Suffolk County, Massachusetts - The whole text, 1894 (part 15 of 17)

Gen. Francis A. Osborn

Gen. Fr.\ncis Augustus Osborn was born in Danvers, now Peabody, Mass., September 22, 1833, and is the eldest son of Augustus K. and Mary (Shove) Osborn, ancestors of whom settled in New England in 104:5. His early education was gained at his place of birth. In 1845 he came to Boston, and from that time until he graduated in 1849 he attended the Boston Public Latin School. He began his business careei" with W. Ropes & Co., Russian merchants, remaining" in their employ as clerk for six years. For five j^ears thereafter he engaged in the ship chandlery business. In the mean time he had become a member of the State militia, and when the civil war began he was an officer in the New England Guards. Upon its organization into a battalion of two companies he was commissioned captain of the original company April 19, 1801. A few days later the battalion was sent to Fort Independence to do garrison duty, where it remained for a month. At the expiration of this time it returned to Boston, when Major Thomas G. Stevenson, of the battalion, and Captain Osborn offered their services to Governor John A. Andrew and were soon after commissioned colonel and lieutenant-colonel respectivel)^ of the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers. The first service of this regiment was in Burnside's expedition to North Carolina, taking part in the battles of Roanoke Island and Newbern, and several other minor engagements. Lieutenant-colonel Osborn, who had been in command of the regiment since the middle of March, was promoted to the colonelcy on December 38,

1863, after which the regiment served in the Department of the vSouth, participating in the sieges of Fort Wagner and Fort Sumter, doing regular duty in the trenches for several months. On August 36, 186)), the regiment made, under Colonel Osborn, an assault upon the enemy's rifle-pits in front of Fort Wagner and captured them, taking prisoners nearly the whole occupying force. This was a brilliant and valuable victory, especially noteworthy, as three previous assaults upon these rifle-pits by other regiments had been repulsed. The importance of the work came from the fact that the enemy, by holding these rifle-pits, which were in a strong position, had been able to check completely the advance of the engineering against Fort Wagner. After the victory of Colonel Osborn's regiment, work was at once resumed, and speedily resulted in the captrire of the fort. In the spring of 1864 the regiment was sent with the Army of the James to join the operations around Richmond and before Petersburg, being there actively engaged during the summer and fall of 1864. During this service Colonel Osborn was slightly wounded in the neck by, a spent ball. On November 14, 1804, he was mustered out of service, and for gallantry was brevetted brigadier-general, the original appointment being dated October 3S,

1864. Upon his return to Boston he was for a time cashier of Blake Brothers & Co., bankers. On March 19, 1807, he was appointed naval officer for the district of Boston and Charlestown, and served for two

3'ears. He then went into the stock brokerage business, having licen previously elected a member of the Boston Stock Exchange. On Jannar}- 1, 1874, he became treasurer of the Corbin Banking Company of New York and Boston. In May, 1883, he sold out his interest and soon after resigned as treasurer. In November, 188:5, he organized the Eastern Banking Company, becoming its president, a position he still holds. He has been a director of the Tremont National Bank since January, 187U, and was the original treasurer of the New England Mortgage Security Company, having been elected in April, 1875, but on June 14, 1879, resigned on account of pressing business, but is still, however, a director. For 1807, 1808 and 1SG9 he was a member of the City Council, and for the last named year was Department Commander of the Department of Massachusetts, G. A. R. He was one of the original charter members of the Massachusetts Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United vStates, and was first commander of that commandery, being succeeded b}' General Devens. Beyond the interests already mentioned General Osbom has been active in many other directions. He has been a trustee of various land associations; for man}' years has been largely interested in real estate, and was a member of the first Board of Directors of the Real Estate Exchange and Auction Board, and its president from March, 1891, to March, 1802, when he declined re-election. He was largely instrumental in the organization of the Citizens' Association in December, 1887, and was its first president, serving for four years and then declining a re-election. In June, 1886, he was appointed civil service commissioner by Governor Robinson, and for three years served as chairman of the board, but the condition of his private business caused him to decline reappointment to office by Governor Ames. General Osborn has been twice married, first to Miss Mary M. Mears, and of this union was born one daughter; and second to Miss Emily T. Bouv6; of this union have been born four children - two daughters and two sons.

John Brewster

In the commercial and financial history of Boston John Brewster was for many years an important factor. He was bom in Wolfborough, N. H., December 14, 1812. At the aoe of sixteen he became a clerk in a j^-eneral hardware store at Rochester, N. H. Two years later he filled a similar position in a hardware store in Dover in the same State, where he remained for five years. He then, in 1835, came to Boston and began a business career on his own account, embarking in the dry goods trade as a member of the firm of Williams & Brewster. A short time thereafter the firm of Brewster, Cushinan & Bancroft was formed, their business quarters at first being located at 44 and 46 Hanover street and afterwards at 63 and 05 Water street.

After several years of highly successful business, Mr. Brewster, in 1851, retired from the dry goods trade, and with Charles A. Sweet established the banking house of Brewster, Sweet & Co., at 76 State street, but later at 40 State street. In 1874 Mr. Sweet retired, when the firm name was changed to Brewster, Basset & Co., at which time it was composed of Mr. Brewster, William Basset, Henry E. Cobb and Arthur F. Estabrook. In 1883 the firm was again reorganized under the firm name of Brewster, Cobb & Estabrook, the new members being Charles E. Eddy, C. H. Watson, Arthur L. Sweetser and Frank B. Bemis.

Mr. Brewster's success as a banker was conspicuou.sly notcworth}'. At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, his firm being one of the leading banking establishments of Boston, became the agent of the United vStates government, and placed many millions of government bonds upon the market. It a]s<j figured largely in many of the large financial operations which have made Boston famous in financial circles throughout the world. As a business man Mr. Brewster possessed abilities of a high order. He inspired confidence in any enterprise in which he enlisted, and by the uniform success which attended his undertakings, surrounded himself b)- a wide circle of friends who largely relied upon his judgment in matters of a financial nature. He was a man of genial and generous nature and one whose sympathies were easily aroused and never appealed to without ready response. With no taste for public life or political honors, he devoted his energies to the more genial pursuits of a strictly business career, in which he achieved by laudable means a well deserved place among the conspicuously successful business men of Boston. He died suddenh^ at his home in Cambridge, Mass., January 13, 1880. His large fortune, after amply providing for his son and relatives, he bequeathed to endow the Brewster Free School and Academy of his native town. Wolfborough.

Charles Wallin(;fori) Parkkr, the senior member of the firm of Macullar, Parker & Co., was born in Framingham, Mass., June 2?, 1831, and is a son of Charles and Mary Hildreth (Wallingford) Parker. The first of the family in America was Thomas Parker, who, in l(i;35, at the age of thirty, came to this country from England in the vessel Susan and Ellen, and settled first in Lynn, but subsequently removed to Reading, where his son Hannaniah was born and lived until his death. John, a son of the latter, removed to Lexington in 1712. A son of the last named, also named John, settled in Framingham in 1736, and from that time to the present this town has contained representatives of the family. Peter, the great-grandfather, and Josiah, the grandfather of our subject, were both born and died in Framingham, residing on a farm which for more than one hundred and fifty years was in the possession of the family. Upon this estate, also the home of his father, the early life of our subject was passed. His ediication, although confined to the district school and Framingham Academy, was thorough and beyond the advantages enjoyed by the average farmer's son of that time. At the age of sixteen he began his business career in a retail clothing house in Worcester, in which Addison Macullar and (lecrge B. Williams were salesmen. Two years later, March 1, 1849, Addison Macullar opened a similar store on his own account, and young- Parker entered his employ as store boy, salesman and book-keeper, in fact was the only employee. About 1850 George B. Williams became associated with Mr. Macullar as partner, under the firm name of Macullar, Williams & Co., and in 1852 the firm established a house in Boston on North street for the manufacture of clothing, but retained their Worcester retail store. Upon the opening of the Boston branch, Mr. Parker came here as book-keeper for the firm. Two years later they removed from North street to No. 47 Milk street, and in 1857 they established a retail store in the old Washington Coffee House, just south of where the Transcript office now stands, being one of the first retail stores of any consequence in that locality. The immediate and large business which was developed soon demanded larger quarters, and the whole estate from Washington to Hawley streets was secured. In 1800 another removal was made to 192 Washington street, at which time Mr. Parker was admitted to the firm, the name being changed to Macidlar, Williams & Parker. In ISlU they removed to 200, now 400

Washington street, into a new store built for them by the trustees of the Joshua Sears estate. This was destroyed in the great fire of 1872, and the present larger and finer structure was completed in 1874. In 1880 their quarters were enlarged by the addition of the adjoining store, 398 Washington street. These buildings extend through to Hawley street, a distance of 225 feet, and are five stories in height, giving a total floor space of about two acres. Mr. Williams retired from the firm in 1879, and the firm name liccame Macullar, Parker tS; Company. Mr. Macullar died March 11, 18!t;3, thus terminating" a business association with Mr. Parker which covered a period of forty-six years, which was remarkable not only for its length but also for the unbroken harmony, mutual esteem and sincere aftection which existed lietween them.

The house of Macullar, Parker lV- Company has long occupied a leading position in its special line in New England, both in the character and the extent of its business operations, representing in its history, from the pioneer period, all the changes and developments in an industry which now constitutes the most important manufacturing pursuit in Boston. Of late years the control and management of the busine.ss have developed upon Mr. Parker, and the high degree of success attained is due to his superior business qualifications. He is a man of careful judgment and a high order of executive ability - attainments well known and thoroughly appreciated in the business community with which he has been so long and prominently identified. Of broad and liberal views, he has found time jn an active business career to keep fully abreast of advancing thought in many avenues of knowledge, and is much interested in letters and art. He has traveled extensively, not only in his own but foreign lands, which to one of his keen and discriminating mind has been a source not only of pleasure, but the means of acquiring wide and general information.

Mr. Parker was married in Chelsea, November 150, 1854, to Miss Mary J., daughter of Charles E. and Ann (Huse) Schofl^. They have had five children : Mary, Charles S., Herman, Allston (deceased), and Ross Parker.

Henry C. Jackson

known as Xorth Bridgewater, :Mass., but is now the city of Brockton, April I'.i, 1838, and is a son of Ephraim and Lucy (Wilde) Jackson. His early education was received in the public schools of his native town and later supplemented by a period of instruction at the Adelphian Academy, at that time a well known local institution. Equipped with a practical education and naturally ambitious, young Jackson at the age of seventeen came to Boston. Here he began his business career in the dry goods house of William F. Brett Sc Bro., then located in Federal street. He remained with this concern until 1801, when he entered the employ of Josiah Caldwell & Co., engaged in a similar line of trade, with whom he continued until the beginning of 1863. His experience in the business up to this time had been varied and general in character, and his natural business aptitude, his energy and keen comprehension of the requirements and possibilities of the trade, had not escaped attention. About this time the firm of Pierce, Stearns & Adams, .successors of the old dry goods house of Pierce, Howe & Co., was undergoing reorganization, which resulted in the formation of a new firm under the name of Jackson, Mandell & Daniell. With the inauguration of this firm came a radical change in the general character and manner of conducting the business, with the purpose of making it more especially a New England house. To assist in the accomplishment of this idea Henry C. Jackson was invited to link his fortunes with the new firm, and from that time until his retirement from the firm - a period of twenty-nine years - he devoted all of his great energies unreservedly to its interest. From the beginning marked success attended the firm, year by year, adding not only to the extent of their trade, but gaining prestige and reputation for solidity and reliability unsurpassed by any house in Boston. It became a large importer of foreign goods, and in special lines of a dry goods jobbing trade became one of the best known concerns in the United States. So well were the affairs of the house managed, and upon such firm basis had it become established, that although one of the heaviest losers in the great fire of 1873, it was .so strong financially that not a minute's delay was occasioned in meeting every obligation, and within a few days new quarters were .secured and its business was moving along as usual, having met the unusual strain without having asked a single favor or the extension of a dollar of obligation. So strikingly was its strength shown in this catastrophe, which overwhelmed so many, that it excited widespread comment and universal admiration. The spirit and energy exhibited by this firm at this period had a most wholesome effect in restorinj;' confidence, its example being felt in every avenue of trade at a time when faith was shaken and even concerns before considered strong were forced to suspend operations. As soon as possible after the fire, Jackson, Mandell &' Daniell moved into the spacious quarters provided for them in the building erected byj. Montgomei'v Sears on the southeast corner of Sumner and Chauncey streets.

It can be stated of this firm, what perhaps is hardl}- true of any concern that ever did an equal amount of business, that it gave no notes and never failed to take advantage of every discount by paying its bills before they were due. These facts, well known to the trade, gave it a prestige in every market of the world second to none. Beginning with comparatively limited capital, yet so ably were its affairs conducted that not a year passed but showed a gratifying increase in trade, as well as healthy and satisfactory gain. At the time of the dissolution of the firm it had long occupied a position of commanding importance among the most successful mercantile houses in New England. The ability and business generalship recjuired to have attained this result will be fully appreciated in these days of close and vigorous competition.

The illness and subsequent withdrawal of Gustavus Jackson from the firm during the earlier period of its existence threw upon Henry C. Jackson added responsibilities, and from that time he became the recognized head of the house. A man of remarkable energy, keen business instincts, and possessing a high order of executive ability, he was admirably fitted for the position. An aggressive, positive and forceful character, and with a rugged constitution which permitted almost an unlimited amount of physical and mental labor, he was able to devote himself to his work without reserve, and even extracted pleasure out of his very activity. From such devotion and well directed efforts, in wdiich he was so ably assisted and aided by his associates, came a degree of success seldom excelled in the same line of trade. Although associated with strong," positive and able partners, imbroken harmony prevailed throughout their long association, and their mutual feeling of rare good will and respect for each other in no small measure was conducive to the general prosperity of the house.

Upon the dissolution of the firm of Jackson, Mandell & Daniell, December 31, 1891, when Mr. Jackson and Mr. Dwight Prouty, his associate in business for twenty-nine years, retired from the business, the occasion was made the theme of manr flattering comments in local and trade journals, which were not only highly complimentary to the character and personal worth of the retiring partners, but laudatory of the great business house they had been so conspicuous in creating. Upon the retirement of these partners, the firm of Jackson, Mandell & Daniell ceased to exist, its successor being the present firm of Chatman, Kendall & Daniell.

Mr. Jackson was married in 1860 to I\Iiss Maria Amanda :Moulton, daughter of Dr. Alvah Moulton, of Ossipee, N. H. Comparatively in the prime of life and possessing vigorous health, Mr. Jackson has before him the promise of many years in which to enjoy his well earned rest. He is deeply interested in all that pertains to, the well being of Boston, where he has so long resided and where his sterling worth and high character are so well known, and the city has no firmer or more sincere friend.

Joshua Bennett

Joshua Bennk.i't was born in Billerica, Mass., November fi, ViWl, and was the son of James Bennett, a prosperous and respectable merchant of that town. He passed his boyhood upon his father's farm, obtaining his education in the common schools of the town and in the academy at Westford, Mass. When about twenty-four years of age he engaged in teaching a grammar school in Dorchester, Mass. Although always fond of books, he relinquished the work of teaching at the end of three years and entered upon a business career in which few men have shown equal sagacity and few have met with equal success. Even while a teacher he devoted his evenings to trade. As the leading partner in the firm of Bennett & Felton in Boston, he early laid the foundation of his future success and fortune. His active mind found many sources of wealth. He became a very extensive dealer in hops, a business in which his father had preceded him. He had transactions with most of the hop-growers and brewers of the country. He became an exporter of hops and a distiller. It is told of him as an interesting incident that in 1849, being in London at a time when the hop trade was depressed, he actually purchased a large lot of hops which he had himself exported and sent them back to America, thus making two profits upon the same goods.

It was by the skillful use of the property early acquired in trade that Mr. Bennett amassed the most of his ample fortune. He was a very shrewd and successful dealer in real estate, making his investments with distinguished sagacity. He became the possessor of a large amount of property in Lowell and of a much larger amount in Boston,

Mr. Bennett was not a politician, and he only accepted those offices which his compeers in the business world bestowed upon him on account of his acknowledged ability to fill them with honor and success. He was a director of the Providence and Worcester Railroad, and was on the first board of directors of the old Lowell Bank, the earliest of the discount banks of Lowell, having received its charter in 1828. This board consisted of men of high character, among whom were Kirk Boott and Samuel Batchelder, two of the most distinguished founders of American manufactures, and Josiah B. French and Nathaniel Wright, both of whom subsequently became mayors of the city. After a service of thirty-three j^ears as director, Mr. Bennett was in 1801 elected president of the bank, which office he filled with great ability through the entire period of the civil war, resigning it on account of failing health only a few months before his death.

As a bank officer he was conservative and sagacious, and was esteemed the highest authority upon the question of investing the funds of the institution.

As a citizen Mr. Bennett gained his highest honor by his patriotic conduct in the early days of the Rebellion. When others faltered he stepped boldly forward. Not only did he proffer to his country his own wealth, but he exerted his great influence as a financier to bring to the rescue the moneyed institutions with which he was connected. He had full faith in his country, and freely instrusted to her his wealth. It was the noble conduct of men like him who in that hour of peril and alarm inspired new hope and courage in the national heart.

Throughout the war his patriotism never faltered. To every soldier who enlisted from his town, he gave from his own wealth a special bounty.

In his will he gave $25,000 to the Washingtonian Home in Boston, an institution in which he was greatly interested. He also gave $15,000 to each church of the various denominations in the town of Billerica, as well as small legacies to their respective pastors. It is greatly to the credit of the heirs, that though his will was not signed, all the legacies for benevolent purposes were honorably paid in accordance with the known wishes of the testator. On October 8, 1815, Mr. Bennett married Eleanor, daughter of Ebenezer Richardson, of Billerica.

Mrs. Bennett died at Billerica May (i, 1891, at the advanced age of ninety-seven years. Her life was one filled with good' deeds, and the whole town miss her many acts of kindness to rich and poor.

Of his two children, Ellen, the older, became the wife of George Holden, of Boston, and Rebecca became the wife of William Wilkins Warren, of Boston. The widow of Mr. Bennett, in honor of her husband, gave a library to the town of Billerica, erecting for it a substantial brick edifice. Mr. Bennett died August 0, 1865, in the seventy-third year of his age, and was buried at Mount Auburn.

Henry M. Whitney

Henry Melville Whitney, widely known for the important part he has borne in the development of the electric transit system, was born in the town of Conway, Franklin county, Mass., on October 32, 1839. At the time of his birth, his father. General James S. Whitney, kept an old-fashioned country store, where the good citizens of Conway were wont to assemble and discuss and settle, in their own minds, the most important questions of the day. The enterprising public spirit of General Whitney, his broad intelligence, his capacity for business, and his superior tact in the management of men and affairs, were destined to leave their impress upon the boy, who thus grew up in a home made happy and charming by the presence of a good mother - Lucinda (Collins) Whitney. General Whitney was a stern old Democrat of the Jacksonian type and the idol of the community in which he dwelt. He served two term in the Legislature, where it is stated his vote decided the election of Charles vSumner to the United States Senate; subsequently, from 186-1: to 1800, he was superintendent of the United States Armory at Springfield, and was collector of the Port of Boston for one year preceding- the inauguration of President Lincoln. His death occurred October 24, 1878.

Of the youthful days of Henry M. Whitney there is little to be said. In the public schools of the town he acquired his first rudiments of education, and then, while still in his teens, he was sent to Williston Seminary at Easthampton. He was accompanied by an elder brother, William C. Whitney, since famous as secretary of the navy during the administration of President Cleveland.

Young Whitney's term at Williston was limited to one year. Returning to Conway he went to work in the store, and later for three years served as clerk in the Conway Bank, where he developed that business turn of mind which has served him so well ever since.

In 18<!() his parents removed to Boston, where General Whitney, after leaving the Custom House, became identified with enterprises of large extent and importance, notably with the Boston Water Power Company and the Metropolitan Steamship Company. The son, in the mean time, had passed two years in the Bank of Redemption ; afterwards was a clerk in the naval agent's office, and later was engaged in the shipping business in New York city. In 18G(J he became Boston agent of the Metropolitan Steamship Company, and in 1870, after he had obtained possession of the stock, which had gradually sunk in vahie, he became president, holding the same position to this day. From that time to 1887, Mr. Whitney was recognized by all who knew him as an unusually keen-witted and thrifty business man. His mind was full of enterprises of various kinds and character; in all that he engaged success followed him. Indeed, everything to which he turned his attention seemed to bring him gold.

In the spring of 188G Mr. Whitney, who had long foreseen the magnificent possibilities of that section of Boston which borders on the suburban town of Brookline, quietly purchased large tracts of land along the line of Beacon street in the last named place. In midsummer of the same year he became conscious that he had himself put not less than $800,000 into the scheme, and that it was likely to be too heavy to carry on alone. He at once took a number of his more intimate and wealthy friends into his confidence, told them what he had already done and what he proposed to do further, and then invited them to join him.

That they acceded promptly is a striking evidence of the confidence reposed in Mr. Whitney's integrity, wisdom and tact. The syndicate thus formed was the now famous West End Land Company. The result of its endeavors is one of the most picturesque boulevards of which this country can boast, fringed with residences and suburban villas of rare beauty, such as onh' the rich can afford.

The next move was the building of a street railway, which should connect Boston with Brookline, and run directly through this territory, by another corporation formed and headed by Mr. Whitney. The length of the road was about eight miles, and it was named the West End Street Railway. This Ime had been in operation but a few months when the subject of street blockades in Boston began to seriously worry the public mind. At the time the f(jllowing roads, besides the West End, centered in Boston : the Metropolitan, the Cambridge, the South Boston, and the Consolidated (Middlesex and Highland). Popular sentiment decreed that the incessant clashing of interests engendered by so many distinct companies must come to an end, and that, too, speedily. Mr. Whitney and the mature minds associated with him became convinced that there was only one way out of the difficultv, that only a single plan could solve the problem - that was consolidation. Such a plan was outlined, and was agreed to by the various roads. In September, 1887, Mr. Whitney explained the policy of the West End Street Railway Company, at a meeting of the new corporation, in language as forceful to-day as it was prophetic then. The address is one of the most interesting and important ever delivered by its author. One passage in it deserves reprinting in this sketch. Said Mr. Whitney:

I believe that this company is destined to play a very important part in the lives of this whole community. I am myself deeply sensible of the responsibility which this organization holds in this community. I hope and believe that we shall so be able to administer our affairs that not only shall the stockholders be proud of the organization and have a security second to none, but that every employee shall be proud to belong to the organization, and that the entire community will point to it with pride. We believe we can do something for the comfort and happiness of this people that we could not do as individual corporations, and I am deeply sensible of the responsibility that rests upon us to do it. I hope that this company will meet the future questions connected with the transportation problem in the broadest way.

No words were ever uttered with more profound sincerity ; and that they have been scrupulously lived up to, so far as Mr. Whiting is concerned, no one can deny, who is conversant with all the facts underlying the history of this gigantic enterprise from that date to the present moment. That perhaps the most important franchise granted by the State and city to a private corporation was placed thus in safe hands, is equally true.

The part Mr. Whitney bore in giving to Boston the most complete system of electric railways which exists in the world is well known. In ISST the electric railway in Richmond, Va. , attracted attention far and wide. Mr. Whitney went to that city to study its merits. He returned to Boston, impressed with the conviction that electricity was indeed the power of the future. He decided to test it as a power for the present; and as a result of his conviction, in 1888, an electric line was opened, extending from Park Square, Boston, to Oak Square in Brighton District - a portion of it being operated by an imderground conduit, and the remainder by the trolley system. In February, 1889, a line of twenty motor cars from Bowdoin Square, Boston, to Harvard Square, Cambridge, was inaugurated, and so successfully by the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, that Mr. Whitney six months later gave an order for six himdred additional motors. This was the beginning of the great electric system, which to-day is both the pride and the boast of Boston. Since then the history of the West End street railway has been one of constant development and of rapid improvement. Gigantic power stations have been erected, which are marvels of engineering skill ; more modern models of apparatus have replaced those of older and less efficient tj'pes; nearly 16.000 horse power is being daily furnished by the electric generators of these stations, and over 1,200 motors are imder 400 electric cars. Although but one hundred and twenty miles of the two hundred and sixty operated by the company are equipped with the electric system, suburban property reached by the system has appreciated in value over one hundred per cent.

Having carried the system to such a successful stage of completion, Mr. Whitney through the demands of other business interests which required attention, retired, much to the regret of his associates, from the presidency of the West End Company in September, 1893. His able management of this great corporation had won universal admiration and gave him national reputation.

Henry M. Whitney may rightly be called the pioneer of the commercial side of electric railroading, and in his retirement the street railway industry has lost a member to whose perseverance, intelligence and enterprise it owes much.

With keen perception he saw the possibilities of electricity for street railway service while the new power was only in its infancy. His faith in it was so strong that be was not afraid to stake his reputation on the success of its application.

Winning over to his views his fellow-directors in the West End Street Railway Company, he invested a large amount of capital in what was then looked upon by many financiers as a hazardous undertaking, and by his eloquence, aided by his indomitable perseverance, gained from a conservative and somewhat reluctant public the privilege of installing in Boston the largest system of electric railways ever then attempted.

Much of the labor to be performed was in an unexplored field, and costly experiments had to be made. In the results of these every electric railway company in the country has been a beneficiary. The knowledge acquired at immense cost in Boston has been utilized in the economical construction and operation of electric roads in different parts of the country.

Mr. Whitney was always an ardent advocate of attracting to the suburbs the city's workers. To aid in this he has done a great deal in extending the distance of travel on a single fare. Much more would undoubtedly have been accomplished by him in the way of rapid transit has his offers and suggestions been met in the same spirit as that in which they were tendered.

As an organizer in consolidating and unif \'ing into one corporation the many street railwaj' companies in Boston, his executive ability was especially marked.

Mr. Whitney's home is in Brookline. It was in this beautiful but quiet town that he first met Miss Margaret Foster Green, to whom he was married on October 3, 1878. This union has been blessed by the birth of one son and four daughters. The summer home of the family is at Cohasset.

Mr. Whitney's success in life has been phenomenal, a surprise even to his most intimate friends. The West End enterprise has not required the whole of his time by any means, and his name is associated with several other prosperous corporations, notably the Hancock Inspirator Company, the Non-slip Horse Shoe Company, the Metropolitan Steamship Company, and several others. In all of these enterprises he has largely invested capital, and actively directs their policies.

The personal appearance of Mr. Whitney is clearly indicated by his portrait. There is no mistaking the look of firmness and decision his eyes flash upon all occasions, but it is a look tempered by refined courtesy and kindness, except when it confronts a man unworthy of his trust. Frank, outspoken and confiding himself, Mr. Whitney regards nothing more despicable than deceit. He is of medium stature, rather stout and somewhat inclined to stoop when walking. He is quick in all his actions, perhaps nervously so, and equally as quick to decide a question. In social intercourse he appears to be more a good listener than a oood talker; and yet few persons can recite a more taking anecdote or more keenly relish one. As is generally conceded, he is a most impressive public speaker, and always commands the attention even of his opponents. He possesses a wonderful memor)', a deep sense of the value of facts and figures, and rarel}' advances an argument that does not rest on both. His address to the State Legislature in March, 1891, is an illustrious example of this assertion. Mr. Whitney's generosity is proverbial, his charities are dispensed freely, unostentatiously and with discretion, and many there are who to-day are indebted to him for their success in life. Happy in his home, true to his frienships, appreciative of all efforts that tend to uplift humanity, and ever ready to assist them, he enjoys the universal respect of the community.

Francls Blake

Francis Blakk, widely known through his important invention in connection with the telephone, was born at Needham, now Wellesley Hills, Mass., December 25, 1850. He is of the eighth generation descended from William and Agnes Blake, who came to America from Somersetshire, England, before 1636, and settled at Dorchester in that part of the town now called Milton. William Blake was a distinguished leader in colonial affairs, and his descendants have, kept his name in honorable prominence to the present time.

Mr. Blake is a grandson of the Hon. Francis Blake, of Worcester, State senator, and for many years one of the prominent members of the Worcester county bar, and son of Francis Blake, who engaged in business pursuits in early life, and from 1862 to 1874 served as United States appraiser at Boston. Mr. Blake's mother was Caroline Burling, daughter of George Augustus Trumbull, of Worcester, a kinsman of General Jonathan Trumbull, the original " Brother Jonathan," who was private secretary to George Washington .

Mr. Blake was educated at public schools until the year 18G6, when his uncle, Commodore George Smith Blake, U.S.N., secured his appointment from the Brookline High School to the LTnited States Coast Survey, in which service he acquired the scientific education which has led to his later successes in civil life. His twelve years' service in the Coast Survey has connected his naine with man)' of the most important scientific achievements of the corps. His first field work was in connection with a h}'drographic survey of the Susquehanna River, near Harve de Grace, jMaryland, followed by similar service on the west coast of Florida and the north coast of Cuba. In October, 1808, he was ordered to astronomical duty at Harvard College Observator}^ in connection with the transcontinental longitude determination between the observatory and San Francisco. On this occasion, for the purpose of determinating the velocity of telegraphic time signals, a metallic circuit of 7,000 miles with thirteen repeaters was used, and it was found that a signal sent from Cambridge to San Francisco was received back, after traveling 7,000 miles, in eight-tenths of a second. Tn October, lS(iO, Mr. Blake was ordered to determine the astronomical latitude and longitude of Cedar Falls, la., and St. Louis, Mo., and for the successful accomplishment of this work was promoted to the rank of subassistant. Portions of the year 18(!9 he spent in Europe in determining the astronomical difference of longitude between Brest, France, and Harvard College Observatory, by means of time-signals sent through the French Atlantic cable.

November %-!, 1870, he was detached, from the Coast vSurvey and a])- pointed astronomer of the Darien E.xploring Expedition, under the command of Commander Selfridge, U.S.N. This expedition was for the examination of the Atrato and Tuyra River routes for a ship canal across the Isthmus of Darien. Mr. Blake's work included the determination of astronomical latitudes and longitudes of several points on the Gulf and Pacific Coasts, and in the interior, as well as a determinaof the difference of longitude between Aspinwall and Panama. In a letter, dated March 9, 1871, Commander Selfridge wrote to the supertcndcnt as follows: "Upon the close of Mr. Blake's connection with the expedition, it gives me pleasure to bear witness to the zeal, ability and ingenuity with which he has labored, and to recommend him to your favorable consideration."

In March, 1873, Mr. Blake was ordered to Europe for astronomical duty in connection with the third and final determination of the difference of longitude between Greenwich, Paris, and Cambridge. He was engaged for more than a year in this great work, which was carried on under the general direction of Professor J. E. Hilgard, then assistant in charge of the Coast Survey Office, and later superintendent of the Coast Survey. Mr. Blake made all the European observations, being stationed successively at Brest, France; the Imperial Observatory,

Paris; and the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Returning- to the United States, he was stationed at Cambridge and Washington for the determination of differences of personal equation.

On April 1, 1873, Mr. Blake was promoted from the rank of subassistant to the rank of assistant. Up to this time his promotion in the service had been very rapid, his work meeting with the warmest approval of his superiors, the superintendent of the Coast Survey in a letter to the secretary, in 1871, declaring: " His observations have invariably borne the severest test in regard to accuracy," while the assistant, Charles O. Boutelle, at the close of Mr. Blake's astronomical work in the vShenandoah Valley, wrote under date of October 30, 1871: " The symmetrical precision of the latitude observation made by you at Maryland Heights, Clark and Bull Run stations has never been excelled in the Coast Survey."

In 1874 Mr. Blake was ordered to duty in the preparation for publication of the results of transatlantic longitude work. This work involved a rediscussion of the result of the transatlantic longitude determinations in 18(!'; and 1870, as well as an original discussion of the final determination of 1873. Mr. Blake was so engaged for more than two years, and the results of his labors are embodied in Appendix No. 18, United States Coast Survey Report, 1874. The finally accepted values for the difference of longitude between Harvard College Observatory and Greenwich are:

Hours. Min. Sec

The precision of the work will perhaps be more evident to the general reader when it is stated that this result justifies the statement that the distance between London and Boston has been thrice measured, with a resulting difference in the measurement of a little more than ten feet.

Mr. Blake's observations of 1873 gave a new result for the difference of longitude between the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and the Imperial Observatory at Paris - 9 min., 30.97 sec. The previously accepted value was 9 min., 30.03 sec, which left a difference of 0.34 sec, or 111 feet to be accounted for. -Subsequent observations by European astronomers have confirmed Mr. Blake's results, and the finally accepted value is 9 min. , 20. 95 sec.

In 18T; Mr. Blake represented the Coast Survey at a eonfcrence of the commission appointed to fix the boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania. This service was followed by geodetic duty in connection with a re.survey of Boston Harbor, under the direction of the Massaclnisetts Board of Harbor Commissioners. This was the last field-work performed by Mr, Blake, whose active career in the Coast vSurvey closed with the following correspondence:

Weston, Massachisetts, 5 April, 1878. Sik: Private affair.s not permitting me at present to discharge my official duties, I respectfully tender my resignation as an assistant in the United States Coast Survey. It is impossible for me to express in official language the regret with which I thus close the twelfth year of my service.

Washington, April 9, 1878. Sik: I regret very greatly to have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of April o, tendering your resignation as an assistant of the United States Coast Survey. I accept it with the greatest reluctance, and beg to express thus officially my sense of your high abilities and character - abilities trained to aspire to the highest honors of scientific position, and character to inspire confidence and esteem. So loath am I to sever entirely your official connection with the Survey that I must request you to allow me to retain your name upon the list of "extra observers," under which title Prof. B. Pierce, Prof. Lovering, Dr. Gould, Prof. AVinlock and others had their names classed for many years. This will, of course, be merely honorary ; but it gives me a " quasi " authority to communicate with you in a semi-official way as exceptional occasion may suggest. Your resignation is accepted to date from April 15th.

During the greater part of Mr. Blake's last two years of service in the Coast Survey, he was at his Weston home engaged in the reduction of his European field-work connected with the determination of the difi^erences of longitude between the astronomical observatories at Greenwich, Paris, Cambridge and Washington. In his leisure moments he had devoted himself to experimental physics, and in so doing had become an enthusiastic amateur mechanic; so that at the time of his resignation he found himself in possession of a well equipped mechanical laboratory and a self-acquired ability to perform a variety of me- chanical operations. Under these conditions, what had been a pastime natural!}' became a serious pursuit in life; and within barely a month of the date of his resignation Mr. Blake had begun a series of experiments which brought forth the Blake transmitter, as presented to the world through the Bell Telephone Compan}' in November, 18T8. Mr. Blake's invention was of peculiar value at the time, as the Bell Telephone Company was just beginning litigations with a rival company, which, besides being financially strong, had entered the business field with a transmitting telephone superior to the original form of the Bell instrument. The Blake transmitter was far superior to the infringing instrument, and enabled the Bell Telephone Company to hold its own in the sharp business competition which continued until, by a judicial decision, the company was assured a monopoly of the telephone business during the life of the Bell patents. There are to-day more than 350, 000 Blake transmitters in use in the United States, and probably a larger number in all foreign countries. Since its first invention Mr. Blake has kept up his interest in electrical research, and the records in the patent office show that twent)' patents have been granted to him during the last twelve years.

Mr. Blake's life in Weston began June 24, 1873, on which day he was married to Elizabeth L., daughter of Charles T. Hubbard. In the year of his marriage there was the beginning of " Keewaydin," the beautiful estate in the southeastern part of the town, which has since been his home and the birthplace of his two children - Agnes, born January 2, 187G; Benjamin Sewall, born February 14, 1877. Mr. Blake has been a director of the American Bell Telephone Compan}^ since 1878. He was elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1874; fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1881; member of the National Conference of Electricians, 1884; member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, 1889, and member of the Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1889, and member of the Boston .Society of Civil Engineers in 1890. He is a fellow of the American Geographical Society; member of the Bostonian Society ; member of the Boston Society of the Archa;- ological Institute of America, and has for many years been appointed by the Board of Overseers of Harvard College a chairman of the committee to visit the Jefferson Physical Laboratory. He is a member of the most prominent social clubs of Boston, and his active interest in photography has led to his election for many years as vice-president of the Boston Camera Club.

Frank Jones

Frank Jones, one of the prominent figures in the political and business affairs of New England, was born in Barrington, vStraft'ord county, N. H., September 15, 1S3'2. He was one of a famih^ of seven children, six boys and one girl, of Thomas and Mary Jones. His youth was passed on his father's farm, one of the best in New Hampshire, and in the local schools of his native town his education was received. At the age of seventeen he left the farm to begin his business career, at this time joining an elder brother in Portsmouth, where he had a store on Market street for stoves, hardware, tin and household furnishing goods. His position was that of salesman, and in those days it was the custom to sell goods from farm to farm, and in this young Jones became so successful that at the end of four j^ears he had gained sufficient money to buy an interest in his brother's business. Not long thereafter he purchased the entire business and continued to enlarge his trade, imtil 18()1, when he sold out to a younger brother, an emplo3-ee in the establishment. Prior to this, however, Mr. Jones had embarked in the brewing Inisincss, having, in 1858, purchased an interest in the Swindels Brewery, which had been established by John Swindels, an Englishman, in 1854. vShortly after acquiring an interest in this establishment, Mr. Jones became sole owner, and such has been his excellent management of this enterprise, that to-day it is one of the most extensive ale breweries in America. Its growth and development was rapid and permanent. A large malt-house was added in 186:5, a new brewery was built in 1871, and in 1879 a second and still larger malt-house was built, doubling the capacity of the plant. In 1S75 Mr. Jones still further added to his brewing interest by the purchase, with others, of the South Boston Brewery of Henry Souther & Co. It was operated as the Bay Street Brewery by the firm of Jones, Cook & Co., of which Mr. Jones was the head until 1880, when it was sold to the Frank Jones Brewing Company, limited. The success which had attended Mr. Jones in his business ventures naturally suggested his selection for political preferment, and in 18G8 he was chosen mayor of Portsmouth, and was re-elected the following year. In this position he applied the same principles which had contributed to his private business success; the expenses of the city were reduced and improvements of decided character and utility were prudently and economically carried on. His able management of city affairs to such a degree met the approval of the people, that in 1875 he received the Democratic nomination and was elected to Congress, and in 1877 was re-elected to a second term over the Hon. Oilman Marston, one of the ablest and most popular Republicans in the State. Against his emphatic protest he was made the Democratic candidate for governor in 1880, and although defeated, he received the largest vote which had ever been cast for a Democratic candidate. In the railroad development of New Hampshire, Mr. Jones has taken a very prominent part, having projected and built more miles of railroad in his native State than any other person. .Since its incorporation he has been president of the Dover and Portsmoutli Railroad ; is a director of the Wolfborough Railroad, of which he was one of the projectors; was for many years a director of the Eastern Railroad; has been a director of the Maine Central for twenty years, and has been president of the great Boston and Maine system. The Upper Coos Railroad, over one hundred miles in length (including the Hereford), connecting north with the Quebec Central, making a through line from Boston to Quebec via the Boston and Maine and Maine Central railroads, through the White Mountain Notch, was built by him and his associates in less than one year after the grant of legislative authority Mr. Jones is also the owner of two great hotels, the Rockingham in Portsmouth, and the Wentworth in Newcastle. The former is a structure of his own design, a monument to his taste and enterprise, as its beauty and elegance is the pride of the city. The Wentworth was also planned by him and equipped under his direction.

The enterprise shown Ijy Mr. Jones in his boyhood, says one writer, leaving the farming town of his birth, entering the seaport city as a stranger, his indomitable will and courage, quickness of perception and rare judgment, have not only made him master of the situation, but enabled him to succeed in a career admired by his acquaintances, and of which he may well be proud. Noted for his liberality, he has never sought to cover up the adversities of childhood, and many a poor fellow has received from his hand material aid and kind assistance.

In his country place he has over one thousand acres of tillage land under a high state of citltivation, stocked with the finest cattle and horses. Maplewood Farm, as it is called, situated abotit one mile from Portsmouth, on Maplewood avenue, is probably the more productive in its yield than any other in the State. Here Mr. Jones spends most of his time during the summer months, while the Rockingham Hotel is his winter home. The present wise statutory provision, known as the

" valued " policy law, affecting- insurance business in New Hampshire, is largely the result of his persistent efforts. With him it originated, and through his well directed endeavors was passed to enactment. At the time of the passage of this law, fifty-eight foreign insurance companies were doing business in the State, Upon the departure of these companies he was among the foremost to organize reliable companies to take the place and business of the old ones that canceled their policies when the law passed. The Granite State Fire Insurance Company, of which he is president, is doing business in nearly every vState in the Union, and during 1801 was the third in the list in the volume of New England business, competing with one hundred and forty agency companies occupying this field. Mr. Jones was married September 15, 1801, to Martha Sophia Jones, the widow of his brother, Hiram Jones, who died in Juh% 1859, leaving one child, Emma I., now the wife of Colonel Charles A. Sinclair. Mrs. Jones is noted for her benevolence and hospitality.

Charles A. Sinclair

Conspicuous in the field of railroad enterprises in New England has been the career of Hon. Charles A. Sinclair. He is a native of New Hampshire, and for tnany years has been a prominent factor in the politics of that State. In 18T3 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of New Hampshire, and twelve years later was elected to the State Senate, receiving the compliment of a re-election in 1888 and again in 1890, and is still serving as a member of that body. He was made colonel by Governor Weston, and served on his staff in 1871 and 1872.

Mr. Sinclair entered the railroad field in 1881. His first experience was with the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroads, and early in 1884 it was found that he had secured control of that property. He was elected director of that corporation the same year and was subsequently chosen president. On October i:}, 1885, the road was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad. He has always believed in and advocated the idea of a grand consolidation of the railroad properties of New England that have since been so successfully brought together by leases and consolidations.

Early in iSSd lie began purchasing the stock of the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad; secured control, and was elected president at the annual meeting- in December. On June 1, 1887, the road was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad, Mr. Sinclair retaining the presidency, and now holds that office. In 1884 the Eastern Railroad was leased to the Boston and Maine, and repeated and persistent efforts were made to effect a consolidation of these properties. There was more or less friction between the two boards of directors, the matter of improvements and improvement bonds being a constant source of differences of opinion. In consequence, no progress in this direction was made until early in 1889, when Mr. Sinclair, who had been cjuietly buying the stock, succeeded in purchasing in open market, with others, a control of the stock of the Eastern Railroad, and at the annual meeting of the company in December of that year he was chosen a director. On May !), 1890, the Eastern consolidated with the Boston and Maine.

Between 1887 and 1888 Mr. Sinclair, in company with others, built the Upper Coos and Hereford Railroads, and later was chosen a director of these roads. On May 1, 1890, both roads were leased to the Maine Central Railroad, a majority of which stock is owned by the Boston and Maine.

On December 11, 1890, Mr. Sinclair was chosen a director of the Boston and Maine Railroad; a week later was elected to the directory of the Maine Central Railroad. After a year's absence Mr. Sinclair again returned to the directory of the Boston and Maine in December, 1892, where his great energy and untiring zeal will be positive factors in its management.

Mr. Sinclair is a well known figure upon " the street," where his keen business knowledge, methodical methods and indefatigable energy have been long recognized and earned for him a position such as inspires trust and confidence. Besides his railroad interests he is interested in many enterprises. He is proprietor of the Quincy House and the Moulton Cafe in Boston; owns the Portsinoutli Times, the leading newspaper of New Hampshire; is largest owner of the Morley Button Machine factory; also largest owner of the Portsmouth vShoe Company, which employs over 1,300 hands; is a director in the Frank Jones Brewing- Company, limited, and a director in the Massachusetts National Bank.

Arthur Rotch

Arthur Rotch, son of Benjamin S. Rotch and Annie Bigelow Lawrence, daughter of Hon. Abbott Lawrence, was born in Boston, May 13, 1850. He was fitted in Boston for Harvard University, which he entered in 1807 and was graduated in the class of 1871. He then studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and after a year of office work entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Paris. He was one of the first Americans at that celebrated school to make a bold bid for honors, and carried off more than any of his contemporaries. During the six years of his foreign studies he traveled widely, especially studying decorations. While studying the Arabian mosques in Egypt, he collaborated with Monsieur Arthur Rhone, the well known French writer, on his work on Egypt.

On his return to this country, Mr. Rotch began practicing architecture with George T. Tilden, as the firm of Rotch & Tilden. The value of foreign study to young architects and the dreariness of a draughtnian's career were deeply impressed on Mr. Rotch 's mind during his experience abroad. These impressions found a ready response in the desire of his father to found some public charity, but the latter's sudden death left the matter unsettled. It became the filial duty of the children to found such a traveling scholarship as had been contemplated. With his brother and three sisters, in 1883 he founded the Rotch Traveling Scholarship, whose provisions annually send a student of architecture to Europe, there to study and travel for two years. Naturally Mr. Rotch has been the active trustee of this prize, and on him has devolved the framing and execution of the rules under which the student is selected. But this is not the only proof Mr. Rotch has given of his appreciation of his foreign studies. Filled with gratitude for the opportunities which the French government gives gratuitously to strangers, Mr. Rotch was one of the first to promote the foundation by American ex-students of the Ecole des Beaux Arts of a Prize of Gratitude, which annually gives a traveling purse to a French student. The firm of Rotch & Tilden has constructed many public and private buildings in Boston and throughout the country. Among them are the Art Museum and Art School of Wellesley College, gymnasium at Bowdoin, gymnasium, dormitory and library at Exeter, public libraries at Bridgewater, Eastport and Groton, churches of the Messiah and of the Holy Spirit, Boston, while their town halls, high schools and commer- cial buildings are scattered through many States. This firm was the first to revive the Colonial style for modern buildings, a style which so fully answers the requirements of modern life that it was immediately introduced throughout the length and breadth of the land. Mr. Rotch was the first to advocate the use of rough cast, which has since come into use and which led to the adoption of staff as the material of the Chicago Fair buildings.

Mr. Rotch was supervising architect of the Suffolk County Cmirt House, and the conception of the grand central hall was entirely due to him. He is chairman of the Department of Architecture and one of the corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a trustee of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He is a member of the Somerset, St. Botolph, Tavern and Art Clubs of Boston, and of clubs in several other cities. He was married in 1892 to Lisette De Wolf Colt.

As a painter in water colors Mr. Rotch is well known, having exhibited for a number of years in the Paris Salon, the Academy in London, as well as annually in the chief exhibitions in New York, Philadelphia and Boston, and was well represented in the Art Department at the World's Fair, Chicago. He is of a literary as well as artistic turn of mind. During his studies abroad he was a regular correspondent of the American Architect and an occasional correspondent of several daily papers, notably the Loudon Daily Nczcs, for which he wrote up the situation in Turkey and Bulgaria after the Russian invasion. His professional work leaves him scant leisure, but he contributes still occasionally criticisms and reviews of current art matters. For two years after he settled in Boston he delivered lectures on Decorative Art at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Frederick H. Prince

Frederick. Henry Prince is of an illustrious family, which as long ago as 1584 was prominent in England, living at that time in Shrewsbury, upon their estate known as "Abbey Foregate, " John Prince being then rector of East Sheffield, In 1G33 his son. Elder John Prince, came to this country and settled in Hull, Mass. His grandson, Thomas Piince, graduated from Harvard College in ITOT, and in 1717

Was ordained co-pastor with Dr. Sewell of the Old South Church in Boston. Mr. Prince's great-grandfather, James Prince, well known in his day and generation as a prominent merchant, was appointed by President Jefferson as naval officer of the Port of Boston, and afterwards as United States marshal for the District of Massachusetts. Mr. Prince is the son of Frederick Octavius and Helen (Henry) Prince, and was born in Winchester, Mass., November 30, 1860. His father is a distinguished ex-mayor of Boston, and for many years was secretary of the National Democratic Committee. Mr. Prince received his early education in public schools, and entered Harvard College in 1878, but left in 1880 to go into business. In 1885 he established the banking house of F. H. Prince & Co., and its career has been one of uninternipted prosperity. Mr. Prince has been interested in some of the heaviest financial undertakings in this country, among them the purchase from the Thayers, Vanderbilts and others, of the Union Stock Yard and Transit Company of Chicago, which he sold to a London syndicate for $23,000,000; the company is now known as the Chicago junction Railways and Union Stock Yards Company. Mr. Prince is a director of the Chicago Junction Railways and Union vStock Yards Company, and interested in the direction and management of several corporations and railroads. He is a member of all the leading clubs in Boston and New York. In 188-1 he married Abby Kinsley Norman, a daughter of George H. Norman, of Newport, R. I., and has two children, Frederick and Norman.

Col. Austin Clarke Wellington

CoL. Austin Cl.'\rke Wellington was born in the historic town of Lexington, Middlesex county, Mass., July 17, 1840. His military instinct and love of martial characteristics were a family inheritance. He was a direct descendant of the men who on Lexington Common offered their lives to found this nation, and he proved worthy of his heroic ancestry. His great-grandfather, Capt. Timothy Wellington, with his brother Benjamin, participated in the battle of Lexington, Benjamin being the first prisoner of the Revolution captured by the king's troops on that eventful morning, but he escaped, and later rejoined his company.

The parents of our subject were Jonas Clarke and Harriet Eliza (Bosworth) Wellington. His father was born in Lexington, November 30, 1815, where he served as assessor from 1852-54, and town treasurer in 1855. In 185G he removed to Cambridge, where for many years he was engaged in the coal business. He was an ardent supporter of the Union during the war of the Rebellion, and rendered valuable .service to the soldiers. He frequently visited the battlefields, and by his kindness, encouraging words and attention to the wants of the " boys " at the front won their love and respect. After the war he ever took a deep interest in the Grand Army of the Republic. The J. C. Wellington Sons of Veterans, Camp 14, in Cambridge, was named in his honor, and received from him its colors. He was for several years president of the Massachusetts Convention of Universalists, and was a generous donor to religious and philanthropic objects. He served as a member of the Board of Aldermen of Cambridge ; was also a member of the Board of Overseers of the Poor, and treasurer of Dean Academy. He died April 27, 1889.

Our subject was educated in the public schools of Lexington. He came with his parents to Cambridge in 1856, when he entered the employ of vS. G. Bowdlear & Co., flour merchants of Boston, as bookkeeper, remaining with them until his enlistment in the Union army. During the three years that followed, Mr. Bowdlear, the senior member of the firm, kept up a correspondence with him, one of his letters attesting to his faithfulness and their affection for him, as follows : "We have only pleasant memories of our model clerk."

With the blood of ancestors who were ready to sacrifice their all for their country's welfare, flowing in his veins, he could not be an inactive factor when the great struggle began between the States. He was then in the full strength of robust manhood, and he cheerfully and readily offered his services in behalf of the Union cause. In August, 1863, he enlisted in Company F, Thirty-eighth Massachusetts Regiment, and was offered a commission, but he 'refused, preferring to win by actual service whatever promotion he might merit. His regiment left Boston August 26, 1862, and for two months was encamped in the vicinity of Baltimore. It was then transferred to New Orleans, and took part in the Red River expedition and the campaign in the western part of Louisiana. In July, 1864, it was transferred from the Gulf to Washington, and formed a part of Sheridan's army during the closing period of the war, at which time Lieutenant Wellington, who had been pro- moted through all the grades, was acting as adjutant of the regiment. He participated in the battles of Bisland, sieges of Port Hudson, Cane River Ford, Mansura in Louisana, and Opequam, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek in Virginia. He was mustered out June 30, 18G5. His regiment during its nearly three years' service suffered great depletion from killed and wounded. As a soldier Lieutenant Wellington was respected and beloved by his comrades in the field. Of this period of his career an ex-mayor of Cambridge writes: "He was a noble young man ; a splendid type of manhood ; one of those who went to the war because they felt as if their country needed their services, and were ready to scrifice their lives if need be in her defense." His tent-mate testifies that " he performed thoroughly his duty under any and all cirstances. A soldier without fear or reproach, always to be relied upon in the march, bivouac or battle, his record is without stain, an honor to himself, to his State and the country he served so well. His patriotism, fidelity, intelligence and courage were conspicuous, winning for him words of commendation from commanders high in rank, whose achievements cover many of the brightest pages in the history of our country."

Upon his return to private life Colonel Wellington engaged in the coal business, which he developed to large proportions, becoming widely and favorably known as manager and treasurer of the Austin C. Wellington Coal Company, one of the largest concerns in this line in New England, and which at the time of Colonel Wellington's death controlled wharves in Boston, South Boston, Cambridge and Brighton. He developed remarkable business ability, and attained enviable success in any enterprise in which he embarked. His sterling integrity, enterprise and untiring industry united to a magnetism and graciousness of manner peculiarly his own, made him a valued factor in any project with which he was associated. He had that dauntless courage which never seems to consider defeat, and this spirit was evinced in all of his undertakings, enthusing his business associates, and in no limited measure accounting for his marked success in the business world. His interest in his employees, his kindness manifested in all his relations to them begot in return feelings of the tenderest regard and affection.

June 30, 18G'.i, he was married to Caroline Louisa Fisher, daughter of George and Hannah C. (Teele) Fisher. She was a woman of marked literary attainments, and of refined, cultivated nature. She was the author of a book of poems entitled : ' ' Leaflets Along the Pathway of

Life," while her prose contributions were numerous and varied. Her death occurred November 23, 1870. Eight years later, November 29, 1887, Colonel Wellington married a sister of his deceased wife, vSarah Cordelia Fisher, well 'known in Boston musical circles as a soprano singer of decided merit. Her interest in philanthropic and literary associations has been marked, presiding over the Ladies' Aid As.sociation Auxiliary to the Soldier's Home in Chelsea, director of the Cambridge Conservatory of Music, and also taking a prominent part in other organizations. Her father was one of the earliest members of the Handel and Haydn Society, and is well known as a musical enthusiast. He was editor and publisher of the Cambridge Chronicle fifteen years. He is especially remembered as one who substantially aided and encouraged his friend, Elias Howe, the sewing machine inventor, when the project seemed likely to fail for lack of funds. For two years he repre- .serited Cambridge in the House of Representatives of Massachusetts.

r)ne of the most distinguishing featvires of Colonel Wellington's career was his brilliant record in the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. Ma)* 2, 1870, he entered the service as captain of the Boston Light Infantrj-, otherwise known as the famous "Tigers," being Company A of the Seventh Regiment. While captain of this company his command rendered efficient service at the great Boston fire in 1872. In 1873 he was elected major of the Fourth Battalion, which under his leadership became widely known as the crack organization of the vState, and at the general inspection of the military forces of Massachusetts in 1878 ranked the highest for general military excellence. February 2-t, 1882, he was elected colonel of the First Regiment, and the record of this regiment from the time Colonel Wellington assumed command until his untimely death, was brilliant and unparalleled, and what it accomplished at home and abroad was due almost wholly to the untiring zeal of its gallant commander, who instilled into the regiment an esprit de corps, which had not before existed. Notably on two occasions, at the funeral of General Grant in New York in 1885 and at the Constitutional celebration in Philadelphia in 1887, it did great credit to the State, and reflected honor upon its talented and idolized colonel.

From the beginning of the Grand Army of the Republic, Colonel Wellington took an active part in its affairs. \\\ 1807 he became a comrade in Post 15; in 1874 was chosen commander of Post 30, of which he was one of the charter members, and also served as commander of Post 113 in 1887-1888, till his death. He also served as inspector-gen- eral of the Grand Army for the Department of Massachusetts. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery, one of the Military Examining- Board, of the Sheridan Veterans, one of the trustees of the Soldiers' Home, Chelsea, chairman of the Boston Coal Exchange, president of the Charles River Towing Company, in 1871 a director in the Boston Mercantile Library Association, and later its president, vicepresident of the Central Club and chairman of the House Committee, a member of the New England Club, the Executive Business Association and the Art Club; secretary of the Irving Literarj' Association in 1801, a member of the Cambridge Shakespeare Club, the Handel and Haydn Society and the Ceclia Club, the last two being musical organizations of Boston. He was especially fond of music, and possessed a fine sympathetic baritone voice. He had cultivated literary tastes ; was fond of reading, and excelled in declamation.

During 1875 and 1876 Colonel Wellington was a member of the House of Representatives, serving on the Committee of Military Affairs, where he accomplished nruch in procuring needed legislation affecting the State militia. Everything pertaining to military matters indeed strongly appealed to him and enlisted his active support. He frequently acted as judge of the military prize drills of the Btiston public schools. He acted as chief marshal of the Republican torchlight demonstration in 188Jr in Boston, and of the Thackeray Carnival and IMusic of the Centuries in 188C.

One of the greatest achievements of Colonel Wellington was the brilliant management of the Soldiers' Home Carnival in Boston in 1885, a work of great magnitude, requiring tireless attention and great executive ability. It was in every sense a labor of love, and he unreservedly devoted himself to the task. The enthusiastic manner in which he took hold of the project, the confidence his words and actions inspired, and the consummate skill with which he managed every detail, won universal admiration. It was his best work in behalf of the old soldiers, whom he loved, and it was a proud moment for him when as chief marshal of the carnival he drew his check for $64,000, the sum netted for the Home after paying all expenses, during the ten days of the carnival. This undertaking, largely a personal one, was indicative of the man. In it, as in every good and charitable work in Boston and elsewhere, he was a foremost figure, cheerfully giving of both his time and means to their promotion. Whatever he undertook was always well done. He had a dauntless, intrepid spirit, a gentle heart, which made him unmindful of self and considerate of others. His death occurred at Cambridge, September 23, 1888, of paralysis, after a brief illness. His life ended at the flood tide of his success, and when he was apparently only in the meridian of his powers and usefulness. The death of few have evoked more sincere sorrow. He possessed a social, companionable nature, which drew around him a charming circle of friends, whose loyal, tender regard he as warrhly reciprocated. His funeral was one of the largest ever extended a private citizen in New England, representatives of the State, militia, G. A. R. posts, busine,ss and social circles being represented, the long funeral procession being escorted to Mount Auburn Cemetery by his loved First Regiment, which superb org'anization was his noblest monument as a citizen soldier.

Calvin Allen Richards

Calvin Allen Richards was bom born in Dorchester, Mass., March 4, 1838. His boyhood was pas.sed in and around Boston, and he received his education in the public schools, although he left school at an early age to assist his father, Isaiah D. Richards, in his business. He soon exhibited the wonderful executive ability which was so powerfully felt in his after life ; and his father early learned to lean upon him for assistance and counsel. He denied himself many of the pleasures of young men to devote his thoughts and attention to his business, and to the care of his mother, who was delicate during the closing years of her life, and to whom he was most tenderly attached.

On February 17, 1853, he married Ann R. Babcock, daughter of Dexter Babcock, of the wholesale grocery firm of Babcock & Coolidge, who is now living an honored retired merchant in his ninety-sixth year. Two children were born of this union - a son who was instantly killed by lightning in 18(;3, and a daughter who survives her father.

Mr. Richards remained in business with his father and three brothers until 1861, when he opened a large establishment on Washington street, and it was while he was in this location, and during the years of the civil war, that he amassed the bulk of his fortune. He was in the Common Council of Boston in 1858-59 and '61, and in 1862 he was an alderman. This parliamentar}- experience he valued, and he was eagerly sought for by all dining clubs, having always the power to

In 1874 he was induced to relinquish business cares somewhat, and became a prominent director in the Metropolitan Street Railroad. In this position he soon made his rare executive power felt, and he was asked to become its president, which he did, and found his office no easy one. The railroad was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the former managers had permitted a powerful rival corporation to spring into existence. Mr. Richards desired to restore his railroad to its former position, and how well he succeeded is known to all street railway men in the United States. It was a grand achievement, and considered wonderfully so by all, as, when he entered this business, he knew nothing of street railways, always having been a merchant. Under his able management the Metropolitan Railroad became one of the largest and best conducted in the cotmtry, rich and strong, and the methods of its president were copied by many other corporations at home and abroad.

In all important debates, either in the Legislature or city government, he always argued his cases alone and unaided; and with his strong personal magnetism, shrewd common sense, and thorough knowledge of the details of his railroad, in statistics, etc., he almost always succeeded in carrying conviction to the minds of those who, at the outset, were most bitterly and strenuously opposed to him. Those most prominent in the legal profession, who were representing street railways in public hearings, always found Mr. Richards a powerful antagonist, and felt sometimes he had mistaken his vocation in life, often telling him his strong points in arguments were worthy one of their own brotherhood.

His stewardship in this large corporation was most faithfully and conscientiously fulfilled, each important movement receiving his personal supervision. He labored most zealously for the interest of the stockholders, feeling his position to be a sacred trust, while at the same time he tried to satisfy that most exacting body - the public.

^Ir. Richards had also a most wonderful hold upon the hearts of all the men in the employ of the great railroad, and although a firm and strict master in all points of duty on the part of any man in serving the public in a respectful and courteous manner, no one of the employees could ever come to him with any unjust claim made against him, without having justice and reparation demanded from the person who appeared before the president with his complaint. No one of the men could have illness or death come to him or his dear ones without a personal call from Mr. Richards, or a speedy messenger sent with pecuniary aid, or flowers and delicacies for their sick. In all the labor disturbances which occur in large corporations employing so many men, it was his habit to appear personally before their different organizations, and before leaving they were satisfied and happy, cheers taking the place of any ill feeling of unrest or uprising in opposition to established rules. The warm love of the men for their president was most touchingl}^ displayed by heartfelt expressions of sympathj' tendered to his family after his death. They all felt they had lost a personal friend and adviser, to whom they could ever come for comfort or counsel.

In 1885 Mr. Richards became the president of the American Street Railway Association, composed of the execiitive forces of almost all the street railroads in the United States and Canada, and until he severed his connection with railroad life he always greatly enjoyed attending the annual conventions of this organization, held each year in the different cities. At these conventions he made himself a power by his wonderful foresight and wisdom, and was almost the first man to predict the electric power for street cars, which he did in a most thrilling speech at the convention banquet, held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York city, October, 188-t, and those who were present will not soon forget it. He was greatly beloved by his associates in this organization, and always received an earnest and heartfelt invitation to attend the conventions long after he turned aside from railroad life.

After the consolidation of all the street railways of Boston, the Metropolitan, with the others, being absoi-bed in the West End, a complimentary banquet was given to Mr. Richards by the directors of the Metropolitan Company, and with earnest expression of affection and regret in severing their connection with their president, the}' presented him with a massive bronze, on which was a silver plate inscribed :

By The

After the consolidation, Mr. Richards became associated with the new organization as general manager under President Whitney, but after a few weeks in that position he resigned.

For a short time thereafter he was connected with the Boston Heating Company, but soon retired to private life, and purchased and entirely remodeled the large office building, 114 State street, which bears his name. In this building he had a finely appointed office, where his business friends enjoyed meeting him, and where he managed his own personal business matters.

Mr. Richards died on February 15, 1802, after an illness of nearly two years' duration. His funeral was attended by an unusually large number of prominent business and professional men, and the floral tributes were very numerous and elegant.

His life needs no eulogy from those who knew him - a strong, firm, conscientious business man, who achieved a wonderful success, leaving an ample fortune. He was a kind and sympathetic neighbor, who could never listen to a tale of distress or sorrow without tears in his eyes and ready pecuniarv aid; while hi.s tender, loving home life, those only can appreciate who knew him there. He always extended a warm and genial welcome to all his guests, and his cordial manner and hearty grasp of the hand were ever extended to all those friends who crossed the threshold of his happy home, where he loved to linger, always preferring life by his own hearthstone to that enjoyed by so many men in a life in the world and at their clubs. As a husband and father, his relations were inexpressibly beautiful, and his death has left a terrible void in the home where he lived so happily, amid every luxury and comfort.

H. A. Blood

Hiram Albro Blood, was born in Townsend, Mass., February 3, 18;]3, and is a son of Ezra and Lydia Ann (Jefts) Blood. He received an academical education in the town of his birth, and lived there until the age of eighteen, at which age he went to Worcester in search of employment. Two years later he entered the employ of the commission house of Bliss, vSutton & Co. , of that city, as clerk, and became a member of the firm in 185-1. at which time he opened a branch house at

Fitchburg, where he has since continued to reside. In 1857 he dissolved his connection with Bliss, vSutton & Co., and entered into a copartnership with William O. Brown, of Fitchburg, under the name of Blood & Brown, which existed until 18G0, when Mr, Brown withdrew to enter the United States army, becoming a major of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, and a new firm was formed under the name of H. A. Blood & Co. , which continued to carry on the business.

In 1806 Mr. Blood withdrew from all mercantile pursuits and became entirely interested in railroads, to the construction and operation of which he has since given his time and attention. He first became connected with the Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad as a director, and as a superintendent and general manager. He afterwards built, or was largely instrumental in building, the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg, the Framingham and Lowell, the Mansfield and Framingham, and the Fall River Railroads, of which he successively became superintendent and general manager, and afterwards united and consolidated them, together with the New Bedford and Taunton and the Taunton Branch Railroads, into one system, under the name of the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad Company, reaching from Fitchburg and Lowell in the north to Mansfield, Taunton, New Bedford and Fall River in the southern part of the State. This system of railroads was for a time operated by Mr. Blood as general manager, and was afterwards united and consolidated with the Old Colony Railroad Company, of which it now forms an important part. In the construction of these railroads, and in their subsequent operation and consolidation, Mr. Blood was the moving and directing spirit.

In 1875 Mr. Blood procured the charter for the Wachusett National Bank of Fitchburg, obtaining all the subscriptions to its capital stock, established the bank, and became its first vice-president.

He was the third mayor of Fitchburg, and was first elected by the Board of Aldermen and Common Council, November 2, 1875, to fill out the unexpired term of Hon. Eugene T. Miles, and at the subsequent annual election in December he was elected by the people, and was inaugurated in January, 1870, and discharged the duties of mayor for one year and two months.

Mr. Blood is now chiefly interested in railroads in the State of Ohio, being the president of the Cleveland, Canton and Southern Railroad Company in that State, which position he has held .since May, 1884. While still retaining his residence in Fitchburg, most of his business affairs are transacted in Boston, which for several years has been his business headquarters. B}' sheer native force of character, great business generalship, and remarkable executive ability, Mr. Blood has gained a place in the fore rank of the railroad men of the country.

David Thayer, M.D.

D.wiD Thayer, A.M., M.D., Boston, son of Deacon Nathaniel Emmons Thayer, was born in Braintree, Mass., July 19, 1813, and is a direct descendant of John Alden and Priscilla of the Mayflower company who landed on Plymouth Rock in December, 1620. He was educated in the common schools of his native town, in the Weymouth and Braintree Academy, in Phillips Academy at Andover, in the Appleton Academy at New Ipswich, N. H., and at Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. His medical education was acquired chiefly in Boston, in the Medical Department of Harvard College and in the Massachusetts General Hospital. At this time it was not his intention to become a physician, but he began the study of medicine with Prof. B. F. Joslin, M.D. , LL. D., in 1836, while an undergraduate at Union College, with the intention of preparing himself for a life of travel and exploration. He went to the Medical College at Pittsfield, Mass., where he took his degree preparatory to his departure for Rio Janeiro, but the death of his father, and the earnest desire of his mother, caused him to abandon for the present the long cherished plan of becoming a traveler, and he took an office in Boston, where he has remained till the present - through a period of fifty }'ears in the practice of medicine.

For a year previous to his leaving Braintree he sat imder the preaching of Rev. Edwards A. Park, whose ministry was the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of many of the young people as well as of those of middle age. Prof. Park was a brilliant scholar, an eloquent speaker and a model minister. His services were less perfunctory than those of other ministers had been, and he seemed to love his vocation and to seek the good of his people. He impressed the more intelligent with the sincerity of his heart, and he taught them the Better Way. Many became more serious minded, and the subject of the future life was a more common topic of conversation among all classes. He held private meetings for conversation on the great and important subject of the soul and of the future life. Extraordinary methods were sometimes resorted to in those times for the purpose of bringing the people's attention to the subject and to keep it there. Protracted meetings were held in the churches, which were continued sometimes through the week, and the people of other parishes and other towns often swelled the gatherings to large congregations. The best speaking talent among the clergymen was often engaged. At inquiry meetings, so called, the state of the heart was often brought to a crucial test. Such questions as these were propounded: Are yoi: willing to give your heart to God? Are you willing to be cast out from his presence forever and to be damned, if it were necessary, to add to the glory of his kingdom? After an hour of solitary and silent thought, some could answer in the afifii'mative. This willingness to serve God was deemed conversion. Many joined the church. Such preaching was beneficent in its results generally. The mental and moral conditions thus attained unto made the recipients happier and their lives better. Dr, Thayer remembers to this day the mental contiict of that solitar}' hour, and he thinks that its influence has followed him along the years of his life, and that now when he is an old man it abides with him still.

While he was in Phillips Academy the Hon. Geo. Thompson, M.P. , of England, came to Andover and lectured against slavery, in the Methodist church. vStudents of the Theological Seminary and of Phillips Academy heard him. His eloquence of speech was a divine gift. Says one who heard him : ' ' No orator is comparable to him ; I have known him to hold an audience in breathless silence for two hours and a half." .Sir Robert Peel said of him: " He is the most eloquent man in or out of Parliament." He described the condition of the African slave in America, and showed what was the duty of the church in regard to it. Strange to say, the professors of the Divinity School in Andover were opposed to him and Garrison and to antislavery. Garrison had been lecturing and writing against slavery for years. He had been imprisoned in Baltimore on account of his antislavery.

In 1835, the year in which Garrison was mobbed, there was not a doctor of divinity in this broad land that was in favor of Garrison and Thompson. The ministers generally were opposed to the anti-slavery movement. It was found to be true that the church was indeed the bulwark of slavery and all were opposed to anti-slavery. Students of Phillips Academy who heard Thompson thouj^ht they saw clearly what was their duty. They proposed to organize an anti-slavery society in the academy. That wa.s forbidden by the faculty. They discussed the question of slavery in the Philomathian Society in the academy, but that, too, was forbidden. They then sought to join the anti-slavery society already existing in the town of Andover - that also was not allowed. As they felt aggrieved, they called a meeting in the academy to discuss their grievances - this, too, was forbidden, and they met in the woods at a place called Indian Ridge, where they discussed, the matter and appointed committees. They got up a remonstrance, had it printed, and as all they said and did had no effect on the faculty, except to make them the more determined to crush out the anti-slavery sentiment among the students and to convince the slave-masters of our subserviency to the peculiar institutions of the South, the students of Phillips Academy resolved to ask for their credentials and turn their backs on Andover. One of their number, Sherlock Bristol, was ignominiously expelled without any charges brought against him. This did not intimidate them nor persuade them to submit to the powers that be.

About sixty of the students were accustomed to meet together and were heartily united in regard to their duty towards the slave. After some delay their request was granted and they received their credentials, and about fifty of them left in a body; a few of the sixty were induced to remain. So strong was the faculty in their opposition to anti-slavery that one Sunday afternoon at five o'clock prayer meeting, old Professor Stuart spoke of George Thompson, who was to lecture that Sunday night, and said, " Yonng gentlemen, I warn you on the peril of your souls' salvation not to go to that meeting to-night. " And in his address to the retiring class of young clergymen going forth to preach the Gospel to all the world, said, " Young gentlemen, regarding the matter of slavery, I advise you to let it alone. It is a political question, and we do not wish to caiTy politics into the pulpit. If you wish to pray about it, pray about it in secret ; but don't preach about it." In the words of Dr. Thayer, "If this is not disloyalty to the teachings of the Master, then it must be admitted that ' without controversy, great is the mystery of Godliness.