Essex Town (part 21 of 26)

In politics a strong Republican, Mr. Nelson has taken an active part in promoting the interests of his party. He has held office in the town a number of times. In 1862 he was elected Selectman, and he was re-elected in the following year and several times afterward. He is now chairman of the board. In 1875 he was chosen to represent the town in the Massachusetts legislature of 1876, and was a member of the Committee on Prisons, which considered and reported the bill to establish a State prison at Concord. Mr. Nelson is now one of the trustees of the Peabody Library Association of Georgetown. A member of the Charles C. Dame Lodge, F. & A. M., he was its second Worshipful Master, and therein took all the chapter and commandery degrees. He also belongs to Lodge No. 39, I. O. O. F., of Newburyport; and he is an active member of the First Congregational Society. In 1866 he was married to Catharine S., daughter of Leandcr and Mary (Perley) Spofford.

Tephen Madison Gale, M.D.

TEPHEN MADISON GALE, M.D., was for many years a distinguished medical practitioner of Newburyport. A native of the State of New Hampshire, he was born in Kingston Plains, October 20, 1809. The Gales for several generations have been devoted to the practice of medicine, and have, produced at least thirty physicians, including Dr. Gale's grandfather, his father, several uncles, and four brothers.

The maternal grandfather, Dr. Josiah Bartlett, was one of the most distinguished men New Hampshire has produced. He was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence after John Hancock, the first Senator elected from New Hampshire to the Federal Congress, and the Chief Justice of the State, and its first Governor. A man of irreproachable character, inflexible integrity, and wide information, he occupied a high place in the esteem of his fellow-citizens.

Stephen M. Gale studied medicine with his brothers, Ezra B. Gale, of Kingston, and Levi B. Gale, of Boston. Then, having completed a course of lectures at the Harvard Medical School, he graduated from that institution in 1837, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began practice in Derry, N.H., whence in 1839 he removed to Methucn, Mass. In 1850 he came to Newburyport, where he built up for himself a large practice, and where he was the first physician to successfully practise homoeopathy. The latter step, which was taken as the result of careful deliberation, caused his expulsion from the Massachusetts Medical Society, whereupon the homneopathists tendered him the presidency of their State society. His death occurred January 26, 1882. He was a member of the Essex County Homoeopathic Medical Society, which, when he died, passed resolutions of condolence, and set apart a page of its record book to his memory. The esteem in which he was held by the medical fraternity in general was evidenced by the large number of physicians that gathered to pay the last honors at his obsequies. Among them were all the physicians of the city except one, whom illness kept at home, and many distinguished practitioners from abroad.

W. Johnson. She bore him two children - Alice Bartlett and Anna Bartlett. Anna is now Mrs. E. Moody Boynton, of West Newbury. On the second occasion he was united with Phcebe Jane How, a sister of the Hon. Moses How, a former Mayor of Haverhill. She had one son, George How Gale. Dr. Gale's third wife, in maidenhood Mary H. How, was a sister of his second wife. A devoted member of the Baptist church for many years, Dr. Gale was clerk of the society for some time; and he was urged to become a Deacon. Few men have had greater opportunities than he to work for the good of humanity and to relieve misery and suffering, and few men have more faithfully improved those opportunities.

(^OHN L. STANLEY, who occupies a prominent place among the business men of Gloucester, was born in Beverly, Mass., August 27, 1842, son of Herbert and Lydia (Stanley) Stanley. He is a grandson of David Stanley, and the family has been identified with Beverly for several generations.

John L. Stanley began his education in the public schools, fitted for his collegiate course at Phillips Academy, Exeter, and was graduated at Dartmouth College with the class of 1869 with honors, and made a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Turning his attention to educational pursuits, he was principal of the Bradford (Mass.) High School for six years, and for the succeeding seven years was principal of the Concord (N. H.) High School. Subsequently settling in Gloucester, he entered the fishing business, and is now a. member of the well-known firm of William Parsons (second) & Co. His recognized business ability has led to his appointment to various responsible positions, which he has filled with great efficiency. At the present time he is vice-president of the Cape Ann National Bank, a director of the Gloucester Mutual Insurance Company, and a member of the Fishery Committee.

Mr. Stanley married Annette P. Parsons, daughter of William Parsons, second, a representative of a highly reputable Gloucester family and senior member of the firm with which Mr. Stanley is associated. Mrs. Stanley is the mother of two children; namely, William Parsons and Louise Le Favour.

Mr. Stanley keeps up his interest in educational matters, and has been a valuable member of the Gloucester School Committee for fifteen years. While residing in Concord, he joined White Mountain Lodge of Odd F"ellows. He belongs to the Baptist church, having served upon the Parish Committee for some years, and is a trustee of the Young Men's Christian Association.

vETER HOLIHAN, a well-known merchant of Lawrence, was born in Kilkenny County, Ireland, on March 4, 1828, the eldest of six children born to James and Ellen (Doyle) Ilolihan. His father, who was a carpenter, died in the old country in 1847, in the prime of life. Young Holihan received a good English education, thoroughly mastering the science of numbers as presented in the school text-books. His father intended that he should be a carpenter, and to that end had him well drilled in mathematics. But his want of inclination toward that trade and the circumstances of his environment decreed that he should do otherwise. Shortly after the death of his father, unknown to his mother and in spite of the efforts of friends at Liverpool, who endeavored to dissuade him, he sailed for America, believing that there good fortune and happiness awaited him. On the day following that of his arrival he was visited by a gentleman who had been in the country some years and was an intimate friend of the family. This friend urged him to send to Ireland for his mother, brothers, and sisters, saying that "it would be the wisest thing he could do." Young Holihan replied that he had first to earn the money necessary to defray the expenses of the voyage across. The gentleman, however, promised to lend him the amount needed, saying that it might be repaid at Mr. Holihan's convenience. The young man accepted without a moment's hesitation, and in a few hours the money had started on its way to Ireland. In due course the mother and children reached America safely, and the good fortune that came to them here has proven that the move was a wise one. Among the children were: Patrick, who died in 1881, leaving three sons; Mary, who became the wife of H. C. Clay, of Vermont; and Bridget, who became the wife of William J. Smith, of Wisconsin.

Mr. Holihan first secured employment in Andover, Mass., on the North Reading branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad, where he was employed for some three months at fair wages. In the spring of 1850 he began learning the moulder's trade at North Andover, working at one dollar and a half a day. He remained in this place for nearly eight years, or until the panic of 1857, working from five o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening. In 1858 he started modestly in the grocery business on Common Street, Lawrence. Subsequent to 1861 he received his brother Patrick into partnership, forming the firm Holihan Brothers; and after Patrick's death he admitted his three nephews, sons of

Peter Holihan

Patrick, who are now indispensable to the business. The firm's handsome brick block, located at the corner of Hampshire and Common Streets, having a floorage measuring ninety-three by fifty feet, was built in 1885. In 1849 Mr. Holihan was united in marriage with Kate McDermott, of Lawrence, a native of Fall River, who died about a year after. He subsequently married Jane Brennan, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, daughter of James and Rose (Bulwer) Brennan. Mr. and Mrs. Brennan came to America when their daughter Rose was about ten years old, bringing with them their family of nine children. Of these, all are now deceased except Mrs. Holihan. Mr. and Mrs. Holihan have no children. Mr. Holihan's fine residence of two and a half stories at 52 Bradford Street was built in 1S77. He also owns the house on the lot adjoining. Independent in politics, he votes for the best man, and in 1877 he was elected Alderman on the Independent ticket.

-r^ATHANIEL I'ORTPIR PERKINS, 1=/ chairman of the Board of Selectmen J-^ V^ of the town of Wen ham, was born in Topsfield, Mass., November 7, 1840, son of Nathaniel Perkins, Jr., and Lucy (Porter) Perkins. The family, of which the subject of this sketch represents the eiglith generation in this country, is said to be of English origin. Nathaniel Perkins, Jr., who was a native of Topsfield, died about fifty years ago. During the latter part of his life he kept a grocery store in Wenham. His wife Lucy, who was born in Wenham, was a daughter of Paul and Nancy Porter and a grand-daughter of Isaac Porter, a Revolutionary soldier.

N. Porter Perkins lost his father when very young; and his widowed mother returned with him to the home of her own father, Paul Porter, where he grew to manhood. He attended the public schools of Wenham, and also a private academy at Topsfield. During his vacations he worked on his grandfather's farm. He has been engaged in agriculture since he became self-supporting, and now owns a wellimproved farm of ninety acres in West Wenham, that he devotes both to market gardening and general farming. He also sends dairy products to market.

In 1872 Mr. Perkins was married to Charlotte E., daughter of the late Henry and Elizabeth W. Patch, of Wenham. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have had two children, namely: Marion P., who died in 1S91, at the age of nearly thirteen years; and George A., born March 22, 1874, who assists his father in carrying on the farm. George A. Perkins married Lottie W. Jcwett, daughter of John W. and Alice Jewett, of Danvers. He has two children - Myron A. and Porter J.

Mr. Perkins has held various official positions in Wenham, and is one of the most trusted and respected citizens of the town. When but twenty-one years old, he was elected a member of the School 15oard, in which position he served twenty years in all. For thirteen years he has been a member of the Wenham Board of Selectmen, having served as chairrtian for several years. For thirteen years he has served also as Overseer of the Poor and Assessor. In 1885 he represented Wenham and Danvers in the General Court, and was appointed a member of the Committee on Agriculture. In 1895 and 1896 he was a member of the Republican State Committee, representing the then P^ifth Essex County Senatorial District. For many years he has been a trustee of the Danvers Savings Bank. Fraternally,- he belongs to Golden Star Council, United Order of American Mechanics, at Beverly, and to the Sons of the American

'REDERICK WILLIAM SCHAAKE, a leading merchant tailor of Lawrence, was horn in Schwelm, Westphalia, Germany, June 2, 1826, son of Frederick and Catherine Wichlinghausen Schaake. The father, who was also a merchant tailor, had a good business in his native land, where he died in 1843, leaving six sons. The subject of this sketch learned his trade in early boyhood with his father, and secured a practical education by attending school mornings and evenings. In 1852 he came to this country, going first to England, and embarking in a sailing-vessel that arrived in New York after a voyage of twenty-one days. He followed his trade in the metropolis of the New World for two or three years as a journeyman, at the end of which time he went to Boston. Remaining in Boston as a cutter until April i, 1862, he came to Lawrence, and was first engaged here as a cutter for F. C. Drew, then a leading merchant tailor. On January 13, 1863, he purchased Mr. Drew's stock, and began business for himself, which he has conducted very successfully up to the present time, a period of some thirty-five years. He carries a first-class line of goods, embracing a large assortment of the newest designs and patterns; and his workmanship is unsurpassed. The business gives employment to aljout twelve or fourteen hands. Mr. Schaake has occupied his present stand in the I'ost-office Block since iSfjQ, having begun the erection of the building two years previously. The postoffice was established here shortly afterward. The building, which is one of the most desirable business blocks in the city, is a fourstory edifice, measuring sixty feet front and ninety-five feet deep. It has a wide hall or lobby leading to the post-office. There are two stores on the ground floor, the upper stories consisting of roomy and well-lighted offices. Mr. Schaake occupies a large and commodious room on the second floor. Mr. Schaake is also a stockholder in the Kimball Shoe Company in South Lawrence. Politically, he is a Republican, but has always declined office. He has been a Mason since 1866, and a Knight Templar since 1882.

In 1856 he was married in New York to Jane, daughter of Henry Todd, of Manchester, luigland, she having come to this country in 1850. She died in February, 1880, leaving five children - Julius W., Margaret Ann, Josephine Jane, Fred. H., and Albert Augustus. Julius W. and Albert A. are now with their father in the business, which is rapidly increasing. Julius W. is married, and has a family of four children - three sons and a daughter. Margaret Ann is the wife of Dr. Charles Crawford, of Lawrence, and the mother of two sons. Josephine Jane, who is unmarried, resides in Washington, D.C. Fred. H., who graduated from the Harvard Medical College in 1889, practised his profession in New Bedford for a time, and is now engaged in active practice in Lawrence. He was elected to the office of city physician in 1896. Albert A. is married, and has one son. Like his/athcr, he is a Mason and Knight Templar, having become a member of the commandery in 1894.

Mr, Schaake married the second time on December 2, 1S83, to Miss Johanna Herrmann, of New York City. Mrs. Schaake is a native of Silesia in Prussia and a daughter of Charles W. A. Herrmann, a noted mineralogist. Professor Herrmann, whose intellect is still keen, was ninety-si,\ years old July 3, 1897. He resides with two daughters in New York City.

I.PIIEUS GOODWIN, an enterprising meat and provision dealer of Pigeon Cove, was born in South Berwick, Me., February i, 1842, son of Alphcus and Elizabeth (Goodwin) Goodwin. His parents were both natives of York County, Maine; and the Goodwin family is an old and reputable one of South Berwick and the vicinity.

The subject of this sketch was reared upon his father's farm, and acquired a commonschool education in his native town. Upon reaching the age of seventeen years, he went to Portsmouth, N.H., where he worked at the machinist's trade. While there he assisted in adjusting the machinery of the United States steamship "Kearsarge," the ship that afterward became famous by sinking the Confederate privateer "Alabama." He subsequently went to Chicopee, Mass., where he was employed in the meat business for two years. Going from that town to Boston, he next managed a grocery and provision store on Harrison Avenue for several months, being subsequently engaged in the same kind of occupation for himself on Trcmont Street. In 1876 he came to Pigeon Cove, and has since carried on a profitable meat business in this town. He also cultivates a good farm, and is a director of the Rockport National Bank. In politics Mr. Goodwin is a Republican of the progressive type, and an advocate of all practical measures looking to the improvement of the town or general community. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the Blue Lodge in South Berwick.

IIARLES SHATTUCK, late a prosperous farmer of West Andover, was born in this town. May 21, 1S15, son of Peter and Susanna (Clark) Shattuck. The first ancestor of the family to settle in America was William Shattuck, who emigrated from Scotland in 1660. Joseph Shattuck, Charles Shattuck's grandfather, a native of Andover and a farmer by occupation, was the father of twelve children.

Peter Shattuck, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Andover, in the vicinity of the farm where his son now resides. He was a shoemaker by trade, and passed his entire life in Andover. His wife Susanna, who was a native of Chelsea, Mass., and a daughter of Daniel Clark, became the mother of eleven children, namely: Peter and Leonard; Susanna, the wife of George Bradley; Harriet, the wife of Alford Putnam ; Franklin; William; Charles; Thomas; and three who died young.

Charles Shattuck attended the public schools of Andover, and completed his education at Phillips Academy. He learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for a time. Afterward, succeeding to the homestead, he gave his attention to the cultivation of his farm. Besides erecting a new residence, he otherwise improved the property. Taking an active interest in public affairs, he served as Selectman and Overseer of the Poor, and was Auditor for three j'ears. His death occurred August 4, 1898. He was a member of the Congregational church.

Hopkins, of Michigan. Ilis children are: P'rances Rosetta, the widow of Horace P. Beard, of Andover; Charles William ; Frederic VV. ; and Jennie, the wife of the Rev. Sidney K. Perkins, pastor of First Church of West Springfield, Mass. Mr. Shattiick was a subscriber for the Boston /o//m<7/ (rnm its cstalilishment in 1S33.

(^OHN FOLSOM CHESLEY, of Amesbury, was born in Lee, N.H., on June 25, 1S20, son of Israel and Betsy (Folsom) Cheslcy. He is of the sixth generation from Philip Chesley, who was known to have been in Dover in 1642, and to have died before 1685. From Philip and his wife, Elizabeth, who bore him two sons - Thomas and Philip - the line of direct ancestry is through Thomas, Ensign Joseph, Thomas, Lieutenant Benjamin, and Israel, the last-named being the father of John F. Chesley. The first Thomas, who was born in 1644, and was killed by the Indians in 1697, married PZlizabcth Thines. She bore him eight children, named respectively: Thomas, John, George, Elizabeth, Joseph, Sarah, Susanna, and Mary. P'nsign Joseph, who died in 1731, married Sarah Smith, and had three children - Joseph, Thomas, and James. The second Thomas, who was born in 171 8 or 17 19 and died in 1810, married Mary Hill, of Durham. His children were: Benjamin, Thomas, Nathaniel, Joseph, and James. Lieutenant Benjamin was born in 1743, and died in 1831. He lived on a farm in Durham, a part of which is now owned by the New Hampshire College of Agriculture; and the old homestead, which is now standing, is occupied i^y the president of the college. His wife, who was before her marriage Deborah Randall, of Lee, N.H., was born in 1747. and died in

1S30. She was the mother of seven sons and five daughters, whose names follow: Abigail, Mary (or Polly), Miles, Deborah, Isaac, Susanna, James, Benjamin, Valentine, Nancy, Israel, and Thomas. To each of the sons was given a farm. The Rev. Israel Chesley, father of John V., was born in November, 1 788, and died in 1866. He resided on the Folsom homestead in Lee, N. H., which had previously been the property of Colonel John Folsom, his wife's father. His children were: Israel, Elizabeth, Mary Neal, John Folsom, Deborah G., and Hannah.

John F"olsom Chesley received his education in the common schools and at Newmarket Academy. When a young man, he taught school for some years; but in 1840 he started in "trade" in Newmarket. After four years he removed to Newburyport, where he engaged in business. He built the store at the corner of Mcrrimac and Kent Streets in Newburyport, and continued there for five years. Going thence to Lee, N.H., he started business, to which for the next eleven years he devoted his full attention. At the end of that time he came to Amesbury, and bought the estate where he now resides. Shortly after the war he began the sale of carriages, his operations being confined chiefly to New England, with branch repositories at Lewiston and Bangor, Me., and Watertown, N.Y. After a few years he retired from active mercantile life.

Mr. Chesley was married on August 17, 1S53, to Abigail Emery George, of Amesbury, daughter of Nathaniel and Anna George. It is a family tradition that these Georges were descended from the family of Sir I'Y'nlinand Gorges, who was prominent in the history of the early settlement of America. Sir P'erdinand was one of the company known as the Plynifuith Bay Company, and as early as 1607 sent out an expedition for the purpose of effecting a settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec River. This proving unsuccessful, he urged a repetition of the attempt; and, when he found that he could not secure the cooperation of other wealthy men, he bought and fitted out a ship, which he sent to America, nominally for the purpose of fishing and trading, but in reality for the purpose of making explorations, with an eye to future settlement. Trusted servants of his own household were on board the ship, and careful reports were carried home. In 1622 Sir Ferdinand, in comjiany with Captain John Mason, secured from the crown a grant of land between the Mcrrimac and Kennebec Rivers; and the following year a company of colonists were sent out. These formed two settlements on the Piscataqua River, one at its mouth, and the other at Cochecho, now the city of Dover, these being the first settlements in what is now the State of New Hampshire. In 1635 Sir Ferdinand obtained a separate title to that portion of the former grant lying east of the Piscataqua, and in honor of his native county gave it the name of Somersetshire. Here he organized a proprietary government, and was himself created Lord Palatine by the home government, having duties similar to those of the Bishop of Durham. From this time on the province was called Maine. In 1640 the first General Court assembled at Saco, and its members took the oath of allegiance to the proprietor. Thomas Gorges was created Governor of the province, and took up his residence at Georgeana, now the town of York, of which he was made Mayor. This was the first English city incorporated on this continent. When the trouble broke out between King Charles and Parliament, Sir Ferdinand, who was a warm personal friend of the monarch, actively championed the royal cause, and therefore suffered imprisonment and loss of property. His death occurred in 1647, two years subsequent to his imprisonment. A member of this family was Francis George, the "scout" or the "hermit," as he was called, whose heroism in risking an encounter with Indians, in order to rescue some white children, was thought worthy of a monument in Whitehall, London. James George, a direct ancestor of Mrs. Chesley, was a brother of this Francis. He was born in Amesbury, but came to Salisbury, one of the early settlers here, and lived the greater part of his life in this town, settling on the land called the mill division on the western side of Powow Hill. His great-great-grandsons, Nathaniel and John George, built the house in which Mr. Chesley resides. John never married, but spent his life in his brother Nathaniel's family. Nathaniel, prominent in town affairs and twice a Representative to the General Court, married Anna Brown, of Kensington, N.H. She was the mother of twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, one of the daughters being Mrs. Chesley. The original house, built by James George, stood at the base of Powow Hill, about a half-mile distant from the present one; and the old well, the currant bushes, and the overrun garden may still be seen there. The present house, which was built in 1S13, is on the estate which has been in possession of the George family for over two hundred and twenty years.

Mr. and Mrs. Chesley have been the i)arents of five children; namely, John Edwin, Monroe Berry, Annie Cornelia, Israel Folsom, and Mary Elizabeth. John Edwin was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Bates College. He now resides in Amesbury with his parents on the George homestead. Monroe Berry was educated at Northwood Acad- emy. He married Annie, daughter of the late Jonathan Osborne, of Amesbury. There were born to them three children - Annie Cornelia, John Osborne, and Bertha Annie. He resides on the David Challis estate, which has been in the possession of the Challis family for more than two hundred and fifty years. The house on the estate, which was erected in 1696, is one of the oldest in the Commonwealth, and is still in perfect preservation. Its huge oaken timbers are as sound as when they left the forest where they grew. Israel Folsoni Chesley graduated from the Salisbury High School in 1877, attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and graduated from Amherst College in 1883. He is now in the wool business in Boston. He married Bertha, daughter of Solomon N. Russell, of Pittsfield, Mass. The names of their children are respectively: Solomon Russell, Israel Folsom, Franklin Russell, and Malcolm. Mary Elizabeth Chesley was educated at Miss Salisbury's school in Pittsfield, and married Professor P^red P. Emery, of Dartmouth College.

'f^ I-;NJAMIN hale, a prominent citizen of Newburyport, Mass., was born in Saco, Me., son of Benjamin Hale, D.D., and his wife, Mary Caroline King Hale. He belongs to a family that has been represented in Essex County from earliest Colonial times. Thomas Hale, his greatgreat-grandfather, was the third in direct line born in this country to bear the name of Thomas. He became a member of the first Board of Selectmen of Haverhill. He was a Captain in the militia, and fought in the old French and Indian War. Captain Hale's son, Benjamin, first, fought for the American cause at Bunker Hill and at Saratoga. Although this patriot ancestor died before the close of the war, he won the rank of Lieutenant, and was for a time Quartermaster. His son Thomas, who was born in Atkinson, N.H., removed to Newburyport, and became owner of a large hat factory, and was also interested in shipping, and managed a farm in New Hampshire. This later Thomas Hale married a daughter of Josiah Little, whose father. Colonel Moses Little, fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was later a member of Washington's body-guard, and was very successful in raising troops. Ten children were the fruit of this union.

Of these, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Hale, who was born November 23, 1797, in Belleville, parish of Newbury, was the eldest. He began his school life when only three years old at Ma'am Fowler's school, and was known when very young as an unusually studious child. Later he was a student at Newburyport Academy, under the principalship of Abiel Chandler, who many years afterward endowed the Chandler Scientific School of Dartmouth College. He fitted for college at Atkinson Academy when it was under charge of the Hon. John Vose; and in 18 14 he entered Dartmouth, being the youngest in a class of thirty men. His health failing, he was obliged to take rest from study; and, when he v/as again able to continue, he entered the Sophomore class of Bowdoin College in 1816, when the Rev. Dr. Appleton was president. He stood high in a class of unusual ability, and graduated in 181 8 as salutatorian. During the succeeding year he taught school in Saco, Me., and in the autumn of 1819 entered Andover Theological Seminary. At Bowdoin College commencement in 1820 he was appointed tutor, and in the fall he began to instruct the Junior class in natural philosophy and in Locke's "Essay on the Human Understanding," and the Sophomore class in mathematics and logic. At the same time he was continuing his theological studies. In 1 82 1 he delivered a Latin oration, and received the degree of Master of Arts from Bowdoin College. Licensed to preach by the York (Congregational) Association in January, 1822, he preached for a time in Brunswick, Me. In 1822 he was invited by R. H. Gardiner, Esq., to take charge of an institution at Gardiner, Me., for training farmers and mechanics. He opened the Gardiner Lyceum, as it was called, which was in effect one of the pioneer schools of technology, ami was installed as principal, delivering an address, which was published. He managed the executive department with great skill, and at the same time gave lecture courses in chemistry, mathematics, and natural philosophy, and in the winter on agricultural chemistry and on architecture. He also prepared a text-book on the elementary principles of carpentering, and it can scarcely be wondered at that his health failed under the stress of all this work. He resigned his position in Gardiner, and after a rest accepted in 1827 the position of professor of chemistry in Dartmouth College, and remained there until 1836. At Dartmouth he laid the foundation of the present collection of minerals, himself presenting some five hundred specimens. Besides giving his lectures on geology and mineralogy and in the chemical department, he heard recitations in Hebrew and in other subjects. During the last three years he was president of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. His portrait still hangs on the walls of the college library. In January, 1831, he was ordained a priest of the Episcopal church by the Right Rev. Dr. Griswold, Bishop of the Eastern Diocese. In 1835 Columbia College conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity; and in 1836 he was elected to the presidency of Hobart

College, Geneva, N. Y., which position he filled with signal ability for a period of twenty-two years. Dr. Hale removed to Newburyport in 1859, and died July 15, 1863, leaving four sons and one daughter.

Benjamin Hale, Jr., was the eldest child of his parents. He was educated in Groveland, at Byfield Academy, and at Hobart College, graduating from the last named institution in 1848, and entering the following autumn the Medical School of Harvard College. He also attended Geneva Medical School, and planned to fit himself for the practice of medicine; but his health failed, and he was obliged to engage in some occupation which should give opportunity for exercise in the open air. He went to farming at Newbury, Vt., on a farm of some six hundred or eight hundred acres, superintending the work himself. From his land he reaped an annual crop of two or three hundred tons of hay. In 1872 Mr. Hale came to Newburyport, where he owns several acres of land. He has been director of the Mechanics' Bank for some years and a trustee of the Institution for Savings.

In politics Mr. Hale is a Whig. His first Presidential vote was cast in 1848 for Zachary Taylor. In 1882 he was elected Mayor of the city, and was made trustee of the public library ex officio. This latter position he has held ever since, and has been trustee of the Simpson Fund. Owing to poor health Mr. Hale has withdrawn from active participation in public affairs, though he still retains his interest in them. He has been interested not only in business and political affairs, but in the social and religious life of the town. He was for many years a member of the Tuesday Evening Literary Club, and he has been actively connected with the Belleville Congregational Church and a member of its Prudential Committee.

Mr. Hale married Lucy B., tlaiighter of Colonel Ebenezer Hale, president of the Ocean Bank, of Newburyport. Mr. and Mrs. Hale have one son, James White Hale, a graduate of the Chandler Scientific School in the class of 1881 and now owner of several patents. Mrs. Hale's family is an old and honorable one, tracing back on her mother's side to Winthrop Balch, a soldier in Cromwell's army, and to Benjamin Balch, who was born in 1629, and is said to have been "the first white male child born in Massachusetts," or, as another expresses it, probably "ye first person born in ye Colony of Massachusetts Bay." On the maternal side Mr. Hale is descended from Cyrus King, M. C. from Saco, Me. ; and in other lines he traces back to connections with Governor Langdon, of New Hampshire, and Governor Sullivan, of Massachusetts.

L^ ^__ County, Mass., was born in Haveriiill, N.H., on April 13, 1842, son of Alonzo Ransom and Martha (Clarke) Leslie. His mother was a descendant of Robert Jones, one of the first settlers of Amesbury. On the paternal side he is of ancient Scottish stock, this surname having been borne by one of the oldest clans of Scotland. He is a representative of the fourth generation of the family founded by the Rev. James Leslie, who in 1729, with his wife, Margaret Shearer, and their son George, then less than two years old, crossed the Atlantic, and came to Ipswich, Mass. James Leslie is spoken of in a history of Essex County as being a few years later a resident of Topsfield.

George Leslie studied with the Rev. Mr. Emerson, of To[5sfield, was graduated at Harvard College in 174S, and was settled as the first minister in Linebrook Parish, Ipswich, in 1749. He remained at Linebrook till 17S0, when he accepted a call to Washington, N.H. He married October 26, 1756, Hepzibah Burpee, daughter of Jonathan Burpee. Eight children were the fruit of this union. The seventh, Joseph, who was born in Ipswich, Eebruary 28, 1774, and died in Cornish, N.H., in 1852, was the Doctor's grandfather. He was a teacher, farmer, and carpenter, and was a writer of considerable merit. Many of his poems were published. He married in I So I Rebecca Earrington. They had twelve children.

Alonzo Ransom Leslie, son of Joseph, was born in Cornish, N.H. He was a farmer for the greater part of his life, although, being of an active temperament and an ingenious turn of mind, he worked at various other occupations. He owned a number of farms, and was in very comfortable circumstances. He was a man of remarkable physique, not tall, but with muscles like iron. The Doctor remembers having seen him take up a barrel full of cider, and drink from the bung, lie was prominent in town affairs, and held various public offices. His church affiliations were with the Baptist society. Two children were born to him and his wife, Martha Clarke, namely: Horace G., of Amesbury; and Mary M., who married George G. Adams, the architect of Lawrence.

The family removing to Topsham, Vt., when Horace, the subject of this sketch, was three years of age, he attended the common schools of that State, and subsequently Newbury Seminary, Norwich University, and the University of Vermont, located at Burlington. He attended medical lectures at Dartmouth College in 1863, but before his graduation he enlisted as assistant surgeon in the First Ten- nessee Union Regiment, and served until June, 1865, being largely in hospital work at headquarters. He was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., at the close of the war, having gained experience, particularly in surgery, that has since been of invaluable service to him. He received his degree from the University of Vermont, medical department, in the class of 1868, and in the following year settled at Amesbury. His practice soon grew to be large and prosperous, and his services were called for in many cases of sjiecial difficulty.

In 1886 Dr. Leslie went to luiropc to seek a much-needed rest. He travelled all through England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, and made a visit to Paris, being gone six months. During the winter of 1894 he took a trip to Mexico, and went also to Phcenix, Ariz., where he remained for six weeks. Dr. Leslie assisted in the preparation of Merrill's History of England. He has written a number of interesting articles for the papers, and has made addresses on various occasions. He is a clear and forcible speaker, and as a writer is master of a pleasing style. He has found time, despite the pressure of his professional duties, to express his interest in public affairs, and to keep himself informed on current topics.

He has been twice in the legislature, beingelected on the Democratic ticket, and was during his first term a member of the Committee of Public Health, and during the second a member of the Committee on Insurance, this last being in the year in which the endowment companies were broken up. The Doctor received his nomination from the Board of Trade, of which he was at the time vicepresident, that body desiring to send a man who could represent it properly in some desired legislation concerning bridges. Dr.

Leslie had the pleasure of seeing every measure that was advocated by him a success. He was on the Board of Trade for five or six years, and was the first Democrat elected in thirty years. He has also been a member of the School Board for fourteen years, and has been president of the Natural History Society and of the Village Improvement Society. He is connected with the local Physicians' Club, is a member of the Northern Essex Medical Association and of the Massachusetts Medical Society, is consulting physician of the Danvers Insane Asylum, consulting surgeon of Anna Jacques Hospital, and has for eight years been councillor of the North Essex Association. Fraternally, the Doctor is a member of Riverside Lodge, K. of H. ; of Warren Lodge, Trinity Royal Arch Chapter; Amesbury Council and of Newburyport Commandery; also of the Scottish Clan Frazer, which was chartered in 1S88, and of which he has been Chief for two years and clan physician since its organization.

Dr. Leslie married Helen M. Glines, of Northfield, N. H., and is the father of two children. The elder, Grace, is the wife of Robert Drummond, Jr., of Amesbury. The younger is Herbert G. Leslie, M.D., a graduate of Harvard Medical School, in the class of 1S97.

ISAAC N. STORY, a Civil War veteran and formerly Representative to the legislature from Gloucester, was born in this city, November 30, 1S34, son of Isaac and Lucy (Elwell) Story. The Story family of Essex County are descendants of William Story, who was born in Norwich, Norfolk County, England, in 16 16 (probably a son of Andrew), and arrived in New England in 1639. He was a carpenter by occupation.

His son Scth served in King Philip's War. John Story, son of Seth and great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, responded to the Lexington alarm in 1775, although an old man at the time. The maiden name of his wife was Hannah Perkins. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Amos Story.

Isaac N. Story acquired a common-school education in his native town. Having learned the printer's trade in the office of the Gloucester .\VtL'.f, he worked subsequently as a journeyman on the Fitchburg Reveille for five years. Returning to Gloucester in 1858, he was in charge of a printing-office here for a short time, but went back to Fitchburg, where he remained about a year, engaged in business for himself. He then accepted an offer from the Procter Brothers to superintend their printing-office in Gloucester, and, with the exception of the time spent in the army during the Civil War, he has since occupied that responsible position. In September, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Eighth Massachusetts Volunteers, under Captain David W. Lowe, and was appointed Sergeant. At Newbern his company was detailed to do guard duty at Fort Totten, where they were instructed daily in infantry tactics and the use of artillery, and Sergeant Story was appointed Sergeant-major of the fort. He was discharged August 7, 1863. Re-enlisting in the same regiment, he served as Sergeant until promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and was subsequently stationed on the eastern shore of Maryland until mustered out.

Mr. Story has been three times married. II is first wife was in maidenhood Lucy A. Wheeler, of Fitchburg; his second was Susan M. Parsons, daughter of I'rederic Parsons; his present wife was before marriage Eunice Hodgkins. Mr. Story was a member of the Common Council one year, served as Alderman four years (a greater part of which time he was president of the board), and as a member of the House of Representatives in iSgo, in which he was assigned to the Committee on Printing. He is treasurer of the Royal Society of Good Fellows, and a comrade of Colonel Allen Post, No. 15, G. A. R.

DMUND BUXTON JOHNSON, the Town Treasurer of Nahant, is a native of this rock-girthed headland, than which is none bolder and none comelier on the beautiful North Shore of Massachusetts Bay. Son of Joseph and Betsy (Graves) Johnson, born July 13, 1832, he is a representative of the third generation of Nahant Johnsons, descendants of Jonathan, second, who, it appears, was the first of the family to cross the long beach from Lynn to make his home in this brQQzy purlieu almost out at sea.

From the interesting chapter on Nahant in the History of Essex County, published by Lewis & Co. in 1888 - written for that work by Edward Jonathan Johnson, nephew of the subject of our sketch - we gather a few further particulars concerning the paternal ancestry. Jonathan Johnson, first, father of Jonathan, second, was born at Rehoboth, Mass., in February, 1682-83, ^"d came to Lynn in 1706. He was a son of John Johnson, who, as the records show, was living at Rehoboth as early as 1673, when a daughter, Elizabeth, was born to him. Jonathan, first, married in 1710 Sarah Mansfield. They had two sons - Edward and Jonathan - and four daughters.

Jonathan, second, was born in 1723. When a young man, he belonged to a troop of cavalry, under Major Graves, which fought in the French and Indian Wars. He was after- ward known as "'trooper." He was thrice married. His third wife, whose maiden name was Ann Alley, was the widow of Thomas Williams, and was a daughter of Benjamin and Rebecca (Hood) Alley. Her father was a grandson of Hugh Alley, an early settler of Lynn, whose wife, it is thought, was a daughter of Thomas Graves, of Lynn, who has been spoken of as "the first known inhabitant of Nahant." In 1658 Jonathan Johnson, second, bought the Nahant property of Jeremiah Gray, and later with his wife Ann here took up his residence, the original homestead being that afterward successively occupied by his son Caleb and his grandson Hervey. It has now passed out of the family; and the old house, so long a prominent landmark, has given place to a new one. Jonathan and Ann (Alley) Johnson had three sons, all born at Nahant; namely, Benjamin, Joseph, and Caleb.

Joseph, the second son, born P'ebruary 12, 1776, was a lifelong resident of Nahant. A farmer, a seafaring man (captain of a fishing schooner), and for many years the keeper of a public house of excellent reputation and well patronized, known as Johnson's Hotel, he led a life of useful industry. Of a cheerful, sunny nature, generous and kindly, beloved by old and young, he was widely known and universally respected as a man of stanch integrity and firm moral standing, an influential, public-spirited citizen, a leader in the community in advancing the cause of education, of religion and morality. He belonged to the First Methodist Church in Lynn until the organization of the Methodist church at Nahant, of which he was one of the founders, and was a trustee and Deacon. He was first married in 1797 to Mary Cox, daughter of Francis Cox. She died in 1818, leaving eight children - Joseph, Jonathan, Francis,

Eliza, Pamelia, Washington, Dolly M., and Walter, all now deceased. Pamelia lived single. The others married, and, dying well advanced in years, were survived by children and grandchildren.

Joseph Johnson was again married, June i, iSig, to Betsy Graves, daughter of Captain Daniel and Mary (Buxton) Graves, of Reading, North Parish, now North Reading. She was born November 18, 1789, and was the fourth in a family of eight children, her brothers and sisters being: Mary, Nathaniel, Sally, Nancy, Daniel, Abigail, and Ebenezer. Her father was a son of Daniel and Sarah (Upton) Graves, of Reading, and was sixth in lineal descent from Samuel Graves, one of the first settlers of Lynn. Captain Graves was a soldier of the Revolution, serving first as a private and later as Corporal. He afterward commanded a company in the State militia. He was for two years Representative to the General Court. His wife was a descendant of early settlers in Essex and Middlesex Counties bearing the rrames of Buxton, Damon, Flint, and Putnam.

By his second marriage Joseph Johnson was the father of six children - Alfred Daniel, Edward Kirk, Frederic Henry, Franklin Everett, Mary Graves, and Edmund Buxton. Alfred D., the eldest, born April 26, 1S20, married in 1842 Emily Barton. She died November 20, 1882. He died October i^, 1890. Their first child, Austin E., died in infancy; and a daughter, Ada E., wife of Ernest Wilband, died April 19, 1880. The surviving children are: Daniel Graves, of Lynn; P^letcher Willis, of Nahant; Legrand Atwood, of Lynn - all married; Charlotte Maria; and Annette Gertrude, wife of David N. Lander, of Lynn. E. Kirk, born November 22, 1822, died at Nahant, April 28, 1891, unmarried.

F. Henry, born April 30, 1825, married November 25, 1S47, Serena T. Gurney. He died in December, 1876. She died July 24, 1 89 1. They had five children, namely: Caroline, now the wife of James B. Small, of Lynn; Harriet W., wife of T. Dexter Johnson; Josephine, wife of John Grouse; Edna, who died a widow in Africa, October 16, 1895, her husband, the Rev. Benjamin Luscomb, a missionary, having died there, April I, 1895; and Frederic Henry, Jr., who is married, and is in business in Boston.

Franklin Everett, born November 4, 1827, married first in 1857 Harriet Whitney, who died August 22, 1871, leaving four children: Clarence A., who is married and lives in Colorado; Winslow N., who was killed by an explosion in a mine at Ouray, Col., February 20, 1888, in the twenty-eighth year of his age; Bessie Louise, a graduate of the Salem Normal School, now wife of Charles E. Lane, of Winchester, Mass. ; and Mabel, who married Charles U. Fohn, of Nahant, and died April 30, 1895. Franklin E. Johnson married for his second wife Almira J. Smith, of Goffstown, N. H. She died September 21, 1885. He now lives with Mr. and Mrs. Lane.

Joseph Johnson died on June 8, 1S54. Betsy Graves Johnson died March 25, 1872. Mrs. Johnson taught school at Nahant before her marriage, and made the acquaintance of her future husband while boarding in his family. A devout Methodist, like himself, she, too, was an .exemplary and practical Christian, faithful in life's daily duties, and given to hospitality.

Edmund B. Johnson, the subject of this sketch, was named for his mother's uncle. Dr. Edmund Buxton, formerly a well-known and esteemed physician of Warren, Me. He was educated at the Nahant School; the Lynn

High School, which he entered the first year that it was opened, its principal being the famous master, Jacob Batchelder; and at Newbury, Vt. , Academy, which he attended during the winter of 1853-54. His brothers, - Alfred, Kirk, and Franklin - it may be mentioned, early sought their fortunes in California, all three, however, eventually returning to Nahant. His father dying shortly after the close of the term at Newbury, Edmund now remained at home, succeeding him as keeper of the summer hotel and boardinghouse. Later the house was rented to Boston families for the summer. On September 17, 1862, in the second year of the Civil War, Mr. Johnson enlisted in Company F, Fortyfifth Regiment (known as the Cadet Regiment), Massachusetts Volunteers, under Colonel C. R. Codman and Captain E. F. Daland. He was in the battles of Kingston, Whitehall, and Goldsboro, N.C. Honorably discharged July 7, 1863, he returned home in feeble health caused by the exposure and hardships of army life. A severe illness ensued, from which he recovered but slowly. For some years afterward he was engaged in business with his brother Alfred, conducting Johnson's Nahant and Boston Express.

He was married October 31, 1867, to Mary C. F. Taylor, of Copenhagen, N.Y. She was born September 7, 1838, daughter of Thomas and Cheney (Shepard) Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were early bereft of their eldest child, Mary Esther, born May 12, 1872, with whom they were called to part June 19, 1877. Their second is Alice Cheney, born December 3, 1874; and the third and youngest is Bertha Louise, born November 18, 1878, both graduates of the Nahant High School.

cian. He was elected to his present responsible position of Town Treasurer and Collector in March, 1880, and has been re-elected each succeeding year. For eighteen years he was a member of the School Board, and whether in office or not he has ever been an efficient promoter of the cause of education and of all the higher interests of Nahant. He is a member of the Methodist church of Nahant, and an unwearied supporter of its activities, for a number of years being superintendent of the Sunday-school. He belongs to the Fortyfifth Regimental Association. The cottage in which Mr. Johnson makes his home and the two-story dwelling which he rents to summer occupants both stand, if we mistake not, on what was once a part of the paternal estate. Here his years have mostly been spent. Probably few Nahant residents, if any, surpass him in knowledge of local history and traditions, and in personal recollection of famous sojourners of bygone times - names eminent in the professions, in literature, in science and philanthropy.

HENEZER BAH.EY CURRIER, a retired octogenarian, living at 146 East Haverhill Street, Lawrence, was for a long period, beginning in the forties of the century, one of the most active and influential residents of this city. Born in Amesbury, Mass., May 3, 1812, he is now in his eightyseventh year.

Seth Currier, his father, was a son of Seth, Sr. ; and both were natives of Amesbury, which had been the home of the family from the time of Richard Currier, the emigrant, who was born about 1616 or 1617, whether in England or in Scotland is not known. Richard Currier came to America about the year 1640; and at the time of his death, February

The latter, born in March, 1646, died September 27, 1712. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Osgood, bore him twelve children, nine sons and three daughters, their births occurring between the years 1670 and 1693. All of the twelve lived to marry. Joseph, the ninth child and sixth son, born about 1686, lived to be sixty-three. He married Sarah Brown on December g, 1708, and became the father of four sons and five daughters.

The eldest child, who was also the next lineal representative of this particular branch, was Nathan, born in 17 10, who married in 1733 Mehitable Silver. He died in 1782, leaving four sons and three daughters, a son, John, his eldest child, having died previously. Nathan, the youngest child, was executor of his will.

Seth, Sr., the second child, born March 10, 173S1 married Ellis, daughter of Peter Sargent. He died in March, 1792, and she on February 13, 1829. Two of his sons - Christopher and Joseph - were joint executors of his will. There were eight children ; namely, Anna, Ellis, Joseph, Seth, Peter, John, Sarah, and Christopher. Anna, born March 22, 1766, married Robert Hoyt, of Amesbury. Ellis, born February 9, 1768, married in 1788 Moses Rowell. Joseph, born August 1 3' ^IT^t married August 16, 1792, ]5etsey Kendrick, of Amesbury. Peter, the third son, born September 16, 1781, married on March 18, 1806, Abigail Pecker. John, born September 16, 1783, married on August 14, 1806, Rachel Pecker. Sarah, born September 23, 1787, married on October 15, 1809, Aaron Sawyer, of Amesbury. The father of these children followed farming throughout his life.

Seth Currier, second son of Seth, Sr., and father of Ebenezer Bailey Currier, of this sketch, was born September i6, 1775, and was married on February 26, 1800, to Tabitha Goodwin, of Amesbury. He learned and followed the trade of a carpenter. He died on April 30, 181 5, while on a visit to his brother-in-law in Halestown, N.H., now incorporated as the town of Weare. Two of his six children died in infancy; and four - Seth, Mary, Sargent, and Ebenezer Bailey - were living at the time of his death. The mother, Mrs. Tabitha G. Currier, died November 26, 1829, aged fifty-eight. Seth Currier, third, the eldest child, born in Amesbury, April 11, 1801, died there May 2, 1832, of cholera. He was not married. His sister, Mary, born December 9, 1803, married Thomas Sargent, of Amesbury, and had ten children, five sons and five daughters. She died August 28, 1865, survived by her husband, who lived a number of years after. Sargent Currier, born July 7, 1805, married Sarah, daughter of Josiah Fitts. He died in Candia, N.H., June 19, 1875. His son, Monroe S., born in Candia, N.H., May 19, 1S40, married Emily Jane Towle, of Candia, on July 4, 1S61, and has one son, Carl C. Currier, born in Candia, March 9, 1873, who is the youngest male descendant in this branch of the family. He is a bright, active young man, engaged in the shoe business. Monroe S. also has a daughter, Addie F. Currier, born March 17, 1867.

Ebenezer Bailey Currier was but three years old when his father died. He received a good district schooling, attending school from seven to eight months in a year. When he reached the age of sixteen he became an apprentice at the carriage trimmer's trade in Amesbury. He served five years at twentyfive dollars per year; but by overwork he earned extra pay, so that at twenty-one he had saved two hundred dollars besides clothing himself. His ambition excelled his strength, however, and he was obliged to give up the business. He subsequently became a salesman in a furniture warehouse in Lowell, where he was employed three years; and later he was a carpet salesman two years. He next set up in the shoe business in Lowell; and in September, 1847, he started a similar store here in Lawrence, where he was in trade up to 1852, when he sold out. For two years, 1853-54, he held the office of Assessor; and in 1855 he was elected County Commissioner, in which capacity he served until 1861, when the war broke out. On account of his age he was unable to go to the front. From that time on until his final retirement from the activities of life Mr. Currier was principally interested in the insurance and real estate business. He, however, found time for public service during that time, and was appointed inspector of the Tewksbury Almshouse, a State institution. In 1852 he was a member of the State legislature, and it was largely through his endeavors that the courts were removed from Ipswich, and the present court-house built.

On June 2, 1840, Mr. Currier was married to Abigail O. Emerson, of Lowell, Mass. She died September 19, 1841, aged twenty, without issue. He afterward married Mary W. Heald, who was born in Carlisle, Mass., September 4, 18 14, daughter of John Heald and a descendant of Revolutionary stock. One daughter has blessed this union, Frnncctte Elizabeth, born August 24, 1845, who married on September 12, 1872, John S. Gilc, of Lawrence. She has no children. In 1855 Mr. Currier purchased for eight hundred and forty dollars an acre and three-quarters on Prospect Hill, where there were then only a few old, small houses. Eight years later, in

1863, he erected the fine large dwelling which is his present home. It sets well back from the street, and is reached by a circular driveway. In front is a beautiful evergreen grove. The grounds are further beautified by the fruit and ornamental trees which he planted before building his house. Mr. Currier c^st his first Presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, and has been a Republican from the organization of the party. When living in Lowell he became a charter member of a new lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was one of its most generous supporters as long as he remained there. Though his strong frame is somewhat bowed by his eighty-five years, Mr. Currier still retains his mental faculties remarkably.

^AMUEL AUGUSTUS FLETCHER, Town Clerk and Treasurer of Middleton, Mass., was born in the adjoining town of Peabody, formerly Danvers, on July 13, 1836. His parents were Amos and Sally (Gould) Fletcher, both of old Colonial families.

The father was a lineal descendant in the seventh generation of Robert Fletcher, who came over in 1630, and settled at Concord, Mass. His son William was at the time about eight years old. In 1645 he married Lydia Bates; and in 1653 he settled at Chelmsford, where he was one of the earliest inhabitants, and was the first Selectman. His eldest son, Joshua, was the father of Joshua, Jr., who married Dorothy Hale, a native of Scotland, and lived in that part of Chelmsford which in 1729 was set off as a town by the name of Wcstford. Joshua Fletcher, Jr., was the first Town Clerk of Westford, and was a Deacon of the church.

The Rev. Joshua Fletcher, son of Gershom and grandfather of Mr. Samuel A. Fletcher, was born September 24, 1756, at Westford, Mass. He served in the Revolutionary army near the close of the war, and later became a Congregational minister, and was engaged in preaching twenty years. For some time he owned and carried on a farm in Plymouth, N. H. Removing to Bridgewater, N. H., he died there, August 15, 1829. His wife, Sarah Brown, survived him till 1854, attaining the age of ninety-seven years. They had nine children; namely, Joshua, Joseph, Gershom, Nathan, Samuel, William Asa, Amos, Daniel H., and a daughter, Sarah.

Samuel Fletcher, the fifth son, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1810. He served as principal of an academy, and subsequently practised law at Concord, N.H., from 181 5 till 1841. He was then appointed treasurer of the Theological Seminary at Andover. This position he held till 1S50, when he returned to Concord, where he died in 18 58. William Asa Fletcher died in 1S52 at Ann Arbor, Mich., where he had held for many years the office of Chief Justice of the Superior Court.

Amos Fletcher, seventh son of the Rev. Joshua, was born at Plymouth, N. H., July 13, 1790. His first wife, Abigail Gale, died in 1829; and he married in 1830, at Danvers, Sally Gould, daughter of Samuel and Ruth (Towne) Gould. Her father removed from Boxford to Middleton, Mass. He had been a soldier in the Revolution. He was a son of Daniel Gould, of Topsfield, and his second wife, Lucy Tarbox, and was of the fifth generation in descent from Zaccheus Gould, who came over from England in 1638, and finally settled at Topsfield, then included in Ipswich.

Amos Fletcher reared five children - by his first wife three; namely, Abigail, Amos, Jr., and Joseph; and by his second: Sarah J.; and Samuel A., subject of this sketch. Amos Fletcher settled about 1841 in Middleton on the farm of J. J. H. Gregory. He died April 4, 1 86 1. Mrs. Sally Fletcher survived her husband twenty years, attaining the age of eighty-one. Her daughter, Sarah J., married John B. Putney, of Middleton, and died in 1879.

Samuel A. is the only one of the family now living. His education was acquired in the district school. When fifteen years old he began to work at shoemaking; and since 1865 he has been employed as a shoe cutter, much of the time in Middleton, where at one period four shoe factories were in successful operation. All have now passed out of existence, and Mr. Fletcher is in a factory at Danvers.

In politics Mr. F"letcher is an active Republican. He has often served as a delegate to conventions, and for a number of years has been on the Town Committee. He was a member of the House of Representatives in the State legislature in 1893, and was on the Committee on Public Health and Public Service. He has been Justice of the Peace since 1893, the only one in the town. He is librarian of the Flint Public Library of Middleton, founded by a native of the town, the late Charles L. Flint, former secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, who at his death in 1875 bequeathed ten thousand dollars for the library building and five thousand dollars for a book fund, the income only to be used annually. Mr. Mint had while living given five hundred dollars for the purchase of books. Another son of Middleton, B. V. Emerson, of the Copper Falls Mining Company of Michigan, willed to the library

Mr. Fletcher was married January i, 1865, to Caroline Augusta Stiles, daughter of the late David and Rebecca (Perry) Stiles. Mr.- Stiles was a well-known citizen of Middleton, a farmer and blacksmith by occupation, a man of much intelligence, a writer for the press, and a lecturer on agricultural topics. He was the author of the History of Middleton, published in the History of Essex County in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher have two children, both daughters - Lillian Perry and Edith Louise, the latter now a student in the Danvers High School.

ICORGE J. TENNEY was the pio- \ p I neer shoe manufacturer in Georgetown and vicinity. Born in this town, August 28, 1805, he was a son of Amos J. and Lucy (Spofford) Tenney. The founders of the family were Thomas and Ann Elizabeth (Stickney) Tenney, the former of whom came from England with the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers in 1638, and settled in Rowley, Mass. Daniel Tenney, son of Thomas, was born in Rowley in 1653. His son, William Tenney, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, born in the same town in 1695, wedded Mehitable Pearson. Richard Tenney, the grandfather, born in Rowley in 1736, died in 1802. The maiden name of his wife was Abigail Perley. Amos Jewett Tenney, the father, who was born in 1780, made boots and shoes in Georgetown for many years, and was a prominent and respected man in the community. Possessed of sound judgment in business affairs and honesty, he was called upon to settle many estates. He died in 1840. His wife, Lucy Spofford, was a daughter of Jeremiah Spofford and a sister of Dr. Jeremiah Spofford, of Groveland, Mass.

Having acquired a limited education in the common schools, George J. Tenney at an early age engaged in shoemaking. After a time, ambitious to advance, he began to manufacture ordinary footwear on a limited scale for the retail trade. This was when all the work was done by hand. When he had finished a sufficient quantity to make a team load, it was his custom to drive to Boston, sell his goods, and, when returning, to stop at Salem and purchase supplies. Having begun in this modest way, by rigid economy and steady application to business he became the most extensive manufacturer of boots and shoes in Georgetown. Several large factories erected by him were devoted chiefly to the production of men's heavy footwear, which previous to the Civil War was sold mostly in the Southern States. These goods were later shipped direct to his agents, Gerney & Co., of St. Joseph, Mo., who in turn sent them further West by ox team. Boots of his make were the first kind to arrive in Denver, Col., after its settlement. He also shipped considerable heavy footwear, packed in hogsheads, to the West Indies. His extensive plant was twice destroyed by fire, first in 1874 and again in 1885. Retaining a financial interest in the business, he retired from active connection therewith six years prior to his death, which occurred in July, 1S97. Originally a Whig, he joined the Republican party at its formation. At one time he repre-, sented the district in the State legislature, where he served upon the Committees on Cities and Towns. He always displayed an earnest interest in the welfare of his native

On December 21, 1836, Mr. Tenney was united in marriage with Susan Nelson, a daughter of Jonathan Nelson, of Georgetown, who represented an old and highly reputable family of Essex County. Born of this union were two children: Milton G., on September 4, 1837; and Lucy T. , on October 26, 1839. Milton G. Tenney, who graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, became a partner of his father, forming the firm of George J. Tenney & Son. While residing in Georgetown, he carries on business in Haverhill, under the old firm name. He married Augusta Noyes, of Mount Desert, Me., and has three children : Susan N., born in 1865, who is now the wife of Charles Falconer, a teacher in the high school of Amherst, Mass. ; George B., born in 1866, who is in business with his father; and Robert M., born in 1S77. Lucy T. Tenney graduated from the Putnam High School, Newburyport, in 1S57. In September, 1864, she married John M. Brown, of Ipswich, Mass., and is now residing in Chicago. Mr. Tenney, Sr., was an active member of the Peabody Memorial Church, of which he was a generous supporter.

fllE LAMBERT P^AMILY, which is well known and highly respected in Essex County, was first represented in this country by Francis Lambert, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1638, with nineteen other persons, including his wife and two children - John and Ann. The early annals of Rowley are filled with an accoimt of the doings of these first settlers, and prominent among them was Francis Lambert. By his wife, Jane, he had three sons born after the family came to this country: Jonathan,

1639; Gcrshom, 1643; and Thomas, 1645. Francis Lambert died in 1647. His will, bequeathing the bulk of his large property to his widow, is still preserved among the Salem records. Mrs. Lambert afterward married the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, and carried into the Rogers family a large amount of the Lambert wealth, much of which at his death the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers willed to the Congregational Church of Rowley, besides a large amount to Harvard College.

Thomas Lambert, born 1645, the next in line of descent, married Edna Northend, and had two sons - Thomas, born 1678; and Nathan, born 168 1 - and two daughters, whose names are not given. The son Thomas, just mentioned, great-grandfather of the Misses Lambert of Rowley, had by his wife, Sarah, three sons and six daughters, the sons being: Thomas, born 1711; Nathan, 1716; and Jonathan, 1718. It was he who built the fine old family residence now occupied by the Misses Lambert, which, together with a large share of the Lambert property, has been in the family for more than two centuries. The house, which is in an excellent state of preservation, contains many interesting relics, and is replete with memories of the past generations of the Lamberts. Every room has some valued association - a marriage, a birth, or a death - or contains some memento of Revolutionary or Colonial times.

Thomas, born 171 1, the next in line of descent, married first Elizabeth Hobson, by whom he had one son, Thomas, and three daughters. He married for his second wife Anna Kimball Lord, by whom he had two sons and one daughter: Jonathan, born in December, 1763; Nathaniel, 1765; and Mchitable.

Jonathan Lambert, born December 13, 1763, the eldest son of the last Thomas Lambert, whose children are the subject of this sketch, married Hannah Gage, daughter of William Gage, of Rowley, in 1795. He was a man of more than local prominence and a Captain in the militia for many years. At muster time he kept open house, and his wife always provided breakfast for the "boys" of her husband's company. No matter how early they might arrive, they were sure to find waiting for them the most hospitable entertainment and a finely cooked, steaming hot breakfast. Captain Lambert was a gentleman of the old school, refined, courteous, and dignified, a loyal member of the Congregational church, and a strict observer of the Sabbath. He died December 3, 1837. His children were: William G., Thomas, Frederick, Annie L., Hannah M., Alfred, Elizabeth Gage, Mehitable, Mary, and Jonathan. Thomas, born in 1800, who died in 1839, was never married. Frederick, born in 1803, successively married a Miss Jewett and Sarah Lancy. Frederick lived in Bangor, Me., engaged in the mercantile and lumber business. Later he removed to New York, and went into the insurance business. William G. Lambert, born in 1798, was a member of the firm of N. A. Lawrence & Co., of New York. He was especially prominent in religious circles, and was a Deacon in the church with Henry Ward Beecher's father. Afterward he went to Brooklyn, and was an Elder in the Presbyterian church there and a Deacon of Broadway Tabernacle. It was through his influence that Dr. Taylor was settled as pastor of the Tabernacle. He had five sons - George, Alfred, William, James, and Edward. Edward, a graduate of Yale College and now a prominent physician in New York, is a medical examiner for the Equitable Life Insurance Company. He married a Miss Waldron, of Bostcm, and has a family of three sons and four daughters - Samuel Waldron, Alexander Elliot, Adrian, Sally, Katie, Edith, and Ruth. Alfred, Edward's brother, is also a graduate of Yale; while James's Alma Mater was Williams College.

Elizabeth Gage, Mehitable, and Mary G. Lambert, the three daughters of Captain Lambert, are unmarried, and reside in the beautiful old family mansion to which they are greatly attached, and of which they are justly proud. The youngest, Miss Mary, is the business manager of the family, and looks after the affairs of the household. For many years she was a teacher in the public schools, beginning at the age of seventeen, and receiving at first only one dollar 'and forty-two cents per week. After some twenty years of successful teaching she resigned on account of poor health. Since then she has had charge of the Lambert estate, now in an excellent condition, with the land brought to a high state of cultivation.

GILMAN BAILEY, the manager of Shadyside Grove at Andover, was born in this town, June 7, 1827, son of Samuel and Prudence (Farmer) ]5ailey. The family is an old one in New England, many generations having resided here. The grandfather, Samuel Bailey, Sr., lived and died in Andover. Samuel Bailey, Jr., a native of Andover, spent his life here, chiefly occupied in farming. Prudence, his wife, was born in North Tewksbury. They had four children, all living; namely, Charles K., John B., Abbie O., and S. Gilman. Abbie is the wife of Thomas Everett Perrin, of Attlebbro, Mass.

1848 he started a market. Six months later he sold out, returned to Andover, and subsequently went to Wakefield. He learned shoemaking, and went to I^owell to work at that trade. In 1853 he again returned to Andover, and worked at shoemaking till 1861. Then he took charge of the Shadyside Grove, a beautiful summer resort, which he continues to conduct. Among the attractions of the resort are boating and fishing. In 1859 he married Caroline P., daughter of Amos Gilchrist, of Andover. They have had three children, namely: Lilla E., who married Edwin W. Cooley, of Winchester, Mass. ; Charles L., at home; and William K., who died in 1884.

EORGE N. JANVRIN, a present ypj_ resident and former Chief of Police of Amesbury, was born in Seabrook, N. H., March 21, 1839. His father died in middle life, leaving to him at the early age of seventeen years the care and responsibility of the family. In 1862 he left his home to go to the war, enlisting in Company D, Fourteenth New Hampshire Regiment, and was appointed Sergeant on September 5 of that year. During his first year of service he was on duty in the Department of Washington, and served at Poolesville and Edwin's Ferry. In the spring of 1S63 his company was ordeix'd back to Washington, where Mr. Janvrin was on provost duty until winter. During this time he was stationed at the Central Guardhouse and the old Capitol Prison, and was thus brought in contact with thousands of prisoners of every description. Later in the year he participated in the engagements in Shenandoah Valley, at Harper's Ferry, Cedar Creek, and Fisher's Hill. Returning to Washington then, he remained there for seven or eight montlis. In January, 1S64, he went to Harper's Ferry, and was in that vicinity for about one month, when he returned to Washington. In March the regiment wag furloughed to return to New Hampshire and attend the State election. After twelve days it went to New York and thence to Louisiana. Then it took part in a short campaign in the Red River section. From Louisiana it went to City Point, Va., crossed the James River to Newmarket Road, and at the end of about two weeks returned to City Point. After this it joined Sheridan at Winchester, Scjitember 17, and was with that general throughout his campaign. In February it went to Baltimore, thence to Savannah, where it relieved Sherman's troops, and on the 5th of May commenced a march through the woods to Augusta. During this memorable march in search of Jefferson Davis, vast crowds of negroes followed the regiment, which was the first Union troops they had seen during the war. Negroes came from all directions, seeming to spring up from behind every bush and fence; and on the Saturday morning before it went into Augusta it was accompanied by twenty-seven hundred of these refugees, by actual count. Mr. Janvrin has a vivid recollection of one old white-haired darky, who sat on a fence, and, as the troops passed, swung his arms continually, shouting: "Press de Lord! Press de Lord! I knovved you'd come. Press de Lord I" On the day the regiment arrived, Jefferson Davis, who was captured the day before, was brought in, and a guard, which was detailed by Mr. Janvrin^ conducted the prisoner to Savannah. July 6, 1865, tiie regiment sailed from Savannah, Ga., to Hilton Head, S.C., where it was mustered out of the United States service on July 8. It then embarked on the steamship "Constitution," landed on Constitution Wliarf in

In 1 87 1 Mr. Janvrin devoted his attention to the packing and shipping of carriages in cars. Prior to this time, transportation had been made at great expense, with but one or two carriages in a car. Mr. Janvrin loaded the first shipment ever sent across the country, packing twenty-six carriages in one car. This carload was sent from Amesbury to San Francisco, Cal., the freight charges amounting to six hundred and ninety-six dollars. Since this first successful experiment he has reduced the work to a science, often packing forty and even fifty carriages in one car. Perhaps no man in the country has so thorough a knowledge of the business. His services in superintending shipments of this character are now in demand throughout New England. Manufacturers in foreign countries have frequently addressed him, asking information on this important subject.

In the year 1895 Mr. Janvrin was elected Chief of Police of Amesbury, and thiring three years of service proved himself a remarkably efficient and careful officer. No prisoner that he has arrested and brought before the court was discharged. He married Miss Mary Manley, of Danielsonville, Conn., who had two children: Emma H., a graduate of the Amesbury High School; and Gertrude May, who is still at school. A prominent member of the G. A. R., be is a Past Commander of the E. P. Wallace Post, No. 122; and he is also a member of the New Hampshire Veterans' Association.

William Oswald

years old he learned to set type in Woburn, Mass., on the first newspaper published in that town, the Sentinel and Middlesex Advertiser. He afterward worked on the Woburn Gazette, Waltham Sentinel, Woburn Advertiser, and Cambridge Chronicle. When but eighteen years old he was proprietor of the Woburn Guidepost, a weekly which succeeded the Advertiser. When Lewis Josselyn started the Lynn Bay State in 1849, Mr. Hastings came to Lynn, and worked on that paper for a time. He was foreman in the Woburn Journal office for a year, when that paper first started, in 1851. In 1857 he established the Woburn Budget, its publication being continued until the breaking out of the Civil War. Enlisting for active service, he was Sergeant of Company G, Fifth Massachusetts, for nine months. Then, re-enlisting in 1864 in Company B, Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteers, as Second Sergeant, he served in that company, and was in command as First Sergeant at the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox. After the war Mr. Hastings spent four years in Oregon, and was foreman on the Portland Oregonian about one year. In 1870 he returned to Lynn, and was local editor of the Lynn ^^;^<7rA'r until 1876, when, with his sons, he established the Lynn City Item (weekly), and in 1877 the Daily Evening Item. At the present time he is president of the Hastings & Sons Publishing Company.

Mr. Hastings married, in 1853, Augusta A. Houghton, of Clinton, Mass. They had six children, whose names and names of grandchildren are as follows: Henry Nelson Hast- ^ ings, born in Woburn, Mass., June 15, 1856; married in Loudon, N.H., June 22, 18S2, Charlotte M. Rand of that town; he died in Lynn, Mass., April 18, 1898, leaving no children. Charles Houghton Hastings, born in

Woburn, Mass., July 20, 1858; married in Newburyport, Mass., November 18, 1885, Lucy I. Glines of that city. Their children were: Vera Marguerite, born in Lynn, Mass., April 7, 1887; Louise Houghton, born in Lynn, Mass., January 12, 1889, died in Lynn, Mass., Aug. 4, 1889; Hazel Houghton, born in Lynn, Mass., September 5, 1890, died in Lynn, Mass., October 8, 1891. Wilmot Reed Hastings, born in Woburn, Mass., June 23, i860; married in Swampscott, Mass., July 6, 1886, Maria S. Hayford of that town. Their children were: Elsie Hayford, born in Swampscott, Mass., June 28, 1S88; Claire, born in Swampscott, February 16, 1892; Abner Horace, born in Swampscott, December 31, 1894. Etta Augusta Hastings, born in Woburn, Mass., Sept. 8, 1862; married in Lynn, Mass., August 16, 1887, Fred C. Rundlett, of Lynn. Horace Frost Hastings, born in Clinton, Mass., January 19, 1865, died in that town March 21, 1866. Alfred Lear Hastings, born in Lynn, Mass., March 21, 1876.

ILLIAM OSWALD, a retired merchant and an honored citizen of Lawrence, residing at 191 Jackson Street, was born at St. Andrew's, Fifeshire, Scotland, June 30, 184S, son of Duncan and Eliza (Falconer) Oswald. The family history e.xtends back several centuries in Scotland, to which country ancestors of it emigrated from the Netherlands. The grandfather of William Oswald, also named William and a native of St. Andrew's, was a stone-cutter by trade, and was in business as a contractor and builder of stone structures. His wife, Catherine Kennedy before marriage, had seven children. He died aged fifty-five, and bis widow aged sixty-five. Duncan, son of William and Catherine Oswald, was born at St. Andrew's in iSiS. He married Eliza Falconer, and had a soil and two daughters. The mother and younger daughter died of scarlet fever, and the elder daughter when twenty-four years old.

William Oswald, the only son of his parents, left motherless when a babe of nine months, was taken by his grandfather Falconer, in whose home he spent his boyhocxl. He received a good education, which was completed at St. Andrew's Madras College, the institution of learning founded and endowed in 1840 by Andrew Bell, a Scotch merchant, who acquired much wealth in Madras, India. At fifteen young Oswald left school. After serving a five years' apprenticeship at the dry-goods business, he went to London as a salesman, and there spent two years most profitably. However, not content with his progress, at the end of that time he came to this country, and in Boston obtained the position of salesman in the large dry-goods store of Hogg, Brown & Taylor, with whom he remained fifteen months. In August, 1873, he came to Lawrence, and, with Thomas Simpson, of New York, as a partner, embarked in the dry-goods business for himself. The firm of Simpson & Oswald opened the "Boston Store," a few doors from the store now conducted under that name, and were very successful. In 1878 they opened a branch store in Norwich, also named the "Boston Store," which was sold in the same year to Reid & Hughes, when Mr. Simpson withdrew from the firm. Mr. Oswald subsequently started another store in Lowell. Three years later he and Mr. Armstrong, forming the firm Oswald & Armstrong, started still another store in Lewiston, Me. His interest in this Mr. Oswald sold in 1S90; and two years later he disposed of his business in Lawrence to Reid & Hughes, the former of whom had been in his employ as the manager of the Norwich store. The three stores, respectively in Lawrence, Lowell, and Lewiston, had all together about one hundred and fifty employees, and did a large and profitable business. The large brick block in Essex Street, Lawrence, in which there are five stores on the ground floor, which was remodelled by the firm of Simpson & Oswald, has been owned by Mr. Oswald for some years. The "Boston Store," now conducted by Reid & Hughes, embracing Nos. 225 to 235 Esse.x Street, occupies nearly the entire length of the block, and is one of the finest stores in the city. In 1891 Mr. Oswald erected the Gleason Block, a handsome, sixstory brick and terra-cotta structure, containing a large store and sixty-five offices. This was badly damaged by fire a few months since, but is now being repaired. Mr. Oswald is a director of the Merchants' National Bank, established in 1888, and of which he was an original stockholder. One of the promoters of the Lawrence Street Railway, he owned one-sixth of the whole road. Credit is also due to him for the establishment of the Andover branch, of which he secured the franchise. He is a stockholder and director of both the Wright Manufacturing Company and the Archibald Wheel Company of Lawrence.

Mr. Oswald casts his vote witii the Republican party. He is a Master Mason and a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, Mass. Seventeen years ago he married Florence M. Gleason, of Methuen, a daughter of Kimball C. Gleason, now deceased. They lost a son in his infancy, and have one daughter living. Alma G., now fifteen years old. The family resides in the substantial brick residence erected by Mr. Oswald in iSSi or 1S82. Both he and Mrs. Oswald are Episcopalians. When in active trade, Mr. Oswald followed the motto of

"One price to all," was courteous in his treatment of customers, and, as a result, while acquiring wealth, he also won many friends. Some years ago he gave up active business cares.

ILLIAM H. B. CURRIER, the veteran editor of Amesbury, was born in Salisbury, Mass., July 13, 1828. His parents were Moses and Annie (Stevens) Currier. The family to which he belongs has been prominent in this section since the earliest settlement of the Merriraac valley. In fact, the name Currier probably originated here, the earlier form, it is said, being Currie. The Curries of France, England, and Canada belong to the same stock; and tradition connects them with some of the proudest families of England.

Richard Currier was one of the first landholders and settlers in Salisbury, locating there in 1638. From him are descended all the Curriers in the valley of the Merrimac. His family was one of twenty delegated to move across to the west bank of the Powow, and he set up the first saw-mill on the Powow River. He was one of the active men of the settlement, and served for some time as Town Clerk.

Nathaniel Currier, of a later generation, held a commission under the English government at the breaking out of the Revolution; and he was then commissioned Major in the Colonial forces. A full and interesting sketch of his life was recently published in the Amesbury Ne2vs by his great-grandson, W. H. B. Currier. Major Currier owned large estates, and was one of the prominent men of his day. His son, David Currier, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, inherited a good deal of property; and he became owner of a large mill privilege on the bank of the Powow. Mr. Currier has deeds showing that his grandfather owned from Hamilton Mills almost to tide-water, from Market Square the whole length of Market Street, a farm in South Hampton, eight hundred acres of wild land in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, and twelve hundred acres of wild land in Maine. After his death his two sons, Jacob and Moses, and his nephew David shared this property.

Moses Currier, W. H. B. Currier's father, with his brother Jacob, managed a large farm, and operated a grist-mill, saw-mill, and carding-mill. He engaged, also, in ship-building to some extent, likewise in the manufacture of woollen goods, and was one of the first to suffer from the existing political conditions. There was no port tariff; and English manufactures were beginning to crowd the country, selling at lower rates than home manufacturers could afford. Most of the experienced mill hands were imported help. Mr. Moses Currier was obliged to trust men over whom he could have no direct oversight ; and a factory near lipping, which he placed in charge of a man from England who claimed to be thoroughly experienced, was a total failure. Moses Currier's wife, who was born on the Merrimac, was one of the family springing from Jonathan and Lemuel Stevens, wealthy landholders of this vicinity. Her father and his brothers, Jacob and Lemuel Stevens, were said by one of the old settlers to be "the smartest and handsomest men in the Merrimac valley." They, too, were engaged in shipbuilding, and were ruined by the embargo.

Mr. and Mrs. Moses Currier had the following named children: Jacob, Cyrus, Charles, William H. B. , Ruth, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Susan. Jacob, Cyrus, and Charles learned the machinist's trade in the Lowell machine shop, a great establishment at that time. In 1838 Jacob and Cyrus went West; and Jacob was one of the first settlers in Van Buren County, Michigan, erecting the first saw-mill there. Cyrus entered the employ of Seth Boyden, of Newark, N.J., the inventor of patent leather and the connecting-rod of engines, and had much to do with establishing those inventions. lie eventually became owner of the machine shop which is at present in charge of his son. Charles Currier, now residing in Hyde I'ark, was on the United States steamship "Ohio" on her first trip up the Mediterranean under Commodore Perry, and was afterward in the coasting trade. He and Cyrus were among the first fortyniners. Cyrus travelled overland to California, and, with a Mr. De Hart, erected a steam saw-mill, which was the first machinery operated Ijy steam in California.

Charles, who resided in Augusta, went round Cape Horn in the first company sailing from Augusta. Ruth Currier died unmarried some years ago. Sarah is the widow of the late Jacob Flanders, a retired business man, who died at his residence on Powow Hill in April, 1898. Iilizabeth, widow of Joseph Green, resides in Amesbury ; and Susan, widow of Charles Pierce, lives in Amesbury.

William H. 15. Currier acquired his early education in the common schools and Davis Academy. The best part of his life from early boyhood has been devoted to newspaper work. When a lad he carried papers down to the chain bridge and back over Rocky Hill in summer and winter, often being obliged to pull himself out of huge snowdrifts by means of his paper-basket. In 1848 Daniel Morrill, who was just out of college, bought the Amesbury Transcript, and, at the poet Whittier's suggestion, changed the name to the Amesbury Villager. Mr. Currier was his foreman.

Mr. Morrill published six numbers of the paper, and, finding it unsuccessful, deciiled to discontinue. Mr. Currier had his valise packed ready to go to Haverhill, but citizens who knew how well he was fitted for the work requested him to continue the paper. Accordingly, hiring the plant of Mr. Morrill, he assumed charge, though he had only thirtyfive dollars in cash. Subscriptions increased, and he kept the enterprise well up with the ]5rogress of the times. He was editor and proprietor of the I'illagcr from 1849 to 1871, twenty-two years. He then sold to the Potters, but did not completely sever his connection with the paper, for several years editing the daily. The long life of the Mllagcr is due to the untiring energy of Mr. Currier, who many times had his type set ready to go to press before he had the paper to print it on, and who frequently delivered the papers himself when the boys failed to appear. In addition to his newsjxiper work, he has written and prepared for publication many pages on historical and genealogical subjects. Nor is writing his sole accomplishment. He is a public speaker of no mean order, so that a jiublic gathering in this section, especially of an historical nature, is hardly considered a success unless Mr. Currier grace the occasion with one of his "talks."

Mr. Currier was married in 1850 to Sarah Iilizabeth Currier, whose father was the sixth Richard in direct line from Sir Richard Currier mentioned above. Her great-uncle. Captain John Currier, was in command of a company in the battle of Bunker Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Currier have four children - George W. , Frederick, Isabelle, and Annie Stevens. George W. , who was for many years associated with his father, and is now engaged in printing in Boston, married Mary A. Lock, and has one daughter. Frederick, a carriage worker in Amesbury, married Adeline Lane, and lias four boys. Isabel le is the wife of Charles Flanders Dodge, of Denver, Col. ; and Annie S. is the wife of Clarence W. Peaslee, of Amesbury. Mr. Currier's i:)olitical association was with the Abolition and Reiniblican parties. He was chairman of the Amesbury Board of Selectmen, Assessors, and Overseers of the Poor from 1S66 to 1874,' from 1877 to iSSr, and in 1886 and 1887; Assessor three years; and, appointed Postmaster in 1869 by President Grant, he was in office four years. While in the post-office he effected radical changes for the better, and, with the assistance of General Butler, then Congressman for this district, succeeded in having the maijs brought direct to Amesbury by railroad instead of to Newburyport, and thence next day by stage. He represented this district in the State legislature in 1857-58, serving on the Committee on Printing; and during his legislative term he was accustomed to edit his paper between-times in the State House.

OVVELL F. WILSON, manager of the Ballardvale Woollen Mills, was born in New York City, February I, i860, son of John II. and Esther A. (Hayward) Wilson. His father was a merchant in the metropolis for the greater part of his life. Mr. Wilson's maternal grandfather was Ebenezer Hay ward, who served in the War of 18 12, and for many years was engaged in the West India trade in Boston.

Howell F. Wilson passed his boyhood in Brooklyn, and was educated in the public schools of that city. He was for a time employed in a real estate office, and later took a position in a wholesale smallware establishment in l^oston. In 1877 he came to Ballardvale, and, accepting the position of clerk in the office of the Ballardvale Woollen Mills, gradually rose to his present position of manager. His business ability has been fully demonstrated, and his long connection with the Ballardvale concern is ample testimony of the high regard in which he is held by his employers. In politics a Republican, he takes a lively interest in public affairs, and has served upon the Board of Health. He is a member of St. Matthew's Lodge, F. & A. M. ; and of Andover Lodge, I. O. O. F. He attends the Congregational church, and acts as treasurer of the society. Mr. Wilson married Lizzie A. Pasho, daughter of Henry F. Pasho, of Andover.

TIS F. BROWN, Town Clerk of Hamilton, was born here, April 7, 1S33, son of Arza and Sally (Adams) Brown. He resides on the farm which has been for five successive generations in the Brown family. His paternal grandfather, Lemuel Brown, was elected Town Clerk of Hamilton in 1794 at the first town meeting held here, which met in the basement of the Congregational church. Lemuel afterward held the office by successive elections for seventeen years. It is a noteworthy fact that, at every town meeting since except one, some member of the Brown family was elected to some one of the town offices. Arza Brown was noted throughout this section as a musician, and sang for many years in church choirs. He taught for sixteen winters in the South School, did surveying for the town, and served as School Committee.

Otis F. Brown secured a good education in the public schools and at Westminster and Atkinson Academies. He has taught school in several places, and has travelled much in this country. A penman of extraordinary skill, he can write rapidly and with perfect ease any word, beginning at the end or writing upside down. He was for many years a teacher of penmanship in various parts of the country. Finally he returned to his birthplace, and settled in the old home.