by the Board of Direc- tors upon his retirement. Mr. Oakman was also interested in other financial institutions, and he acted as notary public for a period of twenty years. In 1841 Mr. Oakman was united in marriage with Miss Julia Hawkes, daughter of Ichabod Hawkes, a farmer of Hawley. They became the parents of two sons and two daughters, namely: Richard N. Oakman, Jr., who mar- ried Sarah Clarke, of Exeter, N. H., and has one daughter — Anna C. ; Julia K., who was educated at Mount Holyoke Seminary, and is a successful teacher; Nellie P., who married Eugene S. Taft, of Greenfield, and has three children — Eugene, Richard Nickerson, and Julia Kate; and Frank Hawkes Oakman, who married Fanny Davenport, of Providence, and has three children — Ethel, Fannie, and Mar- ion. Mrs. Julia H. Oakman died on May 7, 1894, after having well and faithfully per- formed the duties of wife and mother for more than half a century. She was formerly a member of the Congregational church at Mon- tague, but later became connected with the church in Greenfield. fHOMAS R. MILLER, a prominent farmer and successful business man in his native town, Colerain, was born on January 24, 1845, son of Robert and Martha Ann (Miner) Miller. Mr. Miller is of Scotch descent. His great-grandfather Miller was one of the pioneer settlers of the town, and was a very enterprising man, doing business as merchant and hotel-keeper, dealing in potash and dipping into various enterprises. He was well known and popular, and was universally missed when he died, at the early age of thirty- six years. His wife lived to an advanced age. They had six children, all of whom grew up, and five were married. One of their sons was Thomas Miller, who was born in Colerain, and here spent his life. He married Eunice Smith, also a native of this town, daughter of Oren and Keziah (Shep- ard) Smith, the former born on March 21, 1747, the latter on October 22, 1778. Oren Smith was one of the early settlers of Cole- rain, where he established a reputation as a lawyer; and he knew as much about raising crops as about knotty points in law. When the trouble with the mother country came to a crisis in the American colonies, Oren Smith joined the Continental army, and took an active BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 231 part in the Revolution. On his return from the war he settled on a farm in Colerain, where he died on May 14, 1823, survived nearly fourteen years by his wife, who passed away in April, 1837. They had nine chil- dren, all of whom grew to adult years and are now deceased. Robert, son of Thomas and Eunice (Smith) Miller, was born in Colerain on June 21, 1806. He spent his days in Colerain and Leyden, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was an enterprising and industrious man. In politics he was a stanch Republican, and on the subject of religion his views were liberal. He died on November 3, 1861. His wife, who was born in Leyden on February 5, 1814, is still living, making her home with her son, Thomas R., bright and active in her eighty- second year, and for sixty-five years has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Leyden Centre. They had ten children, five of whom are now living, namely : Martha Frances, Mrs. Young, in Greenfield ; Thomas R., in Colerain; Netta L. , Mrs. Denison, of West Leyden; Ozias E., in the same town; and Hattie E. , Mrs. Frizzell, in Greenfield. Fanny, Robert M., Harriet, Frank C, and J. Milo are deceased, Robert having been drowned in Green River, April 11, 1842. Frank C. Miller enlisted in the Fifty-second Massachusetts Regiment, and served as a sol- dier in the War of the Rebellion. Thomas R. Miller received his schooling in Leyden and Colerain, and early took up the routine of farm work. He has resided at his present home thirty-nine years, and owns the old farm and fifty acres besides, his real estate covering about one hundred and fifty acres. He carries on general farming, and is exten- sively engaged in stock-raising. The farm is in good condition, its fine appearance being the result of many a hard day's labor on Mr. Miller's part. The dwelling-house is substan- tial and comfortable, and has many antique and valuable articles of furniture, among them a clock which has been in the family seventy- seven years. Mr. Miller also owns some rare old books. He has never been married. In politics Mr. Miller is a Republican, and he belongs to the class of liberals in religion. He is a good business man, socially agreeable, and esteemed by all with whom he has trans- actions. DDISON JOHNSON, a retired farmer and mechanic of Northfield, was born in this town on October 13, 181 1, son of Calvin and Mary (Carey) Johnson. Mr. Johnson's grandfather, Richard Johnson, resided in Old Haddam, Conn., and was a Revolutionary soldier. He settled in Green- field, Franklin County, Mass., at a time when there were scarcely any houses in that town, and resided there until his death, which oc- curred November 22, 181 1, at the age of seventy-seven years. Calvin Johnson, Mr. Johnson's father, was born in Old Haddam, but passed his boyhood in Greenfield, where he was reared to an agri- cultural life. He attended the old district schools, and remained with his parents until becoming of age, when he commenced work for himself as a farm laborer in Greenfield. After his marriage to Mary Carey, of Mon- tague, he moved to Northfield, where he con- tinued to follow agricultural pursuits until his decease, which occurred at the age of seventy- six years. Of their ten children, but two are now living, namely: Addison, the subject of this sketch; and Charles, a resident of Marl- boro, Vt. The mother was an attendant of the Baptist church. She died in Northfield at the age of eighty-six years. Addison Johnson received his education in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the district schools, and at the age of twenty- one abandoned the parental roof for the pur- pose of commencing life for himself. He was employed during the succeeding two years in the manufacture of sashes and blinds in a fac- tory, which was the first of the kind established in the locality. He then built a factory in the vicinity of his present residence, and, after conducting it successfully twenty-one years, purchased the farm on which he followed agri- culture until about ten years since, when he retired from active labor. Mr. Johnson's first wife, whom he married in 1837, was Almira Bascom, daughter of Henry Bascom, of Gill. She was born in Greenfield, and died in 1875, aged fifty-seven years. Four of their seven children are still living, namely: Jennie E., who married Eli Sherwin, and has two children; Cora B., who married Omer Maris, and has three children — Bertha, Eli, and Henry; Harry, who lives in Indiana; and Mary L., who married Nelson G. Hilliard, a farmer. Henry H. was killed in the army, at the age of twenty-four years. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hilliard are as follows: Almira M., who married Frank T. Rice, a machinist of Warren, and has one child — Harold ; Alfred A., who married Emma Underwood, and is a civil engineer in In- diana; Josie A., who married Irving Fisk for her first husband, by whom she had one child, Herbert N., married for her second husband Horace C. Wood, by whom she has two chil- dren—Alfred A. and Arthur F. ; Mira A., who died at the age of ten years; and Belle, who married Luther Tracy, of Chicago, and died in 1882, leaving one child — Mary. Mr. Johnson married for his second, wife Mrs. Lydia T. Bigelow, daughter of Ephraim Houghton, a resident of Greenfield. Mr. Johnson was formerly a Methodist in his religion, but is now connected with the Congregational church, of which his wife is also a member. A Republican in politics, he has never been an aspirant for public office. Firm in principle, brave in action, Mr. John- son may well be proud to-day of the fact that he was an "old-time abolitionist," and during long years fought the good fight for freedom, being one of the conductors of the "under- ground railroad " in the day when, to aid the escape of a fugitive slave, was to be liable to a one thousand dollar fine. " Then to side with Truth is noble, Wlien we share her wretched crust, Ere her cause bring fame and profit. And 'tis prosperous to be just." RED E. ALLEN, of the firm of Allen Brothers, dealers in clothing, gentle- men's furnishing goods of all kinds, trunks, and travelling bags, doing business in Turner's Falls, Franklin County, Mass., was born in Sutton, Worcester County, in this State, January 18, 1855, son of John Allen. Mr. Allen's paternal grandfather, Abner Allen, was born in Sutton in 1753. He was a farmer, and reared a large family there, of whom his son John was the third child. John Allen attended school during his early life, and at home was trained to farming pursuits. Later he entered on a mercantile career, and carried on a large general store for several years. The latter part of his life was spent in Gardner, where he died at the age of seventy-five years. He married Miss Hannah Maynard, a native of Shrewsbury, Mass., a daughter of Silas Maynard, a respected resi- dent of that town. She became the mother of seven children, six of whom are still living, as follows : Clara, wife of E. D. Howe ; Frank W. ; W. F. ; Fred E. ; Myron B., in business with his brother, Fred E. Allen; and Charles BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 233 D. Allen. Mrs. Hannah Maynard Allen died in Gardner in 1881, at the age of fifty-eight years. Both parents were attendants of the Congregational church. Fred E. Allen spent his early years in Gardner, going to that town with his father when four years of age. He attended the pub- lic schools, finishing his course of study at the high school, and then began life as a clerk in one of the dry-goods stores of the town, chang- ing later to work in a large store in Worcester, which carried supplies of dry-goods, gentle- men's furnishings, etc., in which place he remained ten years, becoming thoroughly acquainted with that line of business. In 1S81 Mr. Allen went to Turner's Falls, and in partnership with his brother, Myron B. Allen, established their present attractive and flourishing place of business. After six years, finding it advisable to establish themselves in more commodious quarters, they removed again into a new and handsome building which they had erected for the purpose. This building is three stories in height, and measures twenty- five by ninety feet on the ground plan, and gives space for their full assortment of first- class goods, suiting the requirements of the large and growing trade from the immediate neighborhood and the surrounding villages and farms. In 1877 Mr. Allen was married to Miss Fastena Buck, a daughter of Charles M. Buck, of Southboro, Mass. ; and they became the par- ents of two children, Elizabeth A. and Ruth B. The family are attendants of the Congre- gational church, taking active interest in its various departments of work. Mr. Allen is a Republican in his political principles, and is wide-awake to all the improvements which concern the welfare of the town, giving, how- ever, most of his attention to the business which the enterprise and ability of the firm have made one of the noteworthy establish- ments of Turner's Falls, the manufacturing centre of this part of the State. 'ff^YAMES B. CROMACK, one of the sub- stantial farmers of Colerain, was born in this town, February 6, 1833, son of John and Antis R. (Walkup) Cromack, the lat- ter a native of Colerain, the former of Leyden. Mr. Cromack's paternal grandfather, James C. Cromack, was born in North Leeds, England, and came to Massachusetts in 1796, engaging in the manufacture of woollen fabrics in Frank- lin County. He was an industrious man, gifted with considerable business ability, but was cut off in his prime, being murdered and robbed while on a trip to New York. He was then but forty years old, and his widow and eight children were left with scanty resources. His son, John Cromack, went to live as a bound boy with James Barber, remaining with him until eighteen or twenty years of age. He then started out in the world for himself, settling finally in Colerain, where he bought land, and in 1838 established the homestead which is now the family residence. Mr. John Cromack was a hard-working man, and by his industry and integrity won the respect of all who knew him. He held various town offices, including that of Selectman; and he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. They were the parents of nine children, six of whom are living, namely : George W. and James B., both of Colerain; Eunice, now Mrs. Stetson, of Greenfield; Henry C, Charles, and Albert, all in Colerain. John, Charlotte (Mrs. Potter), and Angelia (Mrs. Hicks) are deceased. The father died in 1858, the mother in 1884. James B. Cromack grew to manhood and received his schooling in Colerain. At the BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW age of twenty he hired himself out as a farm hand, working eight months for thirteen dol- lars a month. He was then engaged by a firm in Troy, N.Y. , to sell tinware and Yankee notions on the road, a business which he fol- lowed for four years. After the death of his father he bought out the other heirs, and now owns the old home farm, to which he has added land until the estate covers three hundred and twenty-five acres. He carries on general farming and fruit-growing, and also receives quite an income from his dairy products. On November 14, 1861, Mr. Cromack was married to Ellen Boyd, of Wilmington, Vt. , daughter of Abraham and Amanda (Moore) Boyd, the former a well-to-do farmer in Wil- mington, who died at the age of fifty-eight. His widow was again married to Jehiel Swift. Mrs. Swift is yet living, a resident of Wil- mington. She is eighty-four years old, and, though so advanced in age, still keeps up her connection with the Universalist church. Mr. and Mrs. Cromack have seven children : Frank E., John B., Arthur B., Nellie A., Sidney A., William I., and Antis A. Mr. Cromack is a stanch Republican. He and his wife are liberal in their religious views, and attend various churches. One of the oldest families in this part of the town, they hold the regard and esteem of their neighbors. Mr. Cromack spares neither pains nor labor in his agricultural work, and he has a fine farm and good buildings. 'OHN SANDERSON, of Bernardston, a retired farmer and ex-State Senator, was born July 10, 1814, in the town of Petersham, Worcester County, Mass., son of John, Sr. , and Lydia (Morton) Sanderson, the former of whom was also a native of Peters- ham, where he was born May 21, 1769. Mr. Sanderson's grandfather, Jonathan Sanderson, was born in Worcester County, September 6, 1740, in the early days of its settlement, before the Indians had all departed from their old hunting grounds. He was a farmer by occupation, and resided in Petersham. He was a man of keen intellect and shrewd busi- ness sense, and was often intrusted with the settlement of large estates. Though orthodox in his theology, he was liberal-minded, and was a Whig in politics. He died at the age of ninety-two years. The following is a copy of a document now in possession of his grandson, which is interesting as a relic of the olden time and a memorial of an outgrown custom : April 20, 1803. Article of Agreement between Jonathan Sanderson and his son, Curtis, of the first part, and Samuel Stevens of the second part, whereby said Stevens is to build and erect a building in decent and good manner, and in consideration of which said Jonathan Sander- son and son, Curtis Sanderson, is to pay said Stevens the sum of $340.00, $200.00 of said amount to be paid in cash and the balance in one year; and it is also further agreed that said Stevens is to have sixteen gallons of New England rum and also sugar to sweeten the same. The name of Jonathan Sanderson's wife before marriage was Mary Curtis. She was born March 12, 1745, and was about ninety years old at the time of her death. They were the parents of six children, all of whom reached maturity, namely: John, Susanna, Curtis, Sarah, Mary, and Joel. John Sanderson, the eldest son of Jonathan, grew to manhood in Petersham, and was edu- cated in the schools of that place. After learning the tanner's trade, he started a tan- nery in Petersham, where he did a profitable business in addition to farming, as he also BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 23S owned a good farm in Petersham. He was a man of good business ability, and was of indus- trious habits. Like his father, he was fre- quently called upon to settle estates, which indicates that he possessed in a large degree the confidence of those who knew him. He was liberal in his religious faith, and in poli- tics was a Whig. He died July 20, 1831. His wife, Lydia Morton, who was born in ^ Athol, Mass., died in October, 1872. They had two sons, of whom John is the only one living. His brother, Horatio M., died at the ■ age of sixteen years. John Sanderson, the special subject of this sketch, spent the years of his boyhood in Petersham, and was educated in the common schools of that town. Being seventeen years of age at the time of his father's death, he took charge of the business, and carried it on until 1837, when he sold his possessions in Petersham, bought about one hundred acres of land in Bernardston, and commenced farming, in which occupation he has remained up to the present time, having bought other lands since his first purchase. Mr. Sanderson has a repu- tation for raising fine-blooded cattle and horses, and has some very fine stock on his farm. He is naturally proud of the fact that he raised the largest ox ever put on the market, according to best information ob- tainable. The ox was known as "Constitu- tion." His gross weight was three thousand, eight hundred and sixty pounds; and his net weight, when killed at six years of age, was greater in comparison with his gross weight than that of any other beef ever birtchered that has a record. In all respects he is an intelli- gent and progressive man, and takes a leading place among the agriculturists of this vicinity. He has resided on the place where he now lives since about 1842, and has a fine residence with good out-buildings. In addition to his farm property, he owns real estate in the vil- lage. He has always taken an active part in town affairs, and was elected to the State Sen- ate in 1861, serving one term. Mr. Sanderson was married in October, 1840, to Miss Mary Osgood, who was born September 15, 18 16, in Wendell, Mass. She died January 27, 1890. They had a family of nine children, six of whom are now living, as follows : John H., born November i, 1841, now a banker in Greenfield ; Lavalette Osgood, born January 16, 1845, died October 14, 1874; Lucian Morton, born June 5, 1846, died Feb- ruary 19, 1857; Henry H., born July 13, 1848, died August 19, 1887; Mary O., born July 7, 1850, is the wife of A. J. Wood, and resides in Bernardston; Ellery H., born Au- gust 14, 1853, resides at home, and is asso- ciated with his father in the management of the farm; Maria, born December 10, 1855, also resides at the Sanderson homestead ; Lydia, born July 29, 1857, is the wife of C. W. Scott, and resides in Greenfield; and Lucian Sanderson, born June 3, 1859, lives in New Haven, Conn. ;_TILLMAN K. FIELD, a well-to-do farmer of Leverett, was born in Benson, Vt., December 6, 1834, son of William and Roxie M. (Kellogg) Field. His grandfather, also named William, was a native of Leverett, where he passed his life, engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Field's father was born in Leverett, where he attended the town schools. He was reared to farm life, and when a young man purchased a farm in this town, which he carried on for some time, later removing to Vermont, in which State he resided for fifteen years. Returning to his native town, he remained here for some time, but finally removed to Amherst, where he died 236 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW at the age of forty-seven years. He was a man naturally adapted to attain prominence in the community, and during his residence in Vermont represented his town in the State legislature for two years. His wife, Roxie M. Kellogg, was born in December, 1797, and was a daughter of John Kellogg, of Amherst, a representative of an old family there. She became the mother of six children, three of whom are still living, namely: Charles H., Stillman K., and Edward P. The mother passed her declining years with her son, Ed- ward, and died in September, 1867. Stillman K. Field when but nine years of age suffered the loss of his father, but made the best of his opportunities for obtaining an education in the schools of his native town. After working upon a farm for a short time, he went to Springfield, where he became a hotel clerk, later being employed in the same capac- ity in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and St. Louis. In company with his brother he con- ducted a hotel at Lake George for a time, but later returned to Washington, where he and his brother conducted a hotel in 1861, when the city was under martial law. While upon a visit to his home, the hotel was destroyed by fire, which event caused him to make dif- ferent plans for the future; and he settled upon his present farm, where he has since resided, engaged successfully in agricultural pursuits. In 1864 he was united in marriage to Mary E. Moore, of North Leverett, daughter of Dexter Moore, a lumber dealer. Mr. Field is a Democrat in politics, has been Assessor two years, and is serving his seventeenth year as Selectman, having been Chairman of the Board for fifteen years. Both he and his wife are members of the Congregational church, of which he is Treasurer. He also holds the same office in the Sunday-school. /^^^TeORGE DICKINSON, who resides at \JS I the Dickinson homestead in Whately and is a very prosperous farmer, was born in this town, July 21, 1846! His father, Rufus,' and his grandfather, Daniel Dickinson, were both natives of Whately, the latter hav- ing been a son of Gideon Dickinson, who was born in 1744, and who removed from Hatfield to Whately in 1770, and purchased the property later known as the Dexter Dickinson farm. Daniel Dickinson was born upon that farm; and there his boyhood and youth were spent in pursuing the elementary branches of learning- and acquiring experimental knowledge of agri- culture. After attaining his majority, he pur- chased a farm that was situated directly opposite his father's property; and this he occupied for a time, later moving to another farm on Spruce Hill, where he resided until his decease, which occurred in 1830, when he had attained the age of fifty-two years. Rufus Dickinson was born in 18 19 upon the first farm purchased by his father, and after the death of the latter continued to reside with his mother until his marriage, in 1844, at the age of twenty-five years. He inherited the present Dickinson homestead, where he re- sided several years, and died at the old home December 26, 1894, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, whose maiden name was Julia S. Mather, was a daughter of Joseph Mather, whose father, Benjamin Mather, was a sea captain and a native of Connecticut. She became the mother of three children, two of whom are still living; namely, George and his brother Frank, a sketch of whose career will be found elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Julia S. M. Dickinson, now seventy-six years of age, resides with the last-named son. George Dickinson, after attending the dis- trict schools of his native town and also a pri- vate school, completed his studies at the RUFUS AND JULIA S. DICKINSON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 230 Deerfield Academy, and then returned to the parental home, where he has since continued to reside. He successfully conducts general farming, and, availing himself of the improve- ments which modern science has so effectually applied to agriculture, is enjoying a very pros- perous career. On April 5, 1871, he married Miss Myra E. Fairfield, daughter of George N. and Lydia Brown Fairfield. Mrs. Dickinson is a native of Conway, where her father, who was a tanner and currier, died at the age of eighty-one years. They had a family of seven children, six of whom are still living. Her mother died at the age of eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson are the parents of six children, as follows: Flora M. , who married Charles H. Pease, a farmer of Whately, having one child — Marshal R. ; Clara E. ; Dennis A. (de- ceased) ; Esther A. ; William L. ; and George R. Mr. Dickinson is a Democrat in politics; and he attends the Congregational church, of which his wife is a member. On the opposite page will be seen a like- ness of Mr. Rufus Dickinson, who, it may here be added, was of the seventh generation in direct descent from Deacon Nathaniel Dick- inson, a settler of Wethersfield, Conn., in 1637, Town Clerk in 1645, Representative 1646-56, and later a resident of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. ifRANK DICKINSON is an energetic and successful farmer of Whately, Franklin County, Mass., where he was born, November 9, 1850. Rufus Dickinson, his father, whose portrait may be seen on an- other page, and his grandfather, Daniel Dick- inson, were also natives of this place, the latter having been the son of Gideon Dickin- son, who was born at Hatfield, and who, ac- cording to the history of the town of Whately, published in 1872, settled here in 1770, and followed agricultural pursuits for the remain- der of his days. Daniel Dickinson, whose birth occurred in 1778, was reared to an agri- cultural life, and, after reaching the age of twenty-one years, purchased a farm in the immediate vicinity of his father's property, where he resided until within a few years of his death, which occurred in 1830, at the age of fifty-two years. Rufus Dickinson, son of Daniel, was born in i8ig. He became a well-to-do farmer, continuing to engage in agricultural pursuits until 1 871, in which year he retired from active labor. He was a Democrat in politics, and for many years was prominently identified, with local public affairs, serving as a Select- man, and also faithfully performing the duties of various other important town offices. He died at the age of seventy-five years. He married, April 25, 1844, Julia Mather, who was born February 21, 18 19, daughter of Joseph Mather, of Whately, and grand-daugh- ter of Benjamin Mather. The latter was a native of Connecticut, and for many years a sea captain, but died in Whately, his declin- ing years having been passed with his chil- dren. Joseph Mather, who was a hatter by trade, also followed carpentering and bridge- building as an occupation. He died in Whately at the age of eighty-five years. He wedded for his second wife a daughter of Israel Graves; and, of the five children by this union, four are still living: Benjamin; Julia, Mr. Dickinson's mother; Joseph; and Levi. Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Dickinson had a family of three children, two of whom now survive, namely: George Dickinson, an outline of whose prosperous career will be found else- where in this work; and- Frank, who forms the principal subject of the present biography. 240 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Frank Dickinson, after pursuing a rudimen- tary course of study in the district schools, attended the Deerfield Academy, and completed his education at the Powers Institute in Ber- nardston. He adopted the occupation of his ancestors, and has succeeded well in agricult- ure, being endowed with the sterling qualities which characterize the prosperous New Eng- land farmer. His residence, which was erected by his father, is both a pleasant and a substantial one. His mother, with faculties well preserved at seventy-six years of age, here makes her home. Mr. Dickinson was married on January 6, 1875, to Miss Ella E. Warner, daughter of Edwin W. and Elmira L. (Smith) Warner, her father being a prominent farmer at North- ampton, of whose seven children five are still living. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have three children : Robert, who is a graduate of a busi- ness college at Springfield; Daniel; and Julia A. Mr. Dickinson is a Democrat in politics, taking a lively interest in all matters relating to local, State, and national issues, and has been called upon to hold various important town offices. He served one term each as Selectman and Assessor. The family attend the Unitarian church. ^^TEPHEN B. BUDINGTON, a prom- inent and intelligent farmer of Ley- den, P^anklin County, was born there March 12, 1830, son of Jonathan and Sophronia (Denison) Budington, both of whom were natives of Leyden, the former born Feb- ruary 17, 1800, and the latter March 23, 1799. The Budington family are of English origin. Jonathan Budington, the grandfather of Stephen B., was a native of Groton, Conn. In early life he followed the sea for many years as captain of a sailing vessel, and was engaged in the West India trade up to the time of the Revolutionary War. He then secured a commission as privateer in the Con- tinental service, and took part in several naval engagements, receiving a prize for his success in capturing an English vessel in Boston Har- bor by strategy. At the close of the war Cap- tain Budington settled in Leyden, in sight of where Stephen B. Budington now lives. He was one of the pioneer settlers of the town, and owned a large tract of land. His death in 1 810 ended a long and successful life. His family consisted of four children; namely, Jonathan, Aaron O. , Stephen, and Priscilla H., all of whom have passed from the scenes of earth. Jonathan Budington was many years success- fully engaged in agriculture in Leyden, where he owned a portion of the old Budington home farm. He was an active and influential citi- zen, and often chosen by his townsmen to fill positions of responsibility and trust, among which were the offices of Selectman and County Commissioner. He also served accept- ably as a member of the legislature. In relig- ious views he was a Methodist, and for years was an official member and liberal supporter of the church. He died at the home of his son, Stephen Budington, where he had lived for sixty years. His first wife, Sophronia Deni- son Budington, bore him five children, three sons and two daughters, all of whom are dead with the exception of Stephen B. They were : Mary B., Ellen P., Stephen B., Charles O., and Jonathan. His second wife was Miss Abbie L. Wells, who died at forty-three years of age. There were no children from this union. Stephen B. Budington grew to manhood on the homestead. He received his early educa- tion in the district schools, and later attended Wilbraham Academy and East Greenwich BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 241 Seminary. After completing his education, he taught school for several terms, and when twenty-one years of age engaged as clerk in the general store of Mr. S. L. Shattuck, at Leyden. The following year he was employed as agent for a co-operative store at Leyden ; and in 1855 he went West, where for about nine years he was engaged in mercantile busi- ness at Beardstown, 111. In 1864 Mr. Bud- ington returned to Leyden, and took charge of the home farm, which he subsequently pur- chased. He now owns about four hundred acres of land, and is profitably engaged in gen- eral farming, in connection with which he conducts a dairy, where the milk from a herd of Jersey cows is converted into products for the market. About five acres of his land are devoted to raising fruit, principally apples. On June 15, 1857, Mr. Budington was mar- ried to Miss Frances C. Hitchcock, of Beards- town, 111., a native of Bangor, Me., who died December II, 1865. Two children were born of this union: Charles N. , who died at three years of age; and Carrie F. , who was but two years old at the time of her death. Mr. Bud- ington formed a second marriage December 15, 1868, with Miss Freda Baker, who was born in Hawley, Mass., January 4, 1841, daughter of Roswell and Bathsheba (Carter) Baker. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are also natives of Hawley, where the former was born in 1817, and the latter in 1821. They now re- side in West Plawley. Mr. Baker is a hard- working and successful farmer. He is a Re- publican in politics. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church. Five children were born to them, three of whom died in infancy. A son and daughter are now living, Mrs. Budington and her brother Edwin. The latter, who was born January 18, 1843, is a druggist at Shelburne Falls, Mass. Mr. -Budington's second union has been blessed by the birth of four children : Ellen Mary, born May 26, 1870, the wife of the Rev. David Baines Griffiths, of Smith Centre, Kan. ; Rob- ert Allyn, who was born October 22, 1872, and resides with his parents, a member of the Senior Class of Williams College; Ethel Helena, born December 19, 1877, who is attending school ; and Walter Carter, born November 12, 1882, also with his parents. In politics Mr. Budington is a Republican, and a strong advocate of the principles of his party. His fellow-men have not been unmind- ful of his sterling character, and among the offices of responsibility and trust bestowed upon him are those of Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. He and his wife are consistent members of the Congregational church. On Mr. Budington's farm is found one of nature's wonders in the shape of a huge tipping rock, weighing several tons, which, in all probability, is a relic from the glacial period, and perhaps was brought from the dis- tant north in the great ice rivers or glaciers that geologists tell us once covered this sec- tion. In any event, there it stands, so beau- tifully poised as to be easily tipped from side to side. Its measurements are eleven feet four inches in length, seven feet eight inches in width, and six feet eight inches in height. LEY G. DICKINSON, a prosper- ous farmer of Whately Centre, was born upon the farm he now owns and occupies, March 8, 1824. His parents were Lyman and Experience (Graves) Dickin- son, natives of Whately, where the Graves and Dickinson families have been well and favor- ably known for many years. Mr. Dickinson's great-grandfather, Abner Dickinson, who was probably born in Hatfield, was a farmer in North Hatfield (now Whately). He was in 242 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the French and Indian War from 1755 to 1763, and also served in the Revolutionary army, acting in 1780 as one of the guard about Major Andre on the night preceding his execution. The last years of Abner Dickinson's life were spent on the farm now occupied by his great- grandson, where he died in 1799. He had a family of four sons and five daughters. His son Jehu, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Hatfield, May 8, 1758. He also served in the Continental army, and, like his father, devoted the last years of his life to the peaceful pursuit of agriculture, settling upon a part of the Dickinson farm in Whately, where he died, October 6, 1819. He reared a family of seven children. Lyman Dickinson, sixth son of Jehu Dick- inson, who was born on June 24, 1795, passed his entire life upon the farm, which he culti- vated very successfully. He attained a posi- tion of prominence in the community, serving as a Selectman at different times during a period of many years, and also held other offices of public trust. Lyman Dickinson died at the age of eighty years. His wife, whose maiden name was Experience Graves, was a daughter of Moses and Abigail Graves, old residents of Whately. She was called to rest at the age of fifty years. Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Dickinson raised a family of seven children, two of whom are now living; namely, Ashley G. and Hiram R. Ashley G. Dickinson was educated in the district schools. He assisted his father in the farm duties until he reached the age of nine- teen years, at which time he commenced to learn the trade of a carpenter. After serving two years as an apprentice, he worked as a journeyman for some time at Worcester, Mass., later going to Westfield. There he resided for a period of thirty-five years, during which time he worked at his trade both as a journeyman and contractor, becoming well and favorably known as a man of sterling worth. In 1888 he returned to his native town, and has since been occupied in farming at the old homestead. The farm, which is situated upon high ground, consists of one hundred and sixty-five acres, and is devoted principally to the cultivation of tobacco. Mr. Dickinson has completely rebuilt the residence, and also erected a new barn. On December 5, 1855, Mr. Dickinson was united in marriage to Miss Jane Stebbins, daughter of Lansford and Sarah (Ames) Steb- bins. The Stebbins family also took an active part in the Revolutionary War, Mrs. Dickin- son's great-grandfather. Colonel Joseph Steb- bins, and her grandfather. Major Dennis Stebbins, being officers of note in the Con- tinental army. Her father, Lansford Stebbins, who was a native of Deerfield, spent the last years of his life in Illinois. Her mother was a daughter of Ebenezer Ames, of Greenfield, Mass. Mrs. Dickinson passed her childhood with her grandparents. She received a liberal education, attending the town schools and Deerfield Academy, and completing her stud- ies at Mrs. S. I. Barnard's boarding-school. After leaving school, she taught for some time. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have had four chil- dren, two of whom are still living. William A. is now superintendent of a carriage hard- ware manufactory. He married Jennie Giles- pie, a native of the State of Michigan; and they have one daughter, Marjorie. Jeannette Dickinson is the wife of Harry Leigh, of Buffalo, N.Y., cashier of the New York Cen- tral Stockyards in that city. Gertrude, who married John B. Hill, of Boston, died in 1894, at the age of thirty-seven years; and Catherine died at the age of twelve years. Mr. Dickinson is a Republican in politics. He and his wife are members of the Congrega- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW U3 tional church, and Mrs. Dickinson is actively engaged in Sabbath-school work. She was formerly superintendent of a Sabbath-school in Westfield, and has always been identified with church matters. Tt^OSWELL B. ROBERTSON, one of 1^"^ the leading men. of Leyden, Mass., -1^ V_ ^ was born in Brattleboro, Vt., July 6, 1839, son of William and Mary E. Robert- son. Mr. Robertson is of Scotch descent, his great-grandfather, William Robertson, and his grandfather bearing the same name, having come to America from Scotland, of which country they were natives. Grandfather Rob- ertson, who was a young man when he im- migrated to New England, rode into the wilderness west of the Connecticut, north of the Massachusetts line, and selected a spot for his home in what was then an unbroken forest, but where now is the village of Brattleboro, Vt., his father also going there to live. The sturdy pioneer went to work heartily, with no resources but a willing hand and a strong con- stitution. He died at Hillsboro, N. H., at an advanced age. Grandmother Robertson's maiden name was Tamar Barton. Roswell B. Robertson grew to manhood in Westminster, Vt. , acquiring a fair education in the district schools. He was engaged as a polisher for a period of twelve years, working in Northampton, Shelburne Falls, and Spring- field, and in 1863 bought the farm that he now occupies, which covers about one hundred and eighty acres. Here he carries on general farming, working tirelessly to bring the prod- ucts of his labor up to a high standard, both as to quality and quantity. In 1865 Mr. Robertson was married to Ada- line L., daughter of Wilder and Lectina (Wetherhead) Fisher, the former a well-to-do farmer in Brattleboro. Mrs. Adaline L. Rob- ertson died when a little over forty-six years of age; and in June, 1886, Mr. Robertson was married again, taking for his bride Mary Wheeler, a native of Colerain, daughter of Whitman and Louisa Wheeler, of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson have one son, Ray R., born June 2, 1891. Mr. Robertson is a Republican in political affiliations. He is highly respected by his townsmen, and has iilled several public offices, holding that of Selectman for three years. He and his wife are liberal in their religious views ; and they have a very pleasant home, the appearance of the estate speaking well for the owners. OHN ANDREW ADAMS, formerly a well-known and highly respected farmer of Greenfield, but now no longer living, was born in that town August 14, 1840, son of Peleg and Lucinda (Hancock) Adams, the for- mer a native of Northbridge, born December 29, 1799, the latter of Long Meadow, Mass., born in 1809. The Adams family is believed to be of Saxon origin, springing from Ran- dall Adams, of Norwood, town of Wem, Shropshire, England, a direct descendant of whom, William Adams, who was born in Eng- land, February 3, 1594, came to America in 1628, and settled in Ipswich Hamlet (now Hamilton), Mass., in 1642. The farm which he cultivated is now occupied by a descendant, Sillsby Adams. Andrew Adams, the grand- father of John Andrew, represented the sixth generation from William, the line being traced, from father to son, through Samuel, who represents the second generation, Nathan- iel (the third), Samuel (the fourth), and John (the fifth), to Andrew (the sixth). Andrew Adams was born in Sutton, now a part of Northbridge, Mass., November 7, 244 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 1759, and removed to Greenfield, Mass., in 1803. He purchased a large tract of land in the Connecticut Valley, and settled on the farm where Mrs. John Andrew Adams now resides, living in a log house. He built part of the road from Greenfield to the old Peleg Adams homestead, known as "The Swamp Road," and was one of the leading citizens of Greenfield in his day. He attended church at "the old meeting-house, " the first in Green- field. His death took place on the old farm, June 30, 1822. His wife, whose maiden name was Betsey Chapin, died January 6, 1846. They reared five children : Patty, Nahum, George, Eliza, and Peleg. Peleg Adams received a good common-school education. He worked on his father's farm till of age, and chose farming as his life voca- tion, in which he was very successful. He was also a large cattle dealer and a saga- cious business man. Purchasing the Mansion House in Greenfield, in January, 1877, for which he paid fifty thousand dollars, he ex- pended thirty-five thousand dollars additional on improvements, making it a model hotel ; and to-day it is one of the best as well as one of the oldest hotels in Franklin County. Mr. Adams was honest in all his dealings, and his ability and integrity won for him the respect of his townsmen. He served as Selectman, and filled other offices, always taking an active interest in public affairs. Though a liberal supporter of the various churches and in his youth an attendant at the Congregational ser- vice, and later at that of the Universalist soci- ety, he was never a professing member of any religious body; but his life was shaped by Christian principiles. He died at the home farm September 8, 1887. Mr. Adams's first wife, Lucinda Hancock, to whom he was united in 1831, died in 1840, at the age of thirty. She was the mother of the following children: Eliza Lucretia, born October 19, 1833; Elizabeth Lucinda, born February 2, 1836; Ruth Alma, born December 5, 1837; and John Andrew Adams, our subject. Peleg Adams's second wife, Sarah B. Meriam, who was born June 3, 1809, died in May, 1862. She was the mother of two children. One, born June 16, 1843, died in infancy. The other, Sarah Lucy, who was born December 10, 1846, is also dead. Mr. Adams's third wife, Jane Bascom, whom he married October 8, 1863, died April 13, 1890, without issue. Eliza L. , wife of J. P. Morgan, is the only living child of Peleg Adams. She resides in Greenfield, Mass. John Andrew Adams grew to manhood in Greenfield. He received a good common- school education, finishing his studies at Shel- burne Academy, and after leaving school gave his attention mostly to farming. His active life, with the exception of two years spent in Bernardston, was passed in Greenfield, the lat- ter part near the home of his father. He died December 3, 1880. June 29, 1864, he was married to Charlotte E. Meriam, a native of Barre, Mass., born February 26, 1843, daugh- ter of Jotham A. and Charlotte (Harwood) Meriam. Mr. Meriam was born in Oxford, February 25, 181 3. He was a great reader, a good school-teacher, and well informed in law, and was also a practical farmer. He died June 24, 1887. His wife, to whom he was united at Barre, Mass., May 3, 1841, was a native of that town, born November 5, 1814. She died October 16, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Meriam were liberal in religious views, and were attendants of the Congregational church. They had two children : Charles Addison, born February 8, 1842, who died August 25, 1877; and Charlotte E. , the wife of our sub- ject. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Adams was blessed by two daughters: Ruth C, born Sep- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 2 45 tember 27, 1865; and Elizabeth L. , born March 25, 1867, in Greenfield. These young ladies graduated from the Greenfield High School in 1885, and taught for some time in Greenfield, but now give their time to the management of their real estate interests. Their grandfather, Peleg Adams, bequeathed to them — his only grand-daughters — much valuable property, including the Mansion House in Greenfield, which he left to them and their mother; and they are to inherit large tracts of land and other valuable property from their mother and their aunt, Mrs. Morgan. They are very accomplished young ladies, richly endowed mentally as well as financially. They reside at the old home farm with their mother, who also is a' well-educated and re- fined lady. <^ m^^ NSEL C. SMITH has been connected with the business interests of Colerain for many years, being now one of its most prosperous and progressive agricultu- rists, and one of its most influential and re- spected citizens. He was born December 29, 1816, in the town of Wilmington, Vt., and is of Massachusetts ancestry. His parents were Rufus and Achsa (Ingraham) Smith, the father a native of Dover, Mass., born in 1790, and the mother of Amherst, where their nuptials were celebrated. Rufus Smith was a tanner and currier by trade, and during his earlier years worked at tanning and curry?ng; but, seeing no prospect of bettering his condition while working at his trade, he took charge of a grist-mill at Wil- mington, Vt. , and also engaged in the hotel business. He was an industrious man, but not very successful in financial matters. He spent his last years in Colerain, dying at the advanced age of eighty-four. He was liberal in his religious views and a strong Universalist in belief. Rufus Smith was twice married. His first wife died in Wilmington, Vt. , leav- ing five children; Of these, Ansel C, the subject of this brief biographical review, and Mrs. Barbara Russell, of Greenfield, are the only ones now living. The other three, Cath- erine, Mary, and Louisa, all married, reared families, and are now deceased. Rufus Smith subsequently married Elizabeth Browning, who bore him two children: a daughter named Elizabeth, who married and died; and a son, Horace A. Smith, who lives in Rowe. Ansel C. Smith went to Colerain when a lad of seven years, and there completed his education, attending the district schools. His home was with Mr. John Browning until he was sixteen years old, when he went to Rowe, intending there to learn the carriage- maker's trade; but before he had completed his apprenticeship he removed to Athol, N.Y., and, living there for some time with a brother of Mr. John Browning, worked at car- riage-making. He next located in Greenfield, Mass., where he learned the trade of a tanner and currier of Mr. Isaac Barton, and also became proficient in shoemaking. He re- mained with Mr. Barton three years as an apprentice and one year as a journeyman, after which he worked two seasons with Mr. I. Sheldon at Factory Hollow. Removing thence to Colerain, he continued his trade on his own account at Griswoldville three years, and the following three years was in the em- ploy of Mr. J. Perkins, manufacturing wagon- shafts. Mr. Smith subsequently established himself in the latter business at Foundryville, remaining five years. In 1862 he began his mercantile career, purchasing the stock of Cal- vin Shattuck, of Colerain, who had a general country store. This he conducted successfully until 1878, when he sold out to the firm of Thomas & Hillman; and since then he has 246 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has also assisted in building up the village of Colerain, erecting the present hotel of the place, and aiding materially in many radical improvements. On June 7, 1848, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Sophia J. Thompson, who was born July 28, 1827, in Colerain, and is a daugh- ter of Mollis and Jane (Taggart) Thompson, the former of whom died June 23, 1856, and the latter March 31, 1874. Mrs. Thompson is descended from one of the oldest and most honored families of this section of the county, the Taggarts having been prominent among the pioneers of the town. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Henry A. and Mary. Henry A., who was born November II, 1850, is now in business with his father, and shares with him the ownership of the hotel and of a half interest in the store formerly con- ducted by Thomas & Hillman, the firm name now being Smith & Hillman. He was mar- ried October 8, 1873, to Margaret McClellan, who was born in Colerain, October 22, 1849, and died there, August i, 1894, without issue. She was an active Christian woman, a member of the Congregational church. Henry A. Smith is an influential citizen of the place, strongly Republican in politics, and for five consecutive years served as Selectman. Ansel C. Smith's daughter, Mary, who was born April 19, 1855, is the wife of C. H. Wilcox, a tin-smith, residing at Shelburne Falls. They have one child, Hattie Maud. In political views Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican. He represented his district in the State legislature in 1870, and has ever taken an active and intelligent interest in town affairs, serving as Selectman one term. Asses- sor three or four years, and as Town Clerk for twenty-six continuous years, resigning the ofifice in 1893. In his religious views he is liberal, and a firm believer in the doctrines of the Unitarian church. The life record of Mr. Smith furnishes a forcible illustration of the prosperity to be attained by persevering energy and a steady application to the details of busi- ness. He has attained his present high posi- tion ainong the leading men of the county by his own untiring efforts, his strong hands, will- ing heart, and courageous spirit having been his only endowments. MERSON C. WARNER, an energetic farmer of Whately, residing near the Hatfield line, was born in Granby, Mass., August 26, 1839, son of Foster J. and Achsah A. (Morton) Warner, the former of Amherst, the latter of Whately. The Warner family has been well and favorably known in Amherst for many years, our subject's great- grandfather, Josiah Warner, having been a resident of that town during a great part of his life. There he died, and there his only child, Josiah, the grandfather of Emerson C. Warner, was born and passed his life, engaged in farm- ing. There also Foster J. Warner, the father of Emerson C. , was born. He was trained by his father in the practice of agriculture, and also engaged in manufacturing brooms for a time. About 1842 he moved to Whately, where he purchased the farm now owned and occupied by his son, and erected the house. There he resided until his decease, which occurred when he was sixty-nine years of age. He was an industrious man, and left a farm of about one hundred and sixty-five acres, as the result of his labors. On March 2, 1837, he married Achsah A. Morton, daughter of Sylvester and Lydia (Frary) Morton, of Whately. Her grandfather, Justin Morton, was one of the early settlers of , the town. Her father, Sylvester Morton, was a wheel- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 247 Wright in Whately. He raised a family of ten children, eight of whom are still living. Mrs. Warner became the mother of four chil- dren, of whom Emerson C. is the only sur- vivor. She still resides at the old homestead, bright and active at the age of eighty-three years, and continues to attend personally to her household duties. Emerson C. Warner was three years of age when his parents removed to Whately. Dur- ing his boyhood he assisted his father upon the farm, receiving his education in the district school and at a high school in Vermont. He resided with his parents until 1868, when he purchased a farm in East Whately, which he conducted until 1880. After his father's death, he returned to the homestead, where he has since resided. The farm, which consists of two hundred and eighty acres, he devotes principally to dairy interests; and he keeps a large herd of Jersey cows. In 1862 IVIr. Warner was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Hunter, daughter of Abraham Hunter, a carpenter of Chester, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Warner have two children ; namely, Lizzie Ann and Minnie B. The former is the wife of George Graves, formerly of Whately, now a fruit-grower in California, and has two children, Lillian and Lemuel. Mr. Warner is a Republican in politics. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist. KORENZO D. ELMER, a successful business man of Miller's Falls, Mass., w^^ was born in Vernon, Vt. , December 26, 1832, son of Levi and Clarissa (Silvester) Elmer. His grandfather, Reuben Elmer, was also a resident of Vernon, where his last years were passed. Levi Elmer was reared to the vocation of a farmer, which he followed with success throughout his life. Llis death oc- curred in Vernon, Vt. His wife, Clarissa Sil- vester, was a native of Maine. She died in Guilford, Vt. They reared a family of nine children, of whom two are now living — Ralph and Lorenzo D. Lorenzo D. Elmer was left an orphan at an early age, both parents having died before he was ten N'ears old. He lived with his brother until he was fourteen, and was then brought face to face with the neccessity of earning his own livelihood. Until he was twenty years of age he worked out by the season. He then secured a position on the railroad, where he had charge of construction work for a number of years. In 1863 he enlisted in Company F, Sixth Vermont Regiment, and, going to the front, received a severe wound from a minie- ball, which so disabled him that he was con- fined in the hospital for several months. On his recovery he was transferred to the Reserve Corps, in which he served until the close of the war, receiving an honorable discharge September 4, 1865, after a service of twenty- six months. Mr. Elmer then returned to rail- roading, making his home in Vermont at first, and later removing to Northfield, Mass., where he remained three years. From there he went to Templeton, Worcester County, where he lived eighteen years, or until 1889, when he located in Miller's Falls, and hired the station- ery store which he now occupies. He subse- quently purchased the news business, and now carries a complete line of sporting goods, cigars, stationery, periodicals, books, etc., and has a large and growing business. Mr. Elmer was married in 1857 to Marie C. Redfield, daughter of Joel Redfield, a black- smith of Woodford, Vt., where Mrs. Elmer was born. She is the youngest of six chil- dren. Mr. and Mrs. Elmer have reared two sons and two daughters, namely: George D., now station agent at Erving, Mass., who mar- 248 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ried Emma Stoddard, and has two children — Maud and George ; Carrie, who married Fred Rowland, a dentist in Portland, Me. ; Mary E., wife of Charles L. Cook, who is associated with Mr. Elmer in the stationery business; and Frank R., who is with the Miller's Falls Company. All these children graduated from the high school at Templeton, Mass. In political affiliation Mr. Elmer is a Re- publican. He is a Mason, belonging to the lodge at Gardner, Mass. Mrs. Elmer is an attendant of the Congregational church. TT^ORNELIUS G. TROW, M.D., a pub- I Sj^ lie-spirited citizen and successful phy- V ^ ^ sician of Sunderland, whose features are portrayed on the opposite page, and whose personal and family record is briefly here set forth, was born in Buckland, Mass., March i, 1847, son of Dr. Nathaniel G. and Catherine (Brooks) Trow. His great-grandfather, Josiah Trow, who was a native of England, served with distinction in the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars; and his grandfather, Nathaniel Trow, son of Josiah, was a native of Beverly, Mass., but settled in New Hamp- shire, where he followed agriculture. Nathan- iel G. , son of Nathaniel the elder, was born in Wendell, N.H., July 25, 1811. He was reared to farm life, and carefully educated in the schools of Wendell, N.H., and the Cum- mington Academy. He then taught in the district schools, and began the study of medi- cine with Dr. Kittridge, of Hinsdale, later entering the Berkshire Medical School, from which he graduated, and commenced the prac- tice of his profession at Buckland in 1837. He resided there until 1850, when he removed to Sunderland, and remained in active practice until within five years of his death, which occurred at the age of seventy-six years. He was a skilful and reliable practitioner of the old school, and a man of many rare attain- ments. Dr. Nathaniel G. Trow was officially connected with the Congregational church, and served upon the School Board. His wife, who was a native of Buckland, became the mother of six children, Cornelius G. , of Sun- derland, being the only one to reach maturity. Mrs. Catherine Brooks Trow died in Sunder- land at the age of sixty-two. Cornelius was about four years of age when his parents moved to Sunderland, and he pur- sued the primary branches of his education in the schools of this town. After completing his preparatory studies at the Williston Semi- nary, he entered Amherst College, where he was graduated, and then began the study of medicine with his father. He subsequently pursued a thorough medical course at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons, and, after graduating from that well-known school in 1872, began the practice of his profession in Sunderland, where he has since resided. In June, 1872, Dr. Trow wedded Genevra A. Shaw, of Springfield, a daughter of Samuel A. and Mary (White) Shaw, the former of whom was a prominent grocer of that city. Mr. Shaw's wife, who was a native of Ware, Mass., became the mother of ten children, three of whom are now living; namely, George D., C. W. , and Genevra A., Mrs. Trow. Mrs. Mary White Shaw died in Springfield at the age of fifty-six; and Samuel A. Shaw, who was again married, died at the age of seventy- nine, leaving, by his second wife, one daugh- ter, Mary Frances Shaw. He was a member of the South Church of Springfield. Dr. Cornelius G. Trow is a member of the Knights of Honor, the various college socie- ties, and the Massachusetts and the Franklin District Medical Societies. He is indepen- dent in politics, has served upon the School CORNELIUS G. TROW. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Board for twelve years, has been Chairman of the Town Committee, and a member of the Library Board, of which he has been a Trustee for twenty-three and Treasurer for fifteen years. He attends the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Trow is a member; and they are both active in the different church societies. 'AMUEL C. BROWN, a highly re- spected farmer and worthy citizen of Leyden, Mass., was born in Guil- ford, Vt. , March 15, 1808, son of Elijah and Rhoda (Childs) Brown, the former of whom was a native of Woodstock, Conn., and the latter of Deerfield, Franklin County, Mass. His grandfather, Elisha Brown, who was born in Rhode Island, was among the sturdy pio- neers who settled in Leyden, and was a patriot soldier of the Revolutionary War. He and his good wife both lived to advanced age, he being over eighty years old at the time of his death. They reared seven children, all of whom are now dead. Elijah Brown removed from Woodstock, Conn., to Guilford, Vt., and thence to Leyden, Mass. He was an industrious man, and throughout his life followed farming with suc- cess. In town affairs he took a prominent part, serving as Selectman several years, and also in many minor offices. In his religious view he was liberal. Elijah Brown died at the age of eighty-four. His wife died in her sixty-second year. They were the parents of eight children, of whom seven grew to matu- rity and three are now living, as follows: Mrs. Tirzah Clark, widow of Elan Clark, who resides in Monroe, Wis., and is over ninety years of age; Samuel C, the subject of this sketch ; and Mrs. Caroline Carpenter, widow of Austin Carpenter, who also lives in Monroe, Wis. The deceased are: Eliza- beth, Willard, Henry K., Frank, and Willard (second). Samuel C. Brown removed with his parents, when a small boy, from Guilford, Vt., to Ley- den, where he received a good practical educa- tion in the district schools. At twenty-one years of age he started to earn a livelihood, and was first employed in a saw-mill and grist- mill in Deerfield, Mass., where he received twenty dollars for his first month's labor. He soon gave up this business, and, returning home, took charge of his father's farm, of which he has since become the owner. Mr. Brown has so prospered in his agricultural pur- suits that he has been enabled to add to his property by the purchase of other land from time to time, and is now the owner of consid- erable real estate. On September 10, 1835, Mr. Brown was joined in marriage to Miss Mary N. Carpenter, a native of Leyden, born December 10, 1815, who died in 1858. Their union was blessed by the birth of six children : Lorietta, who died at the age of a year and a half; Franklin C, who enlisted in the Fifteenth Massachu- setts Volunteers at the time of the war, and died in service, aged twenty-three years; Henry K. , who has been employed as collector of the Manhattan Gas Company of New York City the past twenty years; Elijah, who man- ages a planing-mill in New York City; Sam- uel C, Jr., general agent of the American Express Company at Kansas City; and Dwight C, a bridge-builder in Greenfield, Mass. Mr. Brown was subsequently married March 29, 1862, to Miss Sarah A. McCloud, who was born in Rowe, Franklin County, Mass., Jan- uary 15, 1828, daughter of Charles and Hen- rietta (Knight) McCloud, each of whom represented an- old and respected family of Franklin County. Charles McCloud was born in Colerain, and was successfully engaged in 252 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW agriculture up to the time of his death, which occurred in his seventy-third year. His wife, who was a native of Pawtucket, R.I., died at the age of sixty years. In politics Mr. Mc- Cloud was a supporter of the Republican party. He and his wife were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Five children were born to them, three of whom are now living, namely: Hiram McCloud, of Colerain ; Mrs. Lurena Smith, of Silver City, la. ; and Sarah A., the wife of Mr. Brown. One child died in infancy; and a daughter, Lucy, died at twenty-one years of age. One daughter was born of Mr. Brown's second union, Ellen L., who is head nurse in the Dr. Pierce Hospital at Greenfield, Mass. In politics Mr. Brown is a Democrat. He takes an active part in town affairs, and has rendered efficient serv.ice as Selectman for three years, and has filled minor offices. In religious views he is liberal. Though in his eighty-eighth year, Mr. Brown is still active, and appears many years younger. The pros- perity which he now enjoys has been attained through years of unremitting toil and the exer- cise of prudence and good management; and in his work his estimable wife has been an able helper. ^^»m* -ONATHAN E. DAVENPORT, a suc- cessful farmer and extensive fruit- grower of Colerain, was born in that town on May 7, 1857. He is a son of Otis J. and Sarah (Johnson) Davenport, both of whom were natives of the above-named town, Otis having been born on March 26, 1829, and his wife on February 26, 1832. Mr. Daven- port traces his ancestry in a direct line to Thomas Davenport, who, in company with two brothers, is supposed to have immigrated from England and settled in Dorchester, Mass., some time previous to the year 1640. Eben- ezer Davenport, son of Thomas, was born at Dorchester on April 2, 1661, and died on July 19, 1738. Plis wife, Dorcas Andrews, was born in 1663, and died in 1723. Their son Ebenezer was born in Dorchester, October 23, 1706; and his wife. Submit Howe, also a native of Dorchester, was born in April, 1707. Both lived and died in Dorchester; and in that town their son, Joseph Davenport, was born, August 10, 1747. He was the first of the family to settle in Colerain, and was one of the pioneers in that part of the country. Acquiring a tract of land, he established a home not far from Mr. Davenport's present dwelling, and became a very prosperous farmer. Vigorous and ener- getic, he met the difficulties of pioneer life with courage and perseverance, and surmounted all obstacles in his path to prosperity. He died April 14, 182 i. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary White, was born in 1746. She died February 22, 181 7. Mr. Davenport's grandfather, Edward Dav- enport, son of Joseph, was born in Dorchester, September 6, 1774. He received a good edu- cation, and was ordained a minister of the Baptist church, preaching at Colerain and being employed for some time as a missionary among the white settlers who lived among the Indian tribes of Pennyslvania. Edward Davenport died December 8, 1863. He was twice married, and raised a family of four- teen children, of whom there is but one survivor, Mrs. Mary Newton, of Shelburne. His second wife, whose maiden name was Lurana Andrews, was the grandmother of our subject. She was born in Ashfield, March i, 1792, and died March 7, 1875. Otis J. Davenport, the father of Jonathan E., was the second son of his father's second wife. He entered into the pursuit of agricult- ure with a spirit and energy which were pro- ductive of the most substantial results, and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 253 became one of the largest general farmers in the section, owning at one time over four hun- dred acres of land, including his fathers old farm. He purchased the farm where his son now resides in 1867. Mr. Davenport was recognized as one of the most successful farmers in Colerain, and he was a very exten- sive fruit-grower. He kept in touch with agricultural progress, and was an active mem- ber of the board of agriculture up to the time of his decease. Politically, he was a Repub- lican. He represented his district at the General Court in 1864, and was prominent in town affairs, serving on the School Board seventeen years. For a period of thirty years Mr. Davenport was an earnest member of the Baptist church. He was a man highly es- teemed for his many commendable traits of character; and his death, which occurred on September 6, 1880, was the cause of much regret to the entire community. His wife, who now resides with her son, Jonathan E. Davenport, was the mother of seven children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were as follows: Sarah M., wife of George Maxam, of Colerain, who was born on Septem- ber 3, 1855; Jonathan E., the subject of this article; William H., born May 27, 1862, a Baptist minister at Rochester, Minn. ; Clara F. , a resident of Colerain, who was born June 22, 1864; Albert O., a carpenter of Colerain, born July 13, 1868; and Walter, Jr., a farmer of Greenfield, whose birth occurred on July 21, 1874. Jonathan E. Davenport attended the schools of his native town, and was also a student at Powers Institute in Bernardston, at intervals, during a period of four years. He taught school for five terms in early manhood, and after his father's decease succeeded to the pos- session of the farm, which he has since suc- cessfully managed. He has in all one hundred and ninety-two acres of finely improved land, ten acres of which are devoted to the growing of fruit, and, besides conducting general farm- ing, also has a well-equipped dairy. He keeps a herd of ten full-blooded Jersey cows, and is also profitably engaged in sheep-raising. On October 22, 1882, Mr. Davenport was united in marriage to Miss Lucy A. Stone, who was born in Reedsboro, Vt., March 28, 1859, daughter of Royal and Carrie A. (Ken- drick) Stone. Royal Stone died at the age of thirty-six years ; and his widow subsequently married the Rev. S. P. Everett, of Ayer, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport have had three children, namely: Royal W. , born December 14, 1885; Edna A., born December 16, 1887; and Milton J., born January 23, 1890. Mr. Davenport, like his father, takes an active interest in town affairs, and has served as Assessor and as a member of the School Board six years. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Baptist church, in which he is a Deacon, and is at present serving his fifteenth year as superintendent of the Sunday-school. T^ALVIN S. LOOMIS, a respected citi- I jr^^ zen of Whately, who has long been V..__^ identified with the agricultural in- terests of the place, was born in the house in which he now resides, on March 25, 1827. He is the son of Jonathan C. and Electa (Stockbridge) Loomis, the former a native of Whately, the latter of North Hadley. His grandfather, Abner Loomis, who was in all probability a native of Hatfield, moved from that town to West Whately, where he settled upon a farm. There he resided until his de- cease, which occurred at an advanced age. Jonathan C. Loomis, the father of Calvin S., was a carpenter by trade, and worked at ^54 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW building for many years in his native town, becoming widely known as an honest and reli- able contractor and builder. His last days were spent on the farm where his son now re- sides, which he purchased for a home, and there he died August 15, 1864, at the age of seventy-eight years. Mr. Loomis was a vet- eran of the War of 181 2. His wife, Electa Stockbridge, who was born at North Hadley on January 17, 1788, was the daughter of David Stockbridge, a farmer and miller. She was one of a large family. Mrs. Loomis was called to rest at the age of eighty-eight. She was a member of the Congregational church. Mr. and Mrs. Loomis were the parents of nine children, all of whom lived to reach threescore years, the first among them to be called home having passed that age at the time of his decease. Of these, six are still living, namely: Sarah, wife of Reuben Belden ; Mary, who married John Little; Elizabeth, widow of John D. Lee; Phila, widow of Ira Brown; Celia, widow of Otis Wells; and Calvin S. , the subject of this sketch. Calvin S. Loomis attended the common and high schools of his native town and the semi- nary at East Hampton. He resided with his parents and assisted his father upon the farm until 1855, when he went to the State of Ohio. There he was engaged in the raising of broom- corn and the manufacture of brooms for a period of two years. At the expiration of that time he returned East, and, once more tak- ing up his residence at the old homestead in Whately, engaged in the manufacture of brooms, establishing a factory for that purpose, at the same time attending to his farming in- terests. On the death of his father he suc- ceeded to the possession of the farm, which he has since cultivated with prosperous results. The home property consists of sixty acres of finely improved land, and Mr. Loomis has also one hundred and twenty-five acres of valuable land in Conway, where he keeps some fine young stock. In political views Mr. Loomis is a Repub- lican. He attends the Congregational church, and contributes to its support. His household is most ably presided over by his sister Phila. M AVID MOWRY, one of the most prominent and public-spirited citi- zens of Leyden, Franklin County, was born in that town, September 7, 1816, son of George and Polly (Avery) Mowry. His grandfather, John Mowry, was one of the pioneer settlers of Rhode Island; but his last days were spent in New York State. George Mowry, the father of our subject, who was born in Rhode Island, September 24, 1776, removed to Massachusetts in early man- hood, and located in Franklin County, when the country was new and but thinly settled. He was a clothier by trade, and followed that vocation in Leyden for several years. Indus- try and honesty in all his dealings brought him success, and won for him the respect of his townsmen; and, as a mark of their esteem, he was often chosen to represent them in positions of honor and trust. During six sessions of the legislature he was a member of that body; and he also served most acceptably as a member and as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and for over twenty years acted as Justice of the Peace. He died on the farm where David Mowry now lives, October 19, 185 1, having attained the age of seventy-five years. He was twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Polly Brown, bore him one son, George, who died at twenty years of age. His second matrimonial alliance was with Miss Polly Avery, who was two years his junior, her birth occurring in 1778. She died BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 2SS September 25, 1843, aged sixty-five years. They had a family of six children — John, Manley, Polly, Nathan A., David, and Albert L. — of whom David is the sole survivor. David Mowry acquired a good practical edu- cation in the schools of Leyden and the acad- emy at Deerfield, Mr. Luther B. Lincoln being the preceptor of the latter institution at that time. For a number of terms Mr. Mowry was engaged in school-teaching in Colerain and Leyden, Mass., and also in Vernon, Vt. Aside from the time occupied in this way, his life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. He lived with his father until the latter's death, when he became the owner of the home- stead property, where he now successfully conducts a dairy and stock farm, and in con- junction with this is also engaged in lumber- ing to a moderate extent. He owns in all about four hundred acres of land. On September 7, 1840, Mr. Mowry was married to Miss Sarah A. Carpenter, who was born in Leyden, March 13, 1818. Her par- ents, David and Jemimah (Newcomb) Carpen- ter, both of whom were natives of Franklin County, are now dead ; and Mrs. Mowry died December 2, 1878. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Mowry was blessed by the birth of five children. Charlotte E. resides at home. David C. , who enlisted in the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment, Company C, was engaged in the battles of Roanoke Island and Newbern, died at Washington, October 10, 1862, of malarial fever. Mary B. is the wife of F. J. Kellogg, of Utica, N.Y. Austin W. died in the New York Hospital, October 18, 1891. Hosea B. is engaged in agriculture on the home farm. In politics Mr. Mowry is a Democrat. Like his father, he has manifested great interest in the public weal ; and, although he has now retired from active participation in such affairs, he has in times past rendered very effi- cient service to his party. In 1847 he repre- sented his district in the legislature; and he filled the offices of Town Clerk and Treasurer most acceptably for thirty years, as well as others of a less important character. In relig- ious belief Mr. Mowry is a Universalist. tLDEN W. GROUT, a pro farmer residing in Montague, ^ , lin County, near Miller's Fa prosperous Frank- 'alls, was born in Wendell, Mass., September 25, 1832, son of Martin and Clarina (Johnson) Grout, the former of whom was a native of Phillips- ton, Mass. Joel Grout, also the grandfather of Alden W. , was a native of Massachusetts, and spent the latter part of his life on a farm which he owned in the town of Pelham. Martin Grout, the father of Alden W. , was reared to the vocation of a farmer. He also learned the stone-cutter's trade, which he fol- lowed successfully for many years in Pelham and vicinity. He built the jail at Greenfield, was foreman on the Concord State Prison, and also built the vaults for the Franklin County National and Franklin County Savings Banks. In 1 834 he removed to Montague, and pur- chased the hotel property at Miller's Falls, which included one hundred and twenty-five acres of land. The hotel and seven acres of land he eventually sold to the railroad, and he then erected the residence in which Alden W. Grout now lives. Politically, Martin Grout was an adherent of the Republican party. He took an active interest in the wel- fare of his town, and was often chosen to fill positions of responsibility and trust. He served as Selectman several years, also as Assessor and as chairman of the committee that built the Town 'Hall at Montague Centre. Mr. Grout died at his home in Montague, ^56 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW where his son Alden W. now lives, in August, 1865. He was then in his seventy-fifth year. His wife, Clarina Johnson, was a daughter of Silas Johnson, a farmer of Woodstock, Mass., where she was born. They reared five chil- dren, of whom three are still living: Saman- tha S. , who married Severance Holton ; Alden W. , the subject of this sketch; and Martha S., who married Alfred Waite. The mother passed her last years at the home of Alden W. Grout, where she died at the age of seventy-two. She was a member of the Con- gregational church at Montague. Alden W. Grout was two years old when his father moved to Miller's Falls; and there he received his early education, later attending the high school at East Brattleboro and the academy at Brattleboro, Vt. After his father's death he became the owner of the homestead, a farm of one hundred and twenty-five acres, and since he purchased it has made various improvements, enlarging many of the build- ings. He is profitably engaged in the cultiva- tion of the land, and has a choice dairy, keeping a herd of fourteen Jersey and Holstein cows. In 1853 Mr. Grout was married to Charlotte P. Stone, the adopted daughter of Luther Stone, who removed from Wayland to Wen- dell, Mass. In the latter place he was engaged in farming, and also conducted a saw-mill up to the time of his death in his eighty-fourth year. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Grout, two of whom they reared, namely: Alice, who married Elwin L. Stockwell, a machinist in Miller's Falls, and had two children, one of whom is living — Lulu A- ; and Laura A., wife of Frank H. Giles, of Charlemont, Mass., who is engaged in the milk business, and manages Mr. Grout's farm. Mr. and Mrs. Giles have one child, Florence M. Clara Newell Grout died at the age of fifteen, and Mary Ellen died in her twenty-seventh year. Laura attended school in Fitchburg, Mass. The other children were educated in Montague. Mr. Grout is a Democrat in political afifilia- tion. He is a man of keen intellect and ster- ling character, and his fellow-citizens have shown their appreciation of his worth by elect- ing him to many ofifices of trust. He has served as Selectman three years, Overseer of the Poor two years, and Assessor two years. He is an attendant of the Congregational church, of which his wife is a member. /!> EORGE B. McCLELLAN, a thriving \J5 1 agriculturist, who has a productive farm at South Whately, was born at Greenfield, Mass., July 30, 1857. He is a son of Elias and Mary A. (Fellows) McClellan, the former a native of Colerain, the latter of Shelburne. The great-grandfather of our sub- ject, Robert L. McClellan, was, it is believed, a native of Massachusetts. Flis son, Daniel, George B. McClellan's grandfather, who was a native of Colerain, was a farmer and hotel- keeper, residing in Colerain for many years. His last days were spent in North Adams. Elias B. McClellan was born in Colerain, October 11, 1824. He was reared to agricult- ural life, and also acquired the carpenter's trade, eventually becoming well known as a prominent contractor and builder, conducting an extensive business in Greenfield, Holyoke, Westfield, and Chicopee. He finally retired from the building trade, and in 187 1 purchased the farm at Whately on which his son now resides, and there passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring on August 23, 1882, at the age of fifty-seven years. He was con- nected with the Congregational church in his town, and was a man noted for his integrity. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 2S7 Elias B. McClellan was twice married. His first wife, Mary A. Fellows, who was born March 30, 1828, was the daughter of Captain Stephen Fellows, of Shelburne. Cap- tain Fellows was a carpenter by trade, and followed that occupation in early life. In 1832 he purchased a farm, upon which he spent the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-four. Mrs. McClellan was one of a family of five children. She died at Greenfield, October 25, 1859, aged thirty-one years. Of her children, George B. , the sub- ject of this article, was the only one to reach maturity. Elias B. McClellan's second wife was Miss Esther Newton, daughter of James Newton, of Greenfield. She became the mother of two children, namely: Mary, wife of Henry G. Taylor, of Westfield, Mass. ; and William B., who resides at Wilmington, Vt. George B. McClellan passed his early boy- hood in Greenfield and Holyoke. He was thirteen years of age when his father removed to Whately, and continued his education in the district schools of that town, finishing with the regular course at Powers Institute in Ber- nardston. After leaving school, he engaged in farm work, assisting his father; and on the death of the latter he purchased the interests of the other heirs in the property, and has since continued to successfully conduct the farm. The estate consists of one hundred and fifty acres of fertile and productive land, which Mr. McClellan devotes to general farming and the cultivation of tobacco. On May 27, 1884, he was united in mar- riage to Mary E. Sanderson, adopted daughter of Rodolphus Sanderson, formerly of Whately, but later of Northampton. Mrs. McClellan is a lineal descendant, on her father's side, of John Alden. Her mother was Harriet Clark, of Whately. She was a student at Mount Holyoke Seminary and Smith College at Northampton, and, after completing her studies, made her home in Whately. Mr. and Mrs. McClellan have two children, Randolph A. and Albert F. Mr. McClellan is a Republican in politics. He and his wife are members of the Congrega- tional church, in which he has served as parish clerk and superintendent of the Sabbath-school for several terms. WAYNE HIl sentative LLMAN, one of the repre- farmers of Colerain, was born in that town October 12, 1856, son of Smead and Emmeline (Coombs) Hill- man, both natives of Colerain, the former born in 1 8 19, the latter in 181 8. The grandfather, Reuben Hillman, was a son of Lot Hillman, a notice of whom is given in the sketch of C. S. Hillman on another page of this work. Reu- ben Hillman was born in Conway, and spent the greater part of his life in Colerain, where he carried on general farming with good re- sults. He passed away at the age of sixty- four. His wife, whose maiden name was Anna Nims, was a native of Buckland. She lived to be eighty-one years old. They had five children, four sons and one daughter, all of whom grew to adult age. The only survivor at present is Lysander Hillman, of Charlemont Upper Village. Smead Hillman, the father of our subject, in company with his brother Reuben, took charge of the home farm at the death of his father, carrying on general farming and also dealing in lumber, cutting large quantities at the saw- mill on the estate. After the death of Reu- ben, Smead Hillman carried on the business alone. He took an active part in town affairs, acting as Assessor for some time, and was also a member of the School Committee. He died on April 16, 1858, at the age of thirty-nine. 2s8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW His wife was a daughter of Jonatiian and Betsy (McCrillis) Coombs, the former a well-to-do farmer in Colerain and one of the old resi- dents. Mr. Coombs lived to be eighty-one years of age. His wife passed away at sixty- four. Mr. and Mrs. Hillman had three chil- dren, all of whom are living, namely: Edwin S. , in Greene County, Iowa; Mina L. , who lives with her brother Wayne in Colerain, a highly educated young lady, and one of the most popular teachers in the district ; and Wayne, whose name appears at the head of this sketch. Wayne Hillman grew to manhood in Cole- rain, attending the district school in boyhood and adding to the amount of knowledge gained there by a course of study at Powers Institute, Bernardston. In 1878 he bought the farm where he resides, which covers about one hun- dred and thirty acres; and he is the owner of considerable real estate in other parts of the town. He carries on general farming, and deals in live stock and poultry to some extent. Ten acres of his land are devoted especially to fruit-raising; and he has twenty head of hand- some Jersey cattle, producing first-class butter and other dairy products. On January 4, 1880, Mr. Hillman was mar- ried to Anna S., daughter of Oliver H. and Rachel R. (Dodge) Taylor, residents of Cole- rain, the former a farmer in good circum- stances and one of the oldest residents of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Hillman have five chil- dren; namely, Lotta T., Bessie A., Alfred VV., Mildred, and Mina. In politics Mr. Hillman is a Republican. In religion he follows the teachings of the Baptist church, of which his wife also is a member. A persevering and hard-working man, he is successful in all branches of his vocation, and occupies an honorable position in the community. HAUNCEY BRYANT, a resident of T Greenfield for the past forty-four years 1I2 ■' and an esteemed public official, was born at Ashfield, Franklin County, Mass., September 28, 1823. His father, William Bryant, was born there in 1778, and was a son of Zebulon Bryant, who was born at Bridge- water, Plymouth County, in 1741, and settled at Ashfield in 1763. He was one of the early pioneers of that town, and made his way through the wilderness at a time when blazed trees were the only indication of the right path. He cleared a small tract of land and erected a log cabin, which he later occupied in company with his young bride. He eventually cleared and improved a large farm; and here were born his eight children, seven of whom, two sons and five daughters, lived to reach maturity and become heads of families. After the death of his first wife he was again married. Some of his daughters moved to Illinois in 1835, and were residents there during the Black Hawk War. His first- born, Ruth, who became the wife of Isaiah Taylor, a farmer at Ashfield, lived to attain the ripe old age of ninety-nine years and ten months, her intellectual faculties remaining strong and unclouded until her ninety-sixth year. Grandfather Zebulon Bryant was a sol- dier of the Revolution, and marched to Albany through the woods. Mr. Chauncey Bryant has in his possession the musket, powder-horn, and some bullets which his patriotic ancestor brought home with him when he returned from the war. Although not known to have been a relative, he was an intimate friend of Dr. Peter Bryant, father of the eminent poet, William Cullen Bryant. His death occurred in Ashfield, at the age of eighty-seven years. William Bryant inherited the farm upon which he resided during his entire life. He married for his first wife, Nabba Hammond, CHAUNCEY BRYANT. ■# BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW z6i who died in the prime of life, leaving four chil- dren, all of whom grew to maturity, married, and have passed away. His second wife, whom he married in 1805, and who became mother of Chauncey Bryant, was Sarah Mayn- ard, daughter of Calvin and Anna (Moulton) Maynard, of Westboro, Mass. She was a cousin of the Hon. Horace Maynard, who served his country as a member of Congress, as minister to Russia, and during the latter part of Presi- dent Hayes's administration as Postmaster- general. Her father, Calvin Maynard, served in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Bryant's chil- dren by this marriage were the following: twins, the first-born, who died in infancy; Hannah, widow of Milton Hammond, now residing at Lawrence, Mich. ; Nathan, who died at Leroy, N. Y., aged fifty-nine years, leaving two sons and a daughter; William, who died at the old homestead; Chauncey, of Greenfield, and his twin brother Charles, who died while an infant; Asa and Albert, also twins, the latter being now deceased and the former a resident of Leroy, N.Y. ; Henry, who died an infant; and Calvin, now residing at the old homestead, which has been in the family's possession for over one hundred and thirty-two years. William Bryant died at the age of sixty-eight years. His widow died in 1869, at the age of seventy-nine. Chauncey Bryant passed his childhood and the early years of his manhood at the paternal home in Ashfield, and acquired a fair educa- tion, considering the limited opportunities offered him in his youth for study. As above- mentioned, he spent the greater part of his active life in Greenfield. He has always been a Republican in politics, and in 1863 was ap- pointed Deputy Sheriff — a position which he has since occupied, his first duty following his appointment having been to notify men who were drafted to serve in the Civil War. On July 8, 1852, he wedded Miss Mehitable Bas- sett, of Ashfield, daughter of Francis and Mehitable (Ford) Bassett, her parents having moved to Ashfield from Dennis, on Cape Cod, of which town her grandfather. Lot Bassett, was one of the first settlers. Their only son, Charles A. Bryant, is now a successful hard- ware dealer at Chicopee, where he has been in business for the past twenty years. He is married, and has two sons and two daughters. The subject of this sketch is a Royal Arch Mason, having first joined the Masonic order in 1865. His portrait on a neighboring page shows a man still vigorous in mind and body, one who, as an able and faithful public func- tionary, enjoys a well-earned popularity. Mr. Bryant has recently been called to part with his cherished companion, the devoted wife, who for more than forty years was the sharer of his cares and his joys. Mrs. Mehitable B. Bryant died at her home in Greenfield, June 7, 1895. 1845, son of Amos and Cordelia (Strait) Ross, both natives of Thompson. His grandfather, Eli Ross, who was a Methodist preacher, was also born there, and passed the latter years of his life in a neighboring village. Amos Ross in early manhood engaged in the stove and tinware business, and conducted an extensive trade for some twenty-five years, keeping a number of teams on the road. Flis last years were spent in Northfield, Mass., where he car- ried on a successful real estate business. He died at the age of sixty-two years. His wife lived to be sixty-six years of age. Her last days were spent at Abington, Conn. Mr. Ross was a Methodist in religious belief. His wife was a member of the Baptist church. 262 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW They reared six children, as follows: Lafayette H., who served in a regiment of light artillery during the Civil War, and after his discharge from the service lived for a while in Spring- field and later at East Longmeadow, Mass., where he died at the age of forty-eight years; Augustus B., the subject of this article; Cora E., wife of George P. Fields, now residing at the old homestead in Northfield ; Dennis, for- merly in business with his brother Augustus, who died at Miller's Falls at the age of forty- one years; Estella M., who married Arthur Holton, and died in Northfield at the age of thirty-nine years; and Frederick A., who has a wood yard at Brattleboro, Vt. Augustus B. Ross attended the common schools and the academy at Thompson, Conn. He was twenty-one years of age when his par- ents removed to Northfield, where he remained for a time. He was subsequently, for three or four years, in the employ of a Boston concern, for whom he travelled through New England, selling shoddy and wool stock. He then erected a stock house in the vicinity of the depot, and, securing a mill at Winchester, en- gaged in the manufacture of shoddy, taking his brother into partnership, the firm being known as Ross Brothers. The business was well established and placed upon a sure footing when their plant was destroyed by fire, and the firm sustained a loss of from twenty-five thou- sand to thirty thousand dollars. Business was continued, however, and successfully carried on for a period of ten years, at the expiration of which the mills were again burned. Mr. Ross then gave his entire attention to the rag business at Miller's Falls, which he estab- lished in 1872. He conducts a large and profitable business, buying and selling rags at wholesale and also purchasing all of the con- demned clothing from the government, which he sorts, classifies, and sells to paper manufact- urers. He still owns the mill property at Winchester and a large amount of machinery, together with engines, boilers, etc., which he is holding for future use. He has invested extensively in real estate at Miller's Falls, and owns eight or ten houses which he himself erected; and he possesses a fine farm, which he devotes to dairying interests, keeping about twenty cows. In 1 87 1 Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Miss Annie Augusta State, a native of Hins- dale, N.H., born January 29, 1855, daughter of Obed State, of Hinsdale. Obed State was a prominent citizen, who filled many positions of public trust. He was elected State Senator, and served some time as Justice of the Peace. He died in Hinsdale in 1869, at the age of fifty-six years. Mrs. State was called to rest in 1893, at the age of sixty-six. Mrs. Ross had two brothers and, one sister, namely : Charles, a farmer residing in Winchester, where he has been Selectman and Postmaster for many years ; George M. ; and Susie, wife of Clarence E. Tyler. Mr. and Mrs. Ross have two children : Edward B. and Mabel S. Both are graduates of the high school at Mon- tague, and Mabel is still pursuing her studies. Edward B. married Miss Jessie Doolittle, daughter of Silas Doolittle, of Hinsdale. Mr. Ross is a Republican in politics, and his son also votes the Republican ticket. W'^ ILLIAM WATSON DAVENPORT, a prosperous farmer and one of the most highly respected citizens of Leyden, Franklin County, was born there August 7, 1 84 1, son of Calvin Newton and Lucy (White) Davenport, the former of whom was also a native of Leyden, where he was born June 4, 1805. The Davenport family is of English origin, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 263 tracing their ancestry back to Thomas Daven- port, who came from England to America about the year 1635, and settled in Dorchester, Mass. Oliver Davenport, the great-grand- father of our subject, was a native of Little Compton, R. I., born in 1714, and his son, Oliver Davenport, Jr., the grandfather of William Watson Davenport, was born in Cov- entry, Conn., in September, 1760. He was one of the early settlers in Leyden, Mass., and was successfully engaged in business as a drover, besides dealing quite extensively in cattle, which he drove on foot to Boston and Rhode Island. He also followed the vocation of a builder, or carpenter, and erected many of the old buildings that still stand in Leyden. His wife died July i, 1842, at the age of seventy-six years. They were the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters, namely: Harriet, born September 28, 1791; Sophia, born April 28, 1793; Calvin, born June 10, 1795; Lucy, born June 28, 1797; Clarissa, born June 7, 1800; Oliver (third), born September 8, 1802; Calvin N., born June 4, 1805. Oliver Davenport, who resides with our subject, is the only one now living. Calvin Newton Davenport, who inherited good business capacities, followed the vocation of a farmer, and, like his father, was also suc- cessfully engaged as a drover and cattle dealer. His life was spent in Leyden, where he died September 25, 1852. In politics he was an ardent advocate of Democratic principles. In religious belief he and his wife, Lucy White Davenport, were Universalists. They were the parents of nine children, of whom five are still living. The record is as follows : Charles Newton, born October 20, 1832, who graduated from Glenwood School of Brattleboro, Vt. , studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1854, and became a well-known lawyer; he died April 12, 1882, at Brattleboro, Vt. Martin v., born September 26, 1834, is a farmer residing in Bernardston. George W. , born June 14, 1839, resides in Bernardston. Will- iam Watson is the subject of this sketch. Stephen T. , born September 14, 1843, is a successful lawyer of Brattleboro, Vt. Edgar Henri, born November 21, 1845, is engaged in law practice at Wilmington, Vt., and also in farming. Three died in early childhood, namely : Harriet, who passed away November 15, 1833; Sarah A., born June 21, 1837, who died August i, 1837; and Delason S., born August 22, 1848, who died June 20, 1849. William Watson Davenport received his education in the schools of Leyden, not in the ordinary manner, however; for from birth his sight was defective, and, as he was unable to see to read, he was dependent upon his hearing. But from listening to the recitations of the other children, he acquired considerable practical knowledge. He earned his first dol- lar at fifteen years of age, by sawing wood and threshing for David Mowry. When sixteen years of age he turned his attention to farming, purchasing his first parcel of land in Leyden, for the whole of which he was obliged to get credit. He afterward bought the homestead and lived there a number of years. Though deprived of sight, he was possessed of excep- tional business capacities, and at one time owned as many as a thousand acres of land. He now owns in the neighborhood of four hun- dred acres in Leyden, Mass., and in Vermont. In addition to his general farming interests, Mr. Davenport is engaged in buying and selling stock and farm produce, and is to-day one of the largest stock dealers in Franklin County, handling about two hundred thousand pounds of wool in a year, and from one hun- dred to two thousand head of cattle. He is considered one of the best judges of the weight and condition of cattle in the town. Mr. Dav- 264 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW enport goes to Boston and New York on busi- ness, and, though unaccompanied on these trips, has never met with a mishap. On November 7, 1870, he was married to Miss Mary Green Knox, who was born in Jacksonville, 111., daughter of Milton and Mary C. (Green) Knox. Milton Knox was born in Blandford, Hampden County, Mass., December 7, 18 14, and was there engaged in agriculture for many years. The latter part of his life was spent in Missouri, and he died in Hannibal, that State, May 30, 1862. In politics he was a Republican; in religious views, a Congregationalist. He was twice married. His first wife, Mary C. Green Knox, was born in West Springfield, Hampden County, Mass., September 21, 1812, and died at St. Louis, Mo., January 20, 1846. She, too, was a member of the Congregational church. She was the mother of three chil- dren, namely: Sophia E., born April 20, 1840, who died April i, 1843; Mary G., born October 24, 1842; and Milton H., born in St. Louis, Mo., August 5, 1844, who died October 4, 1844. By his second wife Mr. Knox had six children, as follows: Olivia A., born December 4, 1848; John R., born October 3, 1852; Franklin, born January i, 1855; Joseph H., born September 14, 1856; William H., born September 25, 1858; and John M., born September 4, 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport have reared two sons and two daughters : Stephen Tabor Knox Davenport, born Septem- ber I, 1871, a stock dealer and farmer, and at the present time a member of the School Com- mittee of the town of Leyden, where he re- sides; Mary Lucy, born December 27, 1874, living with her parents; Charles Milton Dav- enport, born September 8, 1877; and Sarah Bertha, born October 6, 1881. In politics Mr. Davenport is affiliated with the Democratic party, and has filled acceptably many offices. He has served as Selectman three years, and is at present a member of the board. His wife has been a member of the School Board for four years. Mr. Davenport is liberal in his religious views, and his wife is a member of the Congregational church. In Mr. Davenport Franklin County possesses a citizen of whom she may well be proud, one who by honesty and business sagacity, de- spite the unusual difficulties under which he has labored, has raised himself from the foot of the ladder to the rounds of prosperity and success. T^HARLES A. MARCY, a conspicuous I JJ factor of the mercantile interests of ^«C ' the town of Colerain, is a native of Franklin County, his birth having occurred July 19, 1849, in the town of Leyden. His parents, Andrew H. and Lovilla (Peck) Marcy, were natives of this county, the father having been born in 1807, in Leyden, and the mother in 181 1, in Colerain. Mr. Marcy's grand- father, Thomas Marcy, was one of the original settlers of Leyden, where he worked as a miller and millwright for several years. His last days were spent in Colerain, where he died in middle life, regretted as a valued citizen of the place. Politically, he was a strong member of the Whig party. His wife, whose maiden name was Amy Henry, attained the age of seventy-seven years. She was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Andrew H. Marcy followed the trade of his father, residing in the place of his birth until 1856. In that year he removed to Charle- mont, where he bought a grist-mill, which he operated until within a few years of his death. He lived to be eighty-four years of age, dying in 1891. His wife died in 1895. In politics Mr. Marcy was a warm advocate of the princi- ples of the Republican party from the time of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 26s its formation. He and his wife belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. Thirteen children were born to their home circle, eleven of whom grew to maturity, and nine are now living, of whom we record the follow- ing : Andrew M. resides in Leyden ; Elvira (Mrs. Rogers) in Colerain ; Thomas E. in Blue Rapids, Kan. ; Addie M. (Mrs. Darling) in Leyden; Charles A. is the subject of this brief sketch; Gilbert H. resides in Charle- mont ; Ella J. (Mrs. Pierson) in Grand Cross- ing, 111. ; Isabel C. (Mrs. Van Ness) in Ashfield ; Mary C. (Mrs. Sheldon) in Spring- field. The names of the deceased are as fol- lows : Frank P., a soldier in the late Rebell- ion, who was killed at the battle of Pittsburg Landing; Alvin ; Arathusa (Mrs. Darling); and Thomas, who died at the age of four years. Charles A. Marcy passed the first fifteen years of his life in the place of his nativity, and there received a good education in the public schools. When sixteen years of age he removed with his parents to Charlemont, where he began his mercantile career by ped- dling tinware on the road, preferring this life to working in the mill with his father, as he had done in his younger days. In June, 1871, Mr. Marcy established himself in business at his present stand in the village of Colerain, forming a partnership with C. H. Wilcox, with whom he remained in company two years. In 1873 he bought his partner's interest in the business, and has since successfully carried it on alone. His large store contains a complete assortment of household furnishing goods, tin- ware, and furniture, and with true business enterprise he caters to the demands of his cus- tomers, endeavoring to please them in the quality and variety of his stock. He also deals in wagons and carriages, being in com- pany with Mr. John D. Miller in this depart- ment of his business, and having a large trade in the town and in the surrounding country. On January 2, 1872, Mr. Marcy was united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Donelson, a daughter of Samuel and Louisa Donelson. Mr. Donelson, who was a farmer in Colerain, died some time since. His wife is still living in that town. In political and social circles, as well as in the business world, Mr. Marcy is quite promi- nent. He is a stanch Republican, and for seven years has been one of the Selectmen of the town, being at the present time chairman of the board. He and his wife are liberal in religious belief, and are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are quite active in society, and their pleasant home is a centre of genial hospitality. lATTHEW STEBBINS SEVER- ANCE, an energetic farmer of Leyden, was born in that town August 6, 1836, son of Matthew and Maria T. (Stebbins) Severance. His father was born in Leyden, August 9, 1807, and his mother in Greenfield, August 20, 1808. (For a more extended account of the ancestral history of the family, the reader is referred to the sketch of Dr. W. S. Severance. ) Matthew Severance, the father of our sub- ject, who followed at different times the occupation of tanner, shoemaker, and farmer, resided twenty years in Central New Jersey, where he was engaged in shoemaking. From there he went to Wisconsin; and he passed his last years in the State of Georgia, where he died on August 2, 1867, at the age of sixty. He was an honest and industrious man, who won the respect of all with whom he was asso- ciated. In politics he was a Democrat; in religious belief, a Methodist. His wife, 266 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW whose maiden name was Maria T. Stebbins, lived to be sixty-eight years of age, dying on October 9, 1876. Their family consisted of four children, two of whom are now living, namely: Maria T., widow of George A. Space, born August 7, 1829, who resides in New Brunswick, N.J. ; and Matthew S. , the subject of this article. Ellen E. died July 10, 1832; and Ellen (second) died August 17, 1836. Matthew Stebbins Severance passed his boy- hood and youth in various places, moving with his parents from Leyden to New York State when about a year old and residing there until ten years of age. He subsequently spent five years in New Jersey and two in Wisconsin, later returning to New Jersey. He received his education in Leyden and in Shelburne Falls, being sent there by his parents for that purpose. After completing his studies he was employed in the rubber works in New Jersey until 1859, when he went to Savannah, Ga. He entered the Confederate service during the Civil War, enlisting as a private in August, 1 861, in the Home Guards, for a period of one year. He served two, however, having been conscripted for the war. He saw a great deal of severe fighting, serving under Generals Lawton, Early, Gordon, and Stonewall Jack- son, and participating in the seven days' fight, the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and other memorable engagements. He was never discharged from the Confederate ser- vice, but entered the Union lines at Gettysburg in 1863 and voluntarily surrendered. He was confined at Fort Mifflin, seven miles below the city of Philadelphia, and succeeded in smug- gling letters to his father, who visited the fort and provided him with a supply of United States currency, by the aid of which he effected his escape in broad daylight, and, after secreting himself in a cornfield until night, swam the Delaware River to Camden under cover of the darkness, at length reaching New Brunswick, N.J., in safety. For a short time before the termination of the war he was engaged in making copper-nailed shoes at the latter place; and later he was for a period of two years employed on the Camden & Amboy Railroad, finally returning with his parents and family to Georgia and settling near Union Island, where he found mercantile employ- ment, eventually becoming manager of the Flilton Timber and Lumber Company's store — a position which he held for twelve years. In 1882, on account of ill health, he resigned his position and returned to his native town, purchasing the farm on which he now resides, which comprises about one hundred and thirty- three acres of valuable land. There he has since been engaged in general farming with prosperous results. On April 4, 1865, Mr. Severance married Harriet M. Belknap, who was born in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, May 16, 1847, daughter of James and Mary (Hillyer) Belknap, the former of whom was a native of New York State, the latter of New Jersey. James Bel- knap died in Pennsylvania. His widow is still residing in that State. They had six chil- dren, two of whom are living: Edwin E., who now lives in Pennsylvania; and Mrs. Sever- ance. The Belknap family also was well rep- resented in the army at the time of the Civil War. Edwin E. served in the Seventeenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. John was killed at Antietam, September 22, 1862, cut off in the flower of his youth, being but twenty -two years of age. Nathaniel E., who was a member of the One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, was taken prisoner by Mr. Severance's own division, and conducted to Libby Prison. He died January 17, 1880. Angelina Belknap died at the age BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 267 of fourteen years, and Mary E. died at the age of twenty-two. Mr. and Mrs. Severance have had a family of seven children, as follows: George M., born at New Brunswick, N.J., February 25, 1866, now a successful contractor and builder in Newark, N.J., who married F. E. Allen, and has one child, Agnes M. ; James W., born July 22, 1867, who died in infancy; Frederick J., born in Mcintosh County, Georgia, De- cember 16, 1869; Robert N., born in Georgia, May 29, 187s; Ella M., born in Mcintosh County, Georgia, October 2, 1877, now the wife of W. S. Davis, a resident of Shelburne, Mass., and the mother of one son, Frederick William; Lettice E. , born in Darien, Ga. , May 8, 1879; and Harriet B., born March 24, 1887, in Leyden, Mass. Mr. Severance is a Democrat in politics, and has held various offices in the town. Both Mr. and Mrs. Severance belong to the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Y^TORACE KEMP, a prominent farmer r^-l in West Leyden, was born in Shel- Ji® V_^ burne, August 17, 1835, son of Lawrence and Mary S. (Stewart) Kemp, his father being a native of Shelburne and his mother of Colerain. Mr. Kemp's grandfather, Lawrence Kemp, was born in Shelburne, his father being one of the pioneer settlers there. He was a farmer, leaving his plough to fight in the War of 1812, and on the declaration of peace returning to his quiet pastures and furrowed fields. He died at an advanced age, his wife also living to be quite old. Lawrence Kemp, the father of our subject, was also engaged in farming in Shelburne, where he remained all his life. He was an industrious and successful man, thorough in all his undertakings. Casting his first vote in the Democratic ranks, he later changed his views and joined the Republican party. He died at the age of forty-nine. His wife out- lived him many years, passing away when seventy-seven years old. They had seven children, six of whom reached maturity. Three are now living, namely: Mary Ann, who became Mrs. Matthews, and lives in Brookline, Mass. ; Sumner, residing in Alden, la. ; and Horace, our subject. Lucretia M. , Charles S., and Elsie C, are deceased. Horace Kemp's boyhood days were passed in Shelburne; and there he attended school until twelve years of age, when he went to work on a farm, receiving six dollars for his first month's labor. For ten years he worked for other people, saving his earnings until he had enough to buy some land, when he purchased the property in Leyden now owned by Bridg- ham Martin, consisting of seventy acres. On this farm he lived for three years. He then sold the land and moved to Colerain, where he spent eleven years. In 1872 he bought the estate where he now resides, which covers about three hundred acres and is fitted with substantial and convenient buildings, which Mr. Kemp has remodelled since purchasing. His farm is in good condition, and everything about the place bespeaks the careful hus- bandman. On April 22, 1858, Mr. Kemp was married to Eliza A., daughter of Walter and Salome (Shepherdson) Bell, who was born on June 7, 1835. Mrs. Kemp is of English descent, her first ancestor in America being James Bell, an Englishman, who was one of the pioneer set- tlers in Colerain, where he cultivated a farm. He was commonly known as Lieutenant Bell, and was an energetic and prominent man, hold- ing office in the town at various times and fill- ing the position of Town Clerk for years. He died in Colerain at an advanced age. His son 268 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Walter, the grandfather of Mrs. Kemp, was born in Roxbury, Mass. , and was taken to Cole- rain when a young child. He, too, followed agriculture, and owned a good farm in the east- ern part of the town. Though small in stat- ure, he was noted for his courage. He fought bravely in the Revolution, receiving a pension for his services. In politics he was a Whig. On the subject of religion his views were lib- eral. He died at the homestead at an advanced age. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Crouch, also lived to a good old age. They had eleven children, Mrs. Kemp's father, Walter Bell, being the fifth child. He also took up the pursuit of agriculture, and was besides a successful business man, taking con- tracts for roads and other public works. A Republican in politics, he took an active part in town affairs and was a prominent citizen. He died at the Bell homestead. His wife, who was a native of Leyden, died August i, 1882. She was an active member of the Methodist church. Mr. and Mrs. Kemp have five children, namely: Elsie S. B., wife of M. D. Miner, of Leyden; Ida G., wife of Charles D. Miner, of Colerain ; Walter H. Kemp, who married Mae S. Martin and lives in East Colerain; William S., in Brookline, Mass. ; and Harvey L., in Colerain. Politically, Mr. Kemp is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose affairs he takes an active part. They have a pleasant home and are prominent people in the town. "RIAH T. DARLING, a highly respected and prosperous farmer of Leyden, Franklin County, was born there June II, 1836, son of Uriah T. and Caroline (Williams) Darling. His grandfather, Moses Darling, was a native of Vermont and a suc- cessful farmer of Guilford in that State, where he died at an advanced age. He was the father of seven children, four sons and three daughters, of whom three are now living: Mrs. Lestina Scott, of Vermont; Oren E. Darling, of Springfield, Mass. ; and John Darling, of Hartford, Conn. Moses E. , Elmira, Uriah T. , and Lucinda have passed away. Uriah T. Darling, Sr. , was born in Guil- ford, Vt., December 30, 1802, and on his father's farm received practical instruction in agriculture. In early manhood he removed to Rowe, Mass., where he was successfully en- gaged in farming. About the year 1832 he located in Leyden, where he purchased a farm in the western part of the town; and in 1853 or 1854 he bought the homestead on which his son resides. He died there at eighty-five years of age. His wife is still living, and makes her home with Uriah T. Darling, Jr. In political affiliation Mr. Darling was a Re- publican. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They were the parents of twelve children, all but one of whom are now living. They were named as follows: Henry A., Moses E. , Charles W. , Caroline L. , Uriah T. , Joseph D., Olive, George L. , Mary J., John R., Amelia, and Elizabeth (deceased). Uriah T. Darling, Jr., grew to manhood in Leyden, receiving his early education in the district school, and finishing his studies at Powers Institute in Bernardston. He taught for fifteen terms in the town of Leyden and in the States of New Hampshire and Vermont. On attaining his majority, he started on an independent career, and for some time was engaged in farming, subsequently entering the mercantile business at Leyden Centre, where he successfully conducted a general store for seventeen years. He then disposed of this EZEKIEL L. BASCOM. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 271 business and bought the old homestead, where he now lives. His farm comprises one hun- dred and twelve acres of land, and he carries on general farming with good results. Mr. Darling is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted September 8, 1862, in Company B, Fifty-second Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel H. S. Greenleaf. He served in the Commissary Department from that time until he received an honorable discharge, August 14, 1863. On November 4, 1866, Mr. Darling was married to Miss Arathusa Marcy, daughter of Andrew H. and Lovilla (Peck) Marcy. Mr. Marcy was born May i, 1807, and died August 12, 1891. His wife, who was born May 7, 1811, died January 11, 1895. They were the parents of thirteen children, namely: Thomas J., who died at four years of age; Alvin J., who was eight years old when he died ; Ara- thusa, who lived to be twenty-three years of age; Frank P., who died at twenty-four years of age, being killed April 7, 1862, at the battle of Shiloh, in which he participated as a soldier of the Forty-sixth Illinois Regiment of sharpshooters; Murvin A., a farmer residing in Leyden ; Elvira L. (Mrs. Rogers), a resi- dent of Colerain, Mass. ; Thomas E., who resides in Kansas; Adelaide; Charles A., a resident of Colerain, Mass. ; Gilbert H., of Charlemont, Mass. ; Ella (Mrs. Pierson), of Chicago, 111. ; Isabella (Mrs. Van Ness), of Ashfield, Mass. ; and Mary C. (Mrs. Sheldon), of Springfield, Mass. Mrs. Darling died May I, 1869; and on January 8, 1871, Mr. Darling was married to her sister. Miss Adelaide M. Marcy, who was born November 26, 1847. She has borne two children, one of whom, Frank Marcy Darling, born January 19, 1880, died in infancy. Mr. Darling is active in political matters and an ardent advocate of Republican princi- ples. His townsmen have shown their appre- ciation of his sterling character by electing him to various positions of trust. For sixteen years he has filled the office of Town Clerk and Treasurer, and since 1883 has served on the Board of Selectmen, of which he has acted as chairman during the past four years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belong- ing to Republican Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Greenfield. KRANK N. BASCOM is a very success- ful farmer, residing on the banks of Fall River, about three miles from Gill Centre. He was born on October 21, 1856, on the same farm he now occupies, and which was the birthplace of his father, Ezekiel L. Bas- com, whose portrait appears on the next page of this volume. Mr. Bascom's grandfather, Dorus Bascom, was also a native of Gill, hav- ing been a son of Moses Bascom, who was born at Greenfield, on May 15, 1761. The latter was the third in line from the original settler, Thomas Bascom, who located at Northampton, where his death occurred. (For a more ex- tended account of the family's early history the reader is referred to a complete genealogy published by William Parsons Lunt, of Bos- ton, in 1870. ) Moses Bascom first settled on the farm now owned by Frank N. Bascom, and reclaimed it from the wilderness, the original tract of land having been a very large one. He first con- structed a log cabin, in which he resided for a time, later erecting the present substantial farm-house, which is still in a good state of preservation ; and here he passed the remainder of his days. Dorus Bascom, son of Moses, resided in this house from his birth to his decease, and successfully conducted the farm. He became very prominent in local public affairs, holding the offices of Selectman and 272 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Town Clerk and other positions of responsibil- ity. He married Esther Newton, and reared a family of eight children, Mr. Bascom's father being the fifth son. Ezekiel L. Bascom was reared to farming, but relinquished that occupa- tion for the stone-cutter's trade, which he followed in this vicinity for a time, later, however, returning to the farm, of which he assumed charge during his parents' declining years, and, after inheriting the property, con- tinued to reside there until his decease, in 1876, at the age of fifty-six years. He was a Democrat in politics and a well-known man, serving as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. He was a member of the Uni- versalist church. His wife, Theresa Ballard, was a daughter of Amaziah and Martha (Cur- tis) Ballard, her father being a farmer of Gill, son of Jeremiah Ballard, who died there at a good old age. Mrs. Ballard was a daughter of Thomas Curtis, a resident of Brattleboro, Vt. , and was one of a large family of children. She and her husband were the parents of eleven daughters, five of whom are still living, namely: Martha; Mary, a resident of Gill; Maverett ; Pomona ; and Laura, who resides at the old homestead, where the mother died. Mrs. Ezekiel L. Bascom reared two children : Lizzie, wife of Almon Hale, of Bernardston ; and Frank N., with whom she now resides. Frank N. Bascom received a good education in the schools of his native town and at the academy at Bernardston. He was twenty years of age at the time of his father's death; and he has since conducted the farm, which consists of about two hundred acres and is devoted principally to the dairying interests. He has erected his present handsome resi- dence, together with a spacious barn, and has made many other improvements. In 1 881 he was most happily united in mar- riage to Edna Dorrel, one of three children of the late Harris Dorrel, of Leyden. Mrs. Bas- com's father died at Greenfield. Her mother is still living. Mr. Bascom and his wife have four children, as follows: Earle, Rene, Edric, and Alice. Mr. Bascom is a Democrat in politics. He attends the Unitarian church, his mother being a Universalist in her relig- ious belief. ZRA FOSTER, a highly intelligent farmer and one of the oldest and best- known citizens of Leyden, was born February 2, 181 5, son of Ezra and Nancy (Smith) Foster. The father was a native of Bernardston, Mass., born September 21, 1779, and the mother was born in Chesterfield, N.H., October 25, 1781. Ezra Foster's great-grandfather was one of three brothers who came to America from England^ landing at Plymouth, Mass. He located in Middletown, Conn., in which place his son, Ezekiel, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born. The latter removed to Bernardston, Mass., when a young man. The country was then new, and there was an abundance of wild game of various kinds, the forests being tenanted by deer, bears, and wolves, and beavers abounding along the borders of the streams, in whose waters trout and other fish were plentiful. There Ezekiel Foster lived a primitive life, farming, hunt- ing, and fishing. In 1782 he settled in the northern part of Leyden, and in 1786-87 he was an active participant in Shays's Rebell- ion, so called from its leader, Daniel Shays, a native of Hopkinton, Mass. This, it will be remembered, was caused by the financial depression following the Revolution. Daniel Shays, who had been a Captain in the army, headed a body of the people who demanded the abolition of taxes and an issue of paper money for general use. Mr. Foster died at the age BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 273 of seventy-five years. His wife, Chloe (Burn- ham) Foster, was also a native of Connecticut, and removed to Bernardston, Mass., where their marriage took place. She was over ninety years of age at the time of her death. Their union was blessed by the birth of nine children, of whom five sons and three daugh- ters grew to maturity. Ezra Foster, their eldest son, the father of our subject, acquired a good practical educa- tion in the schools of Leyden. He chose the independent vocation of a farmer and became the owner of the homestead farm, which he cultivated with profitable results. He also took great interest in the welfare of his town. He was a man of sterling character; and that his fellow-men were not unmindful of his worth is evinced by the positions of trust and responsibility bestowed upon him, among which were those of Selectman and Overseer of the Poor. He also served as a Captain of the State militia. His wife, Nancy (Smith) Foster, bore him eight children : Nancy, Sylvia, Mary, Ezra, Joseph, Maria, Louisa, and Ransom. Three of these are now living: Ezra, Ransom, and Maria (Mrs. Warner), who resides in Greenfield, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. Fos- ter spent their last years on the old Foster home- stead in the northern part of Leyden, the former dying March i, 1864, and the latter, February 21, 1875, at the age of ninety-three years. Ezra Foster received his education in the district schools of Leyden, at Northfield Acad- emy, and at Halifax, Mass. He remained with his parents until twenty-one years of age, beginning at nineteen to earn a livelihood by teaching school, at which he was engaged for twelve years. He then decided to change his occupation, and, purchasing his first land, the farm where he now resides, he engaged in agriculture, and by hard work and good busi- ness ability commanded success. Mr. Foster has been twice married. On May 6, 1846, he was united to Miss Sarah A. Wilbur, who was born in Leyden in 1818, and died June 4, 1862. Three children were born of this union : Frank W. , who resides in Greenfield ; and Edgar S. and Charlie, who died on the same day, September 26, 1869, aged respectively eighteen and sixteen years, and were buried in one grave. Mr. Foster's sec- ond marriage took place May 17, 1863, his bride being Miss Susan A. Mowry, a native of Leyden, born September 15, 1840, daughter of Manley and Jane E. (Wilds) Mowry, both natives of Leyden. Mr. Mowry, who was a hard-working and successful farmer in Leyden, died at the age of seventy-two. His wife still resides in Leyden. They were the parents of five children, of whom three are living, namely: Mary C, the wife of D. N. Carpen- ter, of Leyden; Mrs. Foster; and Haven A. Mowry, of Greenfield, Mass. Esther E. died in her thirty-seventh year, and Manley M. at furty-three years of age. Mr. Foster has been a member of the Re- publican party ever since its formation. He takes an active interest in the welfare of his town, which he has served acceptably as Se- lectman and in minor offices; and at the pres- ent time he holds the State office of stock inspector. He and his estimable wife are in- fluential members of the Universalist church, of which he has served as secretary during the past thirty years. 'pJRS. E. JOSEPHINE GOULD, now residing in Greenfield, but a native of Gill, where she was born Janu- ary 12, 1846, traces her paternal ancestry as follows: her father, Asa C. Howe, was a son of Elmer and Eliza (Osgood) Howe, and grandson of Asa and Esther (Bowker) Howe. = 74 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Asa Howe, her great-grandfather, who was born in Sudbury, Mass., followed the occupa- tion of a farmer, owning a farm in Wendell; but in 1837 he and his son Elmer moved to Gill, where with his wife, Esther Bowker, he spent his last years on what is known as the Bates and Howe homestead. Elmer Howe, who was also a farmer, passed the latter part of his life in Gill, dying at the old homestead in 1853, in his sixty-eighth year. His wife, Eliza Osgood, was a native of Wendell ; and they were the parents of five children. Dur- ing her last days she lived in Greenfield, where she died in 1876, at the age of eighty- eight. Asa C. Howe, the father of Mrs. Gould, was born in Wendell, in 18 14. His education was begun in the district school, and com- pleted by a course at Shelburne Falls Acad- emy. He remained with his father on the farm in Wendell until he came to the Bates and Howe homestead in Gill, where he died in 1 891, at the age of seventy-six. He was a member of the Methodist church and very active in its affairs, holding office as Sunday- school superintendent, also as Trustee and Steward. Politically, he was a Republican, and for some years held the office of Select- man. Mr. Asa C. Howe married Almira Bates, who was born in 18 19, daughter of John Bates and grand-daughter of Jacob Bates. Jacob Bates, great-grandfather of Mrs. Gould, was a native of Thompson, near Sutton, and one of a family of twelve children. He was at one time a sailor and ship builder; but the greater part of his life was passed in agricult- ural pursuits, his last years being spent on the Bates homestead, which he purchased as early as 1770. His wife was Bathsheba Pierce, of Winchester, the daughter of a hotel-keeper; and they had one son, John, who learned the shoemaker's trade, but at his father's death he became the owner of the old homestead. John Bates was one of the best-known men of Gill, holding at different times various offices, among them those of Deputy Sheriff, Select- man, and Overseer of the Poor, as well as that of Assessor for many years. He was also prominent in Masonic circles, being Treasurer of Republican Lodge of Greenfield. Four children were born to Asa C. and Almira (Bates) Howe: Henry C, who married Maria Dennison, of Leyden ; Lyman B., who married Frances Chapin, of Leyden; E. Josephine, the subject of this sketch; and Isabel, who mar- ried Leroy Park. The mother is a member of the Methodist church. E. Josephine Howe completed her education at Powers Institute, Bernardston, after which she taught school in Bernardston, Gill, and Northfield. On September 4, 1867, she was married to Lucius H., son of Hazeltine and Sarah (Farnsworth) Gould, of Dover, Vt., and grandson of Benjamin and Hannah (Hazeltine) Gould of the same place. Benjamin Gould was a farmer in Dover, Vt., at the time of his death. His wife, Hannah Hazeltine, was a native of Jamestown, N.Y. Hazeltine Gould followed the threefold pursuits of farmer, carpenter, and mason, living in Dover until the latter part of his life, which was spent in Swanzey, N. H. He and his wife, Sarah Farnsworth, were the parents of seven children: Lucius H. ; Susan H., who married Harvey Sargent; George A.; Emerson A.; Abbie, who married Oscar Steadman ; Fannie M. ; and Frank. P'our are still living. The mother was a member of the Baptist church, and died in Dover, Vt., in 1872. The mater- nal ancestry of Lucius H. Gould is traced as follows: his mother, Sarah Farnsworth Gould, was a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Nichols) Farnsworth, and grand-daughter of Deacon Samuel and Rhoda (Carpenter) Nichols. The BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 27s latter was a daughter of Governor Benjamin Carpenter, who was the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Wilson) Carpenter, and was born in Rehoboth, Mass., in 1726. He was among the foremost of the early patriots of the State, being a Colonel in the Revolutionary service. He removed to Guilford, Vt., in 1770, and was a founder of the first Constitution and government of Vermont, being made a counsellor of Cen- sors in 1783, and a member of the Council and Lieutenant Governor of the State in 1778-81. Lucius H. Gould lived on a farm till he was twenty-five years old. He was educated at Leland & Gray Seminary, Townshend, Vt. , and at Powers Institute, and for a time taught school in Vermont and Massachusetts, and also in Iowa, where for three years he was princi- pal of Quasqueton Academy and Secretary of Buchanan County Board of Education. Re- turning East, he purchased a store in East Dover, Vt. , which he run for six years and then sold, after which, in 1873, he moved to Bernardston, Mass., where he carried on a suc- cessful trade for sixteen years and where he lived until his death, which occurred on May 2, 1889, at the age of fifty-one years. Mr. Gould was a Republican in politics and was a man who took great interest in the welfare of his town, which he served as Selectman and Assessor for several years. He was superin- tendent of schools in Dover and a Trustee of Powers Institute and of Cushman Library in Bernardston. He was an attendant of the Methodist church, being prominent in church affairs. He is survived by his wife and one child, a daughter, Myrabel Josephine, who was graduated at Powers Institute as valedictorian of her class, and after teaching one year en- tered Wellesley College. Mrs. Gould is a woman of much intelligence and cultivation, is a member of the Methodist church at Bernards- ton, and when living there was connected with various organizations, the Ladies' Aid Society, the Missionary Society, the Ladies' Reading Club, and the Chautauqua Circle. W'' LLIAM A. MOORE, an energetic and progressive business man of the town of New Salem, living in the village of Millington, is a worthy representa- tive of the native-born citizens of the place, having won for himself an enviable reputation for honest integrity and straightforward deal- ing. He comes from excellent English ante- cedents, and is of substantial pioneer stock, the Moore family having first been represented in this country in 1635, when one of the name settled in Charlestown, Mass., going from there to Sudbury. Asa Moore, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Sud- bury, and, in the words of the typical West- erner of to-day, was more of a hustler than the majority of his neighbors. He first en- gaged in business, consisting of farming, lum- bering, and operating a grist-mill at Leverett, Mass., where he was one of the early settlers. While residing there, he married Persis Knight, and they became the parents of nine children; namely, Levi, Otis, James, Lewis, Martin, Lyman, Jefferson, Garry, and a daughter who died when very young. In com- pany with one of the older sons he bought the mill property now owned by the father of the subject of this sketch at Millington, then owned by one Josiah Miller, and later on put his son Lyman in charge of the mill. Levi Moore learned the miller's trade, en- gaged in business in several different places, and finally settled in Greenfield, where he died. Otis married Polly Montague, owned with his father a part of the mill at Milling- ton for a time, finally sold out, and moved to i-jG BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ^ Frewsburg, N.Y. , conveying his family and household effects by an ox team the entire dis- tance, much of the way through the wilder- ness, finding their path by means of marked trees. There he cleared up land, and engaged in farming, lumbering, and milling the re- mainder of his life. James, a millwright by trade, married Tryphosa Montague, settled at New Salem, owned for a time an interest in the mill business with his father, and died while a young man. Lewis married, engaged in the milling business in Leverett, where he spent his days, and reared a large family. Martin married Beulah Fiske, of Wendell, and settled on the old homestead of the Moore family in Leverett, but afterward moved to Montague, where he followed farming the remainder of his days. Lyman, the grandfather of William A. Moore, was born in July, 1799, in Leverett, and there learned the millwright and miller's trade; and, coming to Millington, he took charge of the mill which his father bought, and which, by the way, was one of the first (if not the first) mills ever built in the local- ity. He soon succeeded his father in owner- ship of the property, and was possessed of the same at the time of his death, December 29, 1843, in the forty-fifth year of his age. He was a man of unusual merit and respected by all, a Democrat in politics, a Unitarian in religious belief. His wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Smith, was a faithful member of the Congregational church. She preceded him to the land of eternal joys, passing away January 26, 1841, aged thirty-nine years. There were born to them a family of eight children; namely, Lyman E., Abigail, Jane, Hiram P., Maria A., Edward D., Lucian P., and Seraphine. Two of these, Abigail and Jane, died when very young. Hiram F., a millwright and general mechanic, married Cordelia Parlin. They settled in Millington, and were the parents of three children, who, together with the mother, have crossed the river which bounds the life that now is. Maria A. married Otis H. Moore, of Frews- burg, N.Y., where they started in life to- gether; and two children, Clara L. and Lucia E., were sent to bless them. Edward D., a mechanic, settled in Frewsburg, married Emogene Pope; and a son, H. Otis, came to them. The father died about 1880. Lucian P. Moore, a tanner by trade, a busi- ness which he followed a great many years, has for several years found employment in some of the largest shoe-shops in the State, having entire charge of certain departments. He married Lucretia Clapp, of Montague, and to them four children have been born : Nellie, Lottie, Clarence, and Robert. Seraphine Moore, who died April 25, 1888, at Buffalo, at fifty years of age, married Elijah R. Sax- ton, of Montague, a man of extraordinary business qualification and ability, who settled in Buffalo, N.Y., where they resided many years, and, having accumulated a large prop- erty, retired from business. They had one son — Charles B. Saxton — who was educated at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Lyman E. Moore, the first named in the above list of the children of Lyman and Eliza (Smith) Moore, and the father of the gentle- man whose name appears at the head of this sketch, was born at New Salem (Millington), where he now lives, April 15, 1824, and re- ceived his education in the common schools and at Hopkins Academy at Hadley, Mass. After the death of his father he bought out the interest of the other heirs in the mill and house, and has since been engaged in the grain business, having built up an extensive local trade, which he now conducts. In 1858 he rebuilt the mill, putting in new machinery. I BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 277 The house is one of the oldest in town, and is in good condition, having withstood the blasts of one hundred and forty winters. Mr. Lyman E. Moore has always been an important factor in promoting the interests of the town of his nativity, advancing by every means in his power all beneficial enterprises. Since 1866 he has served as Postmaster and Justice of the Peace, and he has been one of the Trustees of New Salem Academy for sev- eral years. He is a Republican in politics; and, though he has steadily refused official honors, he served as Representative to the State legislature in 1869. He has been con- nected with the Masonic fraternity for over forty years, having first united with the Mount Zion Lodge at Hardwick (now of Barre), and is now a member of the Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and of Crescent Royal Arch Chapter. In 1847 Mr. Lyman E. Moore married Elizabeth Thompson, who was born December 12, 1830, at Hardwick, Mass., and died December 4, 1878. Three children were born to them: Charles L., who died when a child; Eliza A. ; and William A. Eliza A. is the widow of Edwin N. Kellogg, of Orange, who died November 5, 1885. She has had four children, namely: Agnes E., who died in Sep- tember, 1885, at the age of sixteen years; Nathaniel P., who married Annie Durheim, of Ann Arbor, Mich. ; Grace E. and Charles L., who now reside in Orange. William A. Moore, the leading subject of this sketch, was born September 15, 1859. He was educated at New Salem Academy, and, like the rest of the Moore family, learned the miller's trade. He married Delia F. Wood, of Prescott, Mass., and resides with his father, caring for the business, which he now conducts. Socially, he, also, is a Mason, belonging to the Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M. bfRANK H. ZABRISKIE, M.D., junior plj member of the firm of Dean & Zabris- kie, physicians and surgeons, of Green- field, is winning a wide and favorable reputation as one of the most successful prac- titioners of this part of the State, and bids fair to attain a position of eminence among the best physicians of the day. He was born in Norfolk, Va., August 31, 1859, and is of Polish origin, the Zabriskie family having originated in Poland, whence they removed to Holland, where they abided for a while. In 1662 Albert Zabriskie sailed from Amster- dam, Holland, in the ship "Fox," and, com- ing to this country, settled in Hackensack, N.J. ; and some of his posterity have since that time intermarried with the Dutch. He was accompanied in his voyage to the New World by his wife, whom he had wedded in Holland, and their five children. One of his descendants. Christian Zabriskie, born at Englewood, N.J., in 1787, son of Albert Christian Zabriskie, was an importer of dry goods, and carried on an extensive business in New York City. He married Jane Roome, who bore him six sons and four daughters, all of whom married and reared families, their son Horsburgh, who was born in New York City in 1822, being the father of the subject of this brief sketch. Horsburgh Zabriskie was for many years an active business man in the city of his nativ- ity, being an insurance agent at 154 Broad- way. In 1847 he was united in marriage with Virginia Hartshorn, a native of Norfolk, Va., born in 1824, and they became the parents of two children, namely: Virginia A., wife of E. C. Sterling, a real estate dealer of New York City; and Frank H. Zabriskie. The father passed to his rest in 1891, but the mother is still living in New York. Frank H. Zabriskie grew to maturity and ^78 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was educated in the city of New York, attend- ing the public schools at first, and later the College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he was graduated in 1883, receiving the degree of M.D. In 1886 Dr. Zabriskie came to Greenfield, and, being favorably im- pressed with the place and the people, opened an office here. After a year's successful prac- tice he formed a partnership with Dr. Dean, with whom he has since been associated. A thorough student of medicine, in the diagnosis and treatment of the various diseases brought to his notice he has met with unusual suc- cess, and has won his full share of the patron- age of the community in which he has settled. The union of Dr. Frank H. Zabriskie with Miss Fannie Dean, daughter of Dr. H. C. Dean, was solemnized on the sixteenth day of June, 1893. They occupy an elegant resi- dence on Highland Avenue, erected by the Doctor in 1890. Politically, Dr. Zabriskie is a supporter of the Democratic party. He is a member of the Franklin County Medical Society and of the Massachusetts Medical Society, being quite influential in both societies. 7TAARL EMIL JULIUS WEISBROD, I Y^ a prominent manufacturer of Green- V»l2_^^ field, Mass., was born at Coburg, Germany, in the month of April, 1843. His father, Carl Weisbrod, who was born in the same city in 181 5, and also his grandfather and an uncle, were landscape gardeners upon the estates of King Leopold of Belgium, holding positions which lasted through life. Carl Weisbrod married Frederica Bernhardt, and their three children were: Caroline, widow of Mr. Zehner and now a resident of Coburg; Carl Emil, of this sketch; and Johanna, who married Albert Wright, of Greenfield. The parents both died in the old country, the father in 1885, the mother two years later. Their children received the benefit of a good education, and Carl Emil, as the result of a competitive examination, earned the priv- ilege of attending a university; but, prefer- ring to enter mercantile life, he began at the age of seventeen a four years' apprenticeship in the office of a large banking and manufact- uring establishment. During this apprentice- ship Mr. Weisbrod was a member of a well- known rifle club, which was fitted out by the Duke Ernst II. of Coburg, and instructed by a captain of Garibaldi's army; and on the occasion of a national festival at Gotha, the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the club was invited, and entertained for three days at the Duke's palace, "Marienthal." After he had served there three years, the firm failed; and he was employed for part of another year to assist in closing up their affairs. In June, 1865, he started for the United States, having the promise of a situa- tion in New York City; but, stopping at Brussels to visit a friend of his father, he lost the steamer in which he had intended to take passage from Antwerp, and, being obliged to cross the ocean in a sailing-vessel, arrived at New York too late to secure the situation. Thus finding himself alone among strangers without means of support, he readily seized the first opportunity for work which presented itself, and entered the employ of Alexander Levino & Co., pocket-book manufacturers, with whom he served an apprenticeship of three years, at first receiving one dollar per month and board, which was eventually in- creased to three dollars per week. Although the wages were small, the experience gained was valuable, as it placed him in possession of a trade, which he has since followed with success. In September, 1870, he established BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 279 business at Montague on a very small scale, with a capital of sixty dollars, himself and wife being the only operatives, until a time when its growth required assistance; and ere- long the enterprise assumed such importance as to necessitate the employment of twenty hands. In 1887 he moved to Greenfield, where he established his factory in the large three-story brick building that had been erected by the county for the sheriff's resi- dence and jail. Mr. Weisbrod purchased this property, which afforded ample facilities for the enlargement of his business; and he now employs from forty to seventy hands. Mr. Weisbrod and Miss Mary E. Newcomb, of North Adams, were married at Greenfield on September 14, 1869; and they have seven children, one of whom, a daughter, died at the age of seven years. The four sons and two daughters who survive are as follows : Carl, who wedded Florence Leslie, grand-daughter of the famous publisher, Frank Leslie, and is in company with his father; Willis Hamilton, also in company with his father; Luther H., an apt and industrious workman in his father's employ; Bertha, who is at present attending school; Elsie; and Frederick William. Mrs. Weisbrod was well educated, and taught school previous to her marriage. She and her husband are members of the Congregational church, and Mr. Weisbrod is Deacon of this and a Director and the Treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Association. "ENRY WARD CLOGSTON, a suc- cessful farmer and dairyman of Ber- }>^ \^ nardston, was born in Springfield, Mass., June 22, 1859, son of William and Sarah E. (Poor) Clogston. William Clogs- ton's father, John Glasford Clogston, was a native of Goffstown, N. H., born August 5, 1794; and his wife, Eunice (Roberts) Clogs- ton, was born in Strafford, Vt., July 29, 1797. He was a farmer, and resided in Strafford many years. On the breaking out of the War of 1812 he enlisted, and did good service for his country. He and his wife belonged to the Universalist church, and in politics he was a Republican. They had eight children, five of whom are now living: Spencer Clogston lives in Tunbridge, Vt. ; Mary, in Norwich, Vt. ; Aphia, in Strafford, Vt. ; and Luman, in Fair Haven, Vt. ; Will- iam, in Springfield, Mass. John, Henry, and Lucius are deceased. William Clogston, the father of Henry Ward, was born in Tunbridge, Orange County, Vt., July 15, 1831, but during the greater part of his life has been a resident of Springfield, Mass. For at least twenty years he has acted in the capacity of travelling salesman for the Powers Paper Company, and is still with them, having been in their ser- vice longer than any other man employed by them. He is a good business man, and knows how to make customers and friends when on the road, and does not lack for the latter, whether at home or en route. He owns a fine library, and has a valuable collection of antiquities and other curiosities, and is extremely well informed in the early history of Massachusetts. William Clogston was united in marriage to Sarah E. Poor, who was born in Robbinston, Me., February 20, 1833. Ancestors of Mrs. Sarah E. Poor Clogston were among the very early settlers of America. A certain Phillip Poor immigrated to this country so long ago that the date is very uncertain, but certain it is that many years later his descendants, among whom were Captain Thomas Poor and Captain Jonathan Poor, took active part in the French and Indian War; and members of this BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW family have also taken part in the Revolution and, later still, in the great Rebellion. Mr. and Mrs. Clogston have had four children, two of whom are deceased, namely: Willie, who was born in June, 1853, and died in 1855; and Harry V. The only daughter, Ida F. Clogston, born August 9, 1856, is the wife of Walter Shipman, of Springfield, who is connected with the Springfield Republican. Henry W. Clogston, the subject of this sketch, was the youngest-born of the family. The parents are liberal in their religious views, and in politics both father and son are Republican. Henry Ward Clogston spent the days of his boyhood in the city of Springfield, where he attended school and- formed many of the friendships of youth which are so pleasant to renew in riper years. At the age of sixteen he left school; and, entering the office of the Springfield Homestead, he began mastering the mysteries of the printer's craft, but at the end of a year gave it up, and entered upon his career as a farmer. He commenced by work- ing out, receiving for his first month s wages five dollars. For three seasons he worked for others, but the fourth year hired a piece of land in Springfield, which he worked for two years. So well did he succeed that he was enabled to buy one hundred and twenty acres of land at Bernardston; and on March 10, 188 1, he moved to this town, and started as his own master on his own land. He has since acquired adjoining property, and now has in all one hundred and forty-two acres of very good land, with convenient buildings. At present he has twenty-two head of stock — full blood Jerseys and grades. He gives his entire time and thought to his farming and dairying, and is making a grand success. The cream from his dairy is in great demand, and Mr. Clogston is already reckoned as one of Bernardston's most enterprising and thriv- ing farmers. On September 12, 1881, Henry Clogston was united in marriage to Eva L. Ross, who was born in Northfield, Vt., March 27, 1862, daughter of Freeman and Jane O. (Preston) Ross, both now living in South Royalton, Vt., where her father follows the carpenter's trade. Mr. Clogston and wife are members of the Unitarian church, and he is an adherent of the Republican party in politics. They have one son, Willie H. Clogston, who was born July 3, 1882. T^APTAIN ALVAH P. NELSON, a re- I V'^ tired farmer and lumberman of Cole- V»i£_^ rain, and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in this town. May 9, 1828, a son of David and Hannah (Brown) Nelson. His father was a native of Colerain, his mother of Rhode Island; and their marriage took place on February 5, 1824. Captain Nelson's grandfather, William Nelson, moved from Stonington, Conn., to Whitingham, Vt., where he lived one or two years, and then came to Colerain during the early days of the settlement of the town. He cleared a farm in the wilderness, first owning a small tract of fifty acres ; but by his persistent industry he acquired a large farm, which he successfully conducted for many years. He died there, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha Riddell, and who also lived to reach a good old age, became the mother of six children — three sons and three daughters — who grew to maturity, and have passed away. David Nelson succeeded to the possession of the old homestead, and resided there during his entire life, engaging in the lumber busi- ness in connection with farming. He at- ALVAH P- NELSON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 283 tained a prominent position in tlie community, was a Selectman for four or five years, and also held other offices in the town. He was an officer in the State militia, a Democrat in politics, and liberal in his religion. His death occurred at the Nelson homestead, March 19, 1876, at the age of seventy-four years, his wife having died at the age of fifty- eight years. Of their seven children six lived to reach maturity, namely: Willard D., a resident of Colerain; Marcus, who now re- sides at Champlain, 111. ; Alvah P., of this sketch; Samantha B., wife of F. H. Ballou; Elizabeth, who died June 12, 1852, at the age of eighteen years; and Mary A., who died December 4, 1867, at the age of thirty-one years, she being the first wife of F. H. Bal- lou. She left one son, William H. Alvah P. Nelson was educated in the schools of his native town, and on reaching manhood adopted the business of his father, which he followed throughout the active period of his life, with the exception of a year passed in the service of his country during the Civil War, he having enlisted in Sep- tember, 1862, as Captain of Company B, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteers. He participated in the battle of Port Hudson, together with other memorable engagements, and, being disabled, was honorably discharged on August 14, 1863. Subsequent to his return home he continued to conduct business successfully in connection with farming. He owns a very fine farm, which is well im- proved, and possesses one of the most comfort- able homes in the neighborhood. On January 17, 1865, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary A. Barber, who was born at Halifax, Vt., June 15, 1842, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Lucy (Nelson) Barber, of that town, her father having been born there on October 10, 18 17, and her mother at Colerain, November 9, 18 16. Mr. Barber is a Republican in politics, and has been a member of the Board of Selectmen. He is also active in other official capacities, and is a Universalist in his religious views. They have had a family of four children, three of whom are now living, namely: Maria A., wife of Charles B. Denison, of Colerain; George A., a resident of Halifax, Vt. ; and Mary A., who is the eldest. The other, Frank H. Barber, died at the age of twenty- one years. Captain and Mrs. Nelson have no children. They are liberals in religion, and are so- cially very popular, having a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Captain Nelson is a Democrat in politics; and he is a com- rade of Greenleaf Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Colerain. Many will recognize with pleasure the portrait of this stanch patriot on another page. Vain were the hope of the republic without its brave defenders: " Men — high-minded men — Men who their duties Icnow, But know their rights, and, Icnowing, dare maintain ! " 7TAHRISTIAN F. SCHUSTER, profes- I ]| sor of music, residing in Greenfield, ^^ ^ Franklin County, is a gentleman of talent and culture, occupying a high position among the musical celebrities of Western Massachusetts. He was born in New Prussia, near Leipsic, Germany, in 1826, son of Adam and Louisa (Lipoid) Schuster, his father being a farmer in very comfortable circum- stances. They reared a family of five chil- dren, but he was the only one to come to America; and one son and two daughters are still living in the fatherland. Christian F. Schuster inherited in a marked degree the musical ability native to his par- 284 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ents; and special attention was early paid to its development, his entire time for four years, which he spent in Altenburg, being devoted to the study of music. Among the other musical instruments on which he learned to play was the trombone, in order that, if drafted into the army, he might join the band. At the age of twenty-two years he came with the Germania Band to the United States, making the voyage in a sailing-vessel, and being thirty-five days on the ocean. Of the thirty-five members of the band who came over at that time only two besides Mr. Schuster are now living, namely: Herr Eckhart, a noted musician of St. Paul, Minn. ; and Professor Eichler, formerly leader of the Germania Band in Boston, now living in that city, retired from active pursuits. Mr. Schuster is still hale and hearty, young for his years. He has always devoted himself to the teaching of music, both instrumental and vocal, paying special attention to voice culture, teaching in public schools, and giving private lessons. For some years after coming to this country Mr. Schuster remained with the Germania Band; and he was the first person to play the trombone solo in the city of New York, mak- ing his appearance in the old tabernacle on Broadway. He subsequently joined the Ital- ian Opera Company of Philadelphia, belong- ing to it for some time, and afterward settled in Brattleboro, Vt., and while there played the organ in the Congregational church every Sunday. Mr. Schuster was first married in Brattle- boro, Vt., in 1854, to Lizzie Brown, a daugh- ter of Addison Brown, whose widow is still living in that place, an intelligent and active old lady of ninety-two years. Mrs. Lizzie B. Schuster died in i860, leaving four children, of whom two died when young, the living ones being Paul, who is cashier of the Forest City National Bank, of Rockford, 111., and is married; and Elizabeth, the wife of Dr. Twitchell, of Dorchester, Mass. Mr. Schus- ter was again married in 1865 to Augusta R. K. Jonas, who was born in Kleine Heils- bach (one hour's ride from Frankfort-on-the- Main), Germany, and of this union three sons and one daughter have been born, namely: Christian, Jr., who resides in Holyoke, Mass., is married, and has one child; Carl, a pianist; Franz, who is in the newspaper business; and Alma, a very interesting and" bright young lady, living at Holyoke, Mass., with her brother. Politically, Mr. Schuster is an adherent of the Democratic party, although taking no active part in local affairs. He is held in the highest respect throughout the community, where he has hosts of friends, with never a known enemy, and, with the exception of his unfortunate collision with a highwayman, has had a most happy life. At that time he very narrowly escaped death, being horribly cut and bruised about the head and face, from the effects of which he was long unconscious and his life despaired of for twelve days, during which he suffered much, both from the nervous shock and the physical injuries. Kl- |ANSOM S. FOSTER, a prosperous and well-known farmer of Leyden, Franklin County, was born in this town, February 9, 1826, son of Ezra and Nancy (Smith) Foster. His grandfather, Ezekiel Foster, who was a native of Connecti- cut and son of an English settler in that State, removed when a young man to Ber- nardston, Mass., where he married, and set- tled down to farming, which he followed in connection with hunting and fishing; for at that time the woods and streams abounded in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 285 game and fish of various kinds. In 1782 he came to Leyden, and here spent his last days. He was a patriot soldier of the Revolution. Ezra Foster, the eldest son of Ezekiel Foster, was born in Bernardston, September 21, 1779, and was therefore about three years old when his parents removed to Leyden. He received a good practical education in the schools of this town, where he afterward engaged in agricultural pursuits, and became a prominent citizen. He was chosen by his townsmen to fill various offices of responsibility and trust, that of Selectman among others; and he also served as a Captain in the State militia. Ransom S. F"oster, who was reared to the vocation of a farmer, received a practical edu- cation in the district schools, and in addition to his agriculture has engaged in carpentry and wagon-making. The old Foster home- stead, where he now resides, was willed to him. It comprises one hundred and fifty acres of productive land, and on it is one of the oldest houses standing in Leyden to-day. Mr. Foster was married February 18, 1852, to Miss Climena Frizzell, who was born in Leyden, April 19, 1828, daughter of Rufus and Sabra (Wells) Frizzell. Her father was born October 6, 1793, being the son of Reu- ben and Anna (Squires) Frizzell, the former of whom died January 20, 1818, aged forty- seven years, and the latter June 16, 1844, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Rufus Frizzell- was successfully engaged in the trade of a carpenter, which he followed in conjunc- tion with farming in Leyden, where he resided up to the time of his death, July 20, 1867. His wife, Sabra Wells Frizzell, was born June II, 1793, and died December 6, 1845. She bore him six children, of whom Mrs. Climena F. Foster is the only survivor. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Foster has been blessed by the birth of seven children — one son and six daughters — all of whom grew to maturity: and five are living to-day. A brief record follows: Mary C, wife of Henry Potter, of Brattleboro, Vt., died in her twenty-seventh year; Sara S. Foster died at twenty-one years of age; Lottie L. is the wife of Frank J. Allen, of Greenfield, Mass.; Nora H. is the wife of F. A. Cowan, of Natural Bridge, N.Y.; Nancy S. married Dr. D. Griffin, of Lynn, Mass.; Frank R. Foster lives on the old homestead; and Lilia E. Foster was educated in the State Normal School in Salem, Mass., and is a school- teacher. Frank R. Foster was educated in the schools of Leyden, and for a time was engaged in teaching school. Since his return to the old homestead he has successfully devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, and is to-day classed among the rising young farmers of the town. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, and for three years has served on the School Committee, a position he is well qualified to fill, as he takes especial interest in educational matters. He is also an active and prominent member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. In political affilia- tion Mr. Ransom S. Foster is a Republican, and in religious belief is a Universalist. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Foster's whole life has been spent in the community where he now resides, and of which he is a useful and highly respected citizen. |EVI J. GUNN, a prominent manufact- urer of Greenfield, was born in the village of Conway, June 2, 1830. His father, Levi Gunn, was born at Montague in 1793, and was a son of Levi Gunn, Sr., a farmer in that town, who died in the prime 2S6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW of life, leaving a wife and three children. Grandfather Gunn's widow, whose maiden name was Mary Jewett, afterward married a Mr. Hale; and this last union was blessed with three children, Mrs. Hale dying in Mon- tague, at an advanced age. Mr. Gunn's father followed the trade of blacksmith, resid- ing in the towns of Conway and Buckland. In 1 8 14 he married Delia Dickinson, of Whately, Mass. ; and they reared a family of eight children — two sons and six daughters — of whom six are now living. Levi Gunn, the second of the name, died at Conway in 1862; and his widow, who long survived him, de- parted this life in 1881, aged eighty-eight years, both having been active to the last. Levi J. Gunn attended the schools of his native town, where he obtained a fair educa- tion; and he also acquired in his youth some knowledge of his father's trade. At the age of eighteen years he abandoned that calling, and entered the employ of a manufacturer of carpenters' tools at Conway, from which place he came to Greenfield about the year 1853. Here he continued in the same business until 1864, when, in company with Charles H. Amidon, he commenced the manufacture of clothes-wringers, the firm conducting a suc- cessful and profitable business for a period of ten years. At the expiration of this time a stock company was formed, with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars, for the purpose of developing and carrying on an enterprise for the manufacture of hardware specialties, consisting of carpenters' and other mechanical tools, their factory being located at Miller's Falls. Mr. Gunn has held the position both of treasurer and manager of the company since its organization, his energy and capability having been the means of establishing and maintaining a large and very successful trade, their annual production being greatly in excess of its former amount, and requiring the services of two hundred workmen. On October 5, 1853, Mr. Gunn married Miss Esther C. Graves, of Sunderland, daugh- ter of Cephas and Miranda (Church) Graves, who were both natives of that town. Her father, who was a prosperous farmer, died in 1847, aged fifty-four; and his widow was called to rest in 1865, aged sixty-six years. They had a family of eleven children, ten of whom lived to reach maturity; one, Allen, a farmer, now resides upon the parental home- stead of his wife; another, Elias, is a resident of Oshkosh, Wis. ; and a third, Royal C. Graves, resides in Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Gunn have one son, Levi Walter, a graduate of the Greenfield High School, who married Sybella Eastman. The family attend the Congregational church, of which Mr. Gunn is a member of the Financial Committee, and for the past fourteen years have occupied a most pleas- antly situated and comfortable residence, sur- rounded by giant elms, at 24 Main Street — a delightful home. Mr. Gunn is a Republican in politics, and has served two terms as As- sessor and Selectman. He was for two years a State Senator, and served a similar length of time as a member of the Governor's Coun- cil. He is a stockholder in the Greenfield Savings Bank. ENRY S. RANNEY, an honored and respected citizen of Ashfield, is -'' V.^ / noted as being, both in point of age and time of service, the senior incumbent of the office of Town Clerk in Franklin County. He was born in Ashfield, Mass., March 5, 1817. His paternal grandfather, George Ranney, was born at Chatham, Conn., BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 287 January 9, 1747. In 1780, after his marriage with Esther Hall, he came to Ashfield, and bought one hundred acres of wild land, which now constitutes the farm owned by Charles Howes. He cleared a large portion, erected good buildings, and, while establishing a home and rearing a family, acquired a compe- tency. He was a stanch adherent of the old Whig party, but held no political office. With his wife, his religious associations were with the Congregationalists. She died at about middle age, and he at the age of seventy-five years, leaving seven children; namely, Samuel, Jesse, Joseph, Hannah, Esther, Anna, and George. George Ranney, Jr., was the youngest child born to the pioneer household, his birth occur- ring May 12, 1789, on the Ashfield home- stead, which he' afterward inherited, and managed with skill until 1832. Then, selling his property, he removed to Phelps, N.Y., where, with the exception of one year, during which he was engaged in the lumber business in Michigan, he carried on general farming until the time of his decease, at the age of fifty-three years. He married Achsah Sears, who was born April 11, 1789, and died August 7, 1869. They reared nine children, as follows: A. Franklin, George L., Henry S., Lucius, Priscilla M., Harrison J., Lyman A., Lemuel S., and Anson B. Henry S. Ranney, the special subject of this brief record, was educated at Sanderson Academy, and worked on the home farm until the age of fifteen years, when he accepted a position as clerk with S. W. Hall, one of Ashfield's most enterprising merchants, after- ward occupying a similar position in the store of Jasper Bement. He later formed a copart- nership with Richard Cook; and they opened a store of general merchandise, in which they carried on a substantial business for five years. Selling his interest here, Mr. Ranney next went to Boston, where he was engaged in a mercantile business with George C. Goodwin for four years. Returning then to the scenes of his childhood, he was employed as a clerk for a time with Joseph Bement, a son of his former employer, but soon went into business at the old stand with S. W. Hall. In the month of April, 185 i, he sold out his interest in the store, and bought the property in the village known as the John Williams Hotel, which was built in 1792 by Zachariah Field, and by him used as hotel and store. This property Mr. Ranney has always kept, though not using it as a public house. He has en- tirely remodelled it, arranging the rooms for tenants, having six tenements besides the por- tion which he himself occupies, often enter- taining transient guests. In 1857 he bought sixty acres of land near by, and until 1885 successfully carried on general farming in connection with a variety of official business. In 1839 Mr. Ranney was chosen to the office of Town Clerk, and since that time has filled the office forty-eight years. On March 18, 185 1, he was appointed by Governor George S. Boutwell Justice of the Peace, and has since performed the duties connected with the office in a most faithful and satisfactory manner. He has the courage of his convic- tions, was an early antislavery and Free Soil voter, and is to-day an independent Republi- can in politics, voting for the man and meas- ures most desirable and fit. He has been prominent in the management of local and State affairs, and, besides serving various terms as Selectman and Assessor, he has twice served as Representative to the legislature, having been elected in 1852, and again in 1868. He has ever taken an especial interest in promoting the educational and moral ad- vancement of his native town, and has served 288 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sanderson Academy for forty years, having been President of the Board one-half of that time. He has long been one of the most active and esteemed members of the Congre- gational church here, holding the office of clerk. Mr. Ranney has been twice married. His second wife, whom he espoused on June 26, 1856, and who died on August 25, 1890, was Julia A. Bassett, a daughter of Francis Bas- sett. The maiden name of his first wife, to whom he was united June 20, 1844, was Maria J. Goodwin. She died in 1855, at the age of thirty-three years, having had four children: the eldest, Ralph H., born March 16, 1845, married Rosa S. Bassett, and died in 1876, leaving her a widow with two children — Ray- mond R. and Clara M.; Ella L. Ranney, born September 24, 1847, died in 1874, leaving her husband, Albert W. Packard, and two children — Austin G. and Ella M. ; Clara M. Ranney, born August 2, 1851, died in 1859; and George G., who was born May 22, 1853, lived but four months. YgTENRY C. WILLARD, a pharmacist r=T| of large experience, carrying on a -1-^ V_ ^ substantial business at Greenfield, a gentleman of intelligence, enterprise, and social prominence, was born in this town in 1836, but has spent much of his mature life elsewhere, having returned to his native place in 1890. He is a descendant of an early set- tler of Greenfield, his father, David Willard, a son of Beriah Willard, having been born here in 1790. David Willard was a mer- chant and one of the extensive land-owners of Greenfield, and exerted a strong influence in advancing its business interests. He married Miss Sarah Dickman, a daughter of Thomas Dickman, noted as being the editor and pub- lisher of the first paper established in West- ern Massachusetts, and the first postmaster at Greenfield. They reared a large family of children, of whom the subject of this brief biographical notice was the eighth child and the fourth son in order of birth. Henry C. Willard received his elementary education in the public schools, and this was supplemented by a complete course of study at Fisk Academy. At the age of sixteen years he began to learn the business in which he has since been continuously employed, becoming clerk in a drug store at Hartford, Conn., where he remained four years. The following three years he was employed in the same capacity at Pittsfield, Mass., returning thence to Greenfield, where he was similarly engaged another three years. In 1865 Mr. Willard, in company with Mr. Clark, estab- lished a drug store at Brattleboro, Vt., and under the firm name of Clark & Willard had carried on a very successful business for some ten years when a disastrous conflagration destroyed their store and its contents. Mr. Willard subsequently engaged in business by himself in Brook House Block, where he re- mained a score of years, removing from there to Great Barrington, Mass., having the lead- ing drug trade of that place during the suc- ceeding three years. In 1890 Mr. Willard gave up his store in Great Barrington to come to Greenfield to take charge of the drug busi- ness and the estate left by George Plovey, the deceased husband of his sister, Nancy M. Willard Hovey. . On June i, 1870, while a resident of Brat- tleboro, Vt., Mr. Willard was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to Miss Mary Field, of that city. She is the descendant of a dis- tinguished New England family, being a daughter of the Hon. Charles T. Field, and JOHN D. MILLER. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 291 a cousin of the well-known and talented writer, Eugene Field, of Chicago. Her mother was a daughter of General Martin. Of the two children born of their happy union one son died in infancy; and their other son, David Willard, is a Senior at Trinity College, where he is preparing for the Episcopal ministry. In his political views Mr. Willard has the courage of his convic- tions, and, although formerly a Republican, has been an adherent of the Democratic party since 1872. He is quite advanced in Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar, in which body he has served as Senior Deacon. He and his family worship at the Episcopalian church, of which they are communicants. "OHN D. MILLER, whose portrait meets the eye of the reader on the opposite page, one of the most enterprising and best-known citizens of Colerain, was born in this town, January 22, 1842. He is a son of Hugh B. and Mary Young (Drury) Miller, both natives of Colerain, his mother being now a widow. His paternal great-grand- father, William Miller, was of Scotch de- scent, but born in the north of Ireland, and was one of the numerous immigrants to this country known as Scotch-Irish. Robert Miller, son of William, passed the whole of his life in Colerain; and there his son Hugh B., the father of Mr. John D. Miller, was born on September 16, 181 3. He was engaged in his youth in lumbering, also conducting a farm, and was a shrewd business man, successful in all he undertook. In poli- tics Mr. Hugh B. Miller took an active inter- est, and belonged to the kindred parties of that time, being successively a Whig, a Free Soiler, and a Republican. He was elected to fill many public offices, being State Constable for seven years. Representative to the legis- lature from his district in 1859-60, and again in 1866. He also was prominent in town affairs, being Assessor for twenty years. Jus- tice of the Peace for twenty-seven years, and Trial Justice for some time. The greater part of his life was spent in Colerain Centre. He died August i, 1885. His wife, Mary Y. Drury, who was born October 12, 18 14, is now the oldest resident in the village. They had five children, namely: May Bolton, who died when four years old; Susan R., born January 12, 1836, now the widow of Newton Smead, and living in Colerain; Nancy E., born January 10, 1839, the wife of John L. Clark, of Elm Grove, Colerain; John D. ; and Robert, born May 28, 1849, a resident of Colerain. John D. Miller grew to manhood and was educated in Colerain. He sought his fortune in the city, engaging first in trade in milk and baker's goods in New York and Brooklyn, in the employ of J. A. Lincoln, afterward carrying on the same kind of business in his own name, going from New York to Jersey City. In 1868 or 1869 he returned to his native town, and here engaged in various enterprises, farming being his principal industry. He has a farm of about two hun- dred and forty acres, and besides this property owns real estate in the village. Mr. Miller is also in business with C. A. Marcy, who has a large trade in carriages and farm wagons, carrying in stock vehicles of every descrip- tion. In fact, he is the sort of man that only America can produce — one who can turn his hand to anything, and make all he undertakes a success. Mr. Miller was married on December 20, 1 87 1, to Mary E., daughter of Lysander and Mary R. Brownell, both now deceased. Mrs. Mary E. Miller died January 2, 1890, leaving BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW three children: Sadie D., Hugh B., and Marian R. Marshall R., twin brother of Marian, died in his eleventh year. Mr. Miller is a Republican, and is quite promi- nent in local politics. In 1883 he was chosen Representative for the Fifth Franklin Dis- trict, which includes Northfield, Bernardston, Leyden, Heath, and Colerain; and in town he has served as Assessor, off and on, since 1873, as Collector for several years, holding that office at present, and as Constable. He is Director and Agent of the Franklin County Mutual Insurance Company, and is also con- nected with the Quincy Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company of Quincy. /^^^^TeORGE WASHINGTON MILLER, \ p!)! late a leading citizen of Colerain, was born here on February 10, 18 16, and was a son of Robert and Nancy (Bolton) Miller, natives of the same town. On the pa- ternal side he was of the sturdy race known as Scotch-Irish. William Miller, the first of the family to settle in Colerain, came to this country from the north of Ireland in the early part of last century. William Miller removed to Franklin County from Stow, Middlesex County, about 1740 or 174S, at a time when the country was sparsely settled, and the home of every hardy pioneer was a miniature for- tress. The forests abounded with wild animals and with equally wild savages; and the roads made by the settlers were chosen with the greatest care, in order to avoid ambuscades. Indian Spring, on the Miller farm, is so called from an incident which aptly illus- trates the chances of the time. A settler who had lost a cow was seeking for the missing animal near this spring, guided by the sound of a bell which she had worn about her neck, when he caught sight of an Indian gliding among the trees and underbrush and ringing the bell, which he had taken from the cow, to lead the white man to sudden death or captiv- ity and torture. Quickly raising his gun, the pioneer fired, and the Indian dropped near the spring. William Miller first settled where Mr. Arthur Smith now resides, spending there three seasons. He then moved to what is called the Milo Sprague place, and there spent the remainder of his life, prospering in worldly affairs, and taking a prominent part in town matters. He passed away on Decem- ber 9, 1785, at the age of eighty-five. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Wallace, was of the same lineage as William Wallace, the Scottish patriot. Her span of life cov- ered nearly a century, reaching its termination on March 28, 1794, she being then over ninety-nine years old. Mr. and Mrs. Will- iam Miller were Congregationalists, and attended service at the little church which stood near the Old Cemetery, the oldest bur- ial-place in this vicinity. Their son Robert, the grandfather of George W., succeeded to the farm, and on it spent his life, winning a good livelihood from the products of the soil, and taking an active part in town affairs. In politics he was a Whig, and he attended the Congregational church. He was twice married, his first wife being Margaret McClellan, a native of Colerain. She died in 1790, at the age of fifty-two, leav- ing eight children: William, Thomas, Rob- ert, David, Martha, Mary, Jane, and Margaret or Peggy. On April 26, 1791, Robert Miller married Martha (Richey) Smith, widow of Thomas Smith. The second Mrs. Miller, who was a native of Peterboro, N.H., daugh- ter of William Richey, one of the earliest permanent settlers of that town, died July 28, 1849, aged ninety. She also was a member of the Congregational church. Of this union BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 293 four children were born — John, Peggy, Annie, and Washington — who all lived to marry and raise families. Robert Miller, the younger, was born and bred in Colerain, and spent part of his life on the homestead, carrying on general farming. After his marriage to Nancy Bolton, he moved to the part of the Miller estate which lies opposite Mr. Michael Johnson's resi- dence; and there the ten children born of the union grew to adult age. They may here be briefly named, as follows: Minerva, wife of Amos Bardwell; Nancy, wife of Abel Shat- tuck, and later wife of David Jillson, of Whitingham, Vt. ; Robert, who married Celia Lyons; Margaret, wife of Nathan Hoskins, of Jericho, Vt. ; Elizabeth, the only survivor of the family at present, wife of Harry Hos- kins, of the same place; Jane T., wife of Asahel Snow; Hugh B., who married Mary Drury, the latter now a widow, residing in Colerain; George W. ; Joseph W., who mar- ried Helen Thompson and later Caroline Blakesly; and John M., who died, unmarried, at the age of thirty-one. George W. Miller was eleven years old when his father died; and, after the boy had acquired what book learning the district school afforded, he took up the pursuit of agriculture, buying in 1841 the farm now held by the family. It covers three hundred acres, and is a valuable piece of property. On this farm is the site of the first store opened in the town, which was kept by the Chandler brothers; and the residence was built by the Chandlers in 1791, and, though over one hun- dred years old, is still in good condition, and admirably suits its pleasant environment. Mr. Miller was a thrifty and successful farmer, and made many improvements in the place. A Democrat in politics, he served as Selectman for some time, besides holding minor offices. He belonged to the Colerain Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and, like his father and grandfather, was a Congregationalist in religion. He died at the home farm on December 9, 1891. Mr. Miller was twice married. His fir.st wife, to whom he was united August 31, 1837, was Sylvia Shattuck, who was born September II, 1815, and died on February 20, 1853. Six children were born of this union, only one of whom, Benjamin F. Miller, survives. He resides in Colerain, his home being just south of the old Miller place; and by his wife, whose maiden name was Eugenia Eddy, has three children: Frank Mowry, George Leroy, and Grace Peet. On September 7, 1853, Mr. Miller was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Miller) Shearer, a native of Shel- burne, born May 26, 1822. Thomas Shearer, who was born in Colerain, July 14, 1791, was a well-educated man, and taught school for* some time, but spent the greater part of his life in agricultural pursuits. He died Jan- uary 31, 1841. His wife, Margaret (Miller) Shearer, was born in Colerain, April 14, 1793, and died' on March i, 1863. Mr. Shearer was a member of the Universalist Society, and Mrs. Shearer belonged to the Congregational church. They had eight chil- dren, all of whom grew up; but at the present time Mrs. Miller is the only one living. She is the mother of two children: S. Adelle, born March 4, 1856, wife of William Rickett, of Derby, Conn., and mother of three children — Tessie, Henry, and William Percy; and Helen M., born October 10, 1866, wife of William Apt, who lives on the home farm with Mrs. Miller, and has three children — Albro, M. Russell, and Dora Mildred. Mrs. Elizabeth Shearer Miller is one of the oldest and most esteemed residents of Colerain, and 294 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW her retentive memory is stored with interest- ing facts relative to the history of the town. "ON. CHESTER C. CONANT, a prominent resident of Greenfield, and Judge of Probate for Franklin County, was born at Lyme, N.H., in 1831. His father, Colonel Jonathan Conant, was born in the same town in 1793, and was a son of Josiah Conant, who moved to Lyme from Bridgewater, Mass., where he was born in 1768. Jonathan Conant, father of Josiah, was born at Bridgewater in 1734. He served through the entire struggle for independence; and, although he fought in the battle of Brandywine, and endured the hardships of the memorable winter at Valley Forge, he sur- vived the many dangers and vicissitudes of the war, and died at Orange, Vt., in 1820. Judge Conant is a lineal descendant of one of the oldest Colonial families. The imme- diate progenitor of his great-grandfather was David Conant, who was born at Beverly, Mass., in 1698, and one of whose sons, Will- iam Conant, 2d, was the first settled minister at Lyme, being pastor of the Congregational church for a period of forty years. David was a son of William Conant, born at Beverly in 1666, whose father. Lot Conant, was born at Nantasket in 1624, and was a son of Roger Conant, a Church of England Puritan. The father of Roger was Richard Conant, who was born about 1548 at East Budleigh, England, where Sir Walter Raleigh was born in 1552, whence it follows that they must have been boys together in the same village. Roger Conant, whose birth occurred at East Bud- leigh, England, in 1592, is supposed to have been a passenger on board the "Ann," which arrived at Plymouth in the month of July, 1623. He erected the first house in Salem, where he settled, afterward being appointed Governor of the colony, an office which he filled for several years, until superseded by Governor Endicott. While residing at Nan- tasket, he made use of the island in Boston Harbor, then called Conant's Island, now known as Governor's Island. He was a grandson of John Conant, who was born near East Budleigh about the year 1520. The emi- nent divine, the Rev. John Conant, D.D., Archdeacon of Norwich, England, 1676, was a nephew of Roger Conant. Judge Conant's paternal grandmother was Betsey Sloan, daughter of John and Esther Sloan, of Palmer, Mass., and later of Lyme, N.H., where they were the first settlers. Their tombstone, which now stands in Lyme (N.H.) churchyard, records their ages — each i as ninety-six years. The ceremony of the marriage of Josiah Conant and Betsey Sloan was observed in 1788. The former was acci- dentally killed by a falling tree in 1801, at the age of thirty -three years, leaving three sons and four daughters. Judge Conant's father. Colonel Jonathan Conant, married in 1820 Clarissa Dimmick, daughter of Samuel Dimmick, of Lyme, and one of a family of twenty-one children. Her paternal grand- father was present at the siege of Louisburg. Colonel Conant served in the War of 181 2. He was by trade a contractor and builder. Of his family of eight children Lucy died at the age of eighteen, and Samuel at seventeen years. The others became heads of families, but are now deceased, with the exception of Judge Conant and his brother Josiah, the lat- ter being a resident of Thetford, Vt., where he follows agriculture, and has been several terms a member of the Vermont legislature. Dr. David Sloan Conant was an eminent phy- sician and surgeon and a professor at Bowdoin College, Vermont University, and the New BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 29S York Medical College. He was a volunteer surgeon at the battle of Antietam, and died at New York in 1865, aged forty-five years. Abel B. Conant, the youngest brother, was surgeon of the Fourteenth Kentucky' Loyal Regiment, and passed some time in captivity at Libby Prison. He died of diphtheria a short time after his discharge from the army, aged twenty-seven years, while preparing to fill a professorship at the University of Ver- mont. Judge Conant's mother died in 1842; and his father, in 1863, at the age of seventy years. Although Chester C. Conant began life by following his father's business, being at the age of eighteen years competent to assume charge of building operations, he preferred to enter professional life, and accordingly pur- sued a full course at Dartmouth College, where he was graduated with the class of 1857. He also graduated from the Albany Law School two years later, was admitted to both the New York and Massachusetts bars the same year, and afterward to the bar of the United States Supreme Court. He opened an office at Greenfield in company with the late Judge David Aiken, continuing in partnership with that gentleman for a period of four years. The partnership which he formed in 1877 with his nephew, Samuel D. Conant, still continues, the firm conducting a large law practice. In politics Judge Conant has always been a Republican. In 1863 he was elected Regis- ter of Probate and Insolvency for Franklin County, to which office he was re-elected in 1870; and he now holds the position of Judge of Probate and Insolvency, having been ap- pointed in September, 1870. Judge Conant was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1882, and was also a Presidential elector from Massachusetts the same year. He has served upon the School Committee of his town, his knowledge of building making him of especial value to the town during the erection of the high school. He is also an active member of the Episcopal church, having been superintendent of the Sunday-school for a period of thirty years. On June 14, i860, he wedded Miss Sarah B. Howard, a childhood acquaintance, who died July 17, 1889, leaving two daughters — Charlotte H. and Martha P. — who are both graduates of Wellesley College. The former, in company with a classmate in college, now conducts a school at Natick, Mass., where young ladies are prepared for Wellesley and other colleges for women; and Martha has received the post-graduate degree of A.M. from that institution. On October 18, 1892, Judge Conant married for his second wife Miss Emily H. Haven, only surviving daugh- ter of John P. Haven, late of New York City, formerly a publisher of religious literature. Mrs. Conant is a graduate of the celebrated school of the Misses Draper, late of Hartford, Conn. m ILLIAM L. BOUTWELL, a very enterprising and successful young farmer of Leverett, son of Samuel W. Boutwell, was born January 20, 1858, upon the farm where he now resides. His home is very near the farm on which his grandfather, Levi Boutwell, who was a native of Fitzwilliam, N.H., settled in early man- hood. Grandfather Boutwell carried on his farm for many years, later moving into the village, and passing the sunset of his life with his children, who tenderly cared for him until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-four years. He was a prominent mem- ber of the Baptist church and the father of a large family. 296 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Samuel W., the second-born child of his parents, was reared to agricultural labors ; but, directly after completing his education in the district schools and at the Shelburne Falls Academy, he began the work of life by teaching in the schools of Leverett and the adjoining towns. Later he received as a gift from his father the very desirably located farm adjoining the old homestead, and here he has since resided. Always a very active man, he attended to the many arduous duties which fall to the lot of a farmer until the year 1885, since which time his son William L. has re- lieved him from care and labor, so that he is now passing his declining years in. the enjoy- ment of a quiet and well-earned retirement. He married Harriet D. Prescott, daughter of Luther Prescott, of Montague, where her fam- ily were early settlers and highly respected citizens; and this union has been blessed with but one child — William L. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel W. Boiitwell, although well advanced in years, are still well preserved mentally and physically. They are attend- ants of the church at North Amherst. At the age of fourteen years William L. Boutwell commenced a two years' course of study at the New Salem Academy, preparatory to entering Amherst Agricultural College, from which he was graduated in 1878. He then returned to the parental roof, and as- sisted his father in carrying on the farm until assuming entire charge, as above stated, since which time he has conducted the farm with an energy and push which plainly demonstrates the fact that he is well qualified, both by sci- entific knowledge and natural ability, to make farming a pronounced success. In 1882 he was very happily married to Sarah E. Bangs, of Leverett, one of the fam- ily of six children of Howard and Judith (Cutter) Bangs, her father, who was a native of Hadley, now deceased, having been a pros- perous farmer in Leverett. Mr. and Mrs. Boutwell have one child, named Estella Mira- bel. Mr. William L. Boutwell is a Republi- can in politics, and is active in all public affairs of the town, having served as a member of the Board of Selectmen and as Overseer of the Poor; and he has rendered valuable aid to the town as a member of the School Board during the past eight years. In agricultural affairs he has been prominent, having been Secretary of the Hampshire County Agricult- ural Society for three years, and for a number of years a member of the Executive Commit- tee; he also has been a Trustee of the Frank- lin County Agricultural Society for several years past. Mr. and Mrs. Boutwell are at- tendants of the church at North Amherst. jUFrANCIS a. CADY, who, at his beau- T^l^ tiful home in Ashfield, is enjoying the rest and recreation earned by his many years of useful activity, is numbered among the prominent and valued citizens of F'ranklin County, being a man of solid worth, possess- ing in an eminent degree those traits that command respect in the business world, and gain esteem among one's neighbors and asso- ciates. He was born in the town of Stafford, Conn., March 20, 1818, at the home of his parents. Garner and Susanna (Johnson) Cady. Garner Cady was born in Connecticut, and there reared to agricultural pursuits, becoming an extensive and prosperous farmer. He also carried on a profitable business in quarrying stone on his farm, which he sold for use in blast furnaces, deriving a good income there- from. Energetic and enterprising, he was one of the foremost citizens of his locality, both in business matters and in local public affairs. In politics he was a stanch Demo- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW m crat, and, besides serving in various town offices, was Representative of liis district to the State legislature several terms. He was a sincere and esteemed member of the Univer- salist church, and after a well-spent life of eighty-six years came to his grave " Sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust." To him and his wife, who died in 1824, twelve children were born; namely, Phineas G., Alanson N., Andrew J., George F., Gid- eon H., Hannah, Garner, Jr., Isaac, Francis Augustus, Alfred D., Elvira, and Marietta S. Of these, Elvira, who married A. Blodgett, and is now a bright and active woman of ninety-three years, is the mother of thirteen children, three of whom are well-known physicians. Francis A. Cady was left motherless when a little lad of six summers, and for the follow- ing ten years he was cared for in the home of an uncle. After being well trained to habits of industry, honesty, and thrift, he started out in the world for himself, his first employment being that of clerk for S. Gaylord, of North Adams, Mass. While thus employed, he practised a wise economy; and, when he reached man's estate, he had saved enough money to enable him to open a small country store in North Adams, making a modest be- ginning, but gradually enlarging and extend- ing his trade. Ten years later Mr. Cady disposed of his store, and entered into the real estate business, buying and selling lands and lots, erecting houses, which he sold or rented; and he is to-day the owner of several valuable houses in North Adams. In addition to all this, he also for a short time carried on a thriving business in the manufacture of bricks. On May i, 1892, Mr. Cady removed to Ash- field, purchasing a house, which he has en- tirely remodelled and fitted with modern conveniences, making it, with its well-graded, grass-covered lawn, one of the finest in the village. Mr. Cady also owns a valuable farm in the town of Ashfield; and on this he has some choice stock, being a great lover of fine horses and cattle, and taking pleasure in hav- ing them well cared for. The marriage of Mr. Francis A. Cady and Miss Hattie Marie Graves, daughter of Eben- ezer and Persis R. (Whittiam) Graves, of Ashfield, took place on December 9, 1885. They have one child — a daughter — Frances Marie, the date of whose birth was June 29, 1887. Mrs. Cady, who is a woman of refine- ment and culture and an accomplished musi- cian, is held in high esteem by her large circle of warm friends; and the pleasant home over which she presides is an attractive social centre. She is an active and valued member of the Congregational church. (For ancestry see following sketch of Ebenezer Graves.) Mr. Cady is a man of great intelligence and capability, one who thinks for himself, per- fectly independent in politics, voting for measures most beneficial to the general pub- lic, and in religion is of the liberal type of believers. BENEZER GRAVES, farmer, a well- known and esteemed resident of Ash- field, is the third in direct line who has borne this name in Franklin County. He was born in Charlemont, December 11, 1830, son of Ebenezer and Nabby W. (Man- ter) Graves, who were married in 1821, and who moved to Ashfield in 183 1. They were the parents of five children — a daughter, Harriet, who was born in 1827 and died in 1831, and four sons, the subject of this sketch being the only survivor. His brother Will- iam, born in 1823, died in 1849, and James, 2 9-8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW born in 1837, died in 1862, both unmarried; Addison, born September 25, 1833, died Jan- uary 15, 1867, leaving a wife, Helen M. Eaton Graves, and three sons — Charles B., a physician in New London, Conn., a gradu- ate of the Harvard Medical School, James M., and Addison — all now married. Ebenezer Graves, second, was the eldest son of Ebenezer and Olive (Flint) Graves, who were married on February 13, 1794, by the Rev. Eliab Stone, in the North Parish of Reading, Middlesex County, Mass., their na- tive place. The wedding trip was a journey of several days on an ox sled, with their worldly effects, to Charlemont, Franklin County, where they arrived on February 21. They were doubtless welcomed to that far off western settlement by the family of an uncle, Josiah Upton, who had removed thither in 1778, and had died in 1791. But the new- comers soon had a home, and in a few years a family of their own, eight children being born to them; namely, Ebenezer, Olive, Eliza, Addison, Sally, Daniel, Mary, and Harriet. The father, Ebenezer Graves of Reading North Parish and Charlemont, was a son of Daniel and Sarah (Upton) Graves, brother of Captain Daniel Graves, and grand- son of Daniel and Martha (Coats) Graves, who removed to the North Parish of the old town of Reading from Lynn about the year 1727. The first Daniel was a great-grandson of Samuel Graves, a farmer and a man of means and influence, who settled in Lynn in 1630 or near that date. It may here be mentioned in passing that there were others of this name who crossed the Atlantic in early Colonial times, and set- tled in different parts of the country. A genealogy of the various branches of the Graves family in America is now (1895) in course of preparation by General John Card Graves, of Buffalo, N.Y., a gentleman of scholarly tastes and acquirements, and skilled in the art of research, who has devoted much time and money to this species of historic investigation. Mrs. Sarah Upton Graves, wife of the sec- ond Daniel, was a daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah (Goodell) Upton, and was a descendant, in the fourth generation, of John Upton, the progenitor of the New England family of Uptons. (See "Upton Family Records," an elaborate genealogical work, by Judge Will- iam H. Upton, of Walla Walla, Wash., great-grandson of Josiah Upton, above named.) Through his grandmother, Mrs. Olive Flint Graves, Mr. Ebenezer Graves of Ashfield may claim descent from two other early set- tlers of Massachusetts, among whose posterity have been numbered many distinguished names: Thomas Flint, of Salem, as early as 1650; and John Putnam, who with his three sons — Thomas, Nathaniel, and John — came from England, and settled in Salem in 1634. Ebenezer Graves, second, died April 27, 1864. His wife, Nabby W., died December 26, 1878. Their son Ebenezer, named at the beginning of this brief record, married on December 31, 1855, Persis R. Whittiam, who was born in Leicester, October 15, 1830, daughter of Jeremiah and Diana (Doane) Whittiam. Her paternal grandparents were William and Hannah (Fitts) Whittiam, the former of whom came from Maine, and set- tled first in Oxford, Mass., where he married, later removing to Leicester; and her mater- nal grandparents were Reuben and Hannah (Slayton) Doane. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Graves are: Hattie M., born October II, 1856, now Mrs. Cady (see sketch of Francis A. Cady); and Dana L., born May 21, i860, who married December 31, 1885, Florence Shaw. Dana L. Graves is a farmer BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 299 in Ashfield. He and his wife have three children, as follows: Alonzo Shaw Graves, born March 22, 1887; Nelson Dana, born September 17, 1892; and Eliza, born October 4, 1894. As noted above, the Graves family of Ash- field are of stanch New England stock, de- scendants of early settlers of the old Bay State. Industrious, upright, law-abiding, church-going people, in comfortable circum- stances, social, and hospitable, they well exemplify the sterling traits of their ances- tors. Mr. Ebenezer Graves has a pleasant home in a retired part of the town, the farm being under the efficient management of his son Dana L., he himself, more inclined to mercantile than to agricultural pursuits, hold- ing a position with Belding & Co., silk manu- facturers, as travelling salesman. L ON RAD H. GALE, a successful man- ufacturer and dealer in lumber, stands fc2 - prominent among the rising young business men of Orange. He is a native of Franklin County, having been born May 14, 1864, in Warwick, son of Appleton and Mary E. (Conant) Gale. His great-great-grandpar- ents, David and Elizabeth Gale, who removed to Warwick from Sutton, Worcester County, were the parents of seven children; namely, David, Alpheus, Jesse, Huldah, Olive, Judy, and Mercy. David, second, son of David and Elizabeth, married Mary Eddy; and the fol- lowing children were the fruit of their union: John, Harvey, David, Levi, Horace, Elsie, Abigail, Rhoda, and Philana. David Gale, third, grandfather of Conrad H., was a farmer, living and dying in War- wick, on the place where he was born, March 15, 1795. He fought in the War of 1812, and was a man of some note in the town. which he served as Selectman. His wife, to whom he was united in October, 1818, was a native of Orange, Mass., born December i, 1799, just thirteen days before the death of Washington. Her maiden name was Augusta Goddard. They were married in Orange, and made their home in Warwick, becoming the parents of thirteen children, six of whom attained adult age; namely, John G., David, Appleton, William H., Charlotte, and Elvira. John G. was twice Representative in the legislature of the State, and held various important town offices for a number of years. William H. was also Representative, serving one year, and for years acted as a town official in various capacities. Appleton Gale, third son of David and Augusta (Goddard) Gale, was born in War- wick, May 21, 1829. In his younger days he worked at boot and shoe making. Twenty-five years ago he purchased a saw-mill and grist- mill, and has been extensively engaged in the lumber business ever since. Always honest and upright in his business dealings, and tak- ing an active interest in the welfare of his town, he is a very popular man, and has been twice nominated for Representative, but, be- longing to the minority party, has failed at the polls. He was one of the foremost workers for the town hall in Warwick, doing all in his power to insure its erection. He married February 14, i86r, Mary E. Conant, who was born in Warwick, February 25, 1837, daughter of Josiah and Rhoda CGale) Conant, and the following children blessed their union: Conrad H.; Ernest A., deceased; Julia M.: Abby R. ; and David J., deceased. Conrad H. Gale was educated in Warwick and Ashburnham, completing his studies at Gushing Academy. In the latter place he afterward began his career as an instructor of youth. He presided at the teacher's desk five 300 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW years in all, his last position in that capacity being in the Northfield grammar school. In 1891 Mr. Gale purchased the Holden saw- mill and shop in TuUy, and since that time has conducted a large and prosperous business. He has bought wood lots in different sections, and cleared them, manufacturing the timber into lumber, which he sells; and he also does a large amount of custom sawing. Recently he has engaged in the manufacture of wooden boxes, and he now expects to send out the greater part of the stock in his shop in the form of manufactured products instead of rough lumber. A man of his business enter- prise and progressive spirit necessarily occu- pies an influential position among the citizens of any community; and, although Mr. Gale is not active in politics, his business interests engrossing his entire attention, he has served one term of three years on the School Board, and has recently been elected to the same position for another term. On August 20, 1889, Mr. Gale was united in marriage to Miss Irene E. Gibbs, a daugh- ter of Henry and Sophia (Temble) Gibbs. Henry Gibbs was born June 27, 1838. He is a son of William L. and Elizabeth (Spear) Gibbs, and the grandson of Jesse and Abigail (Leonard) Gibbs, and comes of a race of prac- tical and progressive agriculturists. He is now a resident of the town of Orange, having bought the L. Ward farm in 1876, and is a well-to-do member of the farming community. In his younger days Mr. Gibbs learned the trade of painter; and, after following that a while, he carried on a successful grocery and bakery business in Orange for several years. He is a stanch member of the Republican party in politics. In Masonic circles he is prominent, being Master of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Gibbs was married Jan- uary I, 1862, to the daughter of Isaac Temble, who bore the following children: Jennie S., born October 3, 1862, who married Kirk E. Gilson, and has one child — Luetta S. ; and Irene E., Mrs. Gale, born June i, 1867, in Canaan, N.H. Mrs. Gale's parents removed to Orange when she was a young child ; and in that town she received her education, grad- uating from the high school in 1886. She taught school for three years before her marriage. Of the happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Gale two children have been born: Conrad David, whose birth occurred December 16, 1890; and Rena B., born June 25, 1894, whose earthly existence was very brief. Mr. Gale stands high in his town as a man of abilit}^ enter- prise, and -upright dealing. He is liberal in his religious views and prompt in the support of whatever, in his opinion, is calculated to advance the moral and material welfare of the community. Socially, Mr. Gale is a valued member of Harmony Lodge of Northfield, Mass., A. F. & A. M., and of Crescent Chap- ter of Orange. T^HARLES W. HOSMER, clerk and I J| paymaster of the Montague Paper ^^» ^ Company, established at Turner's Falls, Franklin County, Mass., a well-known resident of this village, was born at Saxton's River, Vt., April 7, 1855. He is the son of Joseph B. Hosmer, born in the town of Gill, in this State, and grandson of Eldad Hosmer, a native of Vermont, who carried on the car- penter's and joiner's trade in connection with farming. Later Grandfather Hosmer removed to Gill, where in 1805 he purchased a farm, and built a house, in which he spent his last years. Joseph B. Hosmer, his son, was brought up to the trade of woollen manufacturing, and HENRY A. HOWARD. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 3°3 later took the position of superintendent in a woollen-mill at Saxton's River, which he held twenty years. His death occurred in that town, at the age of forty-six years. He was a Republican in politics, and firmly devoted to party principles. The maiden name of his wife was Lorintha Walker. She was one of seven children of Bliss Walker, and was born in Wardsboro, Vt., where her father, who was a farmer, lived and died. Her mother died in Wells, Me. Mrs. Hosmer spent her last years at Saxton's River, dying there at the age of forty-five years. She was a member of the Congregational church. The children of Joseph B. and Lorintha W. Hosmer were as follows: James E., who died at the age of nineteen; William, a druggist of Turner's Falls fifteen years, and later a resident of Clinton, Conn., where he died, at the age of thirty-six years; and Charles W., of Turner's Falls. Charles W. Hosmer was but nine years old when his mother died, and was only eleven when his father also passed away. He then went to Factory Village in Greenfield, where he made his home with his father's sister, attending school during the winters until he was fourteen, when he went to Wells, Me., and lived three years with his mother's sister, still attending school. Returning now to Turner's Falls, Mr. Hosmer joined his brother in the drug business, in which he con- tinued about two years. For the last twenty years, or since 1875, he has been engaged as clerk and paymaster with the Montague Paper Company, an honorable record of fidelity and efificiency. In January, 1876, Mr. Hosmer was married to Miss Sarah L. Miller, daughter of Justice Miller, of Waterford, Conn., where she was born, and where her father is still living and conducting a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Hosmer are parents of four children, as follows: Flora L., who was graduated with honors from the Oakman High School, and is now a teacher in Turner's Falls; Joseph W. ; Charles Irwin; and Charlotte L. Mr. Hosmer is a Republican in politics. He has held the position of clerk of the Fire District three years, has been a member of the Board of Registrars of Voters two years, and was Assessor one year, being elected in 1877. Mr. Hosmer has also served for some years as one of the Selectmen of his town, and has been chairman of the Board since 1 89 1. In 1876 he joined the Masons of Bay State Lodge, and in 1878 became charter member of Mechanics Lodge of Turner's Falls, of which, having held the preliminary offices, he is now Past Master. He is also treasurer of the Unitarian Society of Tur- ner's Falls, Mrs. Hosmer being a member. A man of much general intelligence and of good business capacity, Mr. Hosmer is a prominent resident of Turner's Falls, and with his family holds the respect of the com- munity with which he has been so long identified. ENRY AUGUSTINE HOWARD, a prominent citizen of the town of - V Colerain, formerly in the boot and shoe business, now extensively and prosper- ously engaged in farming, is a native of Franklin County, having been born May 2, 1842, in Buckland. His paternal grand- father, Moses Childs Howard, was a well- known citizen of Colerain, following the trade of a tanner and shoemaker, and was also Deputy Sheriff of the county for many years. He settled here before his marriage, and was an industrious and hard-working man, but did not accumulate much property. He married Keziah Purrington, daughter of a pioneer of 304 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Colerain; and they reared a family of six children, of whom Sarah E., the wife of J. B. Clark, of Colerain, is the only one living. The deceased are: Emily A., Seth Childs, Henry A., Anna C, and Leonora A. The father was a Democrat in politics and a Uni- versalist in religion, while his wife was a member of the Baptist church. Seth Childs Howard was born in 1822 in Colerain; and he always claimed this town as home, although he lived in various places. He was a talented musician, one of the most skilful violinists of his day, and in the pur- suit of his art was connected at times with the leading theatres of the country, being often in New York City and in Boston during the theatrical season. He died at the early age of thirty-eight years, at Hornellsville, N.Y. His wife, Almina M. Barnard, was born September 15, 1821, in Shelburne Falls, where she now resides. Only one of their two children is now living; namely, Henry Augustine, the subject of the present sketch. His sister, Helen Marion, who was born in 1840, married Cordenio H. Merrill, of Shel- burne Falls. She died in 1893. Henry A. Howard grew to manhood in Col- erain, making his home with his paternal grandfather, and obtaining his early education in the public schools, afterward attending a select school. On September 5, 1862, he en- listed in defence of his country, becoming a member of Company B, under Captain Alvah P. Nelson, P'ifty-second Massachusetts Vol- unteer Infantry, and was engaged in the battle at Indian Bend and in the siege of Port Hud- son. At the expiration of his term of enlist- ment he was honorably discharged, August 14, 1863; and the following year he re-enlisted, joining the Second Massachusetts Light Artillery, under Captain Marian, and after- ward being transferred to the Sixth Massachu- setts Light Artillery, with whom he served until the close of the war, when he was again honorably discharged, in June, 1865. Re- turning to Colerain, Mr. Howard engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes at the old Howard homestead, formerly belonging to his paternal grandfather, and which was the first piece of real estate to come into his posses- sion. Here he remained for nine years, when he sold out, and removed into the village of Colerain, where he was engaged in the boot and shoe business for several years. In 1880 Mr. Howard moved to his present farm; and four years later he purchased the property, and has since devoted himself to dairying and general farming, paying special atten- tion to the raising of fruits. His farm con- tains two hundred and fifty acres of rich and productive land, and is improved by a com- fortable and commodious residence and con- venient buildings for successfully carrying on his enterprises. On August 24, 1864, Mr. Howard was united in marriage with Helen M. Snow, of Colerain, a daughter of Asaph W. and Jane T. (Miller) Snow, both natives of Franklin County, Mr. Snow having been born in Heath, where he learned his trade of a car- penter and joiner, though in his later years he was a farmer; and Mrs. Snow was a native of Colerain. Mrs. Snow was a member of the Congregational church, and her husband was a Democrat in politics. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Snow seven grew to adult life, and four are living to-day, namely: Rob- ert M., of Greenfield; David W., of Colerain; Helen M., Mrs. Howard; and A. Leander, of Lafayette, Ga. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Howard has been blessed by the birth of three children, of whom we record the following: Clara C, born November 16, 1866, is the wife of Charles G. Fisk, of Springfield, and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 305 has two children — Margaret H. and Marcus H.; Dean C, born November 11, 1870, was graduated from the Arms Academy at Shel- burne Falls, and is now a surgeon in the reg- ular army, located at Fort Snelling, Minn., where he married Myrtle Baldwin, of Toledo, Ohio; and James H., born March 3, 1874, lives at home. Mr. Howard is a steadfast and loyal Repub- lican, and is quite active in the management of local public affairs, has been Collector of Taxes nine consecutive years, for seven years was a member of the Board of Assessors, besides holding minor offices in the town, and at the present time is a member of the Board of Education. In 1894 Mr. Howard- was chosen to represent the Fifth Franklin Dis- trict in the legislature. He is a regular attendant of the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Howard is a consistent member. Socially, he is a member of the Mountain Lodge of Shelburne Falls, A. F. & A. M., and also belongs to the H. S. Greenleaf Post, No. 20, of Colerain, Grand Army of the Re- public. Mr. Howard is likewise a member of the Deerfield Valley Agricultural Society, of which he was President for two years. A portrait of this public-spirited citizen is happily included in the present collection of Franklin County worthies. HILO T. LYONS, a well-to-do farmer, an expert machinist, and an - engineer, living on a beautifully situated farm in the town of Orange, is a wide-awake, practical man of business and an esteemed resident of this section of Franklin County. The date of his birth, which oc- curred in Greenfield, Mass., was December 21, 1848. He comes from honored ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Dr. Joel Lyons, hav- ing been one of the most noted and successful of the old-school physicians. He removed from Colerain to Gill, in this county, where he purchased a farm, on which his six sons — Alvin, Samuel, Joel, John, Benjamin, and Charles D. — were reared, and where he lived until an advanced age. Charles D. Lyons, the father of him to whom we specially refer in this short narra- tive, was born in Gill in 1817, and was there educated. When a young man, he went to Greenfield, where he learned the cabinet- maker's trade, at which he worked for many years. Having a decided musical talent, and being very ambitious, he made a thorough study of music, being mostly self-taught, and became one of the most noted violin players of this part of Massachusetts and a successful teacher of music. He married Elizabeth Temple, who was born in Deerfield, a daugh- ter of Philo Temple, a farmer of that town, who there spent his threescore and ten years, being one of its most useful and respected citizens. Elizabeth was one of four daugh- ters born to him and his wife, the others bear- ing, respectively, the names of Frances, Angeline, and Eunice. Mrs. Elizabeth T. Lyons is still living in Greenfield, a widow now for several years, her husband having joined the silent majority when but sixty-six years of age. He was a man of sterling qual- ities, rich in the virtues that win love and respect. In politics he was a strong Repub- lican, and he and his wife held to that form of rational Christianity which has been termed Channing Unitarianism. Philo T. Lyons acquired the elements of his education in the public schools of Green- field, afterward completing his studies at Powers Institute in Bernardston. He began the battle of life on the farm of his grand- father, which he worked for a few years. He 3°6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW bad, however, a natural aptitude for the mechanical arts; and, in order that his talent might be developed, Mr. Lyons, on attaining his majority, went to Fitchburg, Mass., and for a while was employed in the railway repair shops. He was next engaged as a fire- man on the locomotive, and later as an engi- neer, in which capacity he was retained for nineteen years, being one of the most worthy and trusted employees of the company. To him was given the honor of running a train through the Hoosac Tunnel on the first day it was opened to the public; and he also assisted in celebrating that memorable day in Greenfield when the new railway was opened for traffic, running the first passenger train into that city. Becoming tired of railroad life, Mr. Lyons resigned his position in September, 1891, and bought the T. Rice farm in Orange, contain- ing one hundred acres of land, finely located at the south end of North Pond, it being one of the pleasantest and most valuable estates in the locality. He remodelled the build- ings, and in 1892 came here to live; and, notwithstanding he has never married, he has one of the most comfortable and attractive homes to be found. He is constantly adding to the many improvements of the place, among other conveniences having a stationary engine, with which he saws wood, grinds feed, runs a turning lathe, a circular saw, etc. He is a practical agriculturist, and in the manage- ment of his farm he invariably finds his labors crowned with success. For the past three years Mr. Lyons has had charge of the pumps used in the Orange water-works, his former experience making him a most desirable per- son for this position. He has the courage of his convictions both in political and religious matters, being independent in the former, and very liberal in his interpretation of creeds and dogmas. Socially, he is active and influ- ential in Masonic circles, belonging to the Greenfield Lodge, A. F. & A. M. tOBERT M. COOMBS, one of the foremost farmers in Colerain, was _^ born in this town on March 5, 1853, son of William and Sarah (McClellan) Coombs. His grandfather, Jonathan Coombs, was born on March 8, 1769. In early life he sold tinware in the Southern States; but later coming into possession of a farm in Colerain through his wife, Elizabeth McCrillis, he en- gaged in its cultivation up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1853. Elizabeth McCrillis was born on August 2, 1774, and was a member of one of the first families of Colerain, a race of well-to-do farmers. Of her union with Jonathan Coombs six children were born — three sons and three daughters — one of whom, Betsey E., widow of Smead Hillman, is living to-day, residing on the estate which was the birthplace of her brother William, the father of Robert. William Coombs was born in Colerain, July 17, 1810, and early took up the duties of agricultural life. He bought in 1852 the farm now tilled by his son. This farm, then called the Andrew and John Smith place, was laid out in 1736, and was one of the first established in the town. William Coombs was a well-read man, of broad views and good judgment. He voted the Republican ticket, and held office in the town at various times, serving as Selectman for several terms. He died at his homestead on July 2, 1880, at the age of seventy. His wife, who was born June 12, 18 17, died on November 9, 1866. Mr. Coombs's religious views were strictly Ortho- dox, though he did not belong to any church. His wife was a member of the Congregational BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 307 church. They had six children, two of whom died in childhood. Three are living to-day, namely: Jane E., born May 4, 1848, wife of J. D. Purinton, of Seward, Neb.; Edwin W. and Robert M., both born March $, 1853, farmers in Colerain. Henry W., who was born in September, 1849, died at the age of twenty-nine. Edwin W. Coombs lives on a farm adjacent to that of his twin brother. He married Flora, daughter of Allen and Olive (Underwood) Burrington, who live on a farm in Colerain, and has three children: Mabel, William, and Evelyn Coombs. Polit- ically, Edwin W. Coombs is a Republican. In religion he holds liberal views, and his wife is a Congregationalist. Robert M. Coombs attended the district school at Colerain in boyhood, and put his hand to the plough early in life, helping about his father's farm. To-day he owns the homestead, which is one of the best farms in this part of the town, the extreme south end, the land being well adapted for raising crops, also affording fine pasture for the stock which make up Mr. Coombs's dairy. The house in which he resides, and which was built in 1875, is the fourth dwelling erected on the estate, the first having been made of round logs, and the second of logs hewed and fitted. This house is substantial and homelike; and the place, with its nearly two hundred acres of land, is one to be proud of. On February 22, 1892, Mr. Coombs was married to Ella P., daughter of Reuben J. and Nancy (Thompson) Donelson, who reside on a neighboring farm in Colerain. Mr. and Mrs. Coombs have two children: Ruth Donel- son, born July 27, 1893; and John McClellan, born March 30, 1895. Politically, Mr. Coombs is a Republican. In town affairs he takes a prominent part, and is now serving his sixth term as Selectman. He is a worthy scion of the old families from whom he is descended — the McCrillis, the Coombs, and the McClellan — an interesting account of whom is found in the History of the Town of Colerain, by Charles McClellan, who now resides in Troy, N.Y. Mrs. Coombs, also, is of honorable descent: and the records of the Methodist church, to which she belongs, bear many names prominent in her family. "Cpu/ALTER P. MAYNA \X^V_ dealer in Greenfield, MAYNARD, an ice Mass., is an active and enterprising business man, devoting his time and energies to his work. Although young in years, he has had a varied experience in life, but has been uni- formly successful in the most of his undertak- ings. He is a native of the Granite State, having been born in 1866, at Keene, where his father, the late Prentice A. Maynard, was born in 1833. The latter was a son of Alonzo Maynard, who was for many years a resident of Keene, where he departed this life in 1850. His wife, whose maiden name was Crissana Britton, bore him four children — two sons and two daughters. Prentice A. Maynard was a locomotive engineer, highly esteemed by his employers and associates, his early death, at the age of thirty-six years, being sincerely deplored. He married Martha Cook, a daughter of John Cook, of Ashburnham, Mass., but who moved to Missouri many years ago, and died at upward of fourscore years of age at St. Louis. Their union was solemnized in i860, and they became the parents of two children: Walter P., the subject of this brief biographical sketch; and Jennie F., the wife of C. S. Bishop, of Fitchburg, and Secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association. The mother subsequently married again, becoming 3o8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the wife of A. J. Williams, of Keene, and has two children born of that union. Walter P. Maynard has been essentially the architect of his own fortune, having left school at fourteen years of age to earn his liv- ing, beginning his career as a milk pedler in the town of his nativity. He subsequently engaged in the bakery business for three years, and was afterward for a time an em- ployee of the American Express Company. His next employment was as a salesman in an agricultural implement, tool, and grain store, an occupation in which he continued until 1887, when he came to Greenfield to engage in the ice business with his brother-in-law, Arthur O. Wheeler. In 1889 Mr. Maynard bought out the interest of his partner, and has since carried on the business without financial help, putting up about five thousand tons per annum for himself, and an equal amount for other parties. During the summer season he keeps seven men in constant em- ployment, his trade being very large, and increasing each year. Mr. Maynard is also quite a property owner, being proprietor of a three-hundred-acre farm, and keeping from eight to ten horses and fifteen or twenty head of cattle. On the 5th of September, 1884, being then but eighteen years old, Mr. Maynard assumed the responsibilities of a married man, being united in bonds of matrimony with Gertrude A. Wheeler, of Northfield, a daughter of E. O. and X-ouisa (Brown) Wheeler, and a niece of John Wheeler, the prominent manu- facturer of the New Home sewing-machines. This estimable woman, who is of the same age as himself, is a most devoted wife and an affectionate mother to the two bright children born of their union: Walter L., now in the eighth year of his age; and Beth L., two years younger. Politically, Mr. Maynard is a strong advocate of the principles of the Democratic party; and, socially, he is a Mason, being a member of the Connecticut Valley Commandery, Knights Templars. Since his residence in Greenfield he has won an assured position in business circles, being a man of sterling worth and character, full of energy and determination, and possessing that stability of purpose that is bound to bring success. He is a typical specimen of the sturdy sons of New Hampshire's granite hills, standing full six feet in height, straight and well proportioned, and weighing two hundred and fifteen pounds. OEL BURT, a prosperous farmer of Sunderland, was born in Westhampton, Hampshire County, Mass., August 3, 1824, son of Levi and Betsey (Hale) Burt. Mr. Burt's great-grandfather, David Burt, was born February 12, 1723, and died December 17' '793- He reared a family of five chil- dren, of whom Grandfather Joel Burt was the fourth-born. The latter, who was a native of Northampton, born May 24, 1759, owned a farm in Westhampton, upon which he resided until his death, which occurred on November 21, 1 841. For more extended information in regard to the early history of the family the reader is referred to the genealogy pub- lished by Mrs. Elizabeth Burt, of Warwick, Mass., in 1891. Levi Burt, the father of our subject, was born in Northampton, May 18, 1791. He resided with his parents until his majority, and, after working out by the month for a time, purchased a farm in Westhampton, which he cultivated successfully, also operat- ing a saw-mill, an enterprise which was at- tended with profitable results. He was an active, energetic man, an extensive stock- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 309 raiser, and at one time owned over one thou- sand acres of land. He took an active part in local and State issues, was Representative from his district to the General Court upon the Republican ticket, and a Captain in the State militia. He died November 25, 1871, at the age of eighty years. Levi Burt mar- ried a daughter of the Rev. Enoch Hale, who was for fifty-six years pastor of the Congrega- tional church at Westhampton, where he died at an advanced age. Mrs. Levi Burt became the mother of seven children, three of whom are living, namely: Joel, the subject of this article; Susan T., who married R. W. Clapp; and George, a resident of Westhampton. Mr. Burt's parents were attendants of the Congre- gational church. His mother, who passed her declining years with him, died at the age of eighty years. Joel Burt received his education in the dis- trict schools and at the Southampton Acad- emy. In early manhood he purchased a farm at Westhampton, which he cultivated with satisfactory results until 1873. He then sold his farm, and, after residing a year at Flor- ence, Mass., purchased his present home in Sunderland, where he has resided for the past twenty-one years. On August II, 1853, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Sarah Edwards, of Westhamp- ton, daughter of Samuel and Betsey (Ludden) Edwards. Samuel Edwards, who was a native of Westhampton, was prominent in his local- ity, serving some time as a Selectman of the town, and was a Representative to the Gen- eral Court. He died at his own home, at the age of eighty-three. Mrs. Burt's mother was a daughter of Deacon Asa Ludden, of Will- iamsburg. She died at her home in West- hampton, at the age of sixty-nine. They were attendants of the Congregational church, of which the mother was a member. Mr. and Mrs. Burt have had three children; namely, Bessie R., Enoch Hale, and Francis Lyman. Bessie R. Burt died at the age of twenty-two years, two months, and twenty- three days. Enoch Hale Burt graduated from Amherst College in 1882, and, after pursuing a course at Yale Theological Seminary and a post-graduate course at Andover, Mass., en- tered on the active work of the ministry, preaching at Armada and Cadillac, Mich., and finally settling in West Winfield, N.Y. He married Emily Meekins Arms, of Sunder- land, daughter of the Rev. W. F. Arms, and grand-daughter of the Rev. Hiram Arms, D.D., a well-known clergyman, who was born in Connecticut. Mrs. Burt was born in Tur- key, where her father was engaged in mission- ary work. The Rev. Enoch Hale Burt and his wife are the parents of three children; namely, Emily Rose, Lillian Sarah, and Katharine Isabel. Francis Lyman, youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Burt, wedded Emma F. Smith, of Sunderland, adopted daughter of N. A. Smith, and resides with his parents. He has one daughter, Frances Hale, born July 4, 1895. Mr. Burt is a Republican in politics. He served as Selectman in Westhampton three years, and acted in a similar capacity in Sun- derland for six years, also serving as Overseer of the Poor. He is a member of the Congre- gational church, as is Mrs. Burt also, who is prominent in the church societies, a teacher in the Sabbath-school, and a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. ^^HILIP TRAVER, an esteemed resi- dent of Greenfield, who has been ^ associated with the manufacturing interests of this place for more than twoscore years as a leading contractor and builder, and 310 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW is now retired from active business, was born April 5, 1822, in the town of Schodack, Rensselaer County, N.Y., son of John and Mary (Pulse) Traver. He is of German an- cestry, his paternal grandfather, John Traver, Sr., having emigrated from Germany to New York, locating in Dutchess County, where he married a Miss Pulse. The Travers are connected with the Van Rensselaers, hav- ing intermarried with that family in several cases. John Traver, Jr., the father of the subject of this brief sketch, was the only son and one of two children born to his parents, his birth occurring in Dutchess County in 1806. He served in the War of 1812, and subsequently settled in Rensselaer County, New York, buy- ing a farm in the town of Schodack, and taking as a life companion Miss Mary Pulse. He was a millwright and wheelwright by trade, hav- ing learned from his father, and during the last years of his life worked at the carpenter's trade. Mr. Traver was at one time quite well-to-do, but met with reverses, losing most of his property. Thirteen children were born into his household, of whom nine sons and two daughters grew to adult life. Three are now living, namely: James, who is probably living in the South; Catharine, the widow of B. l5urnham, who resides in Schodack; and Philip, the subject of this sketch. The mother died in her seventieth year, at Green- bush, N.Y., and the father five years later, at the age of seventy-four years. Philip Traver was the twelfth child born to his parents, and was early obliged to care for himself, leaving home, after a very meagre schooling, when but a boy of twelve years. He began to learn the carpenter's trade at Valatie, Columbia County, N.Y., five years later, and in 1850 removed to Holyoke, Mass., where he spent two years. In 1852 Mr. Traver located in Greenfield, and, being industrious, energetic, and of excellent judg- ment, soon found plenty of work at his trade. In fulfilling his contracts, he was always par- ticular as to the minutest details; and his work always stood the test of time. For some five years he was in company with H. C. Emburg, and for twelve years was a partner of Gilbert E. Jones. The remainder of the time Mr. Traver has been alone in business. Some of the principal buildings of Green- field have been built under his superintend- ence, notably the Newell Snow residence on Main Street, the Pond, Hollister, and Hovey Blocks, and the east extension of the Mansion House. The town hall, built in 1852 or 1853, soon after he came here, was one of the first important pieces of work of his construction. In 1844 Mr. Traver married Matilda Vos- burgh, of Valatie, N. Y., a daughter of Everett Vosburgh, and a sister of Stephen Vosburgh, of Greenfield. She passed to the higher existence in 1880, in the fifty-seventh year of her age, joining their infant son in the spirit land, and leaving four children, of whom we record the following: William is a resident of Greenfield; Alice is the wife of A. W. Green, an undertaker and furniture dealer; Inez married Clayton L. Smith, and has two sons; and Edgar is a carpenter, mar- ried, and living in Boston. In politics Mr. Traver affiliates with the Republican party. He and his estimable wife were formerly supporters of the Presby- terian church, though neither was connected with it by membership; and for the past fif- teen years he has been an investigator of the doctrine of the Spiritualists, being closely identified with the little band of that denomi- nation in this place. Mr. Traver has a pleas- ant home at 31 Congress Street. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 311 kRS. FANNY A. FAIRCHILD, who resides at her pleasant home on Sunderland Street, in Sunder- land, was born at Shutesbury, an adjacent town in the southern part of Franklin County, and is the daughter of James B. Prouty, a native of Massachusetts. Her grandfather, Richard Prouty, who was born at Scituate, in this State, moved to New York, where he set- tled upon a tract of land in Queens County, and was there engaged for several years as a farmer, but finally returned to New England, and passed his declining years with a daugh- ter in North Leverett. James B. Prouty after attaining his major- ity worked upon farms in Sunderland by the month, later engaging in the manufacture of chairs, which he continued to follow for sev- eral years in conjunction with farming, and eventually settling down upon the old home- stead, where he died, at the age of eighty-five years. He married Florilla Graves, daughter of Elijah Graves, who was a farmer in this vicinity and an early settler in the town, and they became the parents of two children, namely: a son, Frederick A.; and a daugh- ter, Fanny A., now Mrs. Fairchild. The mother passed her latter years with her daugh- ter, and died at the age of sixty-seven years, having been a member of the Congregational church, as was also her husband. Mrs. Fair- child's father was a Republican in politics, and served as Selectman, Overseer of the Poor, and Assessor for some years. Fanny A. Prouty was united in marriage to Lewis W. Fairchild in 1856. She has lived in Sunderland since her infancy. Her hus- band's father, Curtis Fairchild, a native of Virginia and a tailor by trade, followed that occupation for some years in Sunderland, where he died, at the age of seventy. He wedded Miranda Clapp, a native of Deerfield, who became the mother of eight children, namely: Edwin; Amanda, who married Den- nis Gage, of Athol ; Lewis; Edward B., now of Stoneham, Mass. ; John M., now a resident of California; William Henry; Edice M., deceased, who married John Ball, of Athol; and Charles A., who died in the army. The mother died at Sunderland, aged forty-seven years. Lewis Fairchild passed his boyhood in Sun- derland, and at the age of sixteen or eighteen years commenced work as a painter, a calling which he followed until after his marriage, when he moved to Worcester, where he fol- lowed the employ of A. J. Johnson as a trav- elling agent in the map business, going South, and spending his first winter in visit- ing different sections and his second year in the city of New Orleans. He handled maps successfully for three years, and then became interested in the sale of an atlas, with which he was also very successful for a period of three years, at the termination of that time receiving from his employers the appointment of general agent, a position which placed him at the head of a large number of subagents. He also assisted in introducing many of Ap- pleton's standard publications through the interior of New York State, his headquarters being at Utica. He was in the employ of that well-known house for some twenty-five years, subsequently engaging in the buying and selling of leaf tobacco, a business which he carried on extensively and with the most satisfactory results financially during the remainder of his life, his long and varied career being brought to a close November 24, 1890, at the age of fifty-nine years. He was enterprising and progressive, and, aside from being well known among business men, at- tained a position of prominence in his own community, serving for some years as Select- 312 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW man, and as a Trustee of the public library from the time of its organization. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and con- nected with the lodge at Greenfield for many years. Mrs. Fairchild is the mother of seven chil- dren, who may be briefly mentioned as fol- lows: Frederick L., a book-keeper for a boot and shoe firm, married Belle Chamberlain, and has two children, named Winifred B. and Dorothy; James P., a commercial traveller, married Mabel Hill, and has two children — Robert H. and Marion; William C, a farmer, married Etta Graves, and resides in Sunderland; Rollin E. married Eloise Town, and resides with Mrs. Fairchild; Emma F. wedded A. D. Smith, a farmer of Sunderland, and has one child — Marjorie; Lewis, Jr., is a commercial traveller in Maine; and Fanny, an assistant teacher in the Sunderland schools, resides at home. All in their child- hood and youth received the tender care and wise training of an intelligent and faithful mother, and were well educated in the schools of Wilbraham, Williston, and Prospect Hill. The family attend the Congregational church, but are all Unitarians in belief. 'OSEPH PROCTOR FELTON, a prac- tical farmer and also a dealer in meats, long time resident in Green- field, is a man well known throughout a large part of the Connecticut valley. He was born August 19, 1824, in New Salem, F"ranklin County, Mass., which was the native place of his parents, Daniel and Fanny (Holden) Fel- ton, his father having been born March g, 1787, and his mother on November 3 of the same year. Stephen Felton, the father of Daniel, was one of the early settlers of New Salem, where he owned about sixty acres of land, and followed the calling of farmer, being a hard worker. During the Revolu- tionary War he served as a soldier. He re- sided in New Salem until his death, which occurred when he was about eighty-four years old. His wife also lived to advanced age. They had twelve children, all of whom reached maturity, eleven of them marrying and raising families; but all of the twelve are now deceased. Daniel Felton grew to manhood in New Salem, and became a merchant of that town, and was also a farmer and a pioneer school- teacher, having taught forty-five terms during his life. A man well informed and promi- nently identified with the affairs of his town, he served as Selectman for fifteen consecutive years, and as chairman of the Board of Select- men for nine years. He owned a good farm in New Salem, but in 1839 he moved to Deer- field, where he also owned a farm; and here he remained till his death, which took place in 1868, at the age of eighty-one years. His wife, to whom he was married in New Salem, died three years later than he, at the age of eighty-four. They reared six children, three of whom are now living, namely: Myra, the widow of Charles Hagar, and Lucetta, widow of Austin Foot, both residing in South Deer- field; and Joseph Proctor, who is the youngest of the family and the immediate subject of this sketch. The deceased are: Alvin, Franklin, and Fanny. Joseph Proctor P"elton, having received his education in the schools of New Salem, taught school for nine winter terms, and worked out at farming for two years, receiving thirteen dollars per month for six months of the year. He purchased his first farm of sixty acres in South Deerfield, it being one-half of his father's old farm. He occupied the place seven years, but sold out in 1855, and moved JOSEPH P. FELTON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 3iS to Greenfield, where he bought a farm of two hundred acres in the north part of the town, and carried on a general farming business for about ten years. Selling that land in 1865, he then purchased the property where he now resides, at first a nice little farm of twenty- five acres, to which he has since added twenty acres. He has been a hard-working man in his day, successful in his business, and an active member of the Franklin Harvest Club for the last twenty years. He has also taken an active part in matters pertaining to the welfare of his town, serving eighteen years as a member of the School Board and three years as Deputy Sheriff of the county. In addition to his homestead of forty-five acres Mr. Fel- ton has a second farm nearer the village, which contains one hundred acres. Besides his farming, he carries on what is probably the largest business of the kind in the county. He is a dealer in meats, and has killed as many as from eleven hundred to twelve hun- dred head of stock to supply the demands of his own market for one year, his estab- lishment being the oldest of its kind in Greenfield. April 28, 1847, Joseph P. Felton was mar- ried to Harriet Amanda Bridges, who was born in Deerfield, November 6, 1824, daugh- ter of Jonas and Harriet (Ross) Bridges, both natives of Massachusetts. Mr. Jonas Bridges was born in Oakham in August, 1777. He married Harriet Ross, of Deerfield; and they lived on a farm in that town. Their children were: Antes Cleora, born in 1807, who mar- ried Jeduthan Eaton; Marianne, born in 1809, died in 1811; Frederick A., born in 181 5, died in Boston in 1834; and Harriet Amanda, Mrs. Felton, the only one now liv- ing. Mrs. Harriet Ross Bridges was a daugh- ter of Thomas and Eunice (Gunn) Ross, and grand-daughter of Samuel Ross, of Sterling, and his wife, Katy Geary, of Lancaster, Mass. Mrs. Thomas Ross was a native of Montague. She and her husband had but two children, Harriet and Lauretta. Mr. and Mrs. Felton have had six children, two of whom are now living, namely: Jennie Louisa, born in South Deerfield, June 13, 1850, now wife of Albert J. Smead, who car- ries on a meat market in Greenfield for Mr. Felton; and Frederick Bridges Felton, born at Greenfield, August 25, 1856, who is book- keeper in the market. The others were: Fannie E. Felton, born at South Deerfield, December 19, 1852, who died in 1868; Mary Ross Felton, born at Greenfield in October, 1859, died in September, 1865; George Franklin Felton, born in Greenfield in April, 1862, died December 25, 1892; Harriet May Felton, born in Greenfield in October, 1866, died in August, 1868. Joseph Proctor Felton was formerly a mem- ber of the Guiding Star Grange of Greenfield, Mass., which was the first grange organized in the State. He was the first Master of this grange, and also the first Master of the State Grange. He and his wife were also actively identified with the National Grange. An ex- cellent portrait of Mr. Felton will be recog- nized on another page of the "Review." jOSES COOK, a retired farmer of Ashfield, spending the sunset of his life in the enjoyment of a lei- sure earned by years of persevering toil, was born in Ashfield, December 29, 1816. He is a son of Levi Cook, who was born at Hadley, Mass., in 1761, and traces his descent from Aaron and Sarah (Westwood) Cook, the for- mer of whom emigrated from Dorchester, England, in 1630 to America, settling in Northampton, Mass., where he lived to the 3i6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ripe age of ninety years. Westwood Coolc, the son of Aaron, was the great-grandfather of our subject. He married a lady named Joanna Cook, and their son Moses married Achsa Smith. Moses and Achsa (Smith) Cook were the parents of Levi, the father of our subject. Levi Cook was reared and educated in Had- ley, and there learned the trade of a harness and saddle maker. In 1786 he opened a harness-shop in Ashfield, building up a sub- stantial business in the vicinity, and later invested a part of his savings in land, buying one hundred and fifty acres in the village. This he improved, erecting a new house and barn, and made it his permanent abiding- place, living until well advanced in years. He was a veteran of the War of 18 12, and while in service had many hair-breadth es- capes and unique experiences, his horse hav- ing at one time been tarred and feathered. In politics he was closely identified with the Democratic party, being one of its most influ- ential official members, and serving for many years as Justice of the Peace, and for a great length of time as Postmaster, an office which has been held by the family for eighty-nine consecutive years, the present incumbent being a grand-daughter of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Cook was a strong Episcopalian, being one of the founders of the church of that denomination built in Ashfield in 1826. He was twice married, his first wife, whose maiden name was Achsah Smith, dying in the prime of life. She bore him ten children, as follows: Sarah, born August 22, 1786, who died in infancy; Sarah, born June 7, 1788; Achsa, who died in infancy; Rufus, born January 3, 1791 ; Achsa, born October 24, 1795; Levi, born January 7, 1797, who died in infancy; Levi, born August i, 1798; Hannah, born December 29, 1800; Ralph, born February 18, 1802; and Abigail, born June 25, 1805. After her demise he married Nancy Taylor, and of this union five children were born, as follows : Nancy, born November 19, 1807, who is now a resident of Hartford, Conn.; Richard, born August 29, 1809; Lu- cretia, born June 16, 1812; Harriet, born June 16, 1814; and Moses, whose name heads this article. Moses Cook was educated for a mercantile life; and, after completing his studies at San- derson Academy, he was engaged as a clerk in New York City with his brother Levi, with whom he was afterward associated as a partner for many years. The close confinement to business was injurious to his health, so much so that he was obliged to resign his position, and seek the invigorating air of the country. Returning to the pleasant town of his birth, Mr. Cook in 1853 bought the old homestead, which is one of the finest, in point of location and improvements, in the locality. In 1873 he sold the house and a portion of the land surrounding it to George William Curtis, who makes it his summer residence. On a part of the farm that he retained Mr. Cook built his present house and barns, and is here living in quiet ease and contentment. The most important event in the life of Mr. Cook was his marriage with Minerva Howes, a daughter of Nathan and Nabby (Phillips) Howes. Their union was solemnized in 1842; and fifty years later, surrounded by their children, grandchildren, and many friends, they celebrated their golden wedding in a most joyous manner, the bride and groom being as young in heart, if not in years, as on that sweet day fifty years before. Of their three children we record the following: Mary A. resides in Boston, Mass.; Elliott W., now a resident of Cambridge, married Mary Hol- ton, and they have two children — Winnifred BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 317 and Edith; and Sarah W. is the wife of Abbott L. Hall, of Cambridge, and has two children — Minerva and Howard. No man has taken a deeper interest in the prosperity of Ashfield than Moses Cook, who has ever indorsed all worthy enterprises to promote its industrial, educational, and moral advancements, and has served most faithfully in the various offices of Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. In politics he is a strong Republican, having been a supporter of the principles of the party since its forma- tion. He is an active and worthy member of the Episcopal church, in which he has served as Senior Warden for many years. Through- out the entire community Mr. Cook is held in high regard, his strict integrity and trust- worthiness in every position being recognized by all. Though nearing the eightieth mile- stone on life's journey, his faculties are as alert, his judgment as clear, and his mind as vigorous as in the days of his youth. /^^TlLBERT E. JONES, of Greenfield, V (i) I carpenter, contractor, and builder, is one of the substantial business men of Western Massachusetts. He was born in Deerfield, Franklin County, Mass., October 17, 1844, and is a son of Amasa Jones, who was born at Blenheim, N.Y., in 181 f, and during the same spring was brought to Deer- field by his father, Israel Jones, who was afterward a resident of that village. Israel Jones was a carpenter, and followed his trade the greater part of his active life. His work was much more laborious than that of the modern carpenter, as he lived before the time of modern improvements in the dressing of lumber; and in building he had to hew the timber for the entire frame. He married Eleanor Broderick, of Conway, Mass., where their nuptials were celebrated in 181 1 ; and the larger part of their wedded life was spent in Deerfield, where Mrs. Jones died in 1824, at the age of forty-four years. She reared four children — three sons and one daughter — of whom Charles Jones, one of the most esteemed citizens of Deerfield, is the sole survivor. Israel Jones subsequently mar- ried Cynthia, widow of Silas Atwood; and they reared one daughter. He lived to the age of seventy-five years, dying in 1862, and leaving a fair property, although he was not a man of wealth. Mr. Jones was a very intel- ligent man and remarkably well informed, having been educated for a physician. Amasa Jones, the father of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, and settled in Deer- field soon after his marriage, which occurred in 1836. He was a man of sterling character, respected as a kind friend, obliging neighbor, a devoted husband and father, and a public- spirited citizen. He passed to the higher life in August, 1877. His widow, whose maiden name was Nancy Bangs Robbins, still occu- pies the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Jones reared a family of six children, of whom we record the following: Julius Wellington, a contractor, resides at Holyoke; Susan Amanda is the widow of George W. Jones, of West Deerfield; Gilbert E. is the subject of this short personal narrative; Almon A. is a con- tractor, residing in Holyoke; E. Jenner is a farmer, living on the old homestead; and Spencer A., a carpenter, resides in Greenfield. Gilbert E. Jones grew to man's estate on the parental homestead, living there nearly a quarter of a century, and working a portion of the time at the carpenter's trade. He then started out with his saw and hammer, begin- ning his labors as a journeyman at two dollars and a quarter a day, and gradually increasing his price until he received three dollars and a 3i8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW half per day. Five years later he established himself in business with Philip Traver in this city, and under the firm name of Traver & Jones carried on a good business in contract- ing and building for eight years. Mr. Jones then bought the entire plant, and, adding the manufacture and sale of lumber, has continued until the present time, having now one of the finest and most lucrative trades in the city. His office and shop are at 28 School Street. He has been very prosperous in all of his en- terprises, and considers that he owes much of his success in life to his uncle, Charles Jones, with whom he spent several years of his youth, and whose influence and wise counsels were of inestimable value to him. He has accumulated a large amount of this world's goods, having dealt extensively in real estate the past ten years, and is the owner of seven- teen tenement-houses and three shops within the city corporation, two excellent farms in Leyden, and a very valuable farm of three hun- dred and seventy-five acres at West Deerfield. He is a large-hearted, whole-souled, genial man, broad and liberal in his views, domi- nated by neither creed nor greed, and is the possessor of a strong and robust physique; and, notwithstanding that he braves the winds and weather of the changeable New Eng- land climate, often taking long drives in the coldest season without overcoat or mit- tens, is never sick and rarely weary, his con- stitution being as strong as that of the United States. Mr. Jones was united in marriage January S, 1869, to Elenora I. Eastman, of Deerfield, a daughter of N. H. and Eunice (Munsell) Eastman. She has passed to the bright world beyond, her death occurring in the beautiful month of June, 1887. Three children were born to her, one of whom, a daughter, Flor- ence M., died at the age of twelve years. The two living are: Marion B., fifteen years old; and Grace R., five years younger. Mr. Jones has a pleasant home at 82 Chap- man Street, where he has lived for twenty-six years, the house being of his own construc- tion, very convenient and comfortable. -f^TENRY O. SCOTT, Postmaster at r^i Lyonsville, a versatile and success- -I-^ V» , ful business man, was born Novem- ber 10, 1839, in Colerain. He is the son of Henry A. and Mary A. (Call) Scott, the for- mer a native of Bernardston, the latter of Colerain. Mr. Scott's great-grandfather on the paternal side, Elihu Scott, was an early settler in Bernardston, where he owned a saw- mill. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and was fairly well-to-do. His wife's maiden name was Hannah Andrews. Their son Zora, grandfather of our subject, was born in Bernardston, and there spent the early part of his life in agricultural pursuits. In 1853 he entered the employ of the Griswold Manu- facturing Company as all-around man, and in time became one of their most trusted em- ployees. As old age crept upon him he re- signed his position, and retired to a farm in Charlemont; and he passed away August 19, 1884, in Colerain, at the age of ninety-one. His wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Orvis, died August 22, 1877. Henry A. Scott, the father of our subject, was born November 24, 18 16. He has been engaged in various pursuits during his life, spending thirty-five years in the Griswoldville Cotton Mills, and is now engaged in the coal business and in farming, owning an estate of one hundred acres in Colerain. Mrs. Scott, the mother of Henry O., was born in Cole- rain, June 22, 1 8 19, and died December 15, 1870. She was a model wife and mother, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 3^9 devoted to the interests of her home and fam- ily. In politics Mr. Scott is a Republican. His wife was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, which he also attends. They had five children, two of whom have passed to the world beyond, namely: Zora W., born October 30, 1842, who died Novem- ber 15, 1843; and Edwin W., born January 27, 1847, who died January 29, 1879. Henry O., our subject, is the oldest of those now living. Abbie O., born August 17, 1844, is the wife of Charles W. Billings, of North Adams. Zora L., born May 9, 1858, is clerk in a wholesale seed and hardware store in Syracuse, N.Y. Henry O. Scott received his education in the schools of Colerain, Guilford, and North Adams, and entered the cotton factory at North Adams, Mass., when a boy of ten. He worked as a factory hand in various places, in 1856 moving to Lyonsville with his parents. Here he engaged as salesman on the road, selling crackers for a while, and later went into the teaming business, at one time having charge of all the teaming done between here and Greenfield. In this way he was employed for seven years, at the end of which he en- gaged in the manufacture of harnesses and livery findings in Lyonsville, the site of his business being the same as the one now occu- pied. At the start he erected a one-story building, twenty by thirty feet, putting in at first a line of tobacco and cigars in addition to his harness business. To this he has added little by little, until to-day he carries a complete line of the goods usually found in a general store. By his own unaided efforts he has built up a large business from a small beginning, and now has a flourishing trade. He is also engaged in the manufacture of palm-leaf hats, and has realized as much as three thousand dollars in a season from this branch of his business. Mr. Scott has a small farm, which he cultivates for family needs; and his voice is often heard in public, encouraging the highest bidder, he being the town auctioneer. On January 6, 1863, Mr. Scott was married to Mary A., daughter of Moses C. and Maria (Fuller) Goodnow, of Shelburne, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have two children: Kate May, born April 20, 1865, wife of William T. Francis; and Ross D., born January 27, 1874. Mr. Scott's son- in-law and son are both employed in his store. In politics Mr. Scott is a Democrat. He has been Postmaster of the town since the office was created, and he has also been Town Auditor since the creation of that office. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are liberal in religious views, and attend the Baptist church, in which he is organist and musical director. Mr. Scott is an accomplished musician, and has taught vocal and instrumental music for many years. He is the musical director of the local band (twenty pieces) which bears his name, and violinist and leader of the orchestra connected with it. ■ASON MANN, a resident of the town of Montague, Mass., where he is well known as a manufacturer of various kinds of soap, was born in Richmond, N.H., July 17, 1839, son of Joseph Mann, a native of Richmond. His grandfather, who was a farmer, spent the chief part of his life in the same locality, dying there at an advanced age. Joseph Mann, the father of Jason, was one of six children. He acquired a good educa- tion, attending the district schools and the academy, and taught for many years in the schools in the vicinity of Richmond, also carrying on the work of farming. His latter days were spent with his son Jason, at whose 320 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW home he died, at the age of eighty-nine. He married Miss Silence Newell, daughter of Benjamin Newell, a prominent farmer of Richmond, who held the office of Justice of the Peace. Mrs. Mann died at Richmond, aged sixty-four years. She and her husband attended the Universalist church. They brought up two children, namely: Jason; and Josephine M., wife of Brooks S. Merriam, of Little Falls, N.Y. Jason Mann left his home at the age of fourteen, and later became an attendant in the Insane Asylum at Brattleboro, Vt., where he remained nine years. He then engaged in the manufacture of soap, still remaining in that locality. In 1862 he enlisted as Ser- geant in Company B, Sixteenth Vermont Regiment, in which he served nine months. On receiving his discharge, he returned to Brattleboro, and took up his old business of soap manufacture. At the end of two years he went to Akron, Ohio, and two years later removed to Montague, where he now has a small farm, with dwelling-house, near which he carries on the manufacture of soap for local trade. In 1861 Mr. Mann was married to Miss Lura A. Babcock, a native of Guilford, Vt., a daughter of Henry Babcock, of that town. She was born July 14, 1843, ^^d was the youngest of four children. Her ancestry is traced back to Godfrey Babcock, who came from England, and settled in Deerfield, where during the Revolutionary War his house was burned by the British. He died in Deerfield in 1805. His son John married Eliza Hull; and their son Thomas married Esther Martin- dale, and settled in Deerfield. The latter couple had several children, only one of whom lived to rear a family of his own. This was Hull, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Mann. His son Harris, Mrs Mann's grandfather, was a farmer of Guilford. Her father, Henry Babcock, also was a farmer of Guilford. He died in Montague, at the home of his daughter, aged eighty years. His wife was Miss Elvira L. Baker, daughter of Peter Baker, a farmer of Guilford. Mr. Babcock reared four children, namely: Amanda, widow of Clark Stark, of West Brattleboro, who has two children — Willard and Minnie; Ellen; Baxter; and Lura, wife of our subject. The mother died at her daughter's home, at the age of seventy- six years. She was a Methodist in religious belief. Mrs. Mann's childhood days were passed in Guilford. When sixteen years of age, she went to Brattleboro to live, and spent seven years as attendant in the Brattle- boro Insane Asylum. After her marriage (in 1 861), she travelled as general agent in the interest of a patent system of dress-cutting, her business requiring journeys through the States of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New England. The length of her engagement — fifteen years — is ample proof of her capacity and business ability. Mr. Mann is a Democrat in his political views, arid takes an active interest in town affairs. He has filled the offices of Selectman and of Overseer of the Poor three years each. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity of the town, and has been some time connected with the Grand Army of the Republic, and Commander of the Post four years, besides filling other offices. His wife is a member of the Orthodox church. 'OHN GEORGE YETTER, an active and prosperous dry-goods merchant of Greenfield, Mass., stands in a foremost position among the prominent business men of the city, having attained this place by the exercise of good judgment and a close applica- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 3-^1 tion to the details of his trade. He is of German birth, having been born January i8, 1 85 1, in Weilheim, State of Balinger, Wiir- temberg, a son of Conrad and Margaret (Hoelle) Yetter. Conrad Yetter spent the larger portion of his brief life in the Fatherland, emigrating to America and locating in Massachusetts in 1852. He was a weaver by trade, and while in Germany was employed as overseer of the weaving-room in a factory. He settled in Conway, where his death occurred in 1855, while yet a comparatively young man, being only thirty-six years of age. He left a widow and two children: John G., the sub- ject of this article; and Johanna, wife of John George Voetsch, of Turner's Falls. His widow subsequently became the wife of William Hoelle, of Turner's Falls; and of this union three children were born — two sons and a daughter. John George Yetter was reared to manhood and educated in his native country, which is famed for the number and excellence of its public schools, graduating from the high school. At the age of sixteen years he came alone to America, landing at New York, and going from that city to Greenfield. His first employment was with the Lamson & Goodnow Cutlery Company, in whose factory he re- mained until it was swept away by a flood three years later. Going then to New Brit- ain, Conn., Mr. Yetter accepted a similar position with Landers, Frary & Clark. He then established himself in business, taking contract work in finishing forks, and employ- ing a force of seven men. The business proved a very profitable one, but he was obliged to give it up on account of failing health. Returning to Franklin county, Mr. Yetter opened a fancy-goods and periodical store at Turner's Falls, where he continued for two and one-half years, when he sold out to John Eppler. He was subsequently employed for seven years as a clerk in the dry-goods house of William F. Root at Greenfield, remaining with him until his retirement from business in 1882. Mr. Yetter next accepted a similar position in the establishment of Knowles & Thompson, for whom he clerked four years, the succeeding two years being an employee of W. A. Forbes. During the later years of his clerkship Mr. Yetter was on the lookout for a favorable location for business; and on April 21, 1887, he purchased his present stand at 88 Main Street, being aided by trust- ing friends. He put in a stock of dry and fancy goods, cloaks, etc., valued at ten thou- sand dollars; and to this he has made contin- ual additions, his stock being now appraised at from fifteen to seventeen thousand dollars. Mr. Yetter has cancelled all his indebtedness, and has a very extensive trade, including the patronage of the leading people of the city, and employing several saleswomen. He has made his store very attractive to his cus- tomers, who feel confident of receiving a good article at a fair price. On December 23, 1873, Mr. Yetter was married to Miss Frances Sessler, of Green- field, a daughter of Jacob and Francisca (Ker- ber) Sessler, both natives of Germany. They emigrated to America when young, and were married at Brattleboro, Vt., in 1848, settling on a farm, where they lived until the death of Mrs. Sessler, in 1886. The father, now re- tired from active pursuits, makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Yetter. Five chil- dren were born to them, one of whom — Frank J. — died when four years old. The record of the others is as follows: William, a farmer, lives in Colerain; Frances is the wife of Mr. Yetter; Eva Rose is the wife of Andrew Schwilling, of Miller's Falls; and 322 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Frederick is a farmer, residing in Greenfield. The parents were both members of the Con- gregational church. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Yetter has been blessed by the birth of six children, namely: Frances S., a clerk in her father's store; Rose Louise, a student of music; Frederick G., an active youth of fif- teen years, who is learning the mercantile business; Frank Jacob, thirteen years of age; Elizabeth Amelia, eleven years old; and Mabel, eight years old. Mr. Yetter and his family live at 36 Davis Street, in the house which he bought in 1892, and have a very pleasant and attractive home. They are held in high esteem throughout the community, and are valued members of the Episcopal church. "CjDGAR L. BARTLETT is an extensive p i farmer, residing in Montague, who '^'""^■'^' also carries on a very profitable butchering business. He was born in that town on July 6, 1856, and is a son of Gideon Bartlett, a native of Enfield, Hampshire County, Mass., where his father, also named Gideon, was born. The latter was a prosper- ous farmer, who resided in Enfield until his decease, at the age of seventy years. Gideon Bartlett, Jr., the father of our sub- ject, was reared to agricultural life, and also acquired the trade of a wheelwright at Mon- tague, where he first went to live in 1833. He followed his trade for many years, broken by an interval when he remained with and assisted his father during his decline. After his father's death he returned to Montague, and there passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1876, at the age of sixty-one years. He was a stanch Republican in politics; and during his later residence in Enfield, which extended over the period from 1856 to 1870, he held the offices of Selectman and Assessor for several terms. His wife was Julia Law- rence, daughter of Colonel Cephas Lawrence. The latter was prominently identified with the State militia for many years, and was closely connected with the business interests of Montague, where he operated a large saw- mill and fulling-mill. Mrs. Bartlett was one of a large family. She became the mother of ten children who lived to reach maturity, namely: Juliet, who married George W. Holden, of Enfield; Alphonso, a resident of Miller's Falls; William, also of Miller's Falls; Lucia, who married F. A. Amsden, of Gardner; Eugene C, of Orange; Flora, wife of A. E. Whitney; Edgar L., the subject of this article; Nettie M., wife of John Good- win; Nellie M. (deceased), twin sister of Nettie M., who married H. F. Shaw, of Bel- chertown; and Eva L., wife of A. B. Dudley, of Gardner. Mr. Bartlett 's parents attended the Congregational church; and, although his father was not a member, he took deep inter- est in all religious affairs. The mother was called to rest in November, 1883, at the age of sixty-eight years. The first fourteen years of Edgar L. Bart- lett's life were passed in Enfield, upon the farm which his father conducted; and, al- though he was obliged to walk a mile and a half to school, through the cold of winter and the oppressive heat of summer, he considered it no great hardship, and always managed to occupy a position of prominence in his classes. When his parents removed to Mon- tague, he continued to pursue his studies there, and completed his education at the age of seventeen, having, in the mean time, dur- ing spare hours, worked in the shop of a cabinet-maker. He then entered the employ of Benjamin Fay, the village butcher, with whom he remained in a subordinate position until 1880. His employer's health failing at •^=4 HENRY E. GOODELL, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 325 that time, he became a partner with him in the business. At the expiration of five months Mr. Fay died; and Mr. Bartlett pur- chased his interest, although, in order to do so, he was under the necessity of incurring a heavy debt. This he paid off in the space of three years, through the practice of the most rigid economy and the closest attention to business. He conducted a very successful trade at the old stand for some time. In 1889 he was burned out, and conducted busi- ness in the basement of Masonic Hall until April I of that year, when he moved to the old Ward farm, which is considered one of the very finest pieces of agricultural property in the locality, where he has since conducted a brisk butchering business in connection with farming, employing three teams permanently, and sometimes five, in order to supply his large and increasing trade. He also makes a specialty of breeding fine Jersey cattle, of which he generally keeps twenty-five head, and raises many excellent draft horses. Mr. Bartlett was the first President and is now a member of the Co-operative Creamery. He keeps in touch with the progress of the times in agricultural matters, and is very successful in all his operations. Mr. Bartlett was united in marriage in October, 1883, to Miss Addie A. Fay, only daughter of Benjamin Fay, his late partner in business, who was formerly a farmer in Mil- ford, Worcester County. Mr. Fay died at Montague, at the age of fifty-seven years. Mrs. Fay, whose maiden name was Jane H. Presho, was a native of Pelham. She became the mother of three children, as follows: Addie A. ; B. Frank, who died at the age of thirty-three years; and Henry C. Mr. Fay served on the Board of Selectmen of Montague for some time. He was a prominent member of the Congregational church, and served on the parish committee. Mrs. Fay, who now resides with her daughter, is also a mem- ber of that church. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett, and they have been called upon to mourn the death of two — Rob- ert F. and Walter. Their home is brightened by two promising boys — Benjamin P. and Richard H. Mr. Bartlett is well advanced in Masonry, being connected with Bay State Lodge at Montague and Franklin Royal Arch Chapter, Titus Strong Council, and Connecticut Valley Commandery at Greenfield; and he has held some of the important offices in the Blue Lodge. He is a charter member and was the first Secretary of the grange at Montague. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett are active members of the Congregational church, in which he occu- pies an official position, and has been super- intendent of the Sunday-school. ENRY E. GOODELL, whose por- trait is presented on the opposite - V ^ page, is a member of the firm of Goodell Brothers, of Greenfield, manufacturers of light hardware specialties, including auto- matic screw-drivers and drills, of which these enterprising gentlemen are the inventors and patentees. Mr. Goodell was born October 12, 1848, in the town of Whitingham,.Vt., being a son of Anson Goodell, a native of Connecticut, who was born in 1805. Anson Goodell, when a young man, removed from his native State to Vermont, and, buy- ing a tract. of land in Whitingham, Windham County, carried on general farming there with much success for many years. Later he sold that farm, and removed to Buckland, Franklin County, Mass. He was an industrious man, not afraid of hard work, and rounded out a full period of years, passing to his rest in 32C BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW May, 1892. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Rice, and who is now eighty-seven years of age, is living at Shelburne Falls. Of their marriage, which covered a period of sixty-five happy years, twelve children were born. As into every life some sorrow comes, so they, too, had troubles hard to bear, having been called upon to part with several of their children; namely, two who died in infancy, a daughter at the age of seven years, a son five years old, and two after reaching adult life. The latter were: Helen, who died in 1873 on the home farm at Buckland; and Hiram, who died in 1877, aged forty-six years. The record of the surviving children is thus given: Anna, the widow of David Lanfair, who died in 1878 at Conway, leaving her with seven children; Dexter W., of the firm of Goodell Brothers in Greenfield ; Al- mina, widow of Clark Cary, living in Cole- rain, where he died in 1894, at the age of fifty-eight years, leaving two children; Albert D., a manufacturer of hardware at Shelburne Falls; Henry E. ; and Mattie, wife of Emer- son Hicks, of Shelburne Falls. Mr. Anson Goodell took a prominent part in political and religious affairs in his town, being a Repub- lican in politics, serving in various offices, and, with his wife, belonging to the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which he was an official member. Henry E. Goodell was reared to agricult- ural pursuits on the parental homestead, where he lived until eighteen years old, when his mechanical talent asserted itself, and he began the manufacture of wood specialties, principally chair stock, with his brother Albert, in Buckland. Two years later they changed to hardware specialties, retaining the same factory; but this they sold a year later to the Miller Falls Manufacturing Company, in whose employment they were engaged the succeeding eighteen years. In June, 1888, these brothers again embarked in the hard- ware business, opening a factory at Shelburne Falls, and carried it on together under the firm name of Goodell Brothers for some three years, when Albert D. sold out his share to his partner, who continued alone for a few months. In November, 1893, Mr. Henry E. Goodell removed to Greenfield, and, taking into partnership his brother Dexter, erected their present factory, which is of brick, two stories high, one hundred feet by thirty feet, and is situated north of Main Street, on the Boston & Maine railroad tracks. They give steady employment to about twenty hands, turning out some thirty thousand dollars' worth of goods every year; and this product is sold to the United States and the European trade, articles of their manufacture having a wide reputation for excellence on two continents. Mr. Goodell was united in marriage May 13, 1873, to Miss Alice S. Gaines, a native of Montague, and daughter of Benjamin A. and Lydia (Kendal) Gaines, now residents of Greenfield. Mrs. Goodell was educated at Bernardston Academy, and prior to her mar- riage was a successful and popular teacher, being a general favorite in society. Two children have been born of their union, namely: Harry G., a fine young man of twenty-one years, who married Lizzie Doo- little, a daughter of Andrew Doolittle; and Josie M., who is a graduate of the Greenfield High School. Mr. Goodell is a man of much stability of purpose and integrity, and by his untiring energy and enterprise has reached his present place among the successful men of the period. Although physically frail, he is known as a rapid and enthusiastic worker, doing more actual labor than any of his em- ployees, and at the same time superintending BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 327 his extensive business. In politics he is a strong adherent of the Republican party; and he and his wife belong to the Methodist Epis- copal church, he being an officer therein. They have a fine new home at 31 Main Street, which he built in 1803. ^fpNEUBEN H. NIMS, a thrifty and en- I ^^ terprising agriculturist, owning and ^ V^^ managing a well-improved and finely equipped farm at Montague Meadows, was born in the town of Colerain, Franklin County, Mass., January 15, 1832. His par- ents were William and Phila (Gunn) Nims, the former a native of Colerain, the latter of Montague. The father was a cloth dresser, and worked at his trade in his native town and in Heath, his last days being spent in the latter place. His wife was the daughter of Asahel Gunn, a successful farmer of Mon- tague, where his birth occurred November 10, 1757, and his death in November, 1834. Four of the five children born to William Nims and his wife grew to mature years, and two are still living, namely: Reuben H., the subject of this biographical record; and Mary, who married L. O. Gunn, of Erving, a sketch of whose life may be found elsewhere in this volume, and in connection with it a more extended history of the parents of Mr. Nims. Reuben H. Nims was left an orphan at an early age, his father having died when the boy was scarcely more than an infant, and his mother when he was only nine years old. He subsequently made his home with his uncle, Rodney Gunn, who was a farmer, and was educated in the district schools and at Shel- burne Falls. He became early acquainted with the mysteries of farming, and became a farmer by choice, finding the occupation pleasant and profitable. In i860 he made his first purchase of land, buying a farm in North- ampton, where he lived four years. Selling that property in 1864, Mr. Nims took up his residence on the farm which is now his home. It was then occupied by his uncle and aunt, who required his care, and who bequeathed him the property when death called them home. There he has since carried on general farming in a practical and progressive man- ner, meeting with excellent results in all of his operations; and he is an important mem- ber of the agricultural community of this section of the county. Mr. Nims has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was wedded November 22, 1859, was Miss Mary E. Edwards, a native of Northampton, the daughter of Thomas Edwards, a gardener of that place and an esteemed resident. She was a most estimable woman and a consistent member of the Con- gregational church. She died August 2, 1876, leaving three children, of whom the fol- lowing is chronicled: Willie died at the age of twenty-one years; Hattie H., the wife of William Wright, agent for the Adams Ex- press Company, residing at Greenfield, has three children — Martha O., Mary E., and Harold I. ; and Charles, who assists his father on the farm, married Lucy F. Webber, a native of Old Hadley, they having one child — Homer Willis. On June 4, 1879, Mr. Nims was united in marriage to Miss Belle Farrington, a daughter of George W. Farrington, a Vermont farmer. Mrs. Far- rington's maiden name was Clara Marsh. She was a native of Vermont, born February 23, 1831, and a life-long resident of that State. Her death occurred in the town of Walden, September 10, 1856. She was the mother of two children — Carl D. and Belle (Mrs. Nims). Mr. Farrington is yet living, but is quite feeble. Mr. and Mrs. Nims are BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the parents of three children — Clara Edith, Annie, and Mary — who are now enjoying the happy days of school life. In politics Mr. Nims is a straight Republi- can. He and his wife are esteemed members of the Congregational church. (shr^ERY J. DENISON, a representative fjA mechanic and farmer of Leyden, ^ " V._^ Franklin County, Mass., was born in this town, November 24, 1829, son of Arad J. and Prudence (Burrows) Denison. His first ancestor in this country was William Denison, who was born in England in 1586, and came to America in 163 1, settling in Roxbury, Mass., with his wife, Margaret, and his three sons — ^ Daniel, Edward, and George. The latter, who was born in England in 161 8, married Bridget Thompson, of Roxbury, who died in 1643; and after her death he re- turned to England, and served under Cromwell in the Parliamentary army, winning the title of Colonel. He was wounded at the battle of Naseby, and was nursed at the house of John Borodell, whose daughter Ann ministered to the comfort of the suffering soldier. A mut- ual affection being thus engendered, on regaining his strength George Denison mar- ried Ann Borodell, and with her returned to Roxbury, Mass., later settling in Stonington, Conn. He has been described as "the Miles Standish of the settlement " ; but he was a more brilliant soldier than Standish, having no equal in any of the colonies for conducting a war against the Indians. In emergencies he was always in demand, and he held many important positions. William Denison, son of George, was born in Stonington in 1655, and, spending his life on the homestead, died March 26, 1715. His son George, who was born February 28, 1692, was also a life-long resident there. The next in line, David Denison, was born January 29, 1736, in Stonington, but in early manhood lived in New London. He was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and lost most of his property when Arnold, the traitor, burned that town. In 1785 he moved to Rindge, N.H., and thence to the southern part of Guilford, Vt., which was then an uncultivated and sparsely settled district. He died Janu- ary 24, 1808. His wife, Keziah Smith Deni- son, by whom he had eleven children, was a native of Groton, Conn. She died June 28, 18 1 5, and was buried at Beaver Meadow Cemetery, at Leyden, Mass. Their son George, born in 1769, grandfather of Avery J. Denison, migrated to Fabius, Onondaga County, N.Y., contracting a fever while transporting the State militia to Sackett's Harbor. He died in 1813, leaving his wife, Lucy Babcock, daughter of Peleg Babcock, of Leyden, a widow with five children. Arad J. Denison was born March 28, 1807, in Fabius, N.Y., and in 1813, the year of his father's death, came to Leyden, Mass., to make his home with his grandfather, Peleg Babcock. He was a mechanic by trade, and lived to be nearly seventy, dying August 10, 1876. On April 12, 1827, he was united in marriage with Prudence Burrows, who was born July 6, 1807, in Guilford, Vt., and died April 7, 1872. They had the following chil- dren, seven of whom are now living, namely: Willard Arad, born February 2, 1828; Avery Josiah, the subject of this sketch; Amy Sophia, born March 4, 1833; Lydia Louisa, born September 9, 1834; George Washing- ton, born January 30, 1837; Charles Kinyon, born February 2, 1842; Andrew Richard, born May 6, 1843; and Adelaide Lucy, born October 6, 1847. Avery J. Denison was educated in the pub- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 329 lie and select schools of Leyden. In early life he showed an inclination for mechanics, in which he sought always to excel. For some time he worked with his father, and subsequently he was employed as a clothier, a workman on sashes, doors, and blinds, a millwright, a carpenter and joiner; and finally he took charge of a grist-mill and saw-mill, with wood-working machinery. At present Mr. Denison is engaged in general farming, which he conducts in an intelligent and pro- gressive manner. On May 4, 1859, he was married to Emma Stewart, who passed away on April 2, 1861; and on June 7, 1869, he was united to his second wife, Harriet Frances, daughter of Cyrus C. and Freelove (Packard) Miner, who was born in Leyden, October 12, 1842. The Miner family trace their descent from three brothers who came to America in early Colonial times, and settled in Connecticut. Mrs. Denison's grandfather, Cyrus Miner, was born in Stonington, Conn., April 3, 1777. He lived in Halifax, Vt., for some time, later moving to Leyden. Grandfather Miner was a hard-working and prosperous farmer, and was famed for generosity and hos- pitality. In politics he was a Wig; and in religion he was liberal, looking on every man as his brother. He died in West Leyden, November 12, 1845. His wife, Fanny Clark, was born in Hopkinton, R.I., September 11, 1 78 1, and became Mrs. Miner on December 23, 1802. She died in May, 1877, at the advanced age of ninety-six. They had twelve children, one of whom died in childhood. At the present time three are living, namely: Martha, widow of Robert Miller, in East Colerain ; Mary, widow of Madison Noyes, in Guilford, Vt. ; and Ozias L. Miner, in Brat- tleboro, Vt. Cyrus Clark Miner, Mrs. Denison's father. who was born in Halifax, Vt., January 20, 1804, was a well-to-do farmer and fruit grower, owning the farm in West Leyden known as the Peleg Babcock place. With the exception of a few years spent in Hatfield and in Halifax, Vt., Mr. Miner's life was passed in Leyden, where he was one of the first to engage in fruit growing on an extensive scale. He prospered in his undertakings, and spent his last years in retirement in Leyden Centre. A Republican in politics, he held many town offices, serving for some time as Selectman. He was a zealous member of the Methodist church, to whose support he liberally con- tributed. Mr. Miner died January 22, 1887. He was married October 30, 1827, to Free- love Packard, who died November 26, 1894, at the home of her son, M. Dayton Miner, in her eighty-eighth year. They had nine chil- dren, of whom six are living, namely: Oliver S., a carriage-maker in North Adams; Charles P. C, a farmer and apple dealer in Charlemont; William L., a farmer in Hud- son, S. Dak., who served three years in Company I, Forty -first Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and was wounded in the battle of Shiloh; Harriet F., Mrs. Denison; M. Day- ton, a mechanic and farmer; George Harlan, a book-keeper in North Pownal, Vt. Ange- line A., wife of I. N. Thorn, a druggist of Brattleboro, Vt., died March 27, 1856; Cyrus E. died August 15, 1852; and Anson D., who was principal of Drury Academy and superintendent of schools in North Adams twenty-eight years, died February 25, 1894. Mr. and Mrs. Avery J. Denison have two children — Carroll A. and Helen C. The former, who was born in Leyden, June 9, 1870, is a mechanic, and resides with his parents. He was married September 28, 1892, to Millie Hall, a native of Springfield, Mass., but at that time a resident of Green- 33° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW field. They have one child, Ruth Freelove Denison, born April 30, 1894. Helen C, who was born July 16, 1875, also resides in Leyden. Avery J. Denison has always voted the Re- publican ticket, having cast his first vote for John C. Fremont. In 1869 he was a member of the State legislature, representing seven towns; and he has served as Selectman, As- sessor, and Overseer six years, besides filling minor offices, declining two appointments as Justice of the Peace, accepting the third, and serving seven years, declining to serve an- other term. In the discharge of his official duties Mr. Denison was fearless and indepen- dent, taking what he deemed the right course, regardless of public opinion. He has ever felt an earnest desire to promote the welfare of society, believing that all permanent civil- ization is based on morality as taught in the Bible. Mr. and Mrs. Denison are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are noted for their generosity and hospitality. "ENRY H. ROOT, a successful mer- chant of Montagiie, was born in this Li® V _, town, on what is known as Federal Street, September 8, 1856, his father, Harri- son F. Root, and his grandfather, Erastus F. Root, having been natives of the same place, both occupying the old homestead, where the latter spent his entire life. Harrison F. Root was reared to farm work; and, after receiving his education at the district schools and in Williston Seminary at Easthampton, he bought the home farm, and tenderly cared for his parents during their declining years. He is a Republican in politics, and promi- nent in public affairs. His wife, whose name before marriage was Hannah G. Stratton, is a daughter of Arad Stratton, of Northfield. Four children were born to them, as follows: Arthur, a farmer, residing in this town; Har- riet S., wife of Austin Lawrence, of Miller's Falls, who is now travelling through Canada, having previously visited all places of interest in the United States; Henry H., of whom more is written below; and Charles, who died at the age of six months. Mr. Harrison F. Root has been eminently prosperous in agricultural pursuits, and now enjoys a very comfortable competency. He and his wife are members of the Unitarian church. Henry H. Root passed his boyhood upon his father's farm. He received a good educa- tion in the district schools and at Wesleyan Academy, and at the age of sixteen entered the employ of Wright & Bangs as a clerk. After remaining with them two years, he went to Westfield, Hampden County, Mass., where he was employed in the same capacity by D. L. Gillett, a dry-goods dealer, for one year, and then, returning to Montague, ac- cepted a position in the general store of Mr. I. Cheney, being there employed for a period of four years. At the expiration of that time he purchased Mr. Cheney's interest, and, after successfully carrying on the business for two years more, sold to the former proprietor, later purchasing the building which was located on the site of his present store, to- gether with one adjoining. These buildings, including a large stock of goods, were de- stroyed by fire July 4, 1885, causing him to sustain a severe loss, from which, however, he speedily recovered. He immediately com- menced the erection of his present well- appointed establishment, and at the end of four months, with a fine stock of goods, re- sumed business, which he has since continued with the most satisfactory results. In July, 188 1, he was united in marriage with Miss Cora M. Streeter, only daughter of BIOGRAPHICAL REVFEW 331 H. L. Streeter, of Winsted, Conn., who for- merly carried on the lumber business in that town. Mr. Root is a member of Bay State Lodge, A. F. & A. M., is liberal in his religious views, and a Republican in politics. His business career has been thus far charac- terized by a degree of energy and ability that has insured his success, and his fellow- townsmen have every reason to expect a great deal of him in the way of developing the busi- ness resources of the locality. rACOB P. KELLOGG, who died at his home in Shelburne, Mass., on October 6, 1843, was a worthy member of a family that has been represented in the Con- necticut valley more than two hundred years, its records including the names of not a few citizens of prominence in their day and gen- eration. The immigrant ancestor was Joseph Kellogg, who settled in Farmington, Conn., in 1651, and died in Hadley, Mass., in 1707 or 1708, having been one of the leading pio- neers of that place. The next in the line now being considered was his son, John Kel- logg, who died in Hadley between 1723 and 1728. The third child of said John Kellogg was Joseph Kellogg, who was born November 6, 1685, and was a resident of South Hadley, where his son Jabez was born February 11, 1734. Jabez Kellogg removed to Hanover, N.H., in 1785, living there until his death, in 1791. One of his children, Julius by name, was the father of Jacob P., the princi- pal subject of the present sketch. Julius Kellogg was born at South Hadley, September 27, 1765, and was a blacksmith by trade, following that occupation through his life, which terminated August 4, 181 3, in Shelburne. He married Molly Poole, who was born in Shelburne, February i, 1771, and died here, September 7, 1833. She was a daughter of Lieutenant Jacob Poole, who died at Sainte Therese, Canada, in June, 1776, while serving in the Revolutionary War. Among the first pioneers of the town of Shel- burne were Stephen Kellogg and Samuel Poole, both of them grandfathers of Molly Poole, so that she was also partly of Kellogg descent. Mrs. Molly Poole Kellogg was a rarely gifted woman, of great mental power, and with her husband took an active part in promoting the growth and prosperity of the town, they being among the foremost citizens of their day. Julius Kellogg was a public- spirited man, and was a Representative in the State legislature in 1808. Both he and his wife were influential members of the Congre- gational church from the time of its organiza- tion and liberal contributors toward its sup- port. A family of ten children were born to them, none of whom are now living. Jacob P. Kellogg, son of Julius and Molly (Poole) Kellogg, was born in Shelburne on February 16, 1793. Having learned his father's trade, he worked at general black- smithing, and also did a large business in the manufacture of hoes. He located in Shel- burne Centre, buying the estate on which his son and daughter now live, and making many improvements thereon, erecting the present commodious residence in 1834. A man of excellent judgment, intelligently interested in the common weal, he was often called upon to fill responsible stations, and, besides serv- ing as Selectman for several years, repre- sented his district in the State legislature in 1843. Although his life was comparatively short, it was filled with useful activity; and his death, in the autumn of that year, was a sad loss to the community, as well as to his immediate family. He married in 1820 Lucy Wright, a native of Ashby, Mass., born Au- 332 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW gust 4, 179s, daughter of Stephen Wright, a native of Littleton. Mrs. Lucy W. Kellogg survived her husband many years, dying May 25, 1882. Four children were born of their union, three of whom are now living. A brief record is as follows: Stephen Wright, born April 5, 1822, resides in Waterbury, Conn.; Ai, born February 15, 1824, lives on the old home farm; John, born January 6, 1826, died April 25, 1865; and Sarah Pres- cott, born September 11, 1829, lives with her brother on the homestead. Stephen W. Kellogg received his early edu- cation in Shelburne, and after leaving school was engaged in teaching four terms, continu- ing at work on his father's farm during the summer seasons. When twenty years old, he entered Amherst College, where he studied two terms, going thence to Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1846, taking one of the first three honors of his class. He subsequently accepted for a short time the principalship of the Winchendon Academy, but soon entered the Yale Law School ; and, while prosecuting his studies there, he taught the classes in Greek in a classical school at New Haven. In June, 1848, he was admitted to the Connecticut bar, and has since been in active practice of his profession, residing most of the time in Waterbury. He was clerk of the Connecticut Senate in 185 1, of which he was a member two years later, repre- senting the Waterbury district, and in 1856 was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, being chairman of the Judi- ciary Committee. In 1854 he was appointed Judge of the New Haven County Court, and for seven years was Judge of the Waterbury District Probate Court. Judge Kellogg was elected a member of Congress in 1869, and re-elected in 1871 and in 1873. While there he served on important committees — the Ju- diciary, Patents, Pacific Railroads — also being chairman of the Committee on Naval E.xpenditures in the Forty-second Congress, and chairman of the Committee of Civil Ser- vice Reform the following term. Since his retirement from Congressional life he has resumed the practice of law, and has been in the front rank of his profession. He drew up the bill, and was very active in procuring its passage, for organizing the National Guard to take the place of the State militia, and was appointed Colonel of the Sec- ond Regiment, Connecticut National Guard, in 1864, and after two years' service was pro- moted to be Brigadier-general of the Guard, but resigned his position while in Congress. Stephen W. Kellogg married in 1851 Lucia Hosmer Andrews, grand-daughter of Chief Justice Hosmer, of Connecticut, and daughter of Major Andre Andrews, a lawyer of Buffalo, N.Y., who, with his wife, died of cholera during the scourge of 1833. Seven children have been born to them, and six are now liv- ing. The eldest son, Frank Kellogg, is a Lieutenant in the navy; and the other two are in their father's law office in Waterbury, Conn. John is married, and has one child. The three daughters are married, and have families. Ai Kellogg, who resides on the paternal homestead, carries on general farming in a systematic and successful manner. He has ninety acres of rich land, all under good cul- tivation and well improved. In May, 1862, he was united in marriage with Adaline Clark, of Barre, Mass., who died April 19, 1864. The only child born of their union was a daughter, Emma Eliza, who lived but ten months. In politics Mr. Ai Kellogg is a stanch Republican. John Kellogg, third son of Jacob P., was graduated from West Point with honors in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 333 1849, and afterward entered the Third United States Artillery as Second Lieutenant, and served his first campaign in the Indian Ter- ritory with great bravery. He was subse- quently stationed at Portland, Me., under General Anderson, going thence to Fort Snelling, Minn. From 1854 to 1861 he served on the frontier in Oregon and Wash- ington with great credit, being in command of a company a portion of the time, in the Ind- ian war of that section in 1857. In 1861 he was promoted to be captain in the commis- sary department, and after the battle of Bull Run he entered the volunteer service as Colo- nel of the Third California Regiment, so as to have a more active part ; but, contrary to his wishes, he was transferred to the commis- sary department again, and sent to San Fran- cisco. In 1864 he returned to Baltimore, and was placed on General Sheridan's staff as Chief Commissary, remaining with him through his campaigns of 1864 and 1865. Colonel Kellogg's duties were^:;vere, and he had many narrow escapes from capture and death. The work was too arduous; and he died from overwork and exhaustion in the final campaign ending in Lee's surrender at City Point, Va., April 25, 1865. Sarah P. Kellogg, the youngest member of the parental household, enjoyed in her girl- liood the superior educational advantages afforded by Mount Holyoke Seminary and a school in New Haven, and for a few terms after graduation was engaged in teaching. A woman of cultivated taste, gifted with literary talent, she is now living a quiet life with her brother in Shelburne, occasionally exercising her pen as an acceptable writer for the press. When quite young, Miss Kellogg began to express her thoughts in verse: and a volume of her productions, showing true poetic merit, was published in 1886. LVAN SANDERSON, one of the most highly respected citizens of the town of Ashfield, who is living retired from the active pursuits of life, was born in the house he now owns and occupies, Septem- ber 29, 1817. He is the son of Asa and Rebecca (Childs) Sanderson; and, tracing his line of ancestry back a few generations, we see that he is a lineal descendant of Joseph and Ruth (Parker) Sanderson. Joseph San- derson, who was born in Groton, Mass., August 30, 1714, settled in Canterbury, a district in Whately, in 1752, and there spent the remainder of his days, living until 1772. The following children were born into his household: Ruth, Esther, Isaac, Thomas, Abraham, David, John, Asa, Isaac, and James. The next in line of descent is the grandfather of our subject, Thomas Sander- son, who was born March 16, 1746. He was reared a farmer, and also learned the tanner's trade. He married Lucy Wright, and in 1803 settled at Indian Hill, in Whately, being one of the pioneers of that district. Thomas Sanderson reared the following chil- dren : Martha, Mariam, Thomas, Asa, Alvan, Elijah, Lucy, Silas, Eli, and Chester. Asa, the fourth child in order of birth, was the father of our subject. His brother Alvan was the founder of Sanderson Academy, one of the finest schools of the kind in Massachusetts, which is noted for its superb schools. Alvan Sanderson was born in Whately, December 13, 1780. A very ambitious student and eager to secure a good education, he worked his way through Williams College by teach- ing, and graduated from that institution in 1802. He was popular and successful as an educator, and as a preacher of the gospel met with eminent success, winning the love of all during his eight years' pastorate in Ashfield. Always intensely interested in the education 334 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW of the young, in 1816 he started a school in Ashfield, and later established the Sanderson Academy. He died before his work was fully accomplished, his brief life embracing but thirty-six years. Asa Sanderson, the father of our subject, was born February 8, 1779, in Whately, and there passed his earlier years. He learned the tanner's trade, and established himself in Conway, where he was very successful in his business. He eventually sold out, and later bought a tannery in Ashfield, which he con- ducted with profit for some years. This tan- nery was located on the site now occupied by F. A. Cady's barn. Mr. Sanderson's next investment was the purchase of the farm adjoining the tannery. This he cultivated until his demise in 1862. The house in which he lived in Ashfield he bought from Dr. Nash, who had it built in 1800. Asa Sanderson was a man of much intelligence and sound wisdom, and exerted a beneficial influence in the building up of his adopted town, giving material aid when it was needed ; and, though no office - seeker, he served acceptably in several public offices. In church matters, also, he was active, and for more than a score of years was Deacon of the Congregational church and treasurer of the same. His wife, the mother of our sub- ject-, whose maiden name was Rebecca Childs, lived to celebrate the eighty-second anniver- sary of her birth. She reared a family of seven children; namely, Louisa, Nancy, Lemuel C, Rebecca S., Asa W., Alvan, and Lucy W. Alvan Sanderson, the subject of this sketch, acquired his education in the academy founded by his uncle, Alvan Sanderson, which is still partly supported by his endowment. His life has been spent in the old home; and for many years prior to the death of his parents he tenderly cared for and watched over them, devoting himself to the interests of the farm. He has made many improvements on the prop- erty, remodelling the old house, and laying out a portion of the estate into village lots, for which there is always a ready demand, and has had the pleasure of seeing the land on which he spent so many days of hard labor in his earlier years occupied by beautiful resi- dences, surrounded by green lawns. Al- though not married, Mr. Sanderson has a pleasant home, and a host of friends value him for his many sterling qualities of heart and mind. He has ever been among the fore- most of the active citizens who are interested in promoting the welfare of the town and county, encouraging all enterprises tending to benefit the public. LIHU C. OSGOOD, a successful farmer of Greenfield, was born in the town of Wendell, Franklin County, Mass., November 7, 1823, son of Elihu and Ruth (King) Osgood. Mr. Osgood traces his pedi- gree back to one John Osgood, who was born in England, July 23, 1595, and settled in America with his family, dying in Andover, October 24, 1651. Elihu Osgood, the grand- father of our subject, who was born in 1762, and died August 27, 1834, was a hard-work- ing and progressive farmer. He was a promi- nent member of the Baptist church, and officiated as Deacon for many years. His wife, Polly Osgood, was born May 28, 1762, and died December 22, 1834. They had three sons and one daughter, all of whom raised families of their own, and have now passed from the scenes of earth. Their names were: Elihu, Sumner, Polly, and Warren. Elihu Osgood, the father of our subject, was a farmer, residing in the town of Wendell ROBERT AND ELIZABETH B. STRANGE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 337 during the active period of his life, and fol- lowing his calling with great success. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and held at various times many town offices, such as Selectman, Town Treas- urer, etc. He, too, was an earnest member of the Baptist church. The declining years of his life were spent at the home of his son Elihu, where he died December i, 1875. His wife died November 14, 1874. They had five children, four of whom grew up, and two are now living, namely: Samuel M., who was born October 23, 1818, and now resides in East Milton, Mass., retired from active life; and Elihu C, the subject of this sketch. Mary, Sophia D., and Dolly have passed to the world beyond. Elihu C. Osgood spent the years of his boyhood in Wendell, receiving part of his education in the schools of that town, and afterward attended the New Salem Academy. When eighteen years of age, he began to teach school, but after three terms of teach- ing, he turned his attention to farming. The first land he purchased was in Wen- dell, and at one time he owned one hundred acres of Wendell property. Over twenty years of his life were spent in that town. In 1853, having sold his Wendell property, he invested in the land that constitutes his pres- ent place in Greenfield; and he now has ninety acres in that town and one hundred and twenty in Bernardston. He carries on general farming to quite an extent, raising some small grain and tobacco, and also runs a dairy. By working early and late he has reaped a goodly reward, and is counted as one of Greenfield's successful farmers. On September 22, 1846, Mr. Osgood was united in marriage to Mary Stone, daughter of Eliab and Dolly (Armstrong) Stone, both natives of Franklin County. Mr. Stone was a hard-working farmer of Wendell. After bearing her husband company on life's voyage for nearly forty-six years, Mrs. Osgood died, January 26, 1892. They had three sons and four daughters, as follows: Abbie J., born November 17, 1847, died October i, 1850; Henry M., bora November 14, 1849, died July 13, 1890; Sophia S., now the wife of Mark BuUard, a farmer of Greenfield, was born October 27, 185 1; Emma J., born August 23, 1855, became the wife of Hollis E. Connable, and resides in Greenfield; John E., born February 12, 1859, is a manufact- urer, residing in Greenfield; Minnie K., born October 26, 1863, died April 11, 1877; Charles S., born September 12, 1869, is a farmer, residing with his father. In politics Mr. Osgood is a Republican. He has held different town offices, serving as Assessor in 1887 and 1888, and as Selectman four years consecutively, being elected the first time in 1888. In religious views he is liberal, but has always supported the Baptist church. He has a host of friends, and is highly, respected by the community at large. T^TJOBERT STRANGE, whose portrait, I ^V^ together with that of his wife, is pre- ■L^ V^^ sented in this connection, is a prosperous farmer and highly respected citizen of Leyden, Mass., a veteran in the industrial ranks, one who early enlisted in the army of toilers, and has not fallen out by the way, having been neither a shirk nor a laggard, and who is fairly entitled to a place among the winners of life's battle. He was born in County Antrim, Ireland, February 28, 1829, son of Hugh and Catherine (Youngs) Strange. Both parents were natives of the northern part of Ireland, and, being of Scotch descent, be- longed to the class known as Scotch-Irish. 338 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Hugh Strange followed the vocation of a mechanic in the old country, and was also successfully engaged in manufacturing. It was about the year 1859 that he and his wife came to America, and settled down to agri- cultural pursuits in Leyden. Of the children born to them three sons are still living: James Strange, who resides in the north of Ireland; Robert, of Leyden; and William Strange, of West Northfield, Mass. Both parents were members of the Scotch Presbyte- rian church. The father died in Leyden, at the age of sixty-six, and his wife in her seventy-second year. Robert Strange grew to manhood and was educated in Ireland, acquiring a good part of his learning after he left the day school, as he was of a studious disposition; and his even- ings were spent in study at home or at the night school. At ten years of age he began to learn the trade of linen weaver, and suc- cessfully followed this occupation the greater part of the time he lived in Ireland. Late in the summer of 1848 he set sail in the "Ara- bian," a three-masted sailing-vessel, under the captaincy of James Crangle; and a month later, on October 3, he landed in New York City. Thence he came to Leyden, Mass., where he was shortly engaged to work on a farm for Aaron Budington. He received for the first three months the sum of six dollars per month, and remained with Mr. Budington a year and a half. The succeeding three years he was employed in a similar capacity by other parties; and, being frugal as well as industrious, though his wages were so small, at the end of that time he was enabled to buy a small farm in Leyden, containing about twenty acres of land. After occupying that farm six years, he sold it, and purchased a part of the farm where he now resides, to which from time to time he has added land, so that he now owns in the neighborhood of four hundred and eighty acres. On March 17, 1849, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Elizabeth Black, who is like- wise a native of Ireland. Their union has been blessed by the birth of eight children, six of whom are now living, namely: Eliza- beth; Margaret W. ; Catherine H. ; Willie R., who spent four years in California; Frank J. and Fred H., who are twins — all of whom live at home with the exception of Elizabeth, the wife of Andrew Campbell, of Leyden, and Frank J., who is successfully engaged in the confectionery business at Springfield, Mass. The deceased are: Martha; and Anna M., who was a school-teacher. Robert Strange in political affiliation is a Republican, and is now serving as Highway Surveyor, which office he has held for several years. He was formerly a member of the School Board. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they take an active interest, and which he has served as Steward and Trustee for many years, and for ten years has acted as class leader. He contributes freely toward the support of the church, and the neighbor or friend in need can also vouch for his liberality and Christian sympathy. "UGENE B. BLAKE, a dealer in wood and coal and agent for the Adams Express Company, is one of the thriving and able business men of Greenfield, and has been numbered among its esteemed residents for upward of thirty years. He was born in the town of Hill, Merrimack County, N.H., December 5, 1845, and is a son of Horatio K. Blake, a native of the same town, born in 18 10. The latter was a son of Green- leaf Blake, a respected member of the farming community of Merrimack County. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 339 Horatio Blake removed from his native town to South Royalton, Vt., where his last years were spent, his death occurring in 1864, soon after passing the milestone that marked his fifty-fourth year. He was twice married; and three children were born of his first union, two of them being twins. The follow- ing is recorded of them: Horatio C. is living at South Royalton, Vt. ; William Francis, who was a railroad man, died in the West, leaving a wife and daughter; and Henry S., also a railway employee, died in Minneapolis, Minn., where he left a family. Horatio Blake's second wife, the mother of our sub- ject, was Rebecca W. Berkley, a native of Franklin, N.H., daughter of Cyrus Berkley, a man of prominence in the town. She was born in 1816, and became Mrs. Blake in 1837. She is now residing at South Royalton, Vt., an active woman of nearly fourscore years. Eight sons and two daughters were born to her and her husband. The daughters and five of the sons are now living, as follows: Cyrus O., a manufacturer, resides at Bowling Green, Ky. ; Eugene B. is the subject of this sketch; Don W., a locomotive engineer, lives at St. Albans, Vt. ; Edric A., a telegrapher, is a resident of Roanoke, Va. ; Alice Belle is the wife of Charles Daggett, of South Royalton; Mattie G. is the wife of Frank Bradstreet, of the same place; Jed G. resides at Seattle, Wash. Edric died in infancy. Launcelot Kelley Blake was a soldier, doing gallant ser- vice during the late Civil War, serving as a Corporal, and was wounded in battle. He was subsequently killed April 24, 1866, on the Vermont Central Railway, on which he was a trainman. Charles G. Blake died in Rio Janeiro in 1875, leaving a wife, but no issue. He also served in the late war, enlist- ing in 1862 in the Thirty-fourth Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry as a private, and coming out with the rank of Lieutenant and as Commander of his company. Eugene B. Blake attended school until sixteen years of age. Then, inspired by the patriotic zeal that caused five of his brothers to enlist in defence of their nation's flag, he volunteered his services, enlisting from Roy- alton in Company E, First Vermont Cavalry, and went out as a servant to his uncle, Samuel P. Rundlett. After a little more than a year's service he returned home — in the autumn of 1862 — and shortly after his arrival entered the telegraph office at Moore's Junc- tion, N.Y., where he remained about two years. In March, 1864, he obtained a posi- tion in Greenfield as operator and baggage master on the Connecticut River Railway, and for twenty-eight years was connected with the railway service, acting as ticket agent from 1869 until 1878, and then as freight agent of the Troy & Greenfield Railway, and depot master, until 1892. Mr. Blake then embarked in the coal and wood business, buy- ing out A. N. Hall. He now has a substan- tial and extensive trade, and in addition thereto has held the agency of the Adams Express Company for the past two years. Mr. Blake possesses excellent business capac- ity and tact, and has the confidence and respect of all his patrons. In 1869 he was united in marriage to Clara M. Haywood, who bore him three children, two of whom died in infancy. The other child, Mabel H. Blake, is a graduate of the Greenfield High School, and for a short time was engaged in teaching, but is now an assist- ant in her father's office. After a few years of pleasant wedded life, the mother died, in 1879; and six years later Mr. Blake married Miss Elmina B. Mason, a daughter of Silas and Elmina (Ballou) Mason, and a grand- daughter of the Rev. Hosea Ballou, the noted 340 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Universalist minister. One child was born of Mr. Blake's second union — Ralph M. — now a bright and active boy of five years. Mr. Blake is a man of influence and promi- nence in local matters, and has served as Se- lectman two years, having been elected on the Republican ticket. Socially, he is a Knight Templar and Past Master of the Republican Lodge. He and his wife are valued and con- scientious members of the Unitarian church. RMAN C. MARVELL, a prosperous farmer of North Leverett, was born at his present home, November 22, 1856, son of Calvin Marvell, who was born at Shutesbury, Franklin County, Mass., Novem- ber 7, 1824. The grandfather, Jesse Marvell, was a native of the town of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Mass., and was a son of Pascal Mar- vell, whose birth occurred in an adjoining town. Pascal Marvell worked at both farm- ing and shoemaking. The latter part of his life was spent in Shutesbury, where he carried on a farm. Jesse Marvell, who was reared to agricultural pursuits, settled in Leverett in 1834, and spent many years there, success- fully engaged in farming. He died at the age of seventy-four. He was prominent in public affairs at Shutesbury, and served as a Selectman for several years, both in Shutes- bury and in North Leverett. Calvin Marvell cared for his parents during their declining years, assisting in the man- agement of the farm, of which he eventually assumed charge, and now resides with his son, Orman C. Marvell, having retired from active labor. He is a Republican in politics, and has served the community faithfully as a Selectman and Overseer of the Poor. He was a charter member of Bay State Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Montague, and also of the Lever- ett Grange. His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Glazier, was a daughter of Eben- ezer N. and Mary (Spaulding) Glazier, and a member of one of the first families to settle in the town. She died July 25, 1893, at the age of sixty-five. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Marvell: Jane, widow of George Beals, who has one daughter — Lillian; Ella, who married Henry Fisk, and has two children — Lucy and Lora; Ida, who married Charles Moore, and has seven chil- dren, as follows — George C, Myra, Jesse, Millie, Rhoda, Flora, and Hazel; Lelia, wife of Sidney Williams, who has one child — Maud ; Flora (deceased), who was the wife of Orrin Grant, and left three children — Wes- ton, Leroy, and Mabelle, the former of whom married Hattie Dresser, and has one child, Flora Ida; Mary, died in infancy; and Orman C, our direct subject. Orman C. Marvell received a good educa- tion in the schools of his native town. He has passed his entire life upon the farm, which consists of about one hundred and fifty acres of fertile and well-cultivated land, and is engaged in general farming, which he car- ries on in a progressive and intelligent man- ner, being thoroughly conversant with all branches of agriculture. In 1877 Mr. Marvell was married to Miss Alice Church, daughter of Leonard and Jane (Barber) Church, of Buckland. Her parents were natives of Ashfield, Franklin County, Mass. ; and her paternal grandfather was born in Oakham, Worcester County, Mass. She is one of three children, the others being George B. and Lucy Church. Mrs. Marvell was educated at Ashfield, and taught nine years in that town and in Hawley, and two years in Leverett. One child has blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Marvell — a son, Ralph N. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 541 In politics Mr. Marvell is a Republican. He takes an active part in the town govern- ment, and has been Selectman five years, and served several years as Road Commissioner. He is a member of Bay State Lodge of A. F. & A. M. at JVTontague, and of the grange of that town; and he and his wife belong to the Independent Order of Good Templars. Mrs. Marvell has been a member of the School Board for the past four years. The entire family attend the Baptist church. |RASTUS F. GUNN, a retired farmer, residing in Montague, was born at Miller's Falls, Franklin County, Mass., August 21, 1819, son of Otis and Lucy (Fisk) Gunn. His grandfather, Asahel Gunn, who was a native of Massachusetts, settled upon a farm in Montague subsequent to his marriage, which occurred when he was nineteen years of age, and resided there until his decease. He erected the hotel at Miller's Falls, known as the Lake Hotel, of which his son Otis was afterward proprietor. Otis Gunn, the father of our subject, was born on the farm in Montague. He took charge of the Lake Hotel after his marriage, and conducted it for twelve years, at the expi- ration of which time it was sold, and he returned to the old homestead. The latter property eventually passed into the hands of his son Erastus, who later disposed of it, and moved to his present farm, where his father died at the age of eighty-five years. Otis Gunn's wife, mother of Erastus F., was Lucy Fisk, of Wendell, in which town her father. Captain Zedekiah Fisk, was engaged in farm- ing. He served as an officer in the Revolu- tionary War, and was wont to tell of his terrible sufferings from the pangs of hunger and of being brought to the necessity of devouring a pair of boots, which he described as having been a welcome meal under the cir- cumstances. Mrs. Gunn became the mother of six children, four of whom, between the ages of eight and eighteen years, died within a few weeks. The survivors are Erastus F., the subject of this sketch, and Otis B., a civil engineer, who resides in Kansas City. The mother passed her declining years with her son Erastus, and died at the age of ninety- three. She was a member of the Congrega- tional church. Erastus F. Gunn received a good education, attending the district schools, and finishing his studies at a select school and an academy. He subsequently taught in the district schools of this county for several terms. At the age of twenty-eight years he was married, and immediately assumed charge of his father's farm, on which he resided until 1872, when he sold the property, and moved to his present home, which he purchased of Dr. Bradford. In 1846 Mr. Gunn was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Bardwell, daughter of Moses Bardwell, a representative of an old family in this section. Mr. Bardwell formerly kept a hotel at Montague City, and later retired to a farm, where he spent the remainder of his life. His daughter, Mrs. Gunn, was one of three children. She became the mother of three, namely: Charles B., a conductor on the Rock Island Railroad, who married Addie C. Freeman, of Charleston, and had six children — Erie F., Ona May, Amy Lucy, Charles H., Allen, and Ernest George (deceased); Mary C, who married Charles O. Sawyer, formerly a school-teacher and now a commercial trav- eller, and has four children — William G., Leroy R., Vara H., and Alice Persis; and Alice P., wife of Frank O. Johnson, a grocer of Athol, Mass. In 1859 Mr. Gunn was called upon to mourn the loss of his faithful 342 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and loving wife, who was called to rest at the age of forty-one years. Mr. Gunn was formerly a member of the famous Know Nothing party, and is now inde- pendent in politics. He has been promi- nently identified with the local government, having served as a Selectman and Overseer of the Poor several years, and also as Assessor and Collector for a considerable length of time. He was elected Representative for his district in 1862, and was for a period of six years Assistant Assessor of United States revenues. He has been a Trial Justice since 1880, and was for thirty years a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Gunn is a member of the Con- gregational Society, with which his wife also was connected, and takes an active interest in all matters relative to the affairs of the church and its Sabbath-school. Although he is fast approaching fourscore, he is still mentally and physically active, and continues to main- tain a lively interest in all public affairs, being, in fact, a worthy representative of the old school of country gentlemen. Mr. Gunn feels a pride in the fact that he was one of those who each furnished a colored recruit for the army in 1864, willingly paying one hun- dred and twenty-five dollars, although not subject to draft at that time. tICHARD O'HARA, a leading mer- chant of Greenfield, dealing in boots, ^^ shoes, stationery, and periodicals, was born in Ireland, May i, 1845, son of Richard and Mary (McKenna) O'Hara. His parents left the green sod of their native isle in 1847, fleeing from the famine of that terrible year to America, the paradise of the poor and the oppressed. Leaving little Richard with his grandfather McKenna, they started on their long voyage with an infant son, named John, who died on the journey, and was buried beneath the ocean's waters. The shock was too great for the poor mother, who, after they landed in Quebec, was pros- trated for several weeks ; and on her recovery the father was stricken with disease. They were poor in pocket, having had but one shil- ling of their united savings left when they stepped on American soil ; and their first year in this country was a sad struggle with pov- erty. In 1848 they located in Greenfield, where Mr. O'Hara secured employment with the John Russell Cutlery Company; and his wife worked at anything she could find to do. He remained an employee of the cutlery com- pany from 1852 until his death in 1871, being faithful and trustworthy in all of his duties. His wife preceded him to the better world, dying in 1858, and leaving seven children, of whom but three grew to adult life, namely: Stephen, who died in Greenfield, at the age of twenty-nine years; Mary; and Richard, the subject of this brief notice. Richard O'Hara came to this country with his mother's sister, Miss McKenna, when he was seven years old, and joined his parents in Greenfield. He attended the common school until eleven years of age, when he entered the service of the John Russell Cutlery Company, for whom he worked about five years. In August, 1862, being then a beardless youth of seventeen, he enlisted in Company A, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- try, and about a year later re-enlisted, becom- ing a member of Company C, Sixty-fifth New York Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, being discharged as Cor- poral. He was seasick on the voyage to Baton Rouge, but after landing was never off duty, even if a little indisposed, being deter- mined to keep out of the hospital. He was not well for some time after his return home, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 343 and invested a part of his savings in paying for a year's tuition at school and for the inci- dental expenses accruing. He subsequently entered the baby carriage factory of B. B. Noyes, for whom he worked some years, re- signing the position of superintendent of the factory to open his present store in Bank Row. He has been very successful from the start. Beginning in a modest way, his first remittance to one paper having been four dol- lars and a half per month, he has steadily increased his business, reaching sometimes as high as one hundred and eighty dollars in the same space of time. His shoe business has been well conducted, and also nets him hand- some profits. In 1867, just prior to his mar- riage, Mr. O'Hara bought land, and built a house in the south part of the town, his only move since that time being to his present home, which he erected in 1890. Here he has a valuable property, consisting of eight acres of choice land, and he also owns four tenement-houses at Turner's Falls. In the spring of 1895, concluding that he had paid rent long enough, he purchased the block in which his store is located.. Although not a man of wealth, Mr. O'Hara has a comfort- able property, and enjoys life in an unpreten- tious and sensible manner, one of his pleasures being a drive behind his speedy little brown mare. He is known as a man of stability, integrity, and honest purpose, and, though prospered in his undertakings, is as unassum- ing and unpretentious as in his early days, and may not infrequently be seen going the rounds with papers under his arm, as in the days of yore, taking the place of one of his carriers. June 23, 1867, Mr. O'Hara was united in marriage with Ellen Bulman, a native of Ire- land, the daughter of Robert and Ellen Bul- man, the former of whom died in the old country. His widow afterward immigrated to America, locating in Greenfield, where she died a quarter of a century ago, leaving four children, of whom Mrs. O'Hara and her brother James are the only survivors. Mr. and Mrs. O'Hara have an interesting family, which includes two sons and two daughters, namely: John, assistant superintendent of a life insurance company at Troy, N.Y.; Nellie E., a practical, comely, and cultured young lady, in the store with her father; James H., a mail carrier, in Greenfield; and Mary E., who was graduated from the high school in the class of 1895, and is highly accomplished, being a fine elocutionist and the possessor of great musical talent. Her elder sister is also proficient in music. Politically, Mr. O'Hara is an independent voter. Socially, he is a prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his family are Roman Catholic in faith, and esteemed members of the church of that denomination. ALTER E. CLAPP, a practical farmer in good circumstances, scion of good old New England stock, re- siding in the town of Gill, Franklin County, Mass., was born at his present homestead, February 22, 1867, son of Elisha and Mar- tha (Johnson) Clapp. Mr. Clapp is a de- scendant of the Clapp family that settled at an early day in Dorchester, where his great- grandfather, Lemuel Clapp, was born on April 9, 1735, and died December 29, 1819. An extended account of his ancestors may be found in the records of the Clapp family, pub- lished by David Clapp & Sons, of Boston, in 1876. Richard Clapp, son of Lemuel and father of Elisha, was born in Dorchester, July 24, 344 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 1780. He was a tanner, and conducted an extensive business for his day in Dorchester. He also attained to a prominent position in public affairs, and is recorded as having served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Overseer of the Poor, a member of the School Board and of the Highway Commission. Public-spirited and a consistent believer in progress, he inaugurated many reforms and departures from the old manner of town gov- ernment. He married Mary Blake, daughter of Jonathan and Sara (Pierce) Blake. She was born April i, 1784, and became the mother of twelve children, four of whom are still living. Richard Clapp died on Decem- ber 26, 1861 ; and his wife died February 7, 1875- Elisha Clapp was educated in the public schools of Dorchester, and commenced to learn the trade of an engraver; but, being by failing eyesight prevented from following this intention, he decided to adopt an agricultural life, for which purpose he moved to Gill in 1851, and purchased the farm of eighty acres now owned and occupied by his son. He very effectually adapted himself to agricult- ural pursuits, which he conducted with suc- cess. Among the many improvements made by him on his home farm was the erection of the present residence, which is one of the finest in the locality; and here he spent the remainder of his life. He died in Septem- ber, 1885, at the age of sixty-three years. He was a man of much strength of character, and in many respects an earnest promoter of the community's welfare. He was a Republi- can in politics. Elisha Clapp married Martha, daughter of Daniel and Sally (Ward) Johnson. Her par- ents were well-known and highly respected farming people of Warwick; and their family consisted of six children, four of whom are still living, namely: Caroline, wife of Jona- than Blake, of Gill; Martha, Mrs. Clapp; Emelia, wife of Charles Conant; Sarah, who married Dwight Fuller; and James, who re- sides at the old homestead in Warwick. Mrs. Martha J. Clapp died in April, 1885. She was blessed with but two children — Walter E. and one who died in infancy. Mr. Clapp's parents were members of the Congre- gational church at Gill, in which his father held an official position. Walter E. Clapp received his education in the schools of Gill and the academy at Ber- nardston. After his father's death he took charge of the homestead property, which he has since very ably conducted, and is consid- ered by his fellow-townsmen to be one of the most progressive farmers in that section. He has about eighty acres devoted to general farming; and his pleasant home has the appearance of thrift and prosperity which be- tokens intelligent and careful management, and is characteristic of the successful New England farmer. BENEZER F. WILEY, farmer, residing on Sunderland Meadows, a pensioned veteran of the Civil War, was born in the town of Sunderland, Mass., January 12, 1840, son of Ebenezer and Adeline E. (Ball) Wiley, the former also a native of Sun- derland. Mr. Wiley's paternal grandfather, who also bore the name Ebenezer, was born, it is thought, in Sudbury, Mass., but came to Sunderland when a young man; and here he spent his life as an agriculturist, dying when only fifty years of age. There is in the pos- session of the subject of this sketch a copy of his great-great-grandfather's will, bearing date of April 19, 1774, just a year previous to the battle of Lexington and the beginning of the Revolutionary War. CHARLES FELTON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 347 Ebenezer Wiley, the second of the name, was reared to the vocation of a farmer, and assisted in the care of the home farm until the death of his father, when he became the owner of a portion of the old homestead, which is situated about a mile distant from the present residence of his son. He died at the age of eighty. His wife, Adeline Ball, was a daughter of Silas Ball, of either Am- herst or Leverett ; and they reared five chil- dren, of whom two are still living — Ebenezer F. and Dexter B. The mother died at the home of the former in her seventy-second year. She was a member of the Congrega- tional church at Amherst. Ebenezer F. Wiley lived with his parents until twenty-one years old, laying the founda- tion of his education in the district school, and further advancing it at Sufifield Academy. After he became of age, he had worked but a year as carpenter when, in 1862, he volun- teered as a Union soldier, enlisting as a pri- vate in Company F of the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment, being afterward pro- moted to the rank of Corporal. He was in some of the hardest-fought battles of the war, being at Petersburg, Cold Harbor, Spottsyl- vania, the seven days' battle of the Wilder- ness, and many other engagements. He received a wound during a skirmish at Charleston, Va., from which he was laid up in the hospital, but was afterward transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. He was hon- orably discharged at Albany after a three years' service, during which he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant; and he now receives a pension of eight dollars per month from the government. Returning to Sunderland, he resumed his work as a carpenter, then went to farming, and later became the owner of his present place, a farm of forty acres of fertile land. He was married in 1867 to Mary Cut- ler, daughter of Pickering Cutler, of Am- herst, who had removed to Ohio, where she was born. Her mother, Mrs. Pickering Cut- ler, who is now past eighty years of age, makes her home with Mrs. Wiley, who is the only one now living of the four children born to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wiley have three children: Minnie Gilmore, who married Mr. S. B. Guertin, of Springfield, Mass., and has one child — Mildred; Grace A., who mar- ried Edward E. Wilson, an instructor in the Massachusetts State Prison, and is the mother of one child — George E. ; and Harry N. Mr. Wiley is a Republican in political affiliation. He has served his town as Asses- sor for four or five years, and has recently been elected to his fourth year of service as Selectman. He is a member of the E. M. Stanton Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Amherst, but has declined all offices therein. He and his family are attendants of the Congregational church at North Amherst. T^HARLES FELTON, one of the older C V'^ native residents of Shutesbury, Mass., ^»^_^ further represented in this volume by the excellent portrait which appears on the opposite page, is widely known in these parts as a well-to-do farmer and lumberman. He was born in this town, March 20, 1815, son of Charles and Catherine Felton. Mr. Fel- ton's father was born in Deerfield, Mass., December 10, 1783, and was reared to agri- cultural pursuits. He moved to Shutesbury on February 15, 18 15, little less than a year after his marriage, and settled upon a farm which he conducted successfully during the few remaining years of his brief life. He died April 28, 1820. His wife, whom he married May 10, 18 14, was born in New Salem, Mass., August 26, 1784. They had 348 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW two sons, namely: Charles, the subject of this sketch; and John William, who was born December 23, 1817, and died May 7, 1854. Mr. Felton's mother, after living for some time a widow, became the wife of Levi Has- kell. She died February 24, 1862, aged seventy-seven years. By her second marriage she had two children — Catherine C. and Franklin R. — both deceased. Charles Felton grew to manhood in his native town, and received his education in the district schools. In 1838 he came to the farm which he now occupies, and, with the excep- tion of a few years passed in Cooleyville, has resided here since. In young manhood he erected a saw-mill, which he operated for a number of years; and he is still the proprietor of a similar establishment. He has engaged successfully in lumbering, and during his long career has been an energetic and indus- trious man. His farm, which consists of two hundred acres, is in a good state of cultiva- tion, and is a valuable piece of property. On April 24, 1838, Mr. Felton was united in marriage to Esther T. Wheeler. She was born in New Salem, September 17, 1813, daughter of Nathan and Esther (Fish) Wheeler, the former of whom was born in New Salem, February 19, 1790; and his wife was born in New Hampshire, August 5, 1787. Nathan Wheeler was a carpenter by trade, and also followed farming, being an industrious and useful citizen. He died August 10, 1873, aged eighty-three years. His wife was the mother of six children, as follows: Esther T., who was born as above stated; Charles, born October 28, 1815; Sylvia, born May 18, 1819; Eunice, born December 8, 1824; Chloe D., born May 18, 1827; and Nancy C, born April 30, 1830. Of these, three are now liv- ing: Mrs. Felton; Chloe, now Mrs. Cham- berlain, who resides in West Orange; and Nancy, now Mrs. Lincoln, whose home is in Philadelphia. Mrs. Wheeler died September 18, 1867, aged eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Felton have five children liv- ing, namely: Dwight S., who was born December 21, 1839, and now resides in Shutesbury; Albert F., born December 17, 1842, and now a merchant and manufacturer of Orange, Mass. ; Edwin O., born December 20, 1846, and now residing in Northampton, Mass.; Ora H., born August 12, 1849, 3 car- penter of Orange; and Carrie A., born Sep- tember 27, 1857, now the wife of Walter A. Bryant, a resident of Petersham. Mr. Felton has never aspired to political honors, but was prevailed upon to serve one year as a member of the Board of Selectmen. RED L. BURNHAM, real estate agent and a dealer in lumber and builders' finish, has been a resident of Green- field for twenty-seven years, and during that time has been an important factor of its man- ufacturing and mercantile interests. He is a native of Buxton, Me., and was born August 29, 1843. His parents were Samuel and Priscilla (Blunt) Burnham, the former a na- tive of the town of Cape Elizabeth, Me., near Portland, born September 16, 1804, the latter of Kennebunkport, Me., born just a week later than her husband. The Burnhams are of English ancestry, descended from three brothers who emigrated from the mother coun- try at an early period, one of them settling in Maine. He was the direct ancestor of Fred L. Burnham. The grandfather of the latter, Joel Burnham, was born in Portland in 1765, and was a boy when the British destroyed his native city. He was a well-known citizen of Cape Elizabeth, where he worked as a ship carpenter for many years, and died in 1848. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 349 Samuel Burnham, the father of Fred L., was a Maine lumberman, and carried on his business in the towns of Buxton and Fairfield, sometimes rafting his logs down the river, and sometimes making them into lumber be- fore disposing of them. He was a man of much ability and worth, but died while yet in the prime of a useful manhood, his death occurring in 1853. In 1829 he was united in marriage to Priscilla Blunt, and they became the parents of six children, namely: Caroline, who died at the tender age of two and one- half years; Melinda H., wife of J. L. Carll, of Greenfield; Emily M., wife of Benjamin S. Mowry, of Greenfield; James B., who died in Montague City in 1885, aged fifty-one years, leaving a widow and four sons; George, who died January 14, 1862, leaving an orphan son, his wife having passed to the silent land before he did; and Fred L., the subject of this sketch. The orphan son of George Burn- ham was adopted by his aunt, Mrs. Melinda H. Carll, and given the name of Walter E. Carll. He was graduated from Harvard Col- lege, and is now Professor of Anatomy at the State College of Oregon in Portland, being a man of unusual brilliancy and mental attainments. Fred L. Burnham was ten years of age when he was deprived of a father's care and guidance; and two years later he went to live with his sister, working for his board. He attended the district school six months a year, and subsequently pursued his studies at the grammar school for a term. At the age of nineteen years he enlisted in defence of his nation's honor, joining Company D, Twenty- sixth Maine Infantry, and at the end of his term of enlistment was honorably discharged as Third Sergeant of his company, having been acting First Sergeant. Mr. Burnham had previously been engaged in the manufact- ure of piano cases at Orange, and after his return from the seat of war he began working at the carpenter's trade, in which he met with good success, and has since made it his prin- cipal occupation, although he was for a while interested in cutlery manufacture, being one of the directors of the company, and for four and one-half years the efficient superintendent. In 1868 Mr. Burnham located in Greenfield, and for more than a score of years has been one of the foremost contractors and builders of the place. He has a pleasant home on Crescent Street, the commodious and conven- iently arranged house being one of his own planning and building. On January 7, 1864, Mr. Burnham was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Tracy, of Malone, N.Y., a daughter of Martin Tracy, and their union has been blessed by the birth of six children, of whom we chronicle the fol- lowing: George G., a carpenter, residing in this town, is married, and has two sons and one daughter; Lizzie M., the wife of Myron J. Farr, of Greenfield, has two daughters; Minnie, the wife of Cullen E. Hamilton, has one daughter; Frederic W., a carpenter, is married, and lives in Greenfield; Jennie H. lives with her parents; and Walter E. is a boy of twelve years. In his political affiliations Mr. Burnham is a strong Prohibitionist from the Republican ranks. He has been an Odd Fellow for nearly thirty years, and has passed the chairs of the lodge and the encampment; and he is prominent in the Grand Army of the Republic circles, his name being first on the roll of the charter members of the Edwin E. Day Post, which was organized in 1870. Mr. Burnham served as the first Commander of the post, holding the office three and one-half years. He is now Inspector on the Department Com- mander's staff, and was one of the twenty-four 35° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW delegates to the National Encampment, held at Louisville, Ky., in the summer of 1895. 'ETH B. CRAFTS, a very prosper- ous farmer of Whately, an exten- sive landholder, was born in this town on August 28, 1841. He is a son of Noah Crafts, who was born in the same town on September 28, 1800, and whose father, Seth Crafts, also a native of Whately, was a son of Thomas Crafts, a native of Hatfield, who moved from that town to Whately, and settled for life upon the farm now owned and operated by his great-grandson. The farm at the death of Thomas passed into the posses- sion of his son Seth, whose entire life was spent there. A brother of Seth Crafts kept the first hotel in the town. Noah Crafts, who was one of the survivors of a family of eleven children, six of whom were victims of malig- nant spotted fever, was reared to agricultural pursuits; and at the death of his father he succeeded, in company with a brother, to the old homestead. They continued to carry on the farm together with the usual prosperous results until the death of the brother in 1861 left Noah Crafts in full possession of the property. He resided here until his decease, which occurred in 1878. His wife, whose name before marriage was Nancy Wells, was a daughter of Calvin Wells, an early settler in the village of Whately, and was one of a family of five children. Mr. and Mrs. Noah Crafts were members of the Congrega- tional church. They were the parents of three children, of whom Seth B. is the only one now living. His mother, who resided with him subsequent to his father's decease, was called to rest in the month of October, 1 89 1, at the age of eighty-four years. Seth B. Crafts received both a common- school and an academic education, and resided with his parents until reaching the age of twenty-one years. After the death of his uncle he purchased a part of the home farm, and conducted farming upon his own account until 1874, when he purchased a valuable piece of property in the town of Conway, known as the D. A. Foote farmland this he carried on very successfully for some years, devoting his personal attention to the dairy- ing interests. He had placed his property in Whately in charge of a competent farmer, to be operated on shares; and this arrangement continued until a disastrous conflagration destroyed his farm buildings in Conyvay on March 8, 1890, since which time he has re- sided at the old homestead in Whately. He keeps a herd of blooded Jersey cows, and con- ducts farming with the most satisfactory results. His property here, including the Graves farm, consists of one hundred and sixty acres of finely improved land; and this, together with the Conway farm of three hun- dred, which is devoted to the cultivation of tobacco and also to dairying interests, requires his entire attention. In 1874 Mr. Crafts was united in marriage to Miss Helen Graves, daughter of Randall Graves, a well-known and prominent farmer of Whately. Mr. Crafts was formerly a Re- publican in politics, but now supports the Democratic party. He was elected a member of the School Committee at the age of twenty- three, and served on the board ten years. In 1 87 1 he was elected to the legislature, in which body he served for one term. He also was upon the School Board at Conway for two years, and in March, 1891, was elected a Selectman in Whately, a position which he most admirably fills at the present time, hav- ing for the past four years been chairman of the board. He is a member of Morning Star BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 3SI Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Conway, and at- tends the Congregational church. iBER NASH LARABEE, a farmer of Greenfield, was born June 5, 1834, on the farm where he now resides. His father, Hart Larabee, was born in Guilford, and came to Greenfield when fifteen years of age. He inherited his farm of two hundred and fifty acres on condition that he should take care of his uncle Corse, one of the very first settlers of Greenfield, and also of Asher Corse's son's wife and her nine children — no small task for a youth of fifteen. But he manfully went to work to care for this large family, and nobly fulfilled his duty by them, giving each child at a specified time the sum agreed upon. He was a good business man and a successful farmer, and was a Captain and Lieutenant in the State militia in the old training days. In politics he was a Whig, and he was an attendant of the Unita- rian church. He died on the old farm, Au- gust 29, 1854; but his widow lived until April 8, 1888. Mr. Hart Larabee was twice married, and father of four children: Eber Nash Larabee, first, died at two years of age; Hart Larabee, Jr., resides in Indiana; Har- riett C. is the widow of J. K. Brown, of Ber- nardston ; and Eber Nash Larabee, second, the eldest child of the second wife, Clarissa Nash, is the subject of this sketch. Eber Nash Larabee got his early education in the district schools of Greenfield, and has followed the occupation of farmer all his life, and is also interested in the lumber business. He purchased his father's farm, where he now resides, and has since put up good build- ings, and made many other improvements. He is a stanch Republican in politics. On April 12, 1871, he was united in marriage to Elvira S. Phillips, who was born October 25, 1845. They have a fine family of four chil- dren: Clara, born May 9, 1872; Anna, June 25, 1874; Lizzie, February 17, 1878; and Hart, born December 4, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Larabee attend the Unitarian church at Ber- nardston, being liberal in their religious views. On Mr. Larabee's farm, near the roadside, stands a monument of granite, the gift of the late Henry Childs, of Buffalo, N.Y., which was dedicated August 12, 1884, under the auspices of the P. V. & M. A., and commem- orates the cruel massacre of Mrs. Eunice Williams, wife of the Rev. John Williams, in the winter of 1704. Mrs. Williams, with one hundred and eleven other captives, com- menced the march of three hundred miles to Canada, in charge of the French and Indians. Their progress through the snow was neces- sarily slow and very fatiguing to the women and children; and Mrs. Williams, especially, soon found her strength unequal to the task. When they reached the hill above what is now Mr. Larabee's place, Mr. Williams, who had previously been separated from his wife, en- treated his captor to allow him to return and help her, but was refused ; and she was left to struggle along as best she might. Her brutal master, soon finding her a burden, sunk his hatchet in her head, and left her dead at the foot of the hill. T^YRUS N. DANIELS, a well-known I jy and respected citizen of Conway, was V. ^ born in Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., April 22, 1830. His parents were Cyrus D. and Sally (Kent) Daniels, the former of whom was a native of Plainfield, where he was successfully engaged in agri- culture, spending his life on the farm where he was born. His death occurred at the age 3S2 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW of sixty-five years. His wife, Sally Kent, reared four children; namely, Mary Ann CMrs. Smith), Sarah (Mrs. Barnard), Cyrus N., and John F. Cyrus N. Daniels remained with his par- ents, and assisted his father on the farm until reaching the age of thirty-one years. He then came to Conway, and purchased the place on which he has since resided — a farm containing one hundred and fifty acres — which he conducts with profitable results. In early life he learned the trade of a butcher, and for thirty years has been successfully en- gaged in that business in connection with his agricultural duties. He began by selling his meats from an ox cart, but later on, as condi- tions changed, he purchased horses. He makes several trips each week through Con- way and the adjoining towns, throughout which he has established an excellent trade. On May lo, 1852, Mr. Daniels was joined in marriage with Miss Lucelia A. Morse, a daughter of Alonzo Morse, a carpenter and miller of Dalton, Mass., in which place she was born and grew to womanhood. Her father and mother are no longer living, but each attained the age of eighty years. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Daniels has been blessed by the birth of four children, two sons and two daughters, namely: Elmira (Mrs. Howe); William, who married Erne- line Shoemaker, and has two children — Paul and Nelson; Everett, who resides at home, and assists his father in the care of the farm. The other child — Mattie Alice — died at the age of thirteen months. 'OHN WILSON WHEELER, or, as he usually writes his name, John W. Wheeler, was born in Orange, Frank- lin County, Mass., Tuesday, November 20, 1832. He is a son of Wilson and Catherine Holmes (Warden) Wheeler, and is the second of nine children. Wilson Wheeler was a na- tive of Athol, and was born October 5, 1804. He died in Orange, December 26, 1887, aged eighty-three years, two months, and twenty- one days. Catherine Holmes Warden was a native of Worcester, where she was born July 8, 1805. She died in Orange, August 2, 1876, at the age of seventy-one. Wilson Wheeler and Miss Warden were married May 26, 1830. Wilson Wheeler removed to Orange with his father, Zaccheus Wheeler, about 1823, and lived there most of the remainder of his life, though in the practice of his trade as carpenter and builder he spent two years or more in Winchendon. He was a farmer as well as a carpenter, and for the last part of his active life he devoted hirhself to farming exclusively. When a young man, he was Constable and Collector of the town for sev- eral years; and from 1852 to 1867 he was Deputy Sheriff for Eastern Franklin County. Wilson Wheeler was short of stature, but firmly built and a man of great endurance. He was hardly ever known to be sick; and in physical soundness his son is like him, though in personal appearance perhaps more resem- bling the mother s family. The ancestors of John W. Wheeler on both sides were mostly mechanics or farmers ; but his paternal great- grandfather — who, as well as his grandfather, was named Zaccheus — was a merchant in New York City. A maternal uncle was also a merchant in Worcester. 'It is interesting to notice how the commercial instinct again appeared in the subject of this sketch, and led him, in spite of early training in other direc- tions, to become first a storekeeper and afterward one of the managers of a large man- ufacturing enterprise. JOHN W. WHEELER. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 355 His educational advantages were of the most limited character, and were confined to the district schools of his native town, with a few terms of select school taught by Beriah W. Fay, now of New Salem. The terms of the district school were short, and many more weeks during the years of Mr. Wheeler's boy- hood and youth were spent in work than in school. Such educational facilities as were to be had were improved much as by the aver- age boy, and Mr. Wheeler remembers no par- ticular preference for any branch of study. He recalls much more vividly the labor and small expedients he was forced to, in order to earn a little money for himself. It was the day of small things, his parents, like most of their neighbors, being able to afford the necessaries of life for their large family, but not much else; and John W., the eldest son, does not remember ever receiving a dollar in money from his father. As a lad, he was brought up to work both at farming and carpentering, though neither occupation was congenial to him. But, noth- ing better offering, he worked for a year or two at the carpenter's bench after reaching his majority. Then he gladly accepted an opportunity to enter mercantile life, and took a place in the grocery store of Joseph Bald- win, of Fitchburg, at one hundred and twenty- five dollars a year and his board. At the close of the year his employer voluntarily made the amount one hundred and fifty dol- lars, to show his appreciation of faithful ser- vice. This year and part of the year before, when working as a carpenter, also at Fitch- burg, constitute the longest periods Mr. Wheeler has spent away from his native town. Returning to Orange in May, 1856, he took a place in the general store of Daniel Pomeroy; and he remained in his employ three years. Then he succeeded his employer in the busi- ness, which he conducted for three years longer. When he closed it out, he found he had made little beyond his living expenses, but he had established the reputation of a young business man of ability and integrity; and after a year's clerkship in the claim agency office of D. E. Cheney, two of the leading men of the village, Mr. Cheney and R. E. Carpenter, were glad to loan him about two thousand dollars, on his personal secur- ity, to buy A. J. Clark's grocery store. This venture was abundantly successful, and was only given up, in 1867, to enter the firm of A. F. Johnson & Co., who had recently started, in a small way, the business of mak- ing sewing-machines in Orange. When Mr. Wheeler thus began what was to be the great work of his life, he was thirty- five years old and in the prime of vigorous manhood. Without ever possessing a very robust physique, being of medium stature and slender form, weighing only about one hun- dred and thirty-five pounds, Mr. Wheeler is blessed with a sound body as well as an active mind, and has had the ambition to make the most of himself in whatever engaged. He has also an equable temperament, wasting no strength in worrying, but has always been capable of the hardest kind of work, and has proved himself to possess great endurance. Always temperate in his habits and moderate in his desires, he was able to meet the oppor- tunity offered him with all his matured powers, and turn it to the best advantage. And there was need of all bis resources. The sewing-machine business was in the ex- perimental stage. Johnson & Co. employed only about forty men, and their product was small. There was trouble about patents, and the style and name of the machine were sev- eral times changed. The firm itself was changed in 1869 to a corporation with the 3S6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW name, "Gold Medal Sewing Machine Com- pany," Mr. Wheeler being the secretary and treasurer. In January, 1882, the name was changed again to "The New Home Sewing Machine Company." Of this company Mr. Wheeler is vice-president as well as secretary and treasurer; and from the beginning he has been the financial manager of the firm or com- pany, under whatever name. He has seen the business grow from small beginnings till it now employs nearly six hundred men, and turns out about four hundred sewing-machines every working day. For years Mr. Wheeler did the work of sev- eral men in the office; but recently he has been able to trust the details to a well-organ- ized corps of assistants, and to take an active interest and part in other business or enter- prises, chiefly those which are of value to the growth and well-being of Orange. He is President of the Orange Savings Bank — which has over three-quarters of a million dollars on deposit — as well as President of the Orange National Bank. He was Presi- dent of the Orange Power Company, a cor- poration organized a few years ago to build a large shoe-shop, as an inducement to Jay B. Reynolds, a Brockton manufacturer, to bring a new industry to the town, and President of the Orange Board of Trade ; and Mr. Wheeler has himself built a large shop alongside the railroad in the east part of the village, fully equipped with steam-power, which is rented to the National Keg and Box Company. This company already employs a large number of hands, and the shop has a capacity of employ- ing two hundred or more men. Houses are rapidly going up in the vicinity, many of them built by the owner of the property; and this important suburb is appropriately named Wheeler. But Mr. Wheeler's business activ- ity and reputation are not confined to his own town. He is President of the Boston Mutual Life Association, and a Director of the Athol & Orange Street Railway Company, as well as of The Leavitt Machine Company, the latter a corporation doing a successful business in Orange. Mr. Wheeler was married October 9, 1856, to Almira E. Johnson, one of the seven daughters of Daniel and Almira Porter John- son, of North Orange. The marriage cere- mony was performed at the-home of the bride by the Rev. Hosea Ballou. Three children have blessed this union, all daughters. Only one, Marion L., the oldest, survives, and with her husband, John B. Welch, con- tinues to have her home in her father's house. The other children, Clara Jane and Rosa A., died in infancy. One of the founders of Orange Lodge of Masons in 1859, ^^■ Wheeler was its first Secretary, and afterward its Treasurer. He is a member of Crescent Royal Arch Chapter, was for several years its Treasurer, and is also a member of Orange Commandery, Knights Templars. It goes almost without saying that so busy a man as Mr. Wheeler has had little time to devote to the demands of society. Still, he is social by nature, enjoys meeting his friends in an informal way, and, when he allows him- self to throw aside the cares of business, is an entertaining companion. He is on the most familiar terms with his neighbors, having none of the purse pride that is so offensive; and the companions of his boyhood still call him "John," as when they went to school and played together. Mr. Wheeler has always been a consistent Republican, taking an ear- nest and active interest in the success of his party, but has held office less frequently than his townsmen would have been glad to have him hold it. From 1861 to 1867 he was Town Clerk of Orange, and in 1864 was BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 3sy appointed by Governor Andrew a Justice of the Peace. In 1866 he was one of the Select- men of the town, and in 1876 was elected to the legislature from the First Franklin Dis- trict, serving on the Committee on Finance. In 1888 he was one of the delegates from the Eleventh District to the National Convention at Chicago which nominated Harrison and Morton. In addition to his other business interests, Mr. Wheeler owns a large farm near Orange village, which from the beauty of its situa- tion is called Grand View. It may be doubted if the farm is as profitable as some other of his business enterprises; but he greatly enjoys his residence upon it in the summer, and gets rest and recreation in directing its cultivation. His attention is especially turned to the breeding of fine horses and cattle, and lovers of good stock always feel repaid by a visit to his stables. During the year 1891 Mr. Wheeler was Presi- dent of the Worcester North-west Agricult- ural and Mechanical Society at Athol ; and the secretary of the society, in the annual report, paid this fitting tribute to the value of his services: "The enthusiasm of President John W. Wheeler, his endeavors to promote the success of the fair by his exhibit of fine- bred stock and the elegant art display of the New Home Sewing Machine Company, and the interest he manifested in various ways to have the celebration a success commensurate with its importance, demonstrate his eminent fitness for the position." One of the most noticeable traits of Mr. Wheeler is his strong affection for his native town. He has never been abroad, but he has travelled in every part of our own country in the interest of his vast business; and he always comes back with increased love for Orange. It is this passion for his home that still keeps him active in new industries, when he might justly seek relief from business cares, having already accomplished so much. The new manufacturing suburb that he has established at Wheeler has already been alluded to. Another enterprise in which he takes just pride is the laying out of a large tract of land north of the village into streets and building lots. This is known as Orange Highlands, and from the advantages of its situation it cannot help becoming the favorite residence portion of the town. And, if he lives and has his health, it is safe to say that Orange has yet to learn of more plans for her benefit from her most distinguished son, the subject of the foregoing sketch and of the lifelike portrait to be seen in close proximity hereto. fREDERlCK E. PIERCE, Postmaster at Greenfield, Franklin County, Mass., a valued and respected citizen of the town, is a native of Iowa, born in Glenwood, May S, 1862, but is of New England ancestry. His parents were William and Ellen A. (Coates) Pierce, the former a native of North- ampton, the latter of Vernon, Vt.; and his paternal grandfather, George Pierce, was born in Northampton in the latter part of the last century. (For further ancestral history see the sketch of George Pierce on another page of this work.) William Pierce, the father of our subject, was born August 7, 1828. He was a tinsmith by trade, and followed that occupation in the vicinity of his home for some years. In 1856 he went to the West, settling in Glenwood, la., where he carried on a very successful business for about ten years. He won a posi- tion among the foremost men of the place, and was very influential in the management of local affairs, serving as an Alderman of the 3S8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW city and filling the responsible office of County Treasurer. In 1866, his health be- coming impaired, he returned with his family to Greenfield, where his death occurred the following year. Mr. Pierce was a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a Chapter Mason. He was interested in military mat- ters, and during the progress of the late Rebellion drilled a company of men, and was chosen Captain, but did not pass the requi- site physical examination. His widow, whose maiden name was Ellen A. Coates, is still living, tenderly cared for by her children, to whom she has devoted the better part of her life, finding her greatest happiness in so doing. She was born October 25, 1827, and is the daughter of John B. and Demeris (Briggs) Coates. Mr. Coates was formerly engaged in farming at Bernardston, Mass., and in Guilford, Vt. He was twice married, and reared seven children, of whom Mrs. Pierce is the only one now living. Mr. and Mrs. William Pierce became the parents of four children, one of whom, Henry, died at the age of eight months. The record of those living is as follows: William T. is a resident of Delton, Barry County, Mich. ; Nettie A. is a successful and esteemed teacher in Green- field; and Frederick E. is the subject of this brief personal narrative. Fredericlc E. Pierce received a good educa- tion, graduating from the Greenfield High School in 1882, and is well informed on all topics of general interest. He entered the post-office when quite young, acting as clerk under the regime of Postmaster Merriam, and was Assistant Postmaster under Mr. Hamilton for one year. He was next employed at the First National Bank, remaining there as clerk, book-keeper, and teller for eleven years, resigning to accept his present posi- tion, to which he was appointed August 2, 1894, by President Cleveland. In the dis- charge of his duties since that time Mr. Pierce has met with general approval. Socially, Mr. Pierce is popular and promi- nent among the Masons, being a Knight Templar, and having been High Priest of the Chapter two years and Treasurer of the Re- publican Lodge two years. Like his father, he takes an active interest in military affairs, and during the past four years has filled the office of Captain of Company L, Second Regi- ment of the State militia. Another member of the Pierce family has a military record, an uncle, named Henry Pierce, having served dur- ing the Civil War, first as Captain of a com- pany; and afterward he was brevetted Major. This same uncle was also a man of high men- tal attainments and some literary note, one of his works being a translation of Homer's Iliad. W; ILLIAM SIDNEY SEVERANCE, M.D., a homoeopathic physician of Greenfield and a man of promi- nence in his profession, was born in Leyden, Franklin County, Mass., March 24, 1820. He is the son of Chester and Martha (Smith- Nash) Severance, natives of Greenfield, and on the paternal side is descended from one of the early settlers of Massachusetts, the first ancestor of whom he has any definite knowl- edge being one John Severance, who was mar- ried in Ipswich, England, in 1634, to Abigail Kimball, and three years later immigrated to America with his family, landing at Boston, Mass., and afterward became one of the founders of the town of Salisbury. He was a noted man in his day, at the forefront of all social and business enterprises, and was a charter member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, which was organized in America the first Monday in June, 1638. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 359 The next in line of descent was John Sever- ance (second), who was followed by Joseph (first). Then came Joseph Severance (sec- ond), after him being Matthew Severance, Sr., the great-grandfather of the Doctor. He was born in June, 1735, and after attaining his majority removed to Greenfield, Mass., where he married Experience Nash, a daugh- ter of Daniel Nash. Matthew Severance was a soldier during the French and Indian War, being a member of Captain Burbank's com- pany, and met with some thrilling adventures. He was at one time captured by the Indians while out on a scouting expedition at Sabbath Point on Lake George, N.Y., and carried thence to Canada, where, it is said, he ran the gauntlet of a long double file of dusky savages, and when nearly at the end was felled by a blow from a squaw, but quickly recovered himself, and gave her a kick that prostrated her, a feat for which he was lionized by the redskins. He soon afterward escaped to the woods, and hid from his pursuers in a hollow log, going in feet first, and covering the en- trance with leaves and weeds, so that he was not discovered, although he heard the Indians on the log. He did not dare venture out for several days, but finally made his escape. In the early part of the present century he re- moved with his family, which included his son Matthew and his grandson Chester, to Leyden, Mass., and was thereafter a resident of that town. Matthew Severance, Jr., the grandfather of our subject, was born in Greenfield, July 11, 1765. He purchased one hundred acres of land in Leyden; and the property is still in the possession of the family, being owned and occupied by C. C. Severance, an uncle of the Doctor. Matthew Severance was commonly known as Captain Severance, having been Captain of a company of the State militia. While a resident of Greenfield, he was mar- ried to Mary Welles, the ceremony taking place in that town, November 25, 1784. Four daughters and six sons were born to them, of whom four sons and three daughters grew to adult life. Matthew Severance and his wife died in Leyden, where they were numbered among the most respected citizens. Chester Severance, Dr. Severance's father, who was born April 20, 1799, was but little more than six years of age when his parents removed to Leyden. Following in the foot- steps of his ancestors, he engaged in agricult- ural pursuits, becoming one of the influential and well-to-do farmers of the vicinity. He was also very prominent in local affairs, fill- ing satisfactorily the offices of Selectman, Assessor, and Collector. He died in 1885. Chester Severance married Mrs. Martha Nash («/£■ Smith), daughter of Elijah Smith, of Greenfield. Mrs. Severance died in Leyden in i860. Seven children were born of their union, one of whom died in infancy. Three sons and one daughter are now living, namely: Adaliza, wife of John M. Thayer, of Rochester, N.Y. ; William Sidney, the sub- ject of this sketch; Chester Welles, a pros- perous farmer of Leyden; and Charles E., a practising physician of Brattleboro, Vt. The mother had one son by her first marriage — Robert S. Nash — a farmer, whose last days were spent in retirement in Edinburg, 111. He lived to be over fourscore, dying April 21, 1895. Dr. William S. Severance spent the first years of his life on the home farm, attending the district school, and later the Goodell Academy at Bernardston and the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham. At the age of eigh- teen years he began teaching, and was thus employed three terms, his last school being at Nash's Mills in Greenfield. Finding neither 360 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW farming nor teaching congenial to his taste, he began to read medicine in Greenfield in 1849; and in February, 1853, he was grad- uated from the Cincinnati Medical College. Dr. Severance began the practice of his pro- fession at once, locating in the town of Hins- dale, N.H., but after a few months found a more favorable opening at Shelburne Falls, Mass., where he remained eight years. The following two years the Doctor practised in Vernon, Vt. ; and in 1864 he removed to Greenfield, buying his present home at 26 Main Street. During his residence in the town he has won a fair share of the patronage of the best people of the locality. He has gained a wide reputation as a skilful and able practitioner, with a profound knowledge of the causes and cures of the various ailments to which mankind are subjected. Mr. Severance was married November 24, 1853, to Martha Elizabeth Lyman, of North- field, a daughter of Captain Thomas Lyman, who was a soldier of the War of 18 12, going from Northfield to Boston on foot, to enlist, and returning in the same manner. Three children have been born into their pleasant household, namely: William L., born Sep- tember 17, 1858; an infant who died March I, 1866; and Charles Dore, born December 16, 1868. In the care of his large business, which is ever increasing. Dr. Severance has now the assistance of his elder son. Dr. Will- iam Lyman Severance, who is a graduate of the Vermont Medical Society, and who has also attended lectures at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons in New York City. The younger son, Charles Dore, who is a graduate of the Poughkeepsie Business College, is now a book-keeper for Wells Brothers & Co., hard- ware manufacturers, of Greenfield. In politics Dr. Severance is an uncom- promising Republican. Although no ofiRce- seeker, he served while in Vernon, Vt., as superintendent of schools. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar, and has been through all the chairs of the lodge, chapter, and commandery. The Doc- tor has likewise passed all the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is still a member of the order. /^E ARDNER J. OAKES, an enterprising \ l^rr contractor and builder of Bernards- ton, was born September 29, 1840, in Guilford, Vt. His father, Gardner Oakes, was a native of Bolton, Mass., born in 1807, and was the son of James and Sarah (Wilker) Oakes, the former of Bolton and the latter a native of Sudbury, Mass. Eight children were born to the grandparents, seven of whom they reared. But one is now living, James Oakes, a retired carpenter, who resides at Hamden, Conn., and is enjoying life at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. Gardner Oakes, the father of the subject of this sketch, was an industrious man, and with his brother Emery was engaged for some years in boating on the Hudson Canal. In 1837 he was united in wedlock with Celia Stoddard, a daughter of Levi and Lizzie (Fairman) Stoddard, of Vernon, Vt. ; and they became the parents of two children, the elder being Eunice, wife of William Brown, of Vernon. On the 1st of October, just after the birth of his son Gardner J., Mr. Oakes passed to the world beyond. He was then but thirty-three years of age, a fine-looking man, tall, straight, and of a clear, dark complexion. His son resembles him in regard to form and stature only, having inherited the fair skin and blue eyes of his mother. Mrs. Oakes was subsequently married to Justice Clark, of Ber- nardston, by whom she had three children : BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 361 Solomon, who died in infancy; Henry and Charles Clark, both of whom are engaged in agricultural pursuits at the place of their nativity. The mother lived to the ripe age of eighty-one years, dying in 1892, and was laid to rest beside her first husband in the Ber- nardston cemetery. Gardner J. Oakes was an infant of six weeks when his mother removed to Bernards- ton, and in that town he grew to maturity. He received good educational advantages, attending the district school throughout the entire year the first ten years of his school age, and was afterward a pupil of the winter school until seventeen years old. On the farm he became conversant with the art and science of agriculture, and when twenty years of age started to learn the carpenter's trade, for which he had a special predilection, one of the articles always found among his boy- hood playthings having been a gimlet, which he used indiscriminately. In 1863 Mr. Oakes was drafted for the army, but paid three hun- dred dollars for a substitute, working out this sum at the armory at Watertown, N.Y., where he assisted in the manufacture of guns, and at Slatersville, R.I., in the factory of Mansfield & Lamb, where he worked on swords. In 1865 he returned to the old home at Bernardston, and looked after the interests of his sixty-acre farm for a while; but, find- ing carpentering more to his taste, he resumed his trade, working by the day for ten years or so. In 1875 Mr. Oakes started in business as a contractor and builder, with his older sons as efficient helpers, among his notable works being the fine Conant residence at Turner's Falls, the Riverside Hall at Riverside, and a number of houses in Greenfield. March 11, 1862, Mr. Oakes was married to Selena M. Courtney, a daughter of James Courtney, of Chazy, N.Y., the ceremony being performed in Rhode Island, and their union has been blessed by the birth of six children, namely: Robert H., who is in business with his father, and is married; Madora^B., who was educated at Powers Institute, has taught school, and is now at home with her parents; Walter S., a machinist, who lives with his father and mother; Herbert C, who has just attained his majority, a carpenter, associated with his father; Frank L. , now a student at Powers Institute; and Lyman E., a boy of fourteen years, a pupil in the same school. Mr. Oakes is a strong Democrat, being a firm believer in the principles supported by that party. He takes a deep interest in pro- moting the welfare of the town and county, and encourages all enterprises conducive to the public benefit, but as yet has held no pub- lic office except that of Highway Surveyor and Sealer of Weights and Measures. He has contributed materially to the industrial interests of the town, and is universally known as a man of strict integrity and upright principles. ^^»^ » (sTr LBERT J. SMART, Superintendent of ^4 the Wiley & Russell Mill at Green- ^^V^^ field, has occupied his present re- sponsible position the larger part of the time for twenty-one years, being a mo.st capable and efficient business man. He was born at South New Market, N.H., July 26, 1849, and is a son of Joseph N. Smart, a lifelong resi- dent of that town, born in 1 8 1 1 . Joseph N. Smart was early left an orphan, his father dying from lockjaw, caused by run- ning a fork tine through his foot on falling from a haymow. He was bred to agricultural pursuits, and also learned the stone mason's trade, at which he worked for many years after his marriage, finding it more profitable and more congenial than tilling the soil. In 362 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 1842 he was married to Mary J. Laiigley, also of South New Market, and to him and his wife five children were born, namely: Frances F., wife of W. S. Rundlett, superintendent of a sugar refinery in Baltimore, Md. ; Albert J., the subject of this personal notice; James S., a brass finisher and manufacturer of automatic dampers and regulators at Salem, Mass., senior partner of the firm of Smart & Spencer; Mary Jane, who died when six years old; and Georgia M., wife of Frank L. Durell, a machinist in South New Market. Both parents lived until well advanced in years, the mother passing away April 9, 1886, and the father some four years later. Albert J. Smart received his schooling in the New Hampshire town in which he was born, and at the age of fifteen years began working at the machinist's trade in the same place. Leaving home, he went to Lowell, Mass., where he was employed until 1869 by Pratt, Grant & Co., for whom he worked a year. Going thence to Miller's Falls, Mr. Smart followed his chosen occupation until 1873, when he entered the employ of the Greenfield firm for whom he is now superin- tendent. Mr. Smart has shown marked abil- ity as an executive officer, and, having started in life without cash capital, has, by his own exertions, excellent management, and good judgment, won his way to affluence and influ- ence. In addition to being superintendent of the mill, he is a stockholder and director of the Wiley & Russell Company. Mr. Smart has been three times married. His first wife, Augusta L. Cloudman, of South New Market, to whom he was united October 19, 1869, died without issue in January, 1875, aged twenty-nine years. On March 21, 1876, he married Julia J. Frary, of Greenfield; and after three years of hap- piness she passed to the brighter land, November 29, 1879, at the age of thirty-six years. Mr. Smart's third marriage took place January 20, 1881, Miss Ada F. Hill, of North Bridgton, Me., becoming his wife. She is a daughter of John and Martha (Green- leaf) Hill, the former of whom died October 12, 1893. Mrs. Smart is one of ten children, two of whom died in infancy. Her mother, Mrs. Hill, now an active woman of seventy- three years, still lives at the family home in North Bridgton. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Smart has been blessed by the birth of four children, one of whom passed to the higher life after a brief sojourn on earth. The liv- ing are: Charles Edwin, born November 19, 1882; Roy, born November i, 1883; and Albert J., born March 26, 1890. Mr. Smart is strongly Republican in his political views. He never shirks responsibil- ity, but, has served in the various minor offices of the town, and has been a member of the Town Committee for many years. He be- longs to the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar, but is affiliated with no other social organization, being domestic in his tastes and enjoying most the comforts of his home. His residence, which he pur- chased in 1888, is at 38 Conway Street; and there, surrounded by his interesting family, he spends the most of his leisure time. |ILO A. THOMPSON, a successful farmer in Colerain, and the scion of an old and respected family of the vicinity, was born on the farm where he now resides, January 8, 1837. He is the son of Levi and Margai-et (Wilson) Thompson, and received his broad acres from his father, to whom they were bequeathed by the grand- father, who came into possession of the estate on the death of the great-grandfather. The BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 3(>3 latter took possession when that part of the country was in a primeval state, when the forests were the home of wild beasts, when game was plenty, and when " The wild deer arched his neck from glades, and then, Unhunted, sought his woods and wilderness again." The stealthy footfall of the Indian was no infrequent sound as the pioneer worked bravely to establish a home, felling the trees to make a clearing and to build his log house. Grandfather Thompson took up the work where his father left off, carrying on general farming for the support of the family. He was a hard-working man and an exemplary citizen. In politics he was a Whig. In re- ligious views he was liberal. He lived to a good age, dying at the homestead. His wife, Jennie, was the mother of a large family. She, too, lived to a good age. Levi Thompson, the father of our subject, also spent his days upon the home farm, liv- ing one year longer than the allotted three- score and ten. He followed closely in his father's footsteps, voting the Republican ticket, and holding liberal views in regard to religion. He served as Selectman, and filled various minor offices, winning respect from all who knew him. His wife, Margaret (Wil- son) Thompson, lived to be seventy-one years old. They had eight children, only three of whom are now living, namely: Cordelia, now the wife of George Patterson, of Colerain ; Milo, our subject; and David B., in Wiscon- sin. Elizabeth, Velora, Mary A., and Russell died some time since. Mile A. Thompson was born and brought up on the farm, receiving his education in the district school. He has devoted his life to farming, and has his two hundred acres in a high state of cultivation, with good buildings, the large barn, which was built in 1893, being especially well planned. His house is one of the oldest in the vicinity, and the solid tim- bers are good for many a coming year. The old-fashioned rooms have an air of hospitable comfort not to be found in the modern dwell- ing-house, and the tout ensemble breathes of well-preserved respectability. On December 29, 1871, Mr. Thompson was married to Eunice J., daughter of Oliver and Cynthia Holland, of New York State, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have five children, as follows: Ozro A., Levi H., Myron A. and Myra A., the latter two being twins, and George M. — ^all at home with their parents. Like his father, Mr. Thompson votes the Republican ticket, and is liberal in religious opinions, "judging no man, but filled with charity toward all." He is an indefatigable worker, and is winning the success his indus- try deserves. YpT^ICHARD N. OAKMAN, Jr., who I 1^^ occupies a prominent position among *-? V_ ^ the influential and respected busi- ness men of Franklin County, was born in the town of Hawley, Franklin County, Mass., September 23, 1843, son of Richard N. and Julia P. (Hawkes) Oakman. Richard N. Oakman, Sr., who was a son of Joseph Oakman, was born in the town of Wendell, Franklin County, Mass., in 1817. In 1842 he married Julia P., daughter of Ichabod and Paulina Hawkes, of Hawley; and they are now living in Montague, honored and respected residents of the place. They reared a family of four children, of whom the follow- ing is chronicled: Richard N., our subject, is the eldest child; J. Kate, who was educated at Holyoke Seminary, now resides with her parents at Montague; Nellie P. is the wife of 364 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW E. A. Taft, of Greenfield; and Frank H., a graduate of Powers Institute at Bernardston, is Treasurer of the Cutlery Manufacturing Company at Shelburne Falls. Richard N. Oakman, Jr., is a man of schol- arly attainments, having been a student at Powers Institute and Williams College. He began his business career as a book-keeper in a bank at Kenosha, Wis., going from there to La Salle, 111., where he was employed in the same capacity for a coal mining company. Returning East, Mr. Oakman was engaged as clerk and book-keeper for a cutlery manufact- uring company in New York City for some time. He afterward spent some years in the South, being at first treasurer of a coal min- ing company in Alabama, and subsequently Deputy Collector of Customs at Charleston, S.C. In 1872 Mr. Oakman again came North, and accepted the position of Cashier of the Crocker National Bank at Turner's Falls. In 1874 he became Treasurer of the John Rus- sell Cutlery Company, resigning in 1889 to go abroad. The following three years he spent in Europe, engaged in gas furnace engi- neering, a business with which he is still connected. His financial ability has always met with ready recognition; and he has been interested in various stock companies offi- cially, being now President of the Lamson & Goodnow Manufacturing Company of Shel- burne Falls, and likewise of the A. F. Towle & Son Company, silversmiths, of Greenfield. On March 17, 1868, Mr. Oakman was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Clark, of Exeter, N.H.; and the only child born of their union is Anna O., the wife of Frederick H. Newton, of Holyoke. Politically, Mr. Oakman affiliates with the Republican party. He is a Past Master of Mechanics Lodge of Turner's Falls, has served as District Deputy Grand Master, and is a Past Eminent Commander of Connecticut Valley Commandery, Knights Templars. In religious belief he is a Presbyterian. He occupies a pleasant home at the corner of Church and High Streets, into which he moved in i886. Mr. Oakman is a man of intelligence, untiring industry, and superior executive ability, qualities which have proved of the highest service to him in his business career. ENRY N. WARNER, whose portrait here attracts the reader's attention, -^ V» ^ is a worthy representative of the farming and stock-raising interests of the western part of Franklin County. He is a native resident of Charlemont, having been born on August 13, 1840. In devoting him- self to agricultural pursuits, Mr. Warner has followed in the footsteps of his father, New- ton G. Warner, and his grandfather, Newton Warner. The latter was an active and thrifty farmer of the town of Rowe, where he and his wife, formerly Rachel Cobb, lived to advanced years, and at their decease left three children: Newton G., Daniel, and Mrs. R. Williams. Newton G. Warner was born April 6, 181 5, in the town of Rowe, and remained beneath the parental roof-tree until attaining his majority, receiving a practical training in the pioneer labor of clearing and improving a farm. After his marriage, being desirous of establishing a home of his own, he bought the one-hundred-and-.fifty-acre farm now owned by Fred Churchill, and worked on it faithfully during the next decade. Disposing of that property, he then removed to Montague, where he engaged in teaming for several years, coming thence in 1848 to Charlemont, where he purchased the Bradford place, con- sisting of a choice piece of property on the river flat and the Charlemont hotel. Selling r^^^N^t HENRY N. WARNER. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 367 the hotel, he retained the ownership of the land and house on the flat, and moved into the dwelling after having it rebuilt and enlarged. He subsequently bought the Riddle farm of one hundred and sixty acres, much of which was covered with standing timber. This he converted into lumber, which he sold at good advantage; and, after that was all cut off, he sold the land. His next undertaking was the raising of tobacco, in which he was very suc- cessful, the low land being particularly adapted for that purpose. He also owned twenty-five acres of good pasture; and this he utilized by purchasing cattle, which he fed, fitting them for market, carrying on an exten- sive business in this line until his death, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was one of the valued citizens of the town, and an influ- ential member of the Democratic party, with which he uniformly cast his vote. He was a liberal in religious belief. On November 16, 1836, he married Mary Harris, who was born March 19, 18 14, in the town of Charlemont, daughter of David and Thankful (Williams) Harris. Her father was an enterprising farmer, and continued active in his independent occupation until within eight years of his death, which oc- curred at the advanced age of fourscore and four years. His widow survived him, dying at the venerable age of eighty-five years. They were the parents of several children, eight of whom grew to adult life, namely: Semantha, David, Alma, Mary, Elvira, Irene, Lemuel, and Caroline. Mr. Harris was a Whig in politics during his younger years, and on the formation of the Republican party became one of its strongest allies. He was a member of the Baptist church. Mrs. Mary H. Warner, though upward of fourscore years of age, is in good health, and evidently enjoys keeping in touch with the living interests of to-day. Of the children born to her three — Catherine, George, and Moses — died before two years of age. The survivors are: Henry N. ; Charles M., a carpenter at Waltham, who married Julia J. Huston, and has one child — Alice; William L., a farmer at Charlemont, who married Marion Stanford, and has three children — Frederick W., Marion E., and Mary E. ; Sarah F., a woman of artistic taste and practical ability, the lead- ing milliner of Charlemont; and Mary J., who married David W. Temple, of Shelburne Falls, and has two children — Ruth and Robert. Henry N. Warner acquired an excellent common-school education, and on the home farm received a thorough training in all branches of agricultural industry. He re- mained at home until twenty-two years old, with the exception of a short time when he worked in the match factory. After his first marriage he bought the one-hundred-acre farm now owned by M. M. Mantor; and dur- ing the twenty-eight years that he owned it he made substantial improvements, and car- ried on a thriving business in raising and fattening cattle, which, before the days of Western competition, was a lucrative busi- ness. He also raised and broke steers for use in farm labor, sometimes selling seventeen hundred dollars' worth a year. In 1891 Mr. Warner traded his property for the old home- stead estate on the flats, the house and build- ings having been rebuilt just before according to modern styles and conveniences, the prop- erty now being one of the choicest and most valuable in the locality, giving evidence of the thrift and good management of the owner. Mr. Warner and Miss Sarah Sherman, daughter of Jacob Sherman, a farmer and stage driver, of Rowe, were united in mar- riage on January i, 1862. Mrs. Sarah S. 368 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Warner passed to the higher existence March 22, 1889, being then fifty years, six months, and two days old. She bore her husband five children, of whom we record the following: Minnie E., born May 14, 1868, is the wife of Allie Oaks, of Fitchburg; Allen was born September 12, 1871; Rosa A. was born Octo- ber 27, 1873; Flora E. was born August 24, 1876; and Katie M., who was born November 16, 1865, died September i, 1870. On De- cember 25, 1890, Mr. Warner married for his second wife Ann Eliza Stetson, a daughter of Sylvester Stetson, a Piainfield farmer. Mr. Warner is numbered among the prominent members of the agricultural community of Charlemont, where his straightforward busi- ness methods and promptness in meeting all of his obligations have won for him the confi- dence and esteem of his fellow-townsmen. He has always taken an active interest in the welfare and progress of his native town, and has served acceptably for fifteen years as Deputy Sheriff. iDWIN STRATTON, who has been Reg- istrar of Deeds at Greenfield since 1880, is a native of Franklin County, Northfield being the place of his birth, which occurred September 17, 181 5. His parents were Elihu and Electa (Holton) Stratton, both natives of Northfield (now Erv- ing), Mass. Northfield was the home of his ancestors for several generations. His grand- parents, Rufus and Asenath (Field) Stratton, were lifelong and prominent residents of that town, and among the most prosperous mem- bers of its farming community. They reared a family of five children — four sons and one daughter. Elihu Stratton, the father of our subject, was born in 1795. He likewise was inter- ested in agricultural pursuits, and owned a good farm in Northfield. His wife. Electa Holton, was a daughter of Elisha Holton, a respected farmer of Northfield (now Erving), Mass. Four children were born to them, namely: Elijah, for many years an active physician of Northfield, who died when little past his prime, leaving two sons and two daughters; Elihu, who, always of a frail and delicate constitution, died at the age of twenty-one years; Edwin, the subject of this sketch; and Elisha, who owns and occupies the old homestead at Northfield. The latter had one son, Everett Stratton, who died in young manhood. Both of the parents died in Northfield, the mother in the prime of life; and their bodies were laid to rest in the beau- tiful cemetery at Northfield Farms. Edwin Stratton attended the public school of the district, completing his school life at the village academy, and just before attaining his majority started out in life for himself, working on farms during the seasons of sow- ing and harvesting, and teaching school in the winter. In 1846 Mr. Stratton entered the employ of the Vermont & Massachusetts Railway Company at Grout's Corners (now Miller's Falls), in the town of Montague. He worked as a draughtsman in the office that winter; and the following spring went on the line of construction, having charge of a divi- sion, with headquarters at Gardner, Worcester County. Three years later Mr. Stratton as- sisted in the survey of the Troy & Greenfield Railway, being stationed at Greenfield. He was next engaged as chief engineer during the construction of the Cape Cod Central road, going thence to Worcester to take the place of the chief engineer of the Worcester & Gardner Railway, who was accidentally killed, and remaining two years with that company. Mr. Stratton's next engagement BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 369 was with the Massachusetts Central Com- pany, as an assistant in its location and con- struction, continuing with them some years. From 1855 until 1857 he was in the West, being one of the surveyors of the Manitowoc & Menasha Railway, and subsequently of the Logansport & Peoria Railroad in Indiana. He was likewise one of the party that sur- veyed the line of the Hoosac Tunnel over the hill, and had the distinction of being the first man to go through the mountain. In 1880 Mr. Stratton was elected to his present office, and has made himself such a general favorite in his official capacity that he has been elected every three years since, and during the heated campaign of 1894 received a hand- some majority of the votes. On May 16, 1854, Mr. Stratton was united in marriage to Jane Smith Fuller, a daughter of Farnum Fuller, of North Adams; and their pleasant home circle has been brightened by the birth of three children, namely: Jennie R., who married George E. Heath, of Fitch- burg, Mass., and has two children — a son and a daughter; Lottie E., an active and accomplished woman, educated at the Shel- burne Falls Academy, and now Assistant Registrar of Deeds in the office with her father; and Edwin F., an official in the Northampton Savings Bank. Mr. Stratton is an active member of the Republican party. He is highly esteemed as a man and a citizen, and is prominent in social organizations, being a Chapter Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife hold liberal views on the subject of religion, and are valued members of the Unitarian Society. They have a beautiful home on Highland Avenue, into which they moved during the winter of 1888, Mr. Stratton having erected it the previous year. ■AMES HALLIGAN, a prominent resi- dent of Shelburne Falls, Mass., Super- intendent of the Lamson & Goodnow Manufacturing Company's Cutlery Works at this place, was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, September 6, 1839, son of James S. Halligan. His grandfather, Joseph Halligan, who was a lawyer by profession, taught school for some time in England. The wife of Joseph Halligan died in the mother country; and, after his son came to America, he also crossed the Atlantic. Coming to Franklin County, he opened an evening school in Greenfield. But his life of useful activity soon drew to a close. One evening, while running upstairs after a book, he dropped dead from heart disease, being at that time sixty-four years old. His children' were: Mary and James S., twins; Joseph, who died in Greenfield; and Mary, who is at present living in California. James S. Halligan received his education in England. After his marriage he kept a market and store at Leeds until 1844, when, with his wife and family, he came to America, and shortly went to work in the woollen-mills in Pennsylvania. In 1852 he removed to Shelburne Falls, and in 1875, having acquired a competency, retired from active business. He died in 1884. James S. Halligan voted the Republican ticket. He was Justice of the Peace for many years, and held other offices. He was a highly respected Odd Fel- low as well as Mason, having been made a member of Nelson Lodge, No. 303, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, of Bramley, England, in 1828. He joined Alethian Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Shelburne Falls, soon after his arrival in this town, which made him fifty-six years an Odd Fellow. He was also a member of Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Halligan owned 37° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the residence on the corner of Conway and Summer Streets, where he made his home, and also had other property in the town. He married Mrs. Hannah Neil, whose maiden name was Austin, and who was a daughter of John and Ann Austin, of Leeds, England, her father being of an old English family. Mrs. Halligan died in 1882, aged seventy-five. She was a member of the Bap- tist church. Mr. and Mrs. James S. Halli- gan were the parents of a large family of children, of whom the following were natives of Leeds, England: Thomas, of Greenfield, a son by Mrs. Halligan's first marriage, who died August 11, 1895, leaving a widow, one son — Walter E. — and one daughter — Fan- nie E. Austin Gaines; William, who married Mary Kellett, and lives in Connecticut; Maria, who married Fred Tanner, and lives in Heath; Joseph, of whom an extended account will be found on another page of this volume; James, the principal subject of the present sketch; Hannah, who married John Rowland, and lives in Shelburne Falls; John A., who married Hattie Allard, and lives in Shelburne Falls. He and also William and Thomas were in the Union army. John A. and Will- iam were enrolled in Company E, Thomas in Company A, Fifty-second Massachusetts Reg- iment. Sarah Halligan, who lives at the home of her parents, and Martha, who died when four years of age, were born in America. James Halligan, after acquiring a fair edu- cation in the public schools of Massachusetts, began to work with his father in the cutlery business. In 1883 he was appointed superin- tendent of the cutlery works, a position he has now held for twelve years, enjoying the highest esteem of the firm and ' of the em- ployees. Mr. Halligan served five months in the army in 1864, enlisting for one hundred days in Company K, Sixtieth Massachusetts Regiment. His brother John A. re-enlisted, and served in the same company. On April 27, 1870, Mr. James Halligan was united in marriage to Flora A., daughter of Ansel W. and Sarah (Barnard) Strong. Ansel W. Strong, who was a native of Chester, Mass., a carpenter and tool-maker by occupation, died at the age of thirty-one. Mrs. Strong now makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Halligan, her only child. Mr. and Mrs. Hal- ligan have one child — a son — Howard A., born June 13, 1874, who was graduated from Arms Academy in 1890, and entered Am- herst College in 1892. In politics James Halligan is a stanch Re- publican. He is a member of Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Shelburne Falls, and of the Connecticut Valley Commandery, and Past Master of Blue Lodge; and he be- longs to the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. His residence is on Me- chanic Street. ^, ^AXTER A. ORCUTT, a well-to-do farmer of Buckland, was born in that town, July 6, 1849. His father, Thomas Orcutt, was a native of Buck- land, born September 19, 1807; and his grandfather, Thomas Orcutt, Sr., who for- merly owned a farm in the north-west part of Buckland, moved to Westhampton, Hampshire County, where he died. The maiden name of the wife of Thomas, Sr., was Salley Carpen- ter. Thomas Orcutt, Jr., was reared to agri- cultural pursuits, and adopted farming as his life's occupation. He purchased the farm which his son Baxter now owns, and continued to reside there until his death, which occurred April 17, 1870. He was married three times. His second wife, Minerva Taylor, was a na- tive of Buckland, daughter of Samuel and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 371 Sarah (Butler) Taylor. She died September 13, 1865. The children by name were as fol- lows: Thomas Ashton, Abigail P., Sarah D., Baxter A., and Celia Minerva. Baxter A. Orcutt in early youth attended the schools of his native town, and assisted his father upon the farm. He cared for his parents during their declining years, and at their death came into possession of the home- stead, where he has since continued to reside. He has erected a new barn, forty-two by sixty feet, planted a large number of fruit-trees, and made other improvements in the property. Mr. Orcutt is a Republican in politics, and cast his first Presidential vote for General Grant in 1872. He is a member of the Deer- field Valley Agricultural Society and the Buckland Farmers' Club. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Maria Smith, daughter of Edwin M. and Mary (Freeman) Smith, of Buckland. Of this mar- riage there is one daughter, Marion Belle, who graduated from the Shelburne Falls Academy in 1895. The family are members of the Congregational church. I BEN A. HALL, editor and proprietor of the Greenfield Ga.zette and Courier, one of the oldest newspapers in the United States, a fact which speaks volumes for its character, enjoys a well-earned reputa- tion as an able and successful journalist of the best type. He is a genuine son of New Eng- land, having been born December 20, 1839, in Taunton, Mass., being a descendant of George Hall, who emigrated from England in 1635, and was one of the original proprietors of the township of Taunton. George Hall was Treasurer of the company that subse- quently established the bloomery in Taunton, near Raynham, "the first permanent success- ful iron works in this country," the last work therein being the manufacture of ships' anchors. He was a man of prominence in the settlement, and left a large estate, a por- tion of which is still owned and occupied by one of his descendants. Ebenezer Hall, the editor's paternal grand- father, was a lifelong resident of Taunton and the owner of a large farm, beautifully sit- uated on the banks of the river, in which he was accidentally drowned about middle life. He married Mehitabel Hodges, of Norton, who lived to be an octogenarian, she being, doubtless, a descendant of Elder Henry Hodges, an early. settler of Taunton; and they reared a family of eight children, including four sons: Ebenezer; Leonard; Rufus, father of Eben A. ; and Andrew. Rufus Hall was born in Taunton in 1797, and in addition to agriculture was engaged in manufacturing bricks, spending his entire life of more than fourscore years in the place of his nativity. In 1830 he married Lydia W. Tobey, a daughter of Williams and Zilpha (Hall) Tobey, and of their union the follow- ing children were born: a son who died in infancy; Amelia, wife of Philander Williams, of Taunton; Rufus W., a machinist of Taun- ton; James M., who volunteered as a private from Greenfield in the late Civil War, and was discharged as a non-commissioned officer; Eben A., of Greenfield; and Lydia, a maiden lady, occupying the ancestral home in Taun- ton, where the mother passed away at the age of seventy-five years. James M. Hall was seriously wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks, in June, 1862, one side being partially para- lyzed; and he died from its effects in 1869. He married, but his wife and only child are both deceased. Eben A. Hall spent the days of his boy- hood and youth on the home farm, acquiring 372 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW his education in the district school, and at the age of seventeen years, obeying his natural bent, entered the printing-office of the Bristol County Republican in Taunton, to learn the art preservative, and remained there until 1862. At that time Mr. Hall enlisted in Company F, Thirty-ninth Regiment Massa- chusetts Volunteer Infantry, and at the close of the war was discharged as Orderly Sergeant of the company. His regiment joined the Fifth Corps of the Potomac Army, and actively participated in all the principal engagements of the campaign. At the battle of Hatteras Run, Mr. Hall, while out skirmishing with others, was taken prisoner, and for a short time was an inmate of Libby Prison, but was fortunately exchanged after three weeks' con- finement in that unsavory place. After his return to private life Mr. Hall resumed his former position in the Republican office, leav- ing it in 1866 to take the position of editor and foreman of the Gazette and Courier. Three years later he bought a third- interest in the establishment, and in 1876 became the sole proprietor of the paper, which under his judicious management has been enlarged and its circulation greatly increased. He is one of the few journalists who are thoroughly acquainted with their business from the press- room to the editor's chair, and by this knowl- edge of his calling is enabled to do justice to the whole work. The Greenfield Gazette and Courier is one of thirteen newspapers in America that have been in existence a full century, only three or four of which had their birth in New England, the oldest of them being the Salem Gazette., which was estab- lished in 1768. The Gazette and Courier celebrated its one hundredth anniversary in February, 1892, Mr. Hall publishing an illus- trated volume of one hundred and seventy-two pages, giving a centennial record of Franklin County, more especially of the city of Green- field. Mr. Hall was united in marriage June 2, 1861, with Miss Bathsheba Tisdale, a daugh- ter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Lincoln) Tis- dale, of Taunton ; and their wedded pathway has been brightened by the birth of four chil- dren, namely: Jessie, the wife of F. L. Greene, attorhey-at-law and Town Clerk of Greenfield, who has three children; Albert T., who is associated with his father in busi- ness; Nina E., who was educated in Mrs. Piatt's Select School for Young Ladies at Utica, N.Y.; and Agnes, who died in 1887, at the early age of sixteen years. Mr. Hall is a sound Republican and an influential member of his party. He served as a Repre- sentative to the State legislature in 1879, and sat in the Governor's Council in 1873 and 1874. He is a Master Mason, and also be- longs to the Social Club of Greenfield. His financial ability being recognized as one of his strong points, he is serving as a Director of the Franklin County Bank, and is one of the Trustees of the Greenfield Savings Bank. -r^ATHAN E. HUDSON, a prosperous I =/ farmer residing in Wendell, Mass., is -l^ x^ a native of Hingham, near Boston, where he was born December 19, 1828, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Eldridge) Hudson, the former a native of Cohasset. Frost Hudson, father of Joseph, was born in Provincetown, Mass., but resided during the gfeater part of his life in Cohasset, his home being on Jeru- salem Road, where he died at the venerable age of ninety-two years. He followed the occupations of a farmer and seafaring man, being also a teacher of navigation. Joseph Hudson was one of a large family of children, and, like his father, Frost Hudson, WALTER E. NICHOLS. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 37S was a follower of the sea nearly all his life, making his home in Hingham, where he lived during his last years, dying at the age of sixty-three. His wife, Elizabeth Eldridge, was born in Harwich, Barnstable County, Mass., daughter of Nathan Eldridge, who, like her husband's father, was a mariner, and who reared a large family. They were the parents of seven boys, of whom the only sur- vivor is Nathan E., of the present sketch. The mother was a member of the Methodist church. She died in Wendell at the age of seventy-seven. Nathan E. Hudson lived in Hingham till his nineteenth year, acquiring his education in the district school and academy. In his vigorous early manhood, prompted by the spirit of adventure and the hope of gain, he went with the "Forty-niners" to the gold fields of California in quest of his fortune, remaining there some ten years, and meeting with a fair degree of success. Returning to Hingham, he took up for a short time the occupation of shoeraaking, abandoning it and coming to Wendell in i860, where he pur- chased a farm near his present homestead of seventy-five acres, to which he removed in the following year. He won the hand of Malvina N. French, to whom he was married in Au- gust, 1869. Her father, Preston French, was a farmer in the adjoining town of New Salem, though her birthplace was in Ware, Mass., where Mr. French was at that time engaged at his trade of carpenter, being an excellent workman and a well-known man. He died at New Salem in his sixty-ninth year, and his wife at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Hud- son, at the age of seventy years. Mrs. Hudson is the only survivor of the four children born to her parents. She and her husband have two children — a son and daughter: Calvin, who assists his father on the farm; and Cora, who attended school at West Brattleboro, Vt. Politically, Nathan E. Hudson is a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party. He has served his town as Assessor, and has also acted as jury- man. He and his family are attendants of the Methodist church at Lock's Village. "CcJ) /alter E. J WV^ of Nichols : NICHOLS, of the firm Brothers, manufacturers of butcher's tools and cutlery at Greenfield, is an important factor of the busi- ness interests of Franklin County, being, with his brother, J. Henry Nichols, joint owner of a large and well-equipped factory, giving employment to twoscore or more men. He is a native-born citizen, the date of his birth being April 28, 1852, but is of English parentage, son of John R. and Ann (Webster) Nichols. John R. Nichols, who was born, reared, and married in England, came to America in 1846, being then a man of twenty-seven years, leaving his family in Sheffield, Eng- land, where he had been employed in a cut- lery factory from childhood. He located in this county; and, finding the chances good for making a living at his trade, he sent for his family. He is now living in Greenfield. His wife passed to the better land in Febru- ary, 1890, aged seventy-two years. She bore him seven children, of whom one daughter died at the early age of eighteen months, and a son at the age of five years. The record of the others is as follows: James W., a stock- raiser in South Dakota, was a Union soldier in the war of the Rebellion, going to the front in the New York Zouave Company, in the brigade of Hooker and Sickles, and being seriously wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks; he was subsequently transferred to the navy as 376 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW master of arms on the "Philippi," which was sunk in Mobile Bay, he escaping drowning by swimming until he was picked up by a rebel ram. Walter is the subject of this sketch. J. Henry is in partnership with Walter. George R. is a grocer on Thirty-fifth Street, Chicago. Frank T. is a farmer and miller at Stockbridge, Ga. The subject of this brief narration, having been educated in the common schools of Shel- burne Falls, Leyden, and Bernardston, began when quite young to work at his present em- ployment, being for a time in the factory of the J. Russell Company at Greenfield and the Lamson-Goodnow Company of Shelburne Falls. When seventeen years old, he was employed in his father's factory in Bernards- ton in making pocket knives, and the next year went into E. S. Hulbert's agricultural implement factory, remaining there as a mechanic and superintendent until 1882. He then accepted the offer of a partnership in the establishment, and had the entire charge of the business for seven years. On December 5, 1889, the firm of E. S. Hulbert & Co. was dissolved, Mr. Nichols and his brother, who had formerly travelled for the firm, becoming equal partners, and continuing the business under the present name. In 1892 they re- moved from Bernardston to Greenfield, taking possession of their fine brick, two -story fac- tory, two hundred and fifty feet long by twenty-three feet in width, with a forge-room thirty feet by thirty-five feet. They have a very large jobbing trade, equal in volume to that of the Goodyear Manufacturing Company, and embracing the principal jobbers of New England, the Middle and Western States, going as far south as Baltimore, and reaching westward to Denver — in fact, to all parts of the United States. Mr. Nichols was married September 9, 1872, to Emma S. Albee, of Boston, who died November 28, 1884, aged thirty-nine years, leaving two children: Arthur B., now eigh- teen years of age, employed in the Boston office of the Boston & Maine Railway Com- pany; and Emma F., a miss of eleven sum- mers. On the 17th of June, 1886, Mr. Nichols was united in marriage to Nellie M. Hale, of Bernardston, and this union has also been blessed by the birth of two children: Morton H., six years old; and Walter Her- bert, two years of age. Mr. Nichols and his family occupy a commodious and pleasant residence at 16 Chapman Street, which he purchased on his removal here in 1892, and are held in high consideration as agreeable neighbors, warm friends, and genial compan- ions. He and his wife are esteemed members of the Unitarian church. In politics Mr. Nichols is a stanch Repub- lican, and for several years was Secretary of the Republican Committee. He has always been identified with the best interests of the town in which he resided, and while in Ber- nardston was a Trustee of Powers Institute, being for some time Secretary of the Board, and also a Trustee of the Cushman Library. The portrait of Mr. Nichols, which appears on an adjoining page, is a welcome accompani- ment to this outline sketch of his useful and honorable career to date. n)l GRACE GRAVES SANDERSON, a successful agriculturist and market gardener of Sunderland, was born December 16, 1836, on the estate he now owns and occupies, known as the "Meadow View Farm." The name is well chosen, for from the house in uninterrupted view the neighboring farms of Sunderland and Hadley are seen in all their picturesque beauty. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 377 stretching from Sugarloaf and Toby to the foot of Mounts Holyoke and Tom. William Sanderson, grandfather of Horace G., lived upon the same farm, as did also for some years his great-grandfather, Abraham Sanderson, who served honorably in several campaigns of the Revolution. This homestead, which was number twenty in the original settlement of the town, was first taken by Simon Cooley, and later, in 1800, was conveyed by deed from Elisha Smith to Abraham Sanderson. Thus for ninety-five years, or four generations, the place has been in the Sanderson family. Apollos Sanderson, son of William, was born in Sunderland, December 11, 1797, and was one of a family of seven sons and one daughter. His brothers went West to settle in the new Territories of Michigan and Wis- consin; The present farm-house was built by him; and here he lived until his death in i860, at the age of sixty-three. His wife, Roxanna Bartlett, was a daughter of Daniel Bartlett, of Hadley, and one of a family of fourteen children, being a child of her father's second marriage. She was born November '7) 179S1 arid died July 26, 1869. The fam- ily of Apollos Sanderson consisted of four sons and five daughters. They all lived to maturity, and all except Brainerd had fami- lies, as follows: Dexter, John, Roxanna, Ellen, Brainerd, Elizabeth, Jane, Horace, and Catherine. Their children are settled in sev- eral of the States. Horace G. Sanderson acquired his education in the public schools of his native town, at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N.H., and at Williston Seminary, Easthampton, which he attended in succession. Upon his father's death he returned to the homestead to conduct the farm for his mother, and later he bought out the rest of the heirs. With the outlying pasture and sugar orchard, the place contains seventy-five acres, the cultivated land being conveniently located about the dwell- ing. The farm is one of the most fertile of the many excellent ones .throughout the Con- necticut valley. On June 4, 1862, Mr. Sanderson married Harriet A. Abbey, daughter of George Abbey, formerly of Belchertown, and after 1858 a resident of Sunderland, where he died in 1864, at the age of sixty-two years. His wife was Hannah Gay, a native of Acworth, N.H.; and Harriet A. was one of three chil- dren, having a brother George and a sister Laura. Two children were born to Horace G. and Harriet A. Sanderson: George Dwight, who died at the age of five; and Emma Dora, who was educated at Northfield Seminary, and later married Perley L. Home, at present an instructor at Harvard Univer- sity, from which institution he graduated in the class of 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Home have one child, Mildred Amy, born May 7, 1894. In politics Horace G. Sanderson is a Re- publican, having voted for Abraham Lincoln at his first election and for every Republican candidate for President since that time. He has been chairman of the Board of Assessors of his town for a number of years, is a mem- ber of the School Committee, and has served several times as delegate to the State Conven- tion. He and his wife are prominent mem- bers of the Congregational church, in which he has held the office of Deacon for twenty- eight years, and has served on the various committees of church and parish, and as superintendent of the Sunday-school for ten years. LIVER B. KENDRICK, the well- known Postmaster at Adamsville, Franklin County, Mass., a veteran in the civil service of the United States, was 378 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW born on September i6, 1820, in the neighbor- ing town of Heath, which was the native place of his parents, Oliver and Anna (Gleason) Kendrick. His grandfather, James Kendrick, who was a successful farmer, was one of the early settlers of Heath, and there reared a large family, all of whom are now deceased. Oliver Kendrick, the father, was a mason by trade; and his handiwork may be seen to-day in the old Mansion House in Green- field. He also had a large farm in Heath, covering about three hundred and fifty acres, where he carried on general farming. A good business man, he looked carefully to the chances of the future, thus invariably com- manding success. In politics he was a Demo- crat. He died at the age of fifty-nine, and his wife lived to be eighty-four. Both were members of the Baptist church. They had ten children, all of whom reached maturity; but five are now deceased, namely: James, William, Franklin, Almira, and Ann. The survivors are: Oliver B. ; Diana, widow of Seth Amsden, living in Athol ; Lyman, in Sherman, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; Lu- cretia, wife of Henry Temple, living at the old homestead of her father in Heath; Sarah Augusta Kendrick, unmarried, living in Athol. Oliver B. Kendrick received his early edu- cation and grew to manhood in Heath. He began to learn the mason's trade when but fourteen years of age, and at twenty-two took the contract for the old passenger station and the connecting freight and engine houses on the Connecticut River Railroad at Green- field, which are still standing. He has for years been actively engaged in farming, resid- ing at different times in Heath, Elm Grove, Shattuckville, and Colerain. He bought in January, 1866, the estate upon which he now resides. The house is one of the landmarks of the town of Colerain, and was in early days a noted tavern. When it fell into Mr. Ken- drick's hands, it was called the Adamsville Hotel, and he conducted it as such for ten years; but the large, low-ceilinged rooms are no longer open to the public, offering a wel- come to the transient guest, the house being now used by Mr. Kendrick as a private resi- dence. He has a farm of seventy-five acres, which is in a good state of cultivation. In 1846 Mr. Kendrick was married to Ex- perience Read, who was born in Heath, Sep- tember 16, 1822, and died in August, 1851. His second wife, to whom he was united on October 12, 1853, was Wealthy Farley, a na- tive of Colerain, born February 11, 1832. Her parents were Joel and Phoebe (Bradford) Farley. Joel Farley was born in Colerain, and here passed his life. Living in a farming district, he conducted a farm with good re- sults, and was a prominent and popular man, filling many town offices, notably that of Se- lectman, and holding the rank of Colonel in the State militia. He was an active worker in the Methodist church, and was widely known and loved for his public spirit and benevolence, winning the hearts of the poor especially, whose larders he often replenished. He died in Colerain, at the age of forty-seven. His wife, who was a native of Conway, Mass., was also a practical Christian and an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She died in Iowa, at the age of fifty-eight. They had eight children, three of whom are now living, namely: Isaac and Joel Farley, in Kansas; and Mrs. Kendrick, at Adamsville. Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick have five children: Fred L. conducts a saw-mill in Colerain, where planing is also done; Efiie E. is the wife of Frank B. Child, and resides in Springfield; Edgar is engaged in farming in Colerain, and also has a grist-mill and box BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 379 manufactory; Nora is the wife of Elwin J. Parker, a miller in Colerain; and Myra A. is the wife of Ernest C. Higgins, a farmer in Rowe. Mr. Kendrick held the office of Jus- tice of the Peace for five years, and has been Postmaster at Adamsville for thirty years. He is a capable business man, fulfilling his duties with promptness and good judgment. He and his wife, ranking among the oldest residents of Colerain, are widely known and highly esteemed. /^TeORGE henry WRIGHT, a dealer \J5 I in ice and for the past ten years the efficient Chief of Greenfield's Fire Department, is a rising young business man of the city, wide-awake and active, and, if a resident of a Western city, would be termed a "hustler" in the best sense of the term. He was born April 15, 1863, in the town of Mon- tague, Franklin County, where his father, Charles Pomeroy Wright, was engaged in mercantile pursuits. The name of Wright has long held a promi- nent and honored place in the annals of this county, George Wright, M.D., the paternal grandfather of the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this brief sketch, hav- ing been a practising physician of Montague for many years, and having a wide reputation for skill in his profession. His practice ex- tended for many miles around, but the good doctor was too kind-hearted and benevolent to accumulate any great fortune. He married Julia Billings, and they reared a family of four sons and two daughters, of whom but one is now living; namely, Julia G., the widow of J. H. Root, of Montague. In religion Dr. Wright held to the rational type of Christian- ity, and both he and his wife were members of the Unitarian church. Charles Pomeroy Wright was born in the little village of Goshen, Hampshire County, in 1 83 1, but removed with his parents when very young to Montague. Having received an excellent education, he established himself in business, opening a store in Montague for the sale of general merchandise, which he conducted until 1881, when he changed his place of residence to Turner's Falls. Five years later he removed to Greenfield, where his death occurred September i, 1893. He was quite active in Masonic circles, being a Master Mason, and in politics was a Demo- cratic voter, but never held any public office save that of Town Clerk. He was reared in the broad faith of his parents, and did not depart from it, both he and his wife belong- ing to the Unitarian church. Her maiden name was Martha Jane Clark. She was a daughter of William Clark, a well-known and wealthy merchant of Exeter, N.H. Their union was solemnized in 1862, and was blessed by the birth of three children, namely: George H. and William Clark Wright, both of this city; and Julia Maria, a young lady residing with the former and her widowed mother at 10 Main Street. The subject of this sketch was bred to mer- cantile business, assisting in his father's store several years. His first independent venture was the Franklin House livery stable, which he bought from Gerrett & Fowler, and, after conducting it successfully for a year, sold it at a good profit. In 1889 Mr. Wright formed a partnership with Thomas N. Bud- dington ; and under the firm name of Budding- ton & Wright they carried on a good business in teaming and draying for two years, when the senior member sold his interest to Fred R. Hollister, and the firm name became George H. Wright & Co. Two years later Mr. Wright bought his partner's share, and 3&0 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW has since managed it all himself, having all the work of the kind that he can attend to, employing eleven horses. In 1890 Budding- ton & Wright purchased the ice business of Handforth Brothers; and, after the retire- ment of his partner, Mr. Wright retained this branch of his business himself. He has so increased his trade in that useful commodity that he now has to put up three thousand tons of ice each year, and this he delivers to con- sumers within Greenfield's limits. Mr. Wright is a man of good business principles, and very popular with all classes of people, his kind and obliging disposition and general trustworthiness winning him hosts of friends. He has been a member of the Masonic order for some time, and is now a Master Mason and highly esteemed in the organization. In politics he is an advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, although in local elections he votes independently. "^f: HITNEY L. WARNER, for many years past a prominent merchant of Sunderland, was born in Williams- burg, Hampshire County, Mass., June 12, 1827, son of Ebenezer and Amelia (Hubbard) Warner. His grandfather on the paternal side, who was a native of Williamsburg, where he passed the greater portion of his life, was a wood-worker, carpenter, and gen- eral mechanic. He died at Northampton. Grandfather Warner reared five children, one of whom is now living — Mrs. Martha Strong, of Pittsfield. Ebenezer Warner, the father of the subject of this sketch, followed agriculture as an occupation until his death, which occurred when he was thirty-three years of age. His wife, Amelia Hubbard, was a native of Will- iamsburg. She became the mother of four children, all of whom are now dead except Whitney L. After the death of her first hus- band she married Lewis D. Cleveland, by whom she had one son. Her last years were passed in New York State, where she died at the age of fifty-seven years. She was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church. Whitney L. Warner passed his early boy- hood in Williamsburg, where he attended the district schools. He accompanied his mother when she removed to New York State, and resided there for some years. Purchasing a farm in Sunderland, he was engaged for three years in general farming; but, becom- ing dissatisfied with this kind of a life, he engaged as a clerk in a dry-goods store at Greenfield, where he remained for fifteen years. In 1870 he returned to Sunderland, where he purchased a store, and has since car- ried on a profitable business. In 1849 Mr. Warner was united in marriage to Helen Lyman, of Sunderland, daughter of Horace Lyman. Her grandfather, Zadoc Lyman, was the proprietor of a hotel in Had- ley for many years. Horace Lyman was orig- inally a farmer, but was for some time engaged in mercantile pursuits in Sunderland, where he erected a house. He later removed to Greenfield, and, after conducting business there for five years, returned to Sunderland, where he lived until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-one years. He was a member of the Congregational church, and superintendent of the Sabbath-school for sev- eral years. Mr. and Mrs. Warner have had three children, of whom but one is living Lizzie H., who married Baxter A. Fish, a merchant, who is now in business with Mr. Warner. Mr. Warner has voted the Republican ticket from the time of his majority. He has served as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 381 of the Poor, and was Postmaster for sixteen years. He was for four years President of the Agricultural Society, six years member of the State Board of Agriculture, and has been officially interested in agricultural fairs for many years. He is a member of the Congre- gational church, and has been superintendent of the Sabbath-school for four years. Mrs. Warner also is a member of the Congrega- tional church. W'' ILLIAM W. CARY, of Colerain, the well-known bee-keeper and manufacturer of apiarian supplies, was born in this town, November 6, 1848, son of William W. and Harriet M. (Maxam) Cary. The pioneer of the family in this country was John Cary, who came from Eng- land to Plymouth Colony in 1634; and the first of the name to take up his abode in Cole- rain was Aaron Cary, who was born in Bridge- water, Mass., April 6, 1751. He settled on Catamount Hill, and soon had a comfortable homestead established and a good farm in a flourishing condition. On May 31, 1781, he was married to Jennie Atwood; and on No- vember 26, 1782, a son was born to them, whom they called Zenas. Zenas Cary took up his father's work when the latter passed away, and became a prosperous farmer. He fought in the War of 18 12, and in politics was a stanch Whig. In religious belief he was a Methodist. He lived to be ninety-two, and his wife also attained a ripe age. They had eight children: Charlotte, John, George, William W., David, Marietta, Levi, and Joseph. William W. Cary, the third son of Zenas, was born on February 24, 181 5. He was a wood-worker by trade, manufacturing wagons, sleighs, and articles of wooden-ware. At the age of fifteen he became interested in bee culture, not being strong enough to do much about the farm; and later in life he made a business of raising bees for breeding purposes, also manufacturing the supplies necessary in the business. In 1835 he settled on the estate where his son now resides, and there spent his life. He was an energetic and ambitious man and one of the largest dealers in bees at that time, being the first to intro- duce the Italian bee in America (in i860). Politically, William W. Cary, Sr., was a Republican. He was a citizen of good stand- ing in his native town, and was Collector of Taxes for some time. In religious belief he was a Baptist. His last years were spent at the home of his son and namesake, where he died on December 9, 1884. His wife, who was born in Colerain on May 25, 1822, is still living, and makes her home with her son William. They had six children, three of whom reached adult age; and two are now living, William W. being the elder. His sister, Sarah E., born July 3, 1850, is the wife of George E. Brown; and their home is in Vermont. The deceased are : William H., Viola E., Charles F., and an infant who was not named. William W. Cary, the younger, grew to manhood on the home farm, acquiring the rudiments of his education at the district school. At the age of eleven he took up the study of bee culture, which he still pur- sues with interest, making improvements in methods, and manufacturing the very best of apiarian supplies. He is an authority on the subject of breeding bees imported from for- eign countries, and is undoubtedly the fore- most man in his business in New England. Keeping on hand from one hundred and fifty to two hundred stands of bees, he receives orders from all parts of the United States and 382 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Canada, and makes a specialty of Italian bees. Mr. Gary seems to know every feature of the business, but says he is continually learning. Besides trading in apiarian supplies, he sells bees by the colony and by the pound; and his queens are said to be the best in the market. His extensive business is advertised through- out the United States, an annual illustrated catalogue giving prices and description. Mr. Gary also manufactures cider and cider vine- gar, his brand of vinegar ranking among the best and purest in the trade. He averages from three thousand to four thousand barrels annually, and has the latest machinery in his mill, which is run by water-power. Mr. Gary is an observing and ingenious man, and has invented much of the machinery used in both branches of his business. He has recently engaged in poultry-raising, and his appliances and buildings indicate that this also will be a success. Mr. Gary and Mary F. Tripp, of Hoosick, N.Y., were married on February 22, 1871; and they have four children: Lillian E., Minnie L., Herbert F., and Ethel L. Her- bert assists his father, and is an intelligent and active young man, with a store of knowl- edge on apiarian subjects. Politically, Mr. Gary is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. They have a fine estate and a handsome residence, and are very pleasant people to meet, treating their many visitors with uniform courtesy and kindness. T^ATHAN O. NEWHALL, whose por- I ^=1 trait appears on the next page, is one -1-^ x^ , ^ of the oldest native-born residents of Shelburne, his birth having occurred in the Fox Town District, March 17, 181 5. He has lived here through boyhood and middle life and in old age, witnessing the wonderful achievements of three-quarters of a century. Eighty years ago neither railways nor tele- graph and telephone lines spanned the broad continent, so large a part of which was yet a trackless wild. In the growing progress and prosperity of this part of the county Mr. New- hall has been an important factor, materially aiding various enterprises for the public benefit. He is a son of Nathan Newhall, who was born June 4, 1783, in Conway, in the house built by his father, Samuel Newhall, who was an early pioneer of that town. Samuel Newhall moved to Conway when a young man, and, taking up a tract of heavy- timbered land, endured without murmur the hardships of life in a thinly settled country, and succeeded by dint of energetic and long- continued efforts in establishing a homestead. He was one of the foremost citizens of his day, and both he and his wife lived to a good old age. The seven children born to them — Samuel, James, Phineas, Nathan, David, Sally, and Esther — all grew to adult life. During the days of his youth and early manhood Nathan Newhall assisted his father in clearing and improving the home farm in Conway. On leaving home, he located in West Deerfield, living there a year, then moving to Shelburne. Here he bought twenty-one acres in the Fox Town District, to which he added from time to time more land, eventually owning a good farm, six times the size of the original purchase. He was well educated, and, when a young man, taught several terms of school. In politics he was identified with the Whigs, and, relig- iously, was a firm believer in the doctrines of the Baptist church. He was an esteemed citizen of the town, and attained a good age, living until March 25, 1857. He married Greaty Bardwell, a native of Shelburne, born NATHAN O. NEWHALL. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 38s March 5, 1790. She survived him many long years, dying in May, i88r. They reared eleven children, four of whom are now living, namely: Nathan O., of whom we write; Al- bert, born in 1827, a resident of Springfield, Mass.; Sarah A., born in 183 1, the wife of D. R. Bardwell, of Shelburne; and Greaty O., born in 1835, the widow of M. Fellows, of Shelburne. Nathan O. Newhall was the recipient of better educational advantages than were usu- ally given the farmers' sons; as, after leaving the district schools, he attended a select school in Conway, studying under John Clary, a noted educator in that day. Having a nat- ural aptitude for mechanical work, at the age of eighteen he began to learn the carpenter's trade with Ira Barnard, and subsequently worked at that occupation for over forty years. He built many of the houses that are to-day standing in this locality, his workmanship being noted for its durability and superior finish. In 1840 Mr. Newhall bought the place where he now resides, and, moving on to it in 1843, began to carry on farming to some extent. In 1875 he gave up carpentering entirely, and the following year took a trip for the benefit of his health, visiting Cali- fornia and other parts of the Pacific Coast. Mr. Newhall has since devoted his atten- tion to agricultural pursuits, owning now a fine and highly improved farm of one hun- dred and fifty-five acres, and being numbered among the most progressive farmers of the day. On May 4, 1843, Mr. Newhall was united in marriage with Dolly H. Andrews, daughter of John and Content (Hawks) Andrews and a native of Deerfield, born May 22, 1821. She was a woman of more than ordinary abil- ity, a true helpmeet to her husband and a judicious mother, attending closely to the education and training of her children, and fitting them for useful members of the com- munity; and her death, September 8, 1893, was deeply deplored by all who knew her. Five children were born into the home circle of Mr. and Mrs. Newhall: Alfred A., a carpenter, resides in Shelburne; Byron N., also a resident of this town, is a farmer and carpenter; Corilla J. is the wife of T. H. Dodge, now of Shelburne; Dumont O., a farmer, is likewise a resident of this place; and Ellen M. is the wife of A. L. Peck, sec- ond, of Shelburne. Mr. Newhall is an uncompromising Repub- lican in politics, and liberal in his religious views. He has always taken an active and leading part in local public affairs, serving his fellow-citizens as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. In 1875 he was appointed census-taker, and during the exist- ence of the Shelburne Mutual Fire Insurance Company he was its President. He has also been a valued member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, and for the past seven- teen years has served as Justice of the Peace. Mr. Newhall is eminently worthy of the re- spect accorded him by his friends and neighbors as an enterprising and useful fellow-townsman, living at peace, with all and faithful to the duties of citizenship. Ji EACON RICHARD CLAPP, a well- to-do farmer of Montague and a rep- resentative of one of New England's oldest families, was born upon the farm he now owns and occupies, November 29, 18 19. He is a son of Eliphaz and Charlotte (Gunn) Clapp, both natives of Montague, the former also born on the Clapp farm, which has been in the possession of the family since 1754. Deacon Clapp's first ancestor in this country 386 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was Captain Roger Clapp, who was born in England, and joined the Massachusetts Colony in 1630. He was Commander of Castle Will- iam (now Fort Independence) in Boston Har- bor, and was a very prominent man in the colony. His home was in Dorchester. Roger Clapp and his wife were buried in Boston in King's Chapel burial-ground. The succeeding generations of the family were farmers, and closely identified with the devel- opment of the colony and the Revolutionary struggle. Captain Roger Clapp's son Pre- served was a native of Dorchester, Mass. ; and his son Preserved was born in Northampton. The latter had a son John, who also was a native of Northampton. John Clapp was the great-grandfather of our subject. He settled in Montague in 1754, on the land which is now known as the Clapp homestead. At that time it was the site of an Indian fort, sit- uated in the heart of an almost trackless wilderness. John Clapp was one of the origi- nal settlers who organized the town, and was moderator of the first town meeting, which, according to the records, occurred on Decem- ber I, 1755. The following is an extract from the town records: "Voted, first, that Lieutenant John Clapp lead said meeting; also, voted, that we will have a shell blown at Lieutenant Clapp's for a signal on the Sab- bath Day." It was also voted in 1759 to buy the shell of Lieutenant Clapp for one pound, ten shillings, to be used in signalling. After the use of the shell had been discon- tinued, it was returned to Lieutenant Clapp; and it is now in the possession of Deacon Clapp, his great-grandson. It is blown like an ordinary horn, and has been heard for a distance of nine miles. Solomon Clapp, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Sunderland in 175 1. He succeeded to the ownership of the homestead, residing there until his decease. He also was a prominent man and a Captain in the militia. Eliphaz Clapp, the father of Deacon Rich- ard Clapp, was born in 1788. He succeeded to the ownership of the farm oq the death of his father, and continued to improve the prop- erty. A mason by trade, he was a natural mechanic, and acquired a wide reputation for constructing chimneys that would not smoke. He attained a position of prominence in the town, and served as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. He died at the home- stead in 1876. His wife was Charlotte Gunn, of Montague, daughter of Solomon Gunn, a farmer of that town, who was a veteran of the Revolution. She was one of four children. Mrs. Clapp died at the old homestead in her sixty-fourth year. Mr. and Mrs. Clapp were the parents of eight children, two of whom are still living, namely: Richard, the subject of this sketch ; and DeWitt Clinton Clapp, of Chicago. Deacon Richard Clapp passed his boyhood and youth upon the ancestral farm, which he succeeded to the possession of at the death of his father. In 1869 he went to New York City, where he engaged in the hardware busi- ness; and four years later he returned to the farm, which has since been his home. He has three hundred acres of desirable land, a portion of which is devoted to dairy interests; and the remainder is a valuable wood lot. The farm buildings are substantially built; and the dwelling-house, which was erected by his father, is a handsome and comfortable residence. In 1847 he was united in marriage to Miss Eunice A. Slate, daughter of Captain Joseph Slate, a farmer of Bernardston. Captain Slate's grandfather, who was a prominent citi- zen of Bernardston and a patriot of the Revo- lution, cleared and improved the farm upon BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 387 which he resided; and the property is still in the possession of the family, being now occu- pied by a great-grandson of the original owner. Mrs. Clapp was one of ten children, six of whom are now living, namely: Henry, who is Town Clerk of Bernardston, and re- sides at the homestead; Eunice A.; Cather- ine; Harriet, who married Daniel Snow, of Chicago; Mary, wife of Edward Kirkland, of Brattleboro, Vt. ; and Lewis, who also resides at the Slate homestead. The family are noted for their longevity, the grandfather having attained the ripe age of ninety-seven years and six months, and Mrs. Clapp's mother living to be ninety years of age. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Clapp, five of whom are living, namely: Cornelia M., a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, and for twenty years a teacher of science at that institution, who is still engaged in edu- cational work; Richard Leighton, who mar- ried Jennie Clapp, of Montague, and has two children — Richard Harold and John Theo- dore; Harriet; Mary; and Charles Wel- lington, a graduate of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, who is a civil engineer by profession. He has been engaged for some time in railroad and irrigating work, and in laying out the public highways in Texas, Colorado, and Kansas. He married Evelyn Metcalf, and they have one son — Alfred Met- calf Clapp. Deacon Richard Clapp is a Republican in politics. He has served as a Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. He has been a member of the Congregational church since he was sixteen years old, and is a mov- ing spirit in the parish, having been a Deacon for the past forty-three years and actively con- nected with the Sunday-school for a long period. His entire family, with one exception, are also members of the Congregational church. OSEPH C. PERRY, a practising den- tist of Shelburne Falls, was born in Ferrisburg, Vt., May i, 1856, son of David and Emily (Legro) Perry. Dr. Perry's paternal grandfather was John Perry, a native of France, who emigrated to Canada, where he followed the trade of a carpenter. David Perry was born in St. John's, Canada, in 1823, and in his young manhood acquired the carpenter's trade. He later purchased a saw-mill, which he operated for some years, but finally relinquished it for the purpose of engaging as a contractor. In 1867 he came to Shelburne Falls, where he took contracts for the building of roads, and also did consid- erable lumbering during the winter seasons. He was a member of Alethian Lodge, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Shelburne Falls, a Democrat in politics, and liberal in his religious views. David Perry died De- cember 16, 1890, aged sixty-seven, leaving a wife and seven children, namely: Mary J. Clement, of St. Boniface, Manitoba; David T., West Brattleboro, Vt. ; Joseph C, Shel- burne Falls; Lucy B. Wilson, of Shelburne Falls; Minnie A. Goodner, of Pierre, S. Dak. ; Ernest ]., of Shelburne Falls; and Francis E., of West Brattleboro, Vt. Joseph C. Perry, having received his educa- tion at the Shelburne Falls Academy, com- menced the study of dentistry with Dr. Stebbins. He began the practice of his pro- fession at his present location in 1877, a-nd has met with gratifying success. Dr. Perry supports the Prohibition party in politics, and was a Presidential elector in 1892. He is a member of the village Board of Trade, and is connected with the School Board as Truant Officer. He is a Past Master of Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Past Grand of Ale- thian Lodge, I. O. O. F., Past Chief Patri- arch and Past Captain of the canton. Both 388 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW he and his wife are members of the Lodge of Rebecca. On June 15, 1881, Dr. Perry was united in marriage to Miriam H. Packard, daughter of Luther and Mary A. (Warner) Packard. Luther Packard was born in Cummington, Hampshire County, Mass., September 29, 1819. He was educated at the Cummington Academy, and at the age of twenty years be- came a clerk in a dry-goods store in Albany, N.Y. Four years later, in company with F. Bates, he entered mercantile business in Cum- mington: but after a partnership of five years he purchased his associate's interest, and conducted the business alone until 1852. He then came to Shelburne Falls, and opened a dry-goods store on the Buckland side, later securing possession of his old store at Cum- mington, which he conducted as a branch for two years; and at the expiration of that time he sold the Cummington store to his clerk. He conducted business in Buckland until i860, when he sold out, and in the following year opened a dry-goods store on Bridge Street, in Shelburne Falls, where he carried on business successfully until his practical retirement in 1889. On October 4, 1844, Mr. Packard married Mary A. Warner, daugh- ter of Joseph and Olive (Holbrook) Warner. Mrs. Packard died in 1877, aged fifty-four years, leaving two children, namely: Mary L., wife of J. C. Temple, a marble and granite dealer of Rutland, Vt. ; and Miriam H. (Mrs. Perry). Mr. Packard was a Trustee of the Shelburne Falls Savings Bank, and is now a Trustee of Arms Academy. He is a Republican in politics, and has held several of the town offices in Shelburne, where he now resides. He is a member of the Congregational church. Dr. and Mrs. Perry have three children: Luther P., born June 24, 1882; Joseph E., born December 30, 1884; and Randolph W., born October 9, 1892. Dr. Perry and his family reside at the old Packard homestead on Main Street. Both he and his wife are mem- bers of the Congregational church. "irXENISON CHASE, President of the I J Chase Turbine Manufacturing Com- ("KL^ pany, which was incorporated in Orange, Mass., in 1873, with a capital of thirty-seven thousand dollars, stands among the foremost of the influential business men who have contributed so much to the financial prosperity of this section of Franklin County. With characteristic energy and enterprise, he has assisted in developing and increasing the manufacturing interests of the stock company, which he has served in an official capacity for many years, and has, in the mean time, won a wide reputation as a man of ability, integrity, and sterling worth. He is a native of Con- cord, Vt., born April 13, 1830, at the home of his parents, John D. and Sally (Spaulding) Chase. Moses Chase, father of John D. , was born, it is thought, in Newburyport, Mass., as his early years were spent in that quaint old seaboard town. He married Eunice Moore; and they removed to Concord, a small town in the north-western part of Vermont, where he bought a farm, which he carried on with eminent success, and on which he resided until his death, at the remarkable age of ninety-six years. His wife had passed away many years before, in 1835. Of a large fam- ily of children born to them seven grew to mature life; namely, Rebecca, Phoebe, Bet- sey, Lucinda, Susan, Joseph, and John D. The last-named, who was the father of Denison, was born in Concord, Vt., where he was reared to agricultural pursuits, and also learned the trade of a millwright. He con- tinued both of these industries in his native BI0GRAPHIC7\L REVIEW 389 State until nearing middle life, owning farms and building mills in various places, meeting with good success in his undertakings. In 1864 he disposed, of his property in Vermont, and, coming to Orange, followed for some time the trade of millwright. When sixty- two years of age, he went to Michigan to complete a large contract, going thence to Vermont for a similar purpose, and there had the misfortune to meet with an accident which proved fatal. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and ability, a Whig in politics, and while a resident of the Green Mountain State filled many important town offices, but when living in Orange was so engrossed by his business cares that he was obliged to refuse all official positions. To him and his wife, who rounded out the full period of threescore and ten years, three chil- dren were born, namely: Denison, the subject of this brief sketch; Jefferson, who married Miss A. M. Adams, and is now a resident of Portland, Me. ; and Permelia, the widow of the late H. Underwood, and a resident of St. Johnsbury, Vt. Denison Chase remained an inmate of the parental household until attaining his major- ity, when he began the battle of life on his own account. He had not been away from home very long before he was recalled, that he might assist his father, who needed his help, and with whom he remained for several years. In 1862 Mr. Chase again left home, going to New York, where he worked for two years in the employ of the Fairbanks Scale Company. The following two years he worked for the Putnam Machine Company in P'itchburg, Mass., coming from there to Orange in 1865 as an employee of his father and brother, who were engaged in business here as millwrights and manufacturers. In 1866 Mr. Chase be- came a stockholder in a stock company formed for the manufacture of all kinds of machinery for mills. Seven years later this was incorpo- rated as the "Chase Turbine Manufacturing Company," with the following officers: Deni- son Chase, President; Melbourne E. Griffin, Secretary; and Levi Kilbourn, Treasurer. This company owns one of the largest plants of the kind in this vicinity, and carries on a large and lucrative business. The union of Mr. Chase and Miss Clemen- tina P. Gregory was solemnized in 1855- Mrs. Chase was born in 1832 in Concord, Vt., being a daughter of Josiah and Delia (Hib- bard) Gregory, both natives of Connecticut, but afterward residents of Lyndon, Vt., where they were numbered among the most respected and prosperous members of the farming com- munity, remaining there throughout their declining years. They had a family of six children: Lydia, Esther, Amelia, Elizabeth, Clementine, and George. But one child came to bless the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Chase — Clara, who was born in Concord, Vt., in i860, and is now the wife of Albert H. Davis, a machinist of Orange, and the mother of one son, Walter C. Davis. In addition to his other work, Mr. Chase has at times been engaged in carpentering, having built some houses in his native town, and since coming to this place has built two, one of which he rents. The other, which has many fine improvements, and is pleasantly located on South Main Street, he and his wife occupy, and here greet their friends with gen- uine New England hospitality. He is held in highest respect by his neighbors and fel- low-citizens in Orange as a man of sound judgment, intelligence, and liberality in all things pertaining to the welfare of the town. His influence is widely felt, and more espe- cially among the leaders of the Universalist church, in which he is an active worker. 39° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW (^TVLBERT M. GLF:AS0N, Treasurer of fjA the Greenfield Savings Bank, was /«li>\^^^ born at New Braintree, Worcester County, Mass., in 1855. His father, Josiah P. Gleason, who is now residing at Jamaica Plain, in the city of Boston, Mass., was born at New Braintree in 1822, and was the son of Josiah Gleason, whose birth occurred at Westboro, Middlesex County, Mass., in 1782. The grandfather was twice married. His second wife was Mary Hitchcock, of Am- herst, Mass., who became the mother of nine children — two sons and seven daughters — all of whom are now deceased with the exception of Josiah P. They were members of the Con- gregational church and active in religious affairs. Both the Gleason and Hitchcock families have been prominent in Massachusetts for a period extending back through several genera- tions anterior to the Declaration of Indepen- dence. For a more extended account of their genealogical history the reader is referred to the history of the Hitchcock family and that of Worcester County, published in 1890. In 1849 Mr. Josiah P. Gleason married Mary Newton, daughter of Royal Makepeace, of West Brookfield. She died in 1855; and he was again married in 1859 to Ellen A., daughter of Captain Hollis Tidd, of New Braintree. He came into possession of the large and valuable farm that had been owned by his father, Josiah Gleason, in New Brain- tree; and this he occupied till 1894, about a year ago, when he sold the property and re- tired from active life. Albert M. Gleason attended school in his native town until 1870; and, after two years at Monson Academy (then under the well- known teacher, Charles Hammond), he entered the Agawam National Bank in Springfield, where he remained five years as book-keeper. In 1876 he came to Greenfield in the employ of the Franklin County Na- tional Bank and the Greenfield Savings Bank, with which he continued until the separation of those institutions in 1881. Since that time he has held the responsible position of Treasurer of the Greenfield Savings Bank. Mr. Gleason has never been active in politics, though he was Town Treasurer in 1887 and 1888. In 1883 he was married to Elizabeth Patterson, daughter of Judge David Aiken, of Greenfield. "irXARWIN M. CLARK, a retired I ——J farmer of Sunderland, was born in (-~Km^ this town, September 24, 1824, son of Solomon and Susan (Smith) Clark. The family descends from William Clark, an early settler of Dorchester, Mass., born, it is said, in England about the year 1609. He is spoken of in the Rev. Solomon Clark's inter- esting memorial volume of Northampton as having been a passenger in the " Mary and John," which sailed for Massachusetts from Plymouth, England, in March, 1630. After spending some years in Dorchester, he re- moved in 1659 with his wife and family to Northampton, where he became active in pub- lic affairs. He was a Selectman seventeen years, a Representative fourteen years, and served as a Lieutenant in King Philip's War. He died July 19, 1690; and the descent continues through his son John, who was born in Dorchester in 1651, and died in Northamp- ton in 1704. Ebenezer Clark, son of John, was born in October, 1682, and died February 17, 1 78 1. Jedediah Clark, born March 25, 1726, married Sarah Russell, and died August 9, 1800. Sylvanus Clark, son of Jedediah, was born in Sunderland in 1760, being one of the early inhabitants. He passed the major HART A, RICE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 393 part of his life upon the farm now owned by his grandsons, the present residence having been erected by him. He became a prosper- ous farmer, and died February 28, 1846. He enrolled himself in the ranks of the Conti- nental army at the age of sixteen, and served throughout the Revolutionary struggle. He was the father of four children, three of whom attained their majority; and Solomon, father of Darwin, was the second-born. Solomon Clark was reared to farm work; and on reaching manhood he purchased a small piece of land in Sunderland, where he resided during the remainder of his life, attaining the age of seventy-six years. He was a well-known man, an Assessor for two years, and an attendant of the Congregational church. His wife was a daughter of Jona- than Smith, of Leverett. Of their eleven children five are still living, namely: Darwin M. ; Sarah, widow of William S. Gould; Reuel B. ; Ellen, widow of E. H. Knight; and Henry, who resides at the old homestead. Mrs. Solomon Clark lived to the age of ninety-four years and six months, and at the time of her decease was the oldest member of the Congregational church. Darwin M. Clark received his education in the district schools, and remained with his parents until after his marriage. In 1851 he purchased a tract of land, upon which he erected a house, and brought the farm to a high state of cultivation. He resided there until 1890, when he removed to his present home, and has since lived retired from active labor, enjoying the ease and tranquillity which he has well earned, having passed through a long period of useful activity. He was formerly a Whig in politics, and followed the majority into the ranks of the Republican party at its formation, but for the last twelve years has voted with the Prohibitionists. He has been a Selectman for seven years, and has served as Overseer of the Poor, Assessor, and Highway Surveyor. On December 17, 1857, Mr. Clark was united in marriage with Mary E. Hoyt, a na- tive of Genesee County, New York, where she resided until reaching the age of four- teen years. She was a daughter of Jonathan Hoyt, a shoemaker by trade, who also fol- lowed agriculture, and in his latter years moved to Haydenville, the former home of his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Clark are members of the Congregational church. They have five children, as follows: Milford H., who married Emma F. Gay, and has four children — Clifford J., Raymond C, Addie May, and Milford H., Jr. ; Flora F., wife of Christian F. Wichmann, a sailor and second officer in the merchant marine service, now living in Texas, having five children — Ralph D., Christina L., Neil, Hazel M. , and Freda; Lewis L. , a dentist at Kalamazoo, Mich., who wedded Nellie E. Stebbins; Ralph H., a dentist of Lansing, Mich., who married Sarah F. Gunn, and has one child — Hoyt D. : and Grace, who married for her first hus- band Winifred C. Hobart, by whom she had three children — Harold C, Flora F., and Winifred L. After the death of Mr. Hobart, she married Wirt Goodwin, a grocer of Sun- derland, and has been called upon to mourn the loss of two children by this union. KIT A. RICE, whose portrait is pre- lented in connection with this brief but interesting sketch of his per- sonal and family history, has the distinction of being a descendant of the first white man that settled in this part of Franklin County, is a substantial and progressive agriculturist of Charlemont, and stands at the forefront 394 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW among its leading business men. He was born on the farm and in the house that he now occupies, May 21, 1830, his homestead being the first one redeemed from the wilderness in this locality. His great-grandfather, Moses Rice, was born October 27, 1694, at Sudbury, Mass., where he lived until middle life. He married Sarah King; and in 1742, accom- panied by their children, they came to West- ern Massachusetts, which was then mainly a vast forest, in which wild animals and the dusky savage roved at will. After prospect- ing in this part of the county, he located on the site of the village of Charlemont, build- ing a fort on the flats and a log cabin on the knoll where the house of the subject of this sketch now stands. He soon cleared enough land to raise some grain, but had to be very cautious as he worked; for the Indians, who were not pleased with the advance of these white-faced strangers, were very treacherous and hostile. While planting, the earlier pio- neers had to keep their guns close at hand, but Mr. Rice unfortunately laid his down one day; and an Indian, stealing silently up, seized the gun, and shot him. This occurred June 11, 1755, and to his widow and the seven children — Samuel, Abigail, Aaron, Dinah, Sylvanus, Tanner, and Artemas — all grown to matu- rity, was left the care of the homestead. Artemas Rice, grandfather of Hart A., was born October 22, 1734, in Sudbury, Mass.; and, being the youngest child of his parents, he remained at home to care for his widowed mother, and finally came into possession of the home farm, which contained one hundred and twenty-five acres. He labored with un- tiring industry to place the land in a tillable condition, and became one of the most promi- nent and well-to-do farmers of the vicinity. He erected a frame house and barn, built a saw-mill, in which he carried on a very exten- sive business, furnishing lumber to all the new settlers for building purposes. He pos- sessed great physical endurance, and lived to a good old age. He was a Whig in politics and a member of the Congregational church. His wife, whose maiden name was Asenath Adams, spent a long life on this sphere, and bore him seven children, as follows: James, Hart and Wealthy (both deceased), Elizabeth, Marinda, Louisa, and Roswell (deceased). Roswell Rice was a lifelong resident on the farm on which he was born, succeeding to its ownership and making many fine improve- ments on the property. He repaired and remodelled the buildings, bought more land, at one time owning three hundred and twenty- five acres ; and in addition to mixed husban- dry he carried on a profitable lumber business. He was warmly interested in the welfare of his native town, and assisted its advancement by every means within his power. In politics he was very active, holding the town offices, and for several years was Representative to the State legislature. He was twice married, his first wife, formerly Sarah Hathaway, hav- ing died in young womanhood. After her death he married Amy Avery. His five chil- dren — Harriet, Harvey, Caroline, Charles, and Hart A. — were the fruits of his first union. Hart A. Rice attended school and assisted on the farm during his years of boyhood and youth, and at the age of twenty' years learned the blacksmith's trade, at which he worked for seventeen years, running a shop of his own. In 1865 Mr. Rice turned his attention to the pursuit to which he was reared, buying the S. Gale farm of two hundred acres, which he carried on for three years, meeting with excellent success. Selling that property, he returned to the pioneer home of his paternal ancestors; and, having bought out the interest BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 39S of the other heirs, he has continued the improvements, being very enterprising and progressive, as well as practical, in his labors, enlarging the residence and barns, and build- ing two new dwelling-houses on the place for the use of his sons. He has rebuilt the mills, putting in improved machinery for saw- ing and planing shingles, has erected a grist-mill, in which he does a great deal of grinding, and has built a cider-mill, where he has made as many as forty thousand bushels of apples into cider in a year, and in connec- tion with which he has a distillery. His real estate consists of three hundred and twenty-five acres of land, mostly under culti- vation; and in addition to tilling the land he is greatly interested in raising fine stock, having a valuable dairy of twenty-five cows, sixty head of sheep, besides some good work horses. Mr. Rice is a man of great business ability, and has won deserved success by his thorough mastery of his calling and his hon- est and upright dealings. He is a warm ad- herent of the Republican party, but has been too much engrossed by his private affairs to accept office. In 1850 Mr. Rice was united in marriage with Fanny S. Vincent, a daughter of Oren Vincent, a prosperous farmer of Charlemont. Their pleasant wedded life has been bright- ened by the birth of eight children, of whom we record the following: Frank E., a farmer, residing in Greenfield, married Delia Duffy, and they have five children — Ella, Belle, Lawrence, Floyd, and Henry; Ellen M., the wife of Clarence Cobb, a farmer of Greenfield, has one child — Rose; Fred M., who died at the age of thirty-seven years, married Fanny Tucker (now deceased), who bore him two children — James and Minnie; Albert, a blacksmith, living at Keene, N.H., married Lizzie Brown, and they are the parents of two children — Guy and Bessie; Arthur, a farmer and lumberman in Charlemont, married Mary Duffy, and they have two children — Clarence and Hart; Emma, an energetic and capable woman, is the leading dressmaker of North- ampton ; John, who is engaged in farming and milling at Charlemont, married Mary Dicks, and of the three children born to them Fanny and Ema M. are living, but May died when quite young; and William, engaged in busi- ness with his father, married Ellen Miller, and they have two sons — Walter and John. /STTo FORGE R. RUFFLE, a member of \J5 1 the Orange Knitting Company, whose factory is located at Farley, is a sagacious and successful business man and an esteemed citizen. Industrious and enter- prising from his youth, he has gradually climbed the ladder of prosperity, having through his own merits reached his present advantageous position in the industrial world. He was born in Stoddard, Cheshire County, N.H., August 25, 1859, being a son of George Ruffle. His grandfather, Samuel Ruffle, lived in England until after marriage. Emi- grating then to America, he settled in Keene, N.H., where he spent the remainder of his days, working somewhat at his trade as a glass-blower and carrying on farming pur- suits, living until sixty years of age. George Ruffle, the fourth son of Samuel and one of a family of ten children, was born and bred in Keene. He was reared on the home farm, and from his father learned the glass-blower's trade, at which he worked for a while in the place of his nativity, going from there to Stoddard, thence to South Lyndeboro, and finally to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he followed his occupation until his decease, in November, 1894, in the sixty- 39*5 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW fourth year of his age. While residing in Stoddard, he married Lucinda Loveland, a daughter of Roswell Loveland and a grand- daughter of Samuel Loveland, who came of distinguished English ancestry, a genealogy of the family now being published by J. B. Loveland, of Fremont, Ohio, showing that an early ancestor was, many generations ago, Lord Mayor of London. Roswell Loveland was a farmer in Hancock, N.H., in his earlier days, but removed to Stoddard, which was the birthplace of his daughter Lucinda, finally going from there to the West, where he de- parted this life, having reared a family of eight children. Of the union of Mr. George and Lucinda Ruffle eight children were born, six of whom grew to mature years, and four are still living, namely: Flora, who married George Holt, of Bennington, N.H.; George R. ; Harry, who has charge of the machinery in a silk factory at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. ; and Eva May, the wife of Isaac Ham, of Pough- keepsie, where the mother still resides. George R. Ruffle received his education in the district schools of his native town, and was reared to habits of industry and economy, becoming an assistant in his father's shop at an early age. Before attaining his majority he went to work in a glass factory at South Lyndeboro, N.H., where he remained until his removal to Poughkeepsie. After a short stay in that place he came to Massachusetts, locating in Shirley Village, where he learned the business of paper-making, continuing in the work eight years. Coming then to Frank- lin County, Mr. Ruffle took charge of two machines in Mr. Farley's factory at Farley, continuing thus employed for a year, and obtaining an insight into the business. In March, 1894, he purchased an interest in the Orange Knitting Company, with D. E. Far- ley, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, and is now carrying on a thriving business, the factory turning out from forty to fifty dozens of mittens per day, being one of the leading factories of the kind in this part of the State. Mr. Ruffle was united in marriage in 1880 with Miss Hattie E. Hastings, a native of Rindge, N.H., and the daughter of John and Louisa Hastings. Her father was a brave soldier of the late Rebellion, and lost his life while fighting for his country, leaving his widow with four young daughters, Hattie being the youngest. The others were Ella, who married Herbert Lawrence; Annie, the wife of Augustus B. Cram; and Mary Alice, who married Edward Ellis, of Taunton. Some time after the death of her first husband Mrs. Louisa Hastings became the wife ai George M. Cram, by whom she had two chil- dren, only one of whom — Oscar E. — is now living. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ruffle has been blessed by the birth of two children — Gertrude H. and Harry E. Although tak- ing no conspicuous part in politics, Mr. Ruffle early allied himself to the Republican party, of which he is an active though quiet suppor- ter. Socially, he is an influential member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Orange, and of the Sons of Veterans of South Lyndeboro, N.H. -OHN H. SANDERSON, of Greenfield, President of Franklin County Bank and agent of the Warner Manufactur- ing Company, established here more than twenty years ago, was born in Bernardston, Mass., an adjoining town, in 1841. He is of patriotic stock, his great-grandfather, Jona- than Sanderson, having been one of the brave minute-men, recruited from the ranks of the New England farmers, who stood firmly be- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 397 fore the muskets of the British regulars at the battle of Bunker Hill; while another of the family, Moses Sanderson, a brother of Jonathan, served throughout the Revolution- ary War. Jonathan Sanderson's son John was born in Petersham, Worcester County, Mass., in 1767. In addition to carrying on general agriculture, he was a tanner and currier, and quite a wealthy man for his day. He was acciden- tally killed by a yoke of oxen on his farm in 1830. He married Lydia, the daughter of Dr. Morton, of Athol, Mass. ; and of the two sons born to them but one grew to mature life — John Sanderson, Jr., father of John H., of whom we write. Mrs. Lydia M. Sanderson lived to the venerable age of eighty-three years, dying in Bernardston, her body being laid beside that of her husband in the rural cemetery of Petersham. John Sanderson, Jr., was born in Petersham in 1 8 14, and at the time of his marriage set- tled on a farm in Bernardston, Mass., where he has since resided, being one of the practi- cal and well-to-do agriculturists of Franklin County. The maiden name of his wife, who died on the homestead in 1890, was Mary Osgood. Her parents, Elihu and Ruth (King) Osgood, were prosperous members of the farming community of Wendell, of which town they were natives. They reared four of their five children, two of them being now living, namely: Elihu C. Osgood, of Green- field; and Samuel M. Osgood, of East Milton, Mass. Of the union of John and Lucy O. Sanderson six sons and three daughters were born; and, with the exception of a son named Lucien, who died at the age of eleven years, all grew to maturity. Three sons and three daughters are still living, all being residents of Franklin County, except Lucien, who is a dealer in fertilizers at New Haven, Conn. John H. Sanderson was educated in the dis- trict school and at Powers Institute, and then began active life as a clerk in the Franklin County Bank, which was established in 1840. In 1862 he left his place there as teller to accept a similar position in the Springfield Bank, where he remained three years. He then started in an entirely new enterprise, forming a partnership with Cyrus Wilkinson and going to Savannah, Ga., where they en- gaged in a wholesale and retail saddlery busi- ness for two years. In 1867 the firm removed their stock to Chicago, 111,; and two years later Mr. Sanderson returned to Bernardston. Since 1873 he has been at the head of the Warner Manufacturing Company, which is profitably engaged in the manufacture of baby carriages, hardware, and cutlery. Mr. San- derson is one of the able business men and financiers of Greenfield, and for the past nine years has served with fidelity as President of the Franklin County Bank, besides being a stockholder and Director of the Electric Light Company and a Trustee of the Green- field Library Association. Socially, he is a prominent and influential member of the Masonic fraternity, and in politics affiliates ■ with the Democratic party, being a member of the School Committee. On May 7, 1879, Mr. Sanderson was mar- ried to Jeannie F. Smith, a daughter of Gen- eral Walter Smith, who was for many years Deputy Collector of the port of Mobile, Ala. Mr. and Mrs. Sanderson have a pleasant home on Main Street, not far from the library. They greet their many friends with cordial hospitality. FRANK BROWN, one of the promi- nent men in Rowe, Franklin County, Mass., was born in this town, March 1829, son of Joseph R. and Sally 398 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW (M'Cloud) Brown, and grandson of Noah and Judith (Short) Brown. Noah Brown bought one hundred and fifty acres of unbroken upland in Rowe, where he was one of the first settlers, and, building a log cabin, established a home. He had a strong constitution and was fully qualified for the work he had undertaken, clearing and cultivating his large farm with tireless energy, and filling besides numerous offices in the town. His son, Joseph R., was born on the home- stead, June 7, 1788. He was self-educated and remarkably well-informed, making the most of chance opportunities, as educational advantages were not so universal then as now. When a young man he bought a stock of goods which he sold from door to door. Stores were far apart in those days, and his business pros- pered. After twenty years of mercantile life he bought a small farm, later adding to it until he had one hundred and sixty acres of land. Here he settled down to farming and stock-raising, and many of his improvements are in evidence to-day. In politics he was a Whig and a Republican, and in religion a Unitarian. He was twice married, his first wife, Sally M'Cloud, died at the age of thirty- six, leaving five children, one of whom is named at the head of the present sketch. His second wife, Antis R. Donaldson, bore two children — Esther D. and Louis N. J. Frank Brown helped about the farm in boyhood, meanwhile attending the district school. When about twenty-seven years of age he went to Ogle County, Illinois, to take charge of a large farm ; but, not finding the West congenial, he returned home and en- gaged in agricultural pursuits until 1862, when he enlisted in Company B, Fifty-second Regiment, as Sergeant, under Captain A. P. Nelson and Colonel S. H. Greenleaf. His term of service covered eleven months, one of the engagements in which he took part being that of Port Hudson. When discharged he returned home, and again enlisted in the Sec- ond Massachusetts Light Horse Artillery, taking part in the siege of Mobile. After his discharge, in June, 1865, he settled on his father's farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he had purchased and where he lived for twelve years, making many improvements in the land and buildings. He then bought the farm upon which he now resides, which was known as the Star farm and which comprised one hundred and eighty-four acres. It is a fine estate and has large orchards and beauti- ful shade trees. Mr. Brown has repaired and remodelled many of the buildings; and the house, which was built over a hundred years ago, and was intended for a hotel, is a fine specimen of domestic architecture. Among other buildings erected by Mr. Brown is a cider -mill, where he has manufactured as much as ten tons of sweet cider jelly in a year, shipping it to different markets East and West. The view from the farm is magnifi- cent; and the place is a favorite resort of city people, some seasons bringing forty - five boarders. Mr. Brown also has a fine dairy, and usually keeps about thirty head of cattle. In addition to all this, he is now interested in job printing and wholesale and retail stationery business in Greenfield. On September 14, 1854, Mr. Brown was united in marriage to Mary E., daughter of Samuel and Content (Walker) Stockwell, of Monroe, and grand-daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Blanchard) Stockwell, of Whiting- ham, Vt. Thomas Stockwell was a farmer and also conducted a cooper's business at Whitingham. He lived to be eighty - five years old. He was twice married and had ten children, six by his first wife, and by his second wife four. Samuel Stockwell, Mrs. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 399 Brown's father, settled early in Monroe, where he bought a farm and also carried on shoemak- ing and cooperage, his life of seventy-two years being a very busy one. His first votes were cast in the Democratic interest, but later he changed his views and joined the Republi- can party. He was Selectman, Assessor, Poor Master, and School Commissioner for several terms, serving with credit to himself and his constituents. In religion he believed in the doctrines of the Universalist church. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have had seven chil- dren, namely: Frank H., born February 15, 1857; Emory W., born September 5, 1858; Newton H., born June 25, 1866; Fred L. , born October 2, 1868, died in childhood; Her- bert S. , born July 10, 1870; Gertrude K. M., born August 31, 1873; and Errol C, born March 27, 1878. Frank H., who is a grad- uate of Powers Institute at Bernardston, and was for seven years Principal of the Oakman High School at Turner's Falls, is now in the stationery business with his father at Green- field. He married Emma Russell, and they have two children : Winifred R. and Regi- nald F. Emory W. is a mechanic at Miller's Falls; he and his wife, Anna R. Amidon, have one child. Earl W. Newton H. and Herbert S. are in the printing and stationery business with their father, the former married to Almira E. Dewey, the latter to Alice M. Plympton, who has one child. Gertrude K. M. is now in the State Normal School at Westfield. In politics Mr. Brown is a Prohibitionist. He has always taken an active part in the town affairs, has served the Board of Select- men, has been Assessor and Poor Master four years, and Constable and Tax Collector for two years. He is a member of the post of the Grand Army of the Republic at North Adams. He has been for many years a mem- ber of the Unitarian church at Rowe, serving on the parish committee as chairman of the board, and has always taken a very active part in church work. He filled for some time the office of local agent of the Society for the Pre- vention of Cruelty to Children, and he was appointed United States census enumerator for his town in 1890. Mr. Brown has been called up by the Probate Judge to settle four differ- ent estates, a substantial recognition of his good judgment and practical ability. €:■ HARLES C. FLAGG, a well-known and highly respected citizen of Con- way, F"ranklin County, who is suc- cessfully engaged in the lumber business, was born on the old Flagg homestead, in this town, January 7, 1839, son of Samuel and Rhoda (Macomber) Flagg. His grandfather, Eleazar Flagg, a native of Grafton, Mass., was one of the pioneer settlers of Conway. By trade he was a carpenter, but he owned a farm in the northern part of the town of Conway, and de- voted the greater part of his time to agriculture. He died there at eighty years of age. His wife was before marriage Miss Sarah Warren. Samuel Flagg, who was born on the family homestead, remained with his parents after he had grown to manhood and cared for them as long as they lived. When they had both de- parted, he purchased the interests of the other heirs and thus became the owner of the farm, which he continued to carry on with profit up to the time of his death, at seventy-one years of age. His wife, Rhoda Macomber Flagg, is still living. They reared six children — ^ three sons and three daughters; namely, Charles C, George W. , Fanny E., Susan W. , Eleazar F., and Hattie M. Charles C. Flagg, the eldest child, lived with his father and mother until he was six- 400 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW teen years of age. He then went to work in a saw-mill for William B. Fay, with whom he remained until Mr. Fay's death, in 1879. Mr. Fay made him heir to the property, which consists of a planing and saw mill with ten acres of land, and since that time Mr. Flagg has continued to conduct the business with good results. He obtains his supplies of tim- ber from the surrounding woods, and turns out about five hundred thousand feet of sawed lum- ber each year, for which he finds a market in the immediate vicinity. In i860 Mr. Flagg was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Brown, a daughter of Isa- iah Brown. She was born in Conway, Mass., where she received her education and grew to womanhood. Their union has been blessed by the birth of nine children, eight of whom are living, namely: Charles D., who married Miss Bertha Quinn, and has three children — Allie, Eva, and Eugene M. ; Mary C, who is the wife of Donald McFarland, and has two chil- dren ■ — Mary Isabelle and Everett ; William M. ; Grace E. ; Edith E. and Elwin C, who are twins; Lottie S. ; and Alice Maud. Alton E. died aged nine years. In political affiliation Mr. Flagg is a Democrat. He has served acceptably in town office for several years. -rj^ATHAN C. BREWER, a well-known I =ij/ shoemaker, residing in the town of -L^ V^ _ Montague, Mass., was born in Wen- dell, Franklin County, March 4, 181 5. His father, Samuel Brewer, was a son of Nathan Brewer, a farmer in that town. Samuel Brewer received his education in the district schools of Wendell, his native place. When old enough he took up farm pursuits, and on coming of age he entered into the possession of the old homestead, where he continued to reside till the approach of declining years. when he came to Montague, remaining here till his death, at the age of ninety-five years. He was a man of some prominence in his time, being one who took an interest in the affairs of the town, and from time to time held vari- ous offices. He was one of the Selectmen twenty-five years, an Assessor and Town Clerk several years. He also held the rank of Colo- nel of the old militia, his practical ability and strong traits of character marking him for a leader among his townsmen. The maiden name of his wife was Miss Fanny Watts. She was a farmer's daughter, and was born in Worthington, Mass. Of their seven children three are still living, namely: Martha, wife of Benjamin Fay; Nathan C. , of this account; and Mary, wife of John Paine. The deceased are: Caroline, Sarah, John W. , and Aurelia. Their mother died in Montague at the age of eighty-eight. Both parents were members of the Congregational church. Mrs. Brewer's grandfather was also a Deacon of the church in the town of Wendell. Nathan C. Brewer was educated in the com- mon schools of his native town, and remained on the farm with his father until twenty years of age. He then learned the trade of shoe- maker, which he followed in Wendell two years and in Grafton one year, then going to Worthington and later coming to Montague, where he has continued to reside since 1841. Mr. Brewer built his present house the fol- lowing year, and, having been here over half a century, naturally notes with interest the fact that but one other person now lives in the vil- lage who can show an equally long residence. In 1836 Mr. Brewer was married to Miss Aurelia B. Marble, a daughter of Silas Marble. She was born in Worthington, where her father was a farmer and resided most of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer reared four children, three of whom are now living; JAMES L. POWERS. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 403 namely, Catherine, Harriet, and George. The other, a son Charles, was in the Fifty-second Regiment during the war, but returned and died later in Colorado. Catherine, wife of Horace Stratton, residing in Gill, has two children — Herbert and Clesson, the latter being married and the mother of two children. Harriet, widow of Thomas Burnham, has three children: Walter; Mattie, wife of Herman Silo, who has one child; and Willie. George married Miss Jennie Falcom, and they have four children — Charles, Miriam, Nathan, and Corinne. Mrs. Aurelia B. Brewer died at the age of fifty-nine. Mr. BreAver married for his second wife Mrs. Mehala Durkee, a daughter of Henry Burnham. Her father carried on for a time in New Hampshire the business of a clothier; but later, having removed to Mon- tague, settled down as one of the old citizens of the town, it being his native place. His wife, Mrs. Sophia House Burnham, was the mother of eleven children, six of whom are still living. She died in Montague, at the age of forty-five years. Mr. Brewer is a Republican in politics; and he and his family are members of the Con- gregational church, in which he has held vari- ous offices and with whose prosperity he has been identified, his wife also taking a promi- nent part in the societies and charitable work of the church and Sunday-school. Mr. Brewer has likewise held the rank of Captain in the State militia. [AMES L. POWERS, a practical and progressive agriculturist of New Salem, is the worthy representative of one of the original settlers of this town, in which he was born June 19, 1824. The first immigrant of this family name in Massachusetts is sup- posed to have been one John Powers, or Power, who settled in Charlestown, Mass. ; but little appears to be known of him. From a geneal- ogy of the Powers family by Amos H. Powers, of Chicago, published in 1884, we learn that James I.., the subject of the present sketch, is a descendant, in the eighth generation, of Walter Powers, whose name appears in the Middlesex County Records in 1654, and who married, in 1660, Trial Shepard, and settled in that part of Concord, Mass., that is now Littleton. John Powers, grandson of Walter, was the first schoolmaster of Littleton. He married Elizabeth Robbins; and one of their children was Reuben, born in 1714, who mar- ried Isabel Wheeler. In 1743, Reuben Powers settled in Shutesbury with his family, which included five sons; namely, Asa, Reu- ben, David, Stephen, and Jesse. Asa Powers was born November 25, 1742. Having grown to manhood, he bought five hundred acres of forest-covered land in what is now New Salem, then a part of Shutesbury, on which he erected a log cabin and proceeded to clear a farm. He endured all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life, work- ing untiringly, often in the midst of dangers. The family lived mostly on the productions of the land, the nearest markets, which were many miles away, being reached by means of a pathway marked by blazed trees. He and his wife are said to have had five children, the eldest, a son Asa, Jr., born January 30, 1766; the third, a daughter Lovina, born August 17, 1 771 ; the fifth, a son Robert. Asa Powers, Jr., succeeded to the ownership of his fathers farm, and, continuing a tiller of the soil, he became one of the foremost farmers of his day. In the latter part of his long life he sold the farm proper to his son Chester, and built a commodious house for himself near by, this being the house now owned and occupied by his grandson, James L. Grandfather Powers was a prominent member 404 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW of the old Whig party, Captain of a company of State militia, and also a Captain in the War of 1812. To him and his wife, Louisa Fel- ton (sometimes written Lois), ten children were born, as follows : John, Chester, Re- becca, Samuel, Alfred, Louis, Roswell, Anson, Robert, and Proctor. Chester Powers was born on the farm now owned by his son, William L. Powers, and there spent his long life of seventy-five years. He was an enterprising and prosperous agri- culturist, and made many improvements on the paternal homestead, including the erection of new farm buildings and the house now stand- ing. He married Sarah Lamb, a smart, capa- ble woman and an active worker in the Congregational church, of which both were members. They reared the following chil- dren: Charles D., William LaForest, James L. , Harrison Gray Otis, Arsula, Sarah, Ada- line, and Lavina. James L. Powers received a fair education in the district schools of his native town, and at the age of fifteen left home to earn his own living. He worked for the farmers of the vicinity until arriving at man's estate, when he bought the old home of his grandfather, and here began farming on his own account. Mr. Powers has since bought and sold other farms, and, in addition to general husbandry, has been at times extensively and profitably en- gaged in lumbering, buying wood lots, from which he has cleared the timber and made it ready for the market. The house he now oc- cupies was built, as above mentioned, by his .grandfather, more than a century ago; and this he has made over into one of the finest and most conveniently arranged dwellings to be found in this vicinity. His farm is small and well-kept, and its neat appearance bespeaks the diligence and thrift of the owner. On November 25, 1851, Mr. Powers was united in marriage with Lucy J. Jones, a na- tive of Stratton, Vt. , born December 8, 1830. Her father, the Rev. Nelson B. Jones, was born in 1806, at Wardsboro, Vt., and was for fifty years an active minister of the Baptist denomination. He lived eighty-three years; and his wife, whose maiden name was Lucy K. Glazier, lived to the venerable age of eighty-six years. They were the parents of seven children : Lyman G. , Jason D., Lucy J., Frances C, Adaline D., Adelaide H., and Nelson B. Seven children also came to brighten the home of Mr. and Mrs. Powers, of whom we record the following; Eva G. , born September 3, 1852, married Eugene S. Brown, was afterward killed by the cars; Cora I., born August 13, 1854, died at the age of twenty; James L. died in infancy; George A., born December 24, 1859, now a grocer at Athol, married Mabel S. Houstan ; Freddie M. died when a year old; Myrtie A., born January 16, 1866, is the wife of Herbert N. Leach, of Worcester, and has one child, Cora M. ; Ernest L. died when only a year and a half old. Airs. Powers is a faithful and valued member of the Baptist church. In his political affiliations Mr. Powers is a decided Republican. His ancestral tree hav- ing been long planted in American soil, in the breezy Northland, he is naturally a thorough- going patriot, and is one who proved his loyalty and his valor by serving in the ranks as a defender of the Union in the war of the Rebellion. A portrait of this highly re- spected citizen, easily recognized by his ac- quaintances, may be seen on a neighboring page. rm-u ILMAN N. WATSON is a well-to- y^J do farmer of Leverett, and also owns a saw-mill, which he successfully operates. He was born in this town March BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 405 IS, 1832, and is the son of Horatio N. Wat- son, a native of North Leverett. The grand- father, Samuel Watson, who was a farmer, was born, it is believed, at Princeton, and, when a young man, settled in Leverett, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was the father of a family of eight children. Horatio N, Watson, son of Samuel, was reared to farm life, and also carried on a suc- cessful business in the manufacture of chairs made of pine strips which were carved by hand. After devoting himself to this indus- try for twelve years, he returned to the culti- vation of his farm. He was a Democrat and a prominent man in his town, serving several terms as Selectman, and was a Representative to the State legislature in 1839 and 1850. He died at the age of eighty years. His wife was Sarah B. Leach, daughter of Lemuel Leach, a blacksmith of Shutesbury. She- became the mother of six children, three of whom are still living, namely: Truman M. ; Gilman N. ; and Henrietta M., who married Norris S. Henry. The mother died in her fifty-eighth year. Gilman N. Watson resided with his parents until his majority. He worked as a journey- man at the sash, door, and blind business, at Atho], at Erving, and at Greenfield for over ten years. On August 21, 1862, he enlisted in Company ¥, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteers, and served nine months, receiving his discharge at Greenfield. He then returned to Leverett, where he was for a time employed with his father in farming, and later rebuilt the saw-mill upon the site of the one formerly operated by his father, succeeding to the pos- session of the mill and farm at the latter's death in 1880. The property consists of about one hundred and fifty acres, well located and fitted with fine buildings; and there Mr. Watson has resided, the mill and farm taking up his entire attention. In 1854 he was united in marriage to Laura Gilbert, daughter of Lucius and Eliza (Taylor) Gilbert, a native of this town, where her father was an early settler. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have had three children : Clifton H., an engineer; Effie V., who married Eugene D. Smith, and died at the age of thirty-six years; and Rosabel L. , who married E. E. Chalmers, a lawyer in Montpelier, Idaho, and has two children — Maurine and George. Mr. Watson was formerly a Republican in politics, but now votes with the Democratic party, as did his father. He is interested in the local government and has been an Assessor for eight years. He is a member of the Bay State Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Montague, having joined the craft in 1868, and has served as Senior Warden. He is also a member of Armstrong Post, No. 150, Grand Army of the Republic, at Montague, of which he has been Commander two years and was Quartermaster six years. In religious belief he is a Spirit- ualist. 2)1 GRACE W. FIELD, a veteran of the ■^1 Civil War, is a prosperous farmer of -^ V. Leverett Centre and also a dealer in corrugated steel roofing. He was born in Hatfield, Hampshire County, on January 24, 1846, his father, Abner Field, having been a native of Sunderland, and his grandfather, Walter Field, a native of Leverett. Abner Field, after his marriage, purchased a farm at Hatfield, which he occupied for some years, and then selling it removed to Whately. Later he purchased a farm at Sunderland, which be carried on for a period of three years. He finally settled at Leverett, where he died in 1893, aged seventy-seven years. His wife. Wealthy Putney, daughter of John Putney, a life-long farmer of Goshen, Hamp- shire County, Mass., became the mother of 4o6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW four children, all of whom reached maturity : Maria, who married Deacon William Ashley; Horace W. ; Charles; and Susan, wife of Moses Field, who, although of the same name, is of another family. The mother died at the age of sixty-two. She was a member of the Congregational church, as was also her hus- band, who was very prominent in Sunday- school work. Horace W. Field spent his childhood and early youth at home, acquiring his education in the district schools of his native town and at a select school in Leverett. In his seven- teenth year he enlisted as a private in Com- pany F, Fifty-second Massachusetts Regiment, and, after serving eleven months and having taken part in the battle of Port Hudson, he was discharged in August, 1863. He immedi- ately re-enlisted in the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, with which he saw some extremely hard fighting, being with Sheridan all through his famous Shenandoah campaign, during which he lost two horses, one being shot from under him and the other killed while standing in front of a skirmish line. He was present at the battles of Winchester and Cedar Creek, and was discharged at Fairfax Court-house on July 20, 1865, as a Corporal. At the close of the war Mr. Field returned to Leverett, where he was for a time engaged with his father in farm work. He then pur- chased a piece of farm property in the east part of the town, and lived there for some time, or until he came to his present farm. Aside from farming, he was for a period of eight years engaged in the manufacture of boxes, and has recently taken up steel roofing with satisfactory results. In 1873 he was united in marriage to Susan Hubbard, of Leverett, daughter of George Hub- bard, an extensive woollen manufacturer and a prominent citizen of the town. She had a sister, who died while yet young. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Field was a daughter, Lucy Edith, who died at the age of eight years. Mr. Field is a Republican in politics, and has served as Collector two years and as As- sessor seven years. He has been for the past nine years a member of the School Board, for eleven years a Justice of the Peace, and is at the present time Constable, Collector, and Assessor. He is a comrade of the Grand Army post at Montague, of which he has held the position of Officer of the Day. He is a member of the Congregational church, and has been superintendent of the Sunday-school. Mrs. Field is prominent in the various church societies. ■OSHUA BARON TOTMAN, an en- terprising farmer of Conway, was born at Colerain, September 2, 1820. His father, Jonathan Totman, was born in the same town on the same farm, in September, 1775; and his grandfather, Stoddard Totman, was a native of Plymouth County, Mass. Stoddard was a son of Joshua Totman, who, in all probability, was born in Plymouth County, as he came from there to Franklin County im- mediately after the Revolutionary War. He was an elderly man at the time of his removal, and died a few years later. Stoddard Totman acquired the trade of a shoemaker, and resided in Plymouth County until after his marriage. He then moved to Colerain, where he pur- chased a tract of land and erected the loo- house in which his son Jonathan was born. He eventually cleared a good farm, con- structed a substantial residence, and continued to follow agricultural pursuits until his death, or as long as he was able to engage in active labor. He lived to the age of eighty-eight years. He served in the Revolutionary War, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 407 and was a pensioner during the latter years of his life. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Cobb, became the mother of three sons and four daughters. Jonathan Totman made the best of his op- portunities for obtaining an education, and in young manhood taught school at Colerain. He cared for his parents during their declining years, and, succeeding to the possession of the homestead after their decease, resided thereon the remainder of his life, dying at the age of seventy-eight. He became prominent in pub- lic affairs, was a Selectman and Assessor, and served as Town Clerk for many years. He married Jennie Smith, daughter of Calvin and Anna Smith, of Colerain, and she died at the age of forty-two years. Their children were: Calvin S. , Joshua Baron, and David S. Joshua Baron Totman acquired his education in the district schools and the Shelburne Falls Academy. At about the age of twenty years he taught school two terms, but aside from this he has always followed agricultural pur- suits. He resided with his father and step- mother, and inherited the home farm in Colerain, which he conducted until 1869, when he sold the property, and, removing to Conway, purchased his present farm. He has dealt considerably in live stock, has fed as high as two hundred and twenty-five head of sheep, and now carries on a dairy which con- sumes the product of twenty cows. Mr. Totman was married on June 18, 1846, to Hannah Hawkes, daughter of Oren Hawkes, of Charlemont, where she was born March 2, 1824. Oren Hawkes, a native of Charlemont, was the son of Rufus Hawkes, a farmer, who was also born in that town, his father, Gersham Hawkes, formerly of Deer- field, having been one of the first settlers of Charlemont. Gersham Hawkes served in the French and Indian War; he died December 28, 1799. His wife was Thankful Corse, daughter of James Corse. Rufus Hawkes married Roana Nichols. Oren Hawkes inherited his father's farm in Charle- mont, and occupied it until his decease. His wife was Sophia Taylor, of Buckland, daughter of William and Experience (Totman) Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Totman have five children liv- ing, namely, Margaret, Jennie F., Frederick, Walter, and Theron ; and they mourn the loss of four — Harriet D., Jonathan E., Calvin S. , and Edwin J. Margaret is the wife of Baxter B. Noyes, and the mother of five children: Buffum B., Gertrude, Mattie, Winnie, and Mabel. Jennie Frances Totman married for her first husband Israel Boyden, and for her second, David Newhall (see sketch on another page). Frederick Totman married Jennie K. Brower, and has seven children : Francis, Sarah, Chester, Minnie, Hattie, Mary, and Ruth J. Walter, who married Jennie Willis, has two children : Ethel M. and Helen. Theron Totman married Myra Adams, and had one son named Rawson Joshua, who died at the age of eight months and twenty-seven days. Harriet D. Totman married Major Theodore Poole, of Syracuse, N.Y. , now member of Congress from his district. Mrs. Poole died leaving one daughter, Harriet. Mr. and Mrs. Totman have twenty grandchil- dren living. Mr. Totman is a Republican in politics, is well-informed on current events, and is a very successful farmer. "J^OAH RANKIN, a chair and box manu- facturer of Erving, is one of the best- ^ *■ known citizens of the town, of which he has been a resident since 1854, and in which for many years he has been promi- nent in public affairs. He was born in Hiram, Me., November 19, 1835, son of 4o8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Joseph and Lydia (Wentworth) Rankin, the paternal grandfather having been named Jo- seph, and a resident of the town of Hiram most of his life. Joseph Rankin, the younger, was born in Buxton, Me., and was brought up to the lum- ber business by his father, with whom he worked for some years. He next engaged in business in the town of Hiram, where he accumulated some property, including a mill, farm, and store, all of which he operated suc- cessfully. In 1853 he came to Erving and purchased a store in the village, also buying an interest in the match wood business, which was carried on here for some years. He con- ducted both these enterprises until 1861, when he sold the match business and purchased the wood seat chair business of Hale & Gould, in which he remained engaged until his death, February 19, 1886. He was much respected as a man and citizen, and his death was a loss to the town in which he had lived more than thirty years. His wife, Lydia Wentworth, was a native of Hiram, Me., a daughter of Jonathan Went- worth, a farmer of that place. She reared three children, of whom two are still living: Jane P., who married E. H. Sping, a farmer and coal dealer of Erving; and Noah, whose name appears above. Another son, Mark, laid down his life for his country in the great civil strife. He enlisted as Orderly Sergeant, Company B, Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment, in 1862, and went to the front. He took part in several hard-fought battles, and was taken prisoner May 12, during Butler's campaign on the James River, and conveyed to Libby Prison, whence after a two weeks' stay he was transferred to Andersonville Prison, where he remained until the latter part of August. He was then transferred to Savan- nah, and from there to Millen, Ga. , where he died December 11, 1864, one of the vast num- ber whose blood has cemented the firm struct- ure of our great Union. The mother of these three children spent her last years in Hiram, and died there at the comparatively early age of thirty-eight. Both she and her husband were members of the Methodist church, in which he was a local preacher in his earlier years. He held several public offices, among them that of Selectman of Erving and Post- master of the town for several years. He was an antislavery man and a stanch Republican. Noah Rankin acquired his education in the district schools and in the academies at Par- sonsfield, Me,, and Deerfield, Mass. He early learned something of farming; and he became initiated into business methods soon after leaving school by working as a clerk in his father's store, retaining this position until his father's death. He then took control of the store and chair factory, and managed both suc- cessfully until 1878, when he sold the store, but continued to conduct the factory, which he still owns and manages. In 1891 he added to his chair manufacture the making of all kinds of wooden boxes, in which business he has been more than ordinarily successful. He is the owner of some timber land, from which he gets the material needed in his box industry. His success Is due to his industry and good business abilities, including a keen intelli- gence and an ample fund of strong common sense, which admirably fit him for public as well as private responsibilities. His fellow- townsmen have been quick to recognize his capacity as a man of affairs and one worthy of confidence; and he has been called upon to serve in various public offices, having been Town Clerk for eighteen years. Justice of the Peace since the age of twenty-one, and a mem- ber of the legislature in 1871. He has also served as Selectman fifteen years, having been FREDERICK H. SMITH. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 411 chairman of the board most of that time, Over- seer of the Poor, Assessor nearly thirteen years, and Postmaster nearly a quarter of a century, all of which positions he has filled with efficiency and fidelity to the public interests. In December, 1862, Mr. Rankin was united in marriage to Miss Polena L. Peck, of Royals- ton, Mass., where her father, Lyman Peck, was a prosperous farmer. Her mother was Lorina Davis before marriage, and Mrs. Ran-_ kin was one of eight children and the only daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Rankin have two children, namely: Pauline Lydia, who, after graduating from the high school at Athol, received a thorough musical education at the Conservatory of Music in Boston, and is now an able and successful teacher of the divine art; and Joseph Lyman, who obtained a sub- stantial business education at the Bryant & Stratton Business College in Boston, and is now employed by the firm of Fowle, Hibbard & Co. of that city, having been with them for eight years. Mr. Rankin is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Masonic lodge of Orange. The family stand high in public estimation, ranking among the first in character and intel- ligence in the town of Erving. ^Frederick h. smith, the original f'lj of the excellent portrait on the adjoin- ing page, is an enterprising agricultu- rist and easily one of the foremost citizens of Ashfield. He was born in the adjoining town of Buckland, July 12, 1840, son of Hoyt and Content (Dodge) Smith, and grandson of Elisha and Diantha (Butler) Smith. Mr. Smith's great-grandfather, Elijah Smith, re- moved from Upton to Buckland, where he died at a good old age. Elisha Smith was born September 6, 1785, and settled in the western part of Buckland, near the town of Hawley, on a farm of one hundred acres, now owned by Walter Smith. He cleared and cultivated the land, but was a carpenter by trade, and followed that occupa- tion much of his time. He served with the rank of Captain in the War of 1812. He was a Free Mason, a member of Republican Lodge, of Greenfield ; and at the time of the Morgan excitement he was expelled from church mem- bership because of his refusal to renounce his Masonic affiliations. His death occurred Oc- tober 23, 1853. His wife, Diantha Butler, whom he married January 4, 1809, was born October 17, 1788, and died September i, 1832. They were people highly respected for their many sterling qualities, and were the parents of the following children : Sarah, Hoyt, Elisha, Roswell, Diantha, Zenas E. , and Caroline. Hoyt Smith, the eldest son of Elisha, was born May 26, 1812, in the town of Buckland, and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed'through life. He also owned a farm and engaged to some extent in agriculture, being successful in both occupations. He was first married October 16, 1834, to Content Dodge, who was born November 3, 1814. She died September 2, 1852, leaving six chil- dren : Elisha, Charles, Frederick H., Abby, Emerette, Eliza. Mr. Smith's second wife, formerly Olive Howard, bore him four chil- dren: Frank F. , Walter D., Henry A., and George Preston. Frederick H. Smith, whose lineage we have thus traced, was educated in the schools of his native town and acquired from his father a practical knowledge of farming and carpenter work. In 1864 he married and came to Ash- field ; and, after being for a time employed by his father-in-law, he bought an interest in the 412 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW farm. His management of the property has been judicious. He has made many improve- ments by fertilizing the soil and erecting bet- ter and more substantial buildings. They are also the owners of five hundred and sixty acres of land near Chicago, where they have a fine stock farm, which is conducted by Mr. Smith's son, Luther Williams. Mr. Smith is a Re- publican in politics, and was a member of the legislature in 1884. He belongs to Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Shelburne Falls. He is also prominent in the Congregational church of Ashfield, where he has been Deacon for twenty years and superintendent of the Sunday-school for twenty-five years. Mr. Smith went to Dixie Land with the Boys in Blue in 1862, enlisting in Company E, Fifty- second Massachusetts Regiment, under Colo- nel H. S. Greenleaf, and going to Baton Rouge, La., with the regiment, which was attached to the hospital corps. He remained in the service until August 14, 1863, when he received his discharge and returned home. Mr. Smith was married November 9, 1864, to Miss Priscilla M. Williams, who was born in Ashfield, on the farm where she now re- sides, daughter of Atherton and Sarah (Howes) Williams. Mrs. Smith has an interesting genealogical record. Her father, Atherton Williams, was born on the same farm, Febru- ary I, 1819, son of David and Priscilla H. (Hall) Williams, and grandson of Ephraim and Mercy (Daniels) Williams. The parents of Ephraim Williams were Daniel and Rebecca (Hunt) Williams, the former being the son of Daniel and Mercy (Dean) Williams, who came to this country from England. Daniel, the immigrant, was born in 1679, and died in 1735. His wife, Mercy, was born in 1684, and died in 1776, during the Revolutionary struggle. Their son Daniel, great-great- grandfather of Mrs. Smith, was born June 25, 1 71 8, at Taunton, Mass. His son Ephraim was born December 17, 1747, in Easton, Mass., and was a surveyor by occupation. He settled at Spruce Corners, in the town of Ash- field, in 1775, and assisted in surveying the town, then a wilderness, receiving for payment several parcels of land, so that in later years he gave to each member of his family a good farm. He died March 9, 1839. His first wife, Mercy Daniels, by whom he had nine children, died on April 13, 1793. By his sec- ond wife, Esther Packard, he had no child. David Williams, grandfather of Mrs. Smith, was born December 6, 1776, in Spruce Cor- ners. He received from his father the farm of two hundred and fifty acres now belonging to his son Atherton and the subject of this sketch, it being at that time heavily timbered. He cleared off the timber, built a good dwell- ing, and became a very prosperous farmer. His death occurred June 19, 1862. His wife, Priscilla Hall, was born October 20, 1779, and died March 10, i860. Their children were as follows: David, Seth, Mercy D., Ephraim, Samuel, Luther, Charles F. , and Atherton. The latter, Mrs. Smith's father, was born February i, 18 19, and was married July 7, 1842, to Sarah Howes. She was born April 15, 1820, and was a daughter of Kimball and Abigail (White) Howes, further mention of the Howes family being found elsewhere in this volume. Atherton Williams inherited the old homestead, to which he has since added more land, and in 1854 built a fine resi- dence thereon. He also built a saw-mill to prepare his timber for market, and dealt largely in lumber for some years, being still so engaged in company with Frederick H. Smith, his son-in-law. They have greatly improved the farm by the erection of a fine barn and other buildings, it being considered BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 413 one of the finest farms in the town of Ash- field. They have also a large dairy, and own other property in Ashfield as well as in the State of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Atherton Williams had four children, of whom the only one now living is Priscilla M., Mrs. Frederick H. Smith. The others were: Luther E., Eliza I., and Lizzie A. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have four children, as follows: Grace C, born August i, 1868, who, after graduating from Smith College, became the wife of F. S. Cooley, professor in the State Agricultural School at Amherst, and has one child — Esther Belle; Luther Williams, born March 14, 1872, who graduated from the Amherst Agricultural College in 1893, mar- ried February 22, 1894, Carrie P. Wright, and, as above mentioned, has charge of the Smith & Williams stock farm at Manteno, 111. ; Charles A., born October 29, 1876; and Belle W. , whose birth occurred December 26, 1879. Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics, and the family is numbered among the most intelligent and respected in the town of Ashfield. r^AHUM JONES, who is now living in retirement at his home in Warwick, L^ \^ _ Mass. , was born in Gerry, Mass., now called Phillipston, December 22, 1807, son of Colonel Amos and Louisa (Maynard) Jones. According to a genealogy issued by William Blake Trask in 1878, the family are of Welsh origin and descend from Lewis Jones, who, with his wife Ann or Anna, about the year 1640 joined the church in Roxbury, Mass. Their names are recorded in the handwriting of their pastor, the Rev. John Eliot, the famous apostle to the Indians. Lewis Jones removed to Watertown about the year 1650. His wife died May i, 1680. He died April II, 1684. They had' four children, one born in England, two in Roxbury, and one in Watertown. Later some of the descendants removed to Weston. They were generally en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Jones's grandfather, Jonathan Jones, was born in Weston, June 11, 1739, and died in Gerry, now Phillipston, August 2, 1803. His widow moved to- Warwick, Mass., in 1815, and died there October 30, 1828. Mr. Jones's father, Amos Jones, was the third of eleven children, and was born February 14, 1777. He resided for many years on the old homestead at Phillipston. In 1814 he moved to Batavia, N.Y. , where he died. He married Louisa, daughter of Gardner Maynard, of Gerry. She died October 15, 1809, aged twenty-six years. Her two children were : Nahum and Permelia Louisa. Permelia mar- ried Sylvanus VV.- Baker, M.D., and removed to Ohio, where she died February 12, 1859. Nahum Jones came to Warwick when a child of scarcely eight years, in 181 5, and had his home with his grandmother, working on the farm and attending the district school. At the age of twenty years he went to Athol, where he was for a time engaged in learning the trade of a tanner. He later went to Bos- ton and was employed by a dealer in hides, with whom he remained some time, and then began manufacturing boots and shoes. In 1834 Mr. Frederick Jones, a relative, entered into partnership with him and continued until 1849. P"or a few years Mr. Josiah M. Jones was a partner, and later the firm of Jones, Robbins & Co. was formed. This firm dissolved in 1859, and Mr. Jones continued the business alone. He was a large and successful dealer in boots and shoes for thirty years. He lost heavily by the Civil War of 1861-65, hav- ing dealings with customers in the Southern States. In 1871 he gave up business in Bos- 414 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ton and removed to Warwick, where some years previous he had established a boot man- ufactory. He retired permanently from busi- ness in 1880. On February 27, 1830, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to his first wife, whose maiden name was Mary Murch. She was the daughter of Nicholas and Hannah Murch, and was born in Biddeford, Me. She became the mother of six children, three of whom are liv- ing, namely: James Alfred, who is married and has two children — James Alfred, Jr., and Grace Boyd ; Louisa Maynard, widow of Henry Clinton Hall, who has a daughter, Ella Louisa; and third, Maria Jones, unmar- ried. Mr. Jones's first wife died at the age of thirty-seven years, and he wedded for his sec- ond wife Lucy Blake. She was the daughter of Samuel and Betsey (Fay) Blake, born in Boston. They have had four children : Lucy Ella, deceased; Gardner Maynard, librarian of the Salem Public Library; Mary Frances ; and Clara Augusta. Mary Frances married Ed- ward Blake Clapp and resides in Dorchester. They have four children : Frederick Gardner, Clifford Blake, Prescott Jones, and Chalmers Stevens. Mr. Nahum Jones assisted in establishing the Warwick Free Library in 1871, and has held the various offices connected with it. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Unitarian parish. He is now in his eighty-eighth year. It has been given him to enjoy length of days with mental and physical vigor and serene content of life far beyond the common lot of man. yfREI REDERICK H. KING, an influential [^[5 and much respected citizen of Miller's Falls, engaged in the ice, wood, and lumber business, was born in Guilford, Vt., October 14, 1840, son of Joseph and Catherine (Bangs) King. Their original ancestors in this country settled in Long Island; but at the time of the invasion of the British the family, being obliged to bury all valuables and also to leave their home, removed to Connecticut. It was there that John King, the grandfather of Frederick H. was born and spent his life. Joseph King, son of John, was also a native of Connecticut. He removed from there, how- ever, and a portion of his life was spent in New York State; but his last years were passed in Guilford, Vt., where he died at the age of sixty-six. Joseph King's wife, Cather- ine Bangs, the daughter of a farmer at Mon- tague, Mass., bore him nine children, of whom three grew to adult life, and two are now liv- ing : Frederick H. ; and Frank R., of Guil- ford, Vt. The mother died in Guilford in her eighty-fourth year, April 24, 1885. Frederick H. remained with his father on the farm until the civil strife broke out, when he enlisted as a private in Company B, Six- teenth Vermont Regiment, from which after nine months' service he was honorably dis- charged. Mr. King then returned to Guilford, but soon after went to Worthington, Mass., and purchased a farm, which he sold eight years later, in 1872, and came to Miller's Falls, where he erected his present home. He first purchased a stock of dry goods, ready- made clothing, and gentlemen's furnishing goods, selling out after eight years of suc- cessful trade. Mr. King next engaged in the livery business; and, from a modest beginning with but one horse, his custom increased so that he had a well-equipped livery stable and thirteen horses when, after having engaged in this vocation eight years, he sold the business to his son-in-law. He then became a dealer in wood, lumber, and ice. In 1862 Mr. King was married to Mary A. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 41S Albee, daughter of Albert R. and Mary L. (Austin) Albee, the former of whom was a native of Orange, but had removed to Erving, where the daughter was born. Mrs. King's great-grandfather, Asa Albee, was a native of Massachusetts; he died in Erving at ninety years of age. Her grandfather, Earle Albee, who was born in Milford, Mass., and who fol- lowed farming for many years, died in Erving in his eighty-fifth year. Albert R. Albee was long engaged in agriculture in Erving; he was prominent in all town affairs, and was one of the best-known men of Franklin County. Among the offices of responsibility and trust that he was called upon to fill was that of Selectman, in which he served over thirty years. In 1854 he was chosen to represent his town in the legislature, and he was special commissioner for three years. He returned to Orange in the latter part of his life, and died there in February, 1892, at seventy-nine. He left a second wife, who was formerly Mrs. Martha C. Ward, by whom he had no children. Mr. Albee's first wife, Mary L. Austin, was born in Erving, Mass., being a daughter of Louis Austin, who was a native of Norton, Mass., but had taken up the occupation of farmer in Erving, where he died at eighty-two. The Austin family are lineal descendants of a sister of William Penn, to whom Pennsylvania owes so much and whose name will ever be honored in the pages of our country's history. Mrs. Mary L. Albee, who died in Erving at sixty years of age, was the mother of three children : D. Lucena, widow of Oscar R. Cush- man, a farmer of Worthington, who died in Millers Falls; Mary A. ; and Hudson E., of Orange. Mrs. Cushman was educated at Shelburne Falls Academy, and is a member of the Congregational church at Miller's" Falls, of which she is treasurer. Mary A. Albee, the wife of the subject of this sketch, was edu- cated in Powers Institute, Bernardston, and her whole life has been spent in Franklin County with the exception of eight years in Worthington, Hampshire County. Mr. and Mrs. King have had four children, of whom two are now living: N. Augusta, the wife of John A. Taggart, who bought the liv- ery stable business of his father-in-law, and who has three . sons — Deane P., Bert, and an infant as yet unnamed; and Carl Hudson King. The deceased were Albert J. and Mary C. King. Mr. and Mrs. King are both believers in Republican principles; and he takes an active part in town affairs, and has held among other offices that of Selectman ^ eight years. He is now serving his fourth year as Commander of Armstrong Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Montague, and is also a member of the Knights of Honor of Greenfield. He and his wife are active and prominent members of the Congregational church. Mr. King has served as superintend- ent in the Sunday-school, in which his wife is a teacher; and she also holds the office of clerk of the church. 7TAHARLES H. JENNISON, a young I JT^^ and prosperous farmer residing in V»^_^^ Wendell, near Lock's Village, was born on the farm where he now lives, July 21, 1862. He is the son of Lowell F. and Lucy Ann (Greenwood) Jennison, the former of whom was a native of Natick, Mass. The grandfather, Arthur Jennison, was also a na- tive of that place. Lowell F. Jennison was reared a farmer and followed that vocation dur- ing the greater part of his life, commencing when a young man by working out by the month. In 1857 he moved to the present home of the subject of this sketch, purchasing what was then known as the old Ballard Hotel. 4i6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW He died here September 13, 1893, at the age of seventy-one. In political matters he was a supporter of the Republican party. His wife, Lucy Ann Greenwood, was a daughter of Moses Greenwood, a farmer of Needhara, Mass. She reared a family of five children, namely: Edward; Charles H. ; Ida, who be- came the wife of Oliver Carter, a farmer of Amherst, N. H. ; George; and Fred A. The mother now resides with her son, Charles H. Both parents were members of the Methodist church, the father taking an active interest in the work of the church and especially in its Sunday-school. Charles H. Jennison is the present owner of the old homestead, which contains two hundred acres of land, which he devotes principally to dairying. He also cuts a large quantity of lumber; and he has besides a large sugar bush, which turns out about two hundred gallons of syrup annually. He was united in marriage August 29, 1894, to Miss Nellie Groves, daughter of the Rev. W. B. Groves, of West Brimfield. Mr. Jennison is a member of the New England Order of Protec- tion, of Orange, Mass. ; and in politics he is a Republican. M ENNIS E. FARLEY, a member of the Farley Paper Company, manufact- urers of paper, pulp, and cardboard, whose mills are located in the village of Far- ley, Franklin County, Mass., was born at Colerain, in the northern part of the county, June 12, 1852, son of Lyman and Hannah (Call) Farley. His great-grandfather emi- grated from England, and became an early settler in Colerain. Joel Farley, Mr. Farley's grandfather, who was born in Colerain, owned an extensive tract of land in that town, which he cultivated, becoming a prosperous farmer. He was Colonel in the State militia, a Repre- sentative to the legislature in 1834, and a prominent man of his day. Colonel Farley married a Miss Bradford, of "Mayflower" Pil- grim ancestry. Their son, Lyman Farley, was brought up on the home farm and was early trained to agricultural labors. He resided with his par- ents until his marriage, when he took charge of the farm owned by his wife's mother, where he continued to reside during the re- mainder of his days. He became a successful farmer and died at the age of forty-seven years. Lyman Farley married Hannah Call, a native of Colerain, her family having been early set- tlers there; and she has passed all her days upon the old Call homestead, where she is now living at the age of seventy years. She is the mother of five children, namely: Joseph B. ; Oliver, who married J. W. Stowell, of Putney, Vt. ; Dennis E. , of Farley; Lilla; and H. I. Farley, who is engaged as foreman in his brothers' mill. Dennis E. Farley received a good educa- tion, first attending the schools of his native town, and completing his studies at Shelburne Falls Academy. At the age of eighteen years, he went to Bellows Falls, Vt., where he was employed in the mills, and obtained the first knowledge of his present business. He was next engaged in the ready-made cloth- ing business at Westfield, Mass., for a Brook- lyn concern, in which he continued for three years, and then spent some time in travelling through the New England States, opening branch stores. He finally purchased a store at Orange, Mass., which he successfully con- ducted for several years ; and after selling out in 1 88 1, he, in company with his brother Joseph, established a paper-mill at Wendell, which they conducted with satisfactory results. Their plant was twice destroyed by fire; and after the second conflagration they purchased a tract of land situated about ten miles from BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 417 Wendell, where they constructed a large dam and erected their present extensive mills, giving life to a section previously undeveloped. They constructed a bridge over the river, erected a hotel, and tenement-houses for the accommodation of their employees, secured the location of a post-office, and have prevailed upon the Fitchburg Railroad Company to make the settlement a regular stopping-place, thus establishing a thriving little village, which less than ten years ago was unknown. In 1890 Mr. Farley laid the foundation of the knitting-mill, which is conducted under the name of the Orange Knitting Company, Mr. George R. Ruffle becoming associated with him in the enterprise. This has ex- panded into large proportions; and, although at the present time they are producing several hundred thousand dozen pairs of mittens annu- ally, their business in this line is constantly increasing. Mr. Farley is also Treasurer of the Frick Piano Case Company, which is located near by, the other members of the company being Messrs. J. B. Farley and George Frick. The Farley Brothers' Paper Mill is producing ten tons of superior paper per day, and ten complete piano cases is the ordinary daily output of the Piano Case Com- pany. Mr. Farley attends personally to the selling of their products; and, as he is an expert in that particularly exacting department of an industrial enterprise, goods are kept constantly upon the move. In 1876 Mr. Farley married Clara A. Chap- man, daughter of David A. Chapman, a well- known building contractor of Greenfield. Mr. Farley is well advanced in the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the Blue Lodge in Orange, the Chapter in Greenfield, Orange Commandery, and the Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Boston. He is also connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Encampment, the Order of Red Men and the Ancient Order of United Workmen — in all of which he stands very high. He is indepen- dent in his political views, and has several times been a candidate for Representative to the legislature. He has served several years as Selectman, and is now in office. Both he and his wife are liberal in their relig- ious views. fWr- ILBERT L. RIST, a leading merchant \ f5 1 of Turner's Falls and one of the largest dealers in boots, shoes, and clothing in that part of the State, was born in Uxbridge, Worcester County, Mass., July 28, 1838, son of Ezbon and Emeline (Taylor) Rist. Mr. Rist's great-grandfather and his great-great-grandfather were residents of Read- ing, Middlesex County, Mass., about 1735-36. They were farmers, as was his grandfather, Thaddeus Rist, who was born in Uxbridge, and was a life-long resident of that town. Ezbon Rist, the father of our subject, was also a native of Uxbridge, born on his father's farm ; and his life, too, was devoted to agri- culture. He died under the old homestead roof at the age of forty years. PI is wife, Emeline Taylor, was the daughter of the Rev. Amasa Taylor, a well-known Methodist cir- cuit rider, who had several extended circuits under his charge, in one of which Uxbridge was situated. She is a well-educated lady, a graduate of the Wesleyan Seminary at Wilbra- ham. Mr. and Mrs. Rist reared three chil- dren, all of whom grew to maturity. Their names were respectively: Gilbert L. , Fred- erick, and Mary. The latter is the wife of George Prouty, of Petersham. Mrs. Rist is now seventy-eight years old, and is quite active and well-preserved. She makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Prouty. She is a member of the Methodist church. 4i8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Gilbert L. Rist attended the Uxbridge schools and academy, finishing his studies at the Wesleyan Seminary at Wilbraham. He commenced work at the age of seventeen, en- gaging in boot and shoe making at Athol ; and in i860 he became associated in business with Captain A. W. Caswell, at Gardner. Captain Caswell was in active service during the war, and Mr. Rist then conducted the business alone. In 1868 he sold his interest to the Captain, and one year later removed to Tur- ner's Falls, where he established his store, at first on a side street, putting up a small build- ing and stocking it with boots and shoes. In 1873 he built another store adjoining, and three years later added clothing to his stock. He also erected the large building he now occu- pies, which is sixty by forty-five feet and three stories in height, and has an annex twenty by sixty feet. Here he carries a full and com- plete stock of clothing, gentlemen's furnish- ings, hats, caps, boots, shoes, and rubbers, the most extensive stock found in this section of the State. In 1863 Mr. Rist was married to Miss Martha Hammond, of Ashburnham, Worcester County, Mass., daughter of John Hammond, a carpenter of that place. Mrs. Rist's mother was a native of Fitchburg. Mr. and Mrs. Rist are the parents of four sons: Albert, Wal- ter, Frank, and George — all of whom received a good education and studied at Wilbraham Academy. Albert, who is a graduate of the commercial department of Wesleyan Academy, is in business with his father. He married Miss Agnes McDonald, of North Adams. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being treas- urer of the branch of the Masonic order at Turner's Falls; and he is also a member of the Odd Fellows Society. Walter Rist lives with his parents. Frank is a clothier in Han- over, N. H. George is in the wholesale boot and shoe establishment of Mcintosh & Co. in Springfield, Mass. Mr. Rist is President of the Turner's Falls Savings Bank, with which he has been con- nected many years, serving as a Trustee, as a member of the Board of Finance, and as Vice- President. He is an attendant of the Congre- gational church, occupying a leading position in the business circles of Turner's Falls; he also participates in the social life, in which his family is prominent. s,*p^RS. ALMEDA CARPENTER, of Greenfield, is the widow of Ira Carpenter, formerly a prominent citizen of the town, who died November 6, 1882, at the age of sixty-two. His parents were David and Mary (Wallace) Carpenter, the father being a native of Landgrove, Vt. The grandparents were David and Mary (Allen) Carpenter, the former a native of Con- necticut and a Revolutionary soldier. His wife was related to Ethan Allen, the famous Revolutionary leader. They were pioneer set- tlers in a wild and uncultivated part of the State, and endured many hardships incidental to life in the woods far away from the settle- ments. When their first child David was a young babe, the mother had to place him in a large bake-oven to keep him from freezing during a bitter cold night. They met with a fair degree of success, and gradually acquired the necessaries and later some of the comforts and luxuries of life. David Carpenter had but a limited education, but was a man of much natural intelligence, and became a sort of legal counsellor in his town ; though kno\ying nothing of the law pro- fessionally, his advice was generally found to be worth following, as it was based on the principles of justice and sound sense. He BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 419 became a leading man in public affairs and acquired considerable property. For some years before bis death he resided in Keene, N. H., where he was the most wealthy citizen; and it was said of him that "what land he didn't own he had a mortgage upon." He died in his fine brick mansion at Keene, in 1845, when he was about eighty-three years of age. His widow survived him about six years, and died at the age of eighty-eight. They reared five sons and two daughters, who all became heads of families. Of these children, David, Jr., father of Ira, became a farmer, and was married to Mary Wallace in 1816. They resided in different towns in New Hampshire, Vermont, and in the Connecticut valley, and came to Green- field, Franklin County, Mass., in 1832, set- tling on a farm of two hundred acres on the old stage road. He was a man of intelligence and some education, having been educated for the Baptist ministry, though never occupying a pulpit. They were the parents of several chil- dren, the eldest being a son David (third), a bright and promising young man, who went to Nunda Valley, N.Y., and died there from exposure shortly before he was to have been married, about 1844. The second child, Mary M., married and went to Illinois, and thence to Wisconsin, where they had property. She survived her husband and died in Fond du Lac, Wis., April 26, 1889, leaving a large estate. The third child was Ira, who became the husband of the lady whose name commences this sketch. Their marriage occurred Septem- ber 20, 1845, 3-nd Mr. Carpenter settled on his farm of one hundred acres, three and one-half miles north of Greenfield, in 1855. This was known as the old Severance farm ; and, when Mr. Carpenter took it, it was in a poor state of cultivation, but at his death was one of the finest and best farms in the town, he having greatly improved the place by building a dwell- ing-house and good barns, and cultivating the orchard, and in other ways increasing the value of the property. As might be inferred, he was a man of much energy and persever- ance, and from small beginnings built up a fortune of some ten thousand dollars. He was of a generous disposition and lived as much for the good he could do to others as for what he could accumulate for himself. He met one day with a very painful accident in conse- quence of his team running away, being thrown out of his wagon, breaking both his thighs. His physicians considered that he had scarcely more than one chance in one hun- dred to live; but the careful nursing of his faithful wife and his strong constitution en- abled him to recover, after being confined to his bed for one hundred and forty days; and he lived for many years afterward, still active and strong. Mrs. Carpenter's name before marriage was Almeda Scott; and her parents were Solomon and Diaffa (Andrews) Scott, the former being the son of Moses Scott, a Revolutionary sol- dier; who was one of the early settlers in the town of Gill, arriving there at an early day with some old comrades of the war, ancestors of the Greenes, Hastings, Goodriches, and other families now residing in the vicinity. Almeda was the third of six daughters born to her parents, all of whom are living but Eunice, who was the wife of Henry Pardeu. Mrs. Carpenter's father died in Gill at the age of fifty-one years on the old home farm where his father settled in 1842; the mother died in 1846, in her fiftieth year. They were Congre- gationalists in religious belief, and were people highly esteemed and honored for their many sterling qualities. Mrs. Carpenter lost one infant daughter, Vaulora M. Her other children are: Marrion 420 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW D. , Nancy B. , and Orra A. Miss Marrion D. Carpenter taught her first school at the age of eighteen, and continued teaching for some years, but, since her father's death, has lived retired with her mother at their pleasant home at 83 Federal Street. Nancy B. is the wife of John P. Chapin, of Buffalo, N.Y. Orra A. Carpenter has followed teaching for many years in the public schools of Greenfield, and is now teaching in the Carew Street Gram- mar School of Springfield. -OSEPH W. WHITING, a well-known citizen of Shelburne Falls, was born in Buckland, Franklin County, Mass., February 4, 1827, son of Welcome and Susan (Wight) Whiting, the former of whom was also a native of Buckland. Jacob Whiting, father of Welcome, was born in Billerica, Middlesex County, Mass., January i, 1762. Upon -the death of Mr. Ross Wyman, an elderly gentleman with whom he had lived up to twenty-one years of age, Mr. Jacob Whiting received a tract of land in Buckland, which was a portion of what is known as the Wyman Grant. There he set- tled ; and, as his labors were prospered, he pur- chased adjoining land until his farm contained three hundred acres. His death occurred there at seventy-four years of age. His wife was Lydia Putnam, a daughter of Lieutenant Will- iam Putnam, who was a patriotic soldier of the Revolutionary War. Five children were born to them ; namely, Welcome, Emery, Hannah, Danforth, and Patty. The mother died July 6, 1822, at forty-three years of age. After his father's death Welcome Whiting purchased the interests of the other heirs, and thus became the owner of the old homestead, which he carried on with good results until sixty years of age. Then, desiring to retire from active labor, he sold the farm and went to Shelburne Falls to live with his son, Joseph W. Whiting. He died there at eighty-two years of age. He was twice married, and by his first wife, Susan Wight Whiting, a daugh- ter of Joseph Wight, had seven children, as follows: Joseph W., Susan E., Lydia A., Amanda, William P., Harris W., and Mary E. Their mother, who was a consistent mem- ber of the Congregational church, died at forty-two years of age. Mr. Whiting's second marriage was to Miss Mary Newton, daughter of Deacon Newton, of Hawley, Mass. She died April 17, 1848, leaving no children. In political affiliation Mr. Whiting was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, which he afterward supported. He took an active interest in town affairs; and his fellow- citizens showed their appreciation of his integ- rity and his sagacity in affairs by choosing him to represent them in various offices of respon- sibility and trust, including that of Selectman many years and Assessor. He also served acceptably as a member of the School Com- mittee. Joseph W. Whiting remained at home and assisted his father in carrying on the farm until the year 1852, when he went to Cali- fornia, where he was successfully engaged as a superintendent of tunnels and mines for three years. He then returned to Buckland, Mass., and soon after purchased the place in the vil- lage of Shelburne Falls where he now resides. In September, 1862, he enlisted in the Fifty- second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, under Colonel H. S. Greenleaf, and went to Louisiana, where he served in the General Banks expedition, being at the capture of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson. After the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson he returned home, making the trip on the first boat up the Mississippi River, and was mustered out, after JOSEPH W. WHITING. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 423 nearly a year's service, as Sergeant of Com- pany E. On March 5, 1855, Mr. Whiting was united in marriage with Miss Deidiama E. Rich- mond, a daughter of Elijah Richmond ; and this union was blessed by the birth of two sons and two daughters. Alma E. , the eldest, was born January 4, 1856, and died June 12, 1882. She was the wife of Samuel E. Elmer, and the mother of one child, Maud V. The next, Charles W. , born October 19, 1861, married May 20, 1890, Miss Minnie Barrett; and they have one child, Howard J. Susa A., the second daughter, born September 9, 1865, married June 11, 1890, A. C. Bray, and is the mother of two children, Dean W. and Frances R. Edgar R. Whiting, born March 5, 1870, is an optician in Bangor, Me. Mrs. Deidiama E. Whiting, mother of these chil- dren, died December 19, 1884. Mr. Whiting is actively interested in politi- cal matters and lends the weight of his influ- ence to whatever in his judgment is conducive to the welfare of his town. He has for some years been a Director in the Shelburne Falls National Bank. He at one time had charge of the public roads, and has filled many other offices very acceptably, among which may be mentioned those of Selectman, Assessor, Con- stable, and Collector. A portrait of this loyal and useful citizen will be seen on another page. EORGE E. TAYLOR, an extensive stock-raiser, a public-spirited and prominent citizen of Shelburne, widely known and respected, was born August 12, 1832, on the old Taylor homestead, now owned by his brother, John S. Taylor, which has been in the possession of the family for five generations, and is one of the landmarks of the town. Mr. Taylor is a son of Elias and Lorinda (Moody) Taylor, the former of whom was born on the old homestead, June 24, 1785 ; and the latter, a native of South Hadley, was born December 14, 1790. The first member of the Taylor family of whom we have any authentic record was John Taylor, of Northampton, who was killed by the Indians in 1704, being then a man of about sixty-three years. His son Samuel, born August 13, 1688, was the great-great- grandfather of George E. Taylor. Samuel's son John lived in Deerfield several years after his marriage, coming from there to Shelburne in 1759. He was one of the very first settlers here, there being but two other families in the vicinity. He erected a log cabin for himself and family, and for the first few years sub- sisted principally on the productions of his own land and the game to be found in the forests. In the French and Indian War he was sent, under the command of Colonel Hawkes, on the expedition to Canada. One of his children, John Taylor, Jr., was born in Deerfield, July 31, 1752. He was but seven years old when his parents removed to Shelburne, where he lived to the age of fourscore years, being one of the leading citi- zens of the town and closely identified with its agricultural interests. His wife, formerly Mary Woodward, was a native of Taunton, Mass., born June 15, 1759. Three of their children grew to adult life, namely: Elias, the father of George E. ; Ebenezer ; and Sarah. Elias Taylor was born, reared, lived, and died on the home farm, which had been wrested from the wilderness by his paternal ancestors. He succeeded to its ownership, and during his life, which numbered sixty- three useful years, he added to the improve- ments already begun on the property, being a successful and able farmer. He was a strong Whig in politics, and he and his wife were 424 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW members of the Congregational church. He married Lorinda Moody ; and they became the parents of five children, three daughters and two sons, the former of whom are deceased, Lorinda Taylor having died when a girl of fifteen years, and Mary W. and Harriet N. after they were married. The sons are John S. and George E. , both named above. George E. Taylor was reared a farmer and still continues actively and prosperously en- gaged in agriculture. In the spring of i860 he bought and moved on to the farm where he now resides. In addition to tilling the soil, Mr. Taylor is much interested in stock- raising, his cattle being mostly full-blood Durhams, his famous herd containing from twenty-five to thirty head. He also makes a specialty of raising swine, and has some very fine specimens of the Berkshire hog. His handsome place of two hundred acres is amply supplied with substantial buildings and well- equipped with all the latest and most improved machinery for carrying on his business after the most approved modern methods. On May 27, 1856, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage with Victoria A. Green, who was born June 30, 1837, in Bernardston, daughter of Ruggles and Amanda Green, both deceased, he having died in the prime of life, being but fifty-five years of age, and the mother at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor is George E. Taylor, Jr., who was born June 10, 1871 ; he is a graduate of Amherst Agricultural College, and resides with his parents. He married Eliza Harrington, a native of Amherst, their nuptials being solemnized September 27, 1893. Mr. Taylor is a representative citizen of the town and a prominent member of the Republican party. His ability as a man of affairs is recognized by his fellow-citizens, whom he has served satisfactorily as Select- man for seven terms, besides filling the offices of Assessor six terms and of road superin- tendent. He is an esteemed member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society. He and his wife belong to the Congregational church, which he serves in an official capacity. John S. Taylor succeeded his parents, Elias and Lorinda M. Taylor, in the ownership of the Taylor estate, on which his entire life has been spent. His farm is one of the best cared for in the locality, and, with its excellent buildings and their neat surroundings, is in- dicative of the thrift and prosperity of the owner. He is here carrying on general farm- ing, supervising the management of his one hundred and seventy acres with exceeding skill. Politically, he is a stanch Republican, and has served his town as Assessor at two different times. He is one of the oldest citi- zens of the town of Shelburne, his birth having occurred on the farm where he now resides, May 6, 181 7. He was married on December 18, 1852, to Sybil Nims, who was born in Shelburne, September 5, 18 19. Their only child, a son, James E. Taylor, was born March 25, 1855, and is still a resident of the paternal home. Mrs. Sybil N. Taylor died on December 19, 1891. She was a most estima- ble woman and a conscientious member of the Congregational church. Mr. Taylor is not connected with any religious denomination, but is liberal-minded and high-principled, believing in the universal fatherhood of God. < ^« * > T^HARLES A. MOULTON, a farmer yj\ and lumber dealer of Northfield ^«C ^ Farms, Franklin County, Mass., was born in Athol, Worcester County, January 24, 1840, son of Proctor and Patience (Thayer) Moulton. Mr. Moulton's grandfather, Nathan Moulton, was for many years a resident of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 425 Prescott, Mass., where he followed agricult- ural pursuits; but he died in Petersham. Proctor Moulton was born in Prescott, June 20, 1806. He was a carpenter and builder, and worked on the first iron foundry at Orange. He continued to follow his trade throughout his active life, which was not a long one. He died in Cooleyville, Mass., October 19, 1851, aged forty-five years. By his first wife, Patience Thayer, whom he married April 30, 1829, he had three children, namely: Samuel P., who died at the age of thirty-two years, leaving one son, Frank; Charles A., of Northfield Farms; and Harriet B., now de- ceased. The mother died April 11, 1846, at the age of thirty-three years. Proctor Moul- ton's second wife, Augusta A. Goodnow, died in Cooleyville, March 21, 1853, leaving no children, her only son, Elbridge P., having died on September 27, 1851. Charles A. Moulton, being left an orphan at eleven years of age, resided for a time with a farmer in the neighborhood, and later went to live with his brother, for whom he worked by the month, attending school winters. He also received instruction at a graded school in Petersham. He subsequently followed differ- ent occupations in North Hadley, Mass., finally establishing himself there in business, which he conducted successfully for three years. He then went to North Dana, Mass., where he engaged in the broom business for a short time, and then stocked a store with gen- eral merchandise, which he carried on for one year. In i866 he purchased a store in North- field, and settled down to mercantile life, in which he was successful for many years. He bought the building in which his store was located, and also a valuable farm in the vicin- ity. In 1879 he added the lumber trade to his other ventures, his stock including Southern pine, which he receives by the carload. Hav- ing relinquished storekeeping in 1892, he is able to give more attention to the lumber business, which, together with his farm, now occupies his time. Mr. Moulton was for a number of years a Republican in politics, and as such voted for Abraham Lincoln, but has of late been independent, supporting the can- didates he considers most worthy and capa- ble of holding office. He was Postmaster for ten years, and has also served as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. He was station agent for eight years, and has served the public faithfully in various use- ful capacities. Mr. Moulton has been twice married. His first wife, whom he wedded on August 27, 1862, was Emma L. Marsh, of Hadley, daugh- ter of Dwight L. Marsh ; and she became the mother of three children, namely: Carrie L., who married J. P. Egan, of Miller's Falls; Ella L., who died young; and Charles D., who married Gertrude Kimball, of Lawrence, Mass. Mrs. Emma L. Moulton died on April 4, 1886; and on November 16, 1887, Mr. Moulton was united in marriage with Mrs. Annie L. Blakelin, who was born in Methuen, Mass., daughter of Hugh Mills, of Lawrence. Her father was an early employee of the Bos- ton & Maine Railroad Company, and is now a very active man at the age of seventy-four years. Mr. Moulton is liberal in his religious views. Mrs. Moulton attends the Methodist Episcopal church. iHARLES W. LYMAN, a well-known and highly respected citizen of Erv- ■ing, Mass., and one of the leading dry-goods merchants of the place, his store being located on Main Street, was born in Northfield, Mass., December 9, 1849, son of Charles and Jane (Groves) Lyman, the former 426 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW also a native of Northfield. Charles Lyman, after working on a farm, in his early manhood went to Templeton, Mass., where he was employed in a woollen factory. On his return to Northfield he took up the occupation of wire-weaving, which at that time was a new industry, and made the first sieve and corn popper manufactured there. After a few years' residence in Northfield, Charles Lyman removed to Erving, where he was engaged as a mechanic in the match-shops and also in the piano works. He died in Erving, at the age of sixty-four. His wife, Jane Groves, was born in Williamsburg, Mass. ; and they reared one son, Charles W. , and an adopted child. Mrs. Jane G. Lyman also died in Erving, in her sixty-fourth year. Charles W. Lyman lived with his parents up to twenty years of age, gaining a practical education in the district school, and then went to work in the door and sash shop at Erving, going from there to Springfield. For two and a half years he was engaged as a clerk for Mr. E. W. Dickinson, and later for Mr. Walker in the sash and blind shop; and then, after six months' employment in the Boston & Albany Railroad shops, he went to Greenfield, where he was again engaged in the sash and blind business. Continuing in the same line, he next secured a position in Holyoke, Mass. From the latter place Mr. Lyman returned to Erving, where during the succeeding ten years he was employed by Mr. Stone in the piano business, and was subsequently engaged for a short time by the Wason Car Company of Springfield, Mass. He then came to Erv- ing again and worked in the chair-shop, and later on entered a grocery store, but not to remain there long. After spending a year as an inspector for the Miller's Falls Company, and another year as a travelling salesman for the Greenfield Bakery, Mr. Lyman, in com- pany with Mr. F. W. Loveland, a previous em- ployer, purchased the Erving House, which they ran for two years and then sold ; and on June 17, 1887, he purchased the business of Mr. M. M. Stebbins, in his present store, which has proved a profitable investment. He afterward added a meat market, which he ran in connection with the store until 1894, when he sold that branch. Mr. Lyman is also en- gaged in the ice business, being the retail dealer of the village; and during the past year he has erected a large ice-house at Reynolds Pond. In 1872 he was united in marriage with Myra J. Martin, daughter of George P. Mar- tin, of Montague City, where she was born and where her father was engaged in agricult- ure. Mr. Martin was twice married, Mrs. Lyman being a daughter of his first wife, who bore him four children. Both parents died in Montague. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Lyman has been blessed by the birth of three children — Cephas B., who is with his father in the store; Carl E., who is engaged in the telephone business; and Myrtle L. — all of whom were educated in the schools of Erving and Orange. Mr. Lyman is a gentleman of high social standing and has a wide circle of friends. He is a prominent Mason, and since 1871 has been a member of Orange Lodge, A. F & A. M., and is also a member of the Chapter and Commandery at Orange, the Scottish Rite, which is the thirty-second degree in Masonry, and the Mystic Shrine. Among the other organizations with which he is connected are the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Work- men, and the Erving Social Club. He and his family are attendants of the Congrega- tional church, ' .toward whose support they contribute. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 427 |RS. NANCY I. BROWN, of Rowe, widow of Hezekiah Brown, is a daughter of Araunah and Olive (Gleason) Ide, and was born at Rowe, Frank- lin County, Mass., in March, 1821. Her grandparents were John and Anna (Short) Ide, the former of whom was a native of Attleboro, Mass., and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. At the close of the war he settled on a small tract of land and devoted himself to farming, which occupation he followed the rest of his life. His wife, Anna Short, was a daughter of Ebenezer and Abigail (Balkom) Short. They resided in Attleboro until their chil- dren, Araunah and Nancy, had reached matu- rity. With the design of benefiting his wife's health, which had failed after the birth of the younger child, Nancy, John Ide pur- chased a farm in Rowe, where Mrs. Ide had a sister living. The journey was made in the winter, during bitter weather, when the roads were well-nigh blocked with snow. Nancy, who was not well, was left behind for a time, a good pair of stout horses bringing father, mother, and son, with all their worldly goods, not forgetting the family dog, to their new home. They stuck fast in the snow before reaching their journey's end, and had to be dug out by a rescue party with shovels. The poor dog fared the worst, having its feet frozen. The farm Mr. Ide purchased con- sisted of one hundred acres, and was long and narrow. It proved not to be the most produc- tive land in the town, but he built a good barn and went to work to improve the property. The daughter Nancy was later sent for and joined the family circle. She taught school for some time in Rowe, and later became the wife of William Haynes, a merchant and son of Dr. Haynes. She died in 182 1, at the age of twenty-seven years. John Ide died Octo- ber 22, 1824, aged seventy-two years; and his wife, who survived him, reached the advanced age of ninety-two. Araunah Ide resided at home until he was thirty-seven, when he took on shares a small farm in the western part of the town, to which he moved with his family and where he re- mained two years. He then purchased a farm of about one hundred and twenty-five acres, known as the McCloud farm, where he spent the remainder of his days engaged in agricult- ure. He died March 14, 1843, at the age of fifty-five. He was a well-known and highly esteemed citizen, serving the town as Select- man and figuring prominently in public affairs. He was a Congregationalist in religion and a Republican in politics. His wife died April 2, 1 83 1, at the age of forty-two years. She was the mother of six children : Nancy; Mary; Fanny ; Araunah, who was later known as "John A."; John; and Laura. The two younger died, each at the age of two years — John on April 15, 1831, and Laura, February 22, 1832. Fanny died August 29, 1841, aged seventeen years. On the death of the father the farm came into possession of the three remaining children — Nancy, Mary, and John A. (formerly Araunah). The two latter were teachers, Mary being a graduate of the Normal School at Westfield. John A. Ide studied medicine at Pittsfield, Mass., and then went West to Michigan and Illinois, and later to Iowa, where his sister Mary resided, the wife of Levi H. Mason. During the Civil War he enlisted and for a time served in the hospitals as nurse. After the Civil War he returned to Iowa and bought a farm of eighty acres near Marion, Linn County, later buying sixty more near Cedar River. He subsequently sold his Marion property and purchased seven acres near Mount Vernon in the same county, and cared for his 4.8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW sister Mary after her husband's death, the latter dying from sickness contracted in the army at the siege of Vicksburg. He also cared for many returned prisoners of Ander- sonville. John A. Ide was much respected for his many sterling qualities. His death took place in February, 1868. He left a family of several children. Mrs. Brown's grandparents on the maternal side were Stephen- and Sally (Goodnoe) Glea- son, who had four ' children ; namely, Olive (Mrs. Araunah Ide), Sally, Hannah, and Stephen. Stephen, Sr., was one of the first Universalists in Rowe, and his son was brought up in the same faith. The latter passed his last days in Woodford, Vt. Four of his nine children survived him ; of them, Stephen E. was a soldier in the Civil War, and Eugene, the youngest, is now a farmer in Missouri. Nancy Ide and Hezekiah Brown were mar- ried on February i, 1843. Mr. Brown was born in Rowe, in May, 1818, and was a son of James and Lucretia (Healy) Brown. His father was a native of Attleboro, Bristol County, Mass., a man well known and promi- nent in local affairs, serving as Selectman and Trustee of his town. He was a Whig in poli- tics, and in religious belief a Unitarian. He died at the ripe age of ninety-one years. His wife, who was called to rest from earthly toil at the age of forty-seven years, left a family of eight children; namely, Deborah, Lemira, Dexter, James, Lucretia, Bethiah, Hezekiah, and Mary. The first year of Mrs. Brown's married life was spent with her husband's fam- ily; but at the end of that time Mr. Brown purchased a portion of a farm, which, com- bined with her own property inherited from her father, made about seventy acres. Mr. Brown then devoted his attention to the dairy- ing and stock-raising business, which he car- ried on to a considerable extent, buying and I selling cattle and horses, of which class of stock he was an excellent judge. After living on their small farm several years, Mr. Brown exchanged it for one of about one hundred and twenty-five acres, which was, however, encum- bered with a mortgage. This farm was in poor condition and the buildings in want of repair, but it had the advantage of being nearer the business centres. In the course of a few years Mr. Brown purchased back the small farm, and at the time of his death, which occurred June 20, 1868, at the age of fifty years, he owned both farms unencumbered, together with a good supply of stock. He was a Republican in politics, and was Selectman of the town for two terms. In religion he held liberal views, and stood high in the estimation of his fellow-townsmen as a useful and exemplary citizen. The family record of Mr. and Mrs. Brown includes the following children: a son, William H., who died in infancy; John H. ; William Dwight ; Mary Theresa; James A.; Nancy; Ida; and Ide. The last named manages the farm on which his mother resides. Mrs. Brown comes of excellent New England stock. A woman of marked intelligence and character, faithful to her duties as wife and mother, she is solaced in the waning years of life by the memory of days well spent, the affection of her children, and the esteem of neighbors and friends. Wi LLIAM T. RICHARDS, a re- spected citizen and thriving mer- chant of Erving, senior member of the firm of Richards & Clark, dealers in groceries and general merchandise, was born in this town, June 15, 1863. He is a son of God- frey and Mary (Manning) Richards, the former of whom was a native of Canada, where he fol- lowed the occupation of a laborer. Godfrey ANSON K. WARNER. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 431 Richards came to Erving about 1859, arid con- tinued in tiie vocation lie liad followed in Can- ada. He died at the early age of twenty-nine. His wife, Mary Manning, bore him two chil- dren, William F. and John G. The latter is en- gaged in the grocery business at Mount Auburn, near Boston. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Richards became the wife of Alexander W. Smith. She still resides in Erving. William T. Richards lived with his mother until her marriage to Mr. Smith, and attended the public schools of the town. He first found employment in a chair-shop, after which he was engaged for three years on telephone construction work. In 1886 he and his pres- ent partner, Mr. Charles F. Clark, purchased the grocery and provision store of Turner, Hanson & Co., which they have since con- ducted, constantly enlarging and increasing their stock, which, in addition to the lines carried by Turner, Hanson & Co., now in- cludes dry goods, boots and shoes, and cloth- ing. Mr. Richards was married in October, 1888, to Jennie C. Lord, daughter of Hiram Lord, a farmer of Lebanon, Me., in which place both her parents still reside. Mrs. Richards was one of three children. She is the mother of one son, George W. In politics Mr. Richards supports the Demo- cratic party, and, although not an office-seeker, has served as Constable for two years, and since 1893 has held the office of Postmaster. Socially, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Orange. He is an attendant of the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Richards is a member. RS. ESTHER M. WARNER, a native resident of Greenfield, widow of the late Anson K. Warner, whose portrait accompanies this brief record of the family, was born in 1831, daughter of Syl- vanus and Esther (Hudson) Nash. Anson K. Warner was born in Gill, Franklin County, Mass., but from a very early age resided in Greenfield. His father, Anson Warner, set- tled upon a large farm which was situated on Silver Street in the North Parish. He was a native of Glastonbury, Conn., where he married his first wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Kilburn. She was also of that town, and their two children were : Jeannette, widow of Scott Woodworth, and now a resident of Cali- fornia; and Anson K. Warner. Mrs. Mary Kilburn Warner died in the prime of life, and the father wedded for his second wife Eunice Kingsbury, of Halifax, Vt., his last union being blessed with two daughters : Mary, wife of Charles Davenport, of South Hadley Falls; and Kate, who married Albert Kenney, a resi- dent of Milford, Mass. Anson Warner was a good Christian man; he died at Greenfield in the month of April, 185 1, aged forty-five years, leaving an estate of considerable value. His remains were buried in the High Street Cemetery, one of the oldest burial-grounds in Western Massachusetts, where his sons were also interred, their resting-place being marked by a monument erected by Mrs. Warner. Anson K. Warner was for many years an extensive farmer in the north part of Green- field, where he owned a valuable piece of prop- erty, which through his untiring energy was brought to a high state of cultivation. Deeply interested in scientific agricultural improve- ment, he was for some years New England agent of the Bradley fertilizers, and was for a period of four years President of the Agricult- ural Fair Association, and one of its most active promoters. He followed general farm- ing with satisfactory results until 1880, when he retired from active labor and moved into the village, where he occupied the pleasant 43^ BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW home at 40 School Street, in which Mrs. Warner now resides. Mr. Warner was Vice- President of the Crocker Bank at Turner's Falls and a Director of the Conway Bank. Aside from being financially concerned in the business development of the town, he was a Representative to the legislature during the year 1867, and served as Selectman of his town for several years, being Chairman of that body at the time of his death. He was also a Justice of the Peace from the year of his majority. He died at fifty-six years of age, April 15, 1886, from injuries received eight days previously at the Bardwell Ferry acci- dent. The community mourned the loss of a good man, one who had been notably faithful in the discharge of public trusts. A useful and honored citizen while he lived, having very much at heart the common weal, Mr. Warner will also long be remembered as a public benefactor, at his death having be- queathed quite a large sum of money to the town for educational purposes. Mrs. Warner'-s father, Sylvanus Nash, was a native of Greenfield; and her mother was born in Dummerston, Vt. Sylvanus Nash was a miller, and one of three brothers who erected their mill and operated it for many years. He died in 1835, at the age of fifty- three years, leaving a widow and three chil- dren, one of them being Joel Nash, a retired •farmer of Bernardston. Esther M. Nash received a good common- school education, supplemented by several terms of study at a private school, and at the age of eighteen years became a compositor in the ofifice of the Greenfield Democrat, where she remained until reaching the age of twenty- one, when she was united in marriage to Anson K. Warner, the ceremony occurring on April 6, 1852. Having early begun to do her part of the world's work, and at a time when it was not so common as it is now for young women to become typesetters and journalists, Mrs. Warner, although not blessed with robust health, has led a remarkably active life. Being endowed by nature with a love and ca- pacity for art, she has in later years cultivated her talent in this direction to some extent, showing creditable proficiency in the execu- tion of many of her productions, both in oil and crayon, a portrait of Mr. Warner being especially meritorious on account of its truth- fulness to nature. Yb |AX ANTES, a well-known farmer of Conway, was born in Baden, Ger- many, August 8, 1850, son of Phillip and Gertrude (Dienstberger) Antes. His grandfather, Jacob Antes, was also a native of Baden, Germany, where he was en- gaged in the manufacture of hand-made knives and forks. In i860 he came to America and here spent the remainder of his life. He died when seventy-eight years of age, and his wife in her seventy-second year. Phillip Antes, father of Max, was born in Baden, Germany, and began, as soon as he was old enough, to assist his father in the manufacture of cutlery, remaining thus em- ployed until 1853, in which year he came to America, settling in Norwich, Conn. He re- mained in that vicinity during the succeeding ten years and then removed to Columbia, Conn., where he is now living at the age of sixty-nine years. He was married before coming to this country, and his wife, Gertrude Dienstberger Antes, a daughter of Lawrence Dienstberger, is also living. She is seventy- eight years of age. Max Antes when a child of three years came to America with his parents, remaining with them until reaching the age of nineteen. He BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 433 then started out for himself, and the following year was employed in a factory, but later gave up factory work for agriculture. In 1877 he rented the fine place where he now resides; and five years after, in 1882, he purchased the farm. Since that time he has erected two large tobacco barns, each one hundred feet in length, and has also made various improve- ments in his residence. The farm, which contains three hundred and thirty-seven acres, is very productive ; and Mr. Antes, who de- votes his attention principally to the raising of tobacco, is considered one of the most suc- cessful agriculturists of Franklin County On May 8, 1877, Mr. Antes was united in mar- riage with Miss Ellen T. Hall, a daughter of Enos and Sally (Sears) Hall. Mr. Hall was a prosperous farmer of Ashfield, Mass. He died at seventy-three years of age; and his wife, who was a daughter of Ahirah Sears, died in her fifty-second year. They had two children, Ellen T. and Hattie. Mrs. An- tes' s paternal grandfather was Joseph Hall, of Ashfield, Mass., who died at the age of seventy-three years, his wife surviving until eighty-two years old. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Antes has been blessed by the birth of three children, two sons and a daughter; namely, Joseph, Fred, and Gertrude. In political affiliation Mr. Antes is a firm Republican. He is a member of the Deerfield Agricultural Society, and also of the Morning Sun Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Conway. iLINTON E. BARNARD, a promi- nent resident of Shelburne, was born on the farm where he resides, March 23, 1846, son of Moses A. and Clarissa (Long) Barnard, both natives of Shelburne, the former born in 181 2, the latter in 1819. The first of the Barnard family to settle in these parts was Francis Barnard, a maltster, who is recorded as living in Hadley in 1659 and in Deerfield in 1673. He died in Hadley, February 3, 1698, at the age of eighty-one. His wife, Hannah Marvin, who was born in 161 7, had six children : Hannah, Joseph, Thomas, Sam- uel, John, and Sarah. Joseph Barnard, born in 1641, was a tailor by trade, also a farmer and a surveyor; and he was the first Town Clerk of Hadley. He died September 18, 1695, having lived through a perilous period of the country's history. By his wife, Bridget Cook, he had eleven chil- dren, one of whom, John, born in 1676, was a practising physician in Hadley, where he died on March 6, 1726. The first of the Bar- nards to settle in Shelburne was John Barnard,- born in 1713. Fie fought in the French and Indian War, and moved to Shelburne about the time of the Revolution. In politics he was a Whig, and he belonged to the Congrega- tional church. He married on October 9, 1743, Ruth Catlin, of Deerfield; and they reared a family of nine children. Clinton E. Barnard's great-grandfather, David Barnard, was born in 1756, son of John Barnard. He was a carpenter by trade, and cultivated a farm for family needs, living on what is called the Patten Hills for many years. He died in Shelburne Falls, June 6, 1834. He had twelve children, Ira being his eldest son. Ira Barnard was a carpenter by trade, the best in the town at that time. He was an energetic and successful business man, and bought the home farm in 1830, also purchasing land in other parts of the town. In politics he was a Whig, and later a Republican, and was Assessor of the town for several years. In religion he was a Congregationalist. He died in 1864. He was three times married, and had eleven children, five of whom are now 434 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW deceased ; namely, Anna, Albert, Moses Allen, Clarissa, and John. The survivors are: Ira W. , born January i8, 1815, living on the old homestead; Harriet A., born April 10, 1823, widow of Amasa Bardwell ; Luthera, born November 11, 1828, widow of Charles Lee, both living in Greenfield; Jane, born October 13, 1832, wife of Thaxter Scott, of Hawley, Mass. ; Darwin, born January 6, 1835; and Franklin, born September 7, 1837, residing in Boston. Moses Allen Barnard learned the carpenter's trade under the tuition of his father, Ira, and worked at it for a number of years. He was a good workman, as many of the old buildings in the town to-day silently testify. In 1841 he bought the farm now owned by his son, Clinton E. , at first purchasing sixty acres, to which he added until the amount was doubled. He was a Republican in politics and a mem- ber of the Congregational church. He died at the old farm April 23, 1885. His wife, whose maiden name was Clarissa Long, was a daughter of William and Clarissa (Dole) Long, natives of Shelburne. An extended notice of the Long family will be found under the name of Ozias Long on another page of this volume. Mrs. Barnard's mother was a daughter of Parker and Anna (Trowbridge) Dole. Parker Dole belonged to one of the old families, and was one of the leading men in Shelburne. He built the brick house which is now the home of Walter Carpenter, and is one of the landmarks of the county, in which it was one of the best buildings at the time of erection, about 1800. Mrs. Clarissa Barnard lives at the old homestead with her son Clin- ton. She had but one other child, William L. , who is a dry-goods merchant in Boston. On finishing his education at the district school, Clinton E. Barnard gave his attention to the farm, living with his parents. He now carries on general farming and keeps from twenty-five to thirty head of cattle — thorough- bred, short-horns, and grades — and raises large quantities of fruit. His farm is in a fine condition, the buildings are neat and substan- tial, and the house is very pleasantly situated, commanding a broad and beautiful view. Be- sides this estate, Mr. Barnard owns a farm of seventy acres in another part of the town. He has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was united on June 17, 1869, was Fannie M., daughter of Albert and Nancy C. (Darling) Peck. The Peck family came orig- inally from England, and the first of whom we find record located in Lyme, Conn. ; and from there the great-grandfather of Mrs. Barnard moved to Shelburne, where he was one of the early settlers. He had a farm and grist-mill in the southern part of the town, at Dragon Brook, and left his plough to take up the mus- ket at the time of the Revolution. He took part in some of the most stirring events of the war, and was one of the guard about Major Andr6 at the time of his execution. He lived to be ninety years old; and his wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Tinker, also lived to an advanced age. Their son Abner lived for a time in Leverett, Mass., where he learned the cloth-dresser's trade ; but he finally took up farming, settling where the Pecks live to-day, owning here two hundred and fifty acres. He was a Republican in politics, and held office in the town, serving as Selectman for some time; and he was a leading member of the Congregational church. He died in 1839, survived many years by his wife, who passed away in 1877. Five of their seven children are yet living, namely: Albert; Abner and Austin L., in Shelburne, the latter at the homestead; Aurilla H., widow of Pliny Fisk, in Arlington, Mass. ; and Harriet M., wife of J. PI. Tyler, in Napoleon, Ohio. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 435 Mr. Albert Peck, having acquired his educa- tion in the district schools of his native town, at the old Felenberg Academy in Greenfield, and at Shelburne Falls, taught school for some time and then took up farming. He bought the old Dr. Packard estate, and on it spent eighteen years, moving to his present abode in 1875. Here he has two hundred acres, and carries on general farming, fruit-raising, and dairying. Mrs. Peck is a daughter of Elipha- let and Martha (Brigham) Darling, of Shutes- bury, and has been the mother of seven children, two of whom are deceased, namely, Albert and Fannie, the latter, who was the wife of Mr. Barnard, having passed away on December 8, 1879. The five now living are: Julia D. Peck, in Shelburne, a well-known writer of stories for children; Martha R., in Conway, Mass., wife of Samuel Clary; Lucy O., a school-teacher in Shelburne; Austin L. , a farmer in the same town; and Hattie F'., wife of Llewellyn D. Crine in New York City. Mr. Peck is an ardent Prohibitionist. He and his wife rank among the oldest mar- ried couples in the town to-day, and have long been members of the Congregational church, in which he has been Deacon over thirty years. Clinton E. Barnard's second wife, to whom he was married on February 22, 1881, is Har- riet M., daughter of John and Lucina (Tay- lor) Long, both deceased. Mr. Barnard has two daughters by the first marriage : Clara D., wife of James G. Barnard, a farmer in Shelburne; and Kate M. Barnard, who lives with her father. Mr. Barnard is a Republi- can in politics. He is a member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, and he and his wife belong to the Congregational church, in which he has been Deacon for nine years. He was for five years superintendent of the Sunday-school. ■OSEPH WRIGHT KEACH, a success- ful and well-known agriculturist of Buckland, Franklin County, Mass., was born in the State of New York on January 19, 1847, son of Benjamin and Luthera (Packard) Reach, the former of whom was a native of Vermont. Mr. Reach's paternal grandfather followed for a lifetime the occupation of a farmer on the old homestead in Vermont. He died at sixty years of age, leaving three sons : Remain, Benjamin, and Charles. Benjamin Keach, the second son, was natu- rally reared to agricultural labors, and, like his father, he continued to be thus employed throughout his life. In 1849 he removed to Massachusetts, first settling in South Deer- field-, Franklin County, where he remained for nineteen years. At the expiration of that time, he went to Buckland, but a few years later changed his residence to North-west Buckland, to spend the remaining years of his life with his son. He died there at sixty- eight years of age. His wife, Luthera Pack- ard Keach, who was born in South Deerfield, Mass., daughter of Alvah and F'anny Packard, is still living. They reared six children, five sons and a daughter; namely, Sarah, Joseph Wright, Fred, Reuel V., Ellsworth, and Ce- phas. In political affiliation Benjamin Keach was a Whig up to the organization of the Re- publican party, after which he voted the latter ticket. He was a charter member of the Deerfield Valley Agricultural Society. Both parents were members of the Congregational church, of which the mother is still a regular attendant. Joseph Wright Keach began when a lad of nine years to assist in gaining his own live- lihood. He first worked on a farm, where he received eight dollars per month during the best of the summer season. After that he was employed by various parties and at different 436 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW kinds of work until he was twenty-two years old, when he purchased a farm in Ash field, Mass. He afterward sold that and moved to Buckland Corners, where he purchased a farm which he still owns. In 1889 he was engaged to take charge of the town farm of Buckland, on which he is still employed as superintend- ent, and has given excellent satisfaction. Mr. Keach was married in 1869 to Miss Ellen Jane Trim, a daughter of George and Jane Trim, the former of whom was a native of Connecticut. Mrs. Keach's father died at forty-seven years of age; and her mother, who was born in Rhode Island, reached the age of seventy-four. Mr. George Trim's father was drowned when but forty-five years of age. His wife, Jane Gertrude Chappell, daughter of Samuel and Penelope Chappell, long surviv- ing him, lived to the advanced age of ninety- two years. Mr. and Mrs. Keach's union has been brightened by the birth of a son and daughter, Joseph and Mary. Mr. Keach is a member of the Deerfield Valley Agricultural Society. ^RS. MARIE L. HANSON, daugh- ter of Napoleon B. and Susan L. (Pierce) Coolidge, and widow of the late Albert A. Hanson, has spent a large portion of her mature life in Orange, where she is held in high esteem by neighbors and friends of many years. Mrs. Hanson was born May II, 1834, at New Salem, Mass., and comes from good old pioneer stock, her grand- father, Asa Coolidge, Jr., who was born in Natick, Mass., in 1772, having settled in Orange in 18 10, buying the Orcutt farm of one hundred acres, mostly wild land, on May 1st of that year. He cleared a large portion of the land, built house and barns, and, in addition to tilling the soil, carried on carpen- tering, living here until his decease, at the age of fifty years. He married Anna Jenkins, who died at the age of seventy-three years, leaving ten children : Faith, Almira, Napo- leon B. , Hannah, Avery, Asa, Mary, Sarah, Orisa, and Benjamin. Napoleon B. Coolidge was born June 18, 1809, at Natick, and came to Franklin County with his parents when an infant. On arriving at years of maturity, he bought the Cook farm of two hundred acres, on which he resided, and successfully carried on general farming during his years of activity. The twilight of his life was spent with his daughter, Mrs. Hanson, he living to the venerable age of fourscore and four years. He married Susan L. Pierce, who bore him seven children; namely, Marie L. , William H. H., Charles P., Benjamin F. , George O. , Susan ]., and Sarah A. Mrs. Susan L. Pierce Coolidge was a daughter of Barney Pierce, who settled in New Salem when a young man, and was for many years one of its most prominent and popular citizens, looking well after the welfare of his adopted town and serving faithfully in its various ofifices. He subsequently removed to Ohio, where he lived to the age of eighty years, likewise occupying an important position there, being a judge at the time of his decease. He married Susan Cook, and their children were : Susan, Henry, Charles, and Adeline. Mrs. Pierce was one of those noble, whole- souled women who exert a beneficent influence on the world around them. She was the daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Derby) Cook, original settlers of New Salem, Mr. Cook hav- ing been born at Holden, Mass., migrating from there when a very young man. He bought unimproved land in New Salem, and there built a hotel, which he conducted with success. He became one of the most exten- sive landholders of that section of the county, and, in addition to the hotel, he erected a BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 437 grist-mill, where he did a good business, and had the honor of being the first Postmaster of the town. His old homestead is still owned by the family. At his decease he left five children, as follows: Susan, Mrs. Hanson's grandmother; Lydia; Robert; Lucretia; and Hannah. Albert A. Hanson, son of Asahel G. Han- son, was born January 7, 1833, in Shutesbury, Mass. His paternal grandparents were Elijah and Mary (Gunn) Hanson, lifelong residents of the town of Prescott, where the former was engaged in carpentering in early manhood, but later in life was a prosperous farmer. He was a stanch member of the old Whig party. The names of the six children born to him and his wife were: Asahel G., Mixter, Lucretia, Marilla, Warren, and Erastus. Asahel G. Hanson learned the carpenter's trade when a young man, and, removing from Prescott to Shutesbury, continued in that occupation until his decease, at a good old age. He married Hopy Gray, who was a veritable helpmeet; and they reared the following chil- dren: Albert A., Proctor, Mary, Forrest, and Viola. The father was a Whig in politics, inclined to liberalism in religion, his wife being a member of the Universalist church. Albert A. Hanson in his youth began work- ing as a carpenter with his father, and later learned the cabinet-maker's trade. On leav- ing home he went to Dana, where he worked in a piano manufactory until 1859, when he came to Orange to accept a position in the Rodney Hunt works. When this concern was . incorporated as a stock company, Mr. Hanson became a member of the firm, remaining with it until his health gave out; and, being then obliged to seek outdoor work, he disposed of his stock. In 1885 he bought the Darwin Merriam farm of one hundred and seventy-five acres, beautifully located on the elevation known as Chestnut Hill, and here took up his residence, hoping to regain his physical vigor. He made various improvements on the place, remodelling the house, which is still the home of Mrs. Hanson, and which, though built one hundred and fifty years ago, bears few marks of its great age. His life, however, was not greatly prolonged by change of abode and occupation. He died February 16, 1891. In his death the town of Orange lost one of its foremost citizens, a noble-minded, large-hearted man, and the Re- publican party a stanch adherent. Three chil- dren were born to him and his wife, Mrs. Marie L. Hanson. The eldest, Charles A., a mechanic, born September 4, 1856, is living in a house that he built on a portion of the homestead. He married Winona Crowl, and they have two children: Charles E. and Nyca M. Nellie M. Hanson, the only daughter, born August 23, 1857, married Charles H. Robins, of Orange ; and they are the parents of four children: Harry C, Clifford A., Per- ley G., and Elmer G. Carl L. Hanson, an able and enterprising young man, born July 16, 1876, lives with his mother and has charge of the home farm. JB EACON NATHANIEL A. BRIGGS, an extensive real estate owner and a prosperous farmer of Shutesbury, was born in this town December 30, 1824, son of Amos and Sarah (Fisk) Briggs. Deacon Briggs's grandparents were Nathaniel and Lucy (Marshall) Briggs, the former of whom moved from Connecticut to Massachusetts at an early day, and settled upon land in the eastern part of Shutesbury. He was industri- ous, energetic, and thrifty, and became the owner of a tract of five hundred acres. He died in Shutesbury at an advanced age. He 438 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and his wife reared four sons and one daughter, all of whom are now deceased. The mother lived to attain a ripe old age, and died at the homestead in Shutesbury. Amos Briggs, Deacon Briggs's father, was reared to agricultural pursuits, and success- fully followed that occBiJation in Shutesbury during the greater part of his life. His de- clining years were passed in Pelham, where he died aged eighty-six years. He was originally a Whig in politics, but later supported the Republican party. He was a member of the Congregational church, and acted as Deacon for many years. Amos Briggs married Sarah Fisk, a native of Stafford, Conn., and she became the mother of five children, three of whom are now living, namely: Nathaniel A., the subject of this sketch; Olive F., who married Hiram Ballou, a farmer of Pelham ; and Samantha A., who resides in Amherst, and is the widow of Simon Whitney. The deceased were: Charles A. and Lucy. Mrs. Sarah Fisk' Briggs died at the age of eighty-six years. Nathaniel A. Briggs received his education in the schools of Shutesbury, and resided with his parents until reaching the age of twenty- one years. After following the trade of a shoemaker for the next ten years, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, settling upon six acres of land located in the south-eastern part of Shutesbury, which he cultivated with good results. By energetic application and careful management he was enabled to add to his landed possessions; and at the present time his farm property comprises eight hundred -acres, he being the largest real estate owner in Shutesbury. His home farm, which consists of three hundred acres, is one of the most valuable in the town. Deacon Briggs has en- gaged to a considerable extent in lumbering, and his efforts in that direction have likewise been attended with satisfactory results. In politics he is a Republican, and was for eight years in succession a member of the Board of Selectmen. He has also served as Assessor and Overseer of the Poor. On October 13, 1852, Deacon Nathaniel A. Briggs was united in marriage with Cerintha E. Thresher, who was born in Shutesbury, June 24, 1834, daughter of William Thresher. They have had one daughter, Jennie E. Briggs, who died at the age of twelve years. Mr. Briggs has been a Deacon of the Congre- gational church at Shutesbury for twenty-one years, and Mrs. Briggs is a member of that church. He has always taken an active inter- est in religious work, and served as clerk of the church for nearly thirty years. ,RS. ABBIE B. CLARK, widow of the late Andrew J. Clark, whose portrait is presented in connection with this brief and fragmentary family history, has been a resident of Orange nearly forty years, and is highly esteemed throughout this community for her kindness of heart and other excellent traits of character. She was born January 10, 1&35, in Warwick, being the daughter of Cummings and Abigail (Jones) Lesure, active members of the thriving ag- ricultural community of that town. Mrs. Clark's paternal grandmother, a woman of unusual strength of mind and body, benevolent and charitable, attained the remarkable age of one hundred and one years and six months. Cummings Lesure was a practical man of busi- ness, and, in addition to farming, was engaged in teaming between Warwick and Boston be- fore the railways had been built, keeping sev- eral pairs of horses busily employed. He was born February 15, 1788, in Wardsboro, Vt., and lived to the age of fifty-three years. His wife, who died in her sixtieth year, bore ANDREW J. CLARK. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 441 him three children: Abbie B., Samuel C, and George J. Abbie B. Lesure earl}- became accomplished in the domestic arts, being well drilled by her mother during her girlhood at the parental home, of which she was an inmate until her marriage, in 1855. Andrew J. Clark was born in the beautiful little town of Rutland, Mass., October 9, 1835, and was a son of Ira and Rebecca (Wood) Clark, the former of whom was a hard- working farmer, who died in the prime of life; while his widow lived to a good old age. Mr. Clark was a self-made man in a very real sense, having been from the beginning the architect of his own fortune. His educational advantages were very meagre, his schooling limited to two terms in the days of his child- hood. When a little lad he was put to work in a cotton-mill at Alillbury, Mass. ; and after- ward he was employed in a chair manufactory at Templeton, Mass. He had an active intel- lect, and, thirsting for knowledge, read the best books possible for him to obtain, pursu- ing his studies evenings, in this way acquiring a substantial education that fitted him for the responsible positions that he was later called upon to fill, and made him an influential and valued citizen. In 1857 Mr. Clark came to Orange, and first established himself in busi- ness with Mr. Alonzo White, in the manufact- ure of sleighs. He was afterward engaged in the grocery trade for a while, but gave it up to engage in the manufacture of a hand sewing- machine, in company with William Barker, and from that drifted into the manufacture of the New Home sewing-machine, being Presi- dent of the company from its organization to the time of his death, in 1882. He thor- oughly identified himself with the interests of the town, and, by his energy, industry, and honesty in his business transactions, fully established himself in the confidence and esteem of the community. He was a steadfast Republican in politics, and served acceptably in the various local public offices, and was elected as Representative in 1864 and 1867, and as a member of the Senate in 1 870-71 and 1875. Socially, he was prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of the Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Crescent Chapter, Royal Arch Mason, and of .the Orange Com- mandery. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Clark, of whom the following is a brief men- tion : Abbie L. is the wife of Carl Jameson, a prominent shoe dealer, residing in Providence, R. I., having large stores in Providence and in Boston; Etta J. married John Atwood, for- merly engaged in mercantile business in Bos- ton, but now a resident of Orange; Gertrude L. is the wife of Harry Weymouth, who has a beautiful home in Orange, and is employed as book-keeper at Reynold's shoe manufactory; Charlie Andrew died in early infancy; and Florence E., the youngest, lives with her mother. Mrs. Clark is greatly esteemed by her friends and associates. She is of liberal religious faith. Her pleasant home is on what was formerly the James M. Hill place; but the house, after Mr. Clark bought it, was practically rebuilt, the grounds being graded and the beautiful lawn supported by a wall of granite, evidently built to last. ■^ iRS. ELLEN M. RUSSELL, widow of the late Nathaniel Edwards Rus- sell, of Greenfield, a refined and cultivated woman, whose sterling qualities of heart and mind have won for her the General esteem and respect, was born in Burlington, Vt., being the youngest, and now the sole sur- vivor, of a family of nine daughters born 442 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW to Daniel and Mary (Porter) Farrand. Her father was a native of Canaan, Conn., born September 9, 1760. Having been admitted to the bar, he began the practice of law at Haver- hill, N. H., where he was married May i, 1794, to Mary Porter, a daughter of Colonel Asa and Mehitabel (Crocker) Porter, the latter having been a native of Newburyport. Colo- nel Porter, who was for many years a resident of Haverhill, N. H., was a strong Tory; and his estate was confiscated by the government, but was afterward wholly or partly restored. Mr. F"arrand subsequently removed to Bellows Falls, Vt., and was for some time a well- known lawyer of that village, going thence to Burlington, where he located June 29, 1804. He stood very high among the leading jurists of the State, and became a Judge of the Supreme Court, but was at length obliged to retire from active duties on account of failing health and eyesight. PI is death occurred October 13, 1825, at his home in Burlington. Miss Ellen M. Farrand, who early developed a love of learning, received the best educa- .tional advantages of her day, and was grad- uated in 1 83 1 from the school established by the distinguished educator, Mrs. Emma Wil- lard, at Troy, N.Y. She afterward engaged in teaching, being in Brockville, Canada, one year, and subsequently an assistant in the academy founded by the Rev. Henry Jones at Greenfield, Mass. Being peculiarly adapted for the responsible positions she filled, she was very successful in her work, which she at length relinquished to become the wife of Mr. Nathaniel E. Russell. They were married on May 24, 1837. Nathaniel Edwards Russell was born March 26, 1799, in the village of Greenfield. He was a grandson of John and Hannah (Sheldon) Russell', who were early settlers of Deerfield, Mass., where their five children were born, namely: Hannah, who died in 1801, aged forty-one years; William; Elijah; John; and Lemuel. Grandfather Russell closed his eyes to earthly scenes August 17, 1775, his widow, who survived him nearly twoscore years, dying February 14, 18 14, at seventy-six. John Russell, the second, the father of Nathaniel E., was born in Deerfield, July 30, 1767, and died October 20, 1839. He was married at Northampton, January 8, 1795, to Miss Electa Edwards, a native of Northamp- ton, the date of her birth being October 29, 1776. She passed to the higher life March i, 1839, leaving a family of seven children, all grown to maturity, and all married with the exception of two daughters, Ruth Strong Rus- sell and Hannah Sheldon Russell. Both of these ladies became distinguished teachers, and for several years carried on a select school for young ladies in the city of Greenfield. Ruth, the elder, had previously won renown in her profession as principal of a seminary at Gorham, Me., and later as a teacher in Castle- ton, Vt. Mary C, the youngest child, became the wife of Dr. James Dean, a well- known physician and scientist, and the dis- coverer of the fossil bird tracks on the Con- necticut River bottoms. During the first seven years after their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel E. Russell re- sided in Greenfield. In 1844 they removed to New York City, where they lived a score of years, Mr. Russell being a member of the firm of J. Russell & Co., the largest manufacturers of cutlery in the United States, he having control of their New York office. In 1864 Mr. Russell and his wife returned to Green- field, making their home in the pleasant resi- dence now occupied by Mrs. Russell, at 20 High Street, living there until his decease, February 10, 1884. A man of broad views and progressive spirit, he. was specially inter- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 443 ested in the cause of education and of relig- ion, and was in hearty sympathy with all en- terprises of a beneficent nature calculated to promote the common weal. He was a gener- ous contributor toward the support of the Con- gregational church, of which he was a regular attendant, and of which Mrs. Russell is an esteemed and active member. rmo EORGE W. JENKS, a prominent \^| man in business and political circles in Shelburne Falls, was born in Cheshire, Mass., January 14, 1840, son of Jesse A. and Ann Eliza (Smith) Jenks, and grandson of Jesse Jenks, a native of Provi- dence, R. I., whose wife was a Morey. Shortly after his marriage Jesse Jenks moved his household goods with an o.x team to Cheshire, Berkshire County, Mass., where he bought three hundred and twenty acres of new land, upon which, after clearing a portion of it, he erected some good buildings. He prospered as a stock-raiser and dairy man, and his long life of ninety years was a useful and successful one. A strong man mentally and physically, he was a stanch Whig, unswerving in his po- litical convictions. His wife also lived to an advanced age, passing away at eighty-five. Jesse A., the youngest of their seven chil- dren, was born in Cheshire, in December, 1807, and received his education in the dis- trict school. In company with his brother he purchased a grist-mill and cotton-mill at Cheshire Harbor, which he conducted for a few years, finally selling, and purchasing the homestead, upon which he built new barns and made many improvements. Upon this farm he lived forty years, carrying on general farming and keeping an average of fifty head of cattle. In 1863 he retired from business and went to Cheshire village to live, there passing away at the age of eighty-three. His wife, who was a daughter of Timothy Smith, died at seventy-one. In politics Mr. Jenks was a Republican ; and in religion he followed the teachings of the Methodist church, of which his wife also was a member. They had two children, one of whom, named Francis L. , died at forty-six years of age. George W. Jenks is now the only survivor of the family. In boyhood and youth he at- tended the district school, Wilbraham Acad- emy, and Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. After graduating he taught school for a while, then was employed as clerk and book-keeper of the tannery and store of H. Richardson in Cheshire, a position which he held for three years. At the end of that period he bought the store, which he con- ducted for a short time. Finally, after mak- ing two or three changes in search of a favorable opening, he bought the boot and shoe business of A. H. Fisher at Shelburne Falls, and to-day has the largest shoe store in Frank- lin County, the central telephone office also being located in his store. In 1882, in com- pany with Paul Mooney, he opened a store in Miller's Falls, carrying in stock footgear, dry goods, and ready-made clothing. It is a com- plete general store and has a thriving trade. Mr. Jenks owns the homestead in Cheshire, which covers three hundred and twenty acres, and keeps forty-five fine dairy cows. He owns a handsome home on High Street, which he has remodelled, and which is surrounded by a fine lawn and beautiful shade trees. His first wife, whom he married in 1865, Abbie L., daughter of J. G. Northrop, died in 1886, aged forty, leaving two children: Charles E., clerk in his father's store; and Mabel L., at home. Mr. Jenks subsequently married Mrs. Mary E. Blanchard Greene, daughter of George W. Blanchard. 444 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW In politics Mr. Jenks is a Republican. He was Representative for his district in 1892, and in the town has been Assessor, Town Clerk, and Treasurer. Wide-spread confi- dence in his integrity is shown by the fact that he has held the position of treasurer in all of the following bodies : Board of Trade, Fire Department, Alethian Lodge, Encampment, Corporation, Canton, and the Universalist Society. He has also been Past Grand of the Alethian Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Jenks is connected with the Universalist church, of which his wife and children are also members. ^RS. MARTHA A. LYMAN LORD, widow of the late Jotham Lord, Jr., for many years an esteemed citizen of Orange, Franklin County, Mass., was born June 18, 1837, at Royalton, Vt. , her paternal grandparents, Eliphalet and Mary (Lee) Lyman, having removed to that place from Lebanon, Conn. They were hard-work- ing people, like other progressive farmers and housekeepers of that early day, and there passed the remaining days of their lives. Grandfather Lyman dying at the age of three- score and ten years, while the grandmother lived to the advanced age of eighty-six. They reared six children, on whom they bestowed the following names: Mary, Elias, Gardner, Storrs L., William L. , and Daniel. William L. Lyman, the father of Mrs. Lord, was born October 21, 1799, at Royal- ton, and there May 25, 1826, married Polly Woodward, who was born in the same place, June 19, 1803, and died January 9, 1844. He was a very successful agriculturist, being the owner of a large farm, and was very shrewd and far-sighted in business matters. While yet in the vigor of manhood, February 18, 1855, he passed to the undiscovered coun- try, from whose bourn no traveller returns. He was a valued citizen, active in politics, being a stanch Whig, and a great worker in religious circles, a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church. To him and his wife seven children came; namely, Harriet, Frederick, Francis, William A., Mary A., Martha A., and Charlotte. Martha A. was next to the youngest daugh- ter of the parental household, and remained at home until her marriage, January i, 1859, to Jotham Lord, Jr. He was born in Orange, on the Merriam place, August 30, 1824, being one of the ten children of his parents, Jotham, Sr. , and Julia (Allen) Lord, the others being: Hiram, Ethan, Sabra, Emery, Ira, Absalom, Allen, and two that died in infancy. Flis father and mother were natives of Athol. After their marriage they settled on the old Lord homestead, near the brickyard, in the northern part of Orange, but later bought a farm on what is now South Main Street, where they passed the twilight of their days, he liv- ing to the age of eighty-four years, her life numbering one year less. When a mere boy Mr. Lord began earning his living on the farm of Robert Carpenter, being engaged in lumber- ing and farming; and when less than twenty years of age he went to work in Mr. Whitney's pail manufactory. Mr. Lord subsequently became personally identified with the manufacturing interests of Orange, and for two years, in company with A. J. Clark, carried on a thriving business in manufacturing baby carriages and toys. The partnership being then dissolved, Mr. Lord as his share took a wood lot, which he cleared and made into lumber. The next year he was engaged in the dry-goods business with Mr. Fisher, whose interest was at length bought by Emery Lord, who continued with him in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 445 the dry-goods trade for eighteen months, when their entire stock was exchanged for a com- plete line of groceries. This business Mr. Lord carried on for eight years, in the Lamb Block, in the store he had formerly occupied. We next hear of Mr. Lord at Rochester, N.Y., in the stereoscopic view business, in company with Charles Woodward, with whom he con- tinued a year and a half. In 1875 he returned to Franklin County, and in the spring of 1879 he bought the two-hundred-acre farm in Orange formerly owned by Samuel P. Rice. He entered into agricultural labor with the same energy and ability that had characterized his other efforts, being untiring in his im- provements and making his place one of the most attractive in this vicinity. Four children were born of the happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Lord; namely, Alice L. , Albert L., William A., and Martha L. Since the death of Mr. Lord the home farm has been ably managed by the enterprising sons, Albert L. and William A., an arrangement contribut- ing greatly to the comfort and enjoyment of their mother and sisters, and relieving the for- mer of many cares. Amiable in disposition, prepossessing in looks and manners, Mrs. Lord is much respected and beloved. DSON J. PRATT, a skilled mechanic and general contractor connected with the Miller's J''alls Company, residing at Miller's Falls, is a man of exemplary habits and sterling character, and well merits the high regard in which he is universally held. He is a native of Franklin County, born August 29, 1853, at Mill River, in the town of Montague, being the son of Samuel G. Pratt, who was born oil the homestead of his father, Jeremiah Pratt, at the mouth of Mill River. Samuel G. Pratt was reared to the occupa- tion of a farmer, and, after becoming of age, took possession of the homestead of his par- ents, and there engaged in mixed husbandry for several years. He subsequently sold out, and purchased a small estate at Northfield F"arms, where he spent the remainder of his days, dying P'ebruary 8, 1888, aged sixty-eight years. He was a man of much intelligence and energy, respected for his many noble qual- ities, and ever took an active part in local affairs. While in Northfield Farms he served acceptably three or four years as Selectman, and ably represented his district in the State legislature. In politics he was an uncom- promising Democrat, uniformly casting his vote in the interests of that party. The maiden name of his wife was Lucy L. Strat- ton. She was the daughter of Samuel Strat- ton, a thriving farmer of Gill. Two children were born of their union, namely: Edson J. ; and his sister, Elnora, who married Thomas B. Stratton, of Miller's Falls. The mother, an active woman of seventy-five years, now lives with her daughter. Edson J. Pratt acquired a substantial educa- tion in the public schools of his native town and at Bernardston Academy. When a youth of eighteen years he began the battle of life on his own account, being energetic and enter- prising and of an independent spirit. He first entered the employment of the Miller's Falls Company on March 15, 1872, being then boy of all work; and, with the exception of six months in 1876, when all unmarried men were laid off, he has continued in their ser- vice, having been promoted from time to time until he is now contractor in the shop. His long term of employment bears strong evidence of his sterling integrity and trustworthiness, as well as his ability and usefulness. As a citi- zen, evidently no man in the place stands 446 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW higher in the estimation of his fellow-towns- men, by whom he has been elected to various offices of honor and trust, he having served as Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and Selectman for seven years, besides having filled the offices of Tax Collector and Constable several terms. Since 1892 he has been Deputy Sheriff, faith- fully performing his duties as such. In poli- tics he is a stanch member of the Democratic party; and in his religious faith he follows the dictates of his reason and conscience, being very liberal. An important step in the career of Mr. Pratt, and, as it has proved, a happy one, was his marriage in 1877 to Annie A. Hastings, a daughter of Henry A. Hastings, of Erving, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. Hastings was born in Gill, and there reared to agricultural labor. He subsequently removed to Illinois, where his two children, Annie A. (Mrs. Pratt) and Philip H. Hastings, a mechanic in Orange, were born. But one child has come to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Pratt; namely, Hazel E. Socially, Mr. Pratt is a member of the Bay State Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Mon- tague, and of the Knights of Honor; and he and his wife are much esteemed throughout the community, being genial, agreeable, and hospitable, ever extending a hearty welcome to their friends and ever mindful of the needs of the poor and afflicted. kRS. LUCY J. WILLIAMS, of Ash field, is a daughter of Levi W. and Mercy (Hamblin) Herrick, and widow of the late Daniel Williams, whose portrait, a fine steel engraving, is seen on the opposite page. Daniel Williams was born in Ashfield, February 7, 1814, son of Deacon Daniel and Sally (Eldridge) Will- iams, the former of whom was a son of Ephraim and Mercy (Daniels) Williams and a native of Ashfield. (The Williams genealogy is further traced in sketch of Frederick H. Smith.) Deacon Daniel Williams upon attaining his majority received a farm from his father, each of his brothers having a similar start in life. Subsequent to his father's decease he suc- ceeded to the ownership of the old homestead, upon which he erected a substantial brick resi- dence and made other improvements. He en- gaged extensively in lumbering, and at one time owned over eight hundred acres of land. He was a large stock-raiser, keeping as many as thirty-five cows, three hundred sheep, and a great number of horses, also successfully con- ducting a large saw and grist mill. He was widely known as a public-spirited man, was a Whig in politics, and in his religion was a Congregationalist. He died in 1863, when well advanced in years; and his wife was called to rest in 1862. Daniel Williams, the younger, began his education in the common schools and com- pleted his studies at Sanderson Academy. After his marriage to his first wife, Almira, daughter of Chester and Anna (Ellis) Sander- son, Mr. Williams purchased a farm in the eastern part of the town of Ashfield, where they resided for a year; and he then assumed charge of the Sanderson farm and cared for his wife's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sanderson, until their decease. Mrs. Almira S. Williams died at sixty-three years of age, having been the mother of five children, all of whom are now deceased. On June 22, 1881, Mr. Williams married for his second wife Miss Lucy J. Pler- rick, who, after ten years of wedlock, was called to mourn his death, which occurred on July 17, 1 891. Mrs. Lucy J. Herrick Williams was born at BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 449 Dalton, Mass. Her father, Levi W. Herrick, was a son of Isaac and Jerusha (Brown) Her- rick, the former of whom was a native of Worthington, Mass., and for many years fol- lowed agriculture in this State, later moving to Ohio, where he engaged in the same occu- pation. Isaac Herrick was a highly esteemed and progressive man, a Whig" in politics, and a Presbyterian in his religious faith. His death occurred at the age of seventy-eight. He and his wife had seven children : Levi W. , John, Isaac, Olive, Mary, Amanda, and Martha. Levi W. Herrick was born at Worthington, and on attaining his majority settled in Lee, later moving to Dalton, where he followed agricultural pursuits and also engaged as a lime burner. He conducted business in the towns of Lee, Worthington, and Dalton, and died at Williamstown on April 2, 1886, aged seventy-nine years. His children were : Will- iam, Ardilla, George, John, Lucy J., Levi, Charles, and Mary Amanda. In the death of Mr. Daniel Williams his wife lost a kind-hearted, congenial companion, and the town an exemplary and valued citizen. He was a faithful and earnest member of the Congregational church; and as a fitting memo- rial of his piety and true Christian worth, and as a beneficent use of her means, Mrs. Will- iams in 1894 generously remodelled and re- built the Congregational house of worship at Ashfield, refurnishing it, enlarging the library, and effecting other improvements, at a cost of over three thousand dollars. She also gave one-half of the parsonage to the parish, the property having been formerly owned by Mr. Williams and others. This estimable lady continues to make her home in the pleasant residence purchased and renovated by her hus- band, and in which they lived after his retire- ment from business. Trp)TERBERT NEWELL, a leading citizen r^ of Shelburne Falls, proprietor of a Ji® V. ^ large hardware store in Buckland, was born in Whitingham, Vt. , April 2, 1855, son of Baxter II. and Rachel (Briggs) Newell, and grandson of Joshua and Dorcas (Lyon) Newell. Joshua Newell was born in the east- ern part of Massachusetts, and became a resi- dent of Colerain when a young man, working there for his uncle until of age. He then went to Whitingham, Vt., and bought fifty acres of wild land, which he cleared in the usual way, burning off the timber and making potash from the residue. This he packed in hogsheads, taking it to Boston by team, the trip occupying from two to four weeks, and traded it for groceries and other needed com- modities that he could not raise. His first dwelling was a log house, but, as time went on and he prospered in worldly affairs, he built a frame house and barn, and added two hun- dred acres of land to his estate. A brave and patriotic man, he fought in the War of 1812, and in politics was a stanch Whig. He died at the age of fifty, leaving eight children. Baxter H. Newell, son of Joshua, was born in Whitingham, Vt., August i, 181 3. Being obliged to leave school when quite young and go to work, when he attained his majority he had saved enough to buy the homestead. There he resided until fifty years of age, re- modelling the buildings and improving the land. He finally moved to Shelburne Falls and assisted his sons in the hardware trade, purchasing a share in the business in 1879. In politics a Republican, Mr. Newell was a leading man in the town, serving as Select- man and School Committee seven years in succession. He passed away when seventy- nine years of age. His wife, who was a most estimable lady, laid down the cares of life when sixty-nine years of age. Their children 45° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW were: Charles B., Chester B., John L., L-uana R., and Herbert, who has been already named above. Herbert Newell attended the public school, completing his education at Franklin Academy and Williston Seminary at Easthampton. At twelve years of age he took up the duties of clerk in his brother's store, in that way occu- pying his time when not in school. Two years later he began to keep books in the store, and at sixteen was given full charge of the ac- counts. When he reached his majority, he bought the interest of his brother Charles B. ; and in 1879 his brother John L. died. At that time the father bought the share of the deceased partner, and the firm became B. H. Newell & Co. In 1892 the father died, and Mr. Herbert Newell became sole owner. The store was originally in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Block; but the building caught fire and Mr. Newell was obliged to remove his goods, which were badly damaged, to a storehouse. He had a temporary structure built for the transaction of business, and is now erecting a fine modern brick building, fifty by eighty feet, two stories high, on the site of the one which was burned — that is, opposite the river bridge. He will have one of the best and largest hardware stores in Franklin County, carrying in stock, besides the usual line of goods, paints, paper, agricult- ural instruments, and seeds. On October 27, 1879, Mr. Newell was mar- ried to Addie M., daughter of Charles R. and Fanny A. (Patterson) White. Charles R. White was born in Buckland, Mass., February 22, 1824. He learned the carpenter's trade, following it for some time, then worked for a while on cutlery. In 1863 he enlisted in Company E, Fifty-second Regiment, and was in active service for eleven months, returning home on receiving his discharge, and going to work in the cabinet-shop of Swan & Co., where he was employed at the time of his death. Mrs. White, who was a daughter of Calvin Patterson, passed from earth in 1893, at the age of seventy. In politics Mr. White was a Whig and a Republican, and he was a strong advocate of temperance. He was a member and Past Grand of the Alethian Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Shelburne Falls. Mr. White and his wife attended the Congregational church. They had three children : Charles E. , Carrie, and Addie M. (Mrs. Newell). Mr. and Mrs. Newell have a son and daughter: Baxter H., born January 12, 1880; and Gertrude F. , born April 8, 1883. Mr. Newell is a Republican, and at present is the Representative for his district. He has been Town Auditor for some time, has been connected with the savings-bank as Trustee and Secretary since 1873, has been a Director in the National Bank for several years, and is now its Vice-President. He belongs to Moun- tain Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Shelburne Falls, Connecticut Valley Commandery of Greenfield, Alethian Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Shelburne Falls, and Encampment and Canton Tabor, of which he was Captain several years. Fie is Past Grand and Past Chief Patriarch of Alethian Lodge and Encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. and Mrs. Newell attend the Congregational church. Their home is the old White home on Bridge Street, Shel- burne F'alls, and is very pleasantly situated. ^YRON F. SAMPSON, a general merchant of Warwick, was born at New Salem, October 28, 1859. His father, John F". Sampson, was a native of the same town, as was also his grandfather, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 45 1 Seneca Sampson. The latter there followed agricultural pursuits until his decease, which occurred at the age of seventy-five years. John F. Sampson was an only child, and at home received early training in various branches of farm work. He preferred other employment, however; and, after reaching his majority, he became engaged as a stage driver on a line running between North Prescott and Amherst and from the former place to Orange, an occupation which he continued for some twelve years in all. On relinquishing it he purchased a store at North Prescott, which he conducted for a period of six or seven years, and then, selling that, bought another at Wen- dell, an adjacent town in Franklin County. This farm he successfully carried on until within a short time of his decease, which occurred at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife, Lydia Fish Sampson, who died at North Prescott aged forty-one, was a daughter of Joel Fish, a farmer of New Salem, her father hav- ing been among the early settlers of that town, passing a greater portion of his life there. She became the mother of four children, as fol- lows : Alice, who married George E. P"elton, of Orange; Ella A., who married George Sprague; Albert J., a merchant at Richmond, N.H. ; and Myron F., of Warwick. Mr. Sampson's parents attended the Unitarian church; and his father served as Town Treas- urer of Wendell, and Postmaster at both North Prescott and Wendell for some years, being a well-known and highly esteemed man and a trustworthy public official. Myron F. Sampson passed his boyhood with his parents and received a common-school and academic education. He assisted his father in the store, thus obtaining at an early age con- siderable practical experience, which has since proved valuable to him. At the age of seven- teen he left home and entered a store at Hard- wick as a clerk. After remaining there a year and a half he went to Orange, where he was employed for the succeeding five years in the New Home sewing-machine factory, at the expiration of which time he again entered mer- cantile life. One year later he came to War- wick, where he purchased the store of P'rank E. Stimpson, which he successfully carried on for a period of five years, and then, selling it to A. D. Jennings, remained out of business for one year. He next bought an interest in the general store conducted by Mr. Hastings, a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this work, and, having been associated with him for the space of one year, secured his partner's interest in the business, which he has since conducted with signal ability and gratifying success. His largely increased trade making more spacious quarters necessary, in 1894 he erected his present store, which is well stocked with goods carefully chosen to meet the varied needs and tastes of his numer- ous customers. In November, 1877, Mr. Sampson was united in marriage to Miss Jennie H. Chamber- lain, daughter of William H. Chamberlain, of New Salem, her father being a prosperous farmer and the representative of an old and prominent family, her grandfather having been a popular medical practitioner in the commu- nity. Mr. and Mrs. Sampson have one child, Grace M. Mr. Sampson has advanced in Masonry to the Royal Arch Degree, being a member of the Lodge at Northfield and the Chapter at Orange, and has held the offices of Senior Warden and Secretary of the Blue Lodge. He is a Republican in politics, and has been Postmaster at Warwick for five years. He is a well-informed man on general topics, being a reader of books as well as of news- papers and an attendant of the Unitarian church. 45 2 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW -OHN C. HOLSTON, an enterprising and prosperous agriculturist residing in Wendell, Mass., on what is known as the old Howe farm, located between Wendell Depot and Wendell Centre, was born in Port- land, Me., June 21, 1822, son of John and Mary (Hants) Holston. John Holston, who was a native of Sweden, followed a maritime life; and, as his voyages were principally to foreign ports, he naturally saw much of the world and made many acquaintances. He was a Mason and visited lodges in seven different countries. Mr. Holston lost his life while in the performance of his duties, by being blown from the jib of a brig on which he was en- gaged during a gale in the Gulf of Mexico, off New Orleans. His wife, Mary Hants, was a daughter of William and Mary Hants, the former of whom was a native of Portland, Me., where her last years were passed. William Hants served seven years in the Revolution, and after the war was over returned to Port- land, where he died at the advanced age of ninety-eight. To John and Mary (Hants) Holston four children were born, and the two still living are : John C. ; and Mrs. Martha Ann Potter, whose home is in the town of Milford, N. H. The mother died in Ports- mouth, N. H., aged sixty-two years. She was a communicant of the Episcopal church. John C. Holston spent his boyhood in Frye- burg, Me., receiving his education in the dis- trict schools and at Fryeburg Academy. He subsequently removed to Conway, N. H., where, after he was sixteen years old, he was engaged as a clerk in a hotel until he reached his majority, when he went to Saco, Me., and was there employed in a cotton-mill. He then secured a position in a factory at New Market, N. H., and from that place went to Lowell, where during the next fifteen years he ran a folder in a cotton-mill. When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Holston enlisted at Lowell in the volunteer service, as a member of the First Company of Andrews's sharp- shooters, with which he fought in a number of engagements ; but after the battle of Antie- tam, where he received a severe wound, he- was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, and with that he remained until his honorable discharge at the close of the war, after a ser- vice of three years and eight months. He returned to Lowell, but shortly afterward, in 1866, came to his present farm, which consists of one hundred and fifteen acres. Mr. Holston was married July 2, 1849, to Ann M. Jackson, daughter of Benjamin Jack- son, who for several years followed the voca- tion of a tailor in South Berwick, Me., where she was born. Mr. Jackson died at the early •age of thirty-seven; and his wife, who after his death made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Holston, lived to be sixty-three years of age. She was a member of the Methodist church. Of the six children born to them, two are now living: Ann M. and Mrs. Abby T. Jenkins. To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson two children have been born, but the only one now living is John Devin Holston, a farmer in North Orange, who married Mary Dudley, of Leverett, Mass., and has one child, Leslie Emmons. The other, a daughter, Abby Ann, died aged eight years. In political affiliation Mr. Holston is a Re- publican, and the numerous public offices of trust to which he has been elected are ample testimony to the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow-townsmen. He has served on the School Committee, has held the office of Selectman, Assessor, Overseer of the Poor twelve years. Tax Collector eight years, and has served as Justice of the Peace twenty-eight years, having received his appointment for the latter office from the governor, his fifth com- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 453 mission bearing date January 17, 1895. For many years he has been a member of Post No. 17, Grand Array of the Republic, of Orange. LANSON W. WARD, a thriving grocer of Shelburne Falls, was born in Buck- land, a few miles from his present home, January 16, 1827, son of Josiah and Sally (Perkins) Ward, and grandson of Jere- miah and Hannah (Ward) Ward. His great- grandparents were John and Mary (Torry) Ward, the former of whom was a son of John, son of William, son of John, who came to this country from England. John Ward, great-grandfather of Alanson W. , was born in Mendon, Mass., September 14, 1730. In 1773 he came to Buckland, Franklin County, and bought a tract of wild land of two hundred acres. This he cleared in part and became the possessor of a good farm, now owned by H. A. Smith. His death occurred in 1805, when he was seventy-five years old. His children were: Josiah, Susan, Luke, and Jeremiah. The latter was born in Mendon, Mass., in 1765, and came into pos- session of the homestead, caring for his parents in their old age. Besides farming, Jeremiah Ward carried on the trade of cooper. He and his wife Hannah were active members of the Congregational church. They had the follow- ing children : Josiah, Jane, Sumner, Jeremiah, John, Hannah, and Luke. Mr. Ward was a Whig in politics and held several town offices. He died in 1847, at the age of eighty-two years, his wife having preceded him to the other world in 1833, aged fifty-nine years. Josiah Ward was born in Buckland, Frank- lin County, Mass., March 20, 1795. Follow- ing his father's example, he took care of his parents in their declining years and came into possession of the homestead. He served an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, in which he was extensively engaged during most of his life, besides following farming. He improved the farm by remodelling the build- ings, and increased its value in other ways. He was an esteemed resident of the town, and his death, at the age of sixty-four, was much deplored. His wife died at the age of fifty- six in Buckland. They had seven children: Sally M., Josiah P., Jeremiah S., Alanson W. , Luke A., Samuel A., and Cynthia E. Alanson W. Ward acquired a practical edu- cation in the district schools of Buckland, and at the age of twenty-one years commenced to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he worked for some time in company with his father. F"ailing health obliging him to change his occupation, he procured a horse and travelled the road for some time, selling articles of gen- eral use. He later came to Shelburne Falls, and, finding employment in a shop as wood- worker, remained thus engaged until 1867. Starting business for himself, he was twice burned out, but each time rebuilt his shop and continued taking all kinds of job work, includ- ing box-making. He finally sold his shop, and in 1867, in company with J. B. Frost, purchased a saw and grist mill, but was after- ward, on account of ill health, obliged to sell out his share and retire from active work for a time. While out of business he was honored by his fellow-citizens by being elected Repre- sentative, serving in the legislature in 1876 and 1877. He then bought a shoe store; but, after spending one year in that trade, he opened a general grocery store in the Odd Fellows Block in Buckland, and has continued in this business up to the present time. Early in 1895, that block being partially destroyed by fire, Mr. Ward removed to the Vice Block, on the Shelburne Falls side of the town line, his present location. Here he has a large, well- 454 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW fitted store with a first-class stock, and is doing a very prosperous business, employing four clerks and using three delivery wagons. He was married March ii, 1857, to Mrs. Betsy (Woodward) Brewster, daughter of Elia- phas Woodward. They have one daughter, Jennie M., born April 17, 1862. Two chil- dren died in infancy: Wendell Fay, aged about two years; and Fred Clifton, aged three years and six months. An adopted son, Clar- ence W. , who was born October 4, i868, is employed as clerk in Mr. Ward's store; he married Sarah A. Shaw, and they have one child, Mildred S. Besides engaging in the occupations men- tioned above, Mr. Ward has bought and sold real estate, and has a beautiful home at 9 Main Street, a fine brick house with all mod- ern improvements. He is one of the Trustees of the savings-bank and a member of the Shel- burne Falls Board of Trade. He is a Demo- crat in politics, and was Selectman and Assessor in 1866 and 1867. F'raternally, he is a member of Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of the Franklin County Chapter, and the Connecticut Valley Commandery. He is a liberal in religion, and is a useful and esteemed citizen of his town. 'EYMOUR ROCKWELL, one of Montague's intelligent and progres- sive farmers, residing about one and one-half miles from the village, was born in this town on February 8, 1837, son of John Rockwell. The father, who was a farmer, and had also followed the trade of a clothier in his early days, passed the latter part of his life in Montague, where he died at the age of sixty years. Lie married for his second wife Mrs. Nancy Bissell Burnett, a native of East Windsor and widow of David Burnett. She had had three children by her first marriage; and by this union she reared a family of four children, of whom Seymour Rockwell is the only one now living. Mrs. Nancy B. Rock- well, who was a member of the Congregational church, died at the age of seventy-six years. Seymour Rockwell after acquiring his edu- cation in the district schools of his native town and the academies at Deerfield, Mass., and at Westminster, Vt. , taught school in Montague and other towns during the school season, devoting his summers to farming. He resided with his parents until attaining his majority, and has since lived in Montague, where he has given his attention to agricult- ural pursuits. Mr. Rockwell is independent in politics, and has with ability served in the local town government both as Selectman and Assessor, and has also rendered valuable ser- vice as a member of the School Board from 1859 to the present day. He was made a Mason at Greenfield in 1861, and in 1874 became one of the charter members of the Montague Lodge. He has held all of the important offices in the Blue Lodge, and has been Deputy Grand Master of the Thirteenth Masonic District, which includes Montague, Northampton, Williamsburg, Amherst, Green- field, Orange, and Northfield. He is also a member of Franklin Chapter and Connecticut Valley Commandery, of Greenfield. In 1864 Mr. Rockwell was united in mar- riage to Hattie A. Ward, of Montague, a daughter of Captain Jonathan Ward, who was for many years a manufacturer of and dealer in confectionery, he himself journeying quite a good deal in the interest of his business, being a popular commercial traveller of that time. He died at the age of eighty-six years. His children were: Hattie A.; and Truman E., who served in the Civil War as a member of the Twenty-seventh Regimental Band, and GEORGE M. WHEELER. Biographical review 457 who died in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell have one child, Florence Ward, who attended the schools of Montague, and after a special preparatory course entered Smith College, where she remained two years. She then engaged in teaching for the following three years. In 1894 she entered Radcliffe College, but, owing to failing health, was obliged to relinquish further studies. She is a bright and ambitious young lady, and, with improved health, will doubtless successfully accomplish a worthy purpose in life. Mr. and Mrs. Rock- well attend the Unitarian church. /^JeORGE M. wheeler, a gentleman \ fi) I of enterprise and good business abil- ity, the owner of a box manufactory at Brush Valley in Warwick, Mass., was born in this town, October 25, 1849, son of James S. and Zarina (Ball) Wheeler. His father was a native of Hubbardston, Mass., of which town his grandfather, who was in all probabil- ity a wheelwright, was a resident. James S. Wheeler when a young man went to work in what was then a chair-shop, and later on became its owner and carried it on as a brush woods factory, continuing thus engaged up to the time of his death, at the early age of fifty- six. The wife of James S. Wheeler, Zarina D. Ball before marriage, was the daughter of Mrs. Lydia Walker Ball, a native of Royalston. Their union was blessed by the birth of two chil- dren who grew to maturity, namely : a daughter, Addie J. ; and a son, George M., who at the early age of two years was bereft of a mother's care, her death occurring at this time. George M. Wheeler, who, it will be ob- served, is further represented in these pages by a lifelike portrait, remained with his father after his mother's death, acquiring a district - school education in Warwick and Orange, Mass., and assisting his father in the mill, where he acquired a knowledge of the details of the business. After his father's death he continued to run the mill as a brush woods factory for some ten years, or up to 1882, when he changed the machinery and started out in the manufacture of all kinds of wooden boxes, in which industry he is still engaged, working up the lumber from plank, having an excellent water-power and in con- nection with it a steam-engine. His mill has a capacity of five hundred thousand boxes per year, the product being shipped to New York and Boston. On June 20, 1876, he was mar- ried to Esther S. Forbush, of Warwick, though Palmer, Hampden County, was her birthplace. Her father died in her childhood. Politically, George M. Wheeler affiliates with the Democratic party, and has served his town as Selectman two years, also as Over- seer of the Poor and Assessor. He is highly popular in social circles and is a much re- spected citizen, being a forwarder of every good enterprise. He is connected with sev- eral Masonic Lodges, among them the Blue Lodge of Orange, Orange Commandery, and Crescent Chapter of Orange. He and his wife are attendants of the Universalist church at Orange. OHN B. LAIDLEY, M.D., a success- ful physician and highly esteemed citi- zen of Conway, Franklin County, was born in Westhampton, Mass., February 25, 1858, son of Hugh B. and Lydia (Brown) Laidley. His paternal grandfather, George Laidley, came from Scotland to this country, settling in Northampton, where he followed with marked success the vocation of a gardener. He married Miss Marion Baine, who was born and reared in Scotland, and who lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years. 4SS BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Hugh B. Laidley was born in Northampton and remained with his parents up to the time of his marriage. Previous to leaving home he learned and successfully followed the vocation of a brick-mason. He then purchased a farm in Huntington, Mass., and profitably spent several years in agriculture. Afterward he sold his farm and removed to Conway, where he passed the last years of his life. During the Civil War he was a faithful soldier in Com- pany A of the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers. After the war was over and the fraternal order known as the Grand Army of the Republic was instituted, he became an honored member of Francis A. Clary Post. He died when but fifty-six years of age. His wife, Lydia Brown Laidley, was a native of Huntington, Mass., and a daughter of Spencer Brown, of that place. Their union was blessed by the birth of four children, three sons and a daughter: namely, John B. , George H., Lula M., and Edward J. John B. Laidley, the eldest son, grew to manhood in the parental home, receiving his early education in the common schools, and later taking an academic course in Powers Institute at Bernardston, Mass., from which he was graduated in the class of 1878. He then took up the study of medicine at Long Island College in Brooklyn, N. Y. , completing the course there with the class of 1883. That same year he engaged in the practice of medi- cine in Conway, where he has since continued in his chosen profession, and is meeting with good success. On January i, 1884, Dr. Laid- ley was joined in marriage with Miss Mary R. Tingley, who was born in Milford, Mass., and here grew to womanhood. She is a daughter of the Rev. E. S. Tingley. Three children have been born to Dr. and Mrs. Laid- ley, a son and two daughters: Marion L. , Malcolm E., and Alice W. In politics Dr. Laidley is a supporter of Prohibitionist principles; and fraternally he is affiliated with the Morning Sun Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is also a member of the Sons of Veterans. He is now serving as Secretary of the Conway Electric Street Car Company. Dr. Laidley and his estimable wife are mem- bers of the Congregational church of Conway. T^HARLES F. CLARK, of the firm of I j| Richards & Clark, dealers in groceries V,!^^^^ and general merchandise, and a prominent citizen of Erving, was born in this town, July 16, 1856, son of Florace and Mary (Buss) Clark. Josiah Clark, the father of Horace, was born in Royalston, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits for a time; but in 1 8 10 he came to Wendell and purchased a farm, where he passed the remaindef of his life. He died at the age of sixty-six. Horace Clark, who was the second of the seven children born to his parents, first saw the light of this world December 24, 1819. He remained on the home farm in Wendell with his father until his freedom birthday, after which he learned the trade of a cabinet- maker and later that of a glazier. About the year 1845 he removed from Wendell to Erv- ing, where he lived the rest of his life, follow- ing his trades. He became an influential citizen of Erving and took an active interest in its welfare, serving as Tax Collector and Constable for a number of years. He died in his seventy-second year, while his mental fac- ulties were yet well preserved. His wife, Mary Buss, was a daughter of Mason and Mary Buss, being one of four children, and a native of Sterling, Mass., where her father was en- gaged as a farmer and also as a chair-maker. She bore her husband four children, three of whom grew to maturity: Edward S., a painter Biographical review 4S9 and glazier in Erving; Abbie J. ; and Charles F. Mrs. Mary B. Clark was a member of the Baptist church. She died in her forty-sixth year. Charles F. lived at home until he was twenty- two years of age, beginning to work at his father's trade as soon as old enough. He then went into the chair-shop, where he was em- ployed about seven years, at the end of which, with the accumulated savings of those years, he joined Mr. Richards, his present partner, in the purchase of the business of Turner, Hanson & Co. At that time the stock in trade consisted of groceries and meat ; but they have since added dry goods, boots, shoes, and clothing, so that their present stock is double what it was when they com- menced business, and includes a much larger variety. In 1888 Mr. Clark was united in marriage with Mary E. Spaulding, daughter of V. L. Spaulding, of Bridgewater, Vt. , where she was born. The five children born to her parents are as follows : Anna, who married Dr. E. W. Hart, and lives in West Gardner, Worcester County; Emma, who married Henry Rey- nolds; George; Villa, who married Wellman Townsend, of Vermont, and is now living in Iowa; and Mary E. , Mrs. Clark, with whom the father is now making his home. The mother died in October, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have one son, Clarence Henry. In politics Mr. Clark is a Republican. He is prominent in the fraternal societies, being a member of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and of Crescent Chapter, both of Orange, hav- ing served as Junior Warden in the Blue Lodge. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Orange, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Both he and Mrs. Clark attend the Congregational church. BENEZER R. GOODNOW, a retired farmer, who in the autumn of life is enjoying the harvest of his long sea- son of industry and wise economy, is one of the best-known and most respected citizens of Charlemont. He was born May 28, 1816, in the town of Rowe, son of Thomas and Charity (Hinckley) Goodnow, and grandson of Thomas Goodnow, Sr. , a pioneer settler. The latter was born in Shutesbury, where he lived the early part of his life. Some time after his marriage he removed to Rowe, bringing his wife and children with him, and bought a large tract of wild land, they being one of the first families to settle in that locality. He cleared a good farm, on which, with the excep- tion of a few years spent in the State of Ver- mont, he resided until his decease, at the age of seventy-one years, his wife living fourscore years. In religious faith they were Unita- rians. They had a large family of children, several of whom died young, the three that lived to rear families being: Thomas, Eber, and Abner. Thomas Goodnow, Jr., was born in Shutes- bury, Mass., and accompanied his parents to Rowe, where he subsequently bought land and engaged in farming, living to a ripe old age. He was a Whig in politics, and with his wife belonged to the Baptist church. Their family consisted of ten children, of whom two, Har- riet and Watson, died when young. Those growing to maturity were : Elizabeth; Fersis; Lewis; Olive; Russell; Roanna; Laura; and Ebenezer R., of the present sketch. Ebenezer R. Goodnow was reared and edu- cated in the place of his nativity, and, being the youngest member of the parental home- stead, he remained at home, assisting on the farm and caring for his parents until twenty- four years old. Then, on April 15, 1840, he was united in marriage to Louisa Gould, 460 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW daughter of Daniel Gould, a farmer of Cole- rain. She was born in 181 5, and proved a most admirable helpmeet and counsellor during their many years of happy wedlock, departing this life August 3, 1887. Mr. Goodnow sub- sequently married Mrs. Mary (Smith) Goodell, widow of W. Goodell and daughter of Simeon and Amanda (More) Smith, of Halifax, Vt., where Mr. Smith died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, and his wife at the age of eighty-nine years. At the time of his first marriage Mr. Good- now bought one hundred and twenty acres of land, making a cash payment of five hundred dollars, which he had accumulated solely by his own exertions. This land is now owned by the Davis Sulphur Company. After en- larging and repairing the buildings and erect- ing a new residence, he bought other land, increasing the number of acres to two hundred and eighty-five. Besides tilling the soil he devoted a good deal of time to raising cattle, horses, and sheep; and by di^nt of hard labor, keen foresight, and practical sagacity he ac- cumulated a fortune. Thinking he had earned a desired rest, he sold his farm and removed to Charlemont, buying a house in the village, where he lived a short time, when he traded for the estate now known as the Cooley farm ; and for six years he successfully carried on his former occupation. He then sold that place and bought his present house, which was built by Justin Beckwith in 1850, and has always been kept in excellent repair. Mr. Goodnow has made important alterations in it, and built a new wagon-house, having now one of the most attractive and desirable residences in the neighborhood. Since coming here he has been prominently identified with the highest and best interests of the town, and in 1893 began the agitation of the building of a town hall, an improvement greatly needed. He was appointed one of the building committee, and, finding it impossible to raise a sufficient sum to erect a suitable building, he gave eight thousand dollars toward it, he to have the use of the interest at five per cent, during his life, thinking that ■ this sum would complete the building. Find- ing that it would not, another subscription was raised, he again giving generously; and Good- now Hall, which was named in his honor and stands as a memorial of his liberality and pub- lic spirit, is an ornament and a credit to the town. It is a substantial brick structure, sixty by seventy-two feet, finely located, the land having been the gift of Professor J. White, of Williams College, in memory of his father, whose homestead formerly stood on the spot. It is finely furnished, the work of the Young People's Dramatic Club, and has sev- eral well-fitted ofifice rooms. An old resident of Charlemont, now living in New York, pre- sented the clock. Mr. Goodnow is a steadfast Republican, and has served his town in various local offices, having been Selectman, Assessor, and Over- seer of the Poor. His financial ability is rec- ognized, and for the past ten years he has been one of the Directors of the Shelburne Falls Bank. In 1894 Mr. Goodnow gave six thou- sand dollars to Williams College for the edu- cation of poor students, he to have the use of the interest at five per cent, during his life. He also gave twelve hundred dollars to the Methodist Episcopal church, of Shelburne Falls, for buying a parsonage. "ir\ ANIEL W. BENJAMIN, an exten- I'^ri sive lumber dealer of Miller's Falls, (--^ SCAR A. SUMNER, an extensive farmer in North Heath, was born in the house where he now lives on July I, 1846, son of Levi, Jr., and Deborah (Waste) Sumner. His grandfather also was named Levi, and was a farmer who had a large prop- erty in Vermont. Levi Sumner, Jr., was born in Jacksonville, Vt. ; and there his youth was passed, attending school in his boyhood and working at farming as soon as he was able. When about twenty-four years of age he bought a farm in Stamford, Vt. , on which he spent three years, subsequently purchasing the one on which his son Oscar resides in Heath, which was called the Enoch Harris place and covers one hundred acres. Fie made many , extensive improvements, built a new house and barn, and " There, marking, o'er his farm's expanding ring, New fleeces whiten, and new crops upspring," gathered the harvests of many years, passing from the scene of his earthly toils on March 15, 1871, at the age of sixty-eight. In poli- tics Mr. Sumner was a Democrat, and in re- ligion he held liberal views. His wife was eighty years old when she laid down the bur- dens of life. They had nine children, five girls and four boys. Oscar A. Sumner received his early educa- tion in the schools of Heath. He came into possession of the farm at his father's death, and cared for his mother in her declining years. In 1888 he bought one hundred and eighty-seven acres in Whitingham, Vt. , and now runs the two farms, dealing largely in stock, horses and sheep more especially, and receiving quite an income from his dairy of choice Durhams. He is a progressive man, keeping well up with the times, and is con- sidered one of the best farmers in the town of Heath. On January i, 1872, Mr. Sumner was united in marriage to Miss Kate Kinsman, daughter of Bliss and Betsey (Temple) Kinsman. The first of Mrs. Sumner's family in this country S°4 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was Robert Kinsman, a native of England, who settled, in Ipswich, Mass., in 1635, and married, it is said, a daughter of Thomas Bore- man. Samuel Kinsman, the paternal grand- father of Mrs. Sumner, was a resident of Southboro and later of Heath. Her father, Bliss Kinsman, was born in Heath, on the homestead of his father. May i, 1804. In his youth he was engaged in teaming, travelling between here and Boston, and later was en- gaged in the manufacture of bricks, besides cultivating a farm, upon which he built a brick house for a family residence. He was an enterprising and successful man, a Republi- can in politics, and a member of the Baptist church. He married Betsey, daughter of Nathaniel and Polly (Stone) Temple, who was born October 3, 1830, and is still living, bright and active at sixty-five years of age. Seven children were the fruit of this union, Mrs. Sumner being the youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Sumner have three children, namely: Alta B. , born July 15, 1874, wife of Justice W. Stetson, a young and popular miller in Heath; Arthur O. , born May 9, 1875; and Austin E. , born August 22, 1882. Oscar A. Sumner is a stanch Democrat, prominent in town affairs, and has served with credit in various capacities, holding the office of Assessor several times. On the subject of religion he is liberal in his views and tolerant of the opinions of others. w^ ILLIAM H. BURRINGTON, a pro- gressive farmer in Heath, Franklin County, Mass., was born in this town on May 14, 1842, son of John and Susan (Canedy) Burrington. His paternal great- grandfather was born in Rhode Island and settled early in Colerain, where, prospering as a farmer, he became a large land-owner. His son William, the first of the name here to be considered, bought a tract of wild land in Colerain, which he cleared and converted into a comfortable homestead, he, too, prosper- ing in worldly affairs and becoming a promi- nent man in the town. He was a stanch Whig, and fought in the Revolutionary War, serving the town also as Selectman and in other capacities. In religion he followed the teachings of the Baptist church. He married Mary Burrington, who, though bearing the same name, was not, so far as known, in any way related to him. They reared four chil- dren : Robert, Caroline, Lucinda, and John. The latter, already named as the father of our subject, was born in Colerain, October 26, 1810, and while yet a boy went to work in the stone quarry in Quincy, Norfolk County, near Boston, saving his earnings until he had accumulated two hundred dollars. With that sum he made a payment on two hundred acres of land in the northern part of Heath, incur- ring a debt of two thousand six hundred dol- lars for the balance. By carefully husbanding what he received from the dairy products, the crops, and the live stock of his farm, in ten years he was able to pay off every cent ; and he sold this farm and purchased the Asa Ken- drick estate, which covers one hundred and fifty acres. There he made some radical changes, erecting new buildings and remodel- ling old ones. His undertakings prospered to such an extent that when his children became of age he gave to each one one thousand dol- lars. In politics a Whig, he served the town as Selectman for several terms; and he was very active in religious work. He died at the age of seventy-six. On December 2, 1835, he married Susan, daughter of John and Susan (Stowe) Canedy, who was born May 31, 181 8. John Canedy, who was a native of Colerain, was a well-to-do farmer, He died at the age >" >.\v^ •''V ■»£''■ WILLIAM H. BURRINGTON. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 507 of fifty and his wife lived to be seventy-five. They reared eight children, four boys and four girls. Mrs. Burrington is still living, resid- ing with her son and enjoying the sunset of a well-spent life. She retains her faculties and has a remarkable memory. Her children are as follows: Susan J., wife of E. P. Thompson; William H. ; A. John; and Horace W. William H. Burrington attended both pub- lic and private schools, and at the age of twenty-two started to earn a livelihood, tilling the Fred Ward farm, which his father bought and gave to him. This farm covers one hun- dred and seventeen acres, and for three years he cultivated the soil with fair success. He then sold the estate, buying another near by, which hardly met his needs; and finally he purchased the homestead where he lives to-day, his property, which includes the first farm he cultivated, now covering four hundred acres. He has made some improvements on the old place, building in 1894 a barn forty- two by seventy-two feet and a wagon-house. He has a choice dairy of thirty cows, a large flock of sheep, young cattle, and some fine horses. He owns the largest tract of cul- tivated land in the town, very little of his prop- erty being timber land, and is the highest tax-payer in Heath. His agricultural work is conducted on scientific principles, and the results speak for themselves. On December 6, 1870, Mr. Burrington was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Jonas and Angeline (Clapp) Ballard, and grand-daughter of Captain William and Elizabeth (Whitney) Ballard. Her father. Grandfather Ballard, was born in Lancaster, Mass. In early man- hood he bought a farm of one hundred and fif- teen acres on the river in Charlemont and built a brick house for a family residence, making the bricks himself. This farm is now owned and occupied by Charles H. Ballard, a grandson. In politfcs William Ballard was a Whig. He was Captain in the State militia and was a member of the Congregational church. Jonas Ballard, his son, was born in Charlemont, and devoted his life to agricult- ural pursuits, developing the homestead farm, to which he added one hundred and twenty acres. A stanch Republican and a member of the Congregational church, his long life of ninety years was a useful and upright one. His wife passed away at the age of seventy. Mr. and Mrs. Burrington have three chil- dren: Mary C, born September i, 1874; Frank D., born May 13, 1876; and Charles B. , born March 31, 1881. Mr. Burrington has served the town as Selectman. He and his wife are active members of the Union church. Mr. Burrington comes of good Colo- nial stock, being a descendant of early immi- grants and grandson of a Revolutionary patriot. His portrait on an adjoining page enhances the interest and" value of this brief personal and family record. |ALVIN K. CHILDS, a successful ag- riculturist and well-known and highly .;2 — ^ esteemed citizen of Conway, Mass., was born in Ashfield, an adjoining town, also in Franklin County, July 31, 1847, son of Dennis and Clarissa (Keyes) Childs, and grandson of Reuben Childs and of the Rev. Calvin Keyes. Dennis Childs was a native of Conway, but in early manhood he removed to Ashfield; and there he successfully conducted a general store. Fie afterward sold his business and returned to Conway, where for a few years he engaged in the manufacture of canes; but he subse- quently purchased the farm now occupied by Calvin K. Childs, and spent the remainder of his active life in its cultivation. He died at seventy-five years of age. His wife, Clarissa 5o8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Keyes Childs, who lived to the age of eighty- three, was born in Lancaster, Mass., June 22, 1S08, daughter of the Rev. Calvin and Reli- ance (Tolman) Keyes, the former of whom was a well-known Baptist minister. The par- ents of Mrs. Childs were married on February 22, 1785, and their union was blessed by the birth of twelve children, as follows : Clarissa, Calvin, Luther, Reliance, Lydia, Phila, Luther (second), Rhoda, Joel, Nancy, Mary, and Elmira. Mrs. Childs and her husband reared two sons and two daughters: Mary L., Dennis G., Calvin K., and Mattie W. Instead of forsaking the paternal roof as soon as he was old enough to begin the work of life, Calvin K. Childs remained at home with his parents, whom he faithfully cared for in their old age. The homestead when he inherited it contained twenty acres; but he has since added to it so that he now has two hundred and sixty acres of good farming land, his farm being, it is said, one of the best in this vicinity. He also built a cattle and hay barn and improved the place in other respects. He makes a specialty of raising full-blooded Jersey cattle, and has taken premiums at many of the fairs and cattle shows where he has exhibited his stock. At the present time he has twenty fine Jerseys and makes a large amount of choice butter, for which he finds a ready sale at good prices in the private fami- lies of the surrounding villages. Mr. Childs was married in 1873 to Miss Elizabeth Akers, who was born and reared in England. Mrs. Childs died on February 14, 1890, leaving four children, two sons and two daughters: Mattie W. , Sarah J., Dennis H., and Raymond R. Mr. Childs is widely known, being a mem- ber of many of the agricultural societies of the State. In politics he is a supporter of Repub- lican principles. His pleasant home is located on a hill in the north-eastern part of the town of Conway, a short drive from the Conway Electric Railway; and near his residence are two beautiful groves, one of maple and the other of. white birch, in the former of which picnics are frec^uently held. m ILLIAM LAFOREST POWERS has been intimately associated with the agricultural interests of New' Salem during his years of activity, having been born December 25, 1826, on the home- stead he now owns and occupies, and on which he has persistently toiled. He is a son of Chester and Sarah (Lamb) Powers, lifelong residents of this town, his father having been a well-to-do farmer. Something of the ances- tral history of the Powers family of New Salem, as given in the Powers Genealogy, may be found in connection with the sketch of James L. Powers, on another page of this work. At the district school in his boyhood Will- iam L. Powers received instruction in the common branches of learning, and on the home farm he was well drilled in practical agricult- ure. After his marriage he bought the pater- nal homestead of one hundred and twenty-five acres, and has since managed it successfully, having repaired and enlarged the original buildings, and also erected a cider-mill, in which he makes a superior quality of cider and vinegar, the amount turned out often being one thousand two hundred and thirty barrels a season. He has likewise bought and improved more land, one tract containing fifty acres and another thirty-five. Mr. Powers has always paid much attention to dairying, and has the reputation of making the finest quality of but- ter to be found in the county. Another profit- able industry in which he has engaged has BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S°9 been the making of maple sugar from the trees of his own grove; and in this, as well as in butter-making, he has won an enviable reputa- tion. He is now taking life comparatively easy, enjoying the rest earned by long-con- tinued labors, leaving much of the manage- ment of his affairs to his son. Mr. Powers was united in marriage October 9, 1854, with Sarah E. Baker, who was born September 8, 1831, at Shulesbury, daughter of Jonathan S. and Louisa (Horr) Baker. Mr. Baker was born at Cumberland, R.L, June 23, 1803, and lived to the age of sixty-eight years. He was a member of the old Whig party, and a well-known and popular ofifice-holder, being quite prominent in local affairs. He was an esteemed member of the Baptist church, in which he served as Deacon for many years. His wife died when fifty-eight years old. They had seven children ; namely, John, Maria M., Sarah E., George H., Alexander H., Abby, and Carrie A. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Powers has been blessed by the birth of four sons, two of whom are now living: Will- iam H., born July 30, 1857, has special charge of the home farm, thereby relieving his father from all responsibility; Walter S., born October 23, i860, married Cora Hobart, the daughter of a substantial farmer of Amherst, and they are the parents of two children — Grace L and Edgar S. The third son, Wal- lace, born July 8, 1862, died at twenty-four years of age; and Edgar A., born April 23, 1869, died September 14, 1892. In politics Mr. Powers is a steadfast Repub- lican, and has performed his full share in pro- moting the welfare of the community in which he has lived so long. In various local offices he has served acceptably, having been at different times Selectman, Assessor, and Poor Master. In religion he accepts the teachings of liberal Christianity. Mr. and Mrs. Powers are held in high esteem by a wide circle of acquaintances. < -^«»-» AMUEL HASTINGS conducts the principal livery and express busi- ness in Warwick, and, as Town Clerk and Selectman, attends officially to a great deal of town business. He was born here on February i, 1837, and is a son of Daniel Hastings, a native of Warwick, and grandson of Isaac Hastings, who passed most of his life in this town, following agriculture as a vocation, being well known in his day as an honest, industrious, and intelligent man. Daniel Hastings was carefully trained to the various duties of a farmer, but, preferring a different occupation, acquired the trade of a cabinet-maker, which he continued to follow as a journeyman through the remainder of his life. He died at the age of eighty-three years. His wife, whose name before her mar- riage was Experience Leonard, was a daughter of Nathan Leonard, her father having been a prosperous farmer of the town of Warwick, where his parents were among the very earliest settlers. It is worthy of note that Nathan Leonard was the first child born in the town subsequent to its settlement. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Hastings was blessed with two children, Nathan L. and Samuel. The mother passed from earth at the age of seventy-five years. She was a Unitarian and her husband a Universalist in religious belief. Samuel Hastings received a good common- school education; and, after attaining his ma- jority, he acquired the trade of shoemaking, which he followed for some time, being em- ployed in different local establishments. He finally relinquished that occupation for the express business, and in 1874 established the stage line from Warwick to Orange, which he still continues to operate in connection with 51° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW the former, although that has largely in- creased. He later added to his other enter- prises a finely equipped livery stable, which has also been exceedingly successful, being a highly appreciated accommodation to the trav- elling public. He was for a time interested in mercantile business, and held the appoint- ment of Postmaster from 1888 to 1890, when he sold his store. In politics Mr. Hastings is a Republican, and has long been prominently identified with the local government, having served as Town Clerk for nineteen years, or continuously since his election to that office in 1876, as a Select- man for ten years, and likewise both as Over- seer of the Poor and Assessor. He has been twice called upon to represent this district in the State legislature, first in 1885, and sec- ondly during the past session of 1895. But this honorable record does not fill the measure of his activities, as, in addition to the above, he was superintendent of the cemetery for several years, and has been sexton considerably over half a century. In 1857 he was united in marriage to Miss Helen R. Witherell, daughter of Albert With- erell, a sketch of whose career will be found elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Hastings was born and educated at Mansfield and subse- quently moved to this town. Mr. Hastings is a member of the Unitarian church, which Mrs. Hastings attends; and he is a trustee of the parish fund. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has advanced as far as the Royal Arch degree. Mr. Nathan L. Hastings makes his home with his brother. ILLIAM H. HEMfZNWAY, Town Clerk of Shutesbury, and one of the leading citizens, was born in this town December 28, 1846. He is the son of Hardin and Mary (Henry) Hemenway, the for- mer a native of Shutesbury, born March 11, 181 1, the latter a native of Prescott, born August 5, 1814. His grandfather, Phineas Hemenway, who was a tanner by trade, was one of the early settlers of the town, there conducting a hotel and cultivating a farm. He was an industrious and capable man, and amassed a fair competency, at the same time working actively for the public weal, repre- senting the district in the legislature, and serving as Town Treasurer and Selectman. His death occurred December 21, i850,"1t>- his seventy-seventh year. His wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Beaman, died in her fifty- fifth year, March 24, 1836. They had three children — James P., Hardin, and Lydia — all of whom reared families. With work on earth completed, their mortal remains now rest in humanity's last abiding-place, God's- acre. Hardin Hemenway spent the greater part of his life in Shutesbury. He was for some years engaged as a clerk in mercantile business in Pelham and Shutesbury, and in the latter town conducted a store of his own for twenty- five years, winning and keeping by honest dealing and courteous service a large and profitable trade. He was a good business man and commanded success in all his undertak- ings. In politics he was a Republican, and was elected by his party to the legislature, serving in 1847 and 1851. In town affairs he was also prominent, acting as Town Clerk eleven years and Justice of the Peace thirty- five years; and in educational matters he took an active interest, serving as Trustee of the New Salem Academy. Mr. Plemenway was liberal in religious views. He died April 26, 1886. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Henry, was the daughter of Samuel Henry, a native of Amherst, who was well BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Sii known in both'New Salem and Prescott, being- one of the early merchants in the latter town. A Democrat in politics, he was a leading man in his district, a member of the legislature during 1829-31, a delegate to the Constitu- tional Convention in 1853, and Town Clerk and Justice of the Peace for many years. On the subject of religion his views were liberal. Mr. Henry died April 24, 1862, at Shutes- bury, whither he had moved in 1857. His wife, whose name before marriage was Cynthia Ingram, died April 7, i860. Mrs. Mary H. Hemenway died August 31, 1848. She had but one child, the subject of this sketch, William H. Hemenway grew to manhood in Shutesbury, receiving a fair education and graduating from the New Salem Academy. He entered the business world as clerk in his father's store, where he gained a good insight into the methods employed in trade and the relative values of mercantile commodities. At the present time he is the owner of consid- erable real estate, his homestead comprising forty-six acres, and other lands under his con- trol covering quite an extent of territory. He has engaged in general farming to some extent, the manual labor being done by men under his charge. But the greater part of his time is occupied by town affairs, the duties of Town Clerk, in which capacity he has acted for twelve years, engrossing much of his attention ; and as Justice of the Peace, to which office he was appointed in 1889, he has other clerical work which makes inroads upon his time. Politically, he favors the Republican party, by whom he was elected to represent his district in the legislature of 1892. He still retains his interest in the New Salem Academy, which he attended as a student, serving, as did his father, on the Board of Trustees. In religion he is of the liberal faith. He has a pleasant home in Shutesbury, and is looked up to by his townsmen as a man of good judgment and well-developed business ability. LTRe'dERICK p. CARRUTH, a pros- t^\^ perous hardware dealer of Orange and one of the most extensive merchants in Franklin County, was born at Orange, July 28, 1856. He is a son of Benjamin M. and Cor- delia (Parlin) Carruth, and grandson of John and Sally (Mason) Carruth. John Carruth was born September 28, 1773. He settled at Barre, becoming a well-to-do farmer, was a Whig in politics and a member of the Uni- versalist church. His labors were doubtless arduous, as, although possessed of a strong constitution, he died at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife, who survived him, was called to rest at eighty-five. They were the parents of the following children: William, Sally, Harriet, Charles, Maria, and Benja- min M. Benjamin M. Carruth was born September IS, 1828, and, when of a suitable age to engage in mechanical labor, was apprenticed to a car- penter. In early manhood he settled in Gard- ner, Mass., where he followed his trade, later entering the employ of a large chair manufact- urer in that town ; and, being a skilful mechanic, he became a valuable assistant in the factory, where he remained for several years. He then purchased an estate known as the Parlin place, on which he resided the remainder of his life. Pie remodelled the buildings, made many other needed improvements, and before long found himself in possession of a large and valuable piece of farm property. At the age of twenty- five he married Cordelia Parlin, who was born January 17, 1832, daughter of Daniel and Melinda (Stacy) Parlin ; and of their three children Francis died young, while two sur- vived, namely: Frederick P. ; and Edward L., 512 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW a mechanic, who was born December 22, 1863. Benjamin M. Carruth died September 18, 1893, ten years after the death of his wife Cordelia, on August 8, 1883. Frederick P. Carruth received a good educa- tion in the public schools, where he exhibited an unusual aptitude for study, entering the high school before reaching the age of thir- teen, and graduating therefrom in his seven- teenth year. He then worked with his father at the carpenter's trade for a period of one and one-half years, after which he pursued a business course of study at Dean Academy, Franklin, and then entered the dry-goods store of A. A. Houghton at Athol as a clerk, re- maining there one year. During the next four and one-half years he was employed in the clothing store of C. A. Carruth at Athol, then accepted the position of clerk with Moulton & Bradley, wholesale and retail clothiers of Bos- ton, in which capacity he worked one year, and for the following three years was travelling salesman for that firm. . He next became con- nected in a similar capacity with the clothing firm of Smith, Richardson & Bates, and suc- cessfully represented that well-known house for a period of five years. By that time, tired of road life, he resigned his position, and on July I, 1885, in company with E. O. Pratt, pur- chased the hardware store of Tenney & Searle at Orange. After a partnership of four years with Mr. Pratt he purchased that gentleman's interest and continued to conduct the business alone for one year, when Warren King became associated with him, and the firm, which be- came known as F. P. Carruth & Co., did a very large business. On November 7, 1891, the great conflagra- tion which occurred at Orange swept away their entire establishment in its destructive course; but, with a true spirit of enterprise, before the smoke had cleared away they were doing business in a temporary building, one hundred by fifty feet, which had been erected and stocked in an almost incredibly short space of time. As soon as the new block was completed Mr. Carruth returned to his former location, where he has since remained, and at the present time conducts, it is claimed, the largest and most extensive hardware trade in the county. In 1890 he became a stockholder in the Leverett Machine Company, of which he is now one of the Directors, and is also manager of the Whitman Grocery Company, manufacturers of tapioca. On January 14, 1886, Mr. Carruth married Miss Thenice J. Herrick, daughter of Charles Herrick; and their union has been blessed with five children, as follows: Carl B. ; Bes- sie; Pearl; Howard G. ; and Gladys, who died an infant. Mr. Carruth is one of the most active and progressive business men in Orange, and has done much toward developing the re- sources of the town. He is a Democrat in politics, having been Postmaster in 1888, and is now Water Commissioner. He is also a member of Star Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Crescent Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Orange Commandery, and of the Mystic Shrine. He is besides a charter member and Trustee of the lodge of Ancient Order of United Work- men at Orange, and a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Both him- self and wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. iRS. MARTHA TODD LIVER^ MORE, of Orange, Mass., widow of the late Hon. Rufus Livermore, whose portrait accompanies this brief record of a noble life, was born in Boston, September S, 1 84 1. Her parents, Jehiel and Melissa (Hildreth) Todd, were born November 4, RUFUS LIVERMORE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 515 1818, and February 4, 1818, respectively, and were united in wedlock on the 7th of Octo- ber, 1840. Mr. Todd was for some years a resident of Lowell, Mass., being superintend- ent of the Middlesex Corporation. He subse- quently engaged in the manufacture of spices, which he sold at wholesale in Worcester, liv- ing there until he retired from business. In politics he was a strong Republican, and in religion was a Congregationalist. His wife, Melissa, who bore him but one child, Martha E., now Mrs. Livermore, died May 28, 1843; and he was again married January i, 1845, to Susan Elizabeth Whitman, by whom he had six children, two of whom are now living: Minnie J., wife of J. A. Long, of Worcester; and Alice S., wife of C. G. Gilbert, also of Worcester. Mr. Jehiel Todd died December 16, 1891. He was a son of Caleb and Hepzi- bah (Miller) Todd, both of whom lived to a good old age. Rufus Livermore, with whom on January 22, 1863, Martha E. Todd was united in mar- riage, was born in Groton, Mass., November I, 1839. As a lad he exhibited a passionate fondness for study; and, after leaving the dis- trict schools, he was fitted for college at Law- rence Academy. Mr. Livermore finished his education at Williams College, and later, hav- ing received a diploma from the Albany Law School, was admitted to the bar. While studying the Massachusetts Code of Laws, preparatory to beginning practice, the call for volunteers to aid in suppressing the Rebel- lion resounded throughout the land ; and he was among the first to respond. He enlisted in Company B, of the famous Massachusetts Sixth, and was one of the gallant band that marched through the streets of Baltimore on the 19th of April, 1861. Having completed his term of service, Mr. Livermore returned to his home, and for a while worked actively to promote enlistments, but finally succumbed to a severe attack of typhoid fever, brought on by exposure while in the army. Not content with the work which he' had already done for the cause of liberty and union, he again en- listed as soon as his physical condition would allow, joining the Third Rhode Island Cav- alry, with which he bravely served until the close of the war. Coming then to Orange, Mr. Livermore entered the office of Hunt, Waite & Flint; and when, in 1872, the company was incor- porated under the name of the Rodney Hunt Machine Company, he became one of its Direc- tors, and also the Secretary, a position which he ably and faithfully filled until his death, July 8, 1 891. From the time he became a resident of Orange until the day the silver cord was loosed that bound him to his earthly home, Mr. Livermore was truly a public man: no representative gathering, be it social, relig- ious, or political, was complete without his presence to speak words of greeting and en- couragement. He had the natural gift of ora- tory, and voiced the popular sentiment in graceful and forcible language, whenever called upon. With his personal popularity and his great ability, he was often pressed into public ser- vice by his fellow-citizens. He represented the First District of Franklin County in the State legislature in 1879, and served on the Committee on Finance. In 1882 Mr. Liver- more was elected to the position of State Sena- tor, and re-elected in 1883, and was on several important committees, among others chairman of the Labor Committee, a member of Com- mittee on Claims, and on Railroads. He was very enthusiastic in politics, and was often a delegate to political conventions. Socially, he was a prominent member of the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, having been Past S'6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Grand Commander and one of the Trustees of the social lodge. He was also a leading member of the General Sedgwick Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He was very active in church work, being an earnest and valued member of the Congregational church, to which Mrs. Livermore also belongs, and was for many years the efificient superintendent of its Sunday-school. Four children were born to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Livermore ; but only one is now living, a daughter Blanche, whose birth occurred September 13, 1883. Mrs. Livermore still makes her home in Orange, occupying her pleasant residence, 4 Grove Street, highly respected by neigh- bors and acquaintances, and cheered by the love and sympathy of friends true and leal. SEONARD B. RICE, of East Charle- mont, a well-to-do retired farmer, was B^^ born in this town, March 30, 1829, son of Leonard and Charlotte (Billings) Rice, and grandson of Timothy and Mary (Thwing) Rice. His first ancestor in this country was Edward Rice, who came from England to America in 1694, and settled in Sudbury, Mass. Timothy Rice was one of the first set- tlers in Conway, Mass., where he owned two hundred acres of land, and was well known- as an energetic and stirring farmer. He was one of the principal supporters of the Whig party in his town, and took an active interest in the welfare of the community. He was the father of nine children — five sons and four daughters. Leonard Rice, one of the five, who was born in Conway in 1789, bought the old homestead, but sold it later, it being now owned by P". Dickinson. He then bought the farm known as the Squire Maxwell place, one of the most beautiful of the many beautiful estates along the Deerfield River in East Charlemont. The house, which was built in 1825, and is now occupied by his son and namesake, is very large and handsome. In politics Mr. Leonard Rice was first a Whig and afterward a Repub- lican. A man of good abilities, like his father he was prominent in town affairs, and held many offices of trust. He died in 1869. He and his wife were members of the Congregational church. They had nine children: Daniel; Edward; Harriet; Char- lotte; Amy; Lucretia; Leonard Belding, the leading subject of this sketch; F. Matilda; and Electa S. Leonard B. Rice attended the common schools of East Charlemont, studying also at Williston Seminary and Shelburne Falls Acad- emy. On leaving school he took charge of the homestead, which he managed for six years. He then went to Cedar Falls, la., where he was employed as a surveyor, and there purchased a large tract of land. His stay in the West was a short one, the place not proving congenial ; and on his return he again took charge of the home farm, remaining here until August 27, 1S62, when in answer to his country's call for troops to defend the Union he enlisted as a nine months' man in Company B, Fifty-second Massachusetts Regi- ment. On July 27, 1863, having received his discharge from the army, he returned to East Charlemont, and since then has resided at the homestead, having cared for his father and mother until they passed away. He has re- modelled and otherwise improved upon the house, built a new barn, and made many improvements on the farm, besides buying land in other quarters. He raises fine grades of stock, has a choice dairy and a large flock of sheep. In 1856 Mr. Rice was married, in Shel- burne Falls, to Abbie White, who died when only twenty-three years old ; and it was after BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 517 her death that he sold his Western property and returned East. His second wife is Ca- lista, daughter of Horatio Roberts, a prominent farmer in East Charlemont. Mr. Rice votes the Republican ticket. He is a public-spir- ited man, and takes a lively interest in educa- tional matters. In the town he has served as Selectman, and has been School Commissioner many years; and he is a member of Grand Army of the Republic Post No. 93, at Shel- burne Falls. Mr. and Mrs. Rice attend the Congregational church. I LIAS FORD BRADFORD, a well- known dairy farmer and highly es- teemed citizen of Conway, 1^'ranklin County, Mass., was born on the homestead where he now resides, November 21, 1837, son of Shubael, Jr., and Mary (Ford) Bradford. His grandfather, Shubael Bradford, Sr. , who was born in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., was one of the early settlers of Conway, locating here in the year 1794 on a farm in the south- ern part of the town. He successfully en- gaged in clearing and cultivating his land, spending the remainder of his life in that employment. He died in 1837, at seventy-six years of age. His wife. Miss Anna Hadlock before marriage, who was born and reared in Williamsburg, Mass., was a daughter of Josiah Hadlock. She died at eighty-one years of age. They reared seven children : John, Pa- melia, Abigail, Parthena, Phebe, Minerva, and Shubael, Jr. Shubael Bradford, Jr., was born at the home of his parents in Conway, and there grew to manhood. He subsequently purchased the farm, and carried it on with profit for several years, but later bought the place on which he is now living with his son, Elias Ford Brad- ford, having attained the age of eighty-six years. His wife, Mary Ford Bradford, who died at seventy-six years of age, was born in the town of Hawley, Mass., and was a daugh- ter of Elias and Sophia Ford. She bore her husband three sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to maturity, namely : Melvin M. ; Josephine M. ; Elias F. ; John and Susan, twins; and Caroline E. Both parents were members of the Methodist Episopal church. Elias Ford Bradford received a good practi- cal education in the district schools of the town. As he grew to manhood, he assisted his father more and more in carrying on the farm ; and later on he purchased the home- stead, which contains one hundred and fifty acres of good farming land. He has since successfully engaged in general husbandry, but makes a specialty of dairying. Aside from the time he was engaged in the Civil War, in which he rendered three years of faithful service as a soldier of the First Massa- chusetts Cavalry, and two years devoted to travelling in the West prior to the war, his life has been spent on this place, which is known as Cloverfield Farm. Mr. Bradford's first wife, whom he married in i860, Lottie Howe, daughter of Artemas Howe, of Barre, Mass., died when but twenty- five years of age. In 1862 he married his present wife^ formerly Miss Fannie E. Flagg, who is a daughter of Samuel Flagg, of Conway, Mass. Four children have been born of this union; namely, Lottie J., Mary R., Samuel F., and Walter L. Mr. Bradford has always been a stanch Republican. He is a charter member of the Farmers' Club of Conway, and is also a charter member of F. A. Clary Post, No. 164, Grand Army of the Republic, of Con- way, in which he has served as Commander. Mr. Bradford and his estimable wife are active and influential members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Si8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW "ENRY CLAY JOY, a retired resi- dent of Shelburne Falls, was born in -'^ \, ^ Hawley, Franklin County, Mass., August 5, 1823, son of Noah and Persis (War- ner) Joy, the former of whom was a native of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., where his birth occurred February 27, 1782. Noah Joy acquired such an education as the public schools of Plainfield afforded, and, on attain- ing manhood, settled in Hawley, where he bought one hundred acres of land and engaged in farming. He later added to the acreage of his farm and became one of the thriving agri- culturists of Franklin County. He also at- tained prominence in the State militia, becoming Colonel of his regiment. Politi- cally, he was a Whig, and was Selectman of his town for fifteen years. He died May 23, 1843. His wife, Persis Warner, was born August 17, 1784, and died October 27, 1853. They were the parents of the follow- ing children : Laura, Annis, Eliza, Hannah, Merrick, Lorenzo W. , Nelson, Henry C, and Maryett. Henry C. Joy in his early years attended the district schools of Hawley, and made the best of his limited opportunities for securing an education. He remained at home and assisted his father on the farm until the age of twenty- six years. Two years later he went to Green- field, where he found employment as clerk in a grocery store, continuing thus for four years. He then went to Newport, Wis., where for three years he was engaged in the grocery business on his own account, after that remov- ing to Washington, D.C., and engaging in the hotel business. This was during the Civil War. Finding hotel-keeping profitable, he continued in that occupation for about twenty- five years. Coming to Shelburne Falls in 1885, he purchased the handsome residence at 5 Severance Street, which his brother was build- ing at the time, and has since resided here, retired from the active duties of life, but tak- ing a keen interest in the welfare of the com- munity and ever ready to lend his influence and assistance to the support of every good cause. In politics he is a Republican, and in religion a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Joy was first married on October 15, 1849, to Jerusha King, daughter of Ezra and Jerusha King, the former of whom was a well- to-do farmer, who died in 1841 at the age of fifty-seven years, survived many years by his wife, whose death occurred in 1882, at the remarkable age of ninety-four years. They had twelve children, namely: Hiram, Mercy v., Joanna, Chloe R., Esther, Olive B., Ezra B., J. Warriner, Sylvia L., Abigail, Mahalath G., and Jerusha G. — a good old-fashioned New England family. It would be well for the country if there were more of them nowadays. Mrs. Jerusha K. Joy, who was born July 12, 1829, died in 1888. On January 2, 1890, Mr. Joy was married for the second time to Gertrude E. Morley, daughter of Asahel M. and Ruth (Cadwell) Morley, of Hartford, Conn. Mr. Morley was in his early days a general store-keeper, but in later years became a broker and dealt quite largely in real estate. Neither he nor his wife is now living. He died at the age of sixty years, and his wife when forty-six years old. They had three children: Wilbert N., who died when a child of six years; Gertrude E. ; and Franklin A., who married Mae F. Clark, and is engaged in the insurance busi- ness in Hartford, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Joy are good substantial New England people of the old school, and their home presents an appearance of thrift and neatness cheerful to behold and indicative of comfort and well- earned prosperity. CHARLES PARSONS, jR. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S2t (^AMES F. TEMPLE, editor and pub- lisher of the Deerfield Valley Echo, was born in Waverly, la., June 8, 1869, son of William H. and Helen (Martin) Temple. An extended notice of his grand- father, David Temple, will be found in the sketch of D. W. Temple in this volume. William H. Temple was born in Heath, Franklin County, Mass., September 12, 1842. He learned the trade of tinsmith and plumber, and for some time worked at Greenfield and Athol. In 1876 he went to Waverly, la., and there worked at his trade some ten years. The ten years following he was engaged in the marble and granite business, but eventually resumed his trade, and is now doing a success- ful business. In 1862 Mr. Temple enlisted for the defence of the Union, being enrolled in Company B, Fifty-second Massachusetts Regiment, and served eleven months. In pol- itics he is a Democrat, and active in local political circles. Mr. Temple has two sons: James F. ; and Claude R., a plumber, in busi- ness with his father. James F. Temple graduated from the Wa- verly High School, and at the age of si.xteen entered a printing-office to learn the mysteries of the "art preservative." In 1892, while on a visit East, he bought out F. I. Bartlett & Co., publishers of the Deerfield Valley Eclio. This paper was started in March, 1891, and, like many other papers that came to existence in that vicinity, received very small encourage- ment. Mr. Temple, thoroughly understanding his business and being energetic and hopeful, soon put new life into the enterprise. Com- mencing in April, 1893, with a very small circulation, he has made the EcIio one of the best and most interesting weekly papers in the county, and is now printing eight hundred copies weekly. It is independent in politics, giving a fair show to both parties, and is win- ning such universal approbation that the sub- scription list is monthly increasing. Mr. Temple is an honorary member of Typo- graphical Union No. 42 of Minneapolis, of the League of American Wheelmen of Boston, also a member of the Hampshire and Franklin County Press Club. He is a Knight of Pyth- ias, a member of the S. S. C. C, and of the Knights of Maccabees of Waverly, la. In religious views he is liberal. On July 15, 1895, Mr. Temple purchased the job printing- office formerly owned by J. L. Goldsmith, and at present he has the only printing-office in the town. HARLES PARSONS, Jr., the sub- I ject of the following sketch and the .^ - accompanying portrait, is a promi- nent agriculturist and highly esteemed citizen of Conway, Franklin County, Mass., where he was born April 2, 1839, son of Charles and Sylvia (Boyden) Parsons. He is a representa- tive of one of the oldest, most widely known, and influential families in the Connecticut valley, descendants of two brothers, Joseph and Benjamin, of English birth, who were among the first-comers to this region, the name being on the Springfield records as early as 1636. A few years later both Benjamin, the direct ancestor of Mr. Parsons, and his brother, "Cornet" Joseph, removed to North- ampton. Benjamin Parsons married in 1653 Sarah Vore (or Voar), of Windsor, Conn., and died in 1689. One or more of their children settled at Enfield, Conn. Samuel Parsons married Miss Hannah Hitchcock, and they reared five children. Their second son, Joel Parsons, who was born in Somers, Conn., Jan- uary 28, 1753, in early manhood removed to Conway, Mass., where he successfully engaged in agriculture and blacksmithing, and here passed the remainder of his life. At twenty- 5-^- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW two years of age, on July 31, I77S, he was united in marriage with Miss Tryphena Booth. The birth of their son Charles occurred in Conway on June 22, 1798. Like his father, he turned his attention to farming, and with grati- fying results. He rendered faithful service to his town as Selectman and Assessor and took an active part in various public enterprises, among others the organization of the Conway National Bank; and he was a liberal contrib- utor toward the support of schools and churches. He and his wife, Sylvia Boyden Parsons, whom he married on October 30, 1820, had five children, namely: Adeline; Nancy; Tryphena B. ; Charles L., who died when six weeks old; and Charles, Jr., who continued to live under the parental roof after reaching manhood. Having received his education in the com- mon schools and in Conway Academy, when twenty-three years of age he received from his father an interest in the homestead ; and for three years they conducted the farm in partner- ship. From that time Mr. Parsons the younger took entire charge and cared for his parents until their death, after which he be- came the owner of the homestead and has since continued to carry it on with profit. The farm contains four hundred acres. In 1867 Mr. Parsons, in connection with general farm- ing, began to breed full-blooded stock, and is now known as one of the most successful stock- raisers in Massachusetts. His barns are models of convenience and comfort, and his residence one of the finest in this vicinity. On October 29, 1862, Mr. Parsons was united in marriage with Miss Helen A. Wickham, a daughter of D. M. Wickham, of Albion, N.Y. Their union has been blessed by the birth of five children, a son and four daughters; namely, Mary Adeline, Charles Lyman, Lizzie, Lois, and Sylvia B. In politics Mr. Parsons is a Republican. He rendered efficient service to his town as Selectman from 1880 to 1885, and later on served three years more in the same office. He has acted as chairman of the Board of Town Commissioners for several years, is now serving his second term as chairman of the Road Commissioners, and has also acted one year as a member of the School Committee. For many years he has filled the office of Jus- tice of the Peace. Mr. Parsons took a promi- nent part in the establishment of the Conway Creamery, which was started in 1887, and has since been connected with it, acting as director of the company most of the time, and serving as secretary and treasurer between three and four years, during a year and a half being also engaged as the business manager. The cream- ery is second to none in New England, both as to quantity and quality of butter produced. Mr. Parsons is now a stockholder in Conway National Bank, one of the Trustees of the Con- way Savings Bank, and a Director of the Con- way Electric Street Railway Company. He was superintendent of construction in the erec- tion in Conway village of the town hall, the site of which was given by him to the town. The building is one of the finest in this part of Franklin County, and was erected at a cost of about ten thousand dollars. The founda- tions of the structure are forty-eight by sixty feet in dimension, and it is two stories in height. One-third of the first floor is used for a public library, which contains a fair-sized collection of instructive and interesting books. The remainder of the first floor is devoted to rooms for town officials and a soldiers' memo- rial hall. The upper floor is used as an audi- torium for lectures and entertainments. Its acoustic properties are excellent. It is sup- plied with comfortable chairs and is con- structed with a good stage, well equipped with iBiOGRAtHICAL REVIEW S23 scenery, which was placed there by private sub- scription, the seating capacity of the hall being enlarged by a gallery which will accom- modate about forty persons. Fraternally, Mr. Parsons is connected with the Franklin County Agricultural Society, and is a prominent Mason, being a charter member of the Morning Sun Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Conway, and its first Worshipful Master, also a member of Franklin Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and the Connecticut Valley Commandery, Knights Templars. He is like- wise Past District Deputy of the Grand Lodge. In religious views Mr. Parsons is orthodox, is a member of the Congregational church of Conway, and for twenty years was connected with the choir. ^HARLES B. NEWELL, a leading citizen of Rowe, prominent in politics and in agriculture, was born in Whitingham, Vt. , October 3, 1839, son of Baxter H. and Rachel (Briggs) Newell, and grandson of Joshua and Dorcas (Lyon) Newell. Joshua Newell was born in the eastern part of Massachusetts in 1809. Removing to Vermont when a young man, he bought a tract of wild land in Whitingham, comprising fifty acres, which he converted into a comfortable home- stead, prospering as years rolled on and adding to his property until it covered two hundred and fifty acres. He built substantial frame buildings, and at his death, which occurred when he was fifty years old, left a valuable property. In politics he was a Whig, and in religious belief a Universalist, his wife attend- ing the same church. They had nine children. Baxter H. Newell was born in Whiting- ham and spent his life on the home farm, car- ing for his parents in their declining years. He bought one hundred and fifty acres adjoin- ing the homestead, which, added to the origi- nal property, made a vast estate. In 1868 he sold this property to his son Chester, and, retiring from active business, bought a home in Shelburne Falls, where he died at the age of seventy-nine. His wife passed away at sixty-two. Baxter H. Newell, having cast his first votes with the Whigs, later supported the Republican platform ; and for twelve years he was Selectman, Assessor, and Poor Master. He was a public-spirited and patriotic man and actively assisted in raising troops at the time of the Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter H. Newell had five children, as follows: Charles B., John L., Chester V., Luana R., and Herbert. Charles B. Newell attended the public schools in Whitingham, finishing his educa- tion at the Whitingham Academy and at Townshend Seminary. At the age of twenty- two he went to work at Charlestown, Mass., where he was employed for five years. He then went into business with his brother, John L., who had a general store at Shelburne Falls, and was there engaged for twelve years, with varying fortune. The business paid well; but the store was burned in 1875 and had to be rebuilt, and Mr. Newell's health failed, so that he felt constrained to retire from mercantile life. In 1883 he bought the Barrett farm in Rowe, a property of two hun- dred and fifty acres, and has remodelled the house and barn and established a fine farm. He has a choice dairy, keeping forty-five head of cattle, and has been engaged to some extent in sheep-raising. Besides his home 'property he owns the Hunt farm, which covers one hun- dred and ninety-three acres, and the Brown farm, an estate of one hundred and sixty acres. On November i, 1862, Mr. Newell was united in marriage with Lucy J., daughter of John P. and Jane (Green) Dix, of Whiting- S24 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ham, Vt. Mr. Dix was a farmer and lived to a good age. Mrs. Lucy J. Newell died in 1874, at the age of thirty-two. She left four children, as follows: Bradley C, now of Jack- sonville, Vt. , who married Ellen Allard and has three children; Carrie J., at home with her father; Alice M., who married John S. Hunt and lives at Miller's Falls; Flora L., who married Charles O. Peck and has one child. In politics Mr. Newell is a Republican and was Representative for this district in 1891. In the town he has been Selectman, Assessor, and Poor Master, serving also on the School Committee; and for two years he has been President of the Agricultural Society of Charlemont. In religion Mr. Newell holds liberal views. ARREN F. TOWER, a leading farmer and influential citizen of Monroe, Franklin County, was born in Florida, Berkshire County, Mass., April 23, 1828, son of Martin and Fanny (Clark) Tower, and grandson of Thomas and Elizabeth (Fuller) Tower. According to the genealogi- cal record in the History of Hingham, Mass., the original progenitors of the Tower family in America were Robert and Dorothy (Damon) Tower, residents of Hingham, England, whose son John came to this country and settled in Hingham, Mass., in 1637. John's son Benja- min was the father of Thomas and grandfather of Shadrach, who married Miss Ruth Cobb. Thomas, the second, who married Elizabeth Fuller, was son of Shadrach and Ruth, and hence was of the fifth generation in America; and Warren F Tower, the subject of this sketch, represents the seventh. It has been said that the name was originally Tour, which later became Tore, and finally Tower. Thomas Tower was the first to remove to the western part of the State. He came from Ashfield, Mass., and settled in Florida, of which town he became a progressive farmer. He first purchased one hundred acres of new land, all of which he cleared, and built thereon a substantial house and barn; and later on he bought two hundred acres additional. He was a popular and influential citizen, and in politi- cal affiliation a Republican. He and his wife, Elizabeth Fuller Tower, were the parents of the following children : Lucy, Thomas, Mar- tin, William, Betsy, Chester, and Polly. Martin Tower, who was born in the town of Florida, Berkshire County, August 8, 1790, chose the vocation of an agriculturist and pur- chased a farm in his native town. He was a well-read and highly intelligent farmer and an influential and prosperous citizen. In poli- tics he was a Republican and served acceptably in various town offices. He died at the age of seventy-seven years; and his wife, Fanny Clark Tower, lived to be but fifty-seven years old. Their union was blessed by the birth of sixteen children: Alvin, Calvin, Orrin, Fanny, Phila, Lucy, Harry, William (de- ceased), Warren F., Calista, William, Hough- ton, Eli, Sidney, Miles, and Miner. Warren F. Tower remained with his parents" until he reached his majority, acquiring a good practical education in- the district school. He then purchased one hundred acres of what is known as the Dunbar lot in the town of Monroe, and later on bought forty acres addi- tional. He is a successful agriculturist, and aside from his general farming and stock-rais- ing he has been largely interested in lumber- ing. In 1888, his house having been destroyed by fire, he erected a substantial new one. Mr. Tower served in the Civil War, enlisting in 1862 in Company B of the Fifty-second Massachusetts Regiment, under Colonel Green- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 525 leaf, and took part in the battle of Port Hud- son and other engagements, returning home after eleven months' service. In 1853 he was married to Miss Nancy Roberts, who died when but twenty-six years of age. His second wife was Miss Elzada Polley, of Savoy, who died at the age of forty-nine years. This union was blessed by the birth of eight chil- dren, namely: Nancy, who died young; Sarah,' the wife of Dexter Bailey, of Whitingham, Vt., who has one child, Eva; Emma and Etta, residing at home; Minnie, who married Mel- vin H. Stafford, of Readsboro, Vt., and has two children — Elva and Clifton; Willis H. and Nellie, who live with their father; and Eddie, the seventh-born, who died young. Mr. Tower is a Republican and a man of sterling character, who has been frequently chosen by his townsmen to fill offices of trust and responsibility. He has served very ac- ceptably as Selectman for ten years, also as Assessor, Overseer of the Poor, and as a mem- ber of the School Committee. In religious views he is liberal. EORGE A. BERRY, a successful ■Si farmer and lumberman of Shutesbury, was born in Prescott, Hampshire County, Mass., April 13, 1837, son of Will- iam A. and Mary (Thrasher) Berry, his ances- tors having been among the first settlers of that town. His paternal grandfather, John Berry, who was a native of Prescott, was an energetic and industrious farmer, and accumu- lated considerable wealth. He died at the old Berry homestead in Prescott, at the age of over eighty years, and the farm is now occu- pied by four generations of the family. Will- iam A. Berry, son of John, was likewise a successful farmer and a resident of Prescott throughout his earthly life, he, however, attain- ing only forty years of age. He was a Demo- crat in politics and liberal in his religious views. His wife, Mary Thrasher Berry, a native of New Braintree, became the mother of three children, as follows: William M., who died at the age of twenty-one; Mary J., who died aged five years; and George A., the subject of this sketch. The mother died at the age of seventy-seven. George A. Berry grew to manhood in Pres- cott. He commenced his studies in the schools of his native town, and completed his education at the New Salem Academy. He taught in the public schools for several terms, and resided at home until reaching the age of twenty-one, when he engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1864 he purchased a farm of one hundred acres in Shutesbury, where he now resides, and, having since acquired more land, his property at the present time consists of five hundred acres. He has conducted extensive lumbering operations, in which he has been successful, and now occupies a prominent posi- tion among the well-to-do residents of Shutes- bury. Mr. Berry is a Republican in politics, and is active and influential in public affairs. He is chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and has served as Collector and Town Clerk. In 1879 he was elected to the House of Repre- sentatives, and served the district with credit. On May 7, 1859, Mr. Berry was united in marriage with Rebecca Vaughan, who was born in Prescott, December 12, 1836, and by whom he had four children, as follows: Mary A., who died aged thirty-two; Elmer A., a farmer and lumberman of New Salem; Lura L. and Bessie J., who reside at home. Mrs. Rebecca V. Berry died December 9, 1883 ; and on May 7, 1885, Mr. Berry wedded for his second wife Mrs. Abbie S. Grossman (nee Cowles). Mr. Berry is a liberal in religion, and Mrs. Berry is a member of the Congregational church. 5^6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW W' ILLIAM W. HUNT, a general mer- chant at Wendell Depot, was born at New Salem, May 15, 1842, son of Warren and Betsey (Stacy) Hunt. Mr. Hunt's grandfather, Gardner Hunt, resided in New Salem, where he followed agricultural pursuits and passed the greater portion of his life. Warren Hunt was born in New Salem and was reared to farm life; but, being nat- urally skilful in the use of tools, he relin- quished agriculture, preferring to follow the vocation of a mechanic. He worked several years in New Salem, and passed the last twenty-five years of his life in Leverett, where he died at the age of sixty years. His wife, who was a daughter of Ninfus Stacy, of Pres- cott, became the mother of three children, as follows: Jane, who married James F. Smith, and is now deceased; Wilson, a mechanic residing at Thorndike; and William W., above named. The mother died in Prescott, aged sixty-three years. William W. Flunt acquired his education in the schools of New Salem, and after com- pleting his studies there engaged in the gro- cery business, which he conducted for a period of six years. He then moved to Wendell Depot and purchased the store now occupied by Mr. Graves, which he conducted success- fully for the succeeding two years, and in 1 881 established himself in his present place, where, under his forceful energy, his business even in these days of driving competition has expanded into large proportions. Mr. Hunt has also succeeded, withal, in securing the firm friendship and good will of his fellow-towns- men, who regard him with the highest respect and esteem. In 1863 Mr. Hunt was united in marriage to Miss Lucy A. Smith, daughter of Amos K. Smith, of New Salem, Mass. They are the parents of six children, as follows: Lewis L. , station agent at Wendell, who married Jessie Cobb, and has one child named Athe- line; Horace H., who wedded Eva L. Cobb, and is in business with his father; Annie B. ; Frank H. ; Eva J. ; and Angle L. In politics Mr. Hunt is a Democrat, and has taken an active interest in public affairs, in which he is a prominent figure. He has served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen for the past six years, and in 1890 represented the Third Franklin District in the State leg- islature. He has also been Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor for the past seven years. He very capably filled the position of Post- master at New Salem, and since coming to Wendell Depot has served the public in the same capacity, giving equal satisfaction. Mr. Hunt is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and his son Lewis is serv- ing upon the School Board. BNER N. BASCOM, a prosperous farmer of Greenfield, was born in the adjoining town of Gill, Franklin County, Mass., March 25, 1827, son of Dorus and Esther (Newton) Bascom. Moses Bas- com, the grandfather of Abner, was an hon- est, hard-working, and successful farmer, a native of Massachusetts. He was one of the early settlers of Gill and a Selectman of that town, and also a prominent member of the A. F. & A. M. He married Anna Sheldon, and died at a good old age on the old home- stead. His son, Dorus Bascom, who was born in Gill, likewise became an influential citizen of that place, serving as Selectman and also as Representative. He owned the old Bas- com farm and considerable land in Bernards- ton. He and his wife, Esther Newton, a native of Greenfield, both died on the old farm, he attaining the more advanced age. FRANKLIN PEASE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 529 They were Universalists in religion. In politics Dorus Bascom was a Democrat. Of their children who reached maturity there were four sons and two daughters, as follows: Abner Bascom and his sister, Martha (Bas- com) Clark, who reside in Greenfield; Spell- man, Ezekiel, Newton, and Jane, deceased. Abner N. Bascom obtained his education in the schools of Gill, and started in business for himself when twenty-one years of age. He resided in Gill until 1862, when, moving to Greenfield, he bought his present farm, which he has greatly improved. On Febru- ary I, 1857, when about thirty years of age, he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Purple, who was born in Gill, May 8, 1833, daughter of Roswell and Mary (Roberts) Purple, both natives of Gill. Mr. Purple was a farmer, well and favorably known through- out the community, and was also popular as hotel-keeper and auctioneer. He was a Democrat in politics. In religion both he and his wife were Unitarians. They had a large family, seven of whom are living, as follows: Clarissa, now Mrs. Morgan, of South Deerfield; Sophia, Mrs. Hale, of Springfield, Mass. ; Mary, Mrs. Merrick, of Amherst, Mass.; Eliza, Mrs. Bascom; Procter P., liv- ing in Gill ; Edwin, of Athol, Mass. ; and Henry, of Gill, Mass. Elmira, Henrietta, Hetsel, and John are deceased. Mr. Bascom has been a hard-working man, and has thriven through his own exertions. He and his estimable wife at their charm- ing home entertain with good old-fashioned hospitality their large circle of friends. They have two sons: John H. Bascom, a well-known shoe dealer of Springfield; Rol- lins S. Bascom, a citizen of Greenfield. Abner N. Bascom is a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife are liberal in religious faith. fRANKLIN PEASE, a successful and highly respected farmer of Conway, Franklin County, Mass., was born in this town, June 27, 1823, son of Asher and Elizabeth (Chaffee) Pease, and grandson of John Pease. The latter was a native and a lifelong resident of Enfield, Conn. Little is known regarding him except that he mar- ried, and reared a family of four children; namely, Beulah, John, Jr., Asher, and Lyman. Asher Pease, who was born in Enfield, Conn., September 21, 1781, chose for his life work the independent and healthful voca- tion of an agriculturist, and in early manhood removed to Conway, Mass., where he pur- chased a farm, which he carried on with suc- cess for many years. He and his wife, Eliza- beth (Chaffee) Pease, reared eight children: Eliza, Newton, Maria, Beulah, Harriet, Caro- line, Loren, and Franklin. Both parents spent their last days on the old homestead. Franklin Pease, who was the youngest son, spent his early years on his father's farm in Conway, receiving a good practical education in the district schools. The winter that he was eighteen years of age he engaged as a school-teacher, and he successfully followed that as a winter vocation for several years. When he reached his majority, his father gave him an interest in the home farm; and he continued to carry it on in partnership with his father until the latter's death. He still resides on this farm, which is large and productive, and has substantial and comforta- ble buildings; and he is successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He also buys and sells a large amount of live stock, and in the spring he generally has about one hundred head of cattle to turn out to pasture. On November 5, 1850, Mr. Pease was united in marriage with Miss Minerva Nims, who 53° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was born in Ashfield, Mass., June 22, 1824, and was a daughter of Stoddard Nims, of that place. Her death, on June 10, 1894, came as a sad bereavement to her husband, with whom she had shared in the work of life and its joys and sorrows for nearly forty-four years. Mr. Pease is active in political matters, and has faithfully and acceptably served his town in various offices of trust, having been a Selectman thirteen years, also an Assessor; and in 1863 he was a member of the House of Representatives in the State legislature. Mr. Pease belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a prominent member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society. A portrait of this substantial and progres- sive citizen will be found on a neighboring page. KREDERICK W. PURRINGTON, an extensive manufacturer of butter boxes and a dealer in all kinds of grain and feed at Griswoldville, in the town of Colerain, was born here on November 8, 1852. He is the son of Luther and Fanny J. (Hunter) Purrington, his father having been born at Stamford, Vt., on June 29, 1823, and his mother at Wendell, Mass., in the same year. Mr. Purrington's grandfather, Dr. Luther Purrington, became one of the early settlers of the town of Colerain, where he was for some time a practising physician; and he continued to reside there until his decease, which occurred at the age of sixty-two years. The Doctor's son and namesake, Luther Pur- rington, adopted agriculture as an occupation, and has resided upon a farm situated about one and one-half miles north of Colerain Cen- tre the greater portion of his life. He has been an industrious and energetic farmer, and is to-day one of the oldest residents of the town. His first wife died in 1854, when her son Frederick W. was about two years of age; and he married for his second wife Sarah Robbins, who still survives. His other son by the first marriage is Franklin L., a farmer of Colerain; and the children of his second marriage are: George A., a travelling sales- man of Worcester, Mass.; Nellie A., wife of Wheeler Sissons, of Deerfield; and Charles J., also a resident of Colerain. Frederick was educated in the schools of his native town, and at the age of twenty-one years commenced life's labors as a farm la- borer and a teamster. He carefully saved his earnings, and in 1878 purchased his present property at Griswoldville, where he has since resided. Besides the butter-box industry, which he conducts on an extensive scale, hav- ing produced as many as seventy-five thousand boxes per annum, he also owns and operates a grist-mill, and deals extensively in all kinds of grain and feed, together with agricultural tools and implements of every description, having large warehouses. He erected a very pleasant and convenient residence in 1889, at a cost of three thousand dollars. On November 14, 1878, he married Miss Ida A. Brown, who was born at Whitingham, Vt., on October 27, 1852, daughter of Amos A. and Mary (Temple) Brown, her father hav- ing been born in that town, October 18, 18 17, and her mother at Heath on July 7 of the same year. The former was a successful farmer, and prominently identified with the public affairs of Whitingham, having served twenty years as Deputy Sheriff, and also ably filled other offices. He died January 2, 1869, his wife surviving until May 28, 1893, having been the mother of eight chi'ldren, four of whom are now living, namely: Corsanda, wife of B. F. Roberts, of Halifax, Vt. ; Janette, wife of Emory P. Reed, of Jacksonville, Vt. ; Ida A. ; and William A., also a resident of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 531 Jacksonville. The deceased v/ere: Clarissa E., Amos G., Hannah M., and Florence M. Mr. Purrington's success in his enterprises is the result of his good business ability and untiring energy. He is liberal in his relig- ious views and, politically, a Democrat. ^HILO A. TOWER, a sagacious and enterprising agriculturist of Charle- mont, where he resides on his beau- tiful farm of one hundred acres, was born in Savoy, Mass., December 26, 1849, ^^^ '^^ Calvin and Laura Blanchard Tower, and grandson of Martin and Fanny (Clark) Tower. His great -grandparents were Thomas and Elizabeth (Fuller) Tower, the former of whom was the son of Shadrach and Ruth (Cobb) Tower. From the genealogy of the family given in the History of Hingham, Mass., we learn that Shadrach was the son of Thomas, who was son of Benjamin, who was son of John Tower, a native of Hingham, England, who came to Massachusetts and settled in Hingham in 1637. John Tower was a son of Robert and Dorothy (Damon) Tower. The family name, it is said, was formerly Tour, from which it was changed to Tore, and then assumed its present form. Martin Tower was born on April 8, 1790. He was industrious and enterprising, and be- came very prosperous in worldly circum- stances, owning a large farm in Florida, Berk- shire County, Mass. He died at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, Fanny Clark, who died at fifty-seven, was the mother of a good old-fashioned family of sixteen children, most of whom reached years of maturity, namely: Alvin; Calvin; Orrin; Fanny and Phila, twins; Lucy: Harry; William; War- ren F. ; Calista; William, second; Hough- ton; Eli; Sidney; and Miles and Minor, twins. After the death of his first wife Martin Tower married again, his second wife being Mary J. Pike; but by her he had no children. Calvin Tower, second son of Martin, was born in Florida, Berkshire County, Mass., and remained at home until reaching man- hood. He then bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Savoy, and on it erected good buildings, later purchasing an adjoining farm of one hundred and forty acres, and becoming quite well-to-do in course of time. He kept a good dairy, and was a thorough and substan- tial farmer. He died on his farm when past threescore years and seven. His first wife, Laura Blanchard, was the daughter of Josiah C. and Polly (Haskins) Blanchard. Her father was a son of Nathan Blanchard, one of the early settlers of Savoy. Mrs. Laura B. Tower died at the age of fifty-two years, hav- ing been the mother of four children: Free- man C, Mary F., Philo A., and Milo F. Freeman C. Tower has been twice married, and has had six children, two of whom are now living, namely: Adah S. Cain, of Savoy; and Iva Steele, of Adams. His first wife was Izana Maynard, who died in early womanhood, and his second. Bertha Mease, of Michigan, in which State they now reside. Mary F. Tower married Robert Harris, a farmer of Savoy, and has three children: Fred P., Frank, and Flora. Milo F., twin brother of Philo A., died in infancy. Calvin Tower, after the death of his first wife, married Mary Ann Bridges, who now resides in Savoy. Philo A. Tower acquired a practical educa- tion in his native town, and remained at home until his marriage. After that event he su- perintended the home farm for five years, and then came to Charlemont, and bought the Stevens farm, a beautiful tract of land on the Greenfield River, containing one hundred acres, as above mentioned. This he has im- 532 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW proved by erecting a house and good barns, and bringing the land into a higher state of cultivation. He has a fine flock of sheep, besides other stock, and carries on a dairy. His farm presents a flourishing appearance, and speaks well for the typical New England energy and thrift, of which he possesses a large share. He also owns one hundred and forty acres of land in Savoy. Mr. Tower was married March 9, 1875, to Ida A. Maynard, daughter of Urbane and Eliza A. (Haskins) Maynard, of Savoy. Mr. Maynard, who was a prominent farmer, died in 1893, at the age of sixty-nine. His wife is still living. Mrs. Maynard's father was Samuel Haskins, a son of Shadrach Haskins and grandson of the Rev. Nathan Haskins, who was the first settled minister in Savoy, and as such received as a donation from the town the grant of three hundred and eighty acres of land. His descendants at one time formed a large part of the population in the district known as Spruce Corner, Savoy. Mr. and Mrs. Tower are the parents of the fol- lowing children: Mabel A., born August 11, 1884; Area C, born July 14, 1887; and Altie L., October 22, 1894. Their eldest, Gertrude E., was born June 3, 1879, and died October i, 1883. Mr. Tower is a Republican in politics, and he and his wife are among the most respected citizens of their town. ^aROFESSOR H. a. PRATT, a re- "^ tired educator, now residing in Gill, - Mass., is a descendant of one of the early English immigrants to New England bearing this surname. The earliest direct ancestor on the incomplete family record is Ephraim Pratt, born at Bridgewater, Mass., January 10, 1732. His early life was spent at Hardwick (now in the limits of Dana). During his residence there he is represented as holding the office of Deacon in the Baptist church. Afterward, having adopted the relig- ious belief of the Universalists, he became a preacher of that faith. Not far from the year 1776 he removed to Wendell, near Lock's Vilage. From his old account book, now in possession of the family, he seems at first to have kept a country store, but adopted farm- ing as a business later in life. He probably continued to exercise his talent as a religious teacher among the rural population. A memorial tablet bearing the record of his death, January 20, 1809, stands in the ceme- tery at Lock's Village. Lieutenant David Pratt, oldest son of the above, was born in Hardwick, May 15, 1757. Being a young man of marked intellectual ability and business energy, he began the occupation of .a merchant in his native town. At first successful, but later having suffered reverses, he abandoned his first field of labor, and removed to Shutesbury, where he tried real estate speculation in a somewhat unde- veloped part of the town, building several houses and selling some farms, but was un- able to recover his original prosperity. Over- whelmed by disappointment, he failed to realize the promise of his early manhood, and sank into comparative poverty, dying Decem- ber 19, 1826. Of his nine children, all of whom reached adult age, Ephraim, the father of the subject of this sketch, was the third, born at Hard- wick, December 18, 1784, married May 31, 1815, and died May 30, 1838. His wife, Huldah Pierce, daughter of Nathan Pierce, of Shutesbury, was born February 8, 1796, and died May 13, 1887. Her second husband, Eliphalet Kingman, of Winchester, N.H., with whom she lived some fourteen years, died June 11, 1874. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 533 Of the early life of Deacon Ephraim Pratt there are few records extant. He seems to have come to Shutesbury with his father near the beginning of the present century. That he was brought up to habits of industry and economy seems evident from the fact that in 1811 he was able to buy the farm on which he spent his life, advancing the purchase money. Acquiring his education at the public schools at home and the academy at New Salem, he became a teacher in the country schools, and pursued this calling successfully during four- teen successive winters. He also shared in the town offices, and practised the art of land surveying as occasion offered. With these, together with the cultivation of his farm, as his only sources of income, he acquired a com- petence, and left an unencumbered estate to his family. A devout Christian, and professing the Baptist faith, he was honored with the highest lay offices of his church. His family included eight children — five sons and three daughters — all of whom reached mature years, and of whom six are now living. The eldest, Ephraim L., was born August 9, 1 81 7, and died at Boston, February 19, 1867, after a life devoted to the inventive arts, though, like most inventors, he failed to achieve financial success. The third member of the family, Hannah Hammond, born December 27, 1820, married the Rev. David Brainard Gunn, who has spent most of his life preaching as an evangelist in the West, and, later, as a home missionary in Maine and Massachusetts. They are now re- tired from the active professional work, being able to rest in the assurance of a competence in their declining years. Lemuel Church, born February 17, 1824, having acquired a good academic education, and taught successfully in schools of various grades, at length embarked in business at Cleveland, Ohio, and subsequently at Kala- mazoo, Mich. Intelligent and public-spir- ited, he has been a valuable citizen and an influential member of the religious communi- ties with which he has been associated. Henry Lee was born July 14, 1826. With his older brother Lemuel C. he spent the principal part of his minority at the old homestead in farm labor. Meanwhile, as cir- cumstances permitted, he secured a few terms of academic instruction, and became a popu- lar teacher in the public schools. His early efforts in study and teaching gave promise of superior scholarship and a brilliant career in professional life. But, unwilling to submit to the necessities of a student's life under- taken without ready means of support, he de- cided on business as his chief calling, and abandoned school life. While uniform suc- cess has attended him in the field of his choice, he has achieved honor and influence as an intelligent and high-minded citizen in the civil and religious communities wherein he has resided. Since 1869 his home has been in New York. Sarah Sophia, born November 28, 1828, married Samuel Sawyer, an intelligent me- chanic and influential citizen, and resides at Miller's Falls, Mass. Laura was born June 30, 1833, received a good education, and achieved some success in teaching. Her career was cut short by pro- tracted illness till her decease in 1867. James David, born March 20, 1836, has been industrious and enterprising, but never successful in business. For some years he has resided in South-western Kansas. Professor Hiram A. Pratt, the second son, was born January 21, 1819. His early years were devoted to labor on the farm, enjoying 53 + BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW meanwhile annually from eight to ten weeks of instruction at the district schools. With such limited advantages for study and sixteen weeks at a higher institution, he became mas- ter of a public school; and thereafter, for the next fifty-seven years, with the exception of five, he spent at least one term in the work of teaching in the various grades of public schools and academies. Urged by an irrepres- sible love of learning, he desired above all things the advantages of a college education ; and, being dependent on his own resources, he bent every energy toward its accomplishment, laboring in the field in summer, attending the academy in the fall and spring terms, and teaching in the winter. In the summer of 1 84 1, having completed the preparation for college, an unexpected interruption occurred. His eyes (never very strong) now became unable to bear the strain of college work. The next four years accordingly were spent principally in teaching and private study, until 1845, when it seemed practicable to attempt the higher course. Therefore, applying for admission at Amherst College, he entered the Sophomore class of 1848, and was graduated in due course. A return to teaching now seemed to be the shortest way to the liquidation of a few college bills; and, a position having been offered in the Shelburne Falls Academy, it was accepted, rather as a temporary expedient than as a permanent settlement in business. But, nothing occurring to divert him there- from, teaching became his permanent life- work, of which this is the summary : assistant and principal of Shelburne Falls Academy, 1848-51 ; principal of Norwalk Institute, Ohio, 1851-53; of Shelburne Falls Academy, 1854- 56; of Connecticut Literary Institution, Suffield, Conn., 1856-61; of Hartford High School, Connecticut, 1861-65; in business at Cleveland, Ohio, 1865-68; principal of Peddie Institute, Hightstown, N.J., 1868-75; in business at Kalamazoo, Mich., 1875-77; superintendent of public schools in Faribault, Minn., 1877-81 ; principal of Pratt's School for Boys, Shelburne Falls, 1882-93; thence retired, resident of Gill, Mass. May 30, 1849, Professor Pratt married Miss Marietta, daughter of Eliphalet Kingman, of Winchester, N.H., born February 16, 1828, educated at Mount Holyoke Seminary, a young lady of superior scholarship and high intellectual and moral endowments and strong religious convictions. She contributed mate- rially to her husband's success in his early professional labors, and was the mother of two sons: Henry Alden, who died at the age of sixteen months; and Frank Kingman, who graduated at Brown University in the class of 1877, and is now practising law in Minneapo- lis, Minn. Her death occurred at Hights- town, N.J., February i, 1872, at the age of forty-four years. Professor Pratt married his second wife, Mary Howe Smith, daughter of Squire Howe, of Dryden, Tompkins County, N.Y., August 27, 1873. Having graduated from the Albany Normal School in 1853, she became teacher in the high school at Oswego, where she con- tinued till 1857, when, having married Mr. A. M. Smith, her first husband, she retired from educational work. In i86i, after the death of her husband, she resumed teaching in the Oswego schools, having charge of the geo- graphical studies. At the organization of the Oswego State Normal School she became a member of the faculty of that institution, in which relation she continued until 1870, although active service on this board was interrupted for a time to enable her to aid Professor Arnold Guyot, of Princeton, in the preparation of his geographical series. From the beginning of 1870 until her marriage her BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S3S time was occupied exclusively in the geo- graphical work and in attending teachers' institutes, giving instruction in improved methods of elementary teaching. In prose- cuting this work she visited every State north of the Ohio and Potomac Rivers, and ad- dressed vast gatherings of teachers in them all. During the course of Pratt's School at Shelburne Falls she had charge of the instruc- tion in French, German, and mathematics, in which she demonstrated the superiority of her improved methods of instruction by a very successful practical experiment. By her first husband she had two children: Annie L., wife of Professor Mearkle, of Hamlin Uni- versity, St. Paul, Minn.; and Harry A. Smith, a graduate of Amherst College in the class of 1883, and since employed in New York in the work of artistic house decoration. Professor Pratt, while active in the dis- charge of civil, social, and religious duties in the various relations of life, has given his mind and heart principally to the one work of practical education — that of fitting young gentlemen and ladies for an honorable, suc- cessful, and useful career in life. His system of instruction, suggested by his own experi- ence as a student, has been invariably followed in all the departments of learning in which he has been actively engaged, and with results highly satisfactory both to teacher and learner. The method consists in limiting the student to two principal recitations a day, and extend- ing the length of the lesson and the time of the recitation to the utmost within practicable limits. Carry a few subjects at once, and advance rapidly in the course, instead of add- ing to the number of the lessons and subtract- ing proportionally from their length. By this method Professor Pratt has long wrought in the field of academic education; and with what success thousands of his former pupils. now filling successfully the several learned professions and all the civil departments of honest labor, can bear ample testimony. TT^HARLES L. BOYDEN, a practical I ]l and progressive young farmer of Con- ^i° ^ way, Franklin County, was born in this town, September 27, 1865, son of PVancis and Martha (Jones) Boyden. His paternal grandfather, Josiah Boyden, was also a native of Conway. He remained on the old homestead with his parents until his marriage, at which time he purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty acres about a mile south. He was a successful farmer, and in addition to his agricultural labors he also engaged in stock buying. As there were no railroad facilities for transporting the cattle to market, when he had purchased a number of head it was his custom to drive them to Boston to sell them, he himself making the journey on horseback. He spent the re- mainder of his life on this farm, where he died at seventy-four years of age. He mar- ried Miss Emily S. Stearns, who was also a native of Conway and a daughter of Joel Stearns. She bore him two sons and two daughters, all of whom grew to maturity; namely, Francis, Israel, Nancy, and Emily. The mother also died in the seventy-fourth year of her age. Both parents were members of the Congregational church. Francis Boyden remained with his parents, receiving a good practical education in the district school, and caring for his father and mother during their last days. At their death he inherited the farm, which then contained two hundred and twenty-seven acres, his father having added to the original estate by the purchase of between seventy-five and eighty acres of land. Like his father, he was 536 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW a successful, agriculturist, and also profitably engaged in the business of a live-stock dealer. In politics he was a Republican, and took an active interest in the welfare of his town, which he served acceptably in office. He was a member of the Greenfield Agricultural Soci- ety. Francis Boyden died at forty-one years of age. His wife, Martha Jones Boyden, a daughter of Ira Jones, of Conway, is now — 1895 — living with her sons at the old home- stead, aged forty-nine. Charles L. Boyden has thus far spent his life on his birthplace, where he is successfully engaged in general farming, making a spe- cialty of dairying. His farm is very produc- tive, said to be one of the best in the State; and he has recently made substantial improve- ments by the erection of new buildings. On September 27, 1893, Mr. Boyden was united in marriage with Miss Mary Pfersick, daugh- ter of John Pfersick, of Ashfield, Mass., where she was educated. Their union has been brightened by the birth of one child, Charles Sumner Boyden. In political affilia- tion Mr. Boyden is a Republican, and he and his estimable wife are consistent members of the Congregational church. -EREMIAH PRATT 3VI0RGAN, who is practically retired from the active pursuits of life, has been a resident of Greenfield since the autumn of 1888, owning and occupying a fine and handsomely ap- pointed house at 84 Federal Street. The reader will view with interest the portrait of this gentleman, which appears on the page opposite. He is a native of Franklin County, having been born September 15, 1827, at Northfield Farms, where .his paternal grand- father, Noah by name, was an early settler. Noah Morgan took up a tract of unimproved land in that town, and from the almost path- less forest hewed out a good farm, on which he reared his large family of children. He was twice married, his first wife bearing him six children; and after her decease he formed a matrimonial alliance with Mrs. Mary (Hol- ton) Robbins, the widow of Aaron Robbins, by whom she had six children. Of this second union six more children were born, one of them being Elisha Morgan, the father of him of whom we write; so that Noah Morgan's household included eighteen children. He was a man of superior intelligence and abil- ity, sincere and upright, and with his wife belonged to the Universalist church. He lived to a good old age, but his widow sur- vived him many years, attaining the remarka- ble age of ninety-seven or ninety-eight years. Elisha Morgan was born on the paternal homestead at Northfield Farms in 1793, and was there reared to agricultural pursuits, to which he subsequently added the trade of a blacksmith, in the course of his life accumu- lating quite a goodly fortune; and, notwith- standing that he was defrauded of a portion of his hard-earned possessions, he left quite a valuable estate at his death in 1856. The maiden name of his wife, to whom he was wedded in 181 5, was Harriet Ruggles. She was born in the town of Montague in 1795, being the daughter of a farmer of that place. Of their union ten children were born, and of these three sons and five daughters grew to maturity, and seven are now living, namely: Minerva, wife of James Dewing, a manufact- urer of furniture at Orange, Mass. ; Mary, wife -of I. O. Luey, of Miller's Falls; Jere- miah P.; Marshall, who lives at Erving; Harriet, wife of Henry A. Pratt, a retired teacher; Elisha, a resident of Springfield; and P"idelia, the widow of Dr. Hoffman, who died in California in 1876. The mother sur- *f¥^. :"y i ' s. JEREMIAH P. MORGAN. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 539 vived her husband a score of years, dying in 1876. Both parents were people of robust constitution and fine physique, tall, well pro- portioned, and of erect figure, their mental and moral natures being as well developed as their physical. Religiously, they were firm believers in the faith in which they were reared, and were valued members of the Uni- versalist church. Jeremiah P. Morgan was graduated from the district school at the age of thirteen years, and at once began working in his father's shop, before long being able to make and set ox shoes, turn horse shoes, and do oth^r work in iron. When seventeen years old, he car- ried on the shop for his father, the following year establishing a smithy of his own in the town of Montague, where he carried on a thriving business for some time. Since his retirement from active cares Mr. Morgan has rented his shops at Turner's Falls, and also the farm property belonging to him and his wife, although he looks after it closely, and works sufficientl}^ at his old trade to keep in practice by shoeing the horses employed on the farm. Mr. Morgan was married January i, 1856, to Miss Eliza Adams, a native of Greenfield, and a daughter of Peleg and Lucinda (Han- cock) Adams, the former a native of Long- meadow and the latter of Northbridge. The mother died in early^life, in 1840, leaving a babe of six weeks, besides three older chil- dren, of whom Mrs. Morgan is the only one now living. Her father was subsequently twice married, but reared no other children. Mrs. Morgan's paternal grandfather, Andrew Adams, was born in Northbridge, and was a prominent merchant of that town for many years. He married Betsey Chapin, who bore him three sons and one daughter; and in 1803 he moved with his family to Greenfield, where he purchased a large farm, containing several hundred acres. Mrs. Morgan now owns a portion of the estate, which, after his decease in 1826, was divided among the heirs. Mrs. Morgan is a woman of intellectual ability and cultivation. Having received a good academ- ical education, she taught school six terms previous to her marriage. But one child has blessed their union, Elizabeth P. Morgan, a graduate of the Greenfield High School, now pursuing a course in French and English lit- erature at the Prospect Hill School. Mr. Morgan is one of the esteemed citizens of Greenfield, progressive and practical in mat- ters relating to the general welfare. He has served as Assessor, and was formerly a Republican in politics, but is at present a Populist. EEWIS PORTER, the genial and popu- lar landlord of the well-known Ash- — ^^ field House, which is pleasantly located in the picturesque town of Ashfield, was born in the adjoining town of Hawley, July 28, 1837. In the annals of Franklin County the name of Porter has long held an honored place, it having first appeared here in 1774, when the Rev. Nehemiah Porter ac- cepted the pastorate of the Congregational church at Ashfield. He was born in 1720 in Ipswich, Mass., was educated for the ministry, and was there engaged in clerical labors until he came to Ashfield, where he lived to a ripe old age. His children were : Nehemiah, John, Ebenezer, Joseph, Hannah, Samuel, Rebekah, and Sarah. John, the second son, familiarly known as Deacon John Porter of the Congregational church, was the progenitor of the subject of this sketch and one of the progressive farmers of Ashfield during the first half of his long life. He subsequently removed to Leba- 540 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW non, N.Y., where he departed this life well ad- vanced in years. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Mabel Flower, four children were born : Ebon, Mabel, Sally, and Ebenezer. Ebenezer Porter learned the trade of a car- penter and builder, and followed this in con- nection with farming for many years, but later in life paid more attention to mechanical pur- suits, for which he had a particular talent. He was a man of prominence in local affairs, a faithful member of the Whig party, and in- clined to liberal views in religion. He was first married to Anna Phillips, who died in the prime of life, leaving six children: John, Levi, Philip, Joshua, Ebenezer, Jr., and Mary A. He subsequently married Eunice Avery, and they both rounded out long lives of more than fourscore years. Ebenezer Porter, Jr., the father of Lewis, was born in Buckland, and there obtained a practical knowledge of agriculture as carried on in those days. In early manhood he bought a place in Hawley, on which he lived many years, engaged in general farming, and also working at his trade as wood turner. His last years were spent in South Deerfield, where he died, aged eighty-two years. His wife, formerly Sally Sprague, died when but thirty-seven years of age, having borne him six children, two of whom died in infancy, those living being: Achsah, Levi, Lewis, and Elizabeth. He was a man of great force of character, intelligent and progressive, was a sound Republican in politics, and liberal in religion. Lewis Porter was an unusually bright and active lad, ambitious to begin earning money, and at the age of twelve years went into the cotton-mills at Colerain, where he worked ten years, being from time to time promoted until he reached the responsible position of over- seer of the weaving department. He was next employed at Haydenville, by the firm of Daw- son, Warren & Hyde, in the manufacture of jewelry and gold pens, at which trade he be- came very skilful. He remained there until after the decease of the senior and junior partners, when he accompanied Mr. Warren, the remaining member of the firm, to New York City. Mr. Spadone was then taken in as partner; and the business continued under the firm name of Warren & Spadone, Mr. Porter being made superintendent of their works, a position which he filled with ability and fidelity, receiving a large salary therefor, in the succeeding seventeen years. Then, after engaging for four years in the brass de- partment as a manufacturer, Mr. Porter came to Williamsburg, Mass., and for some years conducted the Orcutt House. In 1883, seiz- ing an advantageous opportunity, he pur- chased the Ashfield House, which he has remodelled and enlarged, having built thirty- eight additional rooms, the house now con- taining fifty-seven, and having ample accom- modations for eighty or more guests. It is largely due to his efforts that this beautiful town has become a summer paradise for people who seek relief from the dusty streets and parched pavements of the city. Mr. Porter has not only arranged and beautified the spa- cious grounds about his house, setting out handsome shrubs and shade trees; but, having bought the Malby lot, containing thirty-two acres, with a beautiful grove bordering on the lake, a short distance from the hotel, he has spent much time and money in adding to the charm of its natural scenic features. Mr. Porter has also enlarged the barns connected with the hotel, and has a fine livery. From all this it should go without saying that the Ashfield is a well-kept house, its proprietor an ideal host, ever attentive to the comfort and enjoyment of his patrons. StOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S4t Mr. Porter was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Watkins, a daughter of Almiran Watkins, on October 2, 1862. She died at the early age of twenty-nine years, having given birth to twins on September 9, 1864. Lewis, the son, died in infancy. The daugh- ter, Mary E., married Thomas Wells, of Will- iamsburg, and is the mother of six children, one of whom, Mary E., has passed to the life beyond. The names of the five living are as follows: Harry L., Howard, John, Perley, and Roger W. Mr. Porter subsequently mar- ried Ellen Wentworth, a daughter of William Wentworth ; and of this union one child was born, Walter L., who married Anna Daniels. Mr. Porter takes much interest in his adopted town, and has contributed generously to enterprises conducive to its welfare and prog- ress. In politics he is a steadfast Republi- can, though not an ofSce-seeker. He is prom- inent in Masonic circles, belonging to the Hampshire Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Hay- denville, to the Gate of the Temple, Royal Arch Masons, of Brooklyn, N.Y., to the Northampton Commandery, and to the Eas- tern Star Lodge. ALTER W. CARPENTER, suc- cessfully engaged in general farm- ing, stock-raising, and dairying in the town of Shelburne, owns and occupies one of the finest-improved farms within its limits. On March 22, 1833, he here first opened his eyes to the light of this beautiful world; and here he has since lived, a patriotic, useful, and valued citizen. Of his ancestral history but little is known. His father, George W. Carpenter, was born in the town of Upton, and when a boy came to Shelburne, where he grew to man's estate. Industrious and frugal, he eventually saved sufficient money to buy from Parker Dole the farm now occupied by the subject of this sketch ; and he continued successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, at the age of seventy-five years. He enlisted in the service of his country in the War of 1812, going as far as Boston with the volunteers, but not being in active service. Politically, he was at first a Whig, but was identified with the Republican party from the time of its for- mation. His wife, Anna Dole Carpenter, was born on this same homestead, and here spent her life, her death occurring in the sixty- ninth year of her age. Both parents were sincere Christian people, belonging to the Congregational church, and being among its most generous supporters. Seven children were born to them, one of whom, Mrs. Maria Anderson, died at the age of forty years. The others are as follows: Sarah, widow of Alfred Andrews, living in Shelburne; Lydia, wife of Edwin Andrews, also a resident of Shelburne; Miss Bethiah Carpenter, of Winsted, Conn., an experienced and highly competent school-teacher, having taught suc- cessfully more than one hundred terms; Do- rinda, widow of Orlo Smith, residing in Winsted, Conn. ; George Parker Carpenter, the elder son, a resident of VVilliamstown ; and Walter W., whose life story to date is briefly given below, Walter W. Carpenter acquired a practical education in this his native town, com- pleting his school life at the Shelburne Falls Academy. Being the youngest son, he was kept at home to assist on the farm; and, finding the occupation both profitable and pleasant to his tastes, he selected it as his life work, and has devoted his energies to the development and improvement of the homestead property, to the ownership of which he succeeded. It contains two hundred S42 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW acres of rich land, and in its management he has shown extraordinary skill and wisdom. In addition to tilling; the soil, Mr. Carpenter pays a good deal of attention to raising fine graded stock, and keeps a large dairy, the two latter industries yielding him a goodly in- come. The house in which Mr. Carpenter lives is pleasantly located, commanding a fine view of the picturesque scenery of the sur- rounding country. It is a commodious brick structure and one of the oldest houses in this locality, having been erected by Parker Dole in 1812, and is still in excellent preser- vation. On Thanksgiving Day, in 1861, Mr. Car- penter was united in marriage with Miss Ellen Wilder, a native of Shelburne, born in 1837, being a daughter of Joshua Wilder. Five children have been born into their pleasant household, but the Angel of Death crossed the threshhold "ere sin could blight or sorrow fade," and bore to the bright land beyond two sons: George, seven years of age; and Francis, an infant of eleven weeks. The three children now living are: Maria, the wife of David Long, a farmer and sawyer, residing in Shelburne; Dorinda, wife of Charles Loomis, a carpenter and joiner, also in Shelburne; and Frank W., a farmer, re- siding on the parental homestead. Mr. Car- penter is a tried and true Republican, and has a good war record. He enlisted June 21, 1 86 1, in Company H, Tenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Ozro Mil- ler, and was at the forefront in the battles of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, at the latter place being seriously wounded May 31, 1862, after which he was honorably discharged, being incapacitated from further service. He is liberal in his religious views; and Mrs. Carpenter, a woman of true worth, is a valued member of the Congregational church. IRON BROWN, a well-to-do farmer of Sunderland, Franklin County, Mass., was born in the adjoining town of Whately, August 2, 1830, son of Chester and Hattie Sanderson Brown, the former of whom was a native of the same place. Mr. Brown's great-grandfather, Ed- ward Brown, emigrated, it is said, from Eng- land, first settling in Connecticut and later in Whately, where he passed the remainder of his life. John Brown, Mr. Brown's grand- father, was a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, and after its termination followed agri- culture as an occupation in Whately, where he attained to a prominent position among his fellow-townsmen, residing there until his decease. Chester Brown was reared and educated in Whately, where he followed agriculture, and at the death of his father. Lieutenant Brown, succeeded to the possession of the homestead, on which he resided for many years. He died at the age of sixty-two years at the home of his son Miron in Canada. His wife was a daughter of Asa Sanderson, a farmer of Whately, where her grandfather was an early settler. She became the mother of thirteen children, five of whorii are still living, namely: Almira, wife of William B. Hamil- ton; Lucy, wife of Edson Merritt; Miron, whose name heads the present sketch ; Eliza, wife of Stephen Sanderson; and Mary, who married John White. The mother passed her declining years at Whately, where she died at the age of seventy-five. Miron Brown commenced his education in the schools of Whately, and completed his studies at the Williston Seminary and the Shelburne Falls Academy. After attaining his majority, he was employed by his father for about a year in the manufacture of wagon shafts, rakes, broom and brush handles, and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S43 then went to Toronto, Canada, where he es- tablished himself in the wholesale boot and shoe business, in which he continued for a period of ten years. At the expiration of that time, owing to the death of his father, he sold his business, and returned to the old homestead in Whately, whence he shortly moved to his present home in Sunderland, where he has a small farm of about thirty acres, which he devotes to the cultivation of tobacco and onions and to dairy interests. In 185 I he was united in marriage to Eliza J. Sanderson, whose father, Samuel Sander- son, was a native and a lifelong resident of Whately. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have five children, as follows: Diana C. ; Lizzie M., wife of Charles Marvin, of New York, and mother of four children — Bessie, Charles, Marguerite, and Julia; Ella, who married Frederick H. Osgood, and has four children — George, Vivian, Frederick, and Champion B. ; Chester E., who wedded Kate Vale, and has one child, named Dorothy; Champion M. ; and Henry D., who is now deceased. Mr. Brown was formerly a Republican in politics, but now votes with the Democratic party. He is a Master Mason, being con- nected with the lodge in Conway. In relig- ious belief he is a Unitarian. The family attend the Congregational church. "ENRY S. SWAN, one of the leading business men of Shelburne Falls, a well-known and much esteemed public official, was born in Halifax, Vt., February 16, 1829, son of Salmon and Mar- iam (Harris) Swan. Salmon Swan was born in Marlboro, Vt., and there received his edu- cation. He settled in Halifax, Vt., where he purchased one hundred acres of uncultivated land, which he cleared and converted into a homestead, building a good house and barn. As years went on he added to his property, and became quite a wealthy man. His wife, who was a native of Halifax, Vt., was the daughter of John Harris, of that town, a man of many accomplishments, who served in the Revolutionary War, winning quite a reputa- tion in the army as a cook, was a civil engi- neer and a competent farmer. He was also quite a politician, and, when electioneering in behalf of a popular political candidate, fell from a bank, and was fatally hurt. He was a stanch Whig, active in the interests of his party; and in religious belief he was a Uni- versalist. Mr. and Mrs. Swan had eight chil- dren — six girls and two boys. Henry S. Swan received a good education, graduating from the high school in Halifax, Vt. At the age of twenty he started to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he worked for twelve years. In 1853 he purchased some land, and built a house in Shelburne Falls, near Clement Street, and in this town was en- gaged as a builder for seven years. In i860 he formed a partnership with H. A. Bowen ; and the firm conducted a successful furniture business for two years, at the end of which period Mr. Swan purchased his partner's share. He built an addition to the building, and largely increased the trade, at that time doing some manufacturing. He now has the only furniture store in the town, and has an extensive patronage. He also takes contracts for paper-hanging, and is a competent under- taker. On September 9, 1862, Mr. Swan was united in marriage to Miss Sophia M. Wilder, daughter of Israel Wilder. Their home has been blessed by six children, namely: George H., who married Mary Churchill, of Shel- burne Falls, and has one child; Herbert W. , residing in Shelburne Falls, married to Nellie 544 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW L. Blanchard; Minnie, wife of the Rev. F. W. Whippen, in St. Albans, Vt., who has five cliildren; Carrie and Francis E., in Shel- burne Falls, the former the wife of W. A. Johnson, and mother of three children; and Annie, who is with her parents. Mr. Swan is a stanch Republican, and has filled many offices. He has been Deputy Sheriff twenty-seven years, and has served as Selectman, Assessor, and Poor Master. He is active in all town affairs, and takes an es- pecial interest in the fire departrnent. So- cially, he is a member of Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is Past Grand of Ale- thian Lodge, No. 128, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are active members of the Universalist church, he being a member of the finance committee. Mr. Swan has dealt extensively in real estate, and is at present a large property owner. His residence at 6^ Bridge Street is beautifully located, overlooking the rapids. ^CpMUND B. STEWART, a leading citi- fy zen of Colerain, prominent as a farmer and stock-raiser and as a member of one of the oldest families in the town to-day, was born here, October 26, 1835, son of Luther and Belinda (Barber) Stewart. He is of Scotch descent, tracing his lineage from the clan of Stewarts of Scotland, a race in- cluding the royal house of this name, from which many of the sovereigns of Europe have descended. Its progenitor was Walter Fitz- alan, who was Lord High Steward of Scotland in the twelfth century; and, the office being made hereditary, the family thence derived its name. A noted early noble was John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, born about 1380. Some of the clan emigrated to the north of Ireland with other Scotch people after that country had been brought under English rule, and lived there for two or three generations with- out intermarrying with the natives. The first of this branch of the family to come to Amer- ica was John Stewart. He was one of sixteen men who, with their families, in 1719 began a settlement in New Hampshire, which they named Londonderry, from the famous city in the province of Ulster, Ireland. The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, bearing the family name of John Stew- art, came to Colerain from New Hampshire at an early date, but died in New York State in August, 1818. His wife, whose maiden name was Ann McClellan, died in "1801. They had nine children, Enos, the grandfather of Ed- mund B., being the third. He had a farm of his own; and he carried his produce, together with that he bought in large quantities from the neighboring farmers, to the Boston mar- ket, realizing a generous income from his transactions. He was an old-time Whig, and was liberal in his religious views. His death occurred on November 29, 1856. His wife, to whom he was united on December 6, 1787, was Lucretia Clark, a member of one of the early families of Leyden which are now ex- tinct, besides the Clarks being the Chandlers, the Taggerts, the Pecks, and the Morrisons. The latter were among the very first to make their home here, the Clarks coming a little later. Enos and Lucretia (Clark) Stewart had eight children, born between 1788 and 1807; namely, Lydia, Sally, Enos, Luther, William, Ann, Matilda, and Polly. Luther Stewart was the fourth child born to his parents. His life was spent in Colerain; and, besides attending to his farming inter- ests, he had a large lumber business, having established the mill now owned by Mr. Alex- ander. In 1820 or 1 82 1 he moved on to the farm where Edmund B. Stewart now lives, and EDMUND B. STEWART. LUTHER STEWART, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 547 here he completed the clearing of the land which his father had begun. At the start he had forty-five acres, to which he added until the estate covered one hundred and sixty acres besides land that he owned in other parts of the town. He was a very busy and successful man during his active life, and passed his last years in quiet retirement with his son Ed- mund B. He died December 30, 1885, nearly ninety years old. He was honest, truthful, and positive in his opinions of right; and he had no fellowship with what he esteemed wrong. The Bible was his study and coun- sellor, and we trust he has gone to inherit the rich promises of rest. His wife passed away in 1892, at the advanced age of ninety-five. Mr. Luther Stewart was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had six children, five of whom are living, namely: Mary S., wife of B. A. Burnham, in Brattle- boro, Vt. ; Luther B., in Colerain; Maria F., wife of E. D. Alexander, of Colerain; Ed- mund B. ; Juliet A., wife of J. P. Bell, of Colerain. Emma, wife of A. J. Dennison, is deceased. Edmund B. Stewart grew to manhood on the home farm, receiving his education in the district school. At the age of twenty he went to work for himself in the saw-mill, remaining some three years. He then took charge of the homestead, and since coming into possession has permanently resided here. He has a large and pleasant home and good buildings, and he also owns quite an amount of real es- tate in the village of Brattleboro, Vt. His farm covers one hundred and sixty acres, and Mr. Stewart has every facility for general farming. He is engaged in sheep-raising to a considerable extent, and he has had some fine horses. He makes annually about fifteen hundred barrels of cider, in a good apple year increasing the amount to two thousand. He deals wholly in sweet cider, finding market in the vicinity, in Boston, and in New York City. On December 21, 1858, Mr. Stewart was married to Harriet, daughter of William Rob- ertson, of Shelburne Falls, Mass., whose fam- ily history will be found under the names of Roswell B. and Charles Robertson. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have no children. Politically, Mr. Stewart is a Republican. He has been a very busy man during his life, and material success has crowned his efforts. He takes a deep interest in the history of the place, and has a seemingly exhaustless fund of informa- tion in regard to people and events of the older time. A likeness of Mr. Stewart is ap- propriately placed in this portrait gallery of Franklin County worthies. NDREW BAKER, a well-to-do farmer of Wendell, was born in this town, August 13, 1841, son of Luther and Polly (Locke) Baker. Mr. Baker's father was a native of Hubbardston, and in his early years followed the trade of a cooper, at which he worked in Wendell for some time. He later adopted agriculture as a vocation, and settled upon a farm in Wendell, where he re- sided until his decease, which occurred at the age of sixty years. His wife, who was a daughter of Bezaleel Locke, of Wendell, be- came the mother of seven children, three of whom are still living: Roena, Andrew, and Edward. Mrs. Polly L. Baker was a member of the Baptist church, of which her husband was a Deacon. She died at the age of fifty- five- years. Andrew Baker commenced his education in the district schools; and, after pursuing more advanced studies at the New Salem Academy 548 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and a private school in Orange, he taught school for some time in Pelham. On the death of his father he, in company with his brother, purchased the old homestead, where he resided for one season, and then came to his present home in 1865. He is a stanch Republican, has always taken an active inter- est in both local and State political issues, and has figured prominently in the town gov- ernment, having served as Selectman, Asses- sor, Overseer of the Poor for several years, and as Town Treasurer for a long period. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Mon- tague. In 1864 he was united in marriage to Ellen L. Stone, daughter of Luther and Lucy (Howe) Stone, and grand-daughter of Israel Stone, who was a well-known farmer of Way- land, Mass., being a lifelong resident of that town. Luther Stone made his home in Way- land until reaching the age of twenty-six, when he came to Wendell; and followed agri- cultural pursuits for the remainder of his life. His death occurred at the age of eighty-nine years. He was a member of the Board of Selectmen for many years, served as Assessor and Overseer of the Poor, and represented his district in the State legislature during the session of 1844. He was a member of the Congregational church. His wife, who was born in Henniker, N.H., and died in Mon- tague at the age of sixty-seven years, was the mother of two children, as follows: Lucy, who married George Gemmell, of Montague City; and Ellen L., Mrs. Baker. Mr. and Mrs. Baker have three children, namely: Alfred D., who married Nellie A. Whitcomb, and is now a prosperous farmer in the State of Maine; Rolan A., a carpenter, who married Emma L. Miles, of Templeton; and Ozro D., who makes his home with his parents, but is engaged at work in Greenfield. Mr. Baker attends the Congregational church, of which his wife is a member; and he has been for some time past a member of the com- mittee and treasurer of the parish. T^HARLES HOWES, an infiuential I jp citizen of Ashfield, a well-known V»l£.^^ farmer and dealer in agricultural implements, was born in this town, December 14, 1833. He is the son of David S. and Abigail (Lilly) Howes, and grandson of Eze- kiel and Rose (Vincent) Howes. On the pa- ternal side he is descended from Thomas and Mary (Burr) Howes, the former of whom emi- grated from England in 1637, and settled at Yarmouth, Mass., where he died in 1675, at the age of seventy-five years. The lineage may be traced backward as fol- lows : Thomas Howes, a sailor, father of Eze- kiel, was a son of Joseph (third) and Mary (Howes) Howes; Joseph (third) was a son of Joseph (second) and Mary (Vincent) Hov^s ; Joseph (second) was a son of Jeremiah and Sarah (Prince) Howes, the former a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Mayo) Howes, the last- named Joseph having been a son of Thomas and Mary (Burr) Howes, mentioned above. Ezekiel Howes, grandfather of Mr. Charles Howes, was born at Cape Cod in December, 1763, and died June 30, 18 14. In early man- hood he came to Ashfield on foot, and pur- chased a farm, after which he returned to Cape Cod, and on March 10, 1791, married Rose Vincent, who was born July 20, 1768. They made their home at Ashfield in a log house which he had erected for himself and bride. Their children were: Thomas, Mehitable, Willard, William, Ezekiel, George, Deborah, Philipa, David S., and Charles. David S. Howes, who was born March 2, 1809, succeeded to the possession of the old BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 549 homestead of one hundred and ten acres, and there continued to reside for many years, be- coming a prosperous farmer. He engaged quite extensively in manufacturing lumber, having saw-mills located on his farm, and has been an active and progressive man in both agricultural and other pursuits. He made many improvements upon his farm, and has been famous as a breeder of fine cattle. In 1894 he was compelled by failing health and advanced age to relinquish labor and move to the village. He is a Republican in politics, and has always been prominent in the local government. In 1866 he represented his dis- trict in the legislature. He is a man of re- markable physical and mental vigor, and liberal in his religious views. He married for his first wife on April 25, 1831, Abigail Lilly, who became the mother of two children, as follows: Harriet, born May 17, 1832, now the wife of Lewis Church; and Charles, the sub- ject of this sketch. After the death of his first wife he wedded for his second Ellen Ashley. His old farm is now owned by A. Wiley. Charles Howes was well educated in the schools of his native town, and at an early age was associated with his father in both farming and lumbering. He purchased and cleared many acres of timber land, and at the age of thirty-three years engaged in business alone, in which he has been successful, having car- ried on saw-mills of his own. In 1872 he purchased fhe Samuel Howes farm, consisting of about two hundred acres of valuable land, situated near Ashfield village, where he now resides. He has remodelled the buildings and erected a carriage-house, besides making various other improvements. His farm is the best within the radius of many miles, and is devoted to dairy interests and the raising of choice cattle and sheep. He also deals in all kinds of improved agricultural implements. On November 3, 1858, he was united in marriage with Sarah Lilly, daughter of Lo- renzo and Mary (Bassett) Lilly. Her parents, who were of Scotch ancestry, settled on a farm in South Ashfield in the latter part of last century, Mr. Lilly living to reach a good old age. His children were: Eliakin, Amelia, Sarah, Charles, and Henry. Mr. and Mrs. Howes have had three children, one of whom, a daughter, Alice, died at the age of seven years. The survivors are: Allison G., born December 13, 1868; and Albert L., born May 13, 1876. Mr. Howes is a Republican in politics, has served as a Selectman, Over- seer of the Poor, and Assessor for the past seventeen years, and in 1889 represented his district in the legislature. He is also County Commissioner. RS. NANCY M. HOVEY, of Greenfield, widow of George H. Hovey, is a daughter of David and Sarah (Dickman) Willard, the former of whom was a native of Greenfield, the latter of Springfield, Mass. David Willard, after being graduated from Dartmouth College, en- tered the legal profession. He was a man of fine intelligence, and displayed considerable literary ability, being the author of an inter- esting history of Greenfield. Of his ten chil- dren but three are now living, namely: Nancy M.; Robert E., of Pittsfield; and Henry C, a resident of Greenfield. Nancy M. Willard attended the academy in Bernardston, and resided with her uncle, the late Henry W. Cushman, who was formerly Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, and whose widow is still living in Greenfield. Later she became the wife of George H. Hovey, who was a native of Canaan, N.H., and a son of Daniel and Hannah (Harris) 55° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Hovey. His grandfather, Daniel Hovey, Sr., was a Revolutionary soldier, who was capt- ured, and was for a time held prisoner in Quebec. He was a man of marked charac- teristics, and died in New Hampshire at an advanced age. Daniel Hovey, Jr., was for many years a regular physician at Lyme, N. H.; but failing health compelled him to re- linquish a large practice and move to Green- field, Mass., where he opened a drug store in company with his two sons, George H. and Arthur S. His wife, who was a native of Canaan, N.H., was the mother of three sons and one daughter, of whom the only survivor is Maria, wife of J. K. Hosmer, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Daniel Hovey, Jr., died in Greenfield, aged eighty-one; and his wife died at the age of eighty-three years. George H. Hovey entered Dartmouth Col- lege, but his father's impaired health caused him to abandon his studies and return to his home in Greenfield. He was a highly re- spected citizen and a member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Hovey died December 21, 1 891, aged seventy-two years, leaving a fine estate. ■^TiDWARD A. GODDARD, Postmaster r*l at Orange and an ex-Representative to the legislature, was born in this town on October 28, 1845. He is a son of Josiah and Miranda (White) Goddard, and grandson of Henry and Anna (Davis) God- dard. Henry Goddard was an extensive farmer of Royalston, Mass., and lived to reach the good old age of ninety years, his wife's death having occurred at the age of seventy. Their children were: Mahala; Jo- siah; Davis; Anna and Amanda, who were twins; Sanford ; and Susan. Josiah Goddard was born at Royalston on April 6, 1805, and received his education in the public schools. At the age of nineteen he bought his time, and went to Boston to en- gage in the trucking business, which he suc- cessfully followed for five years, subsequently coming to Orange, where he purchased a farm of two hundred and seventy-five acres, situ- ated about two miles from the village. He followed agriculture with profitable results, and became a breeder of fine cattle and sheep. In politics he was formerly a Whig, later joining the Republican party, and was active in the town government. He served as a Se- lectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, represented his district in the legislature dur- ing the years 1840 and 1841, and was County Commissioner for eleven years, holding that office at the time of his death, which occurred in 1859. Josiah Goddard married a daughter of Elisha White, a former resident of Orange, who moved to Londonderry, Vt., where he be- came a famous bridge builder in the days of wooden structures, a great deal of his work still existing in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Mrs. Josiah Goddard died at the age of eighty-two years. Her children were: Josiah H., Henry D., Emily M., Mary A., Hattie A., Susan M., William H., and Edward A. Edward A. Goddard commenced his educa- tion in the schools of Orange, and, after com- pleting his studies at the Westfield Academy, pursued a business course at the New Haven Commercial College. He then entered the store of Davis Goddard at Orange as clerk, serving in that capacity until 1865, when he purchased the business, and conducted a gen- eral country store for five years. He then sold out to engage in the manufacture of furniture at Orange with H. H. Whitney. After being burned out two years later, he purchased the water-power at Wendell Depot, which he util- ized by the construction of a dam and the CHAUNCEY G. TOWNSEND. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 553 erection of a saw and grist mill, and has since conducted a large and profitable business, handling Western grains. He likewise in- vested in timber lands; and, after continuing successfully as a lumber manufacturer for seven years, he equipped the mills with ma- chinery for producing pulp and paper, and at the expiration of five years sold his plant. He next turned his attention to the improve- ment of the water-power at Warwick Creek, where he erected a saw-mill. He has also cleared a farm of sixty acres. On January 6, 1869, Mr. Goddard was united in marriage to Miss Ella Holmes, daughter of the Rev. L. Holmes, a present resident of Webster, Mass. Mrs. Goddard was born in Thompson, Conn., on June 14, 1852. Mr. and Mi's. Goddard have three children, as follows: Josiah Holmes Goddard, a boot and shoe merchant of Boston ; Susan Ella, now in Wellesley College; and Lucinda Marinda, who is at home with her parents. Mr. Goddard resides at the old Davis God- dard homestead on East Main Street. Mr. Goddard received his appointment as Postmaster in April, 1892, and, although he is a Republican in politics, still holds that position, in which he gives most perfect satis- faction. He has also served as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor for nine years; and in 1890 and 1891 he was a Repre- sentative in the legislature. He is well ad- vanced in the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the Orange Lodge, Crescent Chap- ter, and Orange Commandery. r,siRS. LUCY C. REDFIELD TOWNSEND, of Conway, Mass., a lady well known in this vicinity and highly esteemed, having been an efficient teacher in years gone by, was born in Phelps, N.Y., daughter of Silas and Harriet (Bart- lett) Redfield. Her paternal grandfather, Ebenezer Redfield, was one of the pioneer set- tlers of Conway, where he secured a tract of land, on which he erected his humble log house, about half a mile south of the present village, near it being a natural fort, whence they used to watch the Indians. He married Miss Mehitable Dickenson, and lived to. the age of seventy-three years. Silas Redfield, who was born September 16, 1783, on the old homestead near Conway village, remained with his parents until his marriage, when he removed to Phelps, N.Y., making the journey by team, and carrying his household goods in a wagon. On arriving there, he took up a tract of fifty acres of land, on which he first erected a log cabin; but later on he built a substantial frame house, and made other improvements. He there suc- cessfully engaged in general farming up to his death, which occurred when he was but fifty- two years of age. His wife, Harriet Bartlett Redfield, who was a daughter of Jeduthan and Mercy Bartlett, reared five daughters : Lucinda, Eliza M., Jeanette, Mercy S., and Lucy C. After her husband's death she re- turned with her children to Conway, where she died at seventy-eight years of age. Lucy C. Redfield acquired her education in the district schools of Conway and at the acad- emy in this town. That she was both studi- ous and apt to learn may be judged from the fact that at fourteen years of age, being pro- ficient in the common English branches, she engaged in school teaching. She received at first — the time being a few years "before the war" — one dollar and thirty-three cents per week; and for fourteen years she was success- fully engaged in this vocation, for which she was admirably fitted, both by natural and ac- quired ability. On January 20, 1870, she 554 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was united in marriage with Chauncey G. Townsend, son of William Townsend and grandson of David Townsend. Mr. Townsend previous to his marriage was engaged as a teacher in Conway and vicinity, and also in the high schools of New Jersey. He then entered mercantile business; and this he fol- lowed with success for fifteen years, in con- nection therewith managing a farm, of which he was the owner. Mr. Townsend showed his loyalty to the Union by faithful service in Company D, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteers, as a soldier of the Civil War; and after its close he was one of the principal leaders in the or- ganization of F. A. Clary Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Conway. He was also a member of Morning Sun Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Townsend died February lo, 1885; and his funeral rites were conducted by his Post, his remains being buried in How- land Cemetery. Fitly numbered among the "helpers of the people," his name is held in honored remembrance. His portrait, accom- panying this sketch, will be recognized with pleasure by many friends and acquaintances. ypRANK H. CHANDLER, a popular V'lg and progressive dry-goods merchant of Shelburne Falls, was born in New- stead, Erie County, N.Y., March 26, i860, son of Joseph W. and Adaline (Goodnow) Chandler. His grandfather, the Rev. Ama- riah Chandler, who was a native of Massachu- setts, in young manhood went to Middlebury, Vt., where he studied under the direction of Dr. Packard, preparatory to entering college. He labored diligently to earn money to defray his expenses, was at length graduated with honor from Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt., and later became a Congregational min- ister, first settling in Waitsfield, Vt., and sub- sequently in Greenfield, Mass., where he preached continuously for twenty-five years. He purchased a small farm in the vicinity of Greenfield, which he took great pleasure in cultivating, and died there, aged eighty years. The children of the Rev. Amariah Chandler were as follows: Slatterly, Amariah, Jr., Jo- seph W., Abigail, Cynthia, and Susan. Joseph W. Chandler was born in Colerain, Mass., in 18 15, and in young manhood learned the shoemaker's trade. He also fol- lowed the occupation of tanner and currier, but in his later years returned to his first trade, his specialty being fine, hand-made work. He moved from Colerain to Newstead, N.Y., and thence to Waitsfield, Vt., and finally settled in Shelburne Falls, where he resided until his death, which occurred on May 30, 1895. His wife, Adaline Goodnow Chandler, daughter of Thomas Goodnow, became the mother of six children, as follows: Amariah, who married Lida Waldon, and resides in Shelburne Falls; Stephen H., who married Maggie Crane, and died at the age of thirty-eight, leaving two children — Frank W. (deceased) and Anna N. ; Gilbert W., a resident of Shelburne Falls ; an infant ; Anna W., who married S. D. Roudenbush, of Greenfield; and Frank H., the principal sub- ject of the present sketch. Frank H. Chandler was educated at Shel- burne Falls, and after leaving the high school entered the Mayhew Tool and Bit Manufac- tory, where he learned the art of bit-making. He then became a clerk in the grocery store of G. A. Bates & Sons, with whom he re- mained four years, and in 1888 purchased the dry-goods store of L. M. Packard, which he has since conducted with satisfactory financial results. Mr. Chandler is connected with Alethian Lodge, Independent Order of Odd BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 555 Fellows, and the Sons of Veterans. He is business manager of the Shelburne Falls Cornet Band, a member of the prudential com- mittee of the fire department and of the Board of Trade, a useful and valued citizen. On October 9, 1882, Mr. Chandler was united in marriage with Lizzie Stephens, daughter of John and Caroline (Mayell) Stephens, of Buckland. John Stephens, who was a mechanic, died at the age of seventy- two. His wife, several years younger, still survives him. Mr. and Mrs. Chandler are members of the Congregational church. T^HARLES A. WILLIAMS, an ex- l Jl tensive manufacturer of lumber at Vfc,^_.^ Warwick, where he operates steam saw-mills, was born in this town on May 9, 1849. His father, Melzar Williams, was also a native of Warwick; and his grandfather resided here for many years, having raised a large family of children. He died in 1840 or 1 84 1, at the age of seventy-eight years. Melzar Williams followed for several years the occupation of a clothier, carding wool and dressing cloth. He subsequently purchased a farm, upon which he resided for the remain- der of his life, dying in 1886, at the age of eighty-five years. He married for his second wife Rachel Hill, of Litchfield, N.H.; and of their four children two are now living: Joseph and Charles A. The mother passed her later years in Warwick, and died at the age of about forty-eight years. Charles A. Williams's boyhood was passed in assisting his father upon the farm and at- tending the district schools, in which he se- cured a practical education. When about twenty-five years of age, he married, and pur- chased a farm in the vicinity of his father's property, where he resided until 1890, at which time he sold it, and moved to his pres- ent residence in the village. Since coming of age he has been interested in the lumber business to a greater or less extent, and in 1887 purchased a steam-mill for the purpose of entering more fully into the manufacture of lumber. He cuts and hauls timber from the woods, and prepares all kinds of lumber for the local market. His business has gradually assumed large proportions, and, being well managed, yields good returns. In 1875 he was united in marriage to Miss Aridil Putnam, of Winchester, N.H., and five of their six children are now living; namely, George, Eva, Elsie, Bernice, and Chester. Mr. Williams is a Republican in politics, and has served as Selectman for six years, also as a member of the School Board and Collector. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Orange. LTRED H. AMSDEN, an enterprising PL and prosperous dry-goods merchant of Shelburne Falls, was born in Athol, Mass., June 8, 1857, son of Washington H. and Chloe A. (Gates) Amsden, and grandson of Jacob Amsden Washington H. Amsden was born in Dana, Mass., and on leaving school worked for a short time as clerk in a store. He then en- gaged in the manufacture of sashes, blinds, and doors at Athol in company with his brother; and after the death of the latter, who was accidentally killed, he carried on the business alone for the remainder of his life, supplying his customers with first-class goods, and prospering in worldly affairs. At his death, which occurred in 1886, when he was sixty-one years old, he left a fine home and a flourishing business. In politics he was a Republican, and was Selectman, Assessor, SS6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and Poor Master in the town. In 1884 he was sent to the legislature as Representative from his district. For many years he was Director of the Athol Bank, and in the Uni- tarian church he was a prominent member. His children were: Otho F., who carries on the manufacturing business in Athol, and has been twice married, and has one child by the first wife and one, a daughter, by the second wife; Fred H., of Shelburne Falls; Festus G., a merchant in Athol; and Anna M., who lives at the parental home. Fred H. Amsden received a fair education in the schools of Athol, and in his eighteenth year started in life as his father did, working as clerk for Holbrook & Twichell for a year. He then went to Andover Academy to finish his studies, and on his return engaged as clerk for W. Thorp, with whom he remained about a year. Making practical use of the knowledge and experience gained during his clerkship, Mr. Amsden next opened a dry- goods store at Hornellsville, N.Y., in com- pany with S. E. Brooks. This business they conducted for one year, when the partnership was dissolved. Mr. Amsden then returned to Athol with his stock of goods, and opened a store there. In 1881 he removed to Shel- burne Falls, locating his business in the Cum- mings Block, and in 1883 moved into the Fields Block, where he occupies two floors, his store being the largest in the village, and giving employment to several clerks. In June, 1885, Mr. Amsden was united in marriage to Madeline M., daughter of H. A. Bowen, and their home has been brightened by three children, namely: Robert B., born May 13, 1886; Ruth, born September 20, 1889; and Howard L., born December i, 1 89 1. Mr. Amsden votes the Republican ticket. He is a member of the local Board of Trade and an active worker for village im- provement. He and his family attend the Universalist church, to the support of which he liberally contributes. Socially, he is a member of Mountain Lodge, A. F. & A. M. His residence on Maple Street, which he built in 1889, is the handsomest in the vil- lage, with its beautiful grass-covered lawn and broad, smooth driveway. RRAMEL MOORE, a wagon and car- riage manufacturer, whose place of business is at the corner of School and Ames Streets, Greenfield, Mass., his work being noted throughout Western Massachu- setts for its excellence and superiority, has been a resident of this village for the past thirty years, and is held in high respect. He was born in Rutland, Worcester County, Mass., July 5, 1836, and is a son of Enoch Moore, who was born in 1799. Jonas Moore, the father of Enoch, was formerly a resident of Greenfield, having been for many years the proprietor of the Greenfield Poor Farm, which he owned, and sold for that purpose. He married a Miss Wheelock, who bore him five sons and three daughters, each of whom married and reared a family. Both the grandparents rounded out a long period of life, each living eighty- five years, dying in 1850, within a week of each other. They were people of high moral character and sincerely religious, although not worshipping at the same altar, he being a Universalist in belief and she a Congrega- tionalist. Enoch Moore worked as a blacksmith dur- ing his earlier years, and, being industrious and prudent, accumulated enough money to buy in 1844 a farm in Bernardston, where he was thenceforth engaged in agricultural labor. His first wife, whom he married in 1822, was EDWARD E. TODD. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW SS9 Almira Williams, of Rutland, Mass. She bore him eight children — three sons and five daughters — all of whom, with the exception of one son, grew to adult life, the following being yet alive: Mary C, widow of Henry Dunham, of Greenfield; Emily, wife of Will- iam Starks, of East Hartford, Conn. ; and Orramel, whose history is here recorded. The mother died October 27, 1857, aged fifty- seven years; and the father, who was subse- quently married again, died in 1885, leaving his widow with a small property. The par- ents were Congregationalists in religion, and lived lives consistent with their faith. Orramel Moore received a good common- school education; and, having inherited a taste for mechanical pursuits, he began at the age of sixteen years to learn blacksmithing from his father. Four years afterward he went to Springfield, where he worked at his trade, at one dollar and a half a day, for two years. Returning to the parental homestead, Mr. Moore engaged in business with his father for two years, going then to Killingly, and in i860 locating at Danielsonville, Conn., being in business for himself the first year. The second year he worked by the day, and the following year again started for himself, remaining there until 1865. On the 14th of April, the very day of the assassination of President Lincoln, he removed to Greenfield, buying the property of Abner Pratt on Davis Street, where he carried on his trade for three years. In 1868, in company with Mr. Withey, he bought his present stand, and established the manufacture of carriages and wagons, in which he has since been engaged, the firm being the first few years known as Moore & Withey. In 1880 Mr. Moore sold out to his partner, for whom he worked the next ten years, and in addition thereto dealt extensively in horses. In 1890 Mr. Moore bought out the interest of his employer, and has since conducted the enterprise alone. He employs from eight to twelve hands, keep- ing them all busy at manufacturing or repair- ing, his specialty being the fine and orna- mental work of sleighs, wagons, and all kinds of carriages; and he also handles sale work. Mr. Moore was first married on January i, 1857, to Miss Esther Boswell, of Rhode Isl- and, who became the mother of four children — two sons and two daughters. The sons both died in infancy; and one daughter, Gertie, lived but seven years. The other daughter, Nellie, resides with her husband, H. F. Skillings, in the vicinity of Boston, they having one child. Mrs. Esther B. Moore died in September, 1874, at thirty-four years of age ; and six years later Mr. Moore was united in marriage with Mrs. Kate F. Allen Cobb, a widow. Mrs. Moore had one daughter by a former marriage, Eva May Cobb, who was graduated from the Greenfield High School and from the Springfield Busi- ness College, and is now book-keeper for her step-father. In this capacity she is of great assistance to Mr. Moore, being fully compe- tent to look after the interests of the business in his absence. Politically, Mr. Moore is a steadfast Republican, but he has thus far escaped office. He and his family are mem- bers of the Congregational society of Green- field. DWARD E. TODD, an extensive lum- ber dealer and farmer in Charlemont, was born in this town. May 23, 1840, son of Eli and Mary (Legate) Todd. His grandparents, Solomon and Lydia (Sack- ett) Todd, were both natives of North Haven, Conn., in which place Solomon started in life as a farmer, in 181 1 buying the farm on which his grandson, Uriah Todd, now lives. 560 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW This land was at that time in a wild state, and Grandfather Todd had before him a hercu- lean task when he attempted to clear a home- stead from the wilderness. But he had a strong constitution and an indomitable will, and prosperity smiled upon him. He was ex- tensively engaged in stock-raising, his wild land affording fine pasture for his flocks and herds, and at the end of his long life of ninety-nine years and eleven months left a comfortable property of two hundred acres of land, well stocked and fitted for farming pur- poses. He was a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife were communicants of the Episcopal church. They had a large family, Eli being the third in order of birth. Eli Todd was born in 1793 at North Haven, Conn. At the age of twenty he made his first financial venture, purchasing a farm in Charlemont near his father's estate, which he sold in order to buy the James Mann place, covering five hundred acres, which his son now owns. He was extensively engaged in stock-raising, and also built a saw-mill, which had a large annual output of lumber. Like his father, he voted the Democratic ticket, and with his wife attended the Congregational church. He lived to be ninety-two years old, she having passed away at the age of seventy- seven. They had eight children. Edward E., the fifth son of Eli Todd, at- tended school at the Shelburne Falls Acad- emy, and completed his education at Bernards- ton Academy. At the age of sixteen he took charge of a school, and taught successfully for two or three years, afterward keeping books a while for a railroad contractor. He bought the. homestead shortly after attaining his ma- jority, and applied himself with energy to the task of cultivating the farm. He raises large flocks of sheep and choice stock. Five years ago he leased the Hawkes mills on Cold River, and has since carried on an extensive lumbering business, employing a large force of men and several teams. Mr. Todd is a man of good business ability, and has achieved an enviable reputation for the quality of the commodities in which he deals and for his general reliability. He was married in 1868 to Miss Mary Taintor, daughter of Josiah Taintor. Mrs. Todd's father met a tragic death on the rail- road in comparatively early life. Mr. and Mrs. Todd have welcomed to their home five children, namely: Ernest B., who lives with his parents; Rena, wife of J. D. Horton; Effie and Ella, who are teaching school; and Walter, who died in childhood. Mr. Todd votes with the Republican party, and is a prominent man in his district, having served as Representative and in other ofificial posi- tions. He is a member of the Orthodox Con- gregational church. Mr. Todd's friends will be glad to greet his counterfeit presentment which accompanies this sketch. (S>rLBERT WITHERELL, a prosperous kjA farmer, owns a spacious and well-cul- ^ '= V^, tivated farm in the town of War- wick, where he has resided since 1854. His birth occurred at Foxboro, Norfolk County, Mass., on February 16, 1818; and he is a son of Benjamin Witherell, a native of the adjoin- ing town of Mansfield, Bristol County, Mass., a lifelong farmer. Benjamin Witherell mar- ried Ruth Seeley, of Easton; and they raised a large family of children, of whom Mr. Al- bert Witherell is now the only survivor. Mrs. Ruth S. Witherell died in Mansfield at the age of forty-three years. The boyhood of Albert Witherell was passed in the above-named town, where he re- ceived his education at the district schools, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 561 and at an early age turned his attention to agriculture. Later he managed a boarding- house. He also peddled groceries and vari- ous notions, subsequently moving to Warwick, and purchasing his present farm of one hun- dred and forty acres, which he proceeded to clear and improve, and which he has since devoted to general farming with the most sat- isfactory results. On March 19, 1840, he married Rosemma Davis, a native of the State of Maine, and daughter of James Davis, a prosperous farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Wither- ell have been blessed with six children, as follows: Helen, who married Samuel Hast- ings, of Warwick, a Representative to the legislature from this district; Henry, a travel- ling man in the West, who wedded Elizabeth Young, of Warwick, and has two children — Winifred and Benjamin; George E., an en- gineer of Hartford, Conn., who married Mary Hildreth, and has one child — George; Frank E. who married Rose Dudley, daugh- ter of George Dudley, a boat builder and a well-known resident of this town; Edward E., who married Mary Goodwin, of this town, and has one child, named Carl; and Ida C, wife of Frank P. Atkinson, a farmer and boarding-house keeper of Swansea, they hav- ing one child, named Mary. Frank E. Witherell acquired the trade of a builder, his father having been engaged to a considerable extent in that work, and for the past twenty years has erected many houses both in this locality and at Orange. His brother Edward is in business with him, the firm being known as Witherell Brothers; and they have just completed a substantial town house for this village, a fine dwelling-house at Grand View Farm, and have a large num- ber of contracts for the present year. Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Witherell have four children: George A., Edith R., Atta J., and Grace. They reside on a part of the old homestead. Mr. Witherell, Sr., voted for William H. Harrison in 1840, and has been a Republican since the formation of the party, having taken considerable interest in public affairs, serving both as a member of the School Board and Road Surveyor. His son, Frank E., is also a Republican in politics. Mr. Albert With- erell is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Congregational church. AMES DEAN AVERY, a prominent farmer of Buckland and President of the Franklin County Agricultural So- ciety, was born at East Charlemont, February 10, 1848. His father, David Avery, was born upon the same farm, January 19, 1805; and his grandfather, Amos Avery, was born at Montville, Conn., March 10, 1755. Amos Avery was a son of Abner and Elizabeth (Bill) Avery, an extended account of whose ancestors may be found in the genealogical works by Howe De Lois Sweet. David Avery was reared to agricultural pursuits, and succeeded to the ownership of the homestead. He improved the excellent water-power on his premises by operating a saw and grist mill in connection with farm- ing. He has resided upon this farm nearly his entire life, is still hale and hearty, at- tending church regularly. His wife, Pru- dence Dean, whom he married on May 23, 1839, was born on December 20, 1817, daugh- ter of Christopher Dean, of Colerain. Mr. and Mrs. Avery have passed fifty-six years of married life, and their seven children are as follows: Adeline R., Francis D., Henry G., James D., Adelaide F., William B., and David Ellsworth. James D. Avery attended the schools of his S62 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW native town, and after a course of study at the Westfield Normal School completed his edu- cation at Williston Seminary, Easthampton. He resided with his parents until he attained his majority, when he went to Shelburne Falls, where for one year he was employed in a gimlet factory. The succeeding two years were occupied in tilling the soil on the farm which he now owns and successfully carries on, his stock being always of the best breeds. He has a flock of two hundred sheep, eighteen of which are thoroughbred Southdowns ; and he also owns a yoke of oxen which are claimed to be the finest in the world. These superb animals are of Holstein breed, per- fectly matched as to size and color, their com- bined weight being six thousand, one hundred pounds. Mr. Avery is also engaged in hand- ling wood and lumber. He has filled the town ofifices of Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, and is now serving his second term as President of the Franklin County Agricultural Society. He was a member of the State Board of Agri- culture from 1890 to 1893. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Avery was married on May 6, 1873, to Miss Emma J. Packard, daughter of Orrick and Sophia (Kendrick) Packard, of East Charlemont. They have one son, Francis Dean Avery. Mrs. Avery is a member of the Congregational church. bTRANK J. WOOD, of Shelburne Falls, r J an extensive dealer in horses, was born in Buckland, July 3, 1856, son of The- odore and Lucy (Pratt) Wood. Mr, Wood's grandparents were Lyman and Elraira (Hook) Wood, who were early settlers in the town of Buckland, and lived to an advanced age. Theodore Wood was born in Buckland, June 2, 1826. For several years in early manhood he engaged in the manufacture of wooden boxes, and then entered the employ of Will- iam Sherwood, of Shelburne Falls, with whom he acquired a knowledge of the jewelry trade. He travelled for a few years, selling jewelry and silverware, and later was successfully engaged in mercantile business at Shelburne P"alls. He purchased the post-office block, which he remodelled and enlarged, and became the owner of other property. Later in life he was forced by failing health to seek out-of- door employment, and he turned his attention to cutting and manufacturing lumber. He was liberal in his religious views and a Re^ publican in politics. Theodore Wood died in Shelburne Falls in 1890, aged sixty-four years, his wife, who was a daughter of Em- mons Pratt, of Buckland, having passed away at the age of thirty-four. She was the mother of four children, as follows: Juan C, Minnie E., Charles, and Frank J. After completing his studies at the Shel- burne Falls Academy, Frank J. Wood com- menced to learn the jewelry business with his father. He had a natural fancy for horses ; and, as soon as circumstances permitted and an opportunity presented itself, he went into the livery business on a small scale. He first leased the N. Lamson barn, and opened a liv- ery and baiting stable, which he managed for six years, and then purchased the Toby barn, situated on the Buckland side of the river, where he carried on business for three years, and since 1885 has been associated with I. A. Guilford in carrying on sale stables both in Shelburne Falls and Northampton, the firm dealing in both Western and Canadian horses, and selling about one thousand per year. He is considered an excellent judge of horse flesh, and is a thoroughly reliable man. On December 31, 1889, Mr. Wood married Lizzie M. Fellows, daughter of Robert and BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 563 Huldah S. (Woodard) Fellows, and has four sons: Robert F., Frank S., Howard H., and Donald G. Mr. Wood is a Republican in politics and a liberal in religion, Mrs. Wood being a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. B AVID NEWHALL, of Conway, was born at Shelburne, Mass., May 30, 1848. His father, Ormand David Newhall, was born at Deerfield; but the birth- place of his grandfather, Nathan Newhall, is unknown. He, however, moved from Deer- field to Shelburne, and purchased a farm in the vicinity of Bardwell's Ferry, upon which he resided for the remainder of his life. He married Gratia Bardwell, and they had a family of five children. Ormand D. Newhall followed agricultural pursuits in the town of Shelburne until his death, which occurred at the age of forty-two years. His wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Wells, was a daughter of Captain Walter Wells, of Shelburne, who for many years kept a tavern, which was located upon the road leading from that town to Greenfield. Mrs. Ormand D. Newhall passed onward to her rest at the age of seventy-two years. Her children were: Walter W., Jane, David, and Emily. David Newhall acquired his education in the public schools of Shelburne and at East- man's Business College at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Adopting farming as an occupation, he resided in his native town until after his marriage, when he moved to Conway, and set- tled upon the farm where he now resides. The property, which is situated upon high ground in the north-west part of the town, is exceedingly valuable on account of its healthy location and the fertility of the soil. The residence is substantially built; and the barn is spacious, being three stories high. Mr. Newhall is a Republican in politics. He has served as Selectman for seven years, during the past four of which he has been chairman of the board. He is a member of the Franklin County Agricultural Society. In 1876 Mr. Newhall was united in mar- riage to Mrs. Jennie Frances (Totman) Boy- den, daughter of Joshua and Hannah Totman, of Conway. At the age of eighteen Mrs. Newhall commenced teaching school; and one year later she was married to her first hus- band, Israel G. Boyden, who was a native of Conway, son of Josiah and Emily (Stearns) Boyden. He followed agriculture successfully until his death, which occurred when he was thirty-eight years of age. He left two chil- dren; namely, Hattie S. Boyden and Israel G. Boyden, Jr. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Newhall are: Emily, Lorrin David, and Alice Frances. rsll GRACE A. SMITH, a well-known and prosperous citizen of Rowe, in the north-west corner of Franklin County, Mass., was born in Amherst, Hamp- shire County, October 19, 1825, son of Rufus and Elizabeth (Browning) Smith. The former, who was a son of Ebenezer Smith, was a shoemaker by trade, and was also proprietor of the hotel at Welmington, adding still more to his income by taking care of the estate of a sea captain during the owner's absence. He was in comfortable circumstances, and lived to be eighty-three years old. Rufus Smith was twice married, and had five chil- dren by his first wife, Achsah Ingraham, and by his second wife, Elizabeth Browning, two: Elizabeth; and Horace A., the subject of this biography. Horace A. Smith when five years of age 564 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was taken by his uncle, Hanson Browning, who cared for him until he was twenty-one. He worked at farming until twenty-four years old, then learned the carpenter's trade, and afterward went to work in a saw-mill, finally buying a mill, which he managed himself. This he at length sold at a good profit, and bought the business of a painter in Montague, which he finally disposed of, in order to buy the farm of twenty acres in Rowe on which he now resides. Mr. Smith ran the stage from Rowe to Zoar for thirteen years, carrying the mail; and his varied experience in different lines of business has given him a wide knowl- edge of men and things, and made him a man of many resources. On May 6, 1857, he was married to Martha A., daughter of Silas and Emily (Thayer) Logan, of Deerfield , and grand-daughter of James and Lucy (Ward) Logan. James Logan was born in Ireland, and at the time of the French and Indian War was impressed by the English, and brought to Canada to fight in the ranks of the British army. At the end of the war he escaped from Canada, and came to New England, settling in Paxton, Mass., and later moving to Greenfield. Having broken away from British rule, he severed all con- nection with his native land, and formed last- ing affiliations in the new country, becoming "an American of the Americans." He and his wife, Emily, whose maiden name was Thayer, lived to a good age, rearing four chil- dren: William, Catherine, Silas, and Anna. Silas Logan, Mrs. Smith's father, was born in Paxton, Mass., March 14, 1782. He was a cooper by trade, and travelled a great deal both in Canada and the United States, but finally settled on a farm in Vernon, Vt., liv- ing to be over eighty-three. His wife died at the age of eighty-one. Of their union four children were born: Martha A., Emma E., Manning, and Silas M. Mr. and Mrs. Hor- ace Smith have had two children, the elder of whom, a son, Harry M., born July 6, 1858, passed away on September 3, i860; the younger, a daughter, Mattie L., born October 20, 1871, is living at home. Mr. Smith has practically retired from active business. He is a prudent and thoughtful roan, who knows how to care for the fruit of his labor; and his comfortable home, with its neat surroundings, makes a pleasant picture. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Unitarian church, and he is a Republican in politics. ONATHAN G. DAVENPORT, one of the leading farmers and business men of the town of Rowe, Franklin County, Mass., was born in Heath, September 24, 1840, son of John and Hannah (Hall) Daven- ' port, and grandson of Edward Davenport. John Davenport was born in Colerain, Febru- ary 22, 1800. At the time of his marriage he bought the Day farm of eighty acres in Heath, and built a saw-mill, and also a house and barn to take the place of the old buildings. The land was in a rough and neglected condi- tion; and he cleared up part of it, burning off the underbrush, and sawing many of the trees into marketable shape at his mill, finding a ready sale for his lumber. He also rented other land near the North River Bridge in East Charlemont. Here he lived for six years, moving at the end of that time to a place owned by his son Jonathan in Buckland. Mr. John Davenport died in Rowe, at the age of eighty-one. His wife, who was born in the same year that marked his own entrance on the stage of life, also passed from earth the same year that he did. They had six chil- dren. In politics the father was a Republi- w JONATHAN G. DAVENPORT. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 567 can, and in religion he was a member of the Baptist church. Jonathan G., the third child of John and Hannah Davenport, attended school in Heath and Charlemont until fourteen years of age, when he went to work on a farm for four dol- lars per month, giving his wages to his father. In two years his monthly stipend was raised to thirteen dollars; and at that rate he worked until nineteen years of age, when he obtained a position as clerk in a hotel at Shelburne Falls. He was a prudent and thrifty young man, and shortly saved enough from his earn- ings to make a good first payment on a farm of fifty acres which he bought in Buckland, and which his father lived upon and culti- vated, he himself meanwhile making subse- quent payments from his salary as hotel clerk. In 1861 he enlisted in the Seventh New York Cavalry, under command of A. J. Morrison, and after eight months of hard service in the war for the Union returned to his position in the hotel. Shortly after his marriage he sold his Buckland place, and bought the Warner home of one hundred and seven acres, which he now cultivates. He likewise purchased over two hundred acres of land in other parts of the town, which he sold in 1887, when he built his present residence. Within the past year he has erected a handsome three-story barn, sixty by sixty; and he has a fine lot of live stock, comprising sheep, full-blooded Jer- seys, and some handsome horses. When the sulphur mines were opened here, Mr. Davis, the projector, selected Mr. Davenport to su- perintend the work, depending upon his sound judgment and reliability to make it success- ful. For seven years Mr. Davenport was em- ployed in attending to the sinking of the shafts and to all of the business above ground; and, though now he has practically retired from active work in that line, he is often con- sulted and requested to look after important points in the Davis Mining Works; and he has laid out and overseen the building of all their new roads. His own land contains rich veins of copper, which as yet he has not attempted to work. In 1863, Mr. Davenport was married to Mary C, daughter of Daniel and Lucinda (Towne) Warner. Daniel Warner in his boy- hood was in very humble circumstances, but he had a strong constitution and a healthy ambition; and by dint of hard work and econ- omy he laid up money enough to purchase a small tract of wild land near where his son- in-law now lives. Here he built a small log cabin, which became the nucleus of a vast estate, as he gradually bought and cleared more land; and at the time of his death, at ninety-seven years of age, in 1876, he was an extensive real estate owner, having also been largely engaged in stock-raising. He was a stanch Republican and a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. The mother of Mrs. Davenport was his third wife. Mr. and Mrs. Davenport have seven chil- dren: Edward D., treasurer and manager of the Park Theatre in Waltham, married Alice N. Warner, and is the father of one son — Charles E. ; Bertha M., born March 4, 1866, is the wife of George Williams and mother of one child — Harry L. ; Frank A., born August 20, 1869, ably assists his father about the farm, and is a carpenter by trade; Florence E., born July 8, 1871, was a prominent and popular teacher before her marriage to G. L. Bolton; Louis A. was born May 12, 1874; Jonathan W. was born November 12, 1877; and Mary L. was born November 24, 1880. The last three are still with their parents, the young men aiding their father in his agricul- tural pursuits. Mr. Davenport is a highly intelligent and 568 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW public-spirited man, a Republican in politics, and has been Selectman, Assessor, and Poor Master for ten consecutive years. On the subject of religion he holds liberal views, not being bound by the lines of creed. A por- trait of Mr. Davenport accompanies this sketch. /®Yo EORGE A. LEWIS, a successful Y^Sl grocer and meat dealer in Wendell Centre, was born in the town of Greenfield, Mass., April i, 1844, son of George and Sarah (Tanner) Lewis. His paternal grandfather died in Greenfield at the age of seventy-five. George Lewis, the elder, was brought up to be a farmer; and at the age of twenty-two he went to Greenfield, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and there spent most of his life. He died at Miller's Falls at the age of seventy-four years. He and his wife, Sarah, who was one of the six children of Clark Tanner, became the parents of five children: George A.; Mary, wife of Jerome Hallett; Maria, wife of Levi King; Alice, deceased; and Charles, who is in the express business at Springfield, and with whom his mother now makes her home. George A. Lewis was educated in the Greenfield public schools, and spent his life with his parents till he was of age. He be- came a farmer, working by the month, till 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, Mas- sachusetts Fifty-second Regiment, in which he served eleven months in the Civil War. He was discharged at Greenfield in 1863, and, thus laying down the implements of war, took up once more the implements of peace. After a time he removed from Greenfield to Northfield, working on a farm there, and then returned to Greenfield; but, after once more going to Northfield, he went to the town of Erving, where he was employed for a time by ex-Governor Washburn. On leaving that place he purchased a farm at Northfield Moun- tain, which he sold at the end of four years, and in 1877 purchased another farm in Wen- dell, where he resided seven years. In 1885 he built his present house, and settled down, managing a meat and grocery business, greatly to the benefit of the neighborhood, which, being remote from market centres, needed the advantage of such local enterprise. In 1864 Mr. Lewis was married to Miss Lizzie Simmonds, daughter of Willard and Mary Simmonds, her father being a well- known resident of Charlestown, N.H., where he carried on the blacksmith's trade. Mrs. Simmonds, the mother of Mrs. Lewis, was a daughter of Beniah George, the place of her nativity being Saxton's River, where her father was a citizen of repute, and considered a skilful workman. Mrs. Lewis was one of thirteen children, ten of whom are still liv- ing. Her mother and father both lived to be fifty-two years of age. They were members of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have one son-, Charles A. Lewis, mechanic and stationary engineer. He resides with his parents, and is married to Miss Nellie Fiske, of Wendell. Both father and son are Democrats in their political views. Mr. Lewis has been on the Board of Selectmen two years, and also Overseer of the Poor, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, General Sedgwick's Post, No. 19, of Orange. Both he and his wife are attend- ants of the Congregational church. They are highly respected members of the community in which thej' live. Mrs. Lewis occasion- ally fills her husband's place in performing the responsible duties of Postmaster, and is also clerk in his grocery establishment. She contributes much, by the influence of her BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 569 cordial manner and neighborly character, to the social life of the place. kRS. FIDELIA ELEANOR HOFF- MANN, widow of the late Adam Joseph Hoffmann, M.D., of North San Juan, Cal., and since 1891 a resident of Greenfield, was born at Northfield Farms, Franklin County, Mass., on January 6, 1840, and is a daughter of Elisha and Harriet (Ruggles) Morgan. She is a direct descend- ant in the fifth generation of Miles Morgan, one of the pioneer settlers of Springfield, Mass. Elisha Morgan, her father, was born at Northfield Farms on June 16, 1793, and con- tinued to reside near his birthplace, about five miles from the centre of the town of North- field, throughout his life. In addition to the management of a large farm, he conducted a general mercantile business ; and after the War of 1 812 he served in the State militia. He died in 1856, survived about twenty years by his wife, Harriet Ruggles, who was a daughter of Edward Ruggles, and was born on January 28, 1797, and lived to be seventy- eight years of age. Both were members of the Universalist church. They reared nine of the ten children born of their union, Mrs. Hoffmann being the youngest child. Fidelia Eleanor Morgan received the full benefit of the advantages afforded by the com- mon schools of her native town, after which she attended the State Normal School at Westfield to prepare herself for a teacher. In 1 86 1 she began teaching in the public schools of Greenfield, and during the next five years she followed that vocation there and at Chicopee Falls and Amherst. She then went to Wilmington, N.C., to teach the freedmen under the auspices of the American Mission- ary Association, and the following year was appointed superintendent of a new field at Athens, Ga. She had been at the latter place but a short time when she became impressed with the importance of providing new and more comfortable c^uarters for the accommoda- tion of the freedmen's children; and, while her mind was busy with jDlanning how the need might be met, she received a visit from General F. D. Sewell, the superintendent of that work, to whom she presented the matter and unfolded her plans, and was advised by him to write to General O. O. Howard, who was then stationed at Washington, D.C. A speedy reply was received, containing advice regarding the undertaking, and granting per- mission to build a suitable school-house, in case she could get the people to buy a lot for such a purpose. This they were quite will- ing to do, and the work was pushed to a very satisfactory conclusion. She subsequently taught for a time at Gloversville Seminary, and still later again taught in Greenfield. In 1 87 1 she went to San Francisco, where, on November 22 of that year, she was united in marriage with Adam Joseph Hoffmann, M.D., a native of Germany and a skilful physician and surgeon. Dr. Hoffmann died on August 14, 1876, after a brief illness, leaving his widow with two daughters : Fan- nie, born on November 4, 1872; and Grace, whose birth occurred on October 15, 1874. They spent their girlhood days in California, where they attended both public and private schools. Fannie at eleven years of age for personal amusement acquired a knowledge of telegraphy, and before she was twelve years old became so proficient as to be able to ac- cept a vacancy that occurred about that time in a North San Juan station, where she ac- quired greater proficiency, and has since be- come an expert. She subsequently gained a 57° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW thorough knowledge of typewriting; and in 1889 she came East, and during the next five years was employed in an office of the West- ern Union Telegraph Company. Since De- cember, 1893, she has held a position with the Associated Press Company in the Union office at Springfield, Mass., being the youngest lady operator in their employ and the only one in New England. Mrs. Hoffmann came East in 1 89 1, and settled in Greenfield, which has since been her home. A woman of many vir- tues and accomplishments, she is now living a quiet but useful life, devoted to the inter- ests of those dearest to her, thoughtful, too, as in former years, for the poor and needy, and holding in loving remembrance the com- panion of her early womanhood. She is a member of the First Congregational Church of Greenfield. Her husband's father, August Hoffmann, was a noted physician in that part of Germany where he resided throughout his life, never leaving his native country. He prepared many important medical works; and, as a re- sult of his labors and experience, he owned many valuable prescriptions that he sent to his son in America, by whom they were used to great advantage in practice. The duke of that dukedom in which they lived (the exact place not being known to the family in this country) discovered that the son possessed a fine tenor voice, and desired that he be edu- cated for the operatic stage; but the parents, who were in close sympathy with the doc- trines of the Lutheran church, believed such a course sinful, and the father was also very desirous that his son should become a physi- cian, like himself. Adam Joseph Hoffmann therefore received a medical education at a university of his na- tive land. Desiring a broader field of activ- ity, and not wishing to violate the law of that country, which prohibits the son from follow- ing the profession of the father during the lifetime of the latter, he came to America in 1852, and settled in San Francisco, Cal. He afterward went to Sacramento, and thence to Petaluma, going from the last-named place to North San Juan, Nevada County, where he died in the prime of a vigorous and ambitious manhood. Politically, Dr. Hoffmann was a Republican. He was associated with the medical faculty of Sacramento, and ranked high in his profession on the Pacific Coast. Socially, he was a member of Manzanita Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. In religion he always adhered to the Lutheran faith, in which he was confirmed in his childhood. (sTrVE^'^ W. SPRAGUE, a well-known tjA and highly respected farmer and cattle •^ '= V.^ dealer of Bernardston, who died on October 8, 1886, was born in this town, July 8, 1 8 14, son of Jose and Phoebe (Hale) Sprague. Jose Sprague was born in Guilford, Vt., May 8, 1777; and his wife was born in Bernardston, Mass., August 6, 1781. The Spragues trace their lineage back to three brothers, William, Ralph, and Richard, who came from England to Massachusetts in 1629. Hezekiah Sprague, a carpenter and joiner, and also a farmer, who was born in Groton, Mass., May 23, 1740, was the first of the fam- ily to settle in Franklin County. He died at his home in Bernardston on March 31, 1795. His wife, Rachel Byham, who was born in Chelmsford, Mass., May 22, 1739, died Janu- ary 24, 1 83 1, at the age of ninety -one. They had six children —- Asa, Jose, Elizabeth, Phoebe, Mary, and Apphia— all of whom grew to maturity and had families of their own. Jose Sprague, the father of Avery W., was AVERY W. SPRAGUE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 573 a farmer and carpenter. He succeeded to the ownership of the homestead in Bernardston, and it was he who built on Bald Mountain the first frame house in the town. He was a well-known and successful business man and a hard worker. The whole of his life was spent in Franklin County; and he died in Bernardston, November 30, 1852. Mrs. Phoebe H. Sprague survived her husband, and died May 31, 1862. In politics Mr. Sprague was a Democrat, and in religious faith he and his wife were Universalists. They had a large family, of whom six grew to maturity. Joseph S., born April 8, 18 10, died March 22, 1890; Lurancy, born March 25, 1812, died December 3, 1847; Avery William is the subject of this sketch; a son, born Octo- ber 17, 1 8 16, died two days later; Lysander H., of Bernardston, who was born January 29, 18 1 8, died May 8, 1895; Lovina and Lucina, twins, born August 27, 1824, died — ^ Lovina, October 16, 1847, and Lucina, September 29, 1851. Avery W. Sprague grew to manhood in Ber- nardston and Gill, acquiring his education in the schools of the former place. At twenty- two years of age he started to work as a farm hand, receiving for his first wages eight dol- lars per month. For fourteen years he worked for others, saving his wages, and at the end of that time was able to pay for the farm in Ber- nardston which he had purchased in company with his brother Joseph. This farm they cultivated together for thirteen years; and then Avery formed a partnership with his brother Lysander H., which lasted for thirty- four years. Besides general farming, they dealt extensively and successfully in cattle. It was only during the last three and a half years of his life that Avery W. Sprague was in business by himself. He was a man of good practical judgment and one of Franklin County's stirring and prosperous citizens. He owned at one time three hundred acres of land, and at his demise he left an estate of nearly two hundred acres. Avery W. Sprague was married September 5, 1861, in South Vernon, Vt., to Sophia A. Newton, who was born in Shelburne, Mass., August 27, 1825, daughter of Obed and Je- mima (Allen) Newton. Obed Newton was born January 31, 1795, in Greenfield, on the place where Asa W. Sprague now resides, and was a member of one of the old families which have been for many years prominently identi- fied with the interests of the town. A more extended account of the Newton family fol- lows this sketch. Mrs. Sprague died on April 23, 1893. She was the mother of four children, namely: Susan Francelia, who was born May 21, 1862, was married April 30, 1895, to William A. Scott, and now resides at 52 Conway Street, Greenfield; Nellie Belle, born September 21, 1864, who died April 23, 1865; Martha Abbie, born October 15, 1866; and Asa Winn, born June 30, 1869. The two last named now live together on the old home farm. In politics Mr. Sprague was a Democrat, and in religion a Universalist. Observing and thoughtful, a man of refined taste, he was an ardent lover of nature, and devoted consid- erable time to the study of botany. A life- like portrait of this departed worthy may be seen on a neighboring page. fHE NEWTON FAMILY. John New- ton, Sr., came to Greenfield, Franklin County, Mass., about 1774, accom- panied by his two sons, Isaac and Samuel, fol- lowing the lead of his son John, who had set- tled here in 1772. The three brothers took up a tract of land, which was heavily timbered 574 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW with hemlock, on the west side of the old stage road from Greenfield to Brattleboro, Vt., extending from near the Bernardston line on the north to below the present limits of Greenfield village on the south, and stretch- ing west over the Connecticut Division of the Boston & Maine Railroad. They also owned land in Leyden and Colerain, a part of which they gave to an ancestor of Dr. Barstow, now of Springfield, in return for labor on the main Newton farm. Their property in all must have comprised fifteen hundred acres. The younger John and his brother Isaac both served in the Revolutionary War, the latter winning some distinction and gaining a Cap- tain's commission. John Newton, Sr., lived with his son John on a farm just above Long's Four Corners, which has always been occupied by the New- tons and their family connections, and is now owned by Asa W. Sprague, whose mother was a Newton, and of whom a sketch will be found elsewhere in this work. Isaac Newton settled on the place now occupied by Elihu Osgood, in the northern part of the town. He died September 23, 1826, aged seventy-eight years, his wife, Hester, having passed away Decem- ber 23, 1824, at the age of seventy-five. Their remains were buried in the High Street Cemetery. Isaac Newton had a large family, several of whom died in early childhood. One of his sons built the original Mansion House in Greenfield; and a daughter married Colonel Asaph Smead, and lived in the "Upper Meadows." Samuel Newton settled near where Chap- man and Silver Streets now meet, married, and had three sons: Samuel, Jr., Burrel, and Priestly. Burrel and Samuel, Jr., went to the then far West- — Ohio — the former ac- companied by his wife. One of his descend- ants, Samuel Newton by name, now lives in Ashtabula, Ohio; and there are many others in the vicinity who claim kinship with the Newton family. Priestly kept a meat market in Greenfield many years. He married Har- riet Merrill, and had the following children: Barnard, whose widow and daughter reside in Greenfield; Margaret, who married Newton Smead, and had two sons, Henry and Edwin, the former now living in Greenfield, the lat- ter deceased; Bell, who married first Edwin Smead, second ex-County Commissioner Frederick Smith ; Sarah, who married first a Mr. Powers, by whom she had three children, — Edward, Sophia, and Henry — -and second Henry Smead, by whom she had one son, Horace, a blacksmith in Guilford, Vt., who married a Miss Mussy, of Vernon, in that State; Priestly, Jr., who married Augusta Taft; Helen, who married George Hopkins, and had three children — Helen, Herbert, and George. John Newton, the first of the name to settle in Greenfield, as above noted, was born in Haddam, July 19, 1750, married Elizabeth Arms, of Greenfield, who was born July 6, 1755; and they had ten children — Cyrus, John, Curtis, Elizabeth, Asenath, a son who died in infancy, Milicent, Jesse, Obed, and Persis — all born between 1779 and 1798. John and his wife, Elizabeth, died on the farm where he settled ; and their bodies were laid to rest in the High Street Cemetery. The farm was left to their sons John, Jr., and Curtis. A brief record of the family is given below, the sons and daughters being severally mentioned in the order of birth. Cyrus Newton, born March 15, 1779, went to Vernon, Vt. , married Sabra Crane, and had four children, namely: Alexis, who married and had a large family, mostly girls, one of whom lives in Brattleboro, Vt., others in Pe- oria, 111. ; Alonzo, whose sons live in Vernon, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 575 Vt., and in Worcester, Mass., and whose daughter is the wife of Charles C. Houghton, a shoe manufacturer in Worcester; Cliraena, who married a Mr. Fowler, of Greenfield, and had two sons, Edwin and Wyart, and a daugh- ter, who is now Mrs. Ousterout — all of Greenfield ; and Sabra, who married Edwin Pierce. John Newton, Jr., who was born July 13, 1780, and bore the name of his father and grandfather, died a bachelor on the home farm, June 12, 1871, leaving his property to his nephew, Hervey Curtis Newton. Curtis Newton, born March 20, 1782, was a Deacon of the first church in the town and a worthy representative of the family, who were all of strict Puritanic faith. He died Febru- ary 8, 1 87 1, having been twice married. His first wife, Salome Sawtelle, to whom he was united May 30, 1808, was born October 8, 1785, and died October 10, 1818. Her chil- dren were: Hervey Curtis; John Sawtelle; and Salome and Martha, who both died in infancy. Hervey Curtis, who was born April 2, 1809, inherited one-half of the old home- stead from his bachelor uncle John; but this he sold in 1876 to Avery W. Sprague, father of Asa W. Sprague, the present owner. He was elected Selectman of the town in 1844, and with the exception of one year served con- tinuously till 1866. He died April 13, 1883. He was married June 25, 1839, to Sarah Corss, and they reared seven children : their son Christopher enlisted in the Fifty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and died in New Orleans the day the regiment started for home, leaving a widow and a daughter Annie; Curtis Newton, named for his grandfather, is a bachelor, living in Greenfield; a daughter, Sarah P., is a teacher at Norfolk, Va. ; Ella C. is dead ; Lucy mar- ried H. G. Parkjer, an attorney in Cambridge, Mass., and had four children, but is now dead; Belle is caring for her sister Lucy's family; and Henry is in California. John Sawtelle Newton, who was born October 31, 1810, re- sided on one-half the homestead, which he inherited from his father, Curtis, until 1880, when on account of failing health lie rented the property, and went to live with a daugh- ter, Mrs. S. L. Wiley, on Congress Street. He is now living in Omaha, Neb. He was married May 22, 1839, to Angeline Martin, who died in January, 1892, and they had four daughters: Anna C, born March 20, 1840, who married Solon L. Wiley, and died in 1876, leaving two children — Edith A., now Mrs. William Sherwin, and Walter S., who is married, and lives in Omaha, Neb. ; Martha, born October 13, 1841, who died, un- married, in 1867; Mary DeWolf, born August 31, 1845, who married Dwight Nash, of Mill- er's Falls, and has one child, Jessie E. ; and Kate M., born November 5, 1851, who became the second wife of Solon L. Wiley, and has two children, Ruth M. and Anna Katherine. The second wife of Curtis Newton was Mary DeWolf, of Deerfield, who was born August 10, 1794, married June 13, 1822, and died October 20, 1856. Her children were: Mary Salome, born May 7, 1823; Sarah Persis, who was born September 12, 1824, and died Octo- ber 13, 1826; and Harriet, born January 15, 1830. Mary Salome was married March 27, 1848, to Don Avery Winslow, of Northern Vermont, and had five children, namely: Edward, who was drowned in early manhood; Helen M. , an author of some note in Boston, one of the founders of the New England Woman's Press Association, of which she is Treasurer; and Mary, Belle, and Harriet, who reside with their elder sister. Harriet New- ton married H. G. Parker, then Judge of Pro- bate in Greenfield, and now a lawyer of Cam- 576 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW bridge, and has one son, Horatio Newton Parker. Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Newton, born May 13, 1784, mar- ried Seth Smead, of Greenfield, and reared the following children: Elizabeth, who married a brother of the Hon. C. C. Conant; Grateful, Catherine, and Louisa, who are now deceased; Newton, who married Margaret Newton; Will- iam, who married Lottie Carpenter; Seth, who married Harriet Ballow; and George, who has two children — Herbert, in the hardware business in Providence, and Ella, who is car- ing for her uncle William in Greenfield. Asenath Newton, the second daughter, was born May 3, 1786, and died December 20, i860, at the old homestead, unmarried. Her sister, Milicent Newton, born October 2, 1789, died March 6, 1825, aged thirty-five. She was the wife of Thaddeus Coleman and the mother of four children. Esther married Noah Wells, and her only daugh- ter, Mary P., now the wife of Judge Fayette Smith, of Cincinnati, is a well-known writer, author of "Jolly Good Times," "Jolly Good Times at Hackmatack," and other popular books for young people, under the pen name of "P. Thorne. " Esther's son Elijah was at the head of the Adams Express Company in Philadelphia, and his widow and children still reside in that city. The other three children of Milicent (Newton) Coleman were nam?d Mary, Thaddeus, and Elijah. Jesse, fifth son of John and Elizabeth Newton, was born Feb- ruary 27, 1792, entered the theological depart- ment of Yale College, and died in his Fresh- man year, November 13, 181 5, of overwork. The next son, Obed, who was born January 31, 1795, was a man of independent spirit. Up to the time of the elder Harrison the family were Democratic in politics, and dur- ing that exciting campaign Obed incurred the scorn of his relatives by joining the ranks of the Republicans. Later, however, his brothers and their sons became converted to his views. The present tendency of the fam- ily representatives is toward independence in politics. Obed Newton was superintendent of the Sunday-school of the First Congrega- tional Church when the brick edifice was built at Nash's Mills. He had two wives. The first, whom he married on June 3, 1824, was Jemima, daughter of Dorothy and Quintus Allen, of Greenfield, born March 29, 1803. She died February 20, 1841, leaving the fol- lowing children : Sophia Arms, who married Avery Sprague, of Bernardston, of whom a sketch is given in this work; Betsey, born August 20, 1828, who married Dexter Clark, of Gill, on November 9, 1848, and had two children — Lewis E., who died in El Paso, Tex., leaving a widow, and Lizzie N., who is still living; Isabelle Graham, born June 4, 1832, who died September 14, 1852, unmar- ried; John, born October 28, 1834, who served in the Tenth Massachusetts Regiment, and died from exposure February 15, 1862; Dorothy J., born April 23, 1837, who died June 29, 1841. The second wife of Obed Newton, to whom he was united December i, 1841, was Abigail Briggs, who was born in Plymouth, Vt., Oc- tober 24, 1809, daughter of Samuel Briggs, and was a resident of Brattleboro at the time of her marriage. Two sons blessed this union, Jesse Obed and Seth Smead, the former of whom was born in Shelburne, Mass., October 7, 1842. He is a resident of Greenfield, and was connected for a time with Gunn & Amidon in the Miller's Falls Tool Company, but now manufactures Diamond Electric Soap. Jesse O. Newton has been twice married, his first wife being Esther Nash; his second, Hannah Nash, is still liv- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 577 ing, but neither union was blessed with chil- dren. Seth Smead Newton, who was born February ii, 1844, was married on December 7, 1865, to Henrietta, daughter of George and Julia Ann Frary, who was born in Whately, Decerflber 10, 1849. They have two children : Mary Jane, born June 27, 1866, and Abbie Frary, born December 7, 1868. The former, who was for several years a successful teacher in Worcester, Mass., was married June 27, 1892, to Charles H. Perry, of that city; and they have a son, Roger Newton, born March 12, 1894. Abbie Frary Newton is now a teacher in Worcester. Persis Newton, young- est child of John and Elizabeth (Arms) Newton, was born March 19, 1798, and died, unmarried, February 7, 1842. Tt^OBERT E. BLODGETT, a successful I S^ farmer and breeder of fine horses in li^ X^^^ Charlemont, Mass., was born in this town, March 31, 1830, son of Samuel and Deborah (Legate) Blodgett. The Blodgett family, of which Robert E. represents the eighth generation in this country, trace their descent from Thomas Blodgett, who came to America from London in the "Increase" in 1635, with his wife, Susanna, and two sons, Daniel and Samuel, aged respectively four years and one year and a half. At the time of their emigration Thomas Blodgett was thirty years old, and his wife thirty- seven. They settled in Cambridge, Mass., where two children were born — a daughter Susanna and a son Thomas. The latter died in 1639. Thomas Blodgett, Sr., was evidently a man of means, owning a house and land on Garden Street and other property in the town. He died before he attained his fortieth year. A copy of his will, made August 10, 1641, and proved in 1642, is to be found in the New England Genealogical Register for April, 1848, vol. ii. p. 185. His widow married James Thompson, Sr., of Woburn; and his daughter Susanna married Jonathan, son of the same James Thompson by a former wife. From them in the fifth generation was Ben- jamin, of world-wide renown as Sir Benja- min Thompson, or Count Rumford. Samuel Blodgett, son of Thomas and Susanna, went to Woburn to live, and on December 13, 1655, married Ruth, daughter of Stephen Iggleden, of Boston. Their son Samuel married Hul- dah, daughter of William Simonds. The records speak of each Samuel as serving as delegate to the General Court, as Selectman, and as member of important commissions; and in some cases it is hard to distinguish be- tween them. Thomas Blodgett, son of Samuel and Ruth, born February 26, 1661 (or, as given in His- tory of Lexington in 1660), was the ancestor of most of the Lexington Blodgetts. He was married November 11, 1685, to Rebecca, daughter of John and Rebecca (Wood) Tidd, the former a prominent man in Lexington, who dealt extensively in land. In the history Thomas Blodgett is mentioned as a subscriber to the meeting-house in 1692, but does not appear to have been a taxable inhabitant till 1694. He and his wife were added to the church in Lexington in 1699 by a letter from the Woburn church. Captain Blodgett, as he was generally called, was a leading man in the town, filling almost every local office of trust after its incorporation, and also repre- senting the town in the General Court. His home was on Adams Street, near North Street. He died September 29, 1740. He had five children: Thomas, Rebecca, Ruth, Abigail, and Samuel. Samuel Blodgett, the youngest son, was 578 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW born June 17, 1702, was a farmer in Lexing- ton, and died January 23, 1773. His wife, to whom he was married June 26, 1726, was Mary Russell, probably the daughter of Jona- than and Elizabeth, and the grand-daughter of John and Elizabeth (Fiske) Russell. Of the Russells there were quite a number in Cambridge, most of them prominent business men, and some of them wealthy land-owners. The following is a brief record of children of Samuel and Mary (Russell^ Blodgett : Sam- uel, born April 30, 1727, was a physician, first in Sunderland and later in Boston; Sim- eon, born June 5, 1730, married Susan Skel- ton; Joseph, born February 10, 1732, died January 7, 173S; Mary, born June 20, 1733, married Jonathan Perry; Ruth, born August 295 173s, married October 25, 1759, Henry Harrington; Josiah, born December 28, 1737, married Jane Thoren, April 24, 1760; Tim- othy, born April 10, 1740, married Millicent Perry; Isaac, born February i, 1742, married April 20, 1769, Mary Locke. According to tradition Timothy Blodgett, the fifth son, was in Captain Parker's com- pany on Lexington Common, April 19, 1775; and, when they dispersed, he lost his gun getting over a board fence. He probably lived on the main road taken by the regulars on their return from Concord, for they took his wife's new baking of bread. It seems that he removed from Wendell to Hadley in 1789, and settled in Deerfield the following year. In the latter town he resided forty years, dying January 13, 1831, when nearly ninety-one years of age. His wife was a daughter of Joseph or Jonathan and Mary (Locke) Perry. Of the Perry family the town histories give no connected account. The Lockes were descended from William Locke, of London, England, who settled in Woburn, became a large land-owner, and was Deacon in the local church for many years. He married Mary Clark, of Woburn; and their son William, Jr., was a Deacon of the church in 1709. He married for his first wife Sarah Whitmore. His son William resided on the old homestead, a part of which, includ- ing the house on Lowell Street, was included in the town of Lexington in 1799. This estate was afterward called the Hammond Locke place. William Locke (third) married Jemima, daughter of Philip Russell; and their daughter Mary was married in 1746 to Joseph Perry. Mrs. Millicent Perry Blodgett died May 7, 1827, at the age of seventy-nine. She and her husband reared a large family, briefly mentioned below: Timothy, born September 24, 1766, died November 29, 1855. He mar- ried Elizabeth Stiles, of Wendell, April 26, 1789. She died in 1850, aged eighty-five. Thaddeus, born June 2, 1768, married Sally Tuttle, and settled near Lake Chautauqua, New York, where he died at an advanced age. Levi, born July 28, 1770, married Kezia Puffer, and died in April, 1848. His wife, who was born in January, 1770, died in Janu- ary, 1841. Lucy, born January 23, 1773, married Asaph Mitchell, and died at Fredonia, N.Y.,.when over ninety years of age. Sam- uel, grandfather of our subject, was born Sep- tember 29, 1774. Joseph, born January 19, 1777, married Thankful Hawks, of Deerfield. He died in Fitzwilliam, N.H., about 1826. Mary, born April 15, 1779, married Silas Hawks, of Deerfield. Millicent, born De- cember 23, 1781, married Waitstil Hawks, of Deerfield. Sally, born November 22, 1783, married John Legate, and died at Halifax, Vt., October 5, 1861. Lucretia Billings, born June i, 1786, died March 30, 1789. Simeon, born April 20, 1788, married Lydia Graves, of Deerfield, and died September 2, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S79 1842. Edmund, born in 1790, married Nancy Brown, and died about 1833. Samuel Blodgett, grandfather of Robert E., married Susanna Whipple, and resided at different times at Hadley, Deerfield, Conway, Heath, Rowe, and Charlemont, Mass., and at Antwerp, N.Y. He died at Hadley, Saratoga County, N.Y., July 4, 1849. His wife was born March 17, 1774, and died at Antwerp, N.Y., February 23, 1840. They had a large family, several of whom are still living. Samuel Blodgett, son of Samuel and Su- sanna, was born June 14, 1796. The church records show that he was baptized rn Wendell, June 22, 1799. He learned the trade of a carpenter, but devoted the greater part of his life to agriculture, in early manhood purchas- ing a farm in Jefferson County, New York, which he tilled for several years. This he finally sold, and, removing to Franklin County, Massachusetts, purchased the farm in Charlemont on which his son Robert E. now resides. It is one hundred years since this farm, which contained one hundred and eighty acres, was reclaimed from the wilderness by Mr. S. Potter, who erected the present house. Here Mr. Samuel Blodgett spent the remainder of his life, dying at the age of seventy-one. In politics he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, of which he then be- came an adherent. He was liberal in religious views. His wife, Deborah Legate Blodgett, lived to be seventy-seven years old. They were the parents of the following children: Samuel, Joseph, Ephraim, Robert E., Sarah, Daniel W., Adeline M., and William H. Robert E. Blodgett, whose date of birth is given above, remained at home until twenty- two years of age, when, joining the westward exodus, he went to California, and spent four years in the mining camps. He then re- turned to Massachusetts, and, purchasing a farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Cole- rain, spent fifteen years there, successfully engaged in farming. At the end of that time he bought the home farm, where he has since resided, engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Besides raising cattle and sheep, he has devoted his attention to fine horses, his specialty being a cross between the Hambletonian and Morgan breeds. He is said to have produced some of the finest horses in the vicinity, and for some he has realized handsome prices. Mr. Blodgett is an excellent judge of the equine race and a thorough horseman. On November 6, 1856, he was married to Jane E., daughter of Robert and Eleanor (White) Burrington, who died at the age of twenty-five. He married for his second wife Miss Leafa A. Jones, whose parents were Franklin and Annis (Burrington) Jones. She has since died, and he is now a widower. No children were born of either marriage. In politics Robert E. Blodgett is a Democrat, and he is liberal in religion. His farm is pleasantly located on Legate Hill, overlook- ing the Deerfield valley and commanding one of the finest views in Franklin County. fHOMAS WOMERSLEY, M.D., of Greenfield, a well-known medical prac- titioner, was born in 1817 in York- shire, England, which county was also the birthplace of his parents, John and Hannah (Wilkinson) Womersley. The Doctor's father was a wool dealer, or stapler. In 1852 he emigrated to the United States with his wife and children — six sons and two daughters — performing the tedious voyage in a sailing- packet, the "Pacific," and being thirty-two days on the water. John Womersley was not the first of the family in this country, his s8o BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW father, Joseph Womersley, having settled in Dutchess County, New York, some twenty years earlier, becoming the proprietor of a large and valuable farm. His wife was Rachel Archer: and they reared three chil- dren — one son and two daughters. Dr. Womersley has been a student from his childhood, and in medical science still keeps abreast of the times. He began attending school at an early age, received his diploma at Dartmouth College; and he also studied at the University of the City of New York. He began the practice of his profession at Low- ell, Mass., where he remained four years; and the succeeding five years he spent travelling through the United States and Canada, lect- uring on physiology. He subsequently became interested in the study of theology, was grad- uated in 1855 from the theological seminary at Newton, Mass., and for seven years there- after supplied the pulpits of the Baptist churches of Beverly and Wenham. His next pastorate was at Three Rivers, Hampden County, from which he went to West Deer- field, where for six years he did good work in his Master's vineyard. In 1873 Dr. Womers- ley came to Greenfield, and resumed the prac- tice of medicine, in which he has since been continuously engaged, his residence being at 27 Chapman Street. He is quite prominent and popular in medical circles, being the old- est member of the Massachusetts Medical So- ciety residing in Franklin County, and also belonging to the Franklin County Medical Society. On January i, 1856, Dr. Womersley was united in marriage with Miss Mary F. Tag- gard, of Boston, a daughter of John and Eliza (Welch) Taggard, the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Boston. Mr. Taggard was a prominent business man of that city, being an extensive operator in bar iron and steel, in which he accumulated, quite a fortune. He and his wife reared three chil- dren, of whom Eliza, the eldest, was for many years an esteemed teacher in the public schools of Somerville, Mass. She died at Woburn, Mass., in 1893, aged sixty-six years. Anna M., the second daughter, is the widow of William A. Blodgett, of Woburn. Mr. Taggard lived to the ripe old age of fourscore and four years, dying at Watertown, Mass., in 1879; and his widow survived him many years, dying in 1891, at the remarkable age of ninety-six years, being then laid beside her husband in that beautiful resting-place of the dead. Mount Auburn Cemetery. Ebenezer Welch, father of Mrs. Taggard, was a mid- shipman on board the first revenue cutter of the United States, and died while in service, in 1800, at the age of thirty-three years, leav- ing a widow and three children. An uncle of Mrs. Womersley, the Rev. Bartholomew T. Welch, was pastor of the Pearl Street Baptist Church of Albany for thirty years, and sub- sequently had charge of a church in Brooklyn, but spent his last years in Albany. He was quite noted in the denomination to which he belonged, and was President for several years of the Bible Society. Of the children born to Dr. and Mrs. Wom- ersley two died in infancy; and one son, Thomas Archer, passed away at the tender age of two years. They have two daughters and one son living, namely: Helen Mary, who married William C. Norcross, of Welles- ley Hills, has one son and three, daughters; Eliza T., who was graduated from Wellesley College in 1887, is a teacher of French and Latin in the school of the Misses Gilmore in Boston; and Thomas M., a graduate of Yale College in 1894, is in business with his brother-in-law in Boston, dealing in builders' materials. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW S8' TW"ENRY F. BURNETT, a prosperous r^l blacksmith and dealer in hardware, J-^ V ^ tinware, and plumbers' supplies, residing at Erving, Mass., was born in Bel- chertown, Hampshire County, June 9, 1838, son of Bela and Elvira (Burnham) Burnett, the former of whom was a native of South Hadley. The paternal grandfather of Henry F. Burnett also bore the name of Bela and was a native of South Hadley, where he followed farming for an occupation. He died there at the advanced age of ninety years. Bela Burnett, Jr., who had a younger brother, Stoughton Burnett, early learned the mason's trade, which he followed in Franklin County, where he spent his life, making his home at Montague City. He had a good repu- tation for industry and skill at his calling, and also gained considerable local fame as a pedes- trian. It is said of him that while living in Montague City he used to walk to Belcher- town to work, a distance of twenty miles, and return on foot at night, and that he frequently walked one hundred miles without fatigue. He seems, however, not to have had a strong constitution, as he died in his thirty-seventh year. His wife, Elvira Burnham, was a daughter of Daniel Burnham, of Montague City, who lived to be above eighty years of age. She was one of eight children, of whom the only one now living is Mrs. Sarah L. Grout, of Bernardston. Mr. and Mrs. Bela Burnett, Jr., reared six children, of whom but two survive: Jennie, widow of Edmund Ed- munds, and now living in Springfield; and Henry F. The mother died at South Hadley in her fifty-second year. Both parents were attendants of the Congregational church. Henry F. Burnett was but eighteen months old when his parents removed to Montague City, where much of his childhood was spent. From there he went at length to South Had- ley, and thence to Granby, Hampshire County. At fifteen years of age he went to work in a piano factory, later was employed in a saw- mill, and was next engaged in blacksmithing. After that he went to Hartford, Conn., where he first had a position in a pipe shop, and sub- sequently in the railroad shop. From Hart- ford he went to Amherst, Mass., where for a year he was employed as a blacksmith, and at the expiration of that time removed to North- field and opened a blacksmith shop for him- self, remaining there until February 18, i860, when he came to Erving and hired a shop for three years, after which he erected his present shop and conducted a general blacksmithing business until 1886. In that year he put in the hardware department, which he has since continued in connection with the former, and with excellent results, his being the only hard- ware store in the town. In addition to all this, from 1863 to 1868 he was engaged in the livery and grain business. On October 18, i860, Mr. Burnett was mar- ried to Maria Trim, a native of Warwick and daughter of Washington Trim, a farmer and carpenter, who died in Orange. Mrs. Maria T. Burnett reared two children: a son, Will- iam L. , and a daughter Julia. William L. Burnett, who is associated with his father in busines.s, married Minnie M. Lillie, and has one child. Ruby. Julia Burnett married Elden G. Howe, of Springfield, and died at the age of twenty-three years, her one child having also passed away. Mr. Burnett's second wife, Sarah A. Clark, of Lynn, who bore him one child (deceased), died October 10, 1887, after a brief illness of but five days. His present wife was before marriage Jennie S. Holden. Her father was a resident of Erving. Mr. Burnett is a Republican in political affiliation, and has served on the School Com- mittee several years and as Town Treasurer for S82 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW six years. He is a member of tlie Masonic Lodge at Orange and was formerly a member of the Temple of Honor of that place. Mr. Burnett, though not a communicant of any church, is an attendant of the Congregational church, toward whose support he contributes freely, and of which his wife is a member. fEREZ M. WELLS, a leading citizen of Whately, was born at Hatfield, March 28, 1829, son of Luther and Elizabeth (Smith) Wells, the former a native of Whately, the latter of Greenfield. Mr. Wells's paternal grandfather, who also was named Perez, was a farmer of Colerain. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and took part in the siege of Ticonderoga. At the end of his term of service he returned to his plough, and his last years were passed in Whately. Luther Wells was both a farmer and a wagon-maker, following these occupations dur- ing his entire active life. He died at Hat- field at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, who was the daughter of Joel Smith, a prosperous farmer of Greenfield, passed to her rest at the age of sixty-one years. Mr. Luther Wells was a Republican in politics, and active in town affairs, serving as Town Treasurer for some time. He attended the Congregational church, of which his wife was a member. They were the parents of seven children, four of whom are still living; namely, Charles, Luther, Perez, and Augusta. Perez M. Wells passed his early boyhood in Hatfield, attending school in that town and at Easthampton. When twenty-two years of age he left home, and for some time he was a resident of New York State, where he was en- gaged in farming and in school-teaching. He subsequently taught for a while in the State of Ohio, where he resided one year. Returning to Massachusetts in 1856, he purchased a mill hear his present residence, which he operated very successfully for a period of thirty years. In 1886 he turned his attention to gardening, in which he is now profitably engaged, his time being wholly devoted to that pursuit. Mr. Wells and Lucretia Whitman, daughter of Noble and Ruth Whitman, of Windsor, Mass., were united in marriage in 1861, and are the parents of five children, as follows: George W. , who married Harriet Parsons and has two children — Lena and Margaret; Car- rie, who married Arthur Clapp, and has one child, Charles; Kate, who taught school for some years and is now the wife of Albert Dyer; Edward L. , a book-keeper at Holyoke ; and Bessie. The children were all well edu- cated, attending the public schools and Deer- field Academy. Mr. Wells is a Republican in politics. He has rendered valuable service to the town in a public capacity, having been Collector and Town Treasurer for many years and a member of the School Board for fifteen years. He has for the past twenty years been a Director of the National Bank at Northampton. He is a gentleman of considerable musical talent, pos- sessing a fine voice, and has acted as chorister at the Congregational church of Whately for a score of years. Mrs. Wells is also a member of that church. KRANK S. EWING, President of the Co-operative Bank of Orange, a popular man in business and social circles, has won for himself an assured position among the foremost citizens of the county. He was born March 25, 1855, in Westfield, Mass., being the only child of his pai'ents, Thomas and Mary (Gridley) Ewing. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 583 Thomas Ewing was born and educated at Ashford, Conn., and there began life as a farmer; but being disinclined to agricultural labors he moved to Westfield, where he first secured work in a whip factory. That em- ployment also proving uncongenial, he next established himself in a mercantile business, opening a tinware store, which he conducted profitably for eight years. Retiring then from active pursuits, he came with his family to Orange, where he is surrounded by all the needed comforts of life, and lightly bears the weight of sixty-nine years. His wife, a most estimable woman, much beloved and respected, is the daughter of Sidney Gridley. Frank S. Ewing was the recipient of excel- lent educational advantages in his boyhood; and after leaving school he accepted a position as clerk in the First National Bank of West- field, where he remained four years, being book-keeper and teller. Then buying an in- terest in the Steam Heating, or Laflin Manufacturing, Company, he acted as their book-keeper for some time, after which he filled a similar position in the John C. Schmidt & Co. whip establishment of Westfield. Com- ing to Orange in 1881, Mr. Ewing entered the office of the New Home Sewing Machine Company, and in a short time was appointed Assistant Treasurer, an office which he has filled with ability and fidelity. He is a man of more than ordinary capability and enter- prise, and of sound business principles. He is financially interested in the Minute Tapioca Manufacturing Company of Orange, holding the position of Treasurer,. and is also Treas- urer of the Orange Board of Trade. On the 4th of July, 1876, the centen- nial anniversary of the declaration of our national independence, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ewing and Miss Hattie E. Sibley, a daughter of Alvin Sibley, of West Springfield. Of this pleasant union two chil- dren were born — ^ May and Florence — from whom in early years the parents were called to part. Politically, Mr. Ewing is a worthy represent- ative of the best element of the Republican party, and for several years, has been Town Auditor. He is public-spirited, taking a gen- uine interest in forwarding local improve- ments. He is a prominent and active Mason, being a member of Mount Moriah Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Westfield; of Crescent Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Orange ; of the Orange Commandery, Knights Templars; and of Aleppo Temple, A. A. O. M. S., hav- ing taken in all thirty-two degrees of Masonry. He also belongs to Orange Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ewing are valued members of the order of the Eastern Star, the latter being a Past Matron of the Chapter in Orange, a Past Grand Matron of the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts, and the present R. W. A. Grand Matron of the General Grand Chapter of the United States. She is a graduate of the Westfield Normal School, pleasing in her address and enthusias- tically interested in her work. She is an es- teemed member of the Congregational church, being one of the most active workers of that parish, delighting in that charity that inclines the heart to sympathy and the hand to deeds of tender ministration. "lt^\UFUS H. FITTS, a prominent farmer I ^V^ and lumberman of Shutesbury, was -L^ V_ ^ born in Leverett, Mass., October 7, 1852, son of James and Sarah (Ball) Fitts. Mr. Fitts's father was a native of Oxford, Mass., and, when a young man, settled in Lev- erett, where he engaged in farming and in operating a saw and grist mill. He was in- SH BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW dustrious and successful in both pursuits. His latter years were passed in Saratoga Springs, N. Y., where he died at the age of eighty-three years. He belonged to the Epis- copal church. His wife, Sarah Ball Fitts, who was born in Leverett, became the mother of seven children, four of whom are still liv- ing, namely: Martha, who married Benjamin McClellan, a civil engineer, and resides in the West ; Sarah, who married John Henry, and resides in New York City; Carrie, a trained nurse in New York City; and Rufus H., the subject of this sketch. The other three were: Emily, Gertrude, and Oris. The mother died in young womanhood. Rufus H. Fitts passed his boyhood and youth in Leverett and Saratoga, acquiring his education in the schools of these towns, and then went to work as a teamster for William B. Stetson, of Leverett, in whose employ he re- mained for ten years. Some time later, after working at different occupations, he engaged in farming; and he moved to the old Adams farm in Shutesbury in 1880. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres of vauable land, is a successful farmer and stock-raiser, also ex- tensively engaged in lumbering, and is at the present time one of the largest tax-payers in the town. On August 3, 1873, Mr. Fitts married Laura Adams, daughter of Silas Ward Adams, of Shutesbury. Mrs. Fitts's father was born in Shutesbury, September 25, 181 1, son of Asa and Clarissa (Eastman) Adams. His grandfather, Asa Adams, Sr., settled in Shutesbury in 1759. Asa Adams, Jr., was born in Shutesbury, and his wife was a native of Amherst. They had fourteen children, thirteen of whom lived to reach maturity. Silas Ward Adams followed farming and lum- bering, in both of which he was successful, and in company with his brother Dickinson he operated a large saw-mill. He was a Repub- lican in politics, and occupies a prominent position among the leading citizens of the town, ably filling various town offices. He was a member of the Congregational church. Silas Ward Adams died in Shutesbury, Octo- ber 22, 1888. His first wife, Lucinda Blodg- ett, was the mother of four children, the only survivor of whom is Mrs. Oris Fitts, of North Amherst. His second wife became the mother of five children, namely: Emma L. , who died aged five years ; Dwight Ward, born November 19, 185 1, and now residing in Windsor, Conn. ; Laura, Mrs. Fitts, born August 4, 1853; Carrie, born October 23, 185s, and now the wife of William E. Roberts, of Florence, Mass. ; and John M., born No- vember 10, 1861, and now a resident of Athol, Mass. The mother, who still survives, resides with her daughter and son-in-law at the old Adams homestead in Shutesbury, the house, which was built previous to 181 2, being one of the principal landmarks of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Fitts have four children, as follows : Harry Ward, who was born February 8, 187s; Gertrude M., born July 8, 1878; Myrtie C, born August 18, 1885; and Bertha A., born December 13, 1890. Mr. Fitts is a Republican in politics, and is liberal in his religious views. Mrs. Fitts is a member of the Congregational church. The Adams fam- ily, as will have been gathered from the above, have filled positions in the community and have been for many years closely identified with the growth and development of Shutes- bury. « ■ ■ > > K OTHER DUDLEY is an old resident and highly respected citizen of the .■.^ town of Leverett, where he is en- gaged as a manufacturer and dealer in lumber. His birth occurred in this immediate vicinity J. C. NEWHALL. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 587 on September 6, 181 7. He is a son of Aaron Dudley, who was born in Framingham, Mass., and grandson of Nathan Dudley. Mr. Dudley's father was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits at Leverett in his early man- hood, and later erected a saw-mill, in which he began the manufacturing of lumber, a busi- ness that he carried on successfully in connec- tion with his large farm until his death, at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife, whose name before marriage was Sophia Frail, be- came the mother of ten children, four of whom are still living; namely, Samuel F. , Luther, Hannah, and Maria. She died at the age of seventy-one years. Luther Dudley was reared to farm life ; and, as his manly strength developed, he also learned to work in the saw-mill. Aside from a period of three years during which he re- sided in Wendell, he has always been a resi- dent of Leverett. He succeeded to the possession of a part of the home farm, also taking charge of the lumber business in com- pany with his brother, who soon retired from the enterprise, leaving him to carry it on alone. Having conducted it with energy and good judgment, his efforts have been attended with satisfactory financial results. The marriage of Mr. Dudley and Miss Alsa- mena Clark, of Montague, daughter of Aaron Clark, who was an early settler in Leverett, took place in 1843. They have been blessed with six children, four of whom lived to reach maturity, and are as follows: Tremaine, who married Ellen Spear, and has one child, Ralph T. ; Clifford, who married Jessie Housten, and has three children, namely — William Herbert, Chandler C, and Luther L. ; Mary, wife of John D. Holston, having one child, Leslie E. ; and Emmons L. , who resides at home. Mr. Dudley has always been a Republican in politics, and the town has availed itself of his valuable services in connection with the local government for many years. He has served a number of years as a Selectman, hav- ing been chairman of the board a greater part of the time, and has also served as Overseer of the Poor and Assessor for several years, and as School Committee for two years. In 1866 he represented his district in the State legis- lature with satisfaction to his constituents. Mr. Dudley was Justice of the Peace for twenty- eight years, ten years of that time being a Trial Justice. Mr. Dudley and his family enjoy a pleasant domestic life, Mrs. Dudley's mother, who is now (1895) ninety-four years of age, residing with them. Mr. Dudley attends the Universalist church. ;s5YABEZ C. NEWHALL, a highly intel- ligent and prosperous farmer and one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Conway, Franklin County, was born in this town, August 12, 1825, son of Jabez and Eu- nice (Livermore) Newhall, and grandson of Lieutenant J. Newhall. The latter was a native of the eastern part of Massachusetts, whence he removed to Conway as a pioneer settler, taking up a tract of land, on which he spent a long and useful life, engaged in its clearing and cultivation. He died at ninety- one years of age, and his wife at the age of ninety-three years. » His son, Jabez Newhall, was born on the old homestead ; and there he grew to stalwart manhood. When he attained the age of thirty years, he left the parental roof, and purchased a place in the village of Conway, where he conducted a tavern for upward of forty-three years, and also successfully engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He took especial interest in military affairs, and was connected with the State militia, in which he served in the S88 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW various ranks up to and including that of Colonel. He died at eighty-one years of age. In politics he was a supporter of Whig princi- ples. His wife, Eunice Livermore Newhall, who was the widow of Josiah Tilton, was born and reared in the western part of Worcester County, Massachusetts. She bore him three children — a son and two daughters: Sarah S., Jabez C, and Emily. Her death occurred when she was eighty-six years of age. J. C. Newhall, who is still living in the house in which he was born, received his edu- cation in the public schools. At an early age he became familiar with the methods and proc- esses of New England husbandry, in which throughout his life he has been successfully engaged, and, despite his seventy years, is still vigorous mentally and physically. A brief biographical notice of Mr. Newhall is given in the History of the Connecticut Val- ley, together with his portrait and a view of his residence. Mr. Newhall married Miss Adeline Parsons, who was born and reared in Conway, and is a daughter of Charles Par- sons. Their union has been blessed by the birth of five children, namely: Eunice L. ; Tryphena; Ruth I.; Anna B., the wife of F. Willard Boyden; and Harry T., who is mar- ried, and resides at home, assisting his father in carrying on the farm. Tryphena died at the age of nine months. In politics Mr. J. C. Newhall is a firm Re- publican, and has served his town acceptably as Selectman and Assessor. He is one of the large stockholders of the Conway Street Car Company, and is prominent and well known in agricultural circles, being a life member of the Bay State Agricultural Society and of the Franklin County Agricultural Society. He is a promoter, stockholder, and director of the Conway Co-operative Creamery and a long- time member of the Franklin Harvest Club, and also having for six years, beginning with 1888, served as a member of the State Board of Ag- riculture. He is also one of the charter mem- bers of Morning Sun Lodge of A. F. & A. M. Mr. Newhall and his estimable wife are con- sistent members of the Congregational church. The excellent likeness of Mr. Newhall on an adjoining page will be readily recognized. RS. CATHERINE TUCKER, one of the oldest and most esteemed residents of Heath, widow of the late Edward Tucker, was born in this town on December 25, 1804, daughter of David and Prudence (Fish) Henry. Her paternal grand- father, Benjamin Henry, removed from Hali- fax, Vt. , to Colerain, where he cultivated a farm and was known as an able and successful man. He had been, it is said, a soldier in the French and Indian War, and was commis- sioned a Lieutenant in 1776. His name is prominent in both the military and civil his- tory of Vermont, where he was a Justice of the Peace for many years, and several times a Representative for his district. He died at the age of seventy. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha Ayers, lived to be eighty- six. They were both members of the Congre- gational church. David Henry, Mrs. Tucker's father, was the third of ten children, and was born in Halifax, Vt., June 16, 1773. He bought the Reed farm of one hundred acres in North Heath, and on it erected a small frame house, the first of the kind in the vicinity. The country was wild and sparsely settled, Mr. Henry's nearest neighbor being a mile away; but he had plenty of room for his kine and other live stock, and thirteen of his fourteen children, thriving in the fresh, untainted air, reached a healthy maturity. In politics Mr. Henry was a Feder- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 589 alist, and at different times he acted in an offi- cial capacity in town affairs. He prospered in worldly matters, being one of the most exten- sive real estate owners in the vicinity. Edward Tucker, to whom Miss Catherine Henry was married on June 14, 1853, was born in Phillipston, Mass., in 1798, son of Ebenezer and Hannah (Thomas) Tucker. Ebenezer Tucker was one of the pioneer set- tlers in Heath, where he tilled a farm, and was also proprietor of the first store in town. His life of eighty-four years forcibly illus- trated the adage, "It is worry, not work, that kills men." His wife, too, had a long, busy life, beginning her eighty-first year. They had five children : Ebenezer, Rachel, Han- nah, Edward, and Lydia Tucker. Edward Tucker was active and enterprising from his youth, when he bought up fatted cat- tle and sheep and drove them to the Boston market, carrying also farm produce and bring- ing back merchandise, which he sold 'to the farmers. Each trip consumed ten days and was very tedious and trying; but the profit made on the transactions amply made up for the fatigue endured, and in course of time he became quite well-to-do in the world. He bought a large amount of real estate in Heath, including the one-hundred-acre farm which belonged to Robert Patterson, on which Mrs. Tucker now resides. The large house and barn were built by Mr. Patterson, and have been kept in such good repair that they are, in much better condition than many modern houses. Mr. Tucker was a very public-spir- ited man. In politics he was a Republican, and held several important town offices, serv- ing for some time as Selectman. He was greatly interested in religious matters, and regularly attended the Congregational church. He died March 29, 1883, at the age of eighty- five. Mrs. Catherine Tucker, who is ninety-one years old, is a highly intelligent and interest- ing lady. The burden of years sits lightly upon her, her health being good and her mem- ory remarkable; and she appears much younger than she actually is. She is an attendant of the Congregational church, and is well known and held in much esteem in the town. She has no children. /'^"^ HESTER CLARK, an enterprising and I j| prosperous farmer residing in Wen- ^^ ^ deil, was born on his present farm, June II, 1832, son of Josiah and Annie (Pot- ter) Clark, the former a native of Royalston. Benjamin Clark, father of Josiah, was born in Bridgewater, Mass., and removed to Royalston about the year 1777, then a young man. Aside from being a farmer he was an old-time singing-school master, well known throughout the surrounding towns, and regarded as an expert in this vocation. His last years were spent in Royalston, where he died at an ad- vanced age, his wife living to the venerable age of eighty-eight. They were the parents of seven children. Both Grandfather Clark and Grandfather Potter were Revolutionary soldiers. Josiah Clark was reared on his father's farm in Royalston, and, having grown to manhood, continued to follow agricultural labors. He earned a good deal of money for those days in working out for other farmers by the month, his specialty being the cradling and threshing of rye, and his record as a thresher in one winter, with the ordinary hand flail, having been eight hundred bushels. His active life was largely spent in this locality, he having removed to Wendell in 1817. He died in 1853, at the age of sixty-six. His wife, Annie Potter, was a daughter of Robert and Patience (Boynton) Potter, and a native of 59° BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Wendell, her father being a farmer and one of the early settlers of the town. Mrs. Robert Potter, who had been previously married, spent her last years at the home of her grand- son, Chester Clark, where she died but little short of the centenarian mark, being ninety- eight years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Clark were the parents of seven children, five of whom grew to adult life, and three of whom — namely, Emery J., Mary Ann, and Chester — are still living on the ancestral farm, occupying two houses. The mother died in 1875, aged eighty-five years. Chester Clark has spent his whole life on the old homestead, having been educated in the district school. After the death of his parents he became the owner of the farm, which consists of one hundred and forty acres. He has never married, preferring to live a life of single blessedness with his sister, who keeps house for him. They have several in- teresting family heirlooms, among them some books that were printed more than two hun- dred years ago, also some pewter plates and cups, the plates being of different sizes, from six inches in diameter to the huge platter — all over one hundred and fifty years old. In po- litical affiliation Chester Clark is a Prohibi- tionist, and he has served as Selectman two years. He is an attendant of the Baptist church. EORGE MENDALL UNDER- i> I WOOD, one of the leading mer- chants of Orange and proprietor of the largest retail grocery store in Franklin County, is one of the keen, brainy, and suc- cessful young business men of this vicinity. He is a son of Thomas R. and Lucy R. (Pond) Underwood, and was born March 11, i860, in New Salem, where his paternal grandfather, Bealy Underwood, was a pioneer settler. The latter was descended from the Underwoods that settled in Charlestown and Newburyport in the early part of the seventeenth century. He bought one hundred acres of timbered land at New Salem, and, having built a log house, cleared a part of the land, but was thenceforth principally engaged in teaming to and from Boston. He died at the comparatively early age of forty-five years, his wife, Nancy Rich, who survived him, living threescore years. The names of their eight children were: Al- fred, Mary A., Otis, Thomas R., Nancy, Sarah, Warner, and Jewell. Thomas R. Underwood was bound out when a boy of eight years to Asa Coolidge, with whom he lived until attaining his majority. He learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed more or less for many years. After his marriage to Lucy R. Pond, on September I, 1847, he moved to the Pond homestead and devoted himself to the care of his wife's par- ents till their death, and then bought the farm. Here he has since been engaged in general farming, and has made several im- provements on the place, including a new barn and other buildings, and is enjoying his twi- light years in most comfortable circumstances. In politics he is a sound Republican, and in religion a good Universalist. His wife was born July 16, 1826, in Somers, Tolland County, Conn., daughter of Prentice and Lucy (Haskell) Pond. Mr. Pond, who was an enterprising agriculturist, removed to the town of New Salem with his family in 1835, and there bought the eighty-acre farm of Silas Ellis. This farm was partially cleared and had a fine large house, which is to-day in excellent condition, being the one owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. T. R. Underwood, and the birthplace of their children, of whom the following is a brief record: Prentice H., born July 10, 1848, a commercial traveller BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 591 living in Orange, married Mary Moore, and they are the parents of three children — Clara M., Ralph P., and Gladys M. ; Emma V., born November i, 1850, married George Ma- goon, and died leaving one child — G. Albert; Frank A., born January 26, 1853, is in the livery business in Orange; Vera E., born Jan- uary 18, 1857, married William Morse, of this town, and they have two children — Earl W. and Frank T. ; and George M., is the young- est of the family. George M. Underwood was educated in the public schools of his native town, and after leaving the high school began his business life as a clerk, which occupation he followed for eleven years, the first five of them being in the employ of P. H. Underwood. He after- ward travelled in different States, representing the well-known seed house of D. M. Ferry & Co., of Detroit, Mich., and during the five years he was connected with them gave emi- nent satisfaction to his employers and their numerous patrons. In 1889 Mr. Underwood, in company with H. H. Adams, bought out the grocery business of C. A. Towne, in Orange, and carried on a thriving trade for some time. In February, 1895, Mr. Under- wood bought out the interest of his partner, and has since continued the business alone, having now one of the finest and best-equipped groceries in this section of the State, centrally located in the Putnam Block on West Main Street, Orange. Besides groceries he carries a good stock of "Amberline, " a washing fluid which he invented and manufactures himself, and which has a large sale here and elsewhere. He has also made and patented an advertising card for harness pad and a roll cover for deliv- ery wagons, both being useful and appreciated by all who have tried them. Mr. Underwood is highly esteemed in social, political, and financial circles, and is a mem- ber of the Board of Trade. He is a Republi- can in politics, and in 1894 was elected to the office of Selectman. He is a member of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of the Knights of Pythias, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both Lodge and Encamp- ment, and of the Orange Lodge of Red Men. In May, 1888, Mr. Underwood was united in marriage with Agnes Tashro, a daughter of the Rev. Charles Tashro, of Windsor, Vt. ; and they have a pleasant home in Orange. <^« ^ » DWIN WILDER, the efficient Road Com- missioner of Erving, Mass., was born in this town January 18, 1839, son of Hananiah and Susan (Felch) Wilber. Mr. Wilber's grandfather, Hananiah Wilber, Sr. , who was a resident of New Salem, married Esther Tyrrell; and Hananiah, the younger, was the only child of their union. He was born in New Salem, was reared to agricultural life, and in early manhood moved to Erving, where he purchased a farm in what is known as Stoneville, about one mile below the pres- ent village. Here he resided for some years, and then sold the property and moved to West Orange, where he remained until within two years of his death, when he returned to Erving and passed the remainder of his days. He died in 1885, at the age of seventy-nine years. His wife Susan was a daughter of William Felch, and was born at Fitzwilliam, N. H. She became the mother of two sons and four daughters, of whom Edwin, the subject of this sketch, and Adeline, widow of the late Dwight Woodward, a mechanic and lumber dealer of Erving, are the only survivors. The mother passed her entire life on the farm in Stone- ville, where she died at the age of sixty years. Edwin Wilber received his education in the district schools, and resided with his parents 592 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW until attaining his majority. He commenced life for himself working as a farm laborer by the month in the immediate vicinity of his native town, and later became employed at the chair factory in Gardner, Mass., where he worked for a period of seven years. During the succeeding four years he acted as clerk at the Erving House, after which he labored steadily for ten or twelve years in the chair factory at Erving. In 1888 he was elected to his present position of Road Commissioner, which he has since held by repeated re-elec- tions, his energetic and progressive manage- ment of this department having thus received the seal of general approbation. In 1877 Mr. Wilber was united in marriage to Alice A. Lakin, a native of Hancock, N. H., and daughter of Moses Lakin, who was a prosperous farmer of that town, and is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Wilber have had one son, named Leon, who died at the age of twenty-two months. Mr. Wilber was made a Free Mason at Orange in 1865, and is inde- pendent in politics. He erected his present beautiful residence in 1889. EUTHER W. CLARK is an influential citizen and representative farmer of ^^^ South Deerfield. He was born at Cheshire, Berkshire County, Mass., Septem- ber 19, 1 85 1, and is the only son of Ora Clark, a native of Newport, Herkimer County, N.Y. His grandfather, Jeremiah Clark, was a resident of New York State, following there the occupation of shoemaker the greater part of his life. Ora Clark became an extensive real estate owner in Western New York, where he bought and sold farm property, also carrying on a farm himself. He later purchased a farm in Whately, Mass.; and there he resided until his death, which occurred in 1884, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife was Nancy Loomis, daughter of Isaac Loomis, a clothier of the town of Cheshire, Mass. ; and Luther W. Clark is the only child of their union. Mrs. Nancy L. Clark died in Cheshire, at the age of fifty-seven years. She was a member of the Baptist church. Luther W. Clark, after acquiring the ele- ments of knowledge in the district schools of his native town, took a business course at a commercial college, after which he spent a year in the West. Returning to his home, he engaged in work upon the farm, assisting his father, who during the last five or six years of his life was rendered entirely helpless from paralysis. At his father's death he took charge of the farm, which he carried on until 1889, when he sold it and moved to South Deerfield, where he now owns two fine farms, besides having an interest in a third — all valuable pieces of property. He is exten- sively engaged in market gardening, which he finds a pleasant and profitable industry. Mr. Clark is well advanced in Masonry, being a member of Republican Lodge, the Chapter, Council, and Commandery at Green- field, and is also connected with the Knights of Honor of South Deerfield. In politics he was formerly a Republican, but now supports the Democratic party. He invariably de- clined to serve in any public capacity until recently elected a Representative to the State legislature. T^HARLES T. BARBER, Town Clerk I Jj of Heath, was born in Ashfield, No- V^!f — " vember 15, 1827, son of Samuel and Sarah (Barber) Barber. His grandfather also was named Samuel Barber and was an Englishman by birth. He came to this coun- try when about twenty-five years of age, set- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 593 tling first in Boston and later starting a tannery in the southern part of Ashfield. He went back to England in 1854, but subse- quently returned to Ashfield, where he died in 1862, at the age of seventy. His son, Samuel, Jr., who was an active and enterprising man, conducted a tannery in South Ashfield, afterward settling on a farm and taking rank as one of the most progressive farmers in the vicinity. He belonged to the old Whig party during its existence and later was a Republican. He served as a Represent- ative in the legislature, was Town Clerk for sev- eral terms, and was a member of the School Committee. He and his family attended divine worship at the Episcopal church. Mr. Barber was twice married, his first wife, Sarah Barber, passing away in her thirty-third year, leaving five children, and his second wife, Lucinda G. Arms, bearing three children. Charles T. Barber finished his education at Sanderson Academy in Ashfield. When he was twenty-one years of age, in company with Horace Sheldon, he opened a general store in South Ashfield, carrying on a fairly profitable business for some years. This business he finally disposed of and went on the road as a salesman, later taking the position of general manager of the Grover & Baker Sewing Machine Company, with headquarters in Lex- ington and Louisville, Ky. , whence he re- turned to New York City. In 1861 he took charge of the export sales of the Grover & Baker Machine Company, his office being in New York City. In the same year he bought the old Maxwell homestead of thirty-five acres in Heath, as a place in which to spend his sum- mer vacations. In 1876 the Grover & Baker Machine Company closed out their business; and Mr. Baker then went to the Wheeler & Wilson Machine Company, taking charge of their export trade, remaining with them until 1884, when he retired from business. He has since made this farm his permanent abid- ing-place. In 1884 he built a fine barn ; and he has remodelled and added to the house, which was erected in 1782 by his wife's people, and is a substantial and well-built structure, so that now he has a handsome country seat. Mr. Bar- ber has practically retired from active business. He employs help to carry on the work of the farm and to attend to his stock, which com- prises some fine varieties. Mr. Barber's first wife, Celestia M., daugh- ter of Samuel Potter, a prominent farmer in the vicinity, died when scarcely thirty years of age. His second wife is Martha A., daughter "of Alexander P. and Sarah (Temple) Maxwell. On the paternal side Mrs. Barber's earliest American ancestor was Hugh Maxwell, Sr. , a native of Ireland, but of Scotch descent, who emigrated to Massachusetts about 1733, with his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Cor- bett, and their infant son, Hugh, Jr., known afterward as Colonel Maxwell, and settled in Bedford, Middlesex County. Their son Ben- jamin, the grandfather of Mrs. Barber, was born in Bedford, Mass., March 17, 1737 (O. S.); and in early manhood he settled in Heath, where in course of time he became an extensive real estate owner. He was Lieuten- ant of a company of minute-men in the Revo- lution, and was also, with his elder brother, Colonel Hugh, one of Colonel Rogers's rangers. Benjamin Maxwell lived to be ninety-two years old. His wife, whose name before marriage was Ann Winslow, died in middle age, leaving nine children, including six sons; namely, Benjamin, Jr., William, Sylvanus, Winslow, Frazier, and Alexander Park. The latter, who was born in Heath in 1786, was heir to a part of the old homestead in Heath ; and he bought land in Charlemont near the town line, his estate covering some 594 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW three hundred acres. He was progressive and thrifty, and erected new buildings on his place, keeping everything in good condition. In politics he was a Democrat. He was a public-spirited man, taking an active interest in the welfare of the town and filling various official positions with merit, being a Justice of the Peace for years. Mr. Alexander P. Max- well died at the age of seventy-eight, his wife living to be three years older. They were both members of the Congregational church. In politics Mr. Barber is a Republican. He is Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, Tax Collec- tor, and Registrar. He has always taken an interest in the furtherance of education in the town of Heath, and is at present agent for school supplies. Having travelled extensively in the West and South, and spent so many years in the metropolis, he has acquired a large amount of practical knowledge, and is a valuable citizen to the town, questions of pub- lic importance being frequently referred to his judgment. /STeORGE R. FESSENDEN, M.D., Vp I is an eminent physician of Ashfield, well known throughout the length and breadth of Franklin County, his extended practice embracing all classes of people. He was born at Rochester, N.H., December 6, 1849, son of James M. and Eliza (Tibbets) Fessenden. James M. Fessenden was born and bred in Arlington, Mass., and, when a young man, be- came versed in the mechanical arts. In com- pany with a Mr. Woodruff he established a manufacturing business at West Cambridge, Mass., where they continued for some years, but later removed their plant to Rochester, N.H. In 1869 Mr. Fessenden sold out his property there, and removed to Beaver Falls, Pa. , where, in company with Mr. E. J. Blake, he made the first machine for cutting files that was ever manufactured in the United States, a business in which he was engaged until failing health obliged him to retire from active pur- suits, his death, at the age of sixty-nine years, occurring soon after. He was a very success- ful man, accumulating considerable property, among his real estate being a valuable plan- tation in Mississippi. He was a stanch adherent of the Republican party, was public- spirited, and served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen. He was also active in relig- ious circles and a member of the Presbyterian church. His widow died in 1885, beloved and respected by the many friends whom she had attracted and retained by her noble and womanly qualities. Four children were born to her, namely: William C, a resident of Beaver Falls, Pa., who married Jessie Hos- mer; James and Alice, who died at an early age; and George R., of whom we write. George R. Fessenden fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, in the class of 1869, received his bachelor's degree at Har- vard in 1874, and four years later was grad- uated from the Medical School of that univer- sity. After some months' study and experi- ence in the hospitals at Pittsburg, Pa., Dr. Fessenden came to Western Massachusetts, first settling in Plainfield. A year and a half later, in 1879, he embraced the opportunity to buy out the residence and practice of Dr. J. R. Fairbanks, in Ashfield, where he has since been engaged in the active duties of his profession, by his thorough knowledge of medicine and his untiring devotion to his work winning the confidence and esteem of the peo- ple, and establishing an enviable reputation as a skilful practitioner. It is a striking fact, and one which speaks well for his ability and success as a guardian of health, that in twenty- one of the families that are in the habit of BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 595 calling him when needing medical attention, there is either a father or mother, or both, be- tween the ages of eighty and ninety-five years. The marriage of Dr. George R. Fessenden and Miss Kate M. Pratt, daughter of Frank P. and Jane K. (F'isk) Pratt, of Southbridge, was celebrated December 4, 1885; and of this happy union two bright and promising children have been born: George R., Jr., the date of whose birth was June 28, 1887; and Margaret S. , whose infant life began September 20, 1891. Since coming to Ashfield Dr. Fessen- den has remodelled and enlarged his house and ofifice and rebuilt the barns. He has one of the finest collections of antique furniture and curios to be found in the county, his home being one of the most attractive and hospitable in the vicinity. Although a stanch Republi- can in politics, the Doctor has always been obliged to decline official honors, but has served as chairman of the Republican Com- mittee. He is a fine speaker; and the free lectures on anatomy and physiology which he gives each season at the academy are largely attended, the size of the audience being lim- ited only by the capacity of the hall. Dr. Fessenden is President of the Ashfield Library Association and an esteemed member of the Morning Star Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and was President of Franklin District Medical Society for two years. He is liberal in his religious views, in sympathy with the broadest-minded and most advanced thinkers of the day, his wife being an earnest and sincere Christian woman, a faithful member of the Congregational church. ^•m »»- > ■ 'REE LIBRARY, Field Memorial Hall Building, Ashfield. This institution is an outgrowth of the old Sanderson Academy, and a history of the library neces- sarily includes an account of the growth of the academy, which was established in 1816, by the Rev. A Ivan Sanderson, and was probably the first school of advanced grade in the town. Mr. Sanderson was born in Whately in 1780. He graduated from Williams College in 1802, and at once took up the work of teaching, expressing, it is said, "much satisfaction in the business of instructing youth." But at that time, as to-day, there were more teachers than positions, and Mr. Sanderson finally decided to study divinity. He was licensed to preach by the Berkshire Associa- tion, and for four years labored among the destitute churches in New York, Northern Vermont, and Maine. In February, 1808, he was invited to preach at Ashfield as colleague of the Rev. Nehemiah Porter, who was then eighty-eight years old, and, accepting the call, was ordained June 22. A full account of his faithful pastorate is given in Dr. Packard's History of the Churches of P'ranklin County, and in the Panoplist and Missionary Herald published in 1818, now on file at the library of the missionary rooms in Boston. Mr. San- derson was finally obliged through failing health to resign his charge, and in 1816 he opened a grammar and classical school in the village. A small one-story building, formerly occupied as a store, which stood on the hill just west of the cemetery, nearly opposite where Mrs. Wright now lives, was bought and set upon his land, directly in front of where the present academy stands. Esquire White shared with Mr. Sanderson the expense of fit- ting up the building, and afterward gave his share to the corporation. Scarcely a year was the frail teacher spared to do his work; for he passed to the world beyond on June 22, 18 17. He left a will bequeathing a large part of his property to establish and endow an academy, and appointing trustees, who faithfully car- ried out his wishes. 596 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW The history of the academy from that time to the present is given fully in an interesting address at the dedication of the New Sander- son Academy and Field Memorial Hall Build- ing, Ashfield, July 24, 1889, by Frederick G. Howes, of Ashfield, one of the present trustees of the library, which address has been pub- lished in pamphlet form. Mr. Flowes men- tions the names of many distinguished men who have been connected with the academy, either as teachers or pupils. As the endow- ment fund dwindled, the institution fell into decline; and in 1877 the building was dilapi- dated, and the yard was made a refuge for piles of wood and lumber. In that year two emi- nent men of letters, Professor Charles Eliot Norton, of Cambridge, and the Hon. George W. Curtis, of Staten Island, N. Y. , who had established summer homes in the town, en- deavored to resuscitate the academy, each subscribing a liberal sum. Others followed; and a permanent fund of over seventeen hundred dollars was raised, and the school was soon in good working order. As the population of the town increased, houses were built close to the school building, and trouble arose between residents and students; and the selectmen were called upon to pro- hibit ball-playing and other games in the street near the academy. In 1885 Mr. John W. Field, of Philadelphia, also a summer resi- dent of Ashfield, hearing of this trouble, pre- sented the academy with three and a half acres of land, near the village, for a play- ground, which was called the "Field of Ashfield." Mr. Field dying in 1887, his remains were buried in the cemetery near his summer home; and on July 27 of that year the trustees of the academy received a letter from his widow, Mrs. Eliza W. Field, proposing to present them with seven thousand five hundred dollars for the purpose of erecting a permanent memo- rial of her husband. Her letter states: "I wish that with this sum a memorial building, to be called the ' Field Memorial Hall ' of the Sanderson Academy, should be erected under your charge, suitably designed and arranged to afford proper accommodations to the academy for the library, for the existing museum and such other collections as may be added to it, and for such other cognate objects as it may seem wise for you to provide for. I trust that arrangements may be made by which the li- brary shall be free to all who may wish to make use of it, and shall be open whenever in your judgment- it can be of service. My hus- band had very much at heart free libraries. I purpose at some future time to add to the library the bulk of the collection of books belonging to my husband and myself, a large collection of photographs, many interesting oil paintings, and our collection of bronzes." The building was accordingly erected, the three-acre lot given by Mr. Field being deemed the most suitable site; and, as the original sum was found to be inadequate, Mrs. Field supplied the deficiency, her generous gift finally amounting to over ten thousand dollars. The first library organized in Ashfield of which we find record came into existence in 1815, and was called the Second Social Library of Ashfield. It passed through vary- ing fortunes; and in 1866 the number of mem- bers had decreased to ten, many shares having lapsed through non-payment of annual dues. In that year Professor Norton and Mr. Curtis were instrumental in forming a new organiza- tion, which was called the Ashfield Library Association. The old society was dissolved, the volumes being divided among the mem- bers, most of whom entered the new associa- tion with their books. These, with liberal BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 597 donations from Messrs. Norton and Curtis, formed the nucleus of the present library. The institution has had many liberal patrons, one of the most active being Alonzo Lilly, of Newton, the donor of a fifteen-hundred- dollar fund. In 1867 it received by will of Addison Graves a legacy of one hundred dollars, and in 1868 fifty dollars from George C. Goodwin. In 1886 the Library Associa- tion decided to allow the pupils of the acad- emy to use books for reference under certain regulations. In connection with her letter proposing the new building, Mrs. Field com- municated her proposition to the Library As- sociation, which fell in with her plans; and in November, 1887, an arrangement was made with the town, by which, on condition of the payment of a certain sum annually by the town, the library is made free to the townspeople. Shortly after, the library was placed in the room provided for it in the new building, which has a shelf capacity for five thousand volumes. The gymnasium has been suitably furnished, and a liberal sum placed in the hands of Dr. G. Stanley Hall provides the school-room with apparatus and other equip- ment. The museum connected with the acad- emy was originated by Dr. Hall. It shows the past history of the town in its industrial pursuits, and contains botanical and mineralog- ical products of the vicinity. So from the small school, established eighty years ago in a little one-story building, has arisen a noble institution ; and the prayers of Alvan Sander- son that God would raise up benefactors to complete his work have been answered. "ir^EXTER F. HAGER, a prominent I ——J farmer of Whately, was born at C-^m^ Wendell, Mass., May 4, 1840, son of Charles and Myra H. (Felton) Hager, the former of Wendell, the latter of New Salem. His grandfather, Martin Hager, who was a native of Marlboro, settled upon a farm in Wendell immediately after marriage, and resided there for, many years. In 1855 he moved with his son Charles to Deerfield, where he died a few months later, at the age of seventy-six. For a more extended account of the family history the reader is referred to the History of Marlboro, Mass. Charles Hager, the father of Dexter F. , was the second of six children born to his parents. He was reared to an agricultural life, and also acquired the trade of stone-cutting, which he followed for some years, finally assuming charge of the farm during his father's decline. He subsequently sold this farm, and, purchas- ing another piece of property in South Deer- field, resided there until his decease, which occurred in the month of July, 1891, at the age of eighty-one j^ears. His wife, whose maiden name was Myra H. Felton, was a daughter of Daniel Felton, a farmer of New Salem, who spent the latter part of his life in Deerfield, engaged in farming. Mrs. Hager was one of seven children. She became the mother of five, three of whom are still living, namely : Dexter F. ; Lydia, wife of Lucien L. Eaton, who was formerly a merchant of South Deerfield ; and Otis, who resides upon a farm adjoining that of his brother. Dexter F. Hager commenced his education in the district schools, and after pursuing a course at the Deerfield Academy, completed his studies at Powers Institute at the age of seventeen years. He assisted his father upon the farm till he was twenty-one years of age. In the month of September, 1861, he was enrolled among the volunteers who responded to the call of their country for the preserva- tion of the Union, enlisting in Company D, Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Infantry, as a 598 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Private. That regiment was attached to the Eighteenth Army Corps, which was under the command of General Burnside, and partici- pated in several memorable battles. Mr. Hager was in active service for a period of twenty months. Receiving a slight wound, he was discharged at Newbern, N. C, and returned to the homestead, where for some time he continued to assist his father in carry- ing on the farm. He also purchased the adjoining property, upon which he now re- sides. After the death of his father he, in company with his brothers, conducted the farm for a time. The property was later divided, each taking a certain part, as per agreement. The brothers also for many years conducted a very profitable lumbering enterprise. At pres- ent Mr. Hager is devoting his time and energy to agricultural pursuits, which he conducts with equal success, making a specialty of tobacco. In 1869 he married his first wife, Abbie W. Perry, of Orange, daughter of William Perry, a farmer. Her parents moved to South Deerfield in 1856, and later to Vernon, Vt., where her father died. Mrs. Abbie W. Hager died May 20, 1887, in her forty-seventh year. She was the mother of five children, as fol- lows: Charles S., a student at Amherst Col- lege; William P., who assists his father upon the farm ; Myra O. ; Mary W. ; and Myron E. These children all received a good education, the first four graduating from the Dickinson High School. Mr. Hager's present wife, whose maiden name was Harriet E. Wheaton, is a native of Warwick, daughter of Samuel and Elmina (Fuller) Wheaton, formerly of Winchester, N. H., and now of Rowe, Mass. She is the youngest of five children, four of whom are now living. Samuel Wheaton was born at Townshend, Vt. His life was devoted to farming, a great part of it being passed in Orange, Mass. Mrs. Hager is the mother of one son, Robert D. Hager. Mr. Hager is a Republican in politics. He has served as Selectman for three years. Trial Justice for six years, and for many years has been Justice of the Peace. He is a comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, having been Post Commander for eight years, and formerly belonged to the Grange. He is a member of the Congregational church, with which his family also are united, all being active workers in the Sunday-school. Mr. Hager has a pleasant home about half a mile from Sunderland Bridge. He is the posses- sor of a curious heirloom, an ancient time- piece which belonged to his first wife's great- grand-father, and which is said to have been running constantly for the past one hundred and thirty years. •OHN GUSTAVUS JOHNSON, lawn artist and dealer in decorations, an extensive real estate owner in East Charlemont, was born in Colerain, Franklin County, Mass., January 25, 1844, son of Isaac and Ann (Willis) Johnson. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Johnson, Sr. , was born on January 29, 1762. He was a prominent farmer in Colerain, tilling the soil and tend- ing his flocks contentedly, casting his vote on election days for the Whig candidates, and on Sundays donning his best suit of clothes and wending his way to the Baptist church to hear the word of the Lord. He died on February 13, 1842. His wife, to whom he was married on February 24, 1791, was Lydia Hastings, born November 19, 1764. She died April 13, i860. They had eight children, six boys and two girls. Isaac, Jr., known as Colonel Johnson, was born in 1797 in Colerain, and was a successful BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 599 farmer at the time of his marriage, but was persuaded to sell his farm and invest in the manufacture of cotton cloth in company with J. Hollister, at Shattuciiville. Owing to dull times the company failed in business, and he lost every dollar he had invested. He then set up in business as a contractor for heavy masonry, and was considered authority in this line of industry. He was a stanch Republican and served the town in various offices, holding the position of Selectman for some time. He died on October 27, 1857. His wife, who was born in 1806, was a daughter of Major Daniel Willis, one of the early settlers of Colerain, who had a large farm and dealt extensively in wool. Mrs. Johnson died in April, 1867, at the home of her youngest daughter, Luana, wife of Morris Manning, of East Charlemont. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were members of the Baptist church. They had ten children, born between 1824 and 1844, eight living to grow up, three only now remaining. George C, the eldest of these, a veteran of the Grand Army, is now in his sixty-third year. He was in active service in the war of the Rebellion three years, was pro- moted from private to Sergeant, was in the battle of the Wilderness, also at the taking of Richmond. He has recently united with the Methodist Episcopal church in Shelburne Falls, and is as zealous in his religious life as he was in serving his country. He is married and has a daughter and son, both married. Luana John- son, the youngest daughter, born in 1838, is married, having one daughter and son living. John G. Johnson was educated in the public schools of Colerain and Deerfield Academy. He was thirteen years old when he hired out to work as a farm hand for Elisha Barnard, of Colerain, for seven dollars per month and board, for six months. Being of a hopeful, sunny temperament, he made many friends; always a willing worker, he was ready for any- thing that had a promise of bettering his con- dition financially. At eighteen years of age he was engaged as a farm hand for his uncle, Martin Winslow, of Putney, Vt. ; and at the close of his summer's work there was due him for service one hundred and five dollars. His cousin, Henry Winslow, remarked to him, "Which would you rather have, a pair of stags or one hundred and five dollars.'" Looking up and then turning to his uncle, he replied: "Is it not a little risky to invest your a:// in an old pair of stags.'' Well, here she goes ! " He took the cattle for his sum- mer's work, started on foot, and drove them two days' drive to old Deerfield, and sold them to James Stebbins for one hundred and fifteen dollars. He then engaged to work for Mr. Stebbins night and morning for his board, and go to the high school through the winter, tak- ing care of the stags he had sold him. Here his schooling ended. We now trace his footsteps to Griswoldville, Mass., where, on the farm of John McClellen, he hires three acres of land to work on shares, raising to- bacco, which proved a successful venture. Harvesting a good crop, he took it to New York City and sold it for twenty-five hun- dred dollars. About this time Mr. Johnson took the agency for A. Burt & Co., of Springfield, for the sale in Franklin and Berkshire Counties of a steel-engraved portrait of the beloved martyred President, Abraham Lincoln. He proved a good salesman, literally flooding the two counties with pictures, making from eight to ten dollars a day, clear of all expenses. In 1865 he went to Long Neck, Staten Island, where he took charge of a large truck farm, and was given complete control of all the buy- ing and selling. Three years later he bought 6oo BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW a grocery store; but, not having sufficient cap- ital to stem the current of hard times, he was at length forced to make an assignment for the benefit of his creditors. After that he was in the medicine business twenty-five years, sell- ing at wholesale, putting up his own medicine, Johnson's Headache and Catarrh Cure. In 1878 he bought land, and built him a fine residence on Park Avenue, Orange, N.J. In 1888 he bought the Riddle farm of fifty acres in the Deerfield valley, along the river, and fitted it up for a summer home, remodelling the house and barns and improving the land. This estate, with its majestic shade trees, velvet lawns, and green banks sloping to the river, is very beautiful ; and Dr. Johnson, as he is known, makes it his permanent resi- dence. He has purchased one hundred acres more, and keeps a choice lot of cows, sheep, and horses. In 1895 he took up the business of landscape gardening on an extensive scale, employing several men to carry out the plans in his contracts; and he also has a number of men constantly employed about his farm. On July 4, 1865, John G. Johnson was mar- ried to Cordelia F. Green, who was living with her parents in Shattuckville, Mass., when he first met her, but was born on Feb- ruary 19, 1844, in New Jersey, and is a daugh- ter of Phenix and Margaret Green, formerly of that State, where he found his wife. Mrs. Green makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Johnson, in East Charlemont. Phenix Green died in Deerfield, August 22, 1873. Dr. and Mrs. Johnson have had six children. Ann M., George I., William E., Alice W., and an infant unnamed have passed away. Alford G., born June 14, 1882, is with his parents, and is a bright and promising lad. In politics John G. Johnson is a Republican. He belongs to Union Lodge, No. 11, A. F. & A. M., of Orange, N.J. iRS. JANE S. WILLIAMS, a resi- dent of Sunderland, Mass., born April 18, 1835, and for nearly a quarter of a century the beloved wife and help- mate of Franklin H. Williams, late a valued citizen of this town, is a daughter of Apollos and Roxanna (Bartlett) Sanderson, the former of whom was born in Sunderland, December II, 1797. Mrs. Williams's paternal grand- father was William Sanderson, a native and lifelong resident of Sunderland. Apollos Sanderson succeeded to the possession of his father's farm, and conducted it until his death, which occurred October 16, i860, at the age of sixty-three years. His wife was born in North Hadley, November 17, 1795, where her father was a prosperous farmer. She became the mother of nine children, of whom five are still living, namely: John, a resident of Springfield, Mass. ; Roxanna, wife of Dexter Culver, of Huntington, Mass. ; Elizabeth, wife of Enoch C. Collins, of Springfield, Mass.; Horace G. Sanderson, of Sunderland; and Jane, Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Roxanna B. Sanderson died in Sunderland, July 24, 1869. Jane Sanderson was educated in the public schools of her native town, and under the maternal guidance was doubtless early trained to those arts of housewifery and home-making in which so many New England wives and mothers, not neglecting mental cultivation, have shown themselves adept. On February 13, 1867, she became the wife of Franklin H. Williams, who was born in Sunderland, Feb- ruary 2, 1834, son of Oliver and Mariam (Hubbard) Williams. His grandfather was an early settler in Sunderland, and his father was a well-known farmer of this town. Franklin H. Williams passed his boyhood upon his father's farm, and acquired his edu- cation in the district schools and at Williston Academy in Easthampton. After completing BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 6oi his studies, he travelled for two years in the South, and then returned to Sunderland, where he succeeded to the possession of his father's farm, and successfully followed agriculture dur- ing the remainder of his life. He was one of the most enterprising men of this vicinity, thoroughly upright and honorable in business transactions, a man of high moral principles, and one whose convictions, especially in re- gard to temperance, were put into strenuous action. His farm was a model of liberal and intelligent management and thorough cultiva- tion. Mr. Williams was a prominent member of the Congregational church, and in politics he was a Republican. He was much inter- ested in educational progress, and served upon the School Board of the town for some years. The death of Mr. Williams on July 6, 1891, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, was deeply mourned throughout the community, as well as by his wife and family, on whom the loss fell most heavily. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, namely: Frank O. , who married Kathleen I. Roberts; Arthur S. , who died at the age of eighteen, during his Junior year at the Amherst Agricultural College; Milton Hubbard, D. V. S., a graduate of Harvard, who is now engaged in practice, as a veterinary sur- geon, at Lynn, Mass. ; and Jennie Maud, who was educated in the schools of Sunderland and Amherst and at the School of Expression in Boston. Mr. Frank O. Williams is a graduate of Amherst Agricultural College, and for a time he had charge of the Experiment Station ; but at his father's death he returned home, and now carries on the farm. He has one child, Arthur Franklin, who is of the fifth generation born on the old homestead, and in the same house built by his great-great-grandfather, Oliver Williams. The family are active and es- teemed members of the Congregational church. /^TeORGE E. WHITNEY, a prominent yte I real estate dealer, of Orange, is a man of energy, ability, and enter- prise, and is well deserving of the prosperity that has marked his onward and upward prog- ress through life. A native of Gardner, Mass., his birth occurred May 19, 1854, at the home of his parents, Sumner P. and Eliza J. ( Peabody ) Whitney. His grandfather, Lewis J. Whitney, was also born in Orange, the son of an early settler of the place. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and worked at this calling in Orange and Athol, making a good living, and being one of the active citizens. In politics he was an adhe- rent of the Republican party, and, religiously, an earnest member of the Baptist church, of which he was sexton for a number of years. Sumner P. Whitney was born in Orange, and received his education here and at Athol. At the age of fifteen he was bound out to learn the trade of a foundryman, but, not being able to stand the excessive heat of the foundry, gave up the occupation at the expiration of his term of apprenticeship. He was next em- ployed for a while in the Goodspeed Chair Manufactory at Gardner, and later was in the trucking business. In 1861 he enlisted in the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- try as a musician, and served for about a year. Then, returning to Orange, he worked for fourteen consecutive years for L. Kilbourn & Co., being afterward employed at the H. H. Whitney factory, finally becoming an em- ployee of the New Home Sewing Machine Company, with whom he remained until his death, June 16, 1878. He married Eliza J. Peabody, who was born November 16, 1835. She was a daughter of William Peabody, whose birth occurred in 1793 at Wendell, where he was afterward engaged as a tanner and a farmer. 6o2 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW George E. Whitney acquired a practical education in the public schools, and when but a boy exhibited those stirring business qualities that have ever been important factors of his suc- cessful career. Being obliged to depend upon his individual exertions for his spending money, he began earning it, first by driving his neigh- bor's cows to and from the pasture, and later by peddling pop-corn on the streets, making sometimes the snug little sum of two dollars per day. For the purpose of learning a trade young Whitney entered the factory of the Gold Medal Machine Company, receiving sixty-four cents a day for his work, and subse- quently became an employee at the chair fac- tory, where his skill was such that he was soon able to command good wages. He was next engaged as a workman for S. J. Howell, manufacturer of jeweller's tools, after which he served an apprenticeship with John F. Fisher in Orange, and later purchased the business, which he followed, sometimes alone and sometimes with a partner, here and in other places, until 1892. At that time Mr. Whitney, in company with J. W. Wheeler, established a real estate busi- ness, and opened up that part of the town known as Orange Highlands. They first pur- chased, from A. F. Trim, the sixty-five acres of land, included in the birthplace of Mr. Wheeler. Then from C. C. Foster they bought twelve adjoining acres, on which was born Mr. Wheeler's grandfather; and to this they added a fifty-acre tract of heavily timbered land, which they purchased of Mrs. Mary A. Ewing. This entire tract they have platted, laying out streets and lots, and have it well improved. Many of the lots that they have already sold have handsome houses now upon them ; and the company has also erected five commodious and conveniently arranged houses, which are for sale. The Highlands are in the most beautiful and healthful part of the town, having the advantage of natural scenery not found elsewhere in the county. The view is most charming and extensive, and the place is easily accessible, being but ten minutes from the post-office. On October 22, 1876, Mr. Whitney was united in marriage with Sara J. Flagg, a native of North Orange, born November 21, 1859. Her father is John B. Flagg, formerly a farmer, now an esteemed resident of Orange, where he and his wife, formerly Margaret M. Barber, are passing their declining years, re- tired from active labor. Mr. and Mrs. Whit- ney have two children, namely: Maud G. , born July 18, 1877; and Ernest E. , born June II, 1880. Mr. Whitney and his family have a most attractive home on High Street, and here they cordially welcome their many friends. He is a representative citizen of the town, and an uncompromising Republican in politics. Religiously, he is broad in his views of Christianity, and liberal in his beliefs. TT^HARLES M. WILSON, M.D., one I jp of the leading physicians of Shelburne xJ2_^- Falls, was born in this village Feb- ruary 19, 1852, son of Dr. Milo and Mary (Ranney) Wilson. He is of Scotch-Irish de- scent, tracing his lineage back to Deacon James and Mary (McGee) Wilson, natives of Ireland, who came to America, settling in Bos- ton in 1722, where they remained for a year or two, and then went to Londonderry, N. H., the name of this town being identical with that of the county of which they were residents in Ireland. In 1740 Deacon James Wilson re- moved with his family from Londonderry, N.H., to the town of Shelburne, Franklin County, Mass., buying four hundred acres of land at twenty-five cents per acre, and becoming BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 603 extensively engaged in farming and lumbering. He and his wife were the parents of nine chil- dren, seven sons and two daughters : Robert, John, Thomas, Jonathan, Samuel, William, David, Sarah, and Ann. Thomas and Will- iam went out on a scouting party, and were never afterward heard of, doubtless meeting their death at the hands of Indians; John was killed by the kick of a horse; and Samuel received a severe injury in helping to raise the first bridge over North River in Colerain, Mass. David Wilson, seventh son of Deacon James Wilson, was one of the early settlers in East Colerain, where he became a well-to-do farmer, and died in his prime, leaving six children. One of these, whose name was David, married Sarah Long; and they had four sons — Sam- uel, Stephen, David, and Milo, and two daughters, Mary and Louisa. The latter, Louisa, now eighty-four years of age, wife of Lewis Ellis, resides in Belding, Mich. Milo Wilson, who was father of the direct subject of this sketch, was born in Shelburne, November 3, 1807. Having completed his studies in the academy at Shelburne, he taught school for two or three years ; and, on giving up that occupation, he bought a stock of goods, and started out on a tour through the Southern States, a number of which he visited as an itinerant merchant. He then returned North, and took up the study of medicine, receiving his diploma from the Pittsfield Medical Col- lege in 1838. Poor in pocket, but rich in intellect and ambition, he was well equipped for the practice of his profession when he opened his first office in Ashfield, Mass., in 1838, the year of his graduation. After seven years of successful practice in Ashfield he re- moved in 184s to Shelburne Falls, where for thirty-five years he was busily engaged in attending to the duties of his calling, by his courteous demeanor, genial manners, and manly independence of character winning the esteem of all. His wife, Mary Ranney, to whom he was united in 1838, when commenc- ing his professional career, was a daughter of Captain Roswell Ranney, of Ashfield, Mass. She was born October 9, 18 14, and died in March, 1877. Both Doctor and Mrs. Milo Wilson were attendants at the Baptist church. In politics Dr. Milo Wilson was succes- sively a Whig, a Republican, and a Democrat. Joining the Republican party on or soon after its formation, he voted for Abraham Lincoln for his first term. His next vote for President was for George B. McClellan, and he there- after was a firm supporter of the Democratic party. He was chosen to represent the town of Shelburne in the Constitutional Convention in 1854, and was elected a Representative to the legislature in the same year, serving his constituents with ability and fidelity. He took an active interest in all town affairs, and always kept well informed on matters pertain- ing to the State and National government. He was especially a friend of education, re- peatedly serving on the School Committee in the town of Shelburne, and was also a sincere advocate of the cause of temperance. He died, universally respected, on September 3, 1875, in his sixty-eighth year. Charles M. Wilson, whose nativity is re- corded above, acquired his general education at Shelburne Falls Academy, and began the study of medicine with his father. He was grad- uated from Bellevue Medical College, New York, in 1875, and after a year's practice at Shelburne Falls went to Belding, Mich., but was shortly called home on account of the death of his mother. When the home affairs were settled, he went to Cawker City, Mitchell County, Kan., and there remained thirteen years, successfully meeting the demands of a 6o4 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW large practice, also holding the office of Pen- sion Examiner for four years, from 1884 to 1888. In 1891 he returned to his birthplace, where he has a constantly increasing practice, and bids fair to rival his father in the regards of his fellow-townsmen. On April 30, 1877, Dr. Wilson was married to Lucy B., daughter of David Perry, of Shel- burne, Mass. ; and four children, all born in Kansas, have blessed their union : Charles P. was born May 21, 1880; Earl J., December S, 1881; Harold D., May 10, 1884; and Min- nie E., July s, 1886. Dr. Wilson has always been active in promoting the success of the Democratic ticket. He is a member of Spirit Spring Lodge, No. 159, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Cawker City, Kan., of which he was Vice-Grand when he removed to Shel- butne ; and his wife was Past Grand of Re- becca Lodge of the same place. The Doctor is also a member of the Kansas branch of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and medi- cal examiner for the subordinate lodge of that order at Shelburne Falls. In religious mat- ters his views are liberal. His home office is the old home of Dr. Charles E. Severance, a convenient and pleasantly located residence. ^ILAS TROWBRIDGE, for twenty- four years Deacon of the Congrega- tional church of Buckland, was born in this town, March 14, 1798, and lived to the advanced age of ninety years and four months, a useful and honored citizen. He was a son of Daniel and Mary (Taylor) Trow- bridge. His father was a native of Fairfield County, Connecticut; and his grandfather, Seth Trowbridge, was a lifelong resident of Connecticut. From the Trowbridge genealogy, published in New Haven in 1872, we learn that Thomas Trowbridge came from Taunton, England, about 1636, and a few years later, 1639 or 1641, settled with his three sons, Thomas, William, and James, in New Haven. The father afterward returned to England. William, his second son, was born in Eng- land, it is thought, about 1634. William Trowbridge's grandson, Samuel Trowbridge, was grandfather of Seth Trowbridge, of New Fairfield, Conn. It seems highly probable that the latter was identical with the Seth above named as the grandfather of the subject of the present sketch. Daniel Trowbridge, father of Silas, came from Connecticut to" Massachusetts when a young man, and was married in Deerfleld. From there he removed to Buckland, where he was one of the early settlers, purchasing a tract of land which he cultivated. He was a cooper by trade, and worked at cooperage to some extent. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Taylor, was a native of Deerfield, daughter of the Rev. James Taylor, a Congre- gational preacher, who removed from Deer- field to Buckland, and whose remains were the first buried in the old cemetery. Daniel and Mary (Taylor) Trowbridge were the parents of twelve children, nine of whom reached ma- turity. Silas Trowbridge learned the cooper's trade of his father, and worked at it during his ac- tive life. Succeeding to the ownership of the homestead, he added to it by purchase, erect- ing good buildings and greatly improving the farm. His wife, whose maiden name was Electa Pomeroy, was the daughter of Enos Pomeroy, a native of Hadley, for some years a resident of Buckland. He was a cloth fuller by trade, and, on removing to Buckland, bought land at Buckland Four Corners, and erected a fulling-mill, which he operated, at the same time superintending a farm. When sixty- seven years of age, he fell from a beam in his BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 60s barn, receiving injuries which caused his death. His wife was Lucy Smith, daughter of Major John Smith, of Hadley. Mrs. Trow- bridge was the eighth of eleven children, all of whom reached maturity; and she lived to be seventy-one years of age. She and her hus- band reared seven children : Luther Pomeroy, James, Rufus, Mary, Lucy Smith, John, and Electa Pomeroy. Rufus died in Boston at the age of twenty-two. John removed to Sub- lette, Lee County, 111., and, enlisting from there in the Forty-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry at the time of the Civil War, died in the service. Lucy Trowbridge, after attending the public schools, was succes- sively a pupil at Franklin Academy, Shel- burne Falls, and Conway Academy, and then for a number of years was engaged in teaching, seven years being thus occupied in Lee and Bureau Counties, Illinois. With that excep- tion she has been a continuous resident of Franklin County, Massachusetts. She mar- ried Colonel Roger Hooker Leavitt, a highly influential and valued citizen, now departed, a sketch of whose life will be found just be- low. Mrs. Lucy T. Leavitt resides on the old homestead. Silas Trowbridge was an old-time Abolition- ist, and a stanch Republican from the forma- tion of the party. He was a strong advocate of the temperance cause, and lived up to his principles, never using tobacco or liquor in any form. He and his wife were members of the Congregational church. T^OLONEL ROGER HOOKER LEAV- 1 Sf ITT, late one of the leading men in Vi^ ^ Franklin County, was a native of Heath, Mass., son of Roger and Priscilla (Maxwell) Leavitt, and grandson of the Rev. Jonathan Leavitt, the first settled minister of Charlemont. He received an academic educa- tion, attending iirst the schools of his native town, later studying at Hopkins Academy at Hadley, and for some time thereafter engaged in teaching. The latter part of his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits, a farm in Charlemont occupying his time and attention. He was a man of advanced ideas and genuine public spirit, and probably no one man did more toward securing the building of the Hoosac Tunnel than he. He worked in the interest of that enterprise, not only in his own immediate neighborhood, but in the legislat- ure, where he was a prominent member of the lower branch two terms, 1868 and 1869, being elected once unanimously, and also served one term as State Senator. In educational mat- ters, too, he was actively interested, and served as Trustee of Mount Holyoke Seminary and College. Colonel Leavitt was for some time a Deacon of the Congregational church in East Charlemont. Pie was four times married. His first wife was Keziah Hunt, daughter of William Hunt, of Heath; his second wife was her sister, Eliza Hunt; and the third was Mrs. Olive Longley Warriner. The fourth, who survives him, was Lucy S. , daughter of Deacon Silas Trowbridge, of whom a sketch appears else- where in this work. Mrs. Leavitt resides in Buckland. Colonel Leavitt had three sons by his first marriage, two of whom are living: John H., a banker in Waterloo, la. ; and Will- iam H., who resides in Minneapolis, Minn. Henry, the youngest son, a graduate of Will- iams College, practised law in Chicago for a while, and died in Mississippi during the Civil War. Colonel Leavitt's maternal grand- father was Hugh Maxwell, who served in the French and Indian War, and also in the Revo- lution, being a Lieutenant at the battle of Bunker Hill, and later Lieutenant Colonel. 6o6 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW kEV. MARK E. PURCELL, pastor of the Roman Catholic church at Greenfield, was born at Weymouth, Mass., near Boston, January 8, 1850. His father, Thomas Purcell, was born in Ireland in 1834, son of John and Mary (Quan) Purcell, whose family consisted of four sons and one daughter, all of whom reached maturity. Their eldest son John, a shoemaker by trade, was the first of them to emigrate to the United States, arriving here some time during the year 1840, accompanied by his wife and fam- ily. He settled at Randolph, Mass., where he followed that occupation for many years, becoming well known in the town as a man of more than ordinary intelligence, and possess- ing the esteem and respect of his fellow- townsmen. His death occurred at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. Thomas Purcell was probably the first Irish- man to establish his residence at Weymouth, where he followed the trade of shoemaking. He married Mary Quan, who, though of Irish ancestry, was American born, and the daughter of James and Mary (Lynch) Quan. They had a family of four sons and two daughters who grew to adult life, and of whom two sons and one daughter now survive, namely: Mark E. , the subject of this sketch; Thomas, a physi- cian of Holyoke ; and Mary. The Rev. Father Purcell seems to have been specially endowed by nature with many traits of character which adapt him for the service of the church and the saving of souls. His the- ological studies were pursued at Ottawa, Can. ; and in 1879 he was first settled in his holy ofifice as pastor of a church at Thorndike, Mass., later being called to labor at Holyoke and Indian Orchard. In 1880 he came to Greenfield, where he has since continued to labor with the persistent zeal and faith of a true Christian worker. The Greenfield parish was established in 1848, it having been previ- ously supplied for a time from the Chicopee parish, and later by priests from Holyoke and Northampton. It consists of about fourteen hundred souls; and the mission at South Deerfield, which numbers four hundred, is supplied from the Greenfield church. Father Purcell is assisted by the Rev. Will- iam T. Sherry, who has occupied his present position for the past six years. He is a native of North Adams, was educated at Alleghany College, New York, and is a young clergyman of much promise. The church at Greenfield is one of the few that still adhere to the good old custom of pealing forth the Angelus three times a day. Father Purcell is a kind- hearted, courteous, and genial gentleman, ever thoughtful of the needs of others. His noble Christian character has gained for him the respect and esteem of all classes, irrespective of creed; and it may be truthfully said that his friends are composed of nearly the entire com- munity. Father Purcell occupies the paro- chial residence, which, together with the church, was erected in 1859. OEL THAYER, one of the oldest mer- chants of Shelburne Falls, was born in Chesterfield, Mass., March 24, 1822, son of Orin and Orilla (Pearl) Thayer. Mr. Thayer's grandfather. Captain Joel Thayer, of the State militia, a well-known man in his day, was a native of Chesterfield, where he followed the tra'de of a mason, and contributed largely toward building the stage road from Chesterfield to Worthington. He purchased one hundred acres of land in Slab City, where he erected a house, and resided there for the remainder of his life. Captain Joel Thayer died in 1831, aged sixty -two, leaving two children; namely, Orin and Daniel. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 607 Orin Thayer was born in Chesterfield, and in young manhood acquired the trade of a wheelwright. He later engaged in building mills, and in course of time bought a saw-mill with a small tract of land in Worthington, where he carried on business for a while, but finally sold the mill, and moved to Chester, then to South Worthington, and there spent the remainder of his life. He died aged fifty-six years. His wife, who died at the age of sixty-six, became the mother of seven children, as follows: Lydia, Joel, Amanda, Cranson, Amasa W., Alford M., Cranson (second). Joel Thayer, the subject of this sketch, received his education in the district school. At the age of fifteen he bought his time, and entered the employ of E. T. Ring, a manu- facturer of baby carriages and window shades in Worthington, where he remained for five years. He then came to Shelburne Falls, and with a team went upon the road, selling goods for Lamson & Co. After travelling through the New England States for thirteen years, he was engaged in adjusting lightning rods for one year in Philadelphia, and then worked as a mechanic in the cutlery business until 1859. He took charge of the Union Company's store for a year, at the expiration of which time he purchased the business, including the building, and during the Civil War conducted a large and profitable trade. He carried a full line of general merchandise for twenty-five years, when he disposed of all but the grocery trade, and in 1891 rented a part of his store to a druggist. Mr. Thayer is an extensive real estate owner, possessing property in Shelburne Falls, Buckland, and Charlemont, and besides his fine residence, which is situated at the corner of Bridge and Mechanics Streets, has one hundred and fifty acres of land near the village. He is inde- pendent in politics, and has served as Select- man, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. Mr. Thayer's first wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Sanderson, died, aged thirty-two years; and his second wife, Clementine Mc- Donald, died in 1890, at the age of forty- eight, leaving three children, namely: Lucy, wife of Charles Spear, of Peterboro, N.H., having one child, Earle C. ; Florence M., who resides at home; and Ernest C, who married Lena Bosworth, and died aged twenty-three years, leaving one child, who died young. 'AMES A. McKENNA, a well-known contractor and builder of Orange, and one of its prominent business men, was born in this town, April 3, 1861, son of Pat- rick and Bridget (Leahy) McKenna. He is of respectable Irish ancestry and parentage, his grandfather, John McKenna, having been born and reared in County Kerry, Ireland, the date of his birth being 1794. For many years he was prosperously engaged in trade there, but sold out in 1850, that he might come to America to join his son Patrick, who had sent home glowing accounts of our country. He came direct to Orange, where he lived until his demise in January, 1871. He was a gen- ial, warm-hearted Irishman, and by his invari- able courtesy won the friendship and respect of all. His wife, whose maiden name was Johanna Brown, was born in County Kerry in 1800, and died in Boston, January 4, 1885. The following children were born to them, all well known to the older residents of Orange: Patrick, Mary, Catherine, Ellen, Nonie, Anna, Dennis, John, and Martin. Patrick McKenna, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in County Kerry, February 19, 182 1, and lived there until 1849, when, animated by the spirit of enter- 6o8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW prise and the love of liberty characteristic of so many of his countrymen, he came to the United States, disembarking at Boston. Proceeding thence to Vermont, he had for several years the charge of a portion of the Vermont Asylum for the Insane, performing his duties with rare fidelity and satisfaction to every one. His last years were spent re- tired in Orange, where he departed this life June IS, 1 880, beloved and esteemed by a large circle of warm friends. At Otter River, Mass., May 23, 1853, he married Bridget Leahy, daughter of David Leahy, pro- prietor of the Killarney race course and hotel, near the beautiful lakes of Killarney, Ireland. Nine children were the fruit of their union, namely: John. A., born March 12, 1854; Thomas F., born January 29, 1856; Anna M., born July 19, 1857; Martin M., born February 13, 1859; James A., born April 3, 1861; George S., born January 19, 1863; Ed- ward and Stephen, born June 4, 1865, now both deceased; and Dennis, who was born De- cember I, 1867, and died September 22, 1869. Mrs. Bridget L. McKenna is still living, and is a resident of Orange, Mass. James A. McKenna was educated in the common schools of Orange, and began his self-supporting career by working three years in the New Home Sewing Machine factory. His health becoming impaired, Mr. McKenna was advised to try a change of climate, and went to Kansas, where, in order that he might have out-of-door work, he learned the carpen- ter's trade. Returning to the place of his na- tivity, he has since been engaged in contract- ing and building, and has carried on a large business in real estate, buying land, on which he has erected substantial buildings, and then sold. The beautiful residence of Mr. Grout, the new centre school building, the New Home Company's brick storehouse, the Lamb Block, the Weymouth mansion, and several other of the more prominent buildings of the locality were constructed under his supervi- sion, and are a credit to his ability and good taste and an ornament to the town. On January i, 1888, Mr. McKenna married Miss Mary E. Stack. She was born February II, 1861, in Amherst, Hampshire County, and is the daughter of Patrick and Eliza (Sul- livan) Stack, the former, who died at the age of forty-six years, having been a successful agriculturist. His widow is now an active and finely preserved woman of seventy years. . Four children have come to hallow the union of Mr. and Mrs. McKenna, namely: Marie, born October 14, 1888; Gertrude, born Sep- tember 23, 1890; Alice, born April 5, 1894; and Roland, whose life on earth was but brief, he having been born October 3, 1892, and the loth of the following March borne by the Angel of Death to his heavenly home. In political, social, and business affairs Mr. McKenna has ever taken an active interest, being a leading member of the Democratic party, a prominent member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and one of the Directors of the Orange Co-operative Bank and of the Board of Trade. He has never sought official honors, but has served satisfac- torily for two years as Town Assessor. » R. MERRITT A. BOWEN, the leading physician of Charlemont, Mass., was born in Readsboro, Vt., December 7, 1848, son of Lorenzo and Beulah D. (Blanchard) Bowen. His paternal grand- father, James Bowen, was born in Rhode Isl- and, and when a young man settled in Ver- mont, eventually purchasing a farm at Reads- boro, and in course of time becoming one of the most extensive farmers in the vicinity. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 609 He was a public-spirited man, and took an active interest in politics, voting with the Whigs. He died at the age of sixty-two. Lorenzo Bowen, son of James, was one of six children. He was born in Monroe, where his father first settled; and he learned the shoemaker's trade, but worked at it very lit- tle, shortly becoming a merchant at South Readsboro, where he conducted a successful business for ten years, and afterward engaged in farming and dealing in real estate. He was successful in his various ventures, and accumulated considerable property, his real estate aggregating five hundred acres. In politics a stanch Republican, he was very prominent in town affairs. He died at the age of seventy-one; and his wife, Beulah, lived to be three years older. They had ten children. Merritt A. Bowen attended the common schools in Vermont, and studied at Powers Institute, Bernardston, finishing his education at Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City. While attending college, he taught school for several terms in Jackson- ville, Vt., his salary aiding materially in de- fraying his expenses; and, before starting an independent practice, he studied with the emi- nent Dr. Hawkes, of North Adams, Mass., and with Dr. Scott and Dr. Bemis in Ver- mont. His first ofifice was opened in Savoy, Mass., in 1873; and there he practised for seven years, coming to Charlemont in 1880. Dr. Bowen's professional training was of the best; and, with a receptive mind, a quick eye, and a skilful hand, he is one of the most reliable and popular physicians in Western Massachusetts. He has a large practice, em- bracing the towns of Charlemont, Hawley, Savoy, Rowe, Monroe, Heath, and Buckland. His home on High Street was formerly the Whitman residence; and, after buying the estate. Dr. Bowen built a new barn and made other notable improvements, so that now it is one of the handsomest places in the town. On February 25, 1875, Dr. Bowen was mar- ried to Cora E., daughter of Erastus and Julia (Robinson) Allen, of Cummington, the former a prominent merchant in that place. Dr. and Mrs. Bowen have one child, Nina Cora, born June 3, 1876. In politics the Doctor sup- ports the Democratic platform. He takes an active interest in educational projects, and has been School Commissioner for some time. In religious views he is tolerant and liberal. Socially, he is a member of Unity Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Jacksonville, Vt., where he taught school when a student. < • ■ » » (sTrLBERT S. STRATTON, a wealthy t^ farmer of Northfield, Mass., was born ^ '' V_^ in this town on November 10, 1823. He is the son of Albert Stratton, also a native of Northfield. His grandfather, Asa Stratton, who was born in 1758, son of Eleazer Stratton, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, died on March 17, 1818. Mrs. Asa Stratton, whose maiden name was Lucy Woodbury, became the mother of eight children, of whom Albert Stratton was the youngest. He was born in April, 1831, was educated in the district schools, and acquired the trades of mason and shoemaker, which, after becoming of age, he followed for some time. Later he purchased a mill in the vicin- ity of Northfield Street, which he operated; and he also carried on a farm, upon which he passed thirty years of his life, subsequently retiring to the residence of his son Albert S., where he died at about seventy years of age. His wife, whose name before her marriage was Lucy Stimpson, was a native of North- field, daughter of Charles Stimpson, a life- 6io BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW long resident of the town and a cooper by trade. She became the mother of two chil- dren, namely: Albert S. ; and Lucy, who died at the age of sixteen years. The family at- tended the Unitarian church. The mother died at the home of her son, aged seventy- three years. Albert S. Stratton received a good educa- tion in the schools of his native town, and assisted his father both upon the farm and in the mill, continuing to reside with his parents until the mill was sold, when he moved to his present home. He has a large amount of capital invested in real estate both here and elsewhere, owning valuable residences and considerable farm property in different States; and the management of this requires the greater part of his time and attention, his foresight and sound practical judgment caus- ing his speculations to be attended with satis- factory financial results. In 1850 he married Miss Drake, daughter of Tisdale and Ruth (Davis) Drake and a native of Maine. Her mother, who was a daughter of Joseph Davis, of that State, bore eight children, seven of whom are still living, and are as follows: Mrs. Stratton; Sarah, who married Frank Turner, of Northfield; Will- iam ; Martha, postmistress at Athol, wife of Edwin Horton; Hattie, wife of Edwin Atwood; Almira, wife of George Manning, of Warwick, Mass. ; and Ellen, who married Samuel Walton. The mother lived to the age of seventy-five years, her death occurring at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Strat- ton ; and the father, who was a farmer in Northfield for many years, died at the age of eighty-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Stratton have three children: Ella, who married Eugene Brown, teamster in Winchester, and has two children, Mabel and Nettie; Carrie, wife of Dwight Preston, a farmer in South Vernon, who has two chil- dren, Ella and Albert; and Ernest E., a jew- eller, who married Dora Stearns, of Hinsdale, and has two children, Eva and Ida. The chil- dren are all graduates of the high school in Northfield, and two of the grandchildren have passed through the high school in Winchester. Mr. Stratton is a Republican in politics, but has never been an aspirant for office. He is an attendant of the Unitarian church, and contributes generously toward its support. tLBERT J. AMSTEIN, a well-known and highly influential citizen of Buck- »____^ land, Mass., was born in Green- field, September 22, 1857, son of Valentine and Jennie L. (Reif) Amstein. Mr. Am- stein is of German descent, his grandfather, George Amstein, having been a lifelong resi- dent of Germany, born in Waldorf, in the town of Meiningen, Saxony. He was a wealthy miller, and was popular in local po- litical circles. He died at the age of seventy- six, his wife at sixty-seven. Their son, Valentine Amstein, was also born in Waldorf. He worked in the mill with his father till 1852, when he emigrated to America. Securing employment in the woollen mills in Factory Hollow, near Green- field, he spent some time there, and later worked for J. E. Russell & Co. as a me- chanic. In 1859 he was engaged by Lamson & Goodnough, and worked in the forge depart- ment of their cutlery manufactory at Shel- burne Falls until 1879, when he retired from active business. He dealt somewhat in real estate, and owned his home on School Street, which he improved and remodelled. He died of heart disease at the age of seventy-five. His wife was a daughter of George Reif, a miller of Meiningen, Saxony. Mrs. Amstein, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 6ii who inherits a remarkably strong constitution, is now sixty-six years of age. Mr. Amstein voted the Democratic ticket. He was a mem- ber of the German Harigari, D. O. H., of Shelburne Falls, arid of the Turnverein. Both parents were members of the Congrega- tional church. They reared the following children: Frederick W., who married Bar- bara Thearinger, and has one child — Florence M. ; Albert J., the subject of this sketch; and Andrew, a clerk in G. W. Jenks's shoe store in Shelburne Falls. Albert J. Amstein was educated at Shel- burne Falls Academy, and, as a first essay at earning a livelihood, entered the employ of C. Sauer, boot and shoe dealer in Turner's Falls, as clerk. Later he worked for Joel Thayer, of Shelburne Falls, spending five years in his employ, with the exception of a short time when he worked on cutlery. In 1879, i'l company with his brother Frederick W., he opened a store for the sale of groceries and crockery on the first floor of the Methodist church building in Buckland. This is the only store of the kind at present in Buckland, and the Amstein brothers have a large and thriving business. Mr. Amstein has been twice married. His first wife, Mary March, daughter of Lucius March, died at the age of twenty-three, her only child also, Juliana, passing away while yet an infant. His second wife, formerly Miss Hattie Glasgow, is a daughter of David and Mary (Small) Glasgow. She was for fif- teen years a teacher in the schools of Buck- land and Shelburne Falls, and has been for many years one of the leading music-teachers in the vicinity. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Amstein is brightened by one child. Alberta H., who was born February 23, 1885. Politically, Mr. Amstein is a Democrat. He was nominated for Representative by the Democratic party in 1885, and in a strong Republican town lacked only twenty-five votes for election. He has served as a County Committee, and has been chairman of the Town Committee ten years, chairman of the Board of Selectmen four years, Justice of the Peace four years, and foreman of the fire de- partment. He is Past Chief and Patriarch of Alethian Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Shelburne Falls, a prominent Knight of Pythias, and a member of the Turn- verein, to which his brother Frederick Will- iam also belongs, both being likewise mem- bers of the Congregational church. Mr. Am- stein has a handsome residence on Ashfield Street, which he built in 1894. fHOMAS O'KEEFFE, proprietor of the O'Keeffe Hotel at Miller's Falls, and a well-known and popular citizen of this community, was born in Erving, on the other side of Miller's River, September 15, 1857, being the son of Michael and Mar- garet (Hassett) O'Keeffe. His grandfather was a lifelong resident of Ireland, where he followed the occupation of a laborer. Michael O'Keeffe was also a native of Ireland, but at the age of twenty-four he came to America to try his fortunes on this side of the water. He located at Miller's Falls on a small farm, where he still resides. His wife, Margaret Hassett, was, like himself born in Ireland; but their marriage took place in America. Six of their eight children are now living. The record is as follows: David; Jerry; Thomas; Margaret (deceased); Mary; Annie (deceased); and Michael and John, who are engaged in the hotel with their brother. Thomas O'Keeffe spent his early life up to twenty years of age in Miller's Falls, receiv- ing his education in the district school, and 6l2 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW afterward working as a polisher in the factory of the Miller's Falls Company. Seven 3'ears later he secured a position in Winchendon, Mass., to labor at the same occupation for Goodspeed & Wyman, with whom he remained one year, and then went to Chicago, where he was similarly engaged for a time. Returning to Massachusetts, he worked for a year at Winchendon; and for a short time after leav- ing the latter place he was an employee of the New Home Sewing Machine Company of Orange. Mr. O'Keeffe next engaged in the saloon business at Miller's Falls, which he followed three years, and in 1892 purchased his present hotel, an attractive house and one of the best equipped in Franklin County. Mr. O'Keeffe is a most genial and popular host, and aims to make each and every guest feel at home. An intelligent and ready talker, by his cordiality and other personal merits he has won a wide circle of friends, and is doing a successful business. On April 19, 1892, Mr. O'Keeffe was united in marriage with Kate Moroney, a na- tive of Becket, Mass., and daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth Moroney, the former of whom is a general workman and farmer. Two chil- dren have come to brighten their home: John Phillip; and Margaret, who died when a year old. Mr. O'Keeffe is an adherent of the Democratic party, and takes an active interest in all political matters. He and his wife are devoted Catholics in religion, and he is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. jLARENCE A. SMITH, a successful jl meat dealer and highly esteemed citi- »lf ^ zen of Conway, Franklin County, was born in Buckland, Mass., son of Simeon C. and Claney (Look) Smith, the former of whom was a native of Hawley, Mass. Simeon C. Smith worked in a manufactory during his younger days, but later on he suc- cessfully engaged in agriculture in Buckland; and in connection therewith, during the pe- riods when his farm work was not pressing, he employed his spare time in selling jewelry. He afterward sold his farm, and removed to Haydenville, Mass., where he secured a posi- tion in a meat shop; but not long after he purchased a farm in Northampton, and moved thither, again engaging in the vocation of a farmer, and in addition thereto conducting a meat market with good results. A few years later he went to the centre of the town of Northampton, where he purchased a meat mar- ket, and for a time successfully engaged in that business exclusively. He afterward sold out, and returned to farming in Northampton, remaining there until his death, at fifty-four years of age. His wife, Claney Look Smith, who was reared in Becket, Mass., is a daugh- ter of Cheeney Look. She bore her husband two sons: Herbert C, employed as book- keeper by the Northampton Beef Company of Northampton, Mass. ; and Clarence A. Their mother is still living, being now in her sixty- fifth year. Clarence A. Smith remained with his par- ents during his youth, receiving a good prac- tical education in the public schools. He assisted in carrying on the farm in Northamp- ton; but soon after his father's death he went to Florence, Mass., where he obtained a posi- tion in the meat shop of Main Brothers. At the end of a year he left there to take a posi- tion in the Haydenville Brass Works, in which place he remained two years. He was next employed for about three years in the Florence Sewing Machine factory; and from there he came to Conway, and was employed by H. W. Hopkins in a meat market for five years. At the expiration of that time he pur- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW^ 613 chased the business of Mr. Hopkins, and has since carried it on at the same stand, where he does a thriving business, keeping three carts on the road the greater part of the time. He purchases his supplies of beef and other meats from the stock-growers of the surround- ing country. On May 22, 1884, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Anna Whit- ney, who is a native of Somerville, Mass., where she was reared and received her educa- tion. /^HESTER H. PLYMPTON, an enter- I J[ prising farmer and respected citizen ^«iL^ of Locks Village, in the town of Wendell, Mass., was born in Sturbridge, De- cember 2, 1854, his parents being William H. and Lucinda (Perry) Plympton, the former also a native of Sturbridge. That town was likewise the birthplace of Jabez Plympton, his grandfather, who was a well-known man, and followed the vocation of a farmer. Will- iam H. Plympton carried on shoemaking in Sturbridge, where he died while yet in the prime of life, being but forty-five years of age. His wife, formerly Lucinda Perry, who survives him, is the daughter of John Perry, a farmer, who passed his life in Garland, Me., where she was born. She bore her husband three children, two reaching adult life: Chester H. and Charles, the latter a resident of Nebraska. Mrs. Lucinda P. Plympton is a member of the Methodist church, to which her husband also belonged. Chester lived with his parents in Stur- bridge until 1S84, obtaining a good education in the common and high schools of that town, and working with his father at shoemaking, which pursuit he followed up to 1881, when he was engaged to run a stationary engine. In 1884 he moved to Wendell, on to a place adjoining his present home, where he lived for iive years, or until 1889, when he pur- chased his present farm of eighty-five acres. He was united in marriage March 18, 1874, with Abbie L. Chickering, daughter of Henry Chickering, of Sturbridge. Her father died in 1881, her mother having died in 1861, when Abbie was but eleven years old. They had four children. Mrs. Abbie L. Plympton is an intelligent, capable woman, being at the present time the postmistress of Locks Village, her husband carrying the mail from that village to Wen- dell Depot. Their home has been blessed by the birth of three children: Fred H., Nellie E., and Myra. In politics Mr. Plympton is a member of the Democratic party. He and his family are attendants of the Methodist church, and their home is one of the pleasant- est in this locality. OHN D. PIERCE, a practical, pro- gressive, and prosperous agriculturist, residing at 88 Federal Street, Green- field, was born on this same street, near the Episcopal church, May 29, 1837. His pater- nal grandfather, Samuel Pierce, removed here from Middletown, Conn., in the latter part of last century. For many years prior to that time he had been engaged as a flat-boatman on the Connecticut River, poling and pulling his boat, which was freighted with salt, rum, and other merchandise, from Hartford to Cheapside, and returning with a load of potash, cooperage, and lumber. He brought with him his wife and only son, John J. Pierce, who was born in Middletown in 1797. John J. Pierce was an infant when he came to this village with his parents. He learned the tinsmith's trade, and in addition to carry- ing that on was for a time engaged with "Billy" Richardson in the foundry business. 6i4 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW He was a man of versatile talent, and remark- ably successful in his undertakings. Having a taste for mechanical pursuits, he formed a partnership with Richard Field, and opened a wagon and carriage manufactory on Federal Street, where they carried quite an extensive trade. He subsequently invested his money in land, buying two hundred and fifty acres from David Willard, a portion of which is the farm now owned and occupied by the sub- ject of this brief sketch. This property has since been divided and subdivided into town lots, a large part of it being absorbed in vil- lage homes and factories, only sixty acres being retained in the home farm. He mar- ried Eliza Field, a native of the town of Gill, the house in which she was born being now occupied by the Mount Hermon school build- ing. Two of the children born to them died in early infancy, and three grew to mature life, namely: Anna, who resides in Green- field, the widow of Theodore D. Judah, of Pa- cific Railway fame; John D. ; and Charles P. The latter responded to the first call for vol- unteers, joining the Tenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and being sent to the front as Orderly Sergeant of Company G on June 21, 1 86 1. He was very active in several engagements, and after the battle of Will- iamsburg was promoted to the ofifice of Assist- ant Adjutant, with the rank of Captain, and was ordered to report at Cairo, 111. He was afterward sent to intercept Early in his raid on Covington, Ohio. On account of physical disability he resigned from the army; and from that time until his decease, in April, 1889, he drew a Captain's pension. Both of the parents lived far into the winter of life, and in the transition were not long separated, the father passing away from the scenes of earth in the month of March, 1881, and the mother in the following May, the former hav- ing spent fourscore and four years on earth, and the latter seventy-nine. Mr. John J. Pierce was a very prominent and influential citizen, taking an important place in the man- agement of local affairs, serving as Assessor and Selectman, and, being one of the stanch- est members of the Democratic party, might have had any ofifice he chose. John D. Pierce received a public-school ed- ucation, completing his studies in the high school at Nash's Mills. He has been em- ployed in farming the greater part of his life, his father having sold the home in the village in 1843, and moved on to the farm. Sixty acres of land are included in the homestead, ten acres of which are covered with a grove of fine oaks. Mr. Pierce has replaced the small cottage in which he lived for a score of years by a commodious and conveniently arranged dwelling, into which he moved with his family in January, 1888. The old barn, built by his father a half-century or more ago, is still in excellent repair, as is the wagon-shop, in the ofifice of which the Greenfield cannon was stored, the plug and wiper being still in the room. Mr. Pierce was united in the holy bonds of matrimony January 15, 1866, to Miss Ruth A. Paige, a daughter of Dr. Paige, of Chico- pee Falls. Mrs. Pierce is a finely educated and accomplished woman, being a graduate of the Chicopee High School, and for some time before her marriage was a successful teacher. Three daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, namely: Annie J., who was graduated from the Greenfield High School as valedictorian of her class; Alice R., a gradu- ate of Hamilton College; and Gladys, a child of ten years. Politically, Mr. Pierce has in- herited the views of his father, and is a sound Democrat. Socially, he is influential in the Masonic organizations, having been initiated CHARLES A. TOWNE. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 617 as a Mason when twenty-one years old. He is an Episcopalian, his father having been one of the founders of the church of that denomi- nation in Greenfield and a vestryman. JUFaTHER W. BALTHASARD, who is Plj a highly respected citizen of Shelburne Falls, but whose parish covers the towns of Colerain, Conway, and Shelburne, was born at Iberville, Canada, on December 4, 1 86 1, son of Joseph Balthasard, who was also a native of that place. The history of the Balthasard family in Canada extends through ten generations, and the first repre- sentative of the family in America came from France. An account of ancestors of Father W. Balthasard is contained in Mgr. Tangnay's Dictionary of Canadian Families. His grandfather was John Baptist Balthasard. Father W. Balthasard pursued his early studies, or commercial course, in St. John's, Canada, and completed his education in the college of St. Hyacinthe, Canada, from which he was graduated in the class of 1886. He then remained in that institution for three years as professor. On May 30, 1889, he was ordained as priest for the Springfield diocese, after which he was stationed at Holyoke and Worcester until February 12, 1893, when he was appointed pastor of Shelburne, Conway, and Colerain. A parochial residence is now being built for him in the village of Shel- burne Falls. His time is now pretty thor- oughly employed with his duties in these different places, a good deal of travel by team being necessitated. His congregation at Shelburne Falls is composed of the members of fifty-five families. That at Conway in- cludes thirty families, and the one at Colerain represents about fifty families. These churches have prospered under his management. "ON. CHARLES A. TOWNE, who has recently been elected a member of the Governor's Council for 1896, is a highly respected and valued citizen of the town of Orange, which has long been his place of residence and the scene of his varied activities. Energetic and enterprising, admit- ting of no such word as failure, he has met with success in his ventures, and has attained a leading position among the most intelligent and capable business men of this community. He was born in Dana, Worcester County, Mass., on October 3, 1843, son of Ichabod, Jr., and Amelia (Doubleday) Towne, and comes from one of the old Colonial families of Essex County. The original ancestor in this country, William Towne, emigrated from Yar- mouth, County of Norfolk, England, with wife and six children about the year 1635, it is said, and in 1640 received a grant of land in Salem, Mass. In 1651 he bought land in Topsfield and removed to that town, where he died about twenty-one years later. His fifth child, Jacob Towne, married Catherine Sy- monds; and their son Jacob married Phebe Smith. John Towne, son of Jacob and Phebe, married a widow, Mrs. Abigail Stanley Towne ; and in 1748 they removed to Greenwich, Hampshire County. Their son Jonathan, who was born in 1719, was also an early settler in Greenwich, which place is said to have borne the name "Quabbin" before its incorporation in 1754. This brings the record down to the grand- father of Mr. Towne, of Orange, Ichabod Towne (son of Jonathan by his first wife, Sarah Fowler, of Hartford), born in Green- wich, March 10, 1775. He was reared to agricultural pursuits ; and, having purchased a farm in Dana, he made it his permanent abiding-place, carrying it on with excellent success, and continually adding to its improve- 6i8 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ments. Both he and his wife, Lydia Whipple, who was the descendant of one of the promi- nent pioneer families of that town, lived to advanced age. Tbey reared a family of eight children : Lydia, Sarah, Fidelia, Ichabod, Edna, Mary, Alzina, and Jacob. Ichabod Towne, Jr., was born in Dana, Jan- uary 2 1, 1810, but when quite young left home to work on his uncle's farm. Having a laudable ambition to possess a home of his own, he labored diligently, and, saving most of his earnings, in time secured enough money to warrant him in buying the old homestead, to which he was bound by so many pleasant remembrances. He conducted its operations successfully; and, as the years rolled by, he purchased other land, his estate being one of the finest-improved in the vicinity. Although seemingly of a vigorous constitution, he did not live to complete the fifty-seventh year of his age. He was a man of influence in local affairs, and served acceptably in the offices of Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. In religion he was of the liberal faith, being a strong Universalist. He married Amanda Doubleday, a daughter of Joseph and Lucy (Towne) Doubleday; and she outlived him, dying in the sixty-eighth year of her age. They were the parents of the following chil- dren : Lucy, Mary, Jacob A., Charles A., Amanda O. , and Ichabod F. Charles A. Towne as a boy was gifted with good mental powers and acquired his educa- tion in the schools of his native place, spend- ing his boyhood days upon the farm with his parents. At the age of twenty years he en- gaged in mechanical pursuits, which he fol- lowed at Westfield and North Dana, in March, 1870, coming to Orange, where he was em- ployed for eight years by the New Home Sew- ing Machine Company. He then formed a partnership with Mr. Ballou; and under the firm name of Towne & Ballou they opened a grocery store in Putnam's Block, and for two years were successfully engaged as dealers in groceries and grain. Afterward Mr. Towne bought out his partner and continued alone until 1889, when he sold out the entire busi- ness. Mr. Towne and Miss Emma C. Stone were united in marriage on February 18, 1869. Mrs. Towne is the daughter of H. E. and Fanny (Richardson) Stone, her father being now a resident of Springfield. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Towne died in infancy. Mr. Towne is a member of the Universalist society of Orange. In political, social, and re- ligious circles he has always been prominent and influential, and has ably served to promote the best interests of his community. He is a stanch Republican, and in 1877, 1878, and' 1880 filled the offices of Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. In 1883 and 1884 he was a member of the House of Representa- tives, and in 1887 and 1888 was a State Senator. In 1890 he was- appointed by the governor to a position on the State Board of Gas and Electric Light Commissioners, where he served a term of three years. He is also prominent in Masonic circles, being Past Master of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., a member of Crescent Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, and of Orange Commandery, Knights Templars, also a member of Social Lodge of Odd Fellows. An excellent portrait of Mr. Towne is here given. /©Yo EORGE H. LAWRENCE, a promi- \J5| nent manufacturer of the town of Orange, and one of its most enter- prising and respected citizens, was born at Harvard, Mass., July 14, 1843, being one of a family of ten children of Andrew and Laura A. (Bridges) Lawrence. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 619 Abijah Lawrence, the father of Andrew, was a native of Bolton, Worcester County, Mass., where he was engaged in general farm- ing and stone-mason work during his years of activity. He lived to the ripe old age of ninety years, being at the time of his decease one of the oldest native-born citizens of the place. In politics he was a Jacksonian Dem- ocrat, and in religion was a Baptist. He reared seven children : Abijah, Alvaris, Kim- ball, Andrew, Martha, Lowiena, and Susan. Andrew Lawrence was born in Bolton, and was initiated into the art of agriculture on the paternal homestead, where he remained until attaining man's estate. He started in busi- ness for himself as a lumber dealer, subse- quently removing to Harvard, and buying a saw-mill and a grist-mill, both of which he operated successfully for a number of years. On his retirement from the active pursuits of life he came to Orange, where he died, at the age of seventy-six years. His widow is still living, and makes her home with the subject of this sketch. She was born October 5, 181 7, at Westboro, Mass., daughter of James and Johanna (Woods) Bridges, the former of whom, a well-to-do farmer, lived to the age of seventy-five years; while the latter completed very nearly a century of life, dying at the age of ninety-nine years, ten months, and eight days. Their three children were: Martin, Julia, and Laura A. (Mrs. Lawrence). The record of the children born to Andrew and Laura A. (Bridges) Lawrence is thus given : Alfred, who was for a time in the United States navy, and later was a soldier in the Civil War, a member of Company E, Sixteenth Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, was taken prisoner at the battle of Bull Run, and is now supposed to be dead, the last heard from him having been through a letter mailed at Washington, D.C.; Frederick, whose first wife, Jennie Hodges, died, leaving one child, Herbert, by his second wife has one child, Lillian; Emory, deceased, married Lizzie King; Albert married Louise Kinsman, and both died, leaving two children, Arthur and Willie; George is further mentioned in the following paragraphs; Joseph is married; Charles is a grain dealer in Orange, also mar- ried; Laura died at the age of twelve years; and two children died in infancy. George H. Lawrence was reared to habits of industry and thrift, and, having great natu- ral ability as a mechanic, early turned his at- tention to pursuits of that character. When quite a young man, he came to Orange, where in 1872 he bought from Deacon Davis the old mill property located on East River Street, and, erecting a factory, continued his busi- ness of manufacturing toys, and introduced the manufacture of hair brushes, subsequently making his establishment the headquarters for manufacturing brushes of different varieties — an employment in which he was engaged for eight years. Since that period Mr. Lawrence has been an extensive dealer in lumber of all kinds, and has carried on a very large busi- ness in the manufacture of boxes and house finishings, being one of the leading manufact- urers of this line of goods in the county. In 1872 he built the pleasant residence which he occupies; and he has also advanced the growth and prosperity of the town by the erection of other houses, the larger part of which he has sold. Mr. Lawrence's first wife, Lizzie Webster, a daughter of Henry Webster, died in early womanhood. The maiden name of his second wife, the present Mrs. Lawrence, was Maria Smith. She is a daughter of Sullivan and Laura Smith, and of their union three chil- dren have been born ; namely. Nelson, Georgie, and Walter A., of whom the two 620 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW first-named spent but a short time on earth. Mr. Lawrence is a stanch advocate of the prin- ciples of the Republican party; and, socially, he is a valued member of the Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M. 'TEPHEN C. NEWCOMB, a suc- cessful and respected farmer of Leyden, was born in that town, August 19, 1839, son of Charles W. and Mary (Shattuck) Newcomb. His grandfather, William Newcomb, was one of the pioneer settlers of Bernardston, and made his living by tilling the soil. Of his eight children, all of whom attained maturity, Charles W. Newcomb and Mrs. Harriett Hinsdale, who resides in California, are now living. He died at about forty-five years of age, while his wife lived to be nearly eighty years old. Charles W. Newcomb, born in Bernardston, November 30, 1806, worked for a time as a cloth-dresser, but spent the major part of his life in farming. He is one of the oldest citi- zens of Leyden, and is at the present time living with his son, Allen S. Newcomb. His political principles are Democratic. He has been twice married; and his last wife, before marriage Miss Mary Shattuck, died at the age of forty-four years. In religious belief both were Universalists. He was the father of eight children, six by his first wife and two by his second. They were as follows: Char- lotte, who died at eleven years of age; Susan, the wife of W. C. Pomeroy, of Northampton; Jonathan S., of Bernardston; Stephen C. ; Henry W., of Greenfield; Almira F., resid- ing in California; Alexander Harris New- comb, of Deerfield; and Allen S., of Leyden. Stephen C. Newcomb, the subject of this memoir, grew to manhood in Leyden, receiv- ing a good education in the schools of that town. At sixteen years of age he made a start in life by going to Newburg, N.Y., and securing the position of foreman in Sculptor Brown's place. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted at Newburg with Company D of the First New York Rifles. He subse- quently took part in forty-five or fifty engage- ments, which included the siege of Suffolk, Va., Hampton Roads, siege of Petersburg, and the battle of Drury Bluff. In the course of his military service, while with his regi- ment at the front, three horses were shot under him; and he himself was disabled, in consequence of which he was confined in hos- pital for a time. He received his honorable discharge September 16, 1864. Fifteen years from the time he was first engaged by Mr. Brown he went to Northampton, Mass., and three years later to Leyden, where he has re- sided since. In November, 1874, he pur- chased the farm of forty-five acres which he now owns and very successfully cultivates. Mr. Newcomb was married January 10, 1866, to Miss Rebecca J. Daley, of Newburg, N.Y. They have no children. In politics he is with the Republican party, in whose principles he is a firm believer. He is a member of the Edwin E. Day Post, No. 174, Grand Army of the Republic. In religious belief he is a Universal ist, while his wife is a Baptist; and both are attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church. They reside in a comfortable home in a situation much favored by nature. 'p, iRS. MARGARET SLATER, a well-known and highly respected resident of Shelburne Falls, is the widow of the late John Slater. Mr. Slater was born in Dublin, Ireland; BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 621 and at the age of seventeen years he entered the English army as a private. He served be- tween nine and ten years, during which time he underwent many hardships and privations. His regiment was stationed for a, time at Gibraltar, after which it was ordered to Mon- treal. Here Mr. Slater obtained his freedom from further military service by paying a sum equivalent to ninety dollars. He succeeded in obtaining an appointment on the police force in the following year. After this he went to Boston, and engaged in the plumbing business for several years. From Boston he came to Shelburne Falls, where he entered the employ of the Lamson & Goodnow cutlery firm. He was working at the latter place, when one day, as he was crossing a bridge with a heavily laden wagon, the timbers gave way; and both the team and Mr. Slater were precipitated through the bridge. On this occasion he received injuries from which he never recovered, and which eventually caused his death. After that he was unable to do much work; and in 1887 he died, being then sixty-three years of age. His marriage with Miss Margaret Webb took place in July, 1854. She is a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Keaton) Webb. Her father successfully followed the occupa- tion of steward. Both her parents lived to a good old age. Mr. and Mrs. Slater's union was blessed by the birth of five children, four sons and a daughter, as follows: Will- iam, who lives in Buckland, and is in the em- ploy of the Fitchburg Railroad; Margaret, the wife of A. J. Brooks, residing with her mother; John, a successful mechanic, living in Buckland, Mass. ; Michael and Henry, both remuneratively employed as mechanics. In politics Mr. Slater was a Democrat, and both he and his wife were consistent members of the Roman Catholic church. ^pTuGENE BULLARD, a widely known Pi farmer and lumberman, has lived in " New Salem since the day of his birth, September 21, 1836. His parents were William and Faith (Coolidge) Bullard. His great-grandfather, Henry Bullard, was a man of prominence in the town of Medway, not far from Boston, his ancestors having been early settlers in the eastern part of the State. There Liberty Bullard, son of Henry, was born in 1776, and on his father's farm grew to manhood. He afterward purchased land, and was numbered among the progressive agri- culturists of that locality until 1816, when he sold out his possessions and came to this county, locating in that part of New Salem originally known as Orange. He bought one hundred acres of wooded land, cleared off the timber, and erected a comfortable set of build- ings, where he and his wife passed their re- maining years. He lived out the allotted threescore years and ten, while she attained the age of seventy-six. He was twice mar- ried, his first wife' being Abigail Learnard, who died in Medway, leaving three children : Edward, William, and James. He afterward married Hannah Holbrook, who bore him five children : Abigail, Betsey, Hannah, Aaron, and Guilford. Politically, he was a strong adherent of the Whig party; and he attended the Baptist church, of which his wife was a consistent member. William Bullard was born in Medway in 1806. He came with his parents to New Salem, where he received his education, and, when a young man, bought the farm now owned and occupied by Mr. Turner. There he successfully carried on general farming and stock-raising until'his death at the age of sev- enty-two years. He was known as an excel- lent citizen, a kind neighbor, and a faithful husband and father. In his younger days he 622 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was an uncompromising Whig, but on the for- mation of the Republican party became one of its stanchest supporters. He served in various minor offices of the town, and during the years of 1852 and 1853 was one of its Selectmen. He married Faithy L. Coolidge, a daughter of Asa Coolidge. Mrs. Faithy L. Bullard died at the age of sixty-eight years. Her chil- dren were: James, William L., Eugene, and Cooley J. Eugene Bullard, having obtained a good edu- cation in the public schools and the academy of New Salem, taught school for three years. He next opened a country store at North New Salem, where for six years he was engaged in mercantile business, materially aiding in the advancement of the village interests, it being through his instrumentality that a post-office was established there in 1864. This was a great boon to the town, for the nearest office to that village was four miles distant. Mr. Bullard had the honor of being appointed the first Postmaster. Selling out his store, he bought the A. K. Smith farm of one hundred acres, which he has since cultivated with profitable results, besides carrying on a large business in lumber, buying wood lots from which he clears off and sells the timber, using in his business some of the finest draft horses to be found in the country. The house in which he resides was built by Eben Tenney about a century ago. It has been remodelled and is in excellent condition. Mr. Bullard's first wife was Vira A. Curtis, a daughter of Ingalls A. and Susan (Eddy) Curtis. She was born in New Salem, May 30, 1834, was married May 12, 1863, and lived scarcely three years after, her death oc- curring March 6, 1866. She left one daugh- ter. Angle v., who was born March 26, 1865, is married to- Elmer E. Davis, of Athol, and has one daughter, Gertrude I. On the ist of January, 1867, Mr. Bullard married Sarah E. Gill, a native of Barnet, Vt., who was born July 12, 1842, being a daughter of Willard and Sarah (Chamberlin) Gill. Her father was a carder and clothier in his younger days, but was afterward an employee in the Fair- banks Scale Works. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gill passed their last days in New Salem, he dying at the age of sixty-nine years, and she at sev- enty-nine. She was the mother of five chil- dren : Willard S. , George, Joshua, Mary J., and Sarah E. Mr. Gill was a Whig in poli- tics until the organization of the Republican party, when he joined its ranks. He served in many of the town offices. He was a mem- ber of the Congregational church, in which he served faithfully as Deacon for forty years. Faithie L., the eldest of Mr. Bullard's three children by his second marriage, was born November 14, 1867, and died October 19, 1887, while a pupil at the Northfield Semi- nary. The two sons, William, born Novem- ber 26, 1 871, and Robert, born October 18, 1873, are in the lumber business with their father. Mr. Bullard is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party; and, although the town is decidedly Republican, he has served three times as Selectman, in 1866, 1893, and 1894, during the latter year being chairman of the board. For several years he has satisfactorily filled the office of Justice of the Peace, besides holding minor positions. Mr. Bullard is one of the enter- prising and substantial men of his town, and his busy life has yielded him a handsome competency. ^ < ■ ■» » _ fHOMAS WHITE, senior member of the dry-goods firm of White Brothers at Greenfield, this county, stands con- spicuous among the successful merchants of this section of .the State, and is everywhere BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 623 recognized as a thorough-going and straight- forward business man, honest and upright in all of his transactions. He was born in Scot- land in 1856, and doubtless inherited those qualities of ambitious industry and wise thrift that have contributed so largely to his pres- ent prosperity. He is a son of James White, of Torphichen, Scotland, a carpenter and builder. The father was a skilful mechanic, and, though he never amassed a fortune, he gave each of his children a good education; and before his death, which occurred at the ad- vanced age of eighty-three years, in April, 1894, he saw them all well settled in life. He married Ann Burns; and of the nine chil- dren born of their union — five sons and four daughters — all are living excepting one daughter, and all are married. The mother, now an active woman of seventy-seven years, still lives on the old homestead at Torphi- chen. Two of the sons are also living in their native country, Walter being an engi- neer in a shipping yard, where he served his seven years' apprenticeship, and James hav- ing succeeded his father as a carpenter and builder. The other three sons are living in Massachusetts, David being a, dry-goods mer- chant in Boston, and Alexander a partner with Thomas in this village. David was the first to emigrate, coming to the United States in 1872, Thomas following the next year, and Alexander coming in 1876. Thomas White began his career in mercan- tile business when twelve years old, serving an apprenticeship of four years in his native land. His earnings were meagre; but, hav- ing an object in view, he practised great econ- omy, and in a few years saved enough to pay his passage to America, having five dollars left when he landed at Point Leaver, Quebec, a stranger in a strange land. He made his way to Portland, Me., thence to Boston, where he soon found employment in the old Scotch dry-goods house of Hogg, Brown & Taylor, the last-named gentleman having also been a native of Torphichen, Scotland. Mr. White began work for that firm at fourteen dollars per week, and was with them nine years, his salary being increased in the mean time to twenty-two dollars a week. In 1882 Mr. White came to Greenfield, and in com- pany with John Still opened a dry-goods store, the firm carrying on business for a year under the name of Still & White. Mr. Still retiring, Alexander White became the junior partner; and the firm has since been known as White Brothers. They have a spacious and wellTfurnished store in the American House Block, being one of the finest in this vicinity, and do a business amounting to seventy-five thousand dollars per annum, giving employ- ment to eleven clerks. Mr. White married Miss Nellie Burns, a native of London, England, who crossed the ocean to become his bride. Their first-born, a son, Arthur, died at the age of fifteen months. Six daughters brighten their home at 54 Federal Street; namely, Lillian, Ma- rion, Margaret, Ann, Catherine, and Jessie. In politics Mr. White is a sound Democrat, and for seven years served as one of the Board of Registrars. His estimable wife is a con- scientious member of the Baptist church, in which she is an active worker. YgTARLOW M. PETERSON, a prosper- r=H ous farmer of Colerain, was born -L^ V^^ June 2, 1840, on the farm where he resides, son of Nelson and Mary A. (Holland) Peterson, also natives of Colerain. Mr. Peterson's farm has been in the family over one hundred years, the first to break the soil hav- 624 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ing been his great-grandfather, Jonathan Peter- son, who lies buried in the Branch Cemetery. The grandfather, Sylvanus Peterson, was born March 10, 1788, carried on the work begun by his father, laboring assiduously to improve the estate. He was a good citizen, in politics a Whig, and in religion of liberal views. He died at the home of his son Jona- than, in Heath, August 22, 1867. On De- cember 24, 1808, he was married to Lovina Call, a native of Colerain, who was born March 26, 1789. Grandmother Peterson was a member of the Baptist church, following its teachings during her long life of nearly sev- enty years. She passed away on December 9, 1857. They had thirteen children, born between 1809 and 1836, all of whom reached adult life. Nelson Peterson, the father of Mr. Peter- son, born in Colerain, May 16, 181 1, was brought up on the home farm, and naturally took to the duties of agricultural life. At his father's death a part of the farm came into his possession. This he increased as pros- perity enabled him to, purchasing other land in the vicinity. He was an industrious and enterprising man, took an active part in the affairs of the town, serving as Assessor, be- sides filling minor ofifices, and acting as Se- lectman for several terms. In politics he was a Republican. He died in the house where he was born on July 25, 1876. His wife laid down the burdens of life on January 17, i88g. They had three children, as follows: Orinda, born December 6, 1835, wife of John B. Pur- ington, a farmer in Minnesota; Harlow M., the subject of this notice; Eunice L., wife of W. W. Stowe, a farmer in Halifax, Vt. Harlow M. Peterson attended the district schools of the town, following the same path which had led his father and grandfather to the larger knowledge of manhood. Living on the home farm, at the age of twenty-four he took upon himself a large share of its manage- ment; and in 1875, one year before the death of his father, he bought the entire property, embracing two hundred and eighteen acres of land. It is a good farm, with substantial and well-kept buildings and other indications of the owner's wisdom. His occupations, be- sides general farming, include fruit-growing, stock-raising, and lumbering. Mr. Peterson was married on November 17, 1864, to Ellen R., daughter of Orrin and Sophia (Taylor) Hawkes, of Charlemont, born January 5, 1845. Mr. Hawkes was born in Charlemont in 1794, and his wife in Buck- land, April II, 1805. Both are now de- ceased. They had nine children, five of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have five children: Charles O., born Septem- ber 7, 1866, a brick mason in Springfield, married in 1889 to Susie V. McClellan, and father of two children, Herbert M. and Irene; James H., born March 8, 1872, a farmer at Shelburne; Myron N., born January 5, 1870, a carpenter in Springfield; Helen A., born July 21, 1877; and Ralph H., born April 7, 1885, at home with his parents. In politics Mr. Peterson is a Republican. He has been Assessor for four years, takes an active part in promoting the welfare of the town, and is counted among its leading citizens. Y^ATHANIEL S. RICE, a reliable and I =1 esteemed citizen of Rowe, was born J- N^ ^ in the town of Colerain, August i, 1836, son of Moses and Ann (Smith) Rice, and grandson of Nathaniel Rice. The grand- father was born in Charlemont, and was a farmer by occupation. He also owned and conducted a tannery at East Charlemont for some years. He was a prominent and infiu- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 62s ential man and an elder in the church. His children were : Emily, Amy, Moses, Mary Francis, Rosina, and Emeline. Moses Rice, father of Nathaniel S., was born in Charlemont, Mass., and there edu- cated in the public schools. He learned the trade of tanner with his father, and worked for him until attaining his majority. He then bought the business, and conducted it for several years with fair success. Subse- quently he sold it, and moved to the town of Colerain, where he bought a farm, and also carried on the business of shoemaking for some time. Selling his farm, he went to Holyoke, where he engaged in the manufact- ure of boots and shoes, and also conducted a retail store. He was succeeding rapidly when he died, at the age of iifty-four years, closing an active and useful life. His wife, Ann Smith, survived him, and attained the remark- able age of ninety-seven years. Their chil- dren were: Prudence B., Clark M., Jennie A., Nathaniel S., Calvin S., and Emeline M. The family professed the Baptist faith, and the father was an old-time Whig in politics. Nathaniel S. Rice received a limited but practical education in the schools of his native town. When but thirteen years old, he commenced to work at farming. At six- teen he went to Holyoke, where he entered the machine-shops to learn the trade of ma- chinist, remaining there four years. He was then employed for some time by the Hadley Falls Manufacturing Company; but, finding a life of confinement in the shop unfavorable to his health, he laid down his tools, and started out on the road as salesman. After one summer's experience in this occupation, he bought the stage line between Colerain and Greenfield, still with a view to benefit his health, and drove the coach for four years. At the end of that time, feeling inclined for another change, he went to Halifax, where he worked in the saw-mills and among the pine and spruce timber for two years. He then engaged in agriculture, buying a farm at Wilmington, Vt., and following a farmer's life for two years. After a short stay in Shelburne, where he followed the occupation of turner, he came to Rowe in 1884, and pur- chased a home, where he has since resided. He has remodelled the house, and is now en- gaged in keeping city boarders. He also runs a stage route. He is a Democrat, and is lib- eral in his religious views. On July 22, 1858, he married Miss Nellie M. Roberts, daughter of Goodwin and Lillian (Bishop) Roberts, the former of whom was born in Colerain, son of Hoel and Susan (Sturdivant) Roberts Hoel Roberts was a native of Hartford, Conn., and came to Cole- rain when a young man, bringing with him as capital half a bushel of silver half-dollars, which he had inherited from his father. He bought a large tract of new land in Colerain, which he cleared; and on it erected good buildings, becoming very prosperous. He held several town offices. He died at the age of sixty-two, and his wife died in her seven- tieth year. His son, Goodwin Roberts, was born in Colerain, and came into possession of the old homestead of two hundred acres. This he aftervrard sold, and then went to St. Lawrence County, New York, where he en- gaged in farming for five years. Later he re- turned to Colerain, where he died at the age of sixty-two. His wife died at the age of thirty-eight years. They had two children: Clayton and Nellie M., the latter now Mrs. Rice. After his wife's death, he married again, his second marriage being to Mrs. Sarah Brown. Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel S. Rice have had two children: Hattie, who died at the early age of sixteen, just as she 626 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW was budding into womanhood; and Lelia, an- other promising daughter, who was taken away at the age of nineteen. 'AMES H. BABBITT, an extensive farmer and fruit-grower in Colerain, was born June 17, 1820, on the farm where he now lives, son of Henry and Mary (White) Babbitt. His paternal grandfather was Henry Babbitt, Sr., born December 27, 1764, the first of the Babbitt family to settle in Colerain. Grandfather Babbitt was among the early settlers of this part of the State, taking a tract of wild land, and improving it so that it became a fine farm. He was a good citizen and a valued member of the commu- nity. He died in Hartwell, Readsboro, Vt., when about eighty-five years of age. His first wife was Mary Faulkner, born February 7, 1762. She was the mother of six children, born between 1789 and 1806, all of whom at- tained maturity. They were: Mary, Anna, Sarah, Phcebe, Henry, and Enos. Mr. Bab- bitt's second wife lived to be ninety years of age. Henry Babbitt, Jr., father of Mr. Babbitt, was born June 18, 1799, in the north-western part of Colerain, in which town he spent the greater part of his life. He was an industri- ous farmer, but lived hardly long enough to get a firm footing upon the road to prosperity, as he died at the age of thirty-nine. He was subject to heart disease, and on November 29, 1838, was found dead by the roadside. His wife, to whom he was united on April 6, 1 8 19, was the daughter of James and Hannah White. Her father, the maternal grand- father of James Babbitt, was a Revolutionary soldier, who served throughout the War of Independence, fighting under Washington. When the. army was disbanded, he cleared a tract of land in Colerain, and made a home, becoming quite an extensive owner of real es- tate here and in other towns. On his Cole- rain property he planted many fruit-trees, which produced plentiful crops. He also had a distillery and a cider-mill, and one year made over seven hundred barrels of cider from apples gathered from his own trees. He died at the age of eighty-six, his wife having laid down the cares of life some time previ- ously. They had fifteen children, thirteen of whom lived to a good age. One of them, Mrs. Alona Clapp, widow of Franklin Clapp, a resident of Deerfield, is now in her eighty- sixth year. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Babbitt, Jr., had six children, three of whom are deceased,, namely: Mary Ann, born February 6, 1823, who became Mrs. Brown, and died in Septem- ber, 1894; Jane Maria, born March i, 1825, who died January 24, 1831; and Esther So- phia, born April 29, 1827, and died in March, 1876. James H., Lewis W., and Elmer W. are the survivors. Lewis W. Babbitt was born in Heath, May 3, 1836, and was a little over two years old when his parents moved to Colerain, in which town his life has since been passed, following the quiet routine of farm life. He is the owner of seventy-five acres of land in Colerain and forty-five in Heath. He is unmarried, a stanch Republican, and for ten years Highway Surveyor. Elmer W. Babbitt was born July S, 1838, in Heath. He is a carpenter and joiner by trade, and has passed the greater part of his life in Whitingham, Vt., whither he went shortly after attaining his majority. He is now a resident of Readsboro, Vt. He also is a bachelor. In politics he is a Repub- lican. James H. Babbitt was born on the farm where he now resides. He attended school in this town and also in Heath, and has been en- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 627 gaged in agricultural pursuits since childhood, spending the greater part of his life on the home farm, his share of which comprises sev- enty-five acres. It is part of the old Whiten estate, which originally covered one hundred and fifty acres, and descended to the Babbitts through their mother, being now divided be- tween Lewis and James, who carry on general farming, making a specialty of dairy products and fruit-growing. Some of the old trees planted by Grandfather White are still on the farm, and the vigorous growth of later years is not behind its predecessors in the produc- tion of abundant crops. James H. Babbitt was married at the age of twenty-seven to Tryphena Harris, daughter of Bariah and Irena Harris, who were among the early settlers of the town, and are both now deceased. Mrs. Babbitt's grandfather, Tim- othy Harris, was born May 11, 1765, in Rhode Island, and moved to Colerain in 1805, settling in the north-western part. He was an industrious farmer, and lived to be upward of eighty years old, spending his last years in Indiana. He was an old-time Whig, and in his religious views was liberal. His wife, Ann, a native of the same State, born December 13, 1767, was the daughter of Caleb Howard, a wealthy ship-builder, who was at one time candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island. Mrs. Howard lived to the age of ninety years, dying in Colerain. They had thirteen children, all of whom are now deceased. Bariah Harris, Mrs. Babbitt's father, was born July 23, 1790, and died in Masonville, N.Y., Febru- ary 7, 1877. His wife, to whom he was mar- ried January 17, 18 14, was Miss Irena Smith, of Halifax, Vt. She died in 1866. Mrs. James H. Babbitt died at the age of fifty-four, leaving a daughter, Martha S.,.who lives on the farm with her father. James H. Babbitt is a Republican in poli- tics, and has been Highway Surveyor for sev- eral years. He represents one of the oldest families in the town, and he and his brother together possess one of the finest fruit farms in the county. ■OSEPH C. SEVERANCE, of Shel- burne, owning one of the choicest farms of the county, and prominently identified with the agricultural interests of the district, is a native of Conway, where his birth occurred September 7, 1842. His par- ents,. Ruel and Electa (Rice) Severance, were also natives of Franklin County, his father having been born in Leyden and his mother in Conway. (Further facts respecting the ancestors of this family are given in the no- tice of Dr. Severance, to be found on another page.) Ruel Severance was a general farmer. He spent the first few years of his married life in the place of his nativity. Coming to Shel- burne in 1847, he bought a farm situated about one mile north of the centre of the town. He labored diligently on it during the remainder of his life, and left it to his suc- cessor well stocked and cared for, and bring- ing in a good income. He died February 17, 1882, beloved and respected by all. His wife, whose death occurred in 1878, bore him five children, as follows: Nancy, deceased, the wife of Charles S, Allen; Lucy, de- ceased, married to L. A. Peck; Diana L., re- siding in Greenfield, widow of William T. Peck; Arabella, widow of H. S. Shepardson, a resident of Shelburne Falls; and Joseph C, the subject of this sketch. Joseph C. Severance, after receiving his early education in the district school, finished his studies at Powers Institute in Bernard- ston. In May, 1863, soon after attaining his 628 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW majority, he responded to the call for volun- teers to defend the Union by enlisting in the Second Massachusetts Artillery. He fought bravely in many of the most hotly contested battles of the Rebellion, was severely wounded at the battle of South-west Creek, or Five Forks, as it was sometimes called, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. On his return to civil life Mr. Sever- ance took his old place on the home farm. After a while he was intrusted with the en- tire management, which, together with the care of his parents in their old age, thereafter received his exclusive attention. He subse- quently bought the interest in the homestead held by his sisters; and, having also pur- chased an adjoining estate, he now possesses three hundred acres of rich and productive land, comprising one of the most valuable farms in the locality. The marriage of Mr. Severance with Eliza Dinsmore, of Conway, was celebrated Novem- ber 24, 1863. They have had five children, as follows: Alvin, who died in his fifth year; Alice M., who died at the age of twenty-five years; George A., born in July, 1873, a farmer, living at home; Lulu E., born May 23, 187s, also living at home; and Mary, the wife of George Chesbro, of North Adams. Mr. Severance is a man of mark and of recog- nized worth as a citizen, his business ability being unquestioned and his character above reproach. He takes a lively interest in local affairs, is at present Road Commissioner, has been Selectman for four years, and has filled other offices to general satisfaction. In poli- tics he is a Republican. Both he and Mrs. Severance are worthy members of the Congre- gational church. Socially, Mr. Severance is quite prominent in the Grand Army organiza- tion, and has filled in turn all of the offices of the Ozro Miller Post, No. 93. OB G. PICKETT, a progressive farmer of Greenfield, was born in that town, April 14, 1838, his father, Henry L., and his mother, Dorothy (Lage) Pickett, being natives of that place. His great-grandfather, Samuel Pickett, was the first of the family to settle in Greenfield. He was a capable farmer and an active citi- zen, serving as Selectman of the town, and dying there at an advanced age. Grandfather Samuel Pickett was also a farmer of Green- field, where he and his wife, after living a useful life, died at a good old age. They raised a family of three children, all now de- ceased. Of these Henry L., father of Job G. Pickett, followed the calling of his fore- fathers, and owned the fine farm where his son Job now resides. His political principles were Democratic, and his religious belief that of a Universal! St. He died on the old homestead, at the age of seventy-seven, and his wife died at seventy-three. They had four children, all of whom are now living, as follows: Job G. Pickett, the subject of this memoir; Lucy, now the wife of Richard New- comb, residing in Greenfield; Henry L., of Colerain; and Fanny Pickett, of Greenfield. Job G. Pickett grew to manhood in Green- field, where he has followed successfully the business of farming. Since the family estate came into his hands he has kept all the build- ings in fine repair and the land in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Pickett married April 14, 1863, Nancy Phillips, who was born in Greenfield, April 7, 1838, daughter of Noble P. and Nancy (Kennedy) Phillips. Her father was a native of Greenfield, a shoe- maker in his earlier years, but later a farmer. He spent his last six years with his daughter, Mrs. Pickett, living to be eighty-five years of age. His wife was born in Bernardston, and lived to the age of seventy-four. They BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 629 had eight children, of whom five are living. Dwight M., Clement C, and Hilda J. are de- ceased. Ellen A. is now Mrs. Park, of Cali- fornia; Nancy is Mrs. Pickett; Newton R. lives in Connecticut; Elvira S., now Mrs. Larabee, and Charles M., both reside in Greenfield. Mr. and Mrs. Job Pickett have two chil- dren: Frank M. Pickett, born in Greenfield, February 23, 1864, a farmer, and unmarried; and Ellen A., born in Greenfield, November 13, 1866. Mr. Pickett has served as Assessor for four years, and has been Selectman for two years, which position he still holds. Politically, he is a Democrat. He is a mem- ber of Pocomptuck Lodge, No. 6"], Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, and has also been actively identified with the Agricultural Soci- ety. Mr. and Mrs. Pickett are both liberal in their religious faith. She is a prominent member of Rebecca Degree, Si loam Lodge, No. 87. <■♦■*-» T^HARLES H. KNOWLTON, a suc- 1 Sr'^ cessful hardware merchant, well- ^^ ^ known and highly esteemed in Shelburne Falls, was born in Worcester, Mass., October 9, 1819, son of Joel and Polly (Brooks) Knowlton. Joel Knowlton was a native of Shutesbury, Mass., where he was brought up to the busi- ness of farming. Leaving this place, he went to Grafton, Mass., purchased a farm of two hundred acres, and thereafter managed it with such success that he came to be counted among the leading agriculturists of that sec- tion. His death occurred in 1839, when he was but fifty-five years of age. He was a Whig in politics, and took a lively interest in most public questions. His wife, who was a daughter of Elijah Brooks, gave birth to five sons and two daughters : Reuel F., John C, Elijah B., Daniel H., Charles H., Laura B. , and Harriet E. She died in 1877, at the advanced age of ninety years and three months. Charles H. Knowlton remained with his parents until he came of age, receiving a good practical education in the district schools of Grafton. He then learned the trade of a shoe- maker, but not liking the business he gave it up after following it four years. The next two years he was employed on the Boston & Albany Railroad, after which he purchased a small farm in Leominster, Mass., and culti- vated it with profit for five years. He engaged in lumbering then for an equal period of time, at the end of which he purchased another farm in Templeton, Mass., and resumed his previ- ous occupation. This time he continued at it for eleven years, and then sold out. He next secured a position in the chair factory in Cole- rain, this county, and later in the Leominster piano factory, where he remained for several years. From this place he went to Charle- mont, Mass., and there, in company with his son, during the following three years con- ducted a general tin and hardware store. Sub- sequently this store was sold; and the hard- ware business of C. Wilcox in Shelburne Falls, together with the block on Bridge Street, in which also the store is located, was purchased by these enterprising men. They have carried on the business since then. The first floor and basement of the block are de- voted to its needs, while the second floor is rented. Besides general hardware, they carry a line of stoves, furnaces, and refrigerators, and do a general tinware and plumbing trade. They are the leaders in their line in Shel- burne Falls, and have put heaters in many of its residences and prominent buildings. In addition to the block on Bridge Street, Mr. Knowlton owns his residence, and another house which he rents. Both are situated on 630 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Water Street, and have been remodelled since he bought them. On April 18, 1844, Mr. Knowlton was united in marriage with Miss Martha Bayden, daughter of Peter Bayden, of Leominster, Mass. She died in 1866, when but forty-one years of age, leaving three sons: Charles L. , Albert B. , and Edward P. Charles L. Knowlton, who is in partnership with his father, first married Miss Jane Goodnaw (de- ceased), by whom he has one son, Frank E. ; his present wife was Miss Mary Fellows, who has borne him one' daughter, Alice. Albert B. Knowlton married Miss Abbie Pratt, and resides in Grafton, Mass., where he is a suc- cessful florist and gardener. Edward P. Knowlton lives at home with his father. Mr. Knowlton is a Republican, and takes a keen interest in town affairs. He has served very acceptably as Selectman, Assessor, Over- seer of the Poor, and as a member of the School Committee. He is a member of the Universalist church. OHN W. CHAPIN, road commissioner and mill owner, was born in Bernards- ton, Mass., January 28, 1859, son of Alason and Patience L. (Fox) Chapin. Alanson Chapin was also a native of Bernards- ton, but his wife was born in Franklin County, Massachusetts. He was a farmer and lumber-man, living most of his life in Ber- nardston. One of the hard workers, he was quite successful in his business, and died at the age of forty-five years. He was a Repub- lican in politics. His wife, who died aged sixty-three, belonged to the Methodist Epis- copal church. They reared five children, four of whom are still living. John Chapin is the eldest; Edgar A. Chapin resides in Bernards- ton; Eliza, who became Mrs. Wright, resides in Leyden; Maria, who also became Mrs. Wright, lives in Bernardston; and Frank Chapin died at the age of three years. John W. Chapin grew to manhood and was educated in the public schools of Bernardston. When twenty-one years of age, he began work- ing in a saw-mill, and has followed that busi- ness since. In the year 1888 he started a mill on his own account, where he is now lo- cated. The work consists in custom sawing and in the manufacture of all kinds of lumber. The patronage is good and constantly increas- ing. The mill has a capacity of ten thousand feet per day, and is well equipped with im- proved modern machinery. Mr. Chapin has been honored by his fellow-citizens with the office of Road Commissioner, in which capac- ity he serves the community well. Mr. Cha- pin is a very popular man, a prominent mem- ber of the A. F. & A. M., and an earnest Republican. On April 15, 1880, he was married to Hattie E. Woods. They have three children: Lucy F., Eveline, and Harry. Mr. Chapin and his wife are both members of the Congregational church. OSEPH O. CARPENTER, a success- ful and highly respected citizen of Leyden, was born there, April 29, 1828, son of Jotham O. and Eliza (Potter) Carpenter. His grandfather, David Carpenter, was a native of Rhode Island, where his ancestors had settled on their arrival from England. He and his brother, Abel Carpenter, came to Leyden, Mass., when young men; and he set- tled in the south part of the town. Here he engaged in farming, and kept a hotel. He continued in the latter business for fifteen or twenty years. The old hotel building, now owned by John Newcomb, which was built in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 631 1830, is still in a fair state of preservation, and is occupied as a dwelling-house. Mr. Carpenter was also engaged in teaming, and made frequent trips to Boston. He served in various town offices, among which was that of Selectman, filled by him very acceptably. In religious matters he was liberal, and in politics a believer in Democratic principles. His wife died in Leyden in 1830, and his death occurred in the same place eight years afterward. Of their ten children, all of whom reached maturity, Dwight Carpenter is the only survivor. The others were: David N., Charles, Jotham O., Harriet E., Char- lotte, Sarah, Mary, Austin, and Warren. Jotham O. Carpenter was born in Leyden in 1808, and followed the avocation of farmer. When thirty-six years of age, he was accident- ally killed, September 7, 1844. His wife, also a native of Leyden, born in 18 10, bore him a son and five daughters, all of whom are now living except Charlotte J., who, having married William Smead, died when about twenty-eight years of age. The survivors are: Joseph O. ; Eliza M., wife of Warren Badger, of Leyden; Cynthia P., widow of Alexander Morse, who reside's in Jacksonville, Vt. ; Angeline, widow of Josiah Brooks, who lives in Worcester, Mass. ; and Mary, the wife of Jonathan Brooks, of Leyden. Joseph O. Carpenter, who received a good practical education in the district school, after bis father's death took charge of the family. He first bought land in Guilford, Mass., where he resided four years. Then he sold it, and bought a farm of sixty-five acres in Leyden. Here he had lived fifteen years when he sold this farm, and purchased a saw and grist mill situated in the southern part of the town, and which he operated for nineteen years. In 1889 Mr. Carpenter bought the place where he now resides, a farm of one hundred acres, devoted to general agriculture. In conjunction with his other occupations he has followed the trade of a carpenter for years, and has built a good proportion of the buildings now standing in Leyden. When the Civil War opened, Mr. Carpenter enlisted June 20, 1862, in Company K of the Thirty-third Massachusetts Regiment, and served with this company and regiment six months. He was then transferred to the Forty -first Regiment, which six months later was reorganized and- mounted, and from that time was known as the Third Massachu- setts Cavalry. Of the twenty-nine engage- ments in which his regiment took part Mr. Carpenter was in twenty-seven, among which may be mentioned the battle of White Plains, second battle of Bull Run, Warrington, Thor- oughfare Gap, Port Hudson, Cain River, Irish Bend, Red River campaign. Pleasant Hill, Sayburne Cross-roads, and Winchester. In the latter battle, which was fought September 19, 1864, under General Sheridan, he re- ceived a wound which disabled him for further service at the front; and he was thencefor- ward employed in hospital work. He re- ceived his honorable discharge June 5, 1865. Mr. Carpenter was married March 30, 1852, to Miss Harriet Brooks, a native of Colerain, where she was born January 11, 1826, daugh- ter of Salmon and Hannah (Jones) Brooks, both deceased. She died October 20, 1891, having had nine children, as follows: Charles B., a farmer of Guilford, Vt. ; Anna A., wife of T. Rockwood Sheaver, of Colerain, Mass. ; Nellie, wife of George Field, of Northampton, Mass. ; Miles Sheridan Carpen- ter, of Ashburnham, Mass. ; and Carrie Car- penter, residing in Shelburne, Mass. ; Mary E., who died at twenty-one years of age; Jotham E., who died in his thirty-sixth year; 632 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW and Jotham O. and Lorentha, both of whom died in babyhood. Mr. Carpenter is a Republican, takes an active interest in political affairs, and has rendered efficient service as Constable, School Committeeman, Surveyor of Wood and Lumber, and in other capacities. He is a Past Commander of Greenfield Post, No. 174, Grand Army of the Republic. His re- ligious belief is Universalist. W"' ILLIAM H. BRACKETT, a prom- inent farmer of Franklin County, born in West Hawley, June 26, 1840, is a son of Jonathan and Sarah (Raw- son) Brackett. Jonathan Brackett was born in Lynn, Mass., December 9, 1792. When young, he learned the shoemaker's trade, the leading in- dustry of the town, and there worked at it until after his marriage, when he emigrated with his bride to the western part of the State. He located in the town of Buckland, where he bought one hundred acres of land, put up a house and barn, and made a clearing, with a view to farming operations. Besides tilling the land, he made and repaired the shoes for the few families who had dared the dangers and privations of life in a district not yet much better than the wilderness. By hard work he had made many improvements; and, when later settlers began to come to the neighborhood in greater numbers, he was able to sell his land at a handsome profit. He then moved to Hawley, the adjoining town, where he bought the farm now owned by E. Sears. On this he worked energetically, im- proving it by building and cultivation until his death, July 22, 1867. His wife, Sarah Rawson in her maidenhood, was born March 17, 1797, and lived until February 22, 1877. Both were sincere Christians and active and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Broad-minded people, they gener- ously aided in building the Congregational church at West Hawley, and afterward con- tributed liberally toward its support. They reared eight children, namely: Jonathan, born February 22, 1825; Luana, born March 25, 1827; Sarah M., born June 13, 1828; Allen, born May 2, 1830; Freeman, born February 7, 1832; Mary E., born December 15, 1835; Emily G., born November 18, 1837; and William H., the subject of this notice. William H. Brackett was educated in the public schools. Brought up on the farm, he acquired a practical knowledge of agriculture. Remaining at home, the management of the farm in time devolved upon him. He also cared for his parents in their old age. After their death he succeeded to the ownership of the estate, which is finely located, and con- tains one hundred acres of fertile and valuable land. He also owns an equally large tract near by. His chief occupation is general farming; but he also has a large dairy, hav- ing ten choice cows, besides some fine young stock. Continuing the improvements begun by his father, he has brought his land to an excellent condition. He also raises stock, and deals somewhat in lumber. In politics he is a stanch Republican, never changing his principles. Religiously, he belongs to and heartily supports the Congregational church, being one of its most active and worthy members. On the 4th of November, 1865, Mr. Brack- ett was united in marriage with Melinda Lar- kin, a native of Ballston, Saratoga County, N.Y., being the daughter of Liber and Mabel (Moore) Larkin, who were for many years thriving farmers of Sand Lake, Rensselaer BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW (>33 County. Mr. Larkin died at the age of threescore and ten years, and Mrs. Larkin at the comparatively early age of forty years. She bore her husband seven children : John C. Larkin, Sarah, Lewis, Ira, Daniel, Melinda (Mrs. Brackett), and Almira. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Brackett has been blessed by four children, as follows: Ida, born Septem- ber II, 1868, the wife of Fred Legate, and mother of one child, Harry F. ; Freeman H., born July 9, 1869, superintendent of the Hawley town farm, married to Alice Barber; John A., born December 28, 1871, a mason; and William A., born March 29, 1873. KAYETTE SNOW, a highly respected resident of Rowe, Franklin County, was born in the town of Dover, Nor- folk County, Mass., May 9, 1836, son of Levi and Nancy (Rice) Snow. His grandfather, Levi Snow, Sr. , who was a native of Spencer, Mass., owned a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Somerset, Bristol County, where he was profitably engaged in stock-raising and general farming. Among the improvements made by him was the erection of a substantial set of buildings. He also built a store, which he stocked and successfully conducted. He was popular and influential among his neigh- bors. He was a member of the Congrega- tional church 'and a Republican in politics. He died in Somerset in his sixty-seventh year, and his wife died at the age of seventy-five. They were the parents of the following chil- dren : Horatio, Joseph, Betsy Ann, and Levi. Levi Snow, Jr., father of Mr. Snow, who was born in Spencer, Mass., purchased in Somerset, near his father's home, a farm of two hundred acres, a part of which he after- ward cleared and settled upon. He, too, was indued with the spirit of progress, and the old farm-house and barns were soon replaced by new ones of more modern construction and greater convenience. Besides cultivating his land he was also engaged in stock-raising and, to a limited extent, in dairying. He was an adherent of the Republican party, and served his town acceptably as Selectman and Assessor. He died on his farm at sixty-seven; and his wife, Nancy (Rice) Snow, at seventy-five years of age. Their union was blessed by the birth of eight children; namely, Henriette, Annette, Durette, Jeanette, Juliette, Lorette, Julian, and Fayette. Both parents were mem- bers of the Universalist church. Fayette Snow remained at home until twenty-two years of age, receiving a good practical education in the schools of Somerset. He learned the trade of carpenter, at which he was employed during the following six years. At the end of that time, in 1866, he removed to Rowe, Mass., where he purchased the Cogs- well place, consisting of a house and ten acres of land. There he built a shop, in which he carried on a good business in carriage and wagon making for several years. Samples of his workmanship, which is commended for durability and quality, are to be found on some of the best farms in that vicinity. At the present time he is principally engaged in car- riage ironing and painting. On February 13, 1864, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Amy (Goodell) Russell, a daughter of Harvey Goodell. Their home was brightened by one child, Ada R., born Octo- ber 25, 1865, and married to Edward Thayer, by whom she had a son and daughter, Forrest and Ethel. After Mr. Thayer's death she was again married, becoming the wife of Orland Rice, of Bernardston Farms. Mr. Snow, who is highly esteemed for his honesty and uprightness of character, is a Re- publican in politics. He is liberal in his re- 634 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ligious views, while his wife is a member of the Baptist church. KRANKLIN FIELD, a successful farmer and a well-known and highly respected resident of the town of Montague, was born in Sunderland, Franklin County, Mass., March 25, 1820. His father, Walton Field, was born in the town of Leverett in the same county, where his grandfather, Jonathan Field, carried on a farm for many years. In 1835 Jonathan Field removed to Hatfield, Hamp- shire County, where he resided during the remainder of his life. Walton Field was one of seven children. He attended the district schools and was- brought up to follow agriculture, and con- tinued with his father till he purchased a farm in Hatfield, when he settled there and spent the rest of his life on his own place. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Wiley. She was a daughter of Ebenezer Wiley, of Sunderland, where her father carried on farm- ing. She became mother of eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity, and four of whom are now living, namely: John William, residing in Amherst; William, living in Con- way; Franklin; and Elizabeth, widow of Zacharias Crocker, of Sunderland. Mrs. Eliz- abeth W. Field died in Sunderland, at the age of forty years. The parents belonged to the Congregational church. Franklin Field lived in Sunderland till he was eleven years old, and after that was with his father in Hatfield till reaching the age of sixteen, when he learned the trade of broom- making, which occupation he carried on suc- cessfully in Hatfield for some years. He then gave up that employment and removed to his farm of one hundred acres in Montague, where he has since made his home. In 1842 Mr. Field was married to Miss Alma Scott, daughter of Oretas and Nancy Scott. She was one of a family of thirteen children, and was born in Westfield, where her father was a farmer and spent his later years. Mr. and Mrs. Field reared four chil- dren, as follows : Minerva, wife of Irving B. Crofts, a farmer of Montague and a soldier of the late war; Frank, a railroad station agent at Gardner, Mass. ; Nancy S., a graduate of the high school in Montague, and now an experienced teacher at Wesley Hills, near Berlin; and Fred E., who is further mentioned below. The capable and amiable mother of this family died May 7, 1892, at the age of sixty-seven. A Unitarian in religion, as was his wife, Mr. Field was formerly a Republican in politics, but is now an independent voter. He held the office of Assessor seven years, while living in Hatfield, his eldest brother, Horace N. (deceased), having been Assessor of that town twenty-five years and also Tax Collector. Although Mr. Field has given up most of the farm cares to his son, he is still energetic and takes an active interest in social and town matters, and in the exercise of hos- pitality to neighbors and friends. DTrED E. field, a well-known and Pis progressive young farmer of Montague, residing about one and a half miles from the village of Montague City, was born in Hatfield, Hampshire County, November 7, i860, and was but a child of tender years when his father, Franklin Field, removed from that town to Montague. His life since that time has been spent in this picturesque local- ity. He was educated in the public schools, and when he came of age he took the superin- tendence of the farm off his father's hands, MOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 63s and has since conducted it himself. The farm consists of one hundred acres, and is mainly devoted to dairying. Mr. Field makes a spe- cialty of fine stock, his herd of Holstein cattle being of the best. His house and grounds are noted in the neighborhood, presenting a fine appearance, betokening good care, and very attractive to the passing traveller. In 1889 Mr. Field was married to Miss Rosa Small, a native of Machias, Me., where her father was a fisherman. They have one child, named Kenneth Coy. Mr. Field is in- dependent in politics, and is a member of the Legion of Honor of Turner's Falls; and both Mr. and Mrs. Field are members of the Uni- tarian church, taking part in its activities and identifying themselves with the social life of the community. 2UTHER A. BRIGHAM, a respected resident of Colerain, who departed this tmm^ life August 10, 1895, was born Oc- tober 7, 1832, in Ware, Mass., and was the son of Dr. Luther and Betsey (Ayres) Brig- ham, both natives of North Brookfield. Dr. Brigham was a graduate of Philadelphia Medi- cal College, and was a practising physician in good standing, residing at different times in Ware, Lowell, and Chicopee. He was a man of liberal culture, a fine speaker, and often delivered lectures and other public addresses. In politics he was a Whig, and in religion an attendant of the Congregational church. He died at North Brookfield when seventy-three years of age. His wife, who also was a mem- ber of the Congregational church, died in Chicopee in 1840. They had eleven chil- dren, two only of whom are now living: L. H. Brigham, a manufacturer of Chicopee and also of Ludlow, a very successful business man, who resides in Palmer; and Hannah, wife of George Holt, of Chicago. The greater part of Luther A. Brigham's early life was spent in Chicopee, Hampden County; and he attended the public schools in Westfield. In his boyhood he engaged in farm work, and as he grew older learned the machinist's trade, entering the employ of the Dwight Manufacturing Company in Chicopee in 1848, and remaining with them fourteen years. While in Chicopee, Mr. Brigham married his first wife, Josephine Chapin, who died after giving birth to a daughter, the lat- ter shortly following the mother to the silent land. In 1864 he bought the estate at Elm Grove, upon which he henceforth resided, and carried on general farming, gathering bounti- ful crops from his sixty-five acres. In February, 1865, Mr. Brigham was mar- ried to Nellie Temple, daughter of Jabez and Mary Boardman Temple. Mrs. Brigham is a native of Whitingham, Vt., and is a well- informed and talented lady. She is widely known as a public speaker, for the past nine- teen years having been engaged in lecturing on Spiritualism in New York City, winning golden laurels. Mr. and Mrs. Brigham have one son, Clarence L., born in Colerain, April 6, 1866, who at present resides in Claremont, N.H., but contemplates a speedy return to his native town. He is a teacher of music, and has won some fame as a composer. He was married in December, 1887, to Lizzie March, of Shelburne Falls, who was born in 1868. They have three children: Warren L., Ar- thur, and Rose Marie. Mr. Brigham was an Independent in poli- tics, and on religion he held liberal views. On Wednesday evening, August 7, he was taken ill with what at first appeared to be a bilious attack, but which proved to be a stroke of apoplexy. He passed away the fol- lowing Saturday at 5 p.m. Mr. Brigham was a man possessing a very genial nature, and 636 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW will be greatly missed by a very large circle of friends and acquaintances. He was of a kind and generous disposition, and the hungry and needy were never turned from his door. He was buried in the family lot at Maple Grove Cemetery, Chicopee, Mass., where rest the remains of his father, mother, and others near and dear. NDREW JACKSON HART, a farmer of Conway and a veteran bf the Civil War, was born at Colerain, Mass., May 20, 1827. He is the son of Alexander Hart, a native of Scotland, who came to America when a young man, and first settled at Cambridge, N. Y. , where his uncle, whose name was Klen, resided. Alexander Hart re- moved from New York State to Colerain, Mass., and after his marriage, which occurred in the last-named town, he resided in various places. He married Betsey Hart, daughter of Peter Rine Hart, a farmer of Colerain, and she was, in all probability, a native of Sutton, Mass. Peter Rine Hart, who was of German ancestry, died in Colerain. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Hart became the parents of seven children. Andrew Jackson Hart was educated in the schools of his native town, and resided there until 1854. He then went to Boston, where he was engaged for the next few years in different kinds of employment, and in the autumn of 1861 enlisted as a private in Com- pany H, Twenty-fourth regiment, Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry. The Regiment was ordered to the front during the month of December of that year, and participated in the battles of Roanoake, Newbern, Goldsboro, and Kingston. He was in detached service for nearly one year, but with that exception accompanied his regiment in its various marches, and after his discharge, in 1864, re- turned to Boston. In the autumn of that year he went to Colerain, three years later remov- ing to Conway, where he bought a small tract of land, and in 1870 purchased the farm on which he now resides. Aside from general farming Mr. Hart deals in live stock and makes a specialty of raising Southdown sheep, Chester pigs, and Hambletonian horses. In 1854 Mr. Hart was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Forbes, daughter of George and Olive Forbes, of Colerain. Mr. and Mrs. Hart have six children, as follows: George H., Daniel W., Emma, Sarah, Jennie, and Olive. fHOMAS SMEAD, one of Colerain's prominent farmers, was born at Green- field, Mass., July 30, 1837. He is a son of Warren and Abigail G. (Sage) Smead, both of whom were natives of Greenfield. Mr. Smead' s paternal grandfather, whose baptismal name was Thomas, and who was an officer in the State militia, was born in Green- field, December 12, 1768, and was a son of Lemuel Smead, an early settler in that town. Captain Thomas Smead was both a tanner and a shoemaker, which occupations he followed in connection with farming, residing in Green- field during his entire life. He was a very industrious man ; he was actively engaged in life's labors to the moment of his decease, which was the result of an accident. He died April 30, 1837, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Hinsdale, was also a native of Greenfield; and she became the mother of nine children, as follows: Ira, Esther, Sarah, Thomas, Mehita- ble, William, Harriet, Amelia, and Warren. She died April 14, 1836, at the age of sixty- two years. Warren Smead followed agricultural pur- BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 637 suits in Greenfield during his whole life, and was known as a good farmer and reliable in all his dealings. He was a Democrat in politics, and an attendant of the Baptist church. He died on January 11, 1853, aged thirty-eight years; and his wife, who long survived him, was called to the home above on May 14, 1 891. They were the parents of seven chil- dren, namely : Thomas ; S. Maria, who was born June 20, 1839, married H. W. Wood, of Deerfield, and died March 30, 1892; Charles W., a resident of Greenfield, who was born June 6, 1841 ; George A., born January 11, 1844, who served in Company A, Fifty-second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, during the Civil War, and died May 17, 1875 ; Char- lotte R., who was born February 17, 1846, married C. M. Carpenter, and died October 8, 1 881; Dwight E., born August 13, 1849, and now residing at Shelburne; and Clarence A., born February 11, 1852, now a resident of Colerain. Thomas Smead received his education in the common schools of Greenfield, where he grew to manhood, and at an early age engaged in farm labor, receiving seven dollars per month for his first season's work, when he was but fourteen years of age. He continued thus employed for three or four years, carefully sav- ing his earnings and never losing a day's time, in which manner he was able to accumulate quite a sum of money; and for his last six months' work he received one hundred dollars, which was considered the best of wages in those days. After the death of his father he lived at home, assisting his mother in supporting and educating his younger brothers and sis- ters; and, when the homestead was sold five years later, he became the purchaser, but sub- sequently disposed of it and bought the farm at Shelburne where his brother now resides. Having conducted it for five years he sold that property and moved to Brattleboro, where he bought a farm which he sold in the time of the Civil War, at a large advance over the amount he had paid for it. After a residence of one year in Greenfield and two years at Shelburne Falls he exchanged his property in the latter place for a farm in Charlemont, which he sold in 1872, again purchasing the old home farm where he was born. Here he has since re- sided. He has about one hundred and forty acres of land, which he devotes principally to dairying interests, keeping a herd of twenty cows; and he is also engaged to a considerable extent in raising fruit. On March 13, 1862, he was married at Brat- tleboro, Vt. , by the Rev. George P. Tyler, to Miss Persis E. Clark, who was born at Ley- den on March 13, 1837. She was a daughter of Thomas and Polly (Makepeace) Clark, the former of whom was a farmer, who died in Leyden at the age of sixty-four, his wife hav- ing passed away at fifty-four. Thomas Clark was twice married, and had one son by his first and six children by his second marriage: Henry W. , who resides in Nantucket; Charles P., and Elisha A., both deceased; Persis E. ; William S. , a resident of Greenfield; Mary, wife of Lemuel Bennett, of Amherst ; and Thomas, who was killed in battle during the Civil War, while serving as a member of the Twenty-first Massachusetts Volunteers. Mr. and Mrs. Smead have six children, namely: Ada M., born at Shelburne, April 16, 1863, and now the wife of Henry S. Chap- man, of Deerfield; Frank W., born at Colerain, December 26, 1864, and now residing there; William C. H., born in Greenfield, February 5, 1867, and now residing at Leyden; Lena Lenora, born at Shelburne Falls, March 14, 1869, who died June 5, 1872; Charles A., born at Charlemont, November 3, 1871, and residing at home; Florence D. , born at Cole- 638 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW rain, June 2, 1875, and now the wife of C. O. Hawes, of West Northfield. Mr. Smead is a Republican in politics, and both himself and wife are liberal in their religious views. T^HARLES KEITH, for many years a I jp prominent merchant of Greenfield, of V,i^_^.- which town he was a native, was born September 27, 1828, and died on Febru- ary 20, 1895. He was a son of Alexander Keith, Jr. His grandfather, Alexander, Sr., was born about the year 1745, and was a na- tive of New England, but of Scotch ancestry, being a son of Daniel Keith, a Scotsman who emigrated to this country in the first half of the eighteenth century. The father of Daniel was Scott Keith. Alexander Keith, Sr., married Hannah Lathrop, whose parents came from England, and were engaged in farming in Bridgewater and Greenwich suc- cessively. She became the mother of five sons and three daughters, all of whom grew up and became the heads of families. Grand- father Keith died in 1830, at the age of eighty-five, and his widow in 1855, at the venerable age of ninety-nine years and seven months, having retained her physical and mental powers to a remarkable degree until within five years of her death. Their son, Alexander Keith, Jr., chose for his wife Sally Billings, of Belchertown, Mass., their marriage occurring in 1808. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Sally (Morgan) Billings, formerly well-known resi- dents of Hatfield. Mr. Keith varied the oc- cupation of farming with that of a butcher, and proved a good provider for his family, which, besides his wife, consisted of eight children — five sons and three daughters — Charles Keith being the youngest of the fam- ily. His sister Sarah M. is now the only sur- vivor. The father died in 1854, at the age of seventy-six, and the mother five years later, aged seventy-four years. Their daughter So- phia died in her fourteenth year; Ann M. died at the age of twenty-four, in 1838; James died in 1854, leaving one son; and George died June 6, 1864, aged forty, also leaving one son. Charles Keith received his education in the common schools, and at the age of eighteen years commenced to learn the trade of a black- smith, at which he worked for one year. He then became clerk at the American House, of which his brother William was then propri- etor; and he continued to be closely identi- fied with that well-known hostelry for a period of twenty-eight years, being in company with his brother during eight years of that time, or until they sold the property, for which they realized about eighteen thousand dol- lars. In 1868 Mr. Keith engaged in the gro- cery business in company with Mr. J. H. Nutting, the firm continuing for about two years, at the expiration of which time Mr. Nutting retired; and Mr. Keith afterward conducted the business alone with the most satisfactory results. His large and increasing trade eventually outgrew the old quarters, and in 1 891 he erected the substantial brick block to which he removed. He also conducted, in company with his son, a finely appointed and well-patronized market. Mr. Keith was a Democrat in politics, and served as a Selectman for eight years, Asses- sor three years, and a Trustee of Charities for one year. He was also Postmaster for four years, during President Cleveland's first term. He was a Director of the Franklin Bank, and advanced in Masonry to the Commandery, in which he held many important offices, and was elected Commander of the Lodge of Knights Templars, but declined to serve. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 639 On February 8, i860, he married Miss Cordelia Pierce, of Dummerston, Vt., daugh- ter of Hiram and Lydia (Harris) Pierce, both of whom are now deceased, her father having been a manufacturer of slate roofing and owner of extensive quarries at Guilford, Vt. Mrs. Keith and her husband were early called upon to mourn the death of three of their chil- dren, namely: Grace, who died November it, 1867, at the age of five years; Anna, who died November 3, of the same year; and Sarah Gertrude, who died March i, 1874, aged four months. The surviving children of Mrs. Keith are: Charles H., teller of the Franklin County Bank, who married Elizabeth C. Allen, of Greenfield; and William B. Keith, a book keeper in the same bank. Mrs. Keith is a communicant of the Episcopal church, with which her husband was connected. She and her family occupy a pleasant residence situated at the corner of Prospect and James Streets. They have a summer cottage at Heron Island, Me., erected by Mr. Keith in 1892. 4-*»»-» 2UCIUS S. FIFE, gardener and florist of Buckland, was born in Cleveland, ^^ Ohio, December, 22, 1840, son of Robert M. and Rebecca (Carrier) Fife. Mr. Fife's paternal grandfather moved from Florida Mountain, Berkshire County, Mass., more than one hundred and fifty years ago, to the State of Ohio, and bought eighty acres of unimproved land. He cleared a good farm, and resided there until his death, which oc- curred at the age of sixty years; and his prop- erty is now included within the limits of the city of Cleveland. He left two children, namely: Robert M. ; and a daughter, Mrs. Moore. Robert M. Fife was born in the town of Florida, . Mass. He was educated at the schools of his native town, and accompanied his parents to Ohio. In early manhood he learned the trade of a tailor at Cleveland, where he worked for some time, and in 1850 came to Shelburne Falls. He established himself in the tailoring business, in which he was successful, and became a highly re- spected citizen. He was a Baptist in relig- ion and a Democrat in politics. Robert M. Fife died at his home on Charlemont Street. He and his wife reared two children: Ma- tilda; and Lucius S., the subject of this sketch. Lucius S. Fife received his education at the Shelburne Falls Academy. He then learned the trade of a machinist in the shops of Richard Pratt, where he was steadily em- ployed for a period of twenty-five years ; and at the expiration of that time he formed a partnership with E. E. Coleman for the pur- pose of manufacturing turbine water-wheels. He later purchased his partner's interest, and conducted that enterprise alone for seven years. Seeking an entire change of occupa- tion, he bought land on Williams Street, where he established his present business, and now has five large greenhouses, which are heated by steam. He is extensively engaged in the sale of cut flowers and potted plants, and is one of the leading florists in Franklin County. He owns the Woodard farm of forty acres, also the Creamery lot of eight acres, which he devotes wholly to gardening, includ- ing the cultivation of early vegetables; and he and his family occupy a handsome resi- dence, which was erected in 1894. On June 15, 1875, Mr. Fife was married to Elmira Elmer, daughter of Chester B, Elmer, and has two children; namely, Eleanor and Rena I. Mr. Fife is a Democrat in politics and liberal in his religious views, Mrs. Fife being a communicant of the Episcopal church. 640 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW -EREMIAH H. MAHONEY, a well- known mechanic and contractor in the Miller's Falls Company at Miller's Falls, Franklin County, Mass., was born in Ireland, August 16, 1844, where his father, John Mahoney, was a lifelong resident, fol- lowing the vocation of a farmer. The subject of this sketch was but eleven years of age when he left his native land to come to America. For two years after his ar- rival in Massachusetts he attended school in Holyoke, and then removed to South Hadley, whence a year later he went to Northampton. From that place he came to Greenfield, where he served a three years' apprenticeship at the machinist's trade, at the same time improving every opportunity of acquiring an education, attending school in the winter, and spending his evenings in study. In 1869 Mr. Mahoney came to Miller's Falls, where he secured a position with the Miller's Falls Company as a mechanic. At the end of a year, however, he again went to Northampton; and there he remained for two years, then returning to Mil- ler's Falls, since which time he has been em- ployed by the Miller's Falls Company to finish certain parts of the work on contract. There are only a few men now with the com- pany who have had so long a connection with it as Mr. Mahoney. In 1872 he was married to Ann McGlaugh- lin, daughter of John and Mary (Courtney) McGlaughlin, of Irish descent. Her father spent his life in Ireland, where he was en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, and was also interested in a flax-mill. Mrs. Mahoney is one of nine children, all of whom are still liv- ing. She has borne her husband four sons and two daughters, namely: Sarah B., who is attending the Northfield School, and fitting herself for foreign missionary work; William, who is attending a business college in Worcester, Mass.; Bessie; Marshall and Mel- vin, who are twins, and are attending the high school at Orange; and Joseph. Mr. Mahoney appreciates the value of good education, and is giving to his children advantages which in his own youth he was not privileged to enjoy. In politics Mr. Mahoney is a supporter of Prohibitionist principles, or, in other words, is a temperance Republican. He was for- merly a member of the Good Templars, and has served on the School Committee for three years. Mr. Mahoney united with the church in 1874; and he and his family are prominent members of the Congregational church at Mil- ler's Falls, in which he has served as Deacon for fifteen years. His twin sons, Marshall and Melvin, are members of the local Chris- tian Endeavor Society, of which his daughter Sarah is President ; and his wife and daughter hold other prominent positions in the church and Sunday-school. TEAS W. ALLIS, a well-known farmer of East Whately, where he owns and occupies a valuable es- tate, was born in Whately on December 28, 1828. His family have been prominent and influential citizens of this town for more than a century, his great-grandfather. Colonel Josiah Allis, having been a pioneer settler, coming here from Hatfield, and clearing a homestead from the wilderness. He was a delegate to the State Convention which was called in 1788 to ratify the Federal Constitu- tion. Elijah Allis, son of Colonel Allis, was a lifelong resident of Whately, and per- formed his full share in developing its agri- cultural resources, improving a good farm from a tract of wild land. Like his father, he was public-spirited, and took part in town BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 641 and State affairs. He reared a family of four children. Josiah Allis, son of Elijah and father of Silas W., was reared on the ancestral home- stead. He also was a man of ability and in- fluence, a leader in his generation. An inter- esting biographical notice of Mr. Josiah Allis, together with a handsome portrait, is given in the Connecticut Valley History, his lineage being traced back to the immigrant progenitor of the family of New England. From this account we gather that the second Josiah, like the first, was a Franklin County farmer. He seems, however, to have engaged in various enterprises, and in middle life to have spent some time in the West. From 1840 to 1850, in addition to general farming, he was engaged in raising broom corn and in manufacturing brooms, carrying on a large business in Whately, making his home here until his demise, when somewhat past sixty years of age. He married Eliza White, a na- tive of Hatfield, daughter of Ebenezer White, a well-known farmer and hotel-keeper on the hill. She bore him five children, Silas W., the subject of the present sketch, being the only one now living. She was a woman of much force of character, very religious; and both she and her husband were faithful mem- bers of the Congregational church of East Whately. The father was an active politi- cian, being several times a delegate to State and national conventions, and one year a member of the General Court. Silas W. Allis remained with his parents through his boyhood and youth, leaving home when eighteen years old to enter into the dry- goods business at New Haven, Conn., where he continued until 1856. Going then to New York City, Mr. Allis was for ten years engaged in business with Bliss & Wheelock. Returning to the scenes of his childhood after the death of his father Mr. Allis took possession of the old homestead property, which consists of two hundred acres of valu- able land, and has since managed the place with excellent results. During his residence here for the past thirty years Mr. Allis has been closely iden- tified with the interests of the town, and has served for ten years as Selectman, being chairman of the board during that time, and has also filled the office of Overseer of the Poor. In 1884 he was a member of the Gen- eral Court. He is a steadfast adherent of the Democratic party, as was his father, uphold- ing its principles by voice and vote, and is an active and worthy member of the Congrega- tional church. tNDREW E. WILLIS, M.D., a retired physician of Shelburne Falls, was ^,___ born in Plymouth, Vt., April 15, 1832, son of James and Nancy (Morey) Wil- lis. Dr. Willis's great-grandfather was Dr. John Willis, a physician in the Revolutionary War and a noted man of his time. He died in Bridgewater, Vt., at the age of eighty- eight years. Marshall Willis, grandfather of Dr. Andrew E. Willis, was a native of East- ern Massachusetts, settled in Bridgewater, Vt., and became one of the leading farmers of that town. He was an extensive dealer in live stock, keeping from one to three thou- sand sheep at a time. Marshall Willis lived to the age of seventy-nine years. His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Adley, died aged sixty-eight. She was the mother of five sons: James, Joel H., Joseph E., Jonathan, and Levi. James Willis, father of Dr. Willis, was born in Bridgewater, Vt. He first settled in Plymouth, where he followed the trade of mason, and later moved to Woodstock, where 642 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW he died, aged sixty-seven. He was originally a Whig in politics, but later voted with the Republican party, and served as a Selectman in the town of Woodstock. His wife died at the age of eighty-two years, having been the mother of five children; namely, Marshall W. , Andrew E., Edward B., Henry O., and Isabella. Andrew E. Willis received his education in Woodstock, Vt., and after leaving the high school commenced the study of medicine with Dr. E. C. Bartlett, of Battle Creek, Mich. He was graduated from the Scudder Medical School of Chicago in 1856, and, after prac- tising medicine and dentistry in Grand Rapids, Mich., for a year, joined a United States surveying party, with whom he spent three years in the West. He then returned to his native State, and a short time later began the practice of his profession in Hinsdale, N.H. After a time he moved to Hartford, Vt., then in 1873 to Sunderland, Mass., and finally in 1878 to Shelburne Falls, where he was enjoying a lucrative practice when in 1889 failing health caused him to practically abandon it. Dr. Willis owns some valuable real estate in Shelburne Falls, including several build- ings which were erected by him. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Springfield; of Alethian Lodge, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, of Shelburne Falls; and also of the Encampment, of which he is District Deputy. In i860 he was united in marriage to Emma A. Wheeler, of Hinsdale, N.H., daughter of Otis H. and Melissa (Thurston) Wheeler. They have had two children, namely: Maud, who died at the age of six years; and George E., who was born December 20, 1871. Dr. Willis is in- dependent in politics and liberal in his relig- ious views. /jA fa: RIEL W. HINSDALE, a well-to-do farmer of Colerain, was born in that town, July 21, 1844, son of Ariel and Emorett (Workman) Hinsdale. Grand- father Daniel Hinsdale, who was of English ancestry, was born at Greenfield. He fol- lowed agriculture as an occupation, and died in Greenfield at the age of fifty-five years. Mr. Hinsdale's father, who was born in Greenfield, December 4, 1806, settled upon the farm which is now owned by his son in 1840. He was in every way a worthy citizen and an upright man, an attendant, though not a member, of the church, and in his latter days a Republican in politics. He died at his home in Colerain on September 14, 1890, aged eighty-four years. He was twice mar- ried. His children by his first wife were as follows: Louise, wife of S. G. Davenport, of Colerain; Elizabeth, now deceased; and a son, who died young. His second wife, Em- orett Workman, of Scotch-Irish extraction, a native of Colerain, who died at the age of seventy-seven years, had two children: Ariel W., the youngest; and Augusta, who re- sides with her brother. Ariel W. Hinsdale commenced his studies at the district schools, and completed his edu- cation in the Worcester Academy. He has always given his attention to agriculture. He owns, besides the Hinsdale property, the old Workman homestead, which together make about ninety-five acres of fertile land. Here he successfully carries on general farming, and keeps his buildings, which are substantial structures, in the best repair. On Novem- ber 21, 1887, he was united in marriage to Miss Mattie S. Dewar, a native of Prince Edward's Island. Mrs. Hinsdale is a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Hinsdale is liberal in his religious views and a Demo- crat in politics. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 643 |DWIN N. HAWKES, a prominent farmer in Charlemont, was born on March 30, 1835, on the farm where he now resides. He is a son of Deacon Hor- ace and Rachel (Smedley) Hawkes, and grand- son of Jared and Elizabeth Hawkes. Jared Hawkes was one of the first settlers in Charle- mont, purchasing a tract of three hundred acres on the south side of the river at a time when this part of the country was an almost unbroken wilderness; and it was his privi- lege " To see a world, from shadowy forests won, In youthful beauty wedded to the sun ; To skirt his home with harvests widely sown. And call the blooming landscape all his own, His children's heritage, in prospect long." He was also the owner of several acres where is now the village of Charlemont. The home that he established here shows him to have been a man of means and of refined taste. The house, which stands in a grove of majes- tic hard maple-trees of his planting, was built in 1790, and with its large halls, heavy panels, and elaborate fireplaces is of the finest workmanship both inside and outside. In his early manhood Jared Hawkes served in the Revolutionary War. He died at the age of seventy-seven, having long been an active member of the Congregational church. His wife died in 1830, aged seventy-four. Jared Hawkes had six sons and two daughters. Jared James was the first male child born in Charlemont. One son, Erastus Hawkes, was a physician and surgeon. Another, the Rev. Roswell Hawkes, with Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke Seminary; and, after living there and helping in the school for some time, he went West, and established an academy on the same plan. Horace Hawkes was born on October 14, 1812, on the homestead of which he at length came into possession. The first bridge across the Deerfield River, a part of which is stand- ing to-day, was built of timber that Mr. Hor- ace Hawkes cut from his land and rafted down the river. In addition to farming he carried on an extensive teaming business, taking prod- uce to Boston, and bringing back merchan- dise and salt. He took an active interest in politics, voting with the Whigs and later with the Republicans, and held office at different times in the town. He was a Dea- con in the Congregational church for several years. He died at the age of eighty-one. Eight of his twelve children lived to adult age. Three or four of his daughters studied at Mount Holyoke Seminary, and one son went through college at Williamstown, Mass. Edwin N. Hawkes, who was the youngest- born, acquired a good education in Charle- mont, finishing his school days at the acad- emy. He has spent his life on the homestead, having cared for his parents in their old age, and took full possession of the farm after his father's death. He here has about three hundred acres of land, and has repaired and remodelled the house built by his grand- father, and also improved other buildings upon the estate. He has raised some fine stock, including horses and sheep, and has a choice dairy; and he is interested in opening a sulphur mine, veins of sulphur, which prom- ise well, showing on the land which he pur- chased on the opposite side of the river. On November 26, 1865, Mr. Hawkes was married to Mary Lester, daughter of Charles and Mary (Forbes) Lester, and grand-daugh- ter of Franklin and Nancy (Haskins) Lester, of Greenfield. Her grandmother Lester lived to be one hundred and five years old. Charles Lester, Mrs. Hawkes' s father, was the eldest of four children, and was born in 644 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Greenfield. He was a mechanic by trade, living to be seventy-five years old. His wife died in her forty-fourth year. They had six children, Mrs. Hawkes being the eldest. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkes have cared for five children, to whom they have given a good ed- ucation and a fair start in life, namely: Isaac Hill; George and Hattie Lester; Katie Hawkes, who is now with them, a very prom- ising young lady; and Thomas Barlow, who is in the hardware business in Keene, N.H. Mr. Hawkes is an ardent Prohibitionist; and he and his wife are active members of the Congregational church, in which he has been Deacon for a long time, also often holding other offices. He has also been superintend- ent of the Sunday-school for twelve years. r(7)^|"ENRY W. BILLINGS, a successful insurance agent and highly esteemed business man of Conway, Franklin County, Mass., was born in that place, son of Henry P. and Emily (Hitchcock) Billings, and grandson of Elisha and Elizabeth (Will- iams) Billings. His great-grandfather, Fellows Billings, was a native of Hatfield, Mass. He removed to Sunderland with his father, who was one of the forty proprietors and first settlers of that town, where he owned a large farm, and where, in connection with his farm duties, he also profitably conducted a hotel for more than thirty years. In 1780 he sold his property in Sunderland, and removed to Conway, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty acres of land, and lived there until his death, at eighty-nine years of age. He married Miss Mary Eastman, who also lived to an advanced age. Elisha Billings was born in Sunderland, October i, 1749. He graduated at Yale Col- lege in 1772 as valedictorian of his class. After suitable preparatory studies he was li- censed to preach the gospel in 1775. But soon after his health failed, and he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer at Conway. He was a Director of the Hampshire Educa- tion and Missionary Societies and a Trustee of Sanderson Academy and Amherst College. He was active and earnest in starting the col- lege, and contributed liberally to its pecun- iary aid. He was also active in church work at home, and both in church and town held important offices, serving three years as Town Treasurer, and as Representative to the Gen- eral Court in 1812, 1813, and 1814. His wife was Elizabeth Williams, of Hatfield. His son, Henry P. Billings, was born in the town of Conway in 1771. He received his education in the common schools and at Deerfield Academy, and later on went to New York State, where he was engaged in school-teaching for a time. He afterward re- turned to Massachusetts, settling in Berkshire County; but he subsequently moved to the old homestead, which he purchased, and on which he made various improvements, especially in the buildings, which he remodelled. The remainder of his life was profitably spent in the healthful vocation of a farmer, his death occurring on the old homestead in 1856, at seventy-five years of age. In political affilia- tion he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, after which he supported the latter. He served as Sheriff for a number of years while he was a resident of Berkshire County, and afterward in Franklin County. His wife, Emily Hitchcock Billings, was a daughter of Justin Hitchcock. They reared two sons, namely: Henry W. ; and Charles H., who resides in St. Louis, Mo. The mother died in 1854, at sixty-four years of age. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 645 Henry W. Billings remained with his par- ents, receiving a good practical education in the district schools and at Deerfield Academy and Williston Seminary. At the death of his parents the farm was sold. For four years he was engaged in railroad work on the Rutland & Burlington Railroad. He then returned to Conway as insurance clerk and agent, and general servant for the public in town offices, and Trial Justice and Notary Public, where he has served until the present time. He is also often employed in the settlement of estates. On June 10, 1856, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Bates, daugh- ter of Ephraim and Euphemia ( Bridges) Bates, of Vermont, where her father was a successful and progressive farmer. She died in 1883, at fifty-two years of age. She bore her husband five children, of whom three survive as follows: Harry H., born 1857, is engaged as a clerk with Matthews & Sons, merchants, of Brooklyn, N.Y. ; Mary A., born 1 86 1, resides at home, and is a successful music teacher; Edward C, born 1868, is also engaged as a clerk for Matthews & Sons, of Brooklyn, N.Y. In politics Mr. Billings is a stanch Repub- lican. Since 1864 he has served most accept- ably as Town Clerk and Treasurer. He is a member of Morning Sun Lodge of A. F. & A. M., in which he has filled all the chairs, and is now Past Master. Mr. Billings is an influential member of the Congregational church, of which his wife was also a com- municant. He resides in the village, on the place purchased by him when he returned to Conway. < < ■ > > SEMUEL F. GRAVES, a prominent Franklin County farmer, living at ^„^ East Whately, present owner and occupant of the old Graves homestead, which was his birthplace, and has been the family residence for nearly a century and a half, was born on September 4, 1858. His parents were Rufus and Julia (Nutting-Dane) Graves. His great-grandfather, David Graves, who probably was a native of Hatfield, as the orig- inal ancestor of this branch of the family is known to have settled there at a very early period in Colonial history, was one of the first settlers of Whately, becoming the proprietor of a large tract of land, which he cleared and improved into a good farm. He erected the present farm residence, which is still one of the finest and most substantial houses in the locality, although it has served continuously as the family dwelling for so long a period. He was a man of prominence in the town, and here spent the remainder of his life. After his death the farm passed into the hands of his son, Levi Graves, who was born November 7, 1769, and died on April 22, 1844. Rufus Graves, son of Levi, next succeeded to the ownership of the estate, and was a very prosperous farmer. He built an addition to the residence, and made other improvements on the farm. For many years he was closely identified with public affairs, serving as a Selectman, Assessor, Town Treasurer, Col- lector, and Overseer of the Poor. He died April 21, 1889, at the age of seventy-eight years. Rufus Graves married for his second wife Mrs. Julia Nutting Dane, widow of George Dane, and daughter of Bryant Nut- ting, of Hatfield, who was a stone-mason by trade. She was a member of a large family. By her union with Rufus Graves she became the mother of two children: Lemuel F. and George R. ; and she is now living with the latter in California. Lemuel F. Graves received a good educa- tion, attending the district schools and the 646 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Deerfield Academy, and by assisting his father upon the farm early became thoroughly proficient in the various branches of agricult- ure. Having inherited the property, he has since continued in the footsteps of his prede- cessors, with the simple variation of embrac- ing and practising more modern ideas, farm- ing methods having necessarily passed through many stages of improvement since his great- grandfather sowed the first crop on the land, over one hundred and forty years ago. His farm consists of one hundred acres, thirty-five of which he cultivates, being engaged in gen- eral farming, but making a specialty of to- bacco, which offers the best inducements in the way of profit. Mr. Graves was happily married on Febru- ary 5, 1891, to Miss MaryT. Higgins, daugh- ter of Henry S. and Triphenia D. (Wood) Higgins. Henry S. Higgins resided at different times in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Florida, and was vari- ously engaged as a merchant, a manufacturer of brooms, and a farmer. The latter part of his life was devoted to farming in Whately, where he died in June, 1894, in his seventy- first year. In religious belief he was a Meth- odist, and he was officially connected with the church in Whately many years. His wife was reared by her parents in the Congrega- tional faith. She was a daughter of Eliphaz H. Wood, who lived to be eighty-five years old, dying in 1895, having been the father of ten children. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins were the parents of five children, namely: Tri- phenia; Ellen F., who married Seth B. Stone; MaryT., Mrs. Graves; Henry Sereno; and Jennie. Mr. and Mrs. Graves have one daughter, Jennie Elvira, a bright little girl of three years. In politics Mr. Graves is a Republi- can, and is one of the leaders of his party in this district. In 1894 he was elected a mem- ber of the Board of Trustees of the Smith Charities at Northampton. In religious be- lief he is a Congregationalist. tUFUS M. farmer ar _^ Hawley, HICKS, a prosperous and mason in the town of Franklin County, was born in Readsboro, Vt., March 20, 1830, son of Joseph and Polly (Walker) Hicks. His grandfather, Gideon Hicks, who served in the Revolutionary War, was a successful farmer of New Hampton, N.H., where he lived to an advanced age. Gideon's wife, Molly (Walker) Hicks, bore him six children: Jonathan, Jacob, Gideon, John, Joseph, and Lucy. Joseph Hicks, who was born in New Hamp- ton, N.H., settled in Monroe, Mass., where he purchased a farm. He sold it five years later, and bought a place in Rowe, where he lived for ten years. In that time he made various improvements, erecting new buildings and remodelling the old ones. Then he went to Zoar in the town of Charlemont, and engaged in the tannery business, besides keep- ing boarders. He afterward purchased of M. Hawkes the present homestead of his son, a farm of about forty-five acres of land, where he died at the age of fifty-five years. His wife, Polly (Walker) Hicks, lived to the age of sixty-eight years. They were the parents of eleven children: Emily, Emerson, Mar- sena, Cyantha, Calvin, Angeline, Rufus, Mi- randa, Harriet, Wesley, and Mary. Both par- ents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, while in politics the father was a Democrat. Rufus M. Hicks, who was twenty years old at the time of his father's death, purchased the home farm, and cared for his mother. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 647 Besides making other improvements, he has since remodelled the barn and erected a sub- stantial residence. He keeps a small dairy, and in addition to his general farming he en- gages to some extent in butchering and ma- sonry. On February 25, i860, Mr. Hicks was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Hamill, who was born in County Kerry, Ire- land. Her father, John P. Hamill, was a successful farmer, and also followed the trade of carpenter. He died at the age of fifty-five years; and his wife, Mary Hamill, died at the age of sixty years. Ten children were born to them, namely: John, Thomas, Henry, Michael, Patten, J. Patrick, Mary, Margaret, Ann, and Eliza. Mrs. Hicks came to Amer- ica in 1853, and, after living in several places, finally came to Charlemont, where she first became acquainted with Mr. Hicks. Their union has been blessed by the birth of five children: Henry A., born January 20, 1 861, residing in Charlemont, married to Miss Ethel Thayer, and father of one child, Archie L. ; Lewis M., born March 11, 1863, married to Miss Carrie Norwood, and father of three children; Hattie E., born September 4, 1865, wife of William Teahan and mother of one child; Joseph A., born February 4, 1868; and Emma F., born January 7, 1872, who is a teacher. Mr. Hicks's political faith is Democratic. In religious belief he and his wife, who is a noble and charitable-minded woman, are Sec- ond Day Adventists. iDWARD C. FOWLER, Deputy Sheriff of Franklin County, is one of the best- known and most popular men of Orange, being a conspicuous factor in its po- litical and social circles. He is a bright, brainy, far-sighted man, possessing great ex- ecutive ability, and in the many responsible positions in which he has been placed always performed the duties assigned him with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of all con- cerned. He was born in the city of Concord, N.H., January i, 1853, being the worthy de- scendant of Philip Fowler, who was born in 1590 in England, and emigrated from there to Massachusetts, settling in the town of Ips- wich, Essex County, in 1635. Asa Fowler, the father of our direct sub- ject, was born in Pembroke, N.H., February 23, 181 1, being the ninth son of the eleven children born to Benjamin and Mehitable (Ladd) Fowler. He received his education at the Pembroke district schools, Blanchard Academy, and Dartmouth College. After being for a short time principal of the acad- emy at Topsfield, Mass., he began the study of law with James Sullivan, Esq., at Pem- broke, and in 1834 went to Concord, where he entered the office of the Hon. Charles H. Peaslee. In 1845 he was sent to the legis- lature as Representative, and again served in the same capacity in 1847, 1848, 1871, and 1872. He likewise had the honor of being appointed by the Governor as the New Hamp- shire delegate to the famous Peace Congress which assembled in Washington, February I, 1861. He was a Director of the State Capital Bank, of the First National Bank of Concord, and also a Director of the Man- chester & Lawrence Railway Company for several years. Asa Fowler was one of the most able law- yers of the State, and practised several years, having been admitted to the bar in 1837, and retiring in 1877. He had served five and one-half years, 1855-61, as a Justice of the Superior Court. Broken in health through his arduous duties, he visited Europe for rest and recuperation. His death occurred in 648 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW California, April 26, 1885. An appreciative biographical notice is found in the interesting volume entitled "The Bench and Bar of Nev/ Hampshire." He married Mary Knox, a woman of culture and refinement and an es- teemed member of the Unitarian church. They were the parents of five children : Frank A., George R., Clara M., William P., and Edward C. Edward C. Fowler was graduated from the high school of his native city; and, having marked mechanical inclination and ability, he early took up railroading, being first em- ployed as brakeman, but was soon promoted to the position of engineer, and for some time ran the Northern Pacific express train. Going then to Boston, Mr. Fowler was em- ployed on the Old Colony Railroad until 1878, when he resigned his position, and came to Orange, which has since been his home. Buying the Captain Bridge farm of one hundred and thirty acres, he made many and substantial improvements, erecting new buildings and repairing the old, fitting them up with modern conveniences. He estab- lished one of the finest dairies ever kept in the town, and raised some very fine stock, in- cluding horses and cows, often receiving from sixty to one hundred dollars apiece for the latter. Having been appointed Deputy Sher- iff in 1883, Mr. Fowler disposed of his farm and valuable stock, and moved into the vil- lage; and, with the exception of three years, he has since held this important ofifice. He has also been the incumbent of others equally responsible, having served as Chief of Police fourteen years, as well as Notary Public, and for six years as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor, being chairman of the board three years. For three years he was Superintendent of Streets and Overseer of the Sewer Department, having been one of the committee instrumental in the construction of the latter, and one of the committee under whose auspices the beautiful new thirty-four- thousand-dollar school-house was built. Mr. Fowler was united in marriage with Miss Sadie A. Watson, daughter of Enoch and Rhoda (Hilliard) Watson, two children being the fruit of this union, of whom Sadie, the first-born, died in infancy, the other being Mary J., whp was born May 20, 1887. Mr. Fowler is prominent in several social orders, belonging to Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., to Crescent Chapter, and to the Orange Commandery, being also a charter member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and likewise of the New England Order of Protection. LFRED REED, a prosperous and well- known farmer of Rowe, is a native of Stamford, Vt., where he was born January 30, 1844, son of Thomas and Polly (Sibley) Reed, and grandson of Oliver Reed. The latter was also a resident of Stamford, Vt., where he was successfully engaged in agriculture and owned a considerable tract of land. He was a man of enterprise and thrift, and took an active interest in the welfare of his town, where he lived to the advanced age of ninety years. He was the father of three children: Marsena, Enos, and Thomas. Thomas Reed, whose birth occurred in Whitingham, Vt., chose the business of lum- berman, and began it when a young man by purchasing a tract of woodland in Stamford, Vt. Here he erected the first steam saw-mill ever used in that town. This proved a profit- able venture, and he continued to run it for several years. While doing so, he bought and cleared other tracts of timber land to sup- ply the needs of his mill. He finally settled BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 649 on a farm he had purchased in Whitingham, and there the remainder of his life was spent. He was Republican in politics, and was a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, a daughter of Philo Sib- ley, bore him eight children : Henry, Cyn- thia, Winslow, Alfred, Mary, Adeline, Otis, and Ashton. Alfred Reed remained at home until his sixteenth year. He then engaged in farming, 'at which he worked by the month until 1862, when he enlisted as a private in Company F of the Sixteenth Vermont Regiment. At the battle of Gettysburg he had a finger shot off. After a year's service Mr. Reed returned home, and during the succeeding two years was employed in his father's mill. He then purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres of land in Whitingham, Vt., and again turned his attention to agriculture. Five years later he sold this land, on which he had made sub- stantial improvements, and came to Rowe, where he bought the Amidon farm of seventy- four acres, together with a piece of woodland containing twenty-seven acres. He now re- sides on this place, and is successfully en- gaged in general farming and dairying, having, in addition to his sheep and cattle, fourteen milch cows, principally of the Durham breed. On May 24, 1868, Mr. Reed was married to Miss Elnora Amidon, daughter of Daniel and Polly (Fuller) Amidon. They have one child, William E., born June 21, 1872, resid- ing on the farm with his parents, and married to Miss Susie Dill. Mr. Reed belongs to the Republican party, and has rendered faithful service in various town ofifices. He is a member of the C. D. Sanford Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of North Adams; and he and his wife are con- sistent members of the Congregational church of Rowe. B R. CHARLES W. CLOUGH, a successful and highly respected phy- sician of Conway, Franklin County, Mass., was born December 29, 1856, son of Charles and Julia (Sanders) Clough, and grandson of Caleb Clough. Charles Clough, who was a native of New Hampshire, spent twenty years of his early manhood in Boston, where he successfully engaged in various occupations. He then returned to the place of his birth among the northern hills, and, purchasing a farm, settled down to agricul- tural pursuits, which he followed with prof- it during the remainder of his life. His wife, Julia Sanders Clough, was also a na- tive of the Granite State; and there she grew to womanhood. Their union was blessed by the birth of three children — ^two sons and a daughter; namely. Flora, John, and Charles W. Charles W. Clough remained with his par- ents until fifteen years of age, receiving his early education in the public schools. He then went to work for himself, first securing a position in the shops at Lynn, where he was employed for twelve years. He next studied medicine under the guidance of Dr. Walker, of Boston, and later on attended Vermont Col- lege, from which he was graduated in the class of 1888. That same year he engaged in the practice of his chosen profession in Conway, where he has a large local patronage, and is meeting with good success. In 1879 -^r. Clough was united in marriage with Miss Cora E. Grieve, who was born and reared in Haverhill, Mass., and is a daughter of Thomas Grieve. Their home has been brightened by the birth of one child, a son, Harry G. Clough. Dr. Clough is a member of Morning Sun Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Conway, also of Suncook Lodge, No. 10, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. 650 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW SEMUEL CROSS, who has the distinc- tion of being one of the oldest native- ^^^ born citizens of Ashfield, the date of his birth being April 18, 1812, is the son of a representative pioneer of this section of Franklin County. During his fourscore and more years he has witnessed wonderful changes in the general aspect of the country. In his boyhood days neither railways nor tele- graph or telephone lines spanned these broad acres, and few of the other evidences of mod- ern civilization then existed. Lyman Cross, father of Mr. Cross, was born in 1791 in the town of Buckland. Dur- ing his earlier years he worked at various em- ployments, and likewise learned the cooper's trade. When a young man, he came to Ash- field, then containing but a few scattered houses; and on the present site of the Ash- field House he erected a building, in which he opened both a cooperage and a tavern. He was very popular as a host, and entertained the larger number of the travellers and team- sters that passed through the place. He was very successful in both branches of his busi- ness, which he continued until his decease in i860. His wife, Lydia Howes before her marriage, died in 1863, aged seventy-three years. They had six children, namely: Louise, wife of Allen Phillips; Lemuel, the subject of this sketch; Roxie, married to J. Crafts; Marinda, wife of J. Bennett; Sarah, married to N. Gardner; Lyman, married to Electa Gilbert; and Ann Eliza, wife of C. B. Dickenson. Lemuel Cross received a common-school education. He has constantly added to his knowledge by reading, and is to-day well in- formed on all topics of general interest. As a boy he began assisting his father in the cooper's shop, thereby acquiring a thorough mastery of the trade. After working at it for some years, he left it to manage the stage line from Ashfield to Deerfield. Later he bought his father's property, and, having built an ad- dition to the house, continued the business of the hotel until his retirement. In the latter days of his connection with it he was assisted by his son-in-law, Amos D. Daniels. Mr. Cross has also dealt largely in real estate in this vicinity, and has built several houses, being very successful in all of his enterprises, and accumulating an abundance of this world's goods. He has always held an honored place among the substantial residents of the town, and by his uniform kindness and genial ways has won the confidence of all who know him. Mr. Cross has been twice married. His first wife, Lucretia Amsden before marriage, a faithful helpmate in his early days of strug- gle and toil, died March 15, 1880, leaving one child, a daughter, who married Amos D. Daniels in December, 1858. Mr. Daniels has three children, namely: Arthur B., Treas- urer of the L. L. Browne Paper Manufactur- ing Company, married to Ida Williams, and the father of three children — Bessie, Mill- ard, and Rupert; Anna L., wife of Walter Porter; and William L., married to Lizzie Sears. Mr. Cross subsequently married Mrs. Lydia Hall, a daughter of John C. and Abi- gail (Morris) Comings. She was born Au- gust 8, 1 83 1, and first married William Sears, who died at the age of thirty-six; then N. Dyer, who died at the age of fifty-four years; and afterward Enos Hall, who died in the sev- enty-fourth year of his age. (s7rLM( UA fa LMON A. SHIPPEE, a prosperous farmer, lumberman, and general busi- ness man of Rowe, is a native of Searsburg, Vt., where he was born July 28, 1858, son of James S. and Mary C. (Roberts) BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 6si Shippee. His grandparents lived in Saratoga County, New York, where the grandfather, James S., was a successfu-1 farmer. The latter served in the Revolutionary War, and lived to the age of eighty years. His wife died at the age of fifty years. They reared five children : Sam- uel S., Polly, Harriett, Lydia, and James S. James S. Shippee, Jr., whose birth occurred in Haddam, Saratoga County, N.Y., in 1796, learned the trade of a shoemaker, and settled in Whitingham, Vt. He afterward returned to the old homestead, where he died at the age of eighty-four years. In June of 1821 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary C. Roberts, who was born in Whitingham, Vt., November 8, 1805, daughter of Horace and Martha (Bullock) Roberts. The children of this union were nine in number, as follows: James H., who married Evelyn Bose, and lives in Colorado; Leander E., who died in youth; George C, also deceased; William E. , who married Miss Eliza Wilson, and is engaged in farming in Vermont; Alford W., who married Miss Eliza Mills, and is a me- chanic; Warren, who died in youth; Almon A.; Marcus L., residing in California; and Luella C, deceased. Almon A. Shippee when a lad of eleven years left home to seek his own livelihood. With but ten dollars in his pocket, he went to Troy, N.Y., where he found that remunera- tive jobs for a boy were scarce. However, he soon secured employment, driving a team at fifty cents per day. This was not the bo- nanza he at first thought it. As his board cost him seventy-five cents per day, his money soon gave out; but his stock of courage was far from exhausted. A Mr. Clapp, who had learned of his circumstances, got him a better position with Mr. Garry, a contractor engaged in moving buildings. After this he had vari- ous employments, including timber cutting in the Adirondacks and livery-keeping at Day, N.Y., but finally returned to the old home- stead, where he engaged in lumbering. Later on he removed to Rowe, and bought the old Parsonage farm, which contained eighty-five acres of land. In 1890 his house was de- stroyed by fire; but, instead of rebuilding, he purchased an adjoining place, known as the Bullard farm, consisting of two hundred and forty acres of land, and there erected a com- modious residence and barn. Besides these he has made numerous other improvements, including the establishment of an excellent dairy of grade Jerseys. He is also engaged in sheep raising, and has bred some of the finest horses to be found in the county. He carries on his lumbering business on the Wilcox lot, also owned by him, containing one hundred and sixty-five acres of land, and_ where he employs as many as sixteen men. On September 10, 1876, being then eigh- teen years of age, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Canedy, daughter of Milo and Susan (Pike) Canedy, the former of whom was a successful farmer and hotel-keeper. She died at the age of twenty-eight years, leaving two children: Thomas M., born March 29, 1879; and Herbert F., born De- cember 28, 1 88 1. In politics- Mr. Shippee is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and is liberal in his religious matters. Still in the prime of life, Mr. Shippee is a note- worth}' example of a self-made man, the result of indomitable energy and perseverance. /ST^T OTTLIEB FRICK, until lately a resi- V [5 1 dent of the town of Erving, is a worthy representative of the indus- trious and thrifty German citizens of this great country, who have contributed so largely to its advancement and prosperity. He was 6s2 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW born July 26, 1849, at Wittenberg, County Friedenstick, Germany, where his father and his paternal grandfather, both named Gottlieb Frick, spent their lives, the latter being a farmer. The father learned the carpenter's trade when a young man, and was a builder and carpenter the larger part of his life, dying in the place of his nativity, at the age of threescore and ten years. He married Marie Homberger, also a native of Wittenberg, daughter of Johannes Homberger, and they -became the parents of eight children, of whom the following five are now living: John, or Johannes, a carpenter, in Wittenberg; Gott- lieb; George, a coachman, in Germany; Martin, a tailor, living in his native land; and Anna, the wife of John Schaltz, of Ger- many. One son. Christian, who grew to ma- ture years, was a shoemaker by trade, and died in his native town. The mother died at the age of forty-nine years. She was a fine type of the industrious and energetic women of her country, and, like her husband, was a conscientious member of the Lutheran church, rearing her children to the same faith. The subject of this sketch bravely bade adieu to his country and his immediate friends when a youth of eighteen years, and came alone and almost without means to this coun- try in search of fortune, if not fame. He re- ceived a good education in the public schools of his native land, but knew nothing of the English language at the time of his emigra- tion. On his arrival in New York he first stopped awhile with a farmer on Long Island, a friend, but soon returned to New York City. He was then penniless, not even having the necessary two cents to pay his fare across the ferry. A warm-hearted American gave him a ticket, and from that time Mr. Frick's inter- ests have been with his adopted country. He worked for a short time at the cabinet-njaker's trade in New York City, coming thence to Franklin County, and continuing in that em- ployment some four years. He then began working in the piano factory of Stillman & Funk, with whom he remained two years, being next employed for eight months by J. E. Stone, of Erving. Returning to New York City, Mr. Frick resumed work for his old employers, going from there to Williams- burg, Pa., where he was engaged in a planing- mill for three years. The succeeding six years Mr. Frick was again in the employ of Mr. Stone, of Erving, resigning his position to accept a similar one in the piano factory of Henry P. Miller at Wakefield, Mass., where he established a home, living there eight years. From Wake- field he removed to Cambridge, becoming foreman in a piano factory, where he had the supervision of ninety-five men for four years. On his return to Franklin County Mr. Frick came to Farley, and established the Frick Piano Company, a stock company, of which he was general manager, with J. B. Farley as president and D. E. Farley treasurer. In 1893 Mr. Frick planned the building, forty feet by one hundred feet, to which he added a drying-room, forty feet by twenty feet. Here he kept a force of twenty-two men in constant employment, turning out about twenty-four piano cases per week, for which the company found a ready sale, their merits being fully recognized by the dealers. He built up an extensive trade, but has recently left the company, owing to business changes, and is now a resident of Cambridgeport, Mass. On May 3, 1887, Mr. Frick was married to Miss Abbie F. Beard, a daughter of George F. Beard, a native of South Reading, now Wakefield, Mass. Mr. Beard was a soldier in the late Civil War, and passed his last years in the town of Athol. His wife, Mrs. Sarah BIOGRAPHICAL REVIfiW 653 (Sibley) Beard, survived him, and is now liv- ing in Erving. Mrs. Frick was one of two children born to her parents, the other being Ella, the wife of William H. Packard. Mr. and Mrs. Frick have two children: Roy Hal- lowell and Hiram Arthur. Politically, Mr. Frick supports the Republican party, and, socially, is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen of Orange, and of the Royal Society of Good Fellows of Wakefield, Mass. KRANK L. WISWALL, a prominent druggist and a highly respected citizen of Shelburne Falls, was born in Can- ton, Mass., June 23, 1864, son of Timothy C. and Julia A. (Carpenter) Wiswall. Tim'othy Wiswall, who was born in Dor- chester, Mass., February 22, 1814, when a young man learned the trade of a harness- maker and carriage trimmer. He afterward went to Canton, Mass., where he established himself in business as a carriage and harness maker, employing a number of men. He also gave instruction in these trades, and at times had as many as six apprentices. Though ap- parently a man of vigorous constitution, he died when but fifty-six years of age. His wife, Julia A. Carpenter Wiswall, a daughter of James Carpenter, bore him eight children, of whom two died in infancy. Three sons and three daughters grew to maturity; namely, William M., Lillian M., Frank L., Myra, Frederick, and Ann. The mother died in 1883, at fifty-nine years of age. Both par- ents were consistent members of the Congre- gational church. Frank L. Wiswall, having received his early education in Canton, Mass., took a course in the Hyde Park Academy, and later entered the Massachusetts College of Phar- macy. On completing his studies, he obtained a situation as clerk in a drug store at Hyde Park, and subsequently a similar position in a Boston drug store. In the latter place he spent thirteen years; and then, on December I, 1894, he went to Shelburne Falls, and pur- chased the druggist business of A. C. Essom. This he has successfully conducted since at the stand occupied by his predecessor, in the Joel Thayer Block on Bridge Street. He is also interested in the Shelburne Falls Ice Cream Company, which, though recently started, is doing a thriving business. Mr. Wiswall was married on October 13, 1887, to Miss Josephine F. Ingersoll, daughter of William H. and Susan (Lawton) Ingersoll, of Hyde Park, Mass. Since then their happy home has been further brightened by a son and daughter, namely: Effie E., born May 12, 1889; and Clifton E., born July 6, 1893. In politics Mr. Wiswall is a supporter of Republican principles. He is a member of Siloam Lodge, No. 2, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Boston, also of Black Prince Lodge, No. 2, Knights of Pythias, of which for four years he was a representative to the Grand Lodge of the State; and he is con- nected with the Bicycle Club of Shelburne Falls. Both he and his estimable wife are influential members of the Baptist church. W ILLIAM E. NILES, one of the oldest and best-known merchant tailors in Franklin County, and Town Clerk of Charlemont, has been a resi- dent of this place for nearly half a century, and occupies a prominent position among the more intelligent and enterprising citizens of the town. A native of the Green Mountain State, he was born in the town of Halifax, September ij, 1821, being a son of James and Sarah (Tucker) Niles. On the paternal side 6S4 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ,. he is of Revolutionary stock, his great-grand- father, David Niles, having served as a pri- vate in the Revolution. David was a life- long resident of Stonington, Conn., where he rounded out a full period of years, and was one of its most prosperous farmers. He reared four children: Samuel, Oliver, Henry, and Jesse. Oliver Nijes, the grandfather of William E., was born January 28, 1771, in Stoning- ton, and there received the training usually given a farmer's boy. After his marriage with Lydia Plumb he sought new fields of labor, moving into the woods of Vermont. Locating in Halifax, he bought a. tract of un- improved land, of which he cleared a large portion, and put it in a yielding condition. That was at a time when the pioneers were obliged to take advantage of every opportu- nity, in order to provide themselves with the necessaries of life. Oliver had the necessary perseverance and industry, and likewise the judgment to direct them. As a result, in course of time he became before his death, which occurred in 1854, one of the most suc- cessful farmers of the locality. His wife had preceded him to the better land, dying at the age of threescore and ten years. Both were faithful members of the Baptist church, and reared their children to the same faith. Their family circle included three sons and two daughters; namely, Stephen, Nathaniel, James, Lydia, and Phoebe. James Niles was born on the Halifax home- stead, September 14, 1796; and, having been reared to agricultural work, he became a farmer from choice. After his marriage he bought a farm not far from the home of his parents, and devoted his time and energies to its cultivation. He had much mechanical in- genuity, and many of the labors incidental to farm life were lightened by inventions of his own. One of them was a horse rake, the first ever made in that part of the country; and, although rude in its construction, it answered the purpose for which it was intended. But, alas ! it also aroused the envy of one of his neighbors, who stole it, and secreted it in the woods, so that he might be delayed in his work. He was very expert in the use of tools of all kinds, and did a great deal of coopering, his ability in this line being of great assist- ance to him, and saving him many a penny. He was one of those large-hearted, charitable men that are a blessing to any community, and was ever ready to lend a helping hand to the sick or needy. He was active in many local organizations, and was for a long time Captain of a company of State militia, being familiarly known as Captain Niles. On April 23, 181 8, he married Sarah Tucker, who was born November 8, 1795, and died September 18, 1849. He survived her several years, departing this life March 15, 1866. Both were zealous Christians and members of the Baptist church, of which he was Deacon. Nine children were born to them; namely, James E., Jesse M., James T., Horace F., William E., Orsamus E., Sarah A., Lydia A., and Stephen B. The subject of this notice was reared and educated in his native State, completing his studies at the Bennington Academy. Until he reached the age of twenty years he assisted his father on the farm. He then went to Colerain, where he learned the tailor's trade, working one year for Jarvis Crandall. He next continued his occupation at Cutting Hol- low, where he remained until obliged to give it up on account of an injury to his knee, which has always caused him trouble. In 1846 Mr. Niles came to Charlemont, and, with the exception of three years, has since been in business here as a merchant tailor. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 65s He is thoroughly versed in his trade, and has won a large amount of patronage, his cus- tomers coming from far and near. In former times he carried on a very extensive business, and still endeavors to attend to the wants of his old customers, who depend upon him yet. When he first located in Charlemont, Mr. Niles bought a house on Main Street. In this, having remodelled it and built an addi- tion, he lives and has his store. On June 9, 1843, Mr. Niles married Miss E. M. Wilkins, who was born in 1823, and died April 30, 1893, leaving three children, as follows: Willard M., station agent at Charlemont, married to Abbie R. Cooley, and father of one child, Edna; Efifie J., married to Frederick A. Blake, living in Roanoke, Va., engaged in the railway business, and had one child, deceased; and Frank H., married, and father of one child, Edna M. Mr. and Mrs. Niles lost one child, their little daughter Abbie, who died when but four years of age. Mr. Niles has always taken a strong per- sonal interest in local affairs, having served in his present office twenty-one years, and two terms as Justice of the Peace. He is a worthy representative of all that constitutes an exemplary citizen, being domestic in his habits, a pleasant companion, and in business circles an honored and trusted man, with whom it is a pleasure to deal. In politics he is an adherent of the Republican party, and, religiously, belongs to the Methodist Episco- pal church, of which his wife was a devout member. 'AMUEL D. BOWKER, M.D., a successful and popular young physi- cian of Rowe, was born in Wilbra- ham, Mass., January 22, 1863, son of Charles and Harriet (Dawes) Bowker. His great-grandfather, Liberty Bowker, was a hotel-keeper in Savoy, Mass., in the early days of that town, but was born in Pembroke, Mass., where the family was num- bered among the early settlers. Before going into the hotel business he had worked for some time at his trade of box-making. He died in Savoy at the age of seventy-two years. His wife, whose maiden name was Guerney, was the mother of four sons and two daughters, all of whom grew up, one of them, Calvin, being now a resident of South Adams, Mass. The other sons were: Melvin, David, and James Madison. One of the daughters married Jesse W. Johnson, and the other be- came the wife of Robert Sturtevant. Melvin Bowker was born in Pembroke, Mass., March 13, 1798. At an early age he went to Hanson, where he grew to manhood. He later became the owner of a good farm in Savoy, where he carried on farming and dairy- ing with considerable success until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife, Betsy Willett, was a native of Hanson, Plym- outh County, Mass., and was a daughter of John Willett, who combined the occupations of a farmer and manufacturer of ships' spars in that town at a time when American ship- ping was to be found in every part of the globe. He was successful in life, and died on his farm in Hanson when over eighty years of age. Mrs. Melvin Bowker died when her son Charles, father of Samuel D., was but four years old; and Mr. Bowker later married Electa Mason, who died at the age of seventy- seven. He was a Democrat in early years, but joined the Republican party on its forma- tion, remaining faithful to its principles until his death. He occupied a prominent position among his fellow-townsmen, serving many years as Selectman, and holding the offices of Town Clerk and Treasurer, which he filled 656 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW with credit. In 1839 ^^'^ 1840 he was a Rep- resentative to the State legislature. Mr. Bowker had four children by his first wife, two of whom, Calvin and Betsy, died in in- fancy. The others were: Alonzo Melvin, who became a physician in Savoy, and died at the age of about forty years ; and Charles, mentioned above. By his second marriage he had a daughter, Sarah Frances, who married Henry Thayer, of Adams, Mass. Charles Bowker, father of Samuel D., was born in Savoy, Mass., September 16, 1824. He grew to manhood in his native town, ob- taining the foundation of his education in its public schools and partly in the schools of Adams, Mass. At the age of nineteen he began to teach school ; and about the same time he commenced the study of medicine under the instruction of his brother, Alonzo M. Bowker. He then attended the medical college at Pittsfield, Mass., for three years, being graduated from that institution in 1854. After graduating, he commenced the practice of his profession in Readsboro, Vt., removing later to Plainfield, where he re- mained one year. He then practised in Savoy four years afterward, spending a similar time in Wilbraham. In 1865 he entered the service of the United States as contract sur- geon, and was in the hospitals of Washing- ton and Alexandria. In the same year he located in Bernardston, where he has since remained, being now the oldest physician in that town. Dr. Bowker was first married in 1849 to Delcy D. Dunham, of Savoy, who died in 1852 without issue. In 1853 he married his second wife, Harriett P. Dawes, who was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, daughter of Samuel and Philena E. (Hume) Dawes, both of whom were natives of Wind- sor; but neither is now living. Dr. Bowker is a prominent man in his town. He is chair- man of the Selectmen and Overseer of the Poor. He is also a Trustee of the Cushman Library, and has been Trustee of the high school since it first opened in Bernardston. He and his wife have six children living, namely: Delcy Harriett, born February 21, 1854, who married George W. Swasey, and is now a resident of Centralia, Wash.; Alphonso v., born January 17, 1857, a practising physi- cian in Athol ; Samuel Dawes, the subject of this sketch; Arthur Hume, born April 18, 1867, employed in the shoe factory at Athol; Effie L., born September 13, 1868, a book- keeper in Greenfield; and Rosa Evelyn, born March 16, 1870, residing with her par- ents and a teacher of music. One son, Charles M., • born in Wilbraham, July 10, i860, died March 2, 1863; and another, Charles Willett, died in early childhood. Samuel Dawes Bowker received his early education in the schools of Wilbraham, sup- plementing his preliminary studies by attend- ance at Powers Institute at Bernardston, the Wesleyan Academy, and the University of Vermont. On leaving the latter, he continued his medical studies under the guidance of his brother. Dr. Alphonso Bowker, of Savoy, with whom he began the practice of his pro- fession. In 1893 he removed to Rowe, where he is the only physician, and has a large and increasing practice. On February i, 1891, he was united in marriage to Miss May F. Evans, daughter of Medad and Augusta (Rawson) Evans. Mrs. Bowker's father was an enterprising and prosperous farmer of Hinsdale, N.H., where he owned a farm of three hundred acres. He died at the age of sixty-three years, and his wife at the age of forty-nine. They left five children: Orrison, Ella, Elizabeth, William, and May. The father was a Republican in politics, and both BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 657 parents were members of the Universalist church. Dr. Bowker and his wife are the parents of one child, Charles A., born April 2, 1892. In political affiliations the Doctor is a Repub- lican, and has served his town efficiently as School Commissioner. He is liberal in his religious views. B EACON REUEL BULLARD, a re- tired farmer of Rowe and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in that town, April 11, 1827, a son of Reuel and La- vinia (Nelson) Bullard. Mr. Bui lard's pater- nal grandparents were Moses and Nancy (Ranger) Bullard, the former of whom was born at West Hampton, Mass., in 1772, and followed agriculture as an occupation. He moved from West Hampton to Buckland, and later to Rowe, where he purchased the farm which is now occupied by Mr. Hicks. He became a very prosperous farmer, and died at the age of seventy-five years. He was a Whig in politics and a Unitarian in re- ligion. His wife, who was born in 1779, and died in 1824, was the mother of the following children: Nancy, Reuel, Reuel (second), Moses, Laura, Sally, Ansel, William, Silas, Hannah, Moses (second), and Joel. Reuel Bullard, the second of the name, who was born August 2, 1802, purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in the town of Rowe, which he improved extensively, and, after residing upon it for a period of twelve years, bought the Corbet place, so called, which he conducted successfully for twenty- five years. His wife, Lavinia Nelson, was born January 28, 1799. Their children were: Reuel, Samuel, John N., Lucinda, and Dwight. Reuel Bullard, second son of Reuel and Lavinia, went out to work as a farm la- borer at the age of eighteen, and at the age of twenty-five returned home for the purpose of assisting his father. At the latter's decease he succeeded to the possession of the home- stead, upon which he made many improve- ments, and resided there for twenty-five years. He then sold the property, and purchased a farm of D. Gale, which he cultivated until his retirement from active labor. He now re- sides in the village of Rowe, enjoying the peace and comfort of a well-earned rest, to- gether with the respect and esteem of his fel- low-townsmen. On August 30, 1864, imbued with patriotic spirit, he enlisted in the Sec- ond Massachusetts Light Artillery, with which he served nearly one year in defence of the Union, and was discharged June 11, 1865. Mr. Bullard was married September 12, 1880, to Esther King, daughter of T. Foster and Lydia (Peck) King. Mrs. Bullard's grandparents were Erastus and Esther (Lamon) King-; and her great-grandfather, Jesse King, was born in England. He came to Deerfield, Mass., and purchased of the Commonwealth a tract of land consisting of eight thousand acres, situated in the towns of Rowe, Monroe, and Florida. He settled near the site of Hoosac Tunnel, where he built the Jackson Hotel, and became a very prominent man in the town. He was a Justice of the Peace for several years, and also held other town oflSces. He died at the age of sixty- eight years. His children were: Erastus, James, John F., Jesse, Ascher, Zadoc, Will- iam, Samuel, Nehemiah, Phebe, Polly, and Sally. Erastus King, who was born at Deerfield, discovered a large deposit of soapstone upon the tract of land purchased by his father, and, finding that it retained heat much longer than any other substance, quarried it and placed 658 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW it upon the market. After conducting a suc- cessful business for several years, he sold his enterprise; and moved to Shelburne Falls, where he resided in retirement until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty years. His wife died at the age of eighty- five. They were members of the Baptist church, and Mr. King was a Whig in politics. Their children were named as follows: Eliza- beth, T. Foster, Joshua, Erastus, David, Es- ther, James, Samuel V., John F., Josiah, Candace, and Sophia. T. Foster King, Mrs. Bullard's father, was born at Florida, Berkshire County, Mass., August 9, 1809. He settled in the town of Rowe, where he purchased a homestead of two hundred and fifty acres, and erected new buildings. He later acquired other valuable tracts of land, and was a very successful busi- ness man. Fie died at the age of sixty years, and his wife passed away at the age of eighty. Their children were named as fol- lows: David B., George B., Esther, Allison W., T. Foster, Francis W., and Charles W. Mr. King was a Republican in politics, and served as a member of the School Committee. He was a Baptist in his religious views. I^TEPHEN M. LONG, a practical and prosperous farmer of the town of Shelburne, was born August 11, 1821, on the homestead which he now owns 'and occupies, being a son of Stephen and Lo- vina (Woodard) Long. Mr. Long's great- grandfather, David I^ong, a native, it is said, of Ireland, when a young man emigrated to the United States, and settled in Taunton, Mass. He there bought land, and estab- lished a comfortable homestead, on which his death occurred October 24, 1784. Four of his sons were early settlers of Shelburne, Franklin County. The eldest, David, who was a pioneer Baptist minister, died in Cole- rain, aged sixty-five years. William, a farmer, lived to the remarkable age of ninety- nine years, nine months, and nine days. John, who was a blacksmith by trade, died at his home in Shelburne at threescore and ten. The other son of David was Stephen Long, Sr., who, when a young man, left Taunton in company with his brothers, and took up a tract of wild land in the north-western part of Shelburne, where he cleared and improved a good farm. His wife, Nancy Lawson, was the first white child born in this locality, which at the time of her birth was infested by Indians; and before she was a week old her mother had to carry her to a fort in the town to keep her out of their hands. Mr. Lawson was one of the very first settlers of the place; and, being a weaver by trade, he paid for the fifty acres of tirnbered land which he purchased fifty yards of tow cloth. Stephen Long, Jr., spent his youth and early manhood in assisting his parents, Stephen and Nancy (Lawson) Long, in clear- ing a homestead. Soon after his marriage he bought the farm on which his son Stephen M. now lives. It then contained one hundred and forty acres of land, much of it in its primitive wildness; and here he carried on general farming very successfully until his death, May 10, 1865, having spent his eighty- two years and six months of life in the place of his birth. He was a man of prominence, a Democrat in politics, and served as Asses- sor several terms. Both he and his wife were esteemed members of the Baptist church. He married March 23, 1817, Lovina Wood- ard, who was born May 13, 1793, in Halifax, Vt., but removed with her parents to Shel- burne when a little girl. The following is a brief record of their children: Joseph W. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 659 Long, born May 7, 18 18, died December 22, 1859; David W., born December 3, 18 19, is a resident of Lowell, Mass. ; Stephen M. lives in Shelburne; Olive W., born August 27, 1824, is the wife of Henry Briggs, of Greenfield; Franklin W., born July 22, 1828, died August 4, 1830; Franklin, born July 11, 1832, died August 7, i8go; Mary R., born November 30, 1834, married James Golds- berry, of Minneapolis, Minn.; Rodolphus W., born December 29, 1838, resides in Worces- ter, Mass. Stephen M. Long grew to man's estate on the old homestead where he now resides, working in the fields during seed-time and harvest, and attending the district school in the winter season. When scarcely eighteen years of age, he assumed charge of the farm, to whose ownership he at length succeeded, having cared for his parents in their declin- ing years. His mother died November 13, 1870, aged seventy-seven years and six months, having outlived her husband several years. To the original estate Mr. Long has added thirty-two acres, which are situated in Colerain. His well-cultivated farm with its substantial buildings is pleasingly indicative of the good management and thrift of the owner. Mr. Long has ever been identified with the growth and advancement of the town, has served acceptably in various minor offices, and for two terms was Selectman. In politics he has had the courage of his convictions, voting with the Democratic or Republican party, but to-day is a stanch Democrat. He and his wife are faithful members of the Con- gregational church. On June 25, 1857, took place the marriage of Stephen M. Long and Miranda A. Fel- lows. Mrs. Long is a native of Shelburne, born July 11, 1831, daughter of Stephen Fel- lows, whose birth occurred in Shelburne, December 30, 1797. Mr. Fellows was a car- penter by trade, but was likewise the owner of a good farm, to which during the latter years of his life he devoted his attention, dying on his homestead at the age of eighty- four years. He was a Republican in politics, and with his wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Allen, belonged to the Congrega- tional church. Mrs. Fellows died at the age of sixty-seven years, having been the mother of five children, two of whom, Mary A. and Marcellus, have also passed to the better land. The three living are: John, a resident of Shelburne; Marvin S., of Greenfield; and Miranda A., Mrs. Long. The following is a brief mention of the six children of Mr. and Mrs. Long: Mary H., born December 18, 1858, is the wife of John T. Carpenter, of Andover, superintendent of the noted stock farm of C. I. Hood, of sarsa- parilla fame; Joseph W., born December 23, i860, is a salesman for the Belding Brothers Silk Company, with headquarters at Phila- delphia; Abbie A., born August 10, 1863, is in Hood's laboratory at Lowell, Mass. ; Fanny W., born November 16, 1864, is the wife of Frank H. Reed, of Greenfield; Stephen H., born July 14, 1867, is a farmer, and lives on the old homestead; and Lizzie L., born May 2, 1870, is the wife of Charles F. Keith, of Brooklyn, N.Y. ON. EZEKIEL DODGE BEMENT, one of the foremost citizens of Buckland, was born in this town, May 18, 1 8 19, son of Daniel and Dorcas (Dodge) Bement, the former a native of Ash- field, the latter of Shelburne. His grand- father, John Bement, who was born May 15, 1734, was a pioneer of Franklin County. He bought a tract of timber land in the eastern 6Co BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW part of Ashfield, and built a log house in the wilderness, enduring the hardships and meet- ing the difficulties of his situation with a brave and sturdy spirit. Before his land was cleared he was wont to go to Hadley to work for farmers there, taking his pay in corn, which he carried home through the forest on his back. Patiently toiling, year in and year out, he cleared a good farm, and at the time of his death was in comfortable circumstances. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Wait. Daniel Bement, son of John, was reared on his father's farm, and when he had attained his majority started for himself in the world. For some time he drove a team for a baker in Boston, and later worked at farming on Cape Cod. Saving his earnings, he eventually bought a farm in the western part of Buck- land, where he made his home till 1823, when he exchanged it for the property upon which his son now resides. Here he spent the re- mainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-nine. He married Dorcas, daughter of Ezekiel and Rebecca (Nelson) Dodge, of Shelburne. She died at the age of fifty-nine, leaving three children: John Wait, Ezekiel Dodge, and Daniel. Ezekiel Dodge Bement in his boyhood mastered all the branches of learning taught in the district school, and at the age of eigh- teen started as a teacher, receiving as his sal- ary thirteen dollars a month, and "boarding round." He taught during several winter terms in Charlemont, Rowe, and Buckland, working at farming in the summer. At the age of twenty he began to study medicine, devoting to this branch of science his spare time for about two years and a half. His younger brother then leaving home, he gave up his medical studies, and took charge of his father's farm. He succeeded his father in the ownership of the estate, which from early childhood to the present has been his home. It covers one hundred and thirty acres, and is well equipped with commodious buildings and all the necessary adjuncts for general farming. Ib 1843 Mr. Bement was united in mar- riage to Roxanna D., daughter of Zephaniah and Fanny Richmond. She died in 1875; and in December, 1877, Mr. Bement married Mrs. Emily A. E. Smith Joslyn, a native of Colerain, daughter of Royal Smith, who also was born in Colerain. Mrs. Bement's grand- father, Nathaniel Smith, who for many years was a resident of Colerain, was a native of England. His wife was Nancy Townsend, of Rhode Island. Royal Smith, Mrs. Bement's father, was a shoemaker by trade as well as a practical farmer. He married Ruth Eddy, daughter of Joel and Olive (Lynde) Eddy, of Guilford, Vt. ; and they reared three children: Nancy Amelia, Mary Diantha, and Emily A. E. The latter's first husband, to whom she was united June 30, 1851, was William S. Joslyn, a native of Windsor, Mass., son of Samuel and Laura (Parks) Joslyn. He was a machinist by trade, and during the last years of his life cultivated a farm in Conway. He died in Colerain in January, 1869. Four children were born of this marriage: Mary E., Charles W., Laura I. (deceased), and Maria. Six of the nine children of Mr. Bem- ent reached maturity: Mary, Isabel D., Alice F., Frederick E., Clara J., Theron R. Mary, the second child born, was a graduate of Mount Holyoke Seminary, and taught in Brooklyn, N.Y., in Illinois, and in Dakota. She died at the home of her sister in Sioux Falls in 1888. Isabel D. is the wife of Eli- jah Phillips; and Frederick married Laura Huston, and has three children. Mr. Bement cast his first Presidential vote in 1840 for General William Henry Harrison, BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 66 1 taking part as a loyal Whig in the exciting political campaign of that year. He was a Republican after the formation of that party, and has been a Prohibitionist. Mr. Bement was a member of the State legislature in 1873, and voted for Henry L. Dawes as United States Senator. He has filled many offices of trust in the town, serving as Asses- sor ten years, also as Selectman and School Committee, while for over forty years he has been a Justice of the Peace. fHOMAS SIDNEY MANN, a young and energetic business man of Orange, was born at Petersham, October 18, 1864, son of Lot and Emily L. (Holland) Mann. He is a lineal descendant of Rich- ard Mann, a native of England, who settled at Scituate, Mass., and became an exten- sive land-owner there. The line continued through Richard's son, Thomas, born at Scit- uate in 1650; his son. Ensign, Sr. ; Ensign, Jr., son of the latter, born at Scituate, 1740, graduated at Harvard College, 1764; and Thomas, who was the father of Lot Mann. Thomas Mann was an extensive farmer and lumberman of Petersham, a kind-hearted, benevolent citizen and a highly esteemed neighbor. Lot Mann was born at Petersham, October 24, 18 18, and married Emily L., widow of Lot Dennis, January 11, 1862. He was engaged with his father in carrying on lumbering operations, making a specialty of getting out ships' masts, and at the age of twenty-nine years established himself in the same business alone, which he continued suc- cessfully for a long time, being the owner of large tracts of timber land. Like his father, he was benevolent and honest, believing that every man's word should be as good as his bond; and his strict adherence to these prin- ciples is spoken of by his many acquaintances. After retiring from active business, he pur- chased the Seth Hapgood place, which, after making many improvements in the property, he sold to William B. Schooner, of Boston, for a summer residence. He subsequently removed to Athol, where he erected a fine substantial residence, in which he and his wife are passing their declining years. He is a Republican in politics, but has always declined public ofifice. Mr. Lot Mann and his wife attend the Congregational church. Thomas Sidney Mann was educated in the public schools, and after completing his studies at the high school at Athol went to Chicago, where he became shipping clerk for the firm of Clark Brothers & Co., furniture manufacturers. He remained with them two years, at the end of which period he returned East, and in 1884, associating himself with a half-brother, Mr. Dennis, purchased the gro- cery business of B. H. Underwood in the Goddard Block at Orange. After they had carried it on for two years, Mr. Mann pur- chased the interest of his partner, and con- tinued the business until 1888, when he disposed of it. In the mean time he had invested in timber, cutting and hauling logs to his own mills for manufacture, and con- ducting the largest business of the kind ever attempted by one of his age in this county. In 1890 he sold out his lumber interests, and after the conflagration of 1891 purchased the corner lot situated on Main Street, upon which he erected a handsome brick building, containing the usual modern improvements. This block, which was built at a cost of one hundred thousand dollars, is a very substan- tial structure, eighty-eight feet on South Main by one hundred and seventy-two on East Main Street. On June 2, 1886, Mr. Mann married Miss 662 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW Sarah E. Cardany, daughter of Joseph B. Car- dany, of Athol, her father, who was a success- ful furniture dealer, being now deceased. They have two children: Gertrude E., who was born April 26, 1887; and Thomas S., born November 5, 1893. Mr. Mann is a member of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Crescent Chapter, and Orange Commandery, Knights Templars, and of Social Lodge, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows; and Mrs. Mann is a member of the Eastern Star. Mr. Mann is largely identified with the progress and development of the town, and was a lib- eral contributor toward securing the location of the Reynolds shoe factory at Orange. He is a Republican in politics. The family reside at 51 East Main Street. ZIAS LONG, a substantial and well- to-do citizen of Shelburne, stands high among the industrious and pro- gressive farmers of this section of Franklin County, of which he is a native, his birth hav- ing occurred in Shelburne, April 6, 1828. His paternal grandfather, William Long, who was among the early settlers of Shelburne, was a native of Taunton, Bristol County, Mass., where he worked at the carpenter's trade for many years. He was a soldier of the Revolution. Coming here about 1780, he bought forty acres of land south of the centre of the town of' Shelburne, of which only four acres were cleared, the remainder being a dense growth of timber, inhabited by the wily red man and wild beasts, both at times troublesome, the latter often causing great annoyance in the cornfield. Working with indomitable will and perseverance, he cleared his land, and subsequently bought more, being at one time ihi owner of two hundred or more acres. His first wife, whose maiden name was Mahala Holloway, and who died at sixty-five years of age, bore him seven children, four girls and three boys. After her death he married Dolly Atwood, who lived to the advanced age of eighty-five years. Grandfather Long was a man of very vigorous physical constitution, and rounded out almost a full century, living to the remarkable age of ninety-nine years, eight months, and ten days. He was a man of sincere religious convictions and a Deacon of the Baptist church, toward the support of which he contributed liberally. His son, William Long, Jr., was born in 1788 in Shelburne, and here resided until his death, April 27, 1871. He succeeded his parents in the ownership of the old home- stead, and was a practical and prosperous farmer; and, while improving his own prop- erty, he also gave material aid in advancing the growth of the town. He added to the area of his estate till it reached the number of two hundred and fifty acres, and he became an ex- tensive and successful agriculturist. He was .likewise conspicuous in the management of town affairs, being Selectman several years, besides holding minor offices. In his earlier years he was a Whig in politics, but on the formation of the Republican party became one of its most ardent adherents. Both he and his wife, whose maiden name was Clara Dole, were members of the Baptist church of Shel- burne; and they reared their family in the same faith. Seven children were born of their union, namely: Adaliza, who died at the age of fifty-one years; Henry D., who died when fifty-three years old; Clara, when a year old; Clarissa, widow of Moses A. Barnard, living in Shelburne; William H., a resident of Am- herst, Mass. ; Ozias, the subject of this sketch; and M. David, a resident of Chicago, 111. Ozias Long was reared and educated in BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 663 Shelburne, attending its public schools, and becoming practically acquainted with agri- cultural labors on the old homestead farm. Here he lived and labored until his marriage, when he took possession of the farm which he has since cultivated. This he bought in 1848, the original purchase consisting of ninety acres of land, partially cleared. Hav- ing bought additional land, he now owns one hundred and thirty acres. His fields are well tilled, and he has added to his place substan- tial improvements. The dwelling-house has been entirely repaired and enlarged ; and he has put up new buildings for sheltering his stock and storing his grain, his farm ranking now among the best equipped of any in the locality. He has toiled earnestly and intel- ligently, and is justly deserving of the pros- perity he is now enjoying, his accumulations being the result of his own efforts. Politi- cally, Mr. Long is identified with the Repub- lican party; and, religiously, he ranks with the liberals, while his wife is an esteemed member of the Congregational church. Mr. Long was united in marriage October 21, 1858, to Cordelia S. Williams, who was born in Buckland, June 21, 1830, being the daughter of Ephraim and Mary (Tobey) Will- iams, neither of whom is living. Mr. Will- iams was a well-to-do farmer of that town and one of its prominent citizens, having been Selectman of Buckland for many years. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Long has been blessed by the advent of four children into their home circle — three sons and a daugh- ter: Arthur E., now clerk in a dry-goods store in Springfield, married Mary Richard- son, and has two children — Gaylord R. and Arline; William O., a farmer, lives at home; David W., a farmer and sawyer, married Maria Carpenter, and resides at Shelburne; Mary S. lives at home with her parents. DWARD D. HAWKES, a prosperous farmer of Rowe, was born in the town of Charlemont, December 11, 1833. He is the son of Edward D., Sr., and Plitha (Bradford) Hawkes, the former also a native of that town and a son of Samuel Hawkes, who came there from Deerfield at an early day. Grandfather Hawkes purchased a large tract of land situated upon the south side of the river, and cleared a valuable farm, which is now owned by Mr. Horton. He erected the present substantial buildings upon the place, becoming very prosperous both in agri- culture and lumbering, and died in 1847, at the age of eighty-nine. He was a Whig in politics, and a man of sterling worth. His wife, who passed from earth in 1830, at the age of sixty-two years, bore the following children : Henry, Ebenezer, Samuel, Betsey, Lucretia, Louise, and Edward D. Edward D. Hawkes, the first of the name, son of Samuel, remained with his parents, and had charge of the farm during their de- clining years. He erected a saw-mill upon Cold River, which flowed through the farm; and this he operated in connection with his agricultural labors, paying considerable at- tention to dairying interests. He and his wife, Plitha Bradford, reared seven children: Alonzo, Charlotte, Mary, Cornelia, Edward D., Augusta, and Louise. Edward D. Hawkes, the younger, was edu- cated in the schools of Charlemont, and was then occupied in helping his father until 1862, when he enlisted in Company B, Fifty- second Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, which was under the command of Colonel Greenleaf. He saw one year of very active service during the most exciting period of the Civil War. His regiment was attached to the Department of the Gulf, and partici- pated in the siege of Port Hudson, besides 664 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW several engagements of lesser note. Mr. Hawkes retired from the service without in- curring physical disability, and, returning home, resumed work with his father, with whom he continued until reaching the age of thirty-five years, when he purchased the Nimes farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the town of Rowe. He remodelled the build- ings, made many other improvements, and has since carried on general farming and dairying, keeping a herd of fifteen choice grade Jerseys. Mr. Hawkes is a member of C. D. Sanford Post, No. 79, Grand Army of the Republic, of North Adams. He is a stanch Republican. On December 15, 1857, Mr. Hawkes was united in marriage to Hannah E. Sears, daughter of Lyman and Anna (Pierpont) Sears. Mr. Sears was a progressive farmer of Rowe, who sold his property here, and moved to Canaseraga, N.Y., later settling in Albion, Pa., where he died in 1887, aged sixty-eight years. His wife died in 1894, at the age of seventy-two years. During his residence in Rowe he served as a Selectman. He was a Deacon in the Baptist church, and was super- intendent of the Sunday-school for a period of twenty years. His other children were: George, Henry, Nancy E., Eliza A., and Alice E. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Hawkes were Enoch and Ruth (Vincent) Sears, the former of whom, after following the sea for twenty years, settled first at Colerain, and finally at Rowe, where both he and his wife reached a ripe old age. Their children were: Barzillai, Enos, Wilson, Lyman, and Sally. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkes have five children, namely: Alta, born June 5, 1869, now the wife of Charles Mathews, and residing in Westfield, Mass.; Clifford, born February 15, 1871, a mechanic at Fitchburg; Arthur, born December 15, 1873, a farmer at Montague; Anna, born May 17, 1875, a milliner of Worcester, Mass; and Edward, born October 8, 1880, who resides at home. Mrs. Hawkes is a member of the Baptist church. INDEX. BIOGRAPHICAL. A Adams, Elbridge 55 Adams, George C 129 Adams, James W 19 Adams, John A 243 Alexander, Mrs. Adaline, M.D. 25 Alexander, Elisha .... 25 Alexander, Elisha D in Alexander, George F 40 Allen, Fred E 232 Allis, Silas W 640 Amidon, Solomon H 168 Amsden, Fred H SS5 Amstein, Albert J 610 Andrews, John A 100 Antes, Max 432 Arms, Edward B 97 Arms, George A 9 Arms, Obed S 60 Armstrong, J. Mason . . . 482 Ashcraft, David 159 Ashfield Library 595 Atherton, Samuel H 67 Atkins, Michael J 197 Avery, Amos L 114 Avery, James D 561 B Babbitt, James H 626 Baker, Andrew 547 Baker, Roswell 42 Ball, Frederic A 481 Ballard, Daniel 211 Ballou, Charles M 98 PAGE Balthasard, Father W 617 Barber, Charles T 592 Barber, Rev. Stillman .... 187 Barnard, Clinton E 433 Bartlett, Edgar L 322 Bascom, Abner N 526 Bascom, Frank N 271 Batchelder, Carlos . ... 491 Bement, Hon. Ezekiel D. . . . 659 Benjamin, Daniel W 460 Benson, Sylvander G 96 Berry, George A 525 Billings, Henry W 644 Blake, Eugene B 338 Blodgett, Amos 499 Blodgett, Robert E 577 Boutwell, William L 295 Bowen, Dr. Merritt A. ... 608 Bowker, Charles, M.D. . . . 184 Bowker, Samuel D., M.D. . 655 Boyden, Charles L 535 Brackett, William H 632 Bradford, Elias F 517 Brewer, Nathan C 400 Bridges, Major P. D 89 Briggs, Nathaniel A 437 Brigham, Luther A 635 Brown, Hezekiah 427 Brown, J. Frank 397 Brown, Miron 542 Brown, Mrs. Nancy 1 427 Brown, Samuel C 251 Browning, Arthur 207 Browning, Mrs. Julia Amidon . 207 Bryant, Calvin 489 PAGE Bryant, Chauncey 258 Budington, Stephen B 240 Bullard, Eugene 621 Bullard, Reuel 657 Burnett, Henry F 581 Burnham, Fred L 348 Burrington, William H. . . . 504 Burrows, Frank L 103 Burt, Joel 3c8 C Cady, Francis A 296 Canedy, Edward R 44 Canedy, Francis J., M.D. . . . 466 Canedy, Orian D 71 Canning, Miss Carrie . . . . 171 Carpenter, Mrs. Almeda . . . 418 Carpenter, Ira 418 Carpenter, Joseph 630 Carpenter, Walter W 541 Carruth, Frederick? 511 Gary, William W 381 Chandler, Frank H 554 Chapin, Eliphas L 201 Chapin, John W 630 Chapin, Mrs. Nancy A. . . . 201 Chapman, Matthew 20 Chase, Denison 388 Chenery, HoUis 180 Chenery, Mrs. Louisa D. . . . 180 Cheney, Levi P 65 Cheney, Nathaniel 34 Childs, Calvin K 507 Clapp, Richard 385 666 INDEX PAGE Clapp, Walter E 343 Clark, Mrs. Abbie B 438 Clark, Andrew J 438 Clark, Charles F 458 Clark, Chester 589 Clark, Darwin M 390 Clark, John H 155 Clark, Luther W 592 Clogston, Henry W 279 Clough, Dr. Charles W. . . . 649 Conant, Charles M 148 Conant, Hon. Chester C. . . . 294 Cook, Moses 315 Cooke, George A., M.D. ... 118 Coolidge, Asa, Jr 71 Coolidge, Mrs. Celestina P. P. . 71 Coombs, Robert M 306 Crafts, Seth B 350 Cromack, James B 233 Cross, Lemuel 650 Cummings, Benjamin .... 27 Curtis, Orson B 85 D Daniels, Cyrus N 351 Darling, Uriah T 268 Davenport, Carl E 210 Davenport, George H 161 Davenport, Jonathan E. . . . 252 Davenport, Jonathan G. . . . 564 Davenport, William W. . . . 262 Day, Josiah P 81 Deane, Ebenezer A., M.D. . . 219 Denison, Avery J 328 Dennison, Henry H 139 Dexter, Samuel S 68 Dickinson, Ashley G 241 Dickinson, Frank 239 Dickinson, George . . . . 236 Dudley, Luther 584 Duncan, Charles M., M.D. . . 200 Dunham, Duane B 160 Dutton, Miss Mary T 90 E Eddy, Almon B 143 Elmer, Amos D 52 Elmer, Lorenzo D 247 Ewing, Frank S 582 F Fairchild, Mrs. Fanny A. . . . 3(1 Fairchild, Lewis W 311 Farley, Dennis E 416 Farr, James L 18 Farwell, Porter 471 Felton, Charles 347 Felton, Joseph P 312 Fessenden, George R., M.D. . 594 Field, Franklin 634 Field, Fred E 634 Field, Henry A 467 Field, Horace W 405 Field, Stillman K 235 Fife, Lucius S 639 Fisk, Dr. Charles 1 107 Fiske, Isaac T 46 Fitts, Rufus H 583 Flagg, Charles C 399 Forbes, William A 15 Foster, Ezra 272 Foster, Ransom S 284 Fowler, Edward C 647 Frick, Gottlieb 651 Frost, Justice B 492 Furbush, Mrs. Caroline C. . . 223 Furbush, Merrill A 223 Fyfe, Thomas T., M.D. ... 140 G Gale, Conrad H 299 Gale, Daniel 17 Gale, Daniel J 73 Gale, Mrs. Nancy D 17 Gardner, Levi 12 Gleason, Albert M 390 Goddard, Edward A 550 •Goddard, Gamaliel D no Goddard, George H 224 Goodell, Henry E 325 Goodnow, Ebenezer R. . . . 459 Gould, Mrs. E. Josephine . . 273 Gould, Lucius H 274 Gould, Lyman G 25 Graves, Alonzo 53 Graves, Alonzo 163 Graves, Ebenezer 297 Graves, Lemuel F 645 Grout, Alden W 255 Guilford, Ira A 465 Gunn, Erastus F 341 PAGE Gunn, Levi J 285 Gunn, Lyman 472 H Hager, Dexter F 597 Haigis, Louis T 492 Hale, Hartley 49 Hale, James M 202 Hall, Eben A 371 Halligan, George W 483 Halligan, James 369 Hamilton, Charles 83 Hanson, Albert A 436 Hansorr, Mrs. Marie L. . . . 436 Harrington, Ansel 156 Hart, Andrew J 636 Haskell, Henry C 112 Haskins, Emmett F ^y Hastings, Lewis L 167 Hastings, Samuel 509 Hawkes, Edward D 663 Hawkes, Edwin N 643 Hemenway, Charles M. . . . 485 Hemenway, William H. . . . 510 Hicks, Rufus M 646 Hilliard, Gilbert G 109 Hillman, Charles S 95 Hillman, Wayne 257 Hinsdale, Ariel W 642 Hinsdale, Henry 166 Hodges, Rev. Alpheus C. . . 150 Hoffmann, Adam J., M.D. . . 569 Hoffmann, Mrs. Fidelia Eleanor 569 Holston, John C 452 Horton, Julius D 32 Hosmer, Charles W 300 Hovey, George H 549 Hovey, Mrs. Nancy M. . . . 549 Howard, Henry A 303 Howes, Charles ^43 Hudson, Nathan E 372 Hulbert, Ebenezer S 195 Hunt, John S 141 Hunt, William W 526 J Jenks, George W 443 Jennison, Charles H 41^ Johnson, Addison 231 Johnson, John G 558 INDEX 667 PAGE Jones, Gilbert E 317 Jones, Nahum 413 Joy, Henry C 518 K Keach, Joseph Wright . . . 435 Keith, Charles 638 Keith, William E 117 Kellogg, Frederick D 98 Kellogg, Jacob P 331 Kemp, Horace . . ... 267 Kendrick, Oliver B 377 King, Frederick H 414 Knowlton, Charles H 629 H. Laidley, John B., M.D. Lamb, Joseph H. . Larabee, Eber N. Lawler, Frank J. . . Lawrence, George H. Leavitt, Colonel Roger Leonard, Eliza B. Lewis, George A. Livermore, Mrs. Martha Livermore, Rufus Long, Clarence M. Long, James R. . Long, Ozias . . Long, Stephen M. Loomis, Calvin S. Lord, Jotham, Jr. . Lord, Mrs. Martha A. Ly Lowe, Frank E. . Lyman, Charles W Lyons, Philo T. . 457 175 351 220 618 605 H3 568 512 S12 90 213 662 658 253 444 444 104 425 30s M Mahoney, Jeremiah H. . . 640 Mann, Jason 3'9 Mann, Thomas S 661 Marcy, Charles A 264 Marvel, Passcall 34 Marvell, 'Orman C 34o Maxwell, Hugh 468 Maynard, Walter P. . . . 307 Mayo, George W 5° McClellan, George B 256 McKenna, James A 607 Miller, George W. . Miller, John D. . . Miller, Thomas R. . Miner, Alonzo G. Montague, Henry W. Moore, Orramel . . Moore, William A. . Morgan, Jeremiah P. Moulton, Charles A. Mowry, David . . . Munn, Lorenzo P. . N PAGE 292 291 230 178 76 275 536 424 254 54 280 173 620 523 449 563 587 382 573 375 653 327 176 Nelson, Albert B. . . Nelson, Captain Alvah P. Newcomb, Eugene A. Newcomb, Stephen C. Newell, Charles B. . Newell, Herbert . . Newhall, David . . Newhall, Jabez C. Newhall, Nathan O. Newton Family ■ . . Nichols, Walter E. . Niles, William E. Nims, Reuben H. Noyes, Joseph D. Oakes, Gardner J. Oakman, Richard N Oakman, Richard N O'Hara, Richard O'Kefeffe, Thomas Oliver, Solon J. . Orcutt, Baxter A. Osgood, Elihu C. P Packard, John B 473 Page, Joel B 496 Parker, Alfred A 131 Parsons, Charles, Jr 521 Parsons, Herbert C 128 Pease, Franklin 529 Perry, Joseph C 387 Peterson, Bion N. . ... 127 Peterson, Harlow M 623 Phelps, Asa 80 360 229 ., Jr. . 363 342 611 IIS 370 334 PAGE Pickett, Job G 628 Pierce, David M 141 Pierce, Frederick E 357 Pierce, George 190 Pierce, John D 613 Pierce, Willard H., M.D. ... 151 Plympton, Chester H 613 Porter, James 87 Porter, Lewis 539 Powers, James L 403 Powers, William L 508 Pratt, Edson J 445 Pratt, Francis R 61 Pratt, Prof. Hiram A 532 Purcell, Rev. Mark E 606 Purinton, George R. . . . 165 Purple, Proctor P. . . . 177 Purrington, Frederick W. . . 530 R Ramsey, John 30 Ramsey, Mrs. Sarah J. . . 30 Rankin, Noah .... . . 407 Ranney, Henry S. . . . 286 Reece, Edward F 209 Reed, Alfred 648 Rice, Alonzo M 13 Rice, Hart A 393 Rice, Leonard B. . . . . 516 Rice, Nathaniel S 624 Richards, William T 428 Rist, Gilbert L. . . . . . 417 Robertson, Charles H 222 Robertson, Roswell B. ... 243 Rockwell, Seymour 454 Root, Henry H 330 Root, Henry 189 Ross, Augustus B 261 Ruddock, LeBaron D 462 Ruffle, George R 395 Russell, Mrs. Ellen M. ... 441 Russell, Francis B 133 Russell, Mrs. Isabella .... 133 Russell, Nathaniel E 441 Ryther, William E 121 S Sampson, Myron F 450 Sanderson, Alvan 333 Sanderson, Horace G 376 668 INDEX Sanderson, John 234 Sanderson, John H 396 Sanderson, Walter W 192 Sauer, Andrew 84 Sawyer, Samuel 86 Schoff, Alfred 138 Schuster, Christian F 283 Scott, Charles H 123 Scott, Henry 318 Sears, Joshua G 154 Severance, B. Frank .... 124 Severance, Cephas C 105 Severance, Chester W. . . . 137 Severance, Joseph C 627 Severance, Matthew S. ... 265 Severance, William S., M.D. . 358 Shearer, Thomas R 501 Shepard, Dr. Charles .... 205 Shippee, Almon A 650 Slate, Arthur F 58 Slate, Clark 499 Slate, Henry 32 Slater, John 620 Slater, Mrs. Margaret .... 620 Smart, Albert J 361 Smead, Henry S 218 Smead, Horace A 41 Smead, John H 74 Smead, Thomas 636 Smith, Ansel C 245 Smith, Clarence A 612 Smith, Frederick H 411 Smith, Henry J 174 Smith, Horace A 563 Snow, Fayette 633 Spear, Daniel W 477 Spear, Erastus 14 Sprague, Avery W 570 Stetson, Isaac W 486 Stewart, Amos 147 Stewart, Edmund B 544 Stewart, William 217 Stockwell, Lydia E 185 Stowell, Captain Samuel H. . . 44 Strange, Robert 337 PAGE Stratton, Albert S 609 Stratton, Edwin 368 Stratton, Edwin A 227 Sumner, Oscar A 503 Swan, Henry S 543 T Taylor, George E 423 Temple, David W 500 Temple, James F 521 Thayer, Joel 606 Thompson, Milo A 362 Thompson, Visenlio D. . . . 186 Todd, Edward E J59 Totman, Joshua B 406 Tower, Philo A 531 Tower, Warren F 524 Towne, Hon. Charles A. . . . 617 Townsend, Chauncey G. . . . 554 Townsend, Mrs. Lucy C. R. . . 553 Traver, Philip 309 Traver, William E 183 Trow, Cornelius G , M.D. . . 248 Trowbridge, Silas 604 Tucker, Mrs. Catherine . . . 588 U Underwood, George M. ... 590 Upton, Frederick W 39 W Ward, Alanson W 453 Ward, Rollin C, M.D 82 Warfield, Herbert E 152 Warner, Albert B 198 Warner, Anson K 431 Warner, Emerson C 246 Warner, Mrs. Esther M. . . . 431 Warner, Henry N 364 Warner, Mrs. Mary S. Todd . 196 Warner, Volney D 196 Warner, Whitney L 380 Washburn, Hon. William B. . 149 Waters, Franklin L 494 Watson, Gilman N 404 Weisbrod, Carl E. J 278 Wells, Charles Barnard ... 79 Wells, Henry 134 Wells, Perez M 582 Wells, William 474 Wheaton, Christopher C. . . . 29 Wheeler, George M 457 Wheeler, John W 352 Whipple, Rollin P 206 White, Thomas 622 Whiting, Joseph W 420 Whitney, George E 601 Wilber, Edwin 591 Wiley, Ebenezer F 344 Wilkins, George H 164 Willard, Henry C 288 Williams, Charles A 555 Williams, Daniel 446 Williams, Franklin H 600 Williams, Mrs. Jane S. ... 600 Williams, Mrs. Lucy J. . . . 446 Willis, Andrew E., M.D. ... 641 Wilson, Charles M., M.D. . . 602 Wilson, Dennis 478 Wiswall, Frank L 653 Witherell, Albert 560 Womersley, Thomas, M.D. . . 579 Wood, Adelra H 28 Wood, Frank J 562 Woodard, Frederick G. . . . 476 Woodard, Harding G 62 Woods, Andrew J 38 Wright, Edward 22 Wright, Francis H 56 Wright, George H 379 Y Yetter, John G . 320 Zabriskie, Frank H., M.D. 277 PORTRAITS. Alexander, Elisha Arms, George A. . Ashcraft, David . . Bascom, Ezekiel L. . . Bryant, Calvin Bryant, Chauncey Burrington, William H. Burrows, Frank L. . . Chenery, HoUis . Clark, Andrew J. . . . Cooke, George A., M.D. Davenport, Jonathan G. Dickinson, Rufus and Julia S. . . . . Dutton, Samuel W. . . Felton, Charles . Felton, Joseph P. Goodell, Henry E. . Hale, Hartley . . . Howard, Henry A. Livermore, Rufus Mrs 24 8 158 270 488 259 SOS 102 181 439 119 S6S 238 91 346 313 324 48 302 S13 Marvel, Passcall and Mrs. Cath- erine C 3S Maxwell, Hugh . .... 469 Miller, John D. . . . 290 Morgan, Jeremiah P. . . 537 Nelson, Alvah P. . . . 2S1 Newhall, Jabez C. . . 586 Newhall, Nathan O. . 383 Nichols, Walter E. . . . 374 Page, Ehjah ... . 497 Parsons, Charles, jr. ... 520 Pease, Franklin . . . . 528 Powers, James L. 402 Rice, Hart A. . . . . 392 Ruddock, LeBaron Dutton . 463 Sanderson, Elijah D 193 Severance, Chester W. . . . 136 Shepard, Dr. Charles . . . 204 Smith, Frederick H. . 410 Sprague, Avery W. . . . 571 Stewart, Amos .... . 146 Stewart, Edmund B 545 Stewart, Luther 544 Stewart, William 216 Strange, Robert and Mrs. Eliza- beth B 336 Stratton, Edwin A 226 Todd, Edward E 558 Towne, Charles A 616 Townsend, Chauncey G. . . . S52 Trow, Cornelius G., M.D. . . 249 Warner, Anson K 430 Warner, Henry N 365 Wells, Charles Barnard . . 78 Wheeler, George M 456 Wheeler, John W. . . . . 353 Whiting, Joseph W. . . 421 Williams, Daniel . . ... 447 Wilson, Dennis . .... 479 Woodard, Harding'G. . . . 63 'feife>b5ff^?^s!5?^i3J^mp'^^ Sw® *'*' jS-S "B-^wSMsaSirMeiw^ '^■^y^^