Suffolk County, Massachusetts - The whole text, 1894 (part 14 of 17)

He is a life member of the Mercantile Library Association, of the Young Men's Christian Union, of the Woman's Industrial LTnion, and the Aged Couples' Home Society; he is one of the trustees of the Franklin Savings Bank, a director in the Massachusetts Title Insurance Compan}', treasurer of the Free Religions Association, member of the Massachusetts Club, Home Market Club, Boston Merchants' Association, and is president of the Music Publishers' Association of the United States. He takes a lively interest in the investigation of religious, social, political and scientific subjects, and for many years has been president of the Parker Memorial vScience Class, which holds its services every vSunday during eight months of the year. He joined the Free Soil party when a )'oung man, casting his first presidential vote in 1852 for John P. Hale, went with it into the Republican party, with which he is still identified.

He was a member of the Boston Common Council four years, from 18G2 to 1805 inclusive, and while there interested himself in securing the opening of the Public Library on Sundays. In early life, after having been for many years a scholar in one of Boston's Baptist Sunday schools, he became interested in the preaching of Theodore Parker in 1848, and the Twenty-eighth Congregational Society, which was organized " to give Theodore Parker a chance to be heard in Boston," serving for many years as chairman of the Standing Committee. He was active in the construction of the Parker Memorial Building, and largely instrumental in its transfer to the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches, Boston ; the object of this transfer being to perpetuate the

The "Parker Fraternity Course of Lectures" was inaugurated by the Parker Fraternity because of the exclusion of Mr. Parker largely from the lecture platform of Boston, and was .sustained for nearly twenty years. They were remarkable for their influence in moulding and directing public opinion, especially during the war of the Rebellion, and the years of reconstruction immediately following. In the first course in 1858 Mr. Parker delivered his four celebrated lectures on Washington, Franklin, Adams and Jefferson.

Mr. Ha3'nes was married in Boston by Theodore Parker, May 1, 1855, to Fanny, daughter of Rev. Charles and Francis (Seabury) vSpear; of this imion were seven children: Alice Fanny (Mrs. M. Morton Holmes), Theodore Parker (deceased), Lizzie Gray (Mrs. O. Gordon Rankine), Jennie Eliza (Mrs. Fred O. Hurd), Cora Marie (Mrs. E. Harte Da}'), Mabel Stevens and Edith Margaret Haynes.

Joseph N. Fiske

Joseph Norton Fiske was born in Wrentham, Mass., March 4, ISl-t, and was the eldest son of Josiah J. and Jerusha (Norton) Fiske. He was of English descent, and his ancestry can be authentically traced from the opening period of the thirteenth century. As early as the eighth year of the reign of King John (A. D. 1208) we find the name of Daniel Fisc, of 'Laxfield, appended to a royal grant which confirmed a deed of land in Digniveton Park, made to the men of Laxfield by the Duke of Lorraine. This grant is in the public record office of London. Simon Fiske held land in Laxfield early in the fifteenth century, and was lord of the manor of Stodhaugh. There are in several churches monumental tablets and brasses bearing the arms of the family, which seems to have been prominent in the counties of Suiifolk and Norfolk. Col. F. S. Fiske, of Boston, has in his possession an interesting copy of the '"Confirmation of Arms and Grant of Crest from College of Arms,

London," issued to the Fiske famil}- in 1635. Nathan Fiske, the first American ancestor, was among- the earliest settlers of Watertown, and came from Weybread, county of .Suffolk, England, in l(U"i. From him the line of descent to the subject of our sketch is as follows: Nathan- (born January -2:5, KiTl), Henry ^^ (born January ^i, 1707), David-* (born December 17, 17511), Josiah J.,^ Joseph N. '>

Hon. Josiah Jones Fiske, the father of our subject, was born in Sturbridge, Mass., November 28. 1785. He was graduated at Brown University, where he was a classmate and friend of William L. Marcy, some time governer of New York. After leaving college in 1808, he was for a short time preceptor of an academy in Maine; but soon determined upon the law as a profession, and studied first in the office of the late Nathaniel Searle, LL.D., of Providence, and afterwards with Timothy Bigelow, escj., of Boston. He developed marked ability as a lawyer, and soon found him.self in the enjoyment of an extensive practice. His office at Wrentham became a favorite resort for students; perhaps few lawyers unconnected with the law schools have superintended the legal instruction of a greater number of yoimg men. To strong powers of logic and anah'sis Mr. Fiske added quickness of perception and readiness in expression ; he had an energy of character, a perseverance in carrying out his plans which no obstacle could discourage, and if he had continued to devote himself exclusively to the law, there can be little doubt that he would have ranked among the most eminent in that profession. But he lived in the time when the great manufacturing interests of New England were just beingfounded. Early foreseeing their importance, he was tempted to devote to them much of his own energy, and during the latter years of his life his attention was given to manufactures almost exclusively. His own enterprises were located in his native town, Sturbridge, and the now flourishing village of Fiskdale commemorates his name. He laid the foundation of the Sturbridge cotton manufactures; his first mill was built in 1827, and in 18:3-1 he built another larger mill, containing ten thousand spindles and two hundred looms. He was active, intelligent, strong; strong in character and influence, strong in mind and judgment, with that enterprise and public spirit which seeks not selfish ends alone, but labors for the good of all. In public aff'airs he was prominent ; possessing the well-won confidence of his fellow townsmen, he was often chosen to positions of honor and trust. He was State senator from 183:3 to 1820, inclusive, a member of the Governer's Coun- cil in 1831 ; served on the first Board of Railroad Commissioners created by the State, and held many minor positions. From 1823 to 1827 he was aide-de-camp to Major General Crane, and took a deep interest in the Masonic order, for several years being district deputy grand master. Like most active men, Mr. Fiske was in advance of the general thought and sentiment of his time. Subsequent developments have proved the wisdom of many of his views for the improvement of the towns of Wrentham and Sturbridge, which maythen have been deemed utiwise or impracticable. In his manners he was always kindly and genial, and this virtue was above all conspicuous in his home life. His wife, Jerusha, was the daughter of Dr. Jenckes Norton, of Wrentham, and Jerusha Ware. He died August 15, 1838, at Sturbridge, the place of his birth. Two of his brothers were also graduates of Brown University.

Of the ten children of Josiah Jones Fiske, Josiah J. and George Jenckes were well known as members of the Boston firm of James M. Beebe & Co., contributing largely, by their skill and energy in the management of the business, to the great success of that firm, josiah died unmarried in 1850. George died at Nice, in France, in 18(;8, leaving a widow, Frances Lothrop, the daughter of James M. Beebe, a son, George Stanley, born in Paris in 1807, and a daughter, Esther Lothrop, born at Nice in 18(58. Miss Elizabeth Stanley is now the onh' remaining child of Josiah J. Fiske.

It will be seen from the foregoing that our subject, Joseph N. Fiske, came from a distinctively New England family, and one whose record is eminently creditable. Mr. Fiske's boyhood was passed in his native town of Wrentham, where he received his early education at Day's Academy, then the most popular school for the preparation of boys for college in Massachusetts. At school young Fiske displayed unusual application and interest in his studies and made most gratifying progress. He had at first intended to take a collegiate course, but developed a strong inclination for mercantile pursuits, which led him to abandon his original purpose. In 1833 he came to Boston and acquired his early business training and education in the counting-room of Shaw, Patterson & Company, one of the large dry goods commission houses for which at that time Boston was noted. For five years he remained with this firm, and then became the confidential clerk in the banking-house of George B. Blake & Compauy. In 18-tl he engaged in business for himself, but from 1844 to 1840 was obliged by ill health tcj remain in- active. In 184ii he became a ineinbcr of the Boston Brokers' Board and commenced a banking and brokerage business on State street. Beginning with small capital, he prosecuted his business with such good judgment that it rapidl_v increased and soon became very lucrative. For twenty-four years he continued the business without intermission and with extraordinary success. During this long period, covering the most eventful years in the financial history of our country, he was among the best known men in the financial and banking circles of Boston. He enjoyed the highest commercial credit and during the entire period of his active business career there was never an obligation he assumed that was not promptly met. He possessed the confidence of the business publicto a wonderful degree. This was due not only because of his unquestioned personal integrity, but because of his well known business methods and the careful arrangement of his financial matters. He was a careful, far-sighted operator. While at times his operations were immense, his capital was invested in assets only of the highest character, so that he could in every emergency meet his obligations without inconvenience or sacrifice. He avoided all purely speciTlative ventures, and his connection with an enterprise was a guarantee that it was based on good business principles. He was self-reliant, and his actions in any business transaction were the result of his own conclusions.

In 1870 Mr. Fiske retired from active business, and with his y?ife passed three years in Europe. During his residence abroad he traveled extensively and made himself especially familiar with the business interests and financial problems of the old world. After his return home in 187:3 he devoted himself to the management of his real estate and various trusts, and a few large transactions in railroad securities, which proved eminently successful. He was among the first of the large property holders in the business center of Boston to inaugurate the erection of the modern palatial office buildings. This occurred in 1888, when he began the erection in State street of the well known Fiske Building, which is one of the finest structures in Boston. It is ten stories in height and in richness of interior finish and beauty of architectural effect is unsurpassed by any building in New England. It was the pioneer structure of its class in this part of the city, and has since been followed by many similar edifices, which now make this section of Boston especially noteworthy.

Quietly and modestly, with no desire for publicity, Mr. Fiskc durintj the latter years of his life attended to his extensive private business affairs. Up to the very end of his life he had enjoyed remarkably vigorous health, his well preserved faculties of mind and body when past the period usually associated with strength and vigor being often the subject of comment and congratulations. The illness which terminated in his death, June 18, 1892, was the result of a severe cold which had confined him to the house only ten days.

It was in his home life that Mr. Fiske's real character best revealed itself. Of naturally retiring disposition, his chief pleasures were found within the domestic circle, surrounded by his family and intimate friends. Here the natural unaffected simplicity and genial nature of the man came to the surface, his happ)-, sunny disposition making him a charming host, whose home was always open to welcome and entertain his friends. His charity found exercise in the most unostentatious way and seldom where publicity would be given to his acts. He was much interested in educational, industrial and benevolent institutions, and to extend this field of usefulness was a cheerful contributor. Deserving young persons, poor but ambitious, strongly appealed to his sympathies, and several could be named to whom he furnished the means to provide for a collegiate education. His charities indeed were well directed and dispensed in directions the public knew little of. He held liberal views on religious matters, but all his life was a firm believer in the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, his life being governed by their teachings and precepts. He was reared in the Congregationalist faith, but the latter part of his life he attended Trinity Episcopal Church, where he had been for many years a pew holder. Politically. Mr. Fiske acted with the Republican part}', but he was never an intense partisan, nor did he have the least desire for public office. To discharge honestly and conscientioush* the duties of a private citizen, keenly solicitous for the public good, filled the full meed of his ambition.

Mr. Fiske is survived by his wife, to whom he was married May 24, 1840, in Detroit, Mich., by Rev. George Duffield, D.D. Her maiden name was Charlotte Matilda Morse, daughter of Dr. Elijah Morse, of Moimt Vernon, Me., and granddaughter of Dr. Jacob Corey, sen., of Sturbridge, Mass. Her father was for several years a member of the Senate and House of Representatives of Maine.

John Cummings

Hon. John Cummings was born in Woburn, October 19, 1812. He came of a .Scotch family found in Watertown in the early days of the Massachusetts colony. His great-grandfather moved from Andover to Woburn in 1750, and bought the estate on which Mr. Cummings now lives.

Mr. Cummings was largely self-taught, but had for a brief time the advantages of the Warren Academy and the school at South Reading. Entering business, Mr. Cummings engaged in the tanning and currying industry, associating with himself, sooner or later, John B. Alley, Charles Choate, Leonard B. Harrington and Leonard Harrington. In 18(18 he became president of the .Shawmut National Bank of Boston, which office he now holds. He has served in both houses of the Massachu.setts Legislature ; w-as a member of the Centennial Board of Finance, which redeemed from failure and conducted to a triumphant success the Philadelphia Exhibition of 18T<>, and was also one of the judges of the exhibition. He has served as a director in the Perkins Institution for the Blind, and in the Massachusetts Institution for Feeble-Minded Children.

Mr. Cummings early developed decided scientific tastes, especially in the department of natural history, and made acquirements, which, considering the occupation <jf his time by business cares and duties, are remarkable. He has always been an enthusiastic agriculturist, with an ardent interest in the application of scientific principles to the cultivation of the soil.

His most intimate public relations in his later life have been with the Bostcjn .Society of Natural History, the Agricultural College at Amherst, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to all of which he has rendered inestimable services. Of the last named institution he was for seventeen years the treasurer, as well as a member of the executive committee of the corporation from the organization of that committee. To his courageous acceptance of responsibility and his strong financial support the friends of the school largely attribute its rescue from pecuniary embarrassment, and its subsequent remarkable development. By a vote of the corporation in 1889, when he retired from the office of treasurer, Mr. Cummings's name was applied in perpetuity to the laboratories of mining engineering and metallurgy in recognition of his services.

Mr. Curamings's remarkable disinterestedness in public life, his severe integrity, combined with great kindliness in personal intercourse, his powerfiil intellectual grasp and strong Scotch-American sense, have made him one of the most useful citizens of his native Commonwealth.

Weston Lewis

Weston Lewis, who for many years occupied a prominent position in the commercial, financial and political affairs of Boston, was born April 14, 1834, in Hingham, Mass., where the Lewis family is one of the oldest and most respected.

His educational advantages were rather limited, but comprehensive reading and varied contact with the world more than balanced the deprivations of his youth. Natural ability of a high order, imited to untiring industry and unswerving honesty, were the main secrets of his success in life. He began his business career in Boston in 1850 at the age of sixteen, and ten years later, in I860, founded the dry goods house of Lewis, Brown & Co. , with which he retained his connection imtil ISSo, during which period a large and successful business was developed. While actively engrossed with the exacting nature of his business interest he did not, however, neglect the duties every good citizen owes to the community. Early in his business career he took an active part in the management of municipal affairs, and in 1865 was elected a member of the Common Council. He was re-elected in 1866 and ISfn', and during the latter year served as president of the council. His eminent fitness for public service was still further recognized in 1870 by his appointment as inspector of vState prisons by Governor Washburn, in which position he very creditably served for three years. In 1870 he was made inspector of vState charities. In 1872 he was selected by Mayor Gaston as one of the three commissioners to report on the annexation of Dorchester, Brookline, West Roxbury and Charlestown, and in 1880 was appointed on the State Board of Arbitration by Governor Robinson, serving in this body as chairman until 1880, when he resigned to accept the presidency of the Manufacturers' National Bank. He again took a leading part in the shaping of municipal affairs during 1801 and 1802, being a member of the Board of Aldermen from the Eighth District, and serving on many important committees.

He was pi-e-eniinently public-spirited, and although a staunch and lifelcjng- Republican - his first presidential vote being cast for John C. Fremont in 185(1 - he conscientiously and in a thoroughly non-partisan way strove to advance the best interest of the city. His latter services in behalf of municipal matters were given at the sacrifice of personal interest, and the additional strain imposed b}' the demands of his work for public causes undoubtedly undermined his health. liarnest in all he did, a man of excellent judgment, considerate and courteous in manner, he made an official respected and esteemed bv all. He was fearless in all his business relations and equally so in all matters pertaining to the city. " He never hesitated," says an intimate associate in the conduct of city affairs, "to state his views, and he would speak them fully and frankl}'. He did not hesitate to criticise when he did not agree with associates on the subject matter before them. He was never equivocal; we always knew where and how he stood."

In his business career Mr. Lewis was conspicuously successful. He was careful and conservative in methods, but whatever he imdertook was carried forward with an energy and judgment that rarely met with defeat. In 1883, on account of ill health, he retired from the firm of Lewis, Brown & Co. , and upon his resignation from the Board of Arbitration in 1889, accepted the presidency of the Manufacturers' National Bank. To his management of this financial institution its present high standing can be largely a.scribed. Well known in the business community as a man of trained and tried business ability of a high order, and personally popular and implicitly trusted, his connection with the bank commanded for it the fullest confidence, and under his lead it more than douliled its deposits during the four years of his presidency.

Outside of his business relations, which were varied and of magnitude, Mr. Lewis was a positive factor for good in many directions. No movement of a religious, philanthropic or literary character was inaugurated that did not receive his hearty encouragement or substantial assistance. He was one of the founders of the Unitarian Club and of the Boston Merchants' Association, and by his efforts in their behalf did much to augment the sphere of usefulness of both these organisations. He was also for thirteen years an efficient trustee of the Boston Public Library.

Mr. Lewis died in East Pasadena, Cal., April (.;. I8!i;), whither he liad gone for the benefit of his health. He had been in failing health for several months, due lar^-el}- to overwork, but nothing serious was anticipated, and it was thought a brief respite from his engrossing cares and responsibilities would restore him t(5 his wonted vigor. His death was therefore unexpected, and the receipt of its intelligence was received with sincere sorrow among his many business and political associates. Tributes to his worth as a citizen, public official and business man were many, and by all his death was deplored as a public loss. At the monthly meeting of the Unitarian Club, which was held while his bod}' was being borne to the scene of his labors and usefulness. Secretary William Howell Reed spoke as follows in reference to Mr. Lewis's connection with the club:

When we consider the history of this club, the influence it has attained in this community, the inspiring utterances from this platform on themes so vitally touching the life of the time, and that it has been the pioneer from which all the other religious clubs have taken root as from a parent stem, it seems fitting that as his coffin containing his silent dust is borne across the continent to its last resting place, we should pause for a moment as we speak his name, and in silence honor him by this simple recognition of the inestimable service he has rendered to every good cause which through his foresight has found advocacy here through all these years.

That not since the formation of this organization have we lost one so thoroughly identified with its entire history, activity and usefulness. Reaching its highest official position, he nevertheless was not satisfied in retiring therefrom to discontinue his active interests, but in response to the wishes of the association had continued to serve as a director until the day of his death.

The earnestness and usefulness of Mr. Lewis in this relation is, however, only a part of an exceedingly valuable life which could not be limited in its field of effort. His services for the State in different public trusts, for the city in her highest offices and commissions, for various societies - religious, philanthropic, literary and commercial - all indicate on the part of our community an appreciation of the qualities of mind which made his services so largely called for.

Those of us who knew him most intimately can hardly realize that we shall not witness and share in the prompt and bright way in which he grappled all questions of public concern, and we shall remember him as an able, upright, public-spirited citizen, and an exceptionally kind, considerate and genial associate and friend.

That in the decease of our esteemed fellow citizen and associate, Weston Lewis, we take this occasion to express our sorrow and regret that he has been called from amongst us. In his career as a member of the Board of Aldermen he was ever guided by the principles of right and justice. During the two years that we were associated with him he was alive to the interest of all the people. Prejudice and partisanship had no place in his makeup, and he retired with a record for independence and high character that has gained for him our lasting respect and remembrance.

Whereas, By the death of Hon. Weston Lewis, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the city of Boston have suffered the loss of a public-spirited citizen distinguished by brilliant service in many capacities, beloved and respected for his warm sympathies and other traits of character, and,

Whereas, It is fitting that the Building Trades Council of Boston, representing labor, commemorate those services which he rendered to working pefjple in the interest of the whole community, therefore.

Resolved, That we place upon the record our keen sen.se of loss which the labor element has sustained. One of the original members of a commission which had no example in the history of industrial legislation, he contributed to jlace State arbitration on the highest plane of good government. Although a representative of capital, his manly friendship for the wage earners always prompted just measures, and as alderman he advocated every project that was calculated to promote the good and welfare of the working people. They have lost a valuable friend.

In words equally eulogistic the public press of Boston referred to the death of this well-known and universally respected citizen who had figured prominently in many phases of the life of his community and time. In all positions, either public or private, he acquitted himself with the greatest ability and the strictest integrity. " He has left to his two sons," says one writer, '' the priceless legacy of an honest and able merchant and banker, a faithful public servant, a genial character which won troops of friends, and a career without blemish, which benefited his fellowmen."

Mr. Lewis is survived by two sons, Weston K. and Frederick H. Lewis. His wife, Martha J. Lewis, daughter- of Ezekiel Kendall, of Boston, to whom he was married July 18, 1855, died September 13, 1892.

Samuel Sth.Lman Pierce

S..\MUF.L Stillman PiERCK, fouudcr of the widely known house of S. S. Pierce & Co., was born March 37, 1807, and was a direct descendant of Robert Pierce, who came to New England early in the seventeenth century in the Jo/iii and Mary. In is:!! he became associated with Eldad Worcester in the j^rocery business, under the firm name of Worcester & Pierce. They began with limited resources in a little store on the corner of Tremont and Court streets, but seemingly from the first their modest venture was successful, and in a few years they were eonducting one of the most profitable mercantile enterprises of that period in Boston. Ten 3'ears after the formation of the firm Mr. Worcester retired, and Mr. Pierce continued it alone until April 1, 1874, when Charles L. Eaton, who had been for many years a clerk in the establishment, was admitted as a partner, and the name of the firm was changed to S. vS. Pierce & Co. One year later Wallace L. Pierce, a son of the founder, was taken into the firm.

Mr. Pierce died October l'.i, 1880. For some years prior to his death he had been an invalid, and personally had had little to do with the active management of the business. He was a man of unflinchinghonesty and sterling integrity of character; gentle, unassuming and modest in manner, but beneath his cpiiet exterior was resolute determination, fixed opini(jns and purposes, which no simple question of expediency or policy could in the slightest degree change or modifv. The rugged honesty of the man manifested in every action was the key note of his success. He was married in February, 183G, to Miss Ellen Maria Wallis, who at the advanced age of eighty-one years still survives her husband. Thej' had nine children, of whom two sons and three daughters are living.

Upon the completion of the sixtieth year of the existence of the firm of S. S. Pierce & Co., the following account of its rise and progress appeared in the Boston Evciiing Transcript. It contains so much of an interesting historical nature that no excuse is necessary for its insertion here:

To one with antiquarian tastes, there are few things more interesting and instructive than the records of the early transactions of a long-established business house. They tell of people long since dead, - what they wore, what they ate, the bills they paid, and the bills they left unpaid. In a city like Boston, where changes in business are of frequent occurrence, the founders of the houses are generally soon forgotten, and the books telling of their first sales go to the paper-mills, to make daybooks and journals for the generations that follow them. This has not been the fate, however, of the ledgers of Samuel S. Pierce, the founder of the house of S. S. Pierce & Co. , whose principal store is on the very spot from which sixty years ago were trundled in a wheelbarrow the groceries that supplied the opulent citizens of the region in the vicinity of the corner of Tremont and Court streets, where the little store then stood.

The yelliiw leaves of the little ledger, neat and prim as the old beaux of that day, inform the curious that the first recorded sale was made on October 21, 1831, to the firm of O. & R. Goss. And it was on this date that the copartnership was formed between Eldad Worcester and Samuel S. Pierce, under the firm name of Worcester & Pierce.

The modest beginning evidently did not deter the best people of the city and the Commonwealth from giving it their patronage, for conspicuous on the pages of the book are the names of William EUery Channing, John P. Thorndike, Otis Norcross & Co , Gardner Green, Nathaniel Hooper, Walter Frost, John Snowden, jr., Samuel Langmaid, Dr. John C. Ware, Dr. Walter Channing, brother of the celebrated divine, Daniel Dennie, Thomas Goddard, Patrick T. Jackson, Charles Lyman, Thomas H. Perkins, Moody Merrill, Dr. John Jeffries, and many others whose names are as familiar to the people of Boston to-day as they were half a century ago. Another name appears on the book, but not in so creditable a manner as those mentioned above, for, while the entries show that these gentlemen paid their bills promptly, there is a little financial transaction on the part of the United States Court, involving the purchase of thirty cents' worth of goods, which still remains unsettled. The bill was contracted on March %~i. 1833, and, with compound interest, would today amount to - let the man with the horse-shoe problem work it out! A peculiar and primitive feature of this ledger is the omission of the first names of many of the customers, which indicates a most delightfully close association between Mr. Pierce and them. It is easy to imagine Smith, Brown, and Robinson strolling into the store in the evening from their comfortable' homes at the West End to indulge in a bit of political discussion, and suddenly remembering as the hour for closing arrived the commissions of their thoughtful wives for tea, coffee and sugar. While there may have been many of the same name m the town, it would have seemed to the genial storekeeper an iinnecessary use of time and ink to write out in full on his account books the names of his friends and ne.xt-door neighbors, so all their commercial transactions were indicated by the names by which they were most familiarly known.

One of the early patrons of the firm was George W. Vinton, the noted restaurant keeper, who opened an account on December 14, 1831. Peter Brigham, another famous caterer, made his first recorded purchase on June 8, 1833, and the celebrated founder of the Parker House the same year observed Washington's birthday by becoming a patron of the store, - a patronage that lasted as long as he lived, and was continued by his successors. James Parker, a wealthy, eccentric gentleman, who, on his deathbed gave orders that his pet horse should be shot, that he might be sure it would not fall into unkind hands, inaugurated an account with the firm on March 4, 1883, and on November 35 of that year appears the name of Samuel. Adams, but not the historic Sam who had died thirty years before. John Wilson, whose great printing-office is still one of the features of Cambridge, opened an account on November 37, 1831, and Nathan Hale, the founder of the Advertiser, on May 12, 1833. On December 24 of the same year the famous Dr. Francis Parkman became a customer of the firm. Mr. Pierce was a member of the fire companies of those days, so it is not surprising to find recorded on his ledger sales to Adventure No. 1 and Engine Company No. 18. The Eye and Ear Infirmary was also another public institu-

With such a list of customers rapidly increasing in numbers, it was inevitable that the wheelbarrow must be discarded for a more commodious vehicle for the delivery of goods, and a handcart was introduced. As trade was pushed beyond the West End not only were better facilities for carrying trade demanded, but more rapid transit had to be introduced. And this led to the use, for the first time in the grocery business of Boston, of a horse and wagon for this purpose. To-day the same firm has in constant use in the delivery department fifty-nme horses and wagons, to say nothing of the use it makes of city expresses carrying for it goods at its own e.\pense. But this is but one item of its business. The firm of S. S. Pierce & Co. to-day sends its goods not only into every State in the Union, but across the sea as far as St. Petersburg and the west coast of Africa. Even back as far as the time when this country was engaged in breaking up the slave trade on the African coast the officers of the cruisers depended on this house to supply them with luxuries not included in the rations of the government, and there is a story told that at one time, when the extras gave out and "hardtack" and "salt horse" were for days the unpalatable food of these fastidious epicures, the arrival of a consignment of goods from the Boston grocers was made the occasion of the most hilarious antics. Before the edibles and drinkables could be carried to quarters, the boxes were unceremoniously broken open on "Afric's burning sands," and bottles of champagne bearing the familiar brand were hugged lovingly by blue-coated arms. During the Rebellion supplies were sent to the naval vessels wherever they could be reached.

One of the special features of the house has always been direct importations of tlie finest qualities of foreign merchandise. Its managers send to the farthest corners of the earth for goods, and many of these orders go out without limit as regards price, they believing that this is the only way to be sure of securing the best quality, and they will have no other. One house in Bordeaux has been furnishing the firm with the highest grades of wines for nearly fifty years. The great advantage to the customer from direct importation is that the firm stands directly between the producer and the consumer, and the charges of middlemen are thus reduced to the very smallest minimum. The extent of this importing business is simply marvelous. There is but one house in New England that pays as much money in duties at the customhouse, and that single exception does a commission business, and imports anything that anybody may want. The im]3orting done by S. S. Pierce & Co. is confined largely to fancy groceries, cigars, wines and perfumery. The duty on cigars is very heavy, and counts up fast. The same high integrity which has characterized the dealing of the firm with its customers prevails in its business with the government.

For twenty years there has not been even a question as to any invoice, and its statement as to values has always been accepted as correct. The changes which are constantly going on in the taste of the people, and the introduction of new articles of diet, have produced quite a revolution in the importing business. Before the day of gelatine Russian isinglass was used exclusively in the manufacture of jellies, and it cost at one time as high as eighteen dollars a pound. Once the firm was compelled to send into the interior of Russia for its supply, which had to be carted in dog sleds through the great forests of that country to a seaboard town for shipment to this

Country. That business is now at an end. At one time so little oatmeal was consumed in New England that all the stock needed to supply the demand for gruel was kept in a drawer no larger than is used for spices. Now the firm imports Irish oatmeal in lots of twenty tons, and that raised in this country is bought by the carload.

One of the best evidences that can be offered of the confidence which the community lias in the honesty and fair dealing of the firm, and of the success which the present managers have had in upholding in every way the high standard set by the founder of the house, is the retention, through three generations, of the patronage of the families who were its first customers. The name of John H. Rogers is to be found on the books of the firm as early as October 28, 1831, and his account was continued until his death, some time ago. Edward Austin, who opened an account a few days later, is still a customer. The firm of French & Emmons began buying goods of the firm on November 18, 1831, and one of the partners is still a patron of the house. John Codman has been a continuous customer since February 4. 1833 ; Horatio Hammond, who was recently buried with military honors at Bermuda, made his first purchase of the firm on January 18, 1833. Then there are the descendants of Thomas Lamb, John Codman, John Reed, B. W. Crowninshield, Samuel Q. Cochran, and many others, who are continuing in the footsteps of their ancestors, fir.st made as far back as 1832.

The firm has successfully resisted the strong temptation and tendency in the grocery trade to buy cheaper goods, which are said to be just as good as the higherpriced articles. And this recalls a remark made by one of its most distingiiished and oldest customers. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. A gentleman told him he had found a place where he could buy groceries cheaper than they could be obtained at S. S. Pierce's. "I can't afford to buy anything cheaper than what they sell," replied the doctor. The increase of business has been steady every year since the firm was established. All through the years of panic and depression, and even when prices were at the highest, business was best. So that at the present time it is eight times larger than it was twenty years ago. Besides the great retail store on the original site (erected in 1883), the firm owns the immense Pierce Building, in Copley Square (erected in 1887),,in which a branch retail business is conducted, while the wholesale business and the storage of the bulk of stock have been concentrated in the new building at the head of Central Wharf, next to the Chamber of Commerce (erected in 1891.)

Thomas Nickerson

Th()m.'\s Nickerson was a native of Brewster, Mass., a member of the widely connected family of that name, who have inhabited that part of Massachusetts for generations. He was born in 1810, the yoimg-est of five brothers, all left fatherless and almost penniless in their youth. From Cape Cod they came to Boston, where Joseph, the eldest, and Thomas became well known in railroad circles. The foiTaer, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume, was once the largest shareholder in the Atchison and New Mexico railroads, and was always the staunch friend of these enterprises. Frederick, another brother, was at his death a director of the Union Pacific Company. All of these brothers were evidently possessed of superior business qualities, as their success shows. From poverty they all came to wealth by their own industry and effort.

Mr. Nickerson, after some reverses in his early store-keeping, formed a partnership with Pliny Nickerson for the ownership and management of vessels. The firm of Nickerson & Company was for thirty years one of the best houses in the city. Its fleet was once the largest in the United States. Anticipating the decline in maritime commerce, Mr. Nickerson retired from the firm about twenty-five years ago, to give his attention to railroading, in which he had become largely interested. Although he had been prominently identified with the shipping interests and had been highly successful in this line of business, it was his subsequent connection with railroads that most thoroughh' brought out and illustrated his remarkable business ability.

The Atchison Railroad came into the hands of Eastern parties in 1870. In the fall of the same year Mr. Nickerson was elected one of the trustees of the Land (jrant Bonds, and in that capacity, in connection with a committee from the Board of Directors, composed of ]\Ir. Emmons Raymond and Mr. Alden Speare, reappraised all of the lands which would come to the railroad company, and b}' such reappraisal saved to the company more than two millions of dollars.

In May, 18T1, Mr. Nickerson was elected a director of, the Atchison road. In May, 187:5, vice-president. The road had been completed early in the year 1873 and a certificate of acceptance had gone to Washington; but the road, except the first one hundred miles, was without business or connection beyond the western line of the State, with the exception of two feeble stage lines, one to Santa Fe and the other to Pueblo. For the 3'ear previous the Atchison company, in order to secure money, had been obliged to secure the endorsement of the directors of the road on its paper. It soon became apparent that the road coiild not pay the interest on its bonds, and a scheme was drawn up looking to exten.sion of a portion of its coupons. In this, the then president, Henry Strong, did not sympathize, but preferred that the road should go into the hands of a receiver. Mr. Nickerson, on the other hand, was fullv determined that the road should not sj'o into the hands of a receiver, and that the funding;' scheme of the coupons should be carried throu.yh. Tliis, notwithstanding- the o]iposition of the president, with the hearty eo-tiperation of the other directors of the road, Mr. Nickerson, b_v his prompt and able manag-ement, was able to accomplish, and many of the oldest directors and friends of the road believx' that this one act of Mr. Nickerson's was not only manifestly for the advantage of the road, but for all parties who had any interests in Western enterprises, and to him, more than to any other person, should be g'iven the credit of its successful accoinpli.shment.

In May, 1874, he was elected president of the road, and when he retired five years later, eight hundred miles of road had been built, and in such a healthy conditit)n were its affairs that the first bonds were worth 130, second mortgage bonds sold at par, and the stock at 11(1.

Mr. Nickerson, while president of the Atchison road, was selected as the man best adapted to harmonize the New York and Boston parties in the Atlantic and Pacific road. The directory of this ecjmpany was made up of representatives in equal numbers of the Atchison and St. Louis and San Francisco companies. Ten million dollars were immediately subscribed, and its bcmds were marketed at a premium, when the Mexican Central Company was organized to build from El Paso to the capital, 1,100 to 1,200 miles, and unanimously elected Mr. Nickerson president, which position he most ably filled until August 4, 1S84. Besides these railroad enterprises he was interested in numerous minor projects of similar character in many parts of the country.

As a railroad ])ro3ector and manager he was remarkably succe.ssful, but so quietly and modesth' did he go about his work that the world at large knew comparatively little of him. Only his intimate associates and those brought within close contact with him fully appreciated his strong and vigorous personality. The world has been told often and much about most of the leading railroad projectors of the country, but the extreme modesty of Mr. Nickerson prevented any reference to himself, except in reports of meetings of his various companies. It was always a peculiar feature of his character to keep out of .sight, at least out of public gaze. He was always a plain, hard working man, and while at the time of his retirement from business, when he had probably as great and substantial a financial following as any man in the country, he was less known to the public than a score of others far less deserving of mention.

Mr. Nickerson resided for many years in Boston, but during the latter years of his life resided at Newton Centre. He was connected with the Baptist Chuixh; had been superintendent of a Sunday-school, and took a leading part in missionary and benevolent society circles. He was a liberal g'iver, and contributed laroely to mission and home charities. He took an interest, but not an active part in politics, although he was at one time a meniber of the Legislature from Boston, and held several positions of public trust.

Personally, Mr. Nickerson was of a genial and hospitable nature. He was as simple in his tastes as a New England farmer, but denied himself no comfort or luxury. Any extravagance in business or on his farm displeased him. While he had but little time for social pleasure, he was fond of compan\-, and was a generous host. He was in many respects what we are pleased to call in America, "a self-made man" in the best sense of the term. He first had to build himself, and having laid a good foundation and builded carefully, he was strong himself and a tower of strength to others. Men do not fail to find merit where it exists, and the eminent qualities of his heart and head have been recognized and honored by his associates.

He died at Newton Centre, July "i-i, IS'.H, leaving three children: Theodore, his only son, who was associated with his father in some of his railroad projects; Mrs. T. L. Rogers and Mrs. Edward H. Mason, all of whom lived near their father's residence. Mr. Nickerson's wife died just one year prior to his death, and from that shock he never full}' recovered.

George C. Lord

George C. Lord, son of George and Olive (Jefferds) Lord, was born in Kennebunk, Me., February 27, 1823. He was descended from Nathan Lord, who came from England in 1030 and settled in Kittery, Me. Until he was sixteen years of age he attended the public schools of his native town, and in 1839 came to Boston and entered as clerk the store of Holbrook, Carter & Co. , a dry goods house on Kilby street. After remaining there about four years he became in 184-3, at the age of twenty, a partner in the firm of Damon & Howe, wholesale grocers, on Long Wharf. Though still a young man, he displayed a special aptitude for business, and with a eharacter of whieh integrity, industry and intelligence were the ingredients, he successfully crossed the threshold of a career in which he became one of the substantial and respected merchants of Boston. In IS-tT he formed with his brother, Charles H. Lord, the firm of George C. Lord & Co., wdiich for many years was largely engaged in the shipping business and built and managed a fleet of ships and barks which found their way into the waters of every sea. Before the outbreak of the war they built the following ves.sels, a list of which has an interest as showing what at that time must have been the amount of Boston capital invested in navigation, when so large a tonnage was launched and managed by a single firm :

These vessels sailed largely under charters, though occasionally loaded wholly or in part on the owners' account, and their flags were familiar objects in the ports of Liverpool, New Orleans, San Francisco, Cadiz, Valparaiso, Calcutta, China and Australia. Their captains belonged to the aristocracy of the ocean, and included such navigators as William Kelley, William Chatfield, Isaac Smith, Tobias Lord, David Rnnvn, Hiram Newcomb, John H. and Hiram Perkins, C. B. Williams, Edgar Paine, John Wallace, John C. Lord, W. H. Harding, G. M. Edwards, Wm. B. Nason, John W. Barker, A. N. Williams, C. Thomas, 'Capt. Seave}', William Williams and Noah Mason.

At the decline of navigation during the war many of these vessels were sold in London to Briti.sh owners, and Mr. Lord gradually withdrew from active business on his own account. The firm of George C. Lord & Co., however, continued with Charles H. Lord, a brother of George C. Lord, Robert W. Lord, a son, and Charles W. Lord as its members, until the death of Charles H. Lord in 180-2, when the firm was dissolved.

About ISO") Mr. Lord was chosen ])resident of the New England Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and until 1881 devoted himself to its service. This company under the presidency of Mr. Lord rapidly increased its business, and when he retired from its control it had become one of the strongest in New England. Associated with him in its management as directors were some of the leading capitalists and ablest business men in Boston, among them being- Henry L. Richardson, John Gardner, J. Cushing Edmands, Isaac Taylor, Ezra H. Baker, Alpheus Hardy, Osborn Howes and Jacob W. Seaver.

In LSfifi he was made a director in the Boston and Maine Railroad, in 1S80 vice-president, and in 1881 president, at that time resigning his position as president of the insurance company. In 1889 he resigned, having seen during his presidency the business of the road multiplied seven times. At the time of his death he was a director of the Second National Bank of Boston, the Boston Safety Deposit Company, the American Loan and Trust Company, the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad, the York Harbor and Beach Railroad, and the Newton and Watertown Gas Light Company.

j\Ir. Lord married September 23, 1846, Marion Ruthven, daughter of Robert Waterston, the head of the large and well known dry goods house of Waterston, Pray & Co., and sister of Rev. Robert C. Waterston, of Boston. In 184S he became a resident in Newton, and until his death felt a deep interest in the welfare of that town, assisting in the formation and aiding in the support of the Free Library ; and especially earnest and liberal as a member of the Channing Unitarian Church. He died at his home in Newton February 23, 1893. No man received, or deserved, a larger share of the respect of the community in which he lived. He belonged to that class which in these days of speculation is unfortunately not enlarging, from which the testator .selects an executor or trustee, and contending parties seek a referee. His good sense, his love of justice, his untainted integrity, his fearless independence, were traits which his fellows earlv discovered and did not fail to make use of.

The varioiis corporations with which Mr. Lord was connected adopted at his death resolutions eulogizing his worth. The directors of John Hancock Mutual Life In.surance Compan}' placed upon the records of the company, among other tributes to his memory, the following:

Mr. Lord was remarkable for the calmness and correctness of his judgments. No matter how momentous the questions at issue, or how disturbing the conditions surrounding them, he was always cool and deliberate; his conclusions were based upon correct reasoning, and were never controlled, or even influenced, by the excitement of the moment.

He was by nature kind to all and considerate of the feelings of others, generous with his advice, his active assistance and his means to all causes that benefit mankind. These qualities he showed with such a naturalness and freedom from ostentation, that it was apparent he was unconscious of his unselfishness, and that he performed these acts of kindness without thinking that he was doing in anv Avav differently from what every one else would do.

Benjamin S. Rotch

Benjamin S. Rotch was born in Philadelphia, March 4, 1817. He belonged to a family distinguished in several generations for commercial enterprise and success, for intelligence and refinement, and their engaging social qualities. To his great-grandfather, William Rotch, of Nantucket, belongs the distinction of being one of the prominent founders of the prosperity of New Bedford, and being the first to establish our whale fisheries in' Europe. It was from one of his ships (the historic Dartiiiontli) that the tea was emptied into Boston harbor, a somewhat curious coincidence, as it was from another of his vessels that the American flag was first unfurled in the River Thames. Of such ancestry Mr. Rotch was a fitting representative. From them he inherited a character of uncommon strength and beauty. From the beginning he lived up to the family traditions, and his whole life was the embodiment of the finer elements of the race to which he belonged.

After a thorough preparatory course, he entered Harvard College, from which he was graduated with honor in 1S38, being marshal of the class which numbered among its members Lowell, Eustis, Devens, Story, and many other well-known men. He never lost his interest in the college, but was always alive to its well being, watching with jealous thoughtfulness the new measures, which from time to time were introduced there, and ready to render any service that he might, officially or otherwise, in departments where his own attainments fitted him to be particularly useful.

suits. Soon abandoning a field of activity uncongenial to his tastes and inclinations, he turned his attention toward manufacturing, and in earh^ life did much to promote the indtistries of New Bedford. With his brother, William, he founded the New Bedford Cordage Company, which still remains a monument of his energy and ability. Later on he was one of the first to discover and develop the value of the McKay sewing machine, which has since won a world wide reputation.

Mr. Rotch was married in 1846 to the eldest daughter of the Hon. Abbott Lawrence, and accompanied the latter to England when he was appointed minister at the Court of St. James. It was during this and subsequent visits to Europe that he had the opportunity to improve and cultivate that interest in the fine arts which rendered his influence most valuable in this community. Gifted with a refined taste and sensitive feeling for form and color, his careful study of foreign collections, supplemented by practical work, made him a competent and fastidious critic, as well as a painter, whose landscapes have been shown to advantage in oitr local exhibitions. He was keenly alive to the impossibility of suddenly producing in a strictly commercial community works of art of the highest excellence, yet he was ever ready with a kind word and generous hand to help forward its cause. Many a struggling artist will remember gratefully the timely help which was so imostentatiously and freely given. For several years before his death he gave much thought to the question, of how he could best advance the interest of art in this country, and decided that architecture, in which he had educated his eldest son, was the branch which most needed encourage ment, it being the art whose development in a new country naturally preceded the less practical ones of painting and sculpture. His sitdden death came before his plans were matured, and it became a pious duty for his heirs, two sons and two daughters, to carry out his intentions. It was decided to found, as a memorial, a traveling scholarship for students of architecture. The high degree of success which has attended this the first traveling scholarship in this country, has inspired a number of similar foundations, so that its good influence has extended far beyond its owns beneficiaries. It has been a decided factor in guiding and helping on the movement among us for a truer appreciation of art, and for a larger development and better training of our native artistic talent.

Unobtrusive and retiring in disposition, ]\Ir. Rotch had no desire for political or oiificial prominence, but he nevertheless exerted marked in- fluence in the community, and in pri\-ate, and in many ways worked for the good of society. His good judgment made him a wise coimselor, and his unswerving and fearless regard for truth and justice made him often a champion of those who had none other to befriend them. His critical judgment was constantly appealed to in all artistic matters, and for many years he served most acceptably as tiaistee of the Athenitum and of the Museum of Fine Arts. He also for many years was a trustee of the Eye and Ear Infirmary, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Perkins Institute for the Blind, and an overseer of Harvard College, while for eight years he served as aid on the staff of Governor Briggs, with the rank of colonel.

During the period of the late civil war Mr. Rotch, a strong Republican, was prevented from going into active service by imperative duties to his sick wife, but he gave his ardent energy and lavishly of his wealth to help tlie Union cause. At the time when Charles Sumner was practically ostracized by the aristocratic set in Boston, Mr. Rotch's home was always open to the senator, and a life long friendship was deepened under these trials.

Mr. Rotch was a member of the leading social, and artists' clubs of Boston, Init enjoyed especially the refined atmosphere of the Wednesday and Thursday Evening Clubs. In the closer relations of life he was a delightful companion, yet so retiring and sensitive was his nature that the privilege of his intimate friendship was extended to but a few, but by those who were so fortunate as to have shared it he will be long remembered. His interest in agriculture found expression in his fann in Milton, to which he was one of the first to import rare Alderneys and Jersej's. For several years he was an active member of the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture, and took a lively interests in its deliberations. He was a religious minded man, careful to fulfill his duties in the church to which he belonged, being at the time of his death the senior warden of Emanuel Church.

Mr. Rotch died suddenly at his summer house in Milton, August 19, 1883, and is survived by two sons and three daughters. His wife died in 1893.

Richard Sullivan Fay G12 Suffolk County

sex county. He was educated in the schools of that town, and entered Harvard College in 1831, being graduated in 1825 with good distinctions as a scholar. Among his classmates were Charles Francis Adams, Rev. Frederick H. Hedge, Rev. S. K. Lothrop, John L. Sibley, Sears C. Walker, and many others who distinguished themselves by useful and honorable service. At the close of his college career he entered upon the study of law at the law school in Northampton when that institution held a high place under the direction of some of the most brilliant lawyers in the Commonwealth. He established himself in business in Boston in connection with Jonathan Chapman, who became a leader at the Suffolk bar, and mayor of the city of Boston.

In 1832 Mr. Fay married Catherine Sanders, daughter of the Hon. Dudley L. Pickman, of Salem, and resided many years in Boston in the diligent and active practice of his profession. In 1848 he took his family to Europe, and after an extended journey on the continent he took up his residence in England, where he resided for several years on an estate in Shropshire, known as Moor Park, one of the most beautiful and cultivated of those landed properties of England, in which are combined the elegance and luxury of a well appointed home, and the best practical system of agriculture. It was undoubtedly this experience in England which increased Mr. Fay's natural love for rural pursuits and cultivated those tastes which made him an ardent and useful promoter of agriculture in his native State, to which he returned in 1853. He had previously purchased a large estate in Essex county, known as Lynn Mineral Spring Hotel, comprising more than five hundred acres of diversified land, in which fertile valleys, picturesque and rugged hills, and a beautiful lake were combined. He commenced at once the improvement of this place, now called Lynnmere, by draining the land and covering the hills with immense trees, many of which he planted with his own hands. He imported larches, maples, firs and pines in large quantities, planted acorns constantly in his walks about the estate, and succeeded in converting a roiigh and a somewhat imattractive landscape into a variegated forest, through which winds an aveniie of great beauty, bordered by deciduous and evergreen trees distributed with great taste, and constituting a charming combination of variety and luxuriance of foliage. The forest which Mr. Fay planted has now become a profitable woodland. The bare hills which he covered with Scotch larches, the rude stone walls, and the waste pasture, where originally there was only a growth of red cedar and huckleberry bushes, through which the approach to the house led, have g-ivcn way to shade trees of great variety, which now, after forty years, are in magniiicent beauty. Huge rocks were drawn out of the soil now verdant in lawn, grass-fiields and rich crops. The place is one of the inost picturesque in New England in natural beauty, and in its present condition is a memorial of the taste and genius of the man who developed and added to its attractiveness.

In addition to this extensive forest and ornamental tree culture, Mr. F'ay encouraged by precept and practice many of the most important branches of agriculture which belong especially to the practical farmer. While in England he had observed the importance attached to sheep husbandry, for the production of coarse and middle wools, and the supply of mutton as a healthful and economical article of food, at that time not in general use in this country. He selected from all the heavy and rapid growing breeds in England the Oxford Downs as larger than the South Downs and finer than the Cotswold, and from his large flocks he made for a long time a wide distribution throughout the country. In this branch of stock raising he was considered as authority, and in connection with it he encouraged the growing of root crops, the most improved Swedes and Mangolds, which English flock masters and cattle breeders consider indispensable to their calling.

To the establishment <jf market-days in Essex county Mr. Fay gave early and earnest attention, and contributed much instruction on this system of trade, so common in England, through the agricultural press of the country. His attendance at the meeting of farmers was frequent. As a trustee of the Massachusetts Societ}' for Promoting Agriculture, in which body Robert C. Winthrop, George W. Lyman, Chief Justice Bigelow, George Peabody, Charles (\. Loring, Stephen .Salisbury, George B. Loring, Leverett Saltonstall and others were his associates, he did good service, and edited the first issue of the records of the society. As president of the Essex Agricultural Society he called around that association the most eminent patrons of farming known in the coimtry and did much to place it in the position it now occupies. He had a sincere love of rural life, and ulthougli connected from time to time with business enterprises, he never forgot that agriculture is tlic foundation of all our prosperity and that a knowledge of its economies and a taste for its pursuits add much to one's usefulness and happiness.

never lost sight of the efforts required for the development of human enterprises, and was somewhat impatient of those theories which disturbed society and endangered its perpetuity and siiccess. He lived in a time of great transitions, in which, although occupying no official position, he gave strong expression to his views and equal impress to his exertions. Early in the breaking out of the civil war he organized at his own expense a company known as the Fay (juards, which did brave and honorable service in the great conflict. This company was attached to the Thirty-eighth Massachusetts, and was in the following engagements: Port Hudson, May 17 to July 9, 1863; Cane River, La., April, 1804; Mausura Plains, La., May, 18(14; Winchester, \'a. , September 19, 1804; Fisher's Hill, Va., September 21, 1804; Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 1804. Mr. Fay lived to see the glorious and happy termination of his country's trial. He died in Livcrjjool, July 0, 1805, leaving a widow and four children.

Henry G. Parker

CoL. Henry Grosvf.nor Parker, son of Ebenezer Grosvenor and Rebecca Morton (Davis) Parker, was born in Plymouth, Mass. , March 1 9, 1836. He received his primary education in the public schools of Plymouth. Later he came to Boston and attended the old Adams .School on Mason street, and was afterwards prepared for college at Chauncey Hall School. Although he had strong literary inclinations, he relinquished a collegiate course to enter upon a mercantile career. After passing a year in the wholesale house of Blanchard, Converse & Co., he became assistant bookkeeper for the hardware firm of Callender, Rogers & Co., and was engaged in that capacity for three years. He next became bookkeeper for Blodgett, Clark & Brown, and three years later was appointed confidential clerk for Jordan, Marsh & Co., remaining in the latter position for seven years. He was then offered and accepted the treasurership of two mills operated by Francis vSkinner & Co. The bankruptcy of this house put an end to this agreement, and it was then that Colonel Parker turned his attention to journalism, with which he had been more or less identified as a contributor since his sixteenth year. His first article was written for the old Boston Mail. Still later he became the correspondent of the Neiv York Mir?'or, and also wrote for the Jhiston Bcc\ the Boston J\>st, the Boston Daily Courier, and the Saturday Evening Gazette. When the last named journal was oflfered for sale in 1870, Colonel Parker purchased it. His success as editor and business manager is well known. He was one of the first, if not the first, journalist in this county to adopt the personal society news. This innovation was not at first received very kindly, more especially by his contemporaries, but he continued until this department, imder the caption of " Out and About," was recognized and sought for. The wisdom of the move is attested by the fact that many of the journals that were most violent in their reprehensions of Colonel Parker, now follow his example with their own departments for society gossip. The Gazette, under Colonel Parker's management, became highly successful,* and among the few profitable papers of its class in the country. Colonel Parker's ability as a journalist was of high order. He believed in an outspoken expression of editorial opinion, without fear or favor, and he made more friends than enemies by this frank and manly course. The result was that the Ga::cttc was looked upon as an authority that could always be relied upon in those matters to which it devoted special attention.

At the Peace Jubilee of 1S'3!1 and the World's Peace Jubilee of ISI'a, Colonel Parker acted as general secretary of the executive committee; and while serving in that capacity, an acquaintance previously existing with Hon. Alexander M. Rice was cemented into a warm friendship. When Mr. Rice was installed Governor of Massachusetts, he selected Colonel Parker as a member of his staff. Colonel Parker held this position during the three years of Governor Rice's administration, and was again appointed by Governor Talbot.

Colonel Parker died May 13, 1893, after a brief illness, leaving a widow, the daughter of the late William Brown, and also survived by his mother, Mrs. George S. Tolman, who resides in Plymouth. In social life Colonel Parker was justly a favorite, and his cheery presence will long be missed at the Algonquin and Suffolk clubs, of which he had long been a member.

The following estimate of Colonel Parker's character was written by one who had I6ng been a close and intimate associate, and best able to judge of the qualities of his mind and heart:

As a man, one of his characteristics was frankness and admiration of frankness in others. He was outspoken in the expression of his opinions, and was tenacious of them, but was always ready to hsten to otijections, and to adopt them on conviction.

By nature he was tender and amiable, and those who did not know him intimately were not aware of the sweetness and kindness that lay behind a manner that on the surface was apparently aggressive; nor of the ease with which his gentle emotions w"ere touched. Though mainly known to the community as a business man, he had fine literary tastes, was an earnest reader, and took great delight in the company of men and women of culture. His love of music was intense, and his taste in what was refined in art was marked. To his friends he was devoted heart and soul, and his loyalt)' to them was as enthusiastic as it was sincere. As a host lie was generous in his hospitality, and experienced genuine pleasure in contributing to the happiness of those to whom his heart went out.

Addison Macullar

Addison Malum. ak, founder of the clothing house of Maculhir, Parker & Company, wa.s born in Barre, Mass., December 19, 1822, and died in Worcester, Mass., March 11, 1893. He was a son of Horace N. and Jane (Kelly) Macullar. His first regular employment was in the printing office of the Barrc Gazette. Later on he went to Worcester, Mass., where he began his mercantile career in 1842 at the age of twenty 3'ears. In March, 1849, he commenced business on his own account under the firm name of A. Macullar & Co. In February, 1852, he and George B. Williams established a house in Boston under the firm name of Macullar, Williams & Co., for the manufacture of clothing for the wholesale trade. In 1800 Charles W. Parker was admitted as partner, when the firm natne was changed to Macullar, Williams & Parker, and in 1879 to Macullar, Parker cl- Compan}', continuing as such until the present time. Mr. Parker, who for many years has had the actual management of the bu-siness, became associated with Mr. Mactillar as a fellow clerk in Worcester in 1847, and when the latter opened a store in Worcester, accompanied him, acting as store boy, salesman and book-keeper, in fact was the onl}' employee. Their re-' lationship from the days of their association as clerks in Worcester to the time of Mr. MacuUar's death was particularly intimate and distinguished for cordial and mutual feelings of regard.

The firm of Macullar, Parker & Company has long occupied a foremost position in its special line in New England, and has been a leader rather than a follower in what has grown to be the principal industry of Boston. Its history from the standpoint of financial success has been highly creditable, while the agreeable and harmonious relations which liave evei" characterized the intercourse of the individual member of the house, have been particularly ntjteworthy. From the inception of the business to the present time - a period of forty-three years - there have been probably as few changes in the firm as in any in Boston covering the same period of time. During the latter years of his life Mr. MacuUar personally had little to do with the detail management of the business, but his name and personality remained as positive factors in its operations. His long mercantile career was not only singularly successful, but marked, perhaps, with fewer unpleasant features than fall to the lot of most business men. He was a man of genial nature, agreeable address, and by the frankness and generosity of his disposition strongly attached to himself those with whom he was brought into close contact, while the sterling integrity of his character commanded the respect of all who ever knew him.

Mr. Macullar was married in 1850 to Martha M. Reed, of Chichester, N. H., who survives her husband. They had two children, Charles and Frank R. Macullar, the latter of whom is now living in Worcester, and the junior member of the firm of Macullar & Son.

Roland Worthington

RoL.-^N'i) WoRTHrNGTON is One of the veteran figures of New England, and, indeed, of American journalism. He was born in Agawam, Mass., September 22, 1817, and in the seventy-sixth year of his age is still in the full vigor of a well preserved manhood.

Mr. Worthington received his education in the district schools of his native place, and after the manner of the farmers' sons of his boyhood days, graduated into the sterner school of work at the early age of twelve. From that time until he reached his twentieth year he was employed in various capacities, supporting and educating himself as he went along. In March, 1837, he went to Boston, and found employment in the counting-room of the Daily Adve-tiscr. For six years he had the valuable experience of association with the business department of that paper, which, with Nathan Hale as its editor, was indisputably the leading daily of New England, both in point of enterprise and influence. .So close had been W\\ Worthington's application to business that, in 1843, his health was seriously impaired, and, under advice, he sought its restoration by a trip abroad. He crossed the Atlantic, and made a journey up the Mediterranean, touching at various points, and enlarging his knowledge of Europe by actual observation. Returning to this coimtry he then passed a winter at the South, where he acquired a practical insight into the political and social conditions of that section, which proved valuable to him as the great questions which culminated in the civil war developed themselves.

In June, 1845, having returned to Boston with fully renewed health, Mr. Worthington took charge of the Daily Evening Traveller, and its history and his own have ever since been one and inseparable.

The American Traveller was launched on January 1, 1825, Royal L. Porter being its first editor. Later, the Stage Register, a journal which had for its principal feature several columns of stage line advertisements, was incorporated with the Avierieau Traveller. With the issue of the new Daily Evening Traveller, the first number of which appeared on April 1, 1845, the American Traveller became its semi-weekly issue, and the Stage Register was transformed into the Weekly Traveller. This prograjnme of publication is maintained to the present time, the Boston E.vcning Traveller (daily), the American Traveller (semi-weekly), and the Weekly Traveller, all being regularly issued in large and steadily-growing editions from the well-known Traveller Building, on the corner of State and Congress streets, facing the Old State House - in many respects the most striking newspaper site in the city. The first number of the Daily Elvening Traveller was a four-page sheet, about fourteen by twenty, bearing the imprint of Upton, Ladd and Company as the publishers; but that firm very soon afterwards relinquished all connection with it. Its originators and first editors were Rev. George Punchard and Deacon Ferdinand Andrews. They projected it as a strictly Orthodox paper, devoted to the zealous advocacy of the temperance cause. Rev. Mr. Punchard was popularly spoken of as " the bishop of the Orthodox churches of New Hampshire," in which State he had been preaching with marked ability and power. Mr. Andrews, his associate, was a deacon of the Pine Street Church. Together they set the moral and social standards of the Traveller\\\^\\, and though they have both long since since ceased their connection with it and passed to their rest, the paper to this day is conspicuous for the respect with which it treats all religious and moral movements, its constant and vigorous advocacy of the temperance reform, and its careful exclusion of all matter that would give offence in the family circle. In this way it steadily enjoyed, and still retains, the enviable distinction of being one of the cleanest newspapers in the country, and this, with its enterprise in the legitimate news field and the high order of literary work constantly displa3'ed in its editorial columns, have secured it a warm welcome in thousands of the best homes of Boston, Massachusetts, and far and wide throughout New England. The credit of laying the basis of its permanent success as a vigorous, wide-awake, robust, daily journal belongs unquestionably to Mr. Worthington. He brought with him, from his experience on the Advcr1isc)\ a large fund of practical wisdom as a publisher, and a natural endowment of creative and originative faculty besides, which, from the date of his connection with the Traveller until he disposed of the paper, was the dominating factor in its development.

Mr. W(jrthington's name is identified with some notable steps in the progress of journalism. The newspaper life of Boston, at the time he first entered it, was a very stately and slow-going affair. All the dailies of the Hub, save the Mail and Times, were six-penny sheets, and newsboys were not permitted to cr}' any of them for sale on the .streets. Their very rigid ideas of what dignity recjuired confined them to circulations acquired "by subscription only." In August, 1848, Daniel Webster was announced to address a meeting of his neighbors at Marshfield on the political issues of the hour. General Taylor had been for some time nominated for the presidency, but the "God-like Daniel " had played the part of Achilles, "sulking in his tent." There was intense interest on the part of the people of the State, and of the whole country to hear what he would say when he broke silence. Mr. Worthington saw his opportunity in connection with this event, and engaged Dr. James W. .Stone, a well known and expert stenographer of that time, to go to Marshfield and report Mr. Webster's address in full. To make sure the enterprise should not miscarry, the young publisher drove Dr. vStone himself to the scene of operations, secured the great expounder's personal co-operation in perfecting the verbatim report of his speech, and then drove the doctor with his notes back to Boston. Other reporters were there for the older dailies, but Mr. Worthington's push distanced them all, and early next morning a Traveller extra was on the streets of Boston, and had an immense sale. Large editions were rapidly called for, and the newsboys of Boston cried it Instil}' all day long. The speech was that ever memorable one in which Webster described Taylor's nomination, in the now historic phrase, as one "not fit to be made " From the Traveller' s r^^^orX. it was sent specially to the New York Herald^ and from that time on till the organizing of the Press Association, the Traveller was the New York Herald's Boston correspondent. Still the prejudice of the older publishers against the crying of the newspapers by boys on the streets remained; and Mr. Worthington's innovation was regarded unfavorably, even by some of his own business associates. He was obliged to seek a personal interview with the president of the Eastern Railroad in order to obtain a permit for a boy to go upon the ferry-boat in the afternoon to sell his evening paper. He persisted in the innovation, however, and by another energetic stroke made it a permanent feature of the newspaper business. When the news of the French Revolution of 1848 and the dethronement of Louis Philippe arrived in New York, it was sent by telegraph to the Boston reading-room. The telegraph office, by a curious blunder, sent a copy of the dispatch to the three Boston evening papers. Mr. Worthington saw instantly th-e importance of the news, though its value seems to have escaped immediate observation in the offices of his rivals. He ran off Traveller Extras as quickly as the press facilities would allow, and his press-room was kept at the high pressure point of activity until late in the evening, sati.sfying the demand for this startling piece of foreign intelligence. The newsboys' cries of " Traveller Extras," "Revolution in France," " Fall of Louis Philippe," ''Traveller Extra," were heard on every great thoroughfare, and from that moment the day of newspaper sales by "subscription only" was gone by. The dispatch which the Traveller thus used to such advantage is said to have been the first sent over the telegraph wires from New York that was ever published in Boston.

Another feature of newspaper offices, which is now stereotyped by general use, but the initiation of which in Boston belongs also to Mr. Worthington, is the staring placards or bulletins giving the brief heads of the latest news of the day. In passing it may be said that the Traveller' s present daily-painted bulletins, in blue and red, are commonly remarked upon as at once the clearest and most ornamental exhibited in front of any newspaper office in the city, and at any time of the day, when stirring news is coming over the wires, a large crowd is sure to be found flocking to them.

The I'ravclLr's first publication office was at No. 47 Court street. In April, 1852, its home was removed to the Old State House, and later it was established on its present advantag-eous and commandinjj site in the large and convenient Traveller Building, which is now the propert}' of Mi'. Worthington.

Mr. Worthington was one of the earliest of the Free vSoilers of Massachusetts and is remembered by all the survivors of " the men of '48 " as a staunch and steadfast member of the little band of men who at that early date foresaw and welcomed the conflict with the slave power, and who were in fact the advance guard of the great Republican party, which was twelve years later to take the destiny of the nation into its keeping. When the Republican part)' was organized, Mr. Worthington, in common with his brother Free-Soilers, at once joined it, and carried his paper with him, though this last step cost him a conflict of opinion with Editor Andrews, who was strongly disposed to follow the lead of Daniel Webster's famous speech of the ith of March, 1S52. It was wholly due to Mr. Worthington's inflexible attachment to the FreevSoil idea that Mr. Andrews's views were overruled, and the I'rnvcllcr held true to the policy which has ever since made it one of the most fearless and ablest exponents of the Republican creed. At Mr. Worthington's instance the brilliant Manton Marble, who later became nationally distinguished as the editor of the New York World, then took the managing editorship of the Traveller. Young Marble was then only in his twenty-second year, but he filled the position with signal ability until Samuel Bowles, who became famous later as the founder of the Springfield Republiean, joined the paper in 1857. Mr. Marble and Mr. Bowles could not work in the harness together, and the former left for a broader field of labor in New York. Mr. Bowles became the managing editor of the Traveller on the 13th of April, 1857, and threw tip the position on the 10th of August following. His connection with the paper was brief and brilliant, but, for Mr. W^orthington, ver)^ costly and all but fatal. Mr. Bowles entered upon the project of uniting the Atlas, the Bee and the Chroniele with the Evening Traveller and founding upon the consolidation a great quarto, modeled after the New York Tribune, to be supported by the highest literary talent, and to be first class in every respect. Mr. Bowles failed utterly, and, soured by his failure, he left his post and started for Springfield without giving any notice to his colleagues, leaving Mr. Worthington in the lurch to struggle out of the quagmire of debt into which his

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Quixotic editorial manag'cmcnt had cfinducted the concern. Mr. Bowles was succeeded as managing editor by Mr. Joseph B. Morss, who put into its columns many years of solid and effective work. The war for the Union came, and the price of the paper was advanced to four cents, and later to five cents a copy. The Traveller showed great enterprise in the collection and publication of war news, and, in common with all the other wide-awake newspapers of that period, made rapid strides in circulation in conseciuence. Mr. Reuben Crooke followed Mr. Morss as managing editor of the paper, under Mr. Worthington's direction. An indefatigable worker, a ready and well-informed writer, and a man who carried his conscience into all his editorial labors, Mr. Crooke well sustained the Traveller's reputation as a champion of sturdy Republicanism in politics, and kept it on the right side in all tlie moral reform movements of the time. He still remains with the paper.

The Traveller^ under Mr. Worthington's direction, showed remarkable foresight in discussing political situations. It seems to have divined, as if by intuition, the safe and the sagacious course for its party to take, and its coimsels, not always taken, have been well-nigh invariably verified by the events. In ISfiO it was the first paper to suggest, as the successor of Governor Banks, the man who became the great war governor of the Commonwealth. When Governor Talbot's declination to accept a renomination in 1S79 necessitated the choice of a new standard bearer against the formidable candidacy of General Butler, the Traveller brought forward the name of Honorable John D. Long. Against the united and strenuous opposition of the other Republican dailies of Boston, it urged Mr. Long's nomination upon the Convention, and he was nominated and elected. In 1883 it warned its party against the nomination of Mr. Bishop, and urged the selection of Mr. Crapo as the opponent that year of General Butler. The party disregarded its advice, and went to defeat as it had presaged. In 1883 again, against every other Republican paper in Boston, it insisted that Honorable George D. Robinson was the wisest nomination that could be made against Governor Butler, basing its argument on the claim, which it repeated over and over again, that necessarily Governor Butler must be met on the stump and talked down before the people, and that Mr. Robinson was emphatically the man for that service. The party came near to making another nomination, but at the eleventh hour the Travellef s advice was taken, Mr. Robinson was nominated, and in the campaign which followed Governor Butler was beaten - exactly as the

Traveller had said he would be - by Mr. Robinson's contest with him on the stump. In the larger field of national politics the paper has shown the same intelligence and insight. A strong and consistent exponent of the radical or stalwart type of Republicanism, it, nevertheless, counseled the party with great earnestness against the continuance of the faction fight pi'ecipitated in 1880-81 between 'the Grant-Conkling and Blaine-Garfield wings. Again and again it foretold the national overthrow of Republicanism if the feud was kept up. When the Chicago convention was about to meet in June, 1885, the Traveller appealed most earnestly to the New England delegates to join the Arthur column early and secure the defeat of Mr. Blaine, whose candidacy it plainly intimated would, in its belief, be perilous to the party at the polls. Over and over again it warned the Massachusetts delegation that the Edmunds movement was farcical, because it had no chance of success, and recorded its opinion that if it was persisted in Mr. Blaine's nomination would be secured on the second or third ballot at the latest. In all these forecasts the Traveller proved to be absolutely correct. The Edmunds movement proved to be utterly barren of result, Mr. Blaine was nominated on the second ballot as the direct result of the action of Massachu.setts, and in the end, as it had feared, Mr. Blaine and the party suffered national defeat. This is a remarkable record f)f political far-sightedness, and the credit of it belongs to Mr. Worthington, who, at all the turning-points of affairs, laid down its course and inspired its utterances. A keen and close observer of the current of public affairs, with a strong faculty for perceiving the practical points in a political situation, his judgment gave the paper this singular preeminence as a sound and safe political guide. Although writing but little himself, he was a very ready and correct critic of good writing, and always drew around him, by an instinctive appreciation of literary talent, an editorial corps of capable and accomplished writers. Always a warm admirer of Honorable Chester A. Arthur, he sturdily championed him against the hostile criticism of the so-called half-breed presses at the time of his nomination f(ir the vice-presidency. When President Garfield's death was announced, Wr. Worthington promptly undertook to correct the prejudice created against the new president in tlie public mind h\ the same presses, and the Traveller's predictions of a conservative, capable and patriotic administration liy Mr. Arthur were abundantly realized in the three years which followed. Without solicitation President Arthur tendered to Mr. Worthington the office of collector of the Port of Boston in April, 1882. A bitter opposition was made to his confirmation by Senator Hoar, purely on political grounds, but the appointment was confirmed by a very large majority, and even those who then opposed it now concede that he proved a most efficient collector, that he conducted the business of the ofiice with an eye single to the service of the government and the business community which had to do with the Custom House, and never allowed partisan considerations to interfere with the management of the large force of employees iinder his orders. It is doubtful, indeed, if true civil service reform was ever carried out more perfectly in any government office in the country than at the Boston Custom House under Collector Worthington. He served as collector until December 1, 1885, after which he continued to direct the publication of the Traveller until May 1, 1890, when he sold the paper and has since devoted his time and energies solely to the management of his private affairs.

Aaron W. Spencer

Aakcin W. vSpknckr was born in Sijringfield, Windsor county, Vt., January 17, 1823, where his ancestors had long been residents. His father was Guy vSpencer and his mother Mary Warner, of Acworth, N. H. He received a common school education, and was graduated at Chester Academy, Chester, Vt. Mr. vSpencer came to Boston in 1S42, beginning his business career as messenger boy with Messrs. J. W. Clark & Co., bankers and brokers, whose place of business was in the Globe Bank Building at the corner of State street and Wilson's lane. The building has been demolished by the extension of Devonshire street, into which Wilson's lane has been merged. Mr. Spencer was admitted to partnership in the firm of j. W. Clark & Co. in 1850, and retired in 1850 to establish the banking-house <-)f Spencer, Vila & Co., retiring from this firm and from active business in 1SU7. In 1853 Mr. vSpencer married Miss Josephine Vila, of Roxbury. The firm of Spencer, Vila & Co. did a large business while Mr. Spencer was at the head of the house, and durmg the war for a considerable period they were the exclusive agents of the Treasury Department for the sale of government securities in the New England States, their sales aggregating hundreds of millions, They probably had the largest southern and western correspondence of any banking-house in Jioston. Mr. Spencer joined the Boston Stock Exchange, which was then known as the Boston Board of Brokers, in 1850. He was president of the Exchange for the years 1860, '01 and 'iyi, and at that time was one of the largest operators connected with the Exchange. Mr. Spencer's second term as president of the Exchange was for the years 1889, '00 and '91, when he retired, declining re-election. The house of J. W. Clark & Co. was one of the first to become interested in the then undeveloped mineral districts of North Michigan, even before the old "Cliff" and "Minnesota " mines, now obsolete, began to pay dividends. In this connection Mr. .Spencer frequently visited Lake Superior and passed over the sections which now comprise the Calumet and Hecla, Tamarack and Osceola mines, then covered by the primeval forest, with no more indication of the great mineral wealth beneath the surface than has Boston Common at the present day. Mr. Spencer has been connected with the mining interests of Lake Superior from that time, and retains large interests in the leading producing mines. Since his retirement from business Mr. .Spencer has taken no prominent part in the transactions of the Exchange, although he continues his connection with it and is a daily attendant at its sessions. His only son, Alfred Warner Spencer, a graduate of Harvard, died in 1887; his only surviving child is Mrs. Frederick Lewis Fay. Mr. .Spencer's residence since 1853 has been on Columbia street of the Dorchester District of Boston, where he owns one of the most attractive estates in the vicinity, comprising nearly twenty acres, on which the most perfectly rural conditions have been maintained, including the stone walls built a hundred years ago and shaded by oaks of more than a century's growth. Mr. Spencer is a member of the Algonquin, Temple, Athletic, Suffolk, Art and Country clubs.