Somerville City (part 4 of 4)

" Geiitltmeii o/ Ihe ' 'ill/ Council . - In entering upon the duties uwigned me by the very Hattering vote of my relloK-citiions, the (irsi impulse of my heart is to express my thanks for the honor which their coulidonceconfei-8 and to acknowledge my full appreciation of the ro8|Km»l. bjlity which it imposos u|)oii rao. The change from a town to a city form of government was regarded by the wise and good men who establialiod our State, as of sufficient iniiiortance to bo recognized and provided for in the Constitution of the Commonwealth.

" Kor about two centuries after the sottlementof the Colony U]e people of Massachusetts adhered without change to the town system of lorjil government. In small communities the townorganiwition is Ihe most desirable and the best, because it is the most simple and the most domocralic. It brings the iKjople freiiuently together to consider and discuss all matters pertaining to their municipal welfare, and by them all such business is transacted in the town-meeting. But where a town has increased in population beyond a certain limit, aud its various public needs becoiuomoro and more weighty and pressing, it is impoKiible for the pco pie ID the crowded town-meeting to give to all tbe queetions which arise that careful deliberation which their iniportauce demands ; consequently a delegated or city form of government becomes a necessity. The real difference in the two forms of government is just this: In the town the people act directly for themselves in ' open town-meeting,' in the city the people elect certain olticern to act for tlieui. This change is entirely optional with the people themselves. No town can become a city unless its citizens desire the change.

*' The city charter of Somerville, granted by the last Legislature, has been voted upon and legally accepted, and a city form of government adopted by the people; and to ns, the City Council, they have delegated the public affairs of our new city. The Board of Aldermen and the Common Council, in the exercise of their various duties, hold to the City Government similar relative powers which the Senate and the House of Representatives do to the State Government ; the upper branch being considered the conservative and the lower branch the popular body.

*' Each branch in its action has a check upon the other ; and this feature, aud the fact that every measure must pass through several stages ol consideration before it is finally ailopted, is a peculiarity of a city form of government as compared with that of a town, and furnishes ample security against hasty and inconsiderate action.

*' Upon us is imposed a great trust, and a weighty responsibility - to us the welfare of our beautiful and rapidly-growing city is confided.

" It is well that a divine blessing has been invoked for tbe future welfare of our city, and it was fitting that a thank oflering was rendered for the past prosperity of our town.

" I congi-atulate you and 1 congmtulate our fellow-citizens that this change in our municipal government, which is the most important event in our history, is made under circumstances so promising and so encouraging.

"The present debt of the town, including the water bonds, is five hundred and ninety-three thousand three hundred and forty-nine dollars, and the last assessed valuation of its public property is six hundred and sixty thousand dollars.

"The growth and increase in population and taxable property in Somerville, and her progress in all that tends to improve and elevate a community, have been constant and rapid, from its incorporation as a town in IS42 to Ihe present time. Its beginning was small and humble, and the contrast between its then ' day of small things ' and its present vigorous population is most striking. At the time of its incorporation the population of the town was only ten hundred and thirteen ; to-day our population is fully sixteen thousand. In 18-i2 tbe assessed value of taxable property of the town was nine hundred and eighty eight thousand five hundred and thirteen dollars. In 1871 it was fifteen million seven hundred and seventy-five thousiind dollars. The whole amount of money raised by taxation in 1842 was four thousand seven hundred and fiftydollars ; in 1871 the amount was two hundred and sixty thonsand four hundred and sixty dollars and ninety-five cents. In 1842 there were but four schools and four teachers in Somerville ; to-day there are fifty two schools and sixty-five teachei-s. The whole amount appropriated for the support of schools in 1843 was eighteen hundred dollars; the amount appropriated the last year for tbe same purpose was fifty-nine thousand four hundred dollars. When incorporated as a town, and for two years subsequent thereto, there was not a church edifice within our corporate limits, nor did there exist a religious society distinct from former parish connections ; to-day there are eleven church t*difices, with as nniny distinct organized religious societies. It will be seen from this brief enumeration that our public schools have been one of our most popular and cherished institutions, and always in advance of our progress in wealth and population. They have ever stood high ou the public record ; and for several years Somerville has ranked number one in the whole list of towns and cities in the Commonwealth, judged by the amount of money appropriated for eat^b scholar. Tbat tbe high cbaracacterof our schools has contributed much toward the rapid and vigorous growth of our town there can be no doubt. They were never as a whole in a more satisfactory condition than at the present time; and I venture but little when I pledge, in the name of myself and my associates, that they shall not be permitted to recede from their present high position from any lack of judicious fostering care on the part of the new City Government.

"The removal within a few days of the scholars of the High School from the building occupied by them in past years to tho new and elegant edifice just being completed, will leave the old High School building unoccupied and subject to Biicb UBoasyou may direct. I respectfully recommend that it ho set apart for a City Hall, and used for the purposes of the City Government. With few alterations and small expense it can he made to afford ample and convenient accommodatioDS for all our wants for several years to come. If this recommendation meets tbe approval of tbe City Council, I would suggest that the necessary alterations be at once made ; and that they include a thoroughly fire -proof vault, sutficiently large for the safe-keeping of the town as well as city records, the preservation of which must forever he of incalcuable importance.

"The proper care of our streets should, and, I have no doubt, will, receive that attention at your hands which their importance demands. At the present time they are generally in better condition than usual ; especially is this the fact in regard to the main thoroughfares. In a city making such rapid growth as ours, and where individual interests and enterprise are constantly opening new strefte, tho question of accepting and maintaining them by the city is one of daily increasing importance, aud will require the exercise of our best judgment, in order that the of the city, and of individual citizens, may be alike properly regarded. In this connection, I would recommend that a careful attention be given to the provisions of the betterment act, which have so much importance and such salutary bearing upon the question of laying out new streets and the altering of old ones ; as they have, also, in regard to drainage and the construction of sewere. These two subjects are so intimately connected that it is hardly possible - nor is it desirable - to separate them. With so much presenting itself which requires early attention, and while so little can be accomplished in one year, it is impossible but that individuals must be more or less annoyed by temporary delays; and there will be much less difficulty in deciding what ought to be done than in determining what can best be deferred for a brief season. When and where reasonably practicable, without imposing too heavy taxation upon the people, the want of public improvement surely ought not to retard private enterprise ; nor should the waiting patience of individuals be unreasonably taxed. I trust that by constant vigilance on your part, by reasonably liberal appropriations of money, judiciously and prudently expended, tbe work of public improvement will be sure and constant, aud the past hopes and expectations of our citizens be fully realized.

" Closely connected with the matter of streets aud highways are the street railroads, which pass through our municipal thoroughfares. They were originally constructed with tbe T rail on the side of the streets ; but having, in the judgment of the citizens, become practically the cause of too much inconvenience, they were last summer removed from Milk, Washington and Elm Streets, and new tracks were constructed in the centre of the streets, with flat rails, and thoroughly paved. This change has proved beneficial and satisfactory to our people. Tbe same should be made ou Broadway, and 1 recommend the application of all proper moans for its speedy accomplishment. In the matter of common sowers, it is your duty to carry out what has been begun, and of perfecting the present system. A considerable extent of sewerage has been constructed, and, so far as I know, the plan has been proper and the work well done. You will judge whether any improvement can be made upon the existing plan, and if so you will adopt them.

" Our Fire Department is, as it has been for many years, in a most efficient and satisfactory condition, and is regarded by our people witli feelings of just and honest pride, not only for the services it has rendered, hut for the manly conduct and bearing of its officers and men. For the toils, hardships and dangers which firemen encounter, tbeir greatest reward, next to an approving conscience, is in the knowledge that their labors are property appreciated by their fellow-citizens ; and in both tliese respects I am sure the.Somervlllo firemen have been richly rewarded. The proper maintenance and encouragement of this indispensible organization is in our keeping.

** The comfort and convenience of a large proportion of our people have been much enhanced by the introduction of Mystic water. 31ore than twenty-eight miles of pipe are laid in our streets, with one hundred and forty-six hydraTits connected therewith and judiciously distributed over our territory. Tho former appropriation for the water works has been expended, aud the responsibility of their further extension, and uf making the requisite appropriation therefor, devolves nyum you.

"The Police Department of Somerville has increased in numbers and efficiency with an increase in population and wealth, until it has become of great intoi-est and importance. In my judgment the force is well organized and the members generally are vigilant and faithful to their trust. In every large community a well-organized police is indispensable for the protection of persons and property, and for the maintenance of good order; and although strong by being clollnd witli the authority of law, its usefulness and efficiency depend upon the personal character aud inanly deportment of its individual members, and upon the moral

" Upon the Health Department rests a great reapons.bility. It is charged with duties which immediately affect the comfort and well-being of every citizen. Intimately connected with this department is a matter uf great importance, and one which demands judicious consideration and efficient action. I allude to the nuisance in Miller's River, caused by an accumulation of filth which covers a large area of flats which are bare at low water. The flats are partly in Somerville and partly in Cambridge, the river being the boundary line between the two cities for a considerable distance, and both are equally responsible for the nuisance. During 'the heated term* of last summer, when the tide was out, the stench from the flats was most offensive. The selectmen of Somerville and the City Government of Cambridge sought by united aud harmonious action to improve the condition of tliis locality. The aid of the State Board of Health was sought and stringent rules were adopted fur the preventation of further corruption of the water ; but in the judgment of the authorities of Cambridge aud Somerville and of the State Board of Health, nothing short of the filling the flats with sand or gravel could cure the existing evil, aud such filling cannot be undertaken without permission from tlie Legislature. I know you will heartily unite with the authorities of Cambridge in procuring the needed legislation, and in devising the best and most speedy mode for abating the nuisance, and thereby reclaiminga large extent of worthless territory to valuable building land. The improvement contemplated embraces the construction by the two cities of a large box sewer of sufficient size to conduct off all the water of the stream, and to serve the purpose for drainage for quite an extent of both localities.

"With the requisite legislation granted, it is hoped and expected that the several owners of the flats will at once enter upon the work of filling, and that without any reasonable delay this great improvement will be accomplished. Of course it will take time to complete the improvements, and the people, realizing and acknowledging the fact, that the work of a year cannot be accomplished in a day, must endeavor for a while to cultivate the virtue of patience.

"The services of the Board of Overseers of the Poor, which in the early history of our town were hardly required, are now and have been of late years of much importance in relieving the wants of the destitute and needy. The people will require of their servants that this class be kindly cared for ; that necessary aid be cheerfully, not grudgingly bestowed ; that none among us shall suffer from want of the necessaries of life, and that no child be kept from school for want of proper cloth ing. The Board of Soldiers' Relief have a most sacred duty to preform. The sick and needy of our returned soldiers who endured hardships and privations, and periled their lives for the preservation of our National Government, are worthy objects of our favor and solicitude. The people of Somerville who in the time of their country's need exhibited so much liberality in encouraging enlistments, and in care and providing for the wants and comforts of her men in the field, and their families at home, will never conscntthat one of them shall suffer from want, or that he or any one of his family shall ever be classed or treated as a pauper ; and especially will they require that the families of our fallen heroes shall be regarded with, the most tender care. If the occasion permitted I would gladly say more in regard to the part which our people took in promoting enlistments and furnishing volunteers for the war ; but a single statement of Gen. William Schouler in the second volume of his most valuable * History of Massachusetts in the Civil War' mustsulhce. After speaking of the great liberality of our people, both men and women, he says, 'Somerville furnished eleven hundred and tbiriy-five men for the war, which was a surplus of one hundred and forty-seven over and above all demands.' That statement stands as the proud record of our town, when its population was much less than at present, and that record will forever stand as enduring proof of the patriotism and liberality of its people, who, by their devotion to the public welfare, have in the years that have passed been steadily laying the sure foundation of our city, which is destined at no distant day to rank favorably among the older cities of our Commonwealth.

"Gentlemen of the retiring Board of Selectmen : I cannot let the occasion of entering upon my term of official service pass, without e.xpressing to you my appreciation of the magnitude anc^ importance of your public duties during the past year; and also my high appreciation of the fidelity with wliich those duties have been discharged. In thus expressing to you my own judgment, and my own feelings, I am sure I am but giving utterance to the sentiments of all onr citizens who have had opportunity to know and judge of your official action. The faithful manner in which the duties of a long line of town officers have always been performed, has been most creditable to them, and most satisfactory toan appreciative public ; and I congratulate you that in retiring from public service, you carry with you the confidence, the esteem and the best wishes of our entire community.

" Gentlemen of the City Council ; The people of Somerville, always confiding and liberal, are ever watchful and exacting in regard to all matters pertaining to the public good; and while they will justify liberal appropriations for the welfare of the city, they will exact of its government zealous devotion to its various duties, and a judicious economy in the expenditure of the public money. Let us see to it that no duty ho neglected, and that not a dollar bo wasted."

Allusiou has already been made to the small population of Somerville, the meagre number of its school children and the few schools maintained for their education at the time of the incorporation of the town in 1842. Alter that date it became not only necessary to improve schools already existing, but to add new ones to meet the rapidly increi\sing wants of pupils. After the schools of low grade had been provided for, it was voted in the spring of 1851 to establish a High School. The building now occupied as a city hall was first erected for the school. It was designed to accommodate one hundred scholars, and was dedicated on the 28th of April, 1852. It opened with sixty scholars, and Robert Beckfcrd with an assistant had charge. From 1854 to 1858 two assistants were employed. The old building being soon outgrown, the present building on Prospect Hill was erected in 1871, and dedicated February 27, 1872. Since Mr. Beckford left the school it has been under the management of H. H.Babcock and George L. Baxter. In May, 1889, the number of children in the town between the ages of five and fifteen was 6155, for whom during the last year, one hundred and sixteen schools were provided, under the care of one hundred and thirty-five teachers. The following is a list of the school-houses in that year with the date of their erection and number of teachers. Most of these houses, it will be understood, accommodate more than one school :

The amount expended for the support of schools in 1899 was, For school contingent, $20,556; fuel, $6,049.90; school-house incidentals, $14,225.38 ; salaries, $9365.49, making a total of $133,896.77. Besides these amounts the sum of $25,000 was appropriated for school-house in Ward 2, of which $14,727.14 was exjjendeil, and the sum of $25,000^vas appro[<riated for addition to the Morse School-house, of which $5439.88 was expended. Beside the above schools there were the St. Joseph's Parochial School, under the care of Sister Mary Gertrude and eleven assistants, and the Kindergarten School on Somerville Avenue, conducted by Alice L. Warren and Sarah E. Kilmer.

instituted January 28, 1870. Odd Fellows* Building Association, incorporated June 4, 1884. Anicrieau Legiou of Honor, Prospect Council, No. 111. Ancient Order of Foresters. AncientOrderof Hibernians, Division No. 6, instituted 1876 ; Division,

Somerville Subordinate Union, instituted May 23, 1889. Willard C. Kinsley Post 139, CJ. A. B. Sons of Veterans, Henry B, TjeightonCanip, 16. Woman's Relief Corps, Willard C. Kiusley, No. 21. Somerville Fife, Drum and Bugle Corps.

Sisterhood Branch, No. 866, org. October, 1888. fliass. Catholic Order of Foresters, Count Benedict, No. 39. New £nglau<l Order of Protection, Prospect Lodge, No. 71 ; Warren

Lodge, No. 26. Plasterers' Union of Cambridge and Somerville. Royal Arcanum, Elm Council, No. 30, instituted Dec. 5, 1877. Company M, 8th Regiment, M. V. M. Royal Society of Good Fellows, Mt. Benedict |.\s8embly, No. 119, ins.

Haven Colony, No. 27. United Order of the Golden Cross, Grand Commandery of Mass. Atlas Real Estate Association, organized Jan. 4, 1889. Central Club, incorporated Dec. 13, 1886. Fireman's Charitable Association. Hillside Club, Winter Hill, org. Oct. 18, 1882. McLean Asylum.

Among the manufacturing establishments in the town are the American Tube Works, organized in 1871, and having a capital of $300,000; the Kagle Shade Holler Company, incorpor.ated in 1881, with a capital of $100,000 ; the Middlesex Bleachery, with a capital of $300,000, and the Union Glass Company, organized in 1864, with a capital of $50,000. Among other industries is the North Packing Company, with their slaughtering establishment on Medford Street, with a capacity of two thousand hogs per day.

The Somerville Police Court was established by an Act of the Legislature, passed April 23, 1872. Its oflicers are Isaac Story, justice, Charles G. Pope and John Haskell Batten, special justices, and Herbert A. Chapin, clerk. -

Assessors : Benjamin F. Thompson, term expires 1890 ; George W. Hadley, term expires 1891 ; Hiram D. Smith, term expires 1892; Wm. P. Mitchell, clerk.

Board of Health : J. Frank Wellington, chairman, term expires 1891 ; Alvah B. Dearborn, term expires 1892; Charles B. Crane, term expires 1892 ; Williani P. Mitchell, clerk ; Caleb A. Page, inspector.

Overseers of tjie Poor : Charles G. Pope, mayor, chairman ex officio ; Charles G. Brett, four yeare from 1889 ; Herbert E. Hill, four years from 1886 ; Edward B. West, Daniel 0. Stillson, Charles C. Tolson, agent ; Frank W. Kaan, secretary.

Trustees of Library : George A. Bruce, term expires 1892 ; William E. Weld, term expires 189.'l ; James E. Whitaker, term expires 1893; John B. Veall, term expires 1893 ; Charles S. Lincoln, term expires 1891 ; Christopher E. Rymes, term expires 1891 ; Elijah C. Clark, term expires 1892 ; Henl-y Flitner, term expires 1891 ; Charles H. Brown, term expires 1892.' '

On the 25th of March, 1874, Somerville was authorized by law to take land for a public park. Under the authority conferred by this act, about sixteen acres of the Temple, or Ten Hills farm, on the banks of Mystic Kiver, have been taken and converted into a park, which has probably cost up to the present time between three and four hundred thousand dollars.

Besides the clergymen and mayors whose names hav^ been mentioned in this sketch, there are many others who should be referred to :is identified with the life and prosperity of Somerville. It is making almost an invidious distinction to include here the names of a few, while there are and have been many worthy of credit. To the names of James M. Shute, Thomas Cunningham, George O. Brastow, George A. Bruce, S. Z. Bowman, J. R. Poor, Nelson Howe, Charles H. Guild and J. Haskell might be added a long list of those of other citizens who have performed their full share in promoting the welfare of their native or adopted town.

In closing this sketch of Somerville it may not be improper to allude to the iirobable future of this enterprising and rapidly-growing town. Had it not been detached from Charlestown it would of course have been long before this a part of Boston. So far as the cause of its being is concerned, and the inspiration of its life it is really a part of Boston now. Upon the business of Boston, and its prosperity and growth, the future increase and prosperity of Somerville depend. So many of its people, both male and female, are eng.tged in enterjirises and seek employment in that city, that the welfare and good government of the metrojiolis are almost as much matters of interest to them as their own. The time, therefore, may not be far distant when the city which its people have nourished in its infancy and youth, will become in its full manhood a part of that great municipality which, with Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Maiden, Everett, Chelsea, Brooklineand Watertown embraced within its limits, will, at the end of another decade, include nearly nine hundred thousand inhabitants within its borders.

Biographical Hon. James M. Shute

Mr. Shute is descended from Richard Shute, who appeared in Medford in 1642, and had a wife, Elizabeth, and a son, Ilichard. The son, Richard, had a wife, Lydia, and a son, John, born in Maiden, March 2(), 1()99. John had a son, Ebenezer, who was one of twelve children, and was born in Maiden, Sept. 28, 1740. Ebene/.er had a son, Ebenezer, born in Maiden, who married Susanna Beal.of Hingham, and had si.x children. The last Ebenezer was a carpenter and builder, and removed to Boston, where the subject of this sketch, one of his children, was born. May 5, 1812.

Mr. Shute altendeil the public schools of Boston and graduated at the Bo.ston English High School. Ho learned the trade of printer, .and soon after secured employment with the Boston Type and Stereotype Foundry. This foundry was established in Charlestown, in 1817, by Elislia White, as a branch of his foundry in New York. In 1818 the proi)erty was bought by Charles Ewer and Timothy Bedlingtoii, who appointed Samuel Haskell superintendent, and finally removed the establishment to Boston, where it was conducted for several years, on Washington Street, in the rear of the store of Samuel T. Armstrong, between Court Street and Cornhill. Up to that time the method prevailed of moulding and casting type by hand. The process was of course a slow one, and made the daily product of type small and its cost high. About the year 1826 the first machines were invented for casting type, and their use was attempted by the company. In 1S29 the foundry company was incorporated as the Boston Type and Stereotype Foundry.

Mr. Shute, after some years of faithful service as an employee of the company, was appointed, while still a young man, its agent and treasurer, and with his assumption of its management may be dated the birth of that prosperity which has since marked its career. He continued in the management until 1852, when the establishment was sold to Johu K. Kogers and David Watson, and carried on in the name of John K. Rogers & Company until in 1865, it was incorporated as the Boston Type Foundry, the name the company now bears.

When Mr. Shute assumed the management of affairs the experiments with the type-machines had not proved successful. The type produced by them were pressed in the form with a want of uniformity, and thus here and there a letter failed to make its proper impression on the printed page. Mr. Shute after further trial abandoned their use and ordered them destroyed. At this juncture David Bruce, of New York, appeared at the foundry with a machine which he claimed remedied all the defec's of the old machines, and oflered it for sale to the company. Its merits were at once detected by Mr. Shute, and its defects also ; but, believing that the defects could be remedied, he bought the right to use it in the manufacture of type for general sale, and to manufacture the machines for the New England market. Mr. Leonard, an intelligent artisan, was at once engaged to make a new machine, heavier in all its parts, with some alterations suggested by Mr. Shute. The re>uU was a successful one, and until the patent on the machine expired the company held the market at its own ]>rice. The process of electrotyping fancy types and borders was also introduced by Mr. Siiule, and added largely to the profits of the company's business. During his connection with the foundry company he laid the foundation for wealth on which, in later years, by shrewd business management he has been steadily building.

In 1848 Mr. Shute removed to Sonierville, then a town in the si.xtli year of its nninicipal life, and at once won the confidence and esteem of his fellowciti/ena. From 1853 to 1859, inclusive, after his retirement from active business in Boston, he served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen of his adopted town, and on declining further service, the town, at its annual meeting held on the 5th of March, 1860, voted " that the thanks of the town be presented to the Hon. James M. Shute, for the able, energetic and faithful manner in which he has for several years performed the arduous duties of chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and that they be entered upon the books of the town."

From 1861 to 1864, inclusive, he was a member of the Executive Council, and no member of the board during those years held more confidential relations with Governor Andrew, or was held by him in higher esteem. During the busiest and most exacting years of the war he was chairman of the Finance Committee of the Council, and the admirable financial condition of the Commonwealth at the close of the struggle is a sufiicient commentary on his service.

As chairman of the Hoosac Tunnel Commission for several years, he rendered valuable service to the State. On the resignation, in 1866, of John M. Brooks, a member of the commission he was anxious to have ex-Governor Andrew appointed in his place, and proposed to surrender to him the position of chairman. Governor Bullock, of course, was ready to make the appointment, and Mr. Andrew gave a hesitating consent to accept it. This consent, however, he afterwards withdrew in the following letter to Mr. Shute which is included in this sketch for the purpose of showing both the relations existing between him and Mr. Shute, and the conscientiousness which he carried with him into the performance of public duties :

'* Ml/ dear Mr. Hhute : - I have again recoiisidereil the subject of which we talked yesterday, aDd with every desire to help ywu, and to aid tlin grand design of another through route to the Lakes, I am stiM wholly unable to perceive liow / could be of substantial advantage without so far neglecting 'The Law' as to injure nie pecuniarily very much more than any compensation I should receive would repay. For I could never be satisfied without trying lo master every problem, nor without doing my utmost to conquer success, on whatever line of action we might undertake to ' tight it out.* Thus T should soon tind myself in over head and ears, to this work, neglecting all other things, working at a trade other than my own, and losing sight of the only tradi: which is my own ; and when I know t-o many men whom I think to be better fitted at the moment than I am to take a leading part on your Board, 1 do not feel that, in declining it, I omit any duty. I am very grateful for youV- kind and generous appreciation of me, as well as for the cordial and friendly way in which you have always treated me during an acquaintance both intimate and confidential, in which we have shared together the cares of office.

*' Nor do I fail to recognize the Governor's good will and consideration towards me in couseuting to entertain my name when presented and to give it precedence. I owe, both to the Governor and yourself, my hearty thanks, and hope always to remain,

Mr. Shute married, November 25, 1835, Mary Eaton, daughter of Thomas Robinson, of Boston, at that time engaged in business in Chili, and hits had thirteen children. Of these, two died in infancy, one, a girl, at four years of age, and two sous at full age. Of these two sons, Thomas Robinson died in the Feejee Islands, and the other, James M., Jr., married Helen

Damon, of Holden, and died in Somerville. The remaining children, five daughters and three sons, are all married. Walter, the oldest sou, is engaged in the lumber business in Charlestown ; Frank, the second son, carries on the hardware business in Boston ; and Arthur, the third son, is in the lumber business in Ellsworth, Maine. Two of the daughters live in Cambridge, two in Somerville, and one in Boston.

About 1870 Mr. Shute suffered a severe fracture of a thigh-bone, from the effects of which he was for a long time confined to his house in Somerville. After a partial recovery he removed to Boston about twelve years ago, purchasing the house No. 137 Newbury Street, where, with his wife and the children of his deceased son James, he still lives. The writer of this sketch has known him for many years, both in public and private life, and has had occasion to know the esteem in which he has been held, both as a private citizen and a servant of the State.

Knowlton Sampson Chaffee

Matthew Chaffee lived in Boston as early as 1636, and was a ship carpenter by trade. He was made a freeman May 17, 1637, and was a member of the Artillery Company in 1642, and removed to Newbury in 1649, where he bought a large farm of Dr. John Clark. Thomas Chaffee was in Hingham in 1636, and removed to Swansey before 1660. From one of these the subject of this sketch is descended.

He was born in Becket, Massachusetts, July 11, 1814. His father and grandfather, both named Thomas, lived in Becket and carried on the business of farming. Thomas Chaffee, the father, born in Becket, March 15, 1768, married at Ashford, Conn., November 21, 1791, Abigail, daughter of Colonel Abraham Knowltoii, of Lee, and had the following children; Sampson Knowlton, born August 4, 1792; Frederick, November 25, 1793 ; Wolcott, May 3, 1795 ; Numan H., December 15, 1796 ; Alma, February 9, 1801 ; Anna H., February 4, 1803 ; Thomas S., March 24, 1805 ; Lucinda, January 12, 1807 ; Premiss, January 1, 1809; Abigail H., April 12, 1811, and Knowlton Sampson, the subject of this sketch, July 11, 1814.

Mr. Chaffee attended the public schools of his native town and the Lenox Academy, leaving the latter institution at the age of eighteen. As his father's means were small he was obliged at this age to earn his own living and assist if possible in the maintenance of the family home. His first occupation was that of driving a peddler's wagon, which in the d.ays before railroads were built, when small traders found it diflicult to travel to central points for purchasers, and drummers were unknown, was an important one, and was carried ou in New England to an extent almost equaling in magnitude in some instances, by especially enterprising men, the business of many well-known wholesale merchants of our own day. In this line of business the late James Fiske began his career, and the highly finished carriages and well-groomed horses of the various owners and drivers rattled into the villages of Miissachusttts with as much tiourish and excitement as attended the arrivals of coaches on the different important lines of travel. It was not long before Mr. Chaffee owned and drove his own team, and by unusual enterprise and activity laid the foundations of the wealth which in later years he has been able to accumulate.

With a mind and resources outgrowing one after another the limited opportunities which such a man would naturally find in the kinds of business first sought by him in earning a livelihood, after a few years of peddling he engaged in the stage business on the great through route from Springfield to Albany. First as driver and afterwards as a proprietor, he continued in this business until the establishment of railroad lines drove the stages off the road. While acting as driver his day's work was in summer and winter, in all weathers from Springfield to West Stockbridge and back. By the exposure attending these early occupations lie secured a rugged constitution which has served him well in the responsible enterprises with which he has since been connected. While still a young man he removed to Somerville, in the earliest years of that town, and established himself in the coal business at tide-water in East Cambridge. After living in Somerville three or four years he removed to East Cambridge and has since that time made that part of Cambridge his home.

In the coal business his means permitted hira to start only in the humblest way. By economy, thrift, thorough integrity and the exercise of a shrewd judgment in the general management of his trade, the business, however, grew to large proportions, and the savings of his earlier years began to swell int<i rapidly accumulating wealth. So thoroughly were his business qualities appreciated by those with whom he came in contact, that he was early made a director in the Lechmere National Bank at East Cambridge, and finally president of the Union Horse Railway Company. He was also for many years the treasurer of the Union Glass Company in Somerville, of which his son was until his death business manager. His position in these two companies finally demanded the use of all his time and the coal busine.ss was abandoned. His position in the railroad company was especially an ardous and responsible one. The Union Company owned and ran all the Cambridge lines, and the Everett and Watertown and Newton lines, and, under his watchful eye and incessant scrutiny, grew into that great corporation which became finally the property of the West End Company, and the nucleus of that organixation, which is doing so much towards the solution of the problem of rapid-transit in the city of Boston.

town, and has had one son, Charles S. Chaffee, who died in 1878, at the age of thirty-nine years, an active, enterprising man, who at the time of his death, as has already been mentioned, was the business manager of tlie Union Glass Company in Somerville.

Mr. Chaffee was brought up in the Baptist faith, and still belongs to the Baptist organization. In politics he was reared a Whig, but became a Democrat on the dissolution of the Whig party, and is an earnest and conscientious opponent of the policy of the Republicans. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston in 18110, and at that time a supporter of Douglas for the Presidency. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1863, and of the Senate in 1808, and in various other capacities he has faithfully served confiding constituencies. After a long life of active labor, he now lives in East Cambridge, in feeble health, and since the death of his wife, in 1889, has depended for the comforts which an old man needs, on the faithful and loving care of an adopted daughter, who anticiiiates every want and alleviates the burdens of his declining years.

Charles H. North

The subject of this sketch was born in Thomasville, Georgia, April 8, 1832, and is the son of Charles P. and Lydia (Kendall) North, of West Winsor, Vermont. He is descended from John North, who came to Boston in the "8usan and Ellen" in l(i35, at the age of twenty, and settled in the same year in Farmington, Conn. His father, Charles P. North, was born in West Winsor, and his grandfather Aaron North, who became a permanent resident in West Winsor, was born in Farmington, Conn. Charles P. North, the father, was in business a number of years in the South, but when the war of 18()1 broke out he was living in Covington, Kentucky. Early in the war he enlisted in an Ohio regiment, and while serving with the rank of captain, was killed at the battle of Shiloh.

At the age of four years Charles H. North, the subject of this sketch, went to West Winsor, and was brought up in the family of his grandfather Kendall, the father of his mother. Until he was fourteen years of age he attended the common schools of that town, and from fourteen to eighteen was employed in farming. At the age of eighteen, he went to Waltham, Mass., where, after a year's service in a bakery, he entered French's Academy, and there received an additional year's education. At the age of nineteen he entered the employ of Sewall Blood, a Waltham baker, and was engaged two years driving his customers' wagon. At the age of twenty-one he removed to Boston, and was employed in the Quincy Market by John P. Squire, at twelve dollars a month. He had already, before going to Waltham, a short experience in the same market.

Quincy Market, and there established himself on his own account in the business of selling pork. The energy and fidelity to business which he displayed had already borne their fruit in result unusual for so young a man, and gave promise of a career of enterprise and success. His enlarging business required more room than a single stall could furnish, and not long after he established himself in No. 29, he bought out the lessee of No. 27, and occupied an entire square. Not long afterwards, he added the store now occupied by him in North Market Street to the needed accommodations of his business.

Until 1867, Mr. North continued alone in business, but in that year he formed a partnership with John N. Merriam, S. Henry Skilton and Newman E. Conant. Under the new partnership the business of killing hogs was added to their previous enterprise, and a killing and packing-house was established in Somerville. In 1872, Mr. North bought out the share of Mr. Merriam in the business, and that gentleman retired from the firm. At the end of ten years more be bought out Mr. Conant, and until the present year the firm has since continued with only Mr. North and Mr. Skilton as members.

In January^ 1890, a corporation was formed with a capital of twelve hundred thousand dollars, and the partnership ceased to exist. Of this corporation entitled the " North Pjicking Company," G. F. Swift, of ('hicago, is president ; E. C. Swift, of Boston, treasurer; Charles H. North, general manager, and S. Henry Skilton, assistant manager.

In .Tune, 1878, the packing-house of the firm of C. H. North & Co., in Somerville, was burned and a loss was sustained over and above insurance of eight hundred thousand dollars. Another packing-house was secured before the fire was extinguished, and preparations were at once made, not only to resume, but to largely increase the former business. With present accommodations the company is killing two thousand hogs daily, and arrangements are soon to be coml)leted for the transaction of double that amount of business. At the present time the pay-roll of tbe company contains the names of thirteen hundred men, receiving thirteen thousand dollars per week. Probably the name of no man in the world is better known throughout the various channels of the special trade in which he is engaged than that of Mr. North. He finds his niai'ket in every nation of the globe, and it is not an exaggerated statement that the product of his establishment would furnish an .abundance of food for a half a million of persons every day in the year.

Mr. North has discovered several remedies which are sold on their merits and which he believes are a great relief to .suffering humanity. These remedies are : North's pure white pepsin, North's rheumatic cure, kidney cure, cure for he.art disease and liver cure.