Westport Town (part 4 of 8)

During the World War period, 1917-18, Mr. Durfee aided all in his power through committees and personal work in the activities of those two important years. He served as vice-chairman of the Second and subsequent Liberty Loan Committees, and was a member of*the City Committee on Preparedness, also served on the executive committee of the Red Cross. In politics he is a Republican, now chairman of the City Planning Board of Fall River and interested in all civic affairs. He serves Central Congregational Church as a member of the executive board. He is interested in the Boys' Club, of which he is vice-president and member of the finance committee. His clubs are the Quequechan; Fall River Country, which was organized in his office in 1898 and of which he was president the first few years of its life; Rhode Island Country; Acoaxet; Merchants', and Union League of New York City; and the Wardroom, of Boston

Mr. Durfee married, June 2, 1897, Helena Woodrow Brown, of Chillicothe, Ohio, born November 30, 1869, daughter of Allison and Elizabeth (Barry) Brown. To Mr. and Mrs. Durfee two children have been born: Dorothy, born October 15, 1900, at Fall River; she was educated at Miss Porter's School at Farmington, Connecticut. 2. Nathan Barry, born May 11, 1904, at Fall River; he is a graduate of Hotchkiss Preparatory School, Lakeville, Connecticut, class of 1922, now a freshman at Yale University.

JOHN CRUICKSHANK MILNE - 0On his ninetieth birthday, May 18, 1914, John C. Milne, after eighty-two years of continuous and conscientious labor as a printer, retired from the publication of the Fall River "Evening News," in the founding of which he was concerned as a partner sixty-nine years earlier in life. He was at that time (1914) believed to be the oldest active printer in the world, both in actual years and in years of service. A photograph taken the preceding April 22, shows him true to life after an earthly pilgrimage covering ninety years, and every man who looks upon him may breathe the thought: "May I look as well and bear my part as well as did he." The record of his connection with the printing trade as compositor and publisher for more than fourscore years has perhaps never been surpassed in newspaper history.

The "News" was founded by Thomas Almy and John C. Milne as a weekly, April 3, 1845. Mr. Milne was then not quite twenty-one years of age. Fall River was a town of about 10,000 inhabitants. Mr. Milne's life, the growth of the "News," and the growth of Fall River have been closely identified since. Mr. Milne was actively engaged on the paper up to November, 1913, when he passed his interest to his son, Joseph D. Milne, who had been connected with the "News" since July, 1877, as reporter and managing editor, and for several years as part owner. He now has a half ownership with Frank S. Almy, who succeeded to the half interest held by his father, Franklin L. Almy, upon the latter's death, June 12, 1912. Mr. Almy has been connected with the business office since July, 1896, succeeding his father as business manager.

John Cruickshank Milne was born in Milfield, Scotland, May 18, 1824. He was the son of Sergeant John Cruickshank, paymaster of a British regiment stationed in Scotland, and Annie Milne, daughter of Rev. John Milne, a Baptist clergyman. His parents died when he was three or four years of age, and he was brought up by his grandparents, Rev. and Mrs. John Milne, who formally adopted him after coming to the United States. He received his primary education in a private school at Glasgow, and with his grandparents and an uncle came to Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1832. There, at the age of eight years, he went to work in the printing office of an uncle, making his advent in a trade that was to become his life work. A keen mind and a natural aptitude for the mechanical part of the trade enabled him to develop into a rapid and accurate compositor in a comparatively brief time. Three years later, in 1835, came the only lengthy interruption that was to figure in his life as a printer for more than fourscore years. With his grandparents and an uncle he came to Fall River, Massachusetts, where other uncles had made homes already. No opportunity to continue in the printing trade presented itself, and he secured work in the blue dye house of the calico print works, conducted on Pocasset street by Andrew Robeson & Son, his pay $2.25 a week, the hours from five o'clock in the morning until six o'clock at night. He remained in the print works three years. Cloth printing by machinery was in its infancy at that time. The methods which had been devised and the machines which had been constructed were but half successful, and printing at the Robeson factory was still done by the primitive block printing system. One impression of the figure on the pattern was conveyed to the white cloth by each application of an engraved wooden block, which was first immersed in the coloring matter, then carefully placed upon the cloth to be printed, and tapped smartly with a mallet to transfer the imprint.

An act of the Massachusetts Legislature early in 1838, and the broad-minded generosity of Andrew Robeson, proprietor of the print works, had an important effect in shaping Mr. Milne's life during the next few years. This legislative act prohibited the employment of children under fourteen years of age unless they were allowed to attend school at least three months in the year, or for periods approximating that time. Mr. Robeson, realizing that the loss of three months' wages would be a hardship to the parents of the 150 boys employed in his works, established a system of part-time schooling, giving them three hours a day for the entire year, saving their earnings to their families, and more than fulfilling the requirements of the law.

This opportunity for improvement was eagerly grasped by young Milne, then in his fourteenth year. The boys in each room in the factory were divided into three classes, and for three hours each day each class studied and recited under the direction of Louis Lapham, afterwards for many years a practicing attorney in Fall River and judge of its police court. Mr. Lapham, a block printer of more than ordinary intellectual attainments, was paid nine dollars a week for his services as an instructor. Mr. Lapham also opened an _ evening school at the corner of South Main and Anawan streets, and the name of John Milne was enrolled as a student there, too. Such ambition was bound to attract attention, and the interest which Mr. Lapham found himself taking in young Milne resulted in his discovery that the boy could set type.

Mr. Lapham's knowledge of this fact proved the means of returning the boy to his trade. William Canfield had just started the publication of the Fall River "Patriot and Tiverton Advertiser," and when Mr. Lapham told Mr. Canfield of his factory-boy student who could set type, Milne received and accepted an offer to enter the "Patriot" office as a compositor. His wages were increased to four dollars a week. The "Patriot and Advertiser" was the first of a series of papers of varying lengths of life, all more or less short, upon which Mr. Milne worked during the next six years. The interurban nature of its title emphasizes the close connection of Fall River, Massachusetts, and Tiverton, Rhode Island, at that time, and also tells a good deal about the newspaper of the day, and the extremely precarious chances for their success. The publication of the laws enacted by Congress in three papers in each State was an important item of revenue, and the Fall River "Patriot and Tiverton Advertiser" was selected as one to reap the welcome harvest in Rhode Island. The setting up of these laws was one of the tasks given young John Milne.

It was while working in the office of the "Patriot and Advertiser" that one of the strongest and most helpful friendships of Mr. Milne's life was formed. There he met Thomas Almy, a native of Tiverton, who had learned his trade as a printer with the Bristol, Rhode Island, "Phoenix." Mr. Almy was the older, but the difference in their ages was never a barrier to their intimate friendship. Mr. Milne worked with and for Mr. Almy on several local papers and later, as stated above, became a partner with him in founding the Fall River "News". One of the papers which Mr. Almy published, with Jonathan Slade, and on which Mr. Milne worked, was a weekly called the Fall River "Argus." It was printed in New Bedford, and was brought to Fall River each week by stage coach. Its life, like that of most of the local papers of the day, was not long.

The six years after 1838 were important ones to Milne. While he worked long hours in the printing office he was enabled also, through persistent application and the kindly thoughtfulness of his friend, Mr. Almy, to continue his studies in Latin, Greek and mathematics. During one of the periods between these short-lived weeklies, Mr. Milne entered Pierce Academy in Middleboro. He _ had saved a little money, and with the aid of relatives and the encouragement of Mr. Almy, he improved the opportunity to increase his learning. Filled with a genuine desire to acquire an education he applied the same principle of concentration to his studies that he had given his work in the printing office. His willing expenditure of effort again attracted attention. The principal of the academy, Avery Briggs, became interested in him and in his work, and noting the evidences of a bright intellect urged him to prepare for college. But the boy was penniless and without friends who could give him financial assistance, and at the end of six months he returned to Fall River and the printing office. His friends, Thomas Almy, drove to Middleboro for him, and the two returned to prepare another weekly newspaper for the people of Fall River village. Though still but a dim hope, the idea of entering a college was allowed to die. Mr. Almy encouraged him to continue his studies and so arranged his hours of work that he could recite each day to Rev. George M. Randall, the first permanent Episcopal rector in Fall River, and later the first bishop of Colorado. The boy arose each morning at five o'clock to study before going to the newspaper office for a day's work. Each noon at Rev. Mr. Randall's house he recited his translations of Virgil, Cicero or New Testament Greek. When George B. Stone opened the first high school in Fall River, May 10, 1849, Mr. Milne took up his studies there in mathematics. Brown University was the ambition of most Fall River boys at that time who aspired to a college education, and it was still Milne's hope ultimately .to matriculate there.

The great fire which devasted Fall River on Sunday, July 2, 1843, created a big demand for labor in the reconstruction that followed, and brought in a larger number of carpenters and masons than the town had ever seen. The advent of this large body of workingmen of an intelligent class had an immediate effect, and occasioned a local agitation for a ten-hour day system, instead of the thirteen and fourteen-hour workday that was the rule throughout New England. An organization known as the Mechanics' Association was formed, with Thomas Almy and John C. Milne as two of its. members. Mr. Almy and two others were appointed a publishing committee, and on Saturday, April 27, 1844, Mr. Almy published the first issue of the "Mechanic," a weekly devoted almost entirely to the cause of the workingman and the agitation of the ten-hour day. Upon Milne, twenty years old at this time, devolved the greater part of the work of setting the type for the paper. Young Milne retained his interest in the labor question through the months that followed, and when the Bristol County Charitable Mechanics' Association was formed early in 1845, he was elected its secretary. This organization had fifty mechanics enrolled at its start. Its purposes were "union and benevolence."

During all this time Milne had been pursuing his studies, still in the hope of eventually entering Brown University, but in the fall of 1844, finding himself still without means, he abandoned this cherished purpose. The town was resuming its normal condition. Houses and business buildings had been rebuilt, and with the reconstruction of the burned portion of the village masons and carpenters left for their homes in other places. With their departure the enthusiasm in the ten-hour day agitation suffered a corresponding decrease. Interest in the Mechanics' Association waned, and the "Mechanic" felt the reaction in the loss of subscribers. A debt of about one hundred dollars assumed gigantic proportions in the face of the paper's restricted finances. On April 2, 1845, its publication ceased. Mr. Milne resolved to go to New York, where there were greater opportunities, and on August 27, 1844, he left Fall River on the sloop "Rollo" of Somerset, which carried him as far as Flushing, Long Island. In New York he chanced to meet Rev. Asa Bronson, his pastor, a clergyman whose impress upon Fall River remained for many years, a friend of the working people, and a staunch supporter of the "Mechanic" and the Mechanics' Association. He told Mr. Bronson of his hope of finding employment in one of the New York printing offices and received a proffer of the clergyman's help. Mr. Bronson took him to the home of Mayor James Harper, founder of the great publishing house of Harper Brothers. Mayor Harper received them kindly but could give the lad no employment at that time, as many of his old employes were temporarily without work.

Young Milne went to the printing office of Leavitt, Trow & Company in Ann street, where Alfred G. Pierce, formerly a compositor on the Fall River "Monitor," was employed. Mr. Pierce introduced the boy to his foreman, Mr. Flagg. There was no opening at that time, but Mr. Flagg promised him a place as soon as possible. Milne returned to Fall River and a few weeks later he received a call to go to work. Leavitt, Trow & Company employed about forty or fifty men. The firm was engaged in the printing of a number of large books and Young Milne was immediately set to work, with a number of other compositors, on a 1,500 page job. Each man was handed several pages of copy. In a short time, but long before any of the older and more experienced printers had finished their stints, young Milne was back to the foreman for more copy. The foreman was as tounded. He refused at first to believe that the boy had finished with his first allotment. But when the galley of type was shown a new speed marvel was added to the boasts of the shop. The boy was but bearing out the predictions for his success as a compositor which had been made for him in Fall River. By one writer in Fall River he had been referred to as "our office boy John, who sticks type like all possessed." Mr. Jewell, assistant foreman in the office of Leavitt, Trow & Company, declared him to be "a perfect salamander."

Through the system of giving out work to the compositors in the office, an increasingly large share of the copy passed through young Milne's hands. In spite of the fact that he was receiving but twothirds of the wages paid the other printers, because he was under age, he was doing more work than any of them. His supremacy in speed and accuracy came to be unquestioned, a fact that was definitely decided when Lawrence Cummings, one of the compositors, came to him and said: "John, until you came they called me the fastest compositor in the office." Cummings, instead of being _ jealous of the new compositor, became Milne's staunch friend and remained so until his death. This ability to compete successfully with grown men of wide experience was a cheering factor in young Milne's life. Though practically destitute of means and dependent upon his own resources for his livelihood, he was never without a light heart. So long as there were printing offices he felt secure in his ability to make his way; if he was allowed to go into an office and demonstrate his abiilty to set type he knew that his chances of winning employment were better than even. Upon leaving New York he received a most gratifying commendation from his foreman, who said: "John is not only very swift, but also very accurate."

The latter part of 1844 formed one of the most important passages in the young man's life. While he was in New York, Thomas Almy was contemplating the publication of a new weekly in Fall River. The early deaths of the half dozen or more papers on which both he and young Milne had worked during the preceding six years had not convinced him that Fall River did not offer a field for another weekly. He wrote his belief to young Milne, asking him to return to Fall River and become his partner in the new enterprise. Mr. Almy had about $600 in accumulated savings. His young friend, underpaid because he had not yet attained his majority, and requiring practically all he earned for his living, had nothing. That is, he had no money to put into the business. But he had something of equal if not greater value - ability. Mr. Almy, although a good workman, had not had the advantages of much schooling. The studies in which young Milne had delved in his preparation for college had given him an ability to write that would be of immeasurable help on the proposed paper. All these things were considered in the discussions which preceded the foundation of the "News." Young Milne left the Leavitt, Trow &

Company office in New York and returned to Fall River on Christmas eve, 1844. A few days later he and his partner went to Boston and bought an equipment for their office.

How closely these two young men had come to be identified with the newspaper work on this section was shown by an offer made 'to them by a number of New Bedford men at about this time. The "Mercury," which supported the Whig party in politics, was the only paper published in New Bedford, and a number of influential citizens desired a paper that would disseminate Free Soil principles. The two young men from Fall River were invited to attend a meeting in the office of Mayor Rodney French. The found there eight prominent men who offered to make them a gift of $1,000 and to guarantee 800 subscribers for the proposed paper at the start. Milne, who had been given a strict religious training, declined to enter into the negotiations when he learned that a morning paper was wanted, which would necessitate working on Sundays, but recommended Edmond Anthony, who then was publishing the "Independent Gazette" at Taunton, Massachusetts. Mr. Anthony accepted the offer and the new paper, known as the New Bedford "Standard," was established in 1850. About this time an offer to take charge of a Providence paper was also declined by Mr. Milne.

ond floor office at No. 5 Bedford street, April 3, 1845. The name had been chosen after many suggestions; most of them, high sounding and presumptuous, had been discarded. The junior partner gave expression to his feelings on the question, when one friend suggested "The Spirit of the Age." "How much of the spirit of the age can we express in this little manufacturing village, of which the world has hardly heard, as yet? Our only purpose can be to give the public the news, and let that be our title.' The lofty captions in whose origin Pegasus might be traced were laid aside; the elaborate headings which had been "set up," "proved up" and studied were "thrown in" and the plain, straightforward caption, the Fall River "Weekly News," appeared in their place. The task which faced the partners was one of grown man proportions. As Mr. Milne's first biographer said in a volume published in 1890, "One of a Thousand:" "The difficulties experienced in those days, when these two young men undertook the work, were laborious, and their lives self-denying; but by incessant application and rigorous economy they achieved success."

Fall River, the field of their labors, had a population at that time of about 10,000 people. The "News" was started with 500 subscribers. All the matter that went into its forms was set by hand by the two partners. Every Wednesday afternoon the paper went to press, each partner running off half the edition on the cumbersome, hand-operated machine. This part of the work came particularly hard on the slightly built, young partner, who was compelled to use all his strength and weight on every impression. Young Milne wrote much of the local news that went into its columns. Within a few weeks after the issue of the first edition of the weekly, Benjamin F. Glasby of Providence was added to the office staff. Mr. Glasby was rated high amond the swiftest compositors of New England, but when he engaged in a contest with young Milne, he was compelled to admit the latter's superior speed. His youthful employer set 1,680 ems, long primer, each hour for four successive hours, or 6,720 ems. 'The remarkable nature of this performance may be realized when it is stated that 1,000 ems an hour in long primer was held to be good typesetting.

Dr. Phineas W. Leland, collector of the port of Fall River, was one of the first regular contributors to the columns of the "News." His assistant, Jonathan Slade, wrote items of marine arfd general intelligence. John Westall was the author of an article in the first and in numerous subsequent issues. Accounts of accidents and happenings which came under his notice were contributed by Dr. Foster Hooper.

Beginning as they did with extremely limited capital and with an established paper competing against them in a limited field, the two young men had a battle facing them that might well inspire older business men with awe. When their first ton of coal was purchased they could not afford to pay for having it carried upstairs to their office, so they essayed the task themselves and carried it in in baskets from where it had been dumped on the sidewalk. Henry Fish, a local banker, watched them with interest. "Those boys will make it go," he prophesied. At the end of three years the business began to show signs of ultimate success, and each partner received $516 for his twelve months of taxing toil. For the two preceding years neither had drawn what he might have earned at his trade. But the "News" was winning the commendation of the public for its enterprise and thoroughness in covering the local field, and the realization of doing something for themselves and doing that something well spurred the young men on.

A job printing business in connection with the newspaper office was for the first three or four years about all that kept them above water. This branch of the business received a helpful impetus in the acquisition of the work of a thread manufacturer, Oliver Chace. The spirit of accommodation which the young men had made a part of their business policy was the direct cause of their favor in Mr. Chace's eyes. When he came to them one day and asked them to print him a number of labels immediately, they abandoned the task in hand and did it, although the return was but $1.25. A rival printer had refused to do the work in the time stipulated, a fact that lost him a valuable customer, and gave to the young publishers of the "News" one of their greatest helps.

After eight years in the second-story office on Bedford street, the "News" moved to the northeast corner of North Main and Market streets, again on the second floor. Up to this time and for several years after the partners put back much of the earnings of both the job office and of the weekly into the business. Their old back-breaking handpress was discarded for a second-hand Adams press, the first power-press to be used in the city. As no mechanical power was at first available, a man was hired to turn the driving wheel, a_ position which brought him the sobriquet "the power of the press." When Prentiss' laundry was opened in an adjoining building, a belt was run from the laundry engine through one of the printing office windows to the press. A single-cylinder press and a doublecylinder press, with a separate folding machine, came into the office in the course of time, as the subscription lists increased.

The first issue of the "News" was delivered by its publishers. After a few weeks two carriers were employed. One of these was Franklin L. Almy, who, although of the same name as the senior partner, was not related to him. The younger Almy was twelve years of age at that time and he delivered the paper to all subscribers living north of the Quequechan river. Another boy had for his district that section of the town south of the stream, which was to become the nucleus of the greatest cotton manufacturing city in the country. Franklin L. Almy became infected with the fascination of the printer's ink, and in the following September he entered the News office as an apprentice. He became a journeyman in 1850, foreman of the job office a short time later, and in 1862 he was taken into the firm as a partner. Upon the death of Thomas Almy, in 1882, John C. Milne and Franklin L. Almy purchased his interest in the publishing and printing business, and continued as partners until the second Mr. Almy's death, June Be 1912.

At the start, the "News" was a Democrat paper, remaining an advocate of the principles of the party until the Democracy went over to the slave-holders of the South just before the Civil War. From the beginning it was a staunch advocate of human freedom, the cause of temperance, and the best interests of the community in general. Its young publishers gave it a reputation for accuracy and high purpose, and soon brought it to a point of influence and power in the town. An attention to local news unusual in that day made it popular from the beginning. The "Monitor," begun in 1826, went out of existence soon after the War of the Rebellion. The "Monitor" was Whig in politics and upheld the old, high protective system. Its followers were the followers of Henry Clay. The young publishers of the "News" inclined to the political faith of the Democrats, under Martin Van Buren, and advocated the introduction of free trade to a certain extent. In many ways it succeeded the "Mechanic," many of the subscribers of that paper changing over to the "News" when it made its appearance.

How stringent were the early circumstances of the young men is shown in an incident of their paper's early existence, an incident which also shows the indomitable spirit that was a noteworthy factor in Mr. Milne's ultimate success. A wealthy and extremely influential resident of the town had become interested in the ambitious spirit displayed by young Milne. After first testing the boy's mettle with a contemptuous denunciation of his paper, and finding pleasure in the sturdy, yet respectful answer, he relaxed his habitually serious expression into a smile and openly complimented the young men on the readable character of the paper. Young Milne immediately returned to the printing office, and obtaining from his partner a bill for two years' subscription to the paper, one year of which was already overdue, he hurried to the office of the big man of business. The latter, upon ascertaining that the bill was for two years instead of for the one that he owed, demanded the reason. "Well," was the reply, "we have trusted you for a year, and we thought you might be willing to trust us for a year, now." He received the payment for the two years, $2.00, and won a steadfast friend in the wealthy business man.

Charles Sumner, who added so much to the fame of Massachusetts in the United States Senate, and who figured so prominently in the legislative battles over the slavery question, owed his election in no small measure to the virile pen and fiery enthusiasm of Mr. Milne. Sumner was elected April 23, 1851, on the twenty-sixth ballot. He received 193 votes in the General Court, against 166 cast for Robert C. Winthrop, his opponent. There were twenty-five scattering votes and two blanks. Eleven days before, on Saturday afternoon, April 12, a meeting was held in Fall River, in response to the following call written by Mr. Milne: "Freemen of Fall River! As you love Liberty and would see the cause of Freedom sustained and vindicated in a National Senate, be on hand and vote for the instructions. As you loathe slavery and would spurn the man hunter from your soil, be there and bear your strong testimony against the detestable Fugitive Slave Law." The meeting adopted resolutions instructing the four Fall River representatives in the General Court to vote for Charles Sumner for the United States Senate, rather than the Whig candidate, Winthrop. As a result, one of the four, N. B. Borden, elected as Whig, changed his vote and broke the deadlock which had tied the election. Senator Hoar, speaking at a dinner in memory of Charles Sumner, in Boston, in 1894, referred to the effect of the memorable meeting which responded to Mr. Milne's call as "the instruction . . . which decided the great contest when Mr. Sumner was elected Senator in 1851."

In 1861 James Buffinton was elected to Congress from the Fall River district, and he named Mr. Milne clerk of the House Committee on Accounts. Thus it was that Mr. Milne spent five or six months at the national capital during the early part of the Civil War. He was there when the first battle of Bull Run was fought. He saw the troops march out of Washington, pass General Scott in review, and onward to where they were to meet the Confederate Army. He was in the midst of the stirring scenes at the nation's headquarters during the troublous times that followed. When he was not engaged in his duties at the Capitol he visited the various hospitals in the city in search of Fall River boys who might have been wounded in the army campaigns. On one of these visits, after a two-mile tramp through mud ankle deep, he met Mrs. Rebecca L. Pomeroy, matron of Columbia College Hospital. Mrs. Pomeroy had helped the wife of President Lincoln care for their little son Tad, during the illness that resulted in his death. From her Mr. Milne heard, at first hand, the touching story of the Martyred President's terrible suffering; his agony at the bedside of his dying son; and his equally great sorrow at the realization that the country was in the midst of a mighty conflict. Mr. Milne had stood at the gate of the White House grounds as the little white coffin was borne out.

Among the incidents related to Mr. Milne by Mrs. Pomeroy, one was stamped indelibly on his mind. It had an intimate bearing on one of the most important acts in President Lincoln's life, and Mrs. Pomeroy, relating it but a few weeks after its occurrence, made Mr. Milne feel it as keenly as though he himself had figured in it. President Lincoln, filled with gratitude for the help Mrs. Pomeroy had given during his son's illness, often went to the hospital after the boy's death and took Mrs. Pomeroy for a drive through the streets of the capital. One afternoon while they were taking one of these drives, sadly discussing the overwhelm- ing problems that faced the nation the while, Mrs. Pomeroy half unconsciously placed her hand on the President's shoulder and said: "It seems, Mr. President, that you have been raised by God to free the slaves. Why don't you do it?" Lincoln seemed to weigh the question for a moment, then he answered: "Well, Mrs. Pomeroy, if it is the will of God that I am to be the instrument in His hands by which the slaves are to be freed, He has but to make it unmistakably known to me and it shall be done, no matter what the cost." On January 1, 1863, Mr. Milne saw in Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation another answer to Mrs. Pomeroy's question. Mr. Milne resigned his position at the Capitol after six months and returned to Fall River. He was elected a member of the Fall River Common Council in the same year, 1861, and served for five years.

A daily edition of the "News" had been started in 1859. Ten years later the paper had outgrown its printing office, and land was purchased at the corner of Pleasant and Second streets and the present News building erected. On August 2, 1869, the first issue was printed in the new quarters. The paper was of four pages, three of which were given over to advertising. A steady growth and improvement have gone on since. The old hand-set methods gave way almost. entirely to linotype machines; the old flat-bed presses were abandoned in favor of the modern machines which print from stereotyped plates; and the pages and size of the page were steadily increased until!' the present twelve-page, eight-column paper is produced, four and a third times as large, with three editions daily.

Mr. Milne was urged in 1884 to become a candidate for the Legislature and, although he declined to make any effort toward his own election, friends who felt that in him Fall River would have a strong representative at Boston worked in his behalf, and had him elected. He served for the five years following. As a member of the Committee on Banking and Charitable Institutions, he forwarded many projects of interest and help not only to his own constituents in Fall River but to the people of the whole State. <A bill which he introduced and advanced through the successive stages to its enactment as a law was declared by one of his colleagues to be "the most important thing done by the committee on banking for five years." Mr. Milne's measure was intended to increase the stability of savings banks in Massachusetts, a purpose which it admirably achieved, if the unanimous endorsement of savings bank treasurers throughout the State can be taken as a criterion. The law amended the savings bank regulations by making the division of surplus in extra dividends discretionary with the trustees instead of compulsory. An immediate effect of the change was an increase in the bank's stability. A guarantee fund provided for in connection with the new regulation formed a last reserve which assured the depositors their money in case of trouble.

his first year in the Legislature. Near the close of the session, on June 2, 1884, during an afternoon given over to mock activities, Mr. Milne read a review of the year in verse. The review was enthusiastically received, its keen summaries of the important happenings and contests of the House, and the evidence of a deep understanding of both its characters and incidents, receiving more than passing notice. During a recess of the House later, Mr. Brackett of Boston was called to the chair, and Mr. Dresser of Boston, after a few introductory remarks, offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted: "Resolved, That our hearty thanks are due and are hereby tendered to our esteemed fellow-member, Mr. John C. Milne, of Fall River, for his most entertaining poem, read before us on June 2, and that we ask a copy of the same for publication." Among those who heard the reading was one of the State printers. He enjoyed the lines as much as any of the members and printed thereview for the legislators without cost.

One of the most bitterly fought measures of the session was that which sought to divide the town of Sandwich and create the new town of Bourne. The review speaks of the bill as follows:

There's Kimball, to do, Brings in a bill dividing our big Sandwich right in two; The present shape of that old town makes half the people mourn, Who ask another Bourne."

After telling of the battle which waged between the proponents and opponents of the measure, Mr. Milne described its disposition in these words:

Anti-vaccination, a matter that is being given the earnest consideration of the State's legislators today, was an agitated question in 1884, also, and as in the present instance it was a Fall River man who introduced the bill. Mr. Milne's review in telling of its defeat said:

As a member of the Committee on Charitable Institutions Mr. Milne turned his talent for writing to a helpful and inspiring purpose. Each year, with other members of the committee, he made regular visits to the institutions throughout the Commonwealth. The children in the State Primary School at Monson won his especial interest. On his second. visit there, on May 18, 1885, and on his third visit, on May 26, 1885, he addressed the pupils, in verse, with cheering, inspiring words. By vote of the committee these two addresses were printed and presented to the school for the inspiration and guidance of the scholars.

Among a number of important works of interest to Fall River accomplished by Mr. Milne while in the Legislature were the securing of the free use of the water of the North Watuppa pond by the city, and a grant of $100,000 for the ereciion of the Superior Court House on North Main street.

Almost as remarkable as his record in the newspaper field is that of Mr. Milne's connection w.th the local banking business. When the Pocasset National Bank was organized in Tiverton, in May, 1854, he was one of its first board of directors. He continued in that position for forty-nine years, or until the time that the bank lost its identity in a merger with the Massasoit and National Uz ion banks, forming the present Massasoit-Pocassct Bank. Mr. Milne lived to see the other members of two boards of directors pass away, as well as the two treasurers and two cashiers. The Pocasset started at the corner of South Main and Rodman streets, then a part of Tiverton, with Oliver Chace as its president, and Samuel Hathaway, Weaver Osborn, John C.. Milne, and William H. Taylor of Fal: River, and Moses Baker and Gideon H. Durfes of Tiverton, as directors. Mr. Milne was the youngest director. As one after another of the members passed.-away, each was replaced by a new man, until Mr. Milne found himself with an entirely new bodrd. More remarkable, still, he lived to see each of these six members of the second board pass away. William Henry Brackett, the first cashier, "vas succeeded by Edward E. Hathaway, who died May 11, 1911. Mr. Hathaway was a boy when the Pocasset Bank was started. He was succeeded as cashier by William F. Winter, who survived Mr. Milne only four months, his death occurring February 10, 1919. Mr. Milne was serving with the third complete set of directors, when, in 1903, the governor of the Commonwealth insisted upon the 'separation of State and National banks. The P - casset was occupying rooms with a State bank and went out of existence. Mr. Milne was one of the Pocasset directors carried. over to the Massasoit- Pocasset, of which institution he was a director. During its forty-nine years' existence Mr. Milne repeatedly declined the presidency of the Pocasset. Since June 9, 1862, Mr. Milne had been a trustee of the Citizens' Savings Bank, and since June 10, 1884, he had been the president of that institution. He had been a member ofthe board of investment, also, for forty-one years.

In 1871 Mr. Milne purchased the land at the corner of Bedford and Main streets for a new location for the News office. The price paid was $15,000. He had hardly completed the transaction when Samuel Hathaway, president of the Pocasset _ Bank, asked him to sell the land to the bank at the price he had paid for it. Although he could easily have turned a handsome profit on the sale of the land to other parties, Mr. Milne turned it over to the bank. As a director of the institution, sworn to look out for its best interests always, he felt that he could not refuse the bank's request.

Mr. Milne was one of the original board of directors of the Osborn Mills. He became president of that corporation upon the death of James M. Osborn, in May, 1898. He was also a director of the Slade Mills from the time of incorporation in 1871 until 1898, when, under new control and management, the name was changed to the Ancona Company. He was a director of the Stafford Mills since 1898.

From his earliest life Mr. Milne had been deeply interested in religious work. He was the first clerk of the Second Baptist Church, being elected June 18, 1846, and serving for many years. He was for a long time the superintendent of the Sunday school of this church also. Mr. Milne was one of those who proposed the construction of stores on the South Main street front of the Baptist Temple, a plan which has brought the 'church substantial revenue each year since it was put into effect. For the past thirty-two years Mr. Milne had attended the Central 'Congregational Church. He was one of the promoters of the Fall River Hospital, the predecessor of the Union Hospital.

John C. Milne died October 10, 1918. Mrs. Abby Ann (Gifford) Milne died July 21, 1916, their married life covering a period of sixty-seven years.

Five years after the "Weekly News" was founded, on June 28, 1849, John C. Milne married Abby Ann Gifford, daughter of George W. and Betsy (Howland) Gifford. Mr. and Mrs. Milne were the parents of nine children, four of whom died in early life. The survivors are: 1. Mary J., who married Henry S. Fenner, and has four children: Henry M., Joseph A.; Laura, who married Richard G. H. Knight, and has two children, Mary and Richard; and George A. 2. Joseph D., his father's associate and successor in business, who married Georgie A. Wright, and has two children:. Janet, who married Roland H. Ballou, and has two sons, Richard M. and John M.; and John C. 3. Abbie G., who married Charles H. Carr, and has one daughter, Elizabeth. 4. Jeannette D., who married Edward B. Remington. 5. Hannah E., who married James A. Chadwick, and has two children, Mary and Katherine.

Matthew Chaloner Durfee Bor

The new organization was incorporated as the American Printing Company of Fall River, Massachusetts, and today is one of the largest textile industries of its kind in the country and still continues to be under Borden control and management. Colonel Richard Borden was president of the American' Print Works; Matthew C. D. Borden, his son, was the first president of the American Printing Company, and now, Bertram Harold Borden, his son, is president of that company, and head of M. C. D. Borden & Sons, Inc., located at No. 90 Worth street, New York City. This is a remarkable rec- ord of family control of a great industry which includes another son of Matthew C. D. Borden, Howard Seymour Borden, vice-president and treasurer of the company.

This fine old family traces its ancestry in New England to Richard Borden, who came from England to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 1637-8, with his wife Joan. Richard Borden was of the ninth recorded generation of the Borden family of England, a family name which came in with William the Conqueror in 1066, and is found on the Roll of Battle Abbey as Bordoun. In early English records the name is found under thirty-two different spellings, varying from Bourdon to Borden. The name was conspicuous in France as well as in England, where the line begins with Blundel at Burdoun, from whom came the name Burdon, so numerously found in England and Scotland. In the United States the name is spelled in different ways, but in this branch, beginning with Richard, the name has always been Borden. Richard, the ancestor, was of the Kent family, which is definitely traced to Henry Borden, of the parish of Hedcorn, Kent, England, born during the decade 1370-80. In the eighth generation in direct line from Henry came Matthew Borden, a church warden in MHedcorn, Kent, in 1598, who died in October, 1620. Two of his sons, Richard and John, came to New England.

(1) Richard Borden, of the ninth English and the first American generation, was born in Hedcorn, Kent, England, February 22, 1595-96, and died at Portsmouth, Rhode Island, May 25, 1671. He married, in Hedcorn parish church, September 28, 1625, Joan Fowle, and in 1628 they moved to the neighboring parish, Cranbrook. In 1637-38 they came to New England, locating in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where Richard, a surveyor, acquired large tracts of land as he also did in New Jersey. He became a man of high standing and official importance in Rhode Island, his list of offices including that of deputy to the General Assembly in 1667 and 1670. His nuncupative will was admitted to probate May 31, 1671, by the Town Council of

(II) John Borden was born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in September, 1640, and there died, June 4, 1716. He married, December 25, 1670, Mary Earle, born in Portsmouth, and died there in 1734, daughter of William and Mary (Walker) Earle. They were the parents of eight children, the eldest a son, Richard (2), of whom further.

(III) Richard (2) Borden was born October 25, 1671, and at the time of his death, sixty years later, was the largest landowner in his town and one of the wealthiest men. His home was on the main road, about one mile from the east shore of Mount Hope Bay, and two and one-half miles south of the City Hall at Fall River, his homestead farm containing about two hundred acres. He married, about 1692, Innocent Wardell, and they

(IV) Thomas Borden was born December 8, 1697, died at Tiverton, Rhode Island, in April, 1740. He owned that part of the south side of Fall River stream that lay south of the Great Falls and the adjoining land down to salt water, besides other farms and outside lands. He married, August 14, 1721, Mary Gifford, born October 6, 1695, daughter of Christopher and Meribah Gifford. They were the parents of five children, the eldest a son, Richard (3), of whom further.

(V) Richard (3) Borden was born in 1722, died July 4, 1795. He inherited from his father an estate which had been owned by his grandfather and fore-

Fall River. During the Revolutionary War, British troops burned his saw mill, together with a great deal of manufactured lumber, owned by his sons, who were operating the mill, Mr. Borden being carried away a prisoner by the raiders, who also burned his home. He married, March 12, 1747, Hope Cook, and they were the parents of six children, the second-born, a son, Thomas (2), of whom further.

(VI) Thomas (2) Borden was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, October 26, 1749, and there spent his life, becoming a man of wealth and importance, dying May 30, 1831. He married Mary Hathaway, born November 21, 1757, died February 18, 1824. They were the parents of thirteen children, all born at Fall River, the ninth a son, Colonel Richard, of whom further.

(VII) Colonel Richard Borden was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, April 12, 1795, and died in the city of his birth, after a long and useful life, February 25, 1874. He was educated in Fall River schools, and spent his early life at the home farm. From 1812 until 1820 he operated a grist mill at the fall nearest the river's mouth, and also engaged in ship-building in association with Major Bradford Durfee. He enlisted as a private in the second war with Great Britain, 1812-14, advancing through the ranks of ensign, lieutenant, captain, lieutenantcolonel, to the grade of colonel. After the war was over he engaged in shipbuilding, working upon the woodwork of a craft during the day, then, with his partner, going to a neighboring blacksmith shop and working on the iron work of the vessel. In this way he managed to launch one coasting vessel each year, these being from twenty to seventyfive tons burden. This blacksmith shop was the beginning of the later extensive Fall River Iron Works, which became one of the most important industries of Fall River. Borden & Durfee later, with others, incorporated as the Fall River Iron Works Company, with an original capital of $24,000, which was reduced soon afterward to $15,000, but was later increased until in 1845 the capital was nearly $1,000,000. This company was the first makers of iron wire for the manufacture of wood screws in this country. For over fifty years, from the organization of the company until his death,

Biographical 19

Colonel Richard Borden was treasurer of the Fall River Iron Works Company, and to his energy and industry the great development of the business was largely due.

It was through Colonel Borden's influence that the Old Colony railroad was induced to extend its line in the direction of Fall River and Narragansett Bay, he, with his brother, Jefferson, establishing the Fall River Steamboat Company in 1847, with a capital of $3,000 to operate in connection with the railroad. Colonel Borden was interested in many other important Fall River enterprises, including the American Print Works, organized in 1834; the American Linen Company; the Troy Cotton and Woolen Manufactory, and the Richard Borden Manufacturing Company. He was also a director of the Annawan Manufactory, and the Metacomet Mill; president and director of the Fall River National Bank; director, agent and _ corporation clerk of the Fall River Iron Works Company; president of the Watuppa Reservoir Company; agent of the Fall River Furnace Company; director of the Fall River Gas Company, these all being Fall River corporations. He held high official position with corporations outside the city, being president of the Bay State Steamboat Company; the Providence Tool Company; the Cape Cod Railroad Company; and the Borden Mining Company, and was a director of the Old Colony Railroad Company. He was asssessor; representative; State Senator, and, in 1864, presidential elector on the Republican ticket. The soldier's monument, erected at the entrance to Oak Grove Cemetery, was his gift to the city.

Colonel Borden married, February 21, 1828, Abby Walker Durfee, born March 22, 1798, in Pawtucket, died November 14, 1884, at the Borden Fall River home, surviving her husband more than a decade of years. She was a daughter of James and Sally (Walker) Durfee; granddaughter of Thomas and Patience (Borden) Durfee; great-granddaughter of Benjamin and Prudence (Earle) Durfee; great-greatgranddaughter of Thomas Durfee, born in England in 1643, who came to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1660, and there died, in 1712, Benjamin Durfee being the youngest son of his first wife, to whom he was married as early as 1664. This was a 'Tiverton, Rhode Island, family during the first four American generations, then, in 1803, this branch was transplanted to Fall River, Massachusetts.

Colonel Richard and Abby Walker (Durfee) Borden were the parents of seven children: 1. Caroline, born September 20, 1829, a resident of Boston, died March 19, 1922. 2. Colonel Thomas James, born March 1, 1832, at Fall River, and there died, November 21, 1902, a prominent business man and eminent citizen, his military title derived from service in the Massachusetts National Guard. He married Mary Elizabeth Hill, and they were the parents of four children. 3. Richard Baxter, born at Fall River, Massachusetts, February 21, 1834, and there died, October 12, 1906. He was a textile manufacturer whose term of active service extended over a longer period than that of any man in Bristol county, and a man of stainless integrity and admirable citizenship. He married Ellen F. Plumer, and left three children. 4. Edward Payson, born February 12, 1836, became a resident of Philadelphia, and died December 15, 1916. He married Margaret Lindsey Durfee, and left one son, Edward Shirley Borden. 5. Captain William Henry Harrison, born September 13, 1840, died in Menada, France. He married, September 25, 1867, Fannie Ingram Bosworth, of Augusta, Maine. 6. Matthew Chaloner Durfee, of further mention. 7. Sarah Walker, born May 13, 1844; married, May 19, 1869, Alphonso S. Covel.

(VIII) Matthew Chaloner Durfee Borden, fifth son of Colonel Richard and Abby Walker (Durfee) Borden, was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, July 18, 1842, and died at his summer home in Rumson, Monmouth county, New Jersey, May 27, 1912. He attended Fall River public schools and a school at Auburndale, Massachusetts, prepared for college at Phillips-Andover Academy, and was graduated from Yale University, class of 1864. In 1865 he began his marvelous business career, his first position being as a clerk with Lathrop, Luddington & Company, dry goods jobbers of New York City. He soon left that house for Low, Harriman & Company, a commission firm, acting as selling agents for the American Print Works, of Fall River, of which Colonel Richard Borden was president. The print works from its small beginning in 1834 had grown to be a large corporation, but two disastrous fires during the winter of 1867 caused the works to become involved in financial difficulties, and finally, in 1879, to make an assignment. In 1880 Matthew C. D. Borden re-organized the business, which was then incorporated as the American Printing Company, with a capital of $300,000. Its history since has been one of rapid and substantial growth, and under the efficient Borden management stands today the largest business of its kind in the United States. Matthew C. D. Borden, in 1887, purchased the interest of his brother, Colonel Thomas James Borden, and became practically the sole owner of the _ business. In 1889 he bought the property of the Fall River Iron Works Company and erected the first of that corporation's large mills, adding a second mill in 1892, and a third in 1893. Business men freely predicted Mr. Borden's early downfall, and the depressed condition of the textile industry at that time was most discouraging, but when other manufacturers were discussing reduced time and lower wages Mr. Borden startled them by announcing an advance of ten per cent in the wages of all employees. This advance he followed two weeks later by beginning the erection of a fourth mill, which was to be the largest print cloth mill in America.

Mr. Borden's boldness staggered the trade, but his judgment and foresight, his courage and determination, won success, and in due time other manufacturers fell in line and acknowledged him as their leader. When in 1899 the industry suffered another period of depression, Mr. Borden again raised the wages of his employees ten per cent, and in time others followed his lead. Mr. Borden's courage in the face of financial danger and his resourcefulness in time of business crisis were most remarkable. Another instance of these characteristics was in 1901, when the Fall River textile market was greatly overstocked and prices very low and falling. In this critical period Mr. Borden purchased nearly a million dollars worth of cotton cloth, taking all that was offered. This strengthened the market, and prices advanced, and the movement resulted in a good profit for Mr. Borden personally, and also in a good profit for the entire textile trade.

In 1902 the American Printing Company acquired the property of the Fall River Machine Company and a large storehouse. The company's fifth mill was built in that year, and later, when a sixth and a seventh mill was added, the cloth mills of the American Printing Company were by far the largest in the United States. In 1912 the company's plant covered an area of twenty-eight acres; it had in operation twenty-nine printing machines, the weekly output being about 135,000 pieces. In the same year the Fall River Iron Works Company operated 485,000 spindles and 13,000 looms, producing weekly 80,000 pieces, or 205,000,000 yards of print cloth annually, requiring, to produce, over 50,000 bales of cotton. This marvelous development was due to the energy, enterprise and vision of Matthew C. D. Borden.

In 1910 the firm M. C. D. Borden & Sons took over the selling agency of the American Printing Company, and is still acting in that capacity, though the wise and efficient head which built up the business has been laid at rest. No man in the industry ever accomplished so much in maintaining a steady and safe market. On many occasions he placed in storage large quantities of goods which, if launched on the market, would have greatly depressed it, and on several occasions he took over the surplus stock of other manufacturers in order to maintain the market. No one other man ever accomplished so much as he in bettering the conditions of the mill operatives of Fall River, for his action in raising the wages of his own employees forced others to do the same, and his frequent bolstering of the industry in times of depression averted lockouts, strikes and other occasions making idle labor. His boldness and prompt action always redounded to his own benefit, and he never made any pretentions as a public benefactor, though everyone connected with the cotton manufacturing industry shared in his advantages. There is no doubt that he was inspired in all of these dealings with a strong sense of responsibility toward the thousands who derived their living from the industry. Mr. Borden entertained high ideals of a man's duty to his fellowmen and carried them out with unostentatious and unpretending sincerity. At one time he said: "I believe in success, and the greater the better. I believe in the accumulation of wealth, without any limit, except, always, that fixed by clean and honorable methods, but I believe, also, that unusual success brings with it inseparably extraordinary responsibility."

Though Mr. Borden exhibited in marked degree the business qualifications inherited from jworthy sires, he possessed a strong and very distinct individuality. His mind was open and his attitude was never intolerant, but he made his own decisions, and never wavered in their execution. He considered great chances as a matter of course in handling great affairs, and faced his responsibilities without flinching. With confidence in his own judgment, he took steps which, in the opinion of all his associates, seemed certain to result in disaster, and the result invariably justified his action. Altogether he was one of the most remarkable of the long list of remarkable business men who have made this country great. While he was familiar with all details, he had a very great grasp of mind and a keen foresight. Like all broad-minded men, he was charitable in the widest sense, most of his benefactions were kept under cover. This could not be accomplished in some cases, such as a gift of $100,000 to the charities of Fall River, on the occasion of starting Mill No. 4, October 17, 1895. This gift was made, as he expressed it, "in grateful recognition of a kind Providence that has so favored me." Of this gift $15,000 went to the building fund of the Home for Aged People, smaller sums to other institutions, and the bulk for the erection of a home for the Boys' Club, a magnificent building, with accommodations for 2,000 members, containing a theatre, gymnasium, swimming pool, library and bowling alleys. This is used exclusively by street boys for social and educational purposes, and is by far the finest institution of its kind in the United States. In 1906 Mr. Borden made extensive additions to this building for the use of men. Though a very busy man, caring for enormous interests, he still found time for recreation, and had many interests in life. Fond of outdoor sports, he was an enthusiastic yachtsman and horse owner. His famous steam yacht, the "Sovereign," is now owned by the United States Government, under the name of the "Scorpion." Mr. Borden's home was for many years in New York, and he was associated with many sporting clubs of that section, including the Seawanhaka Yacht Club, South Side Sportsmen's Club, New York Yacht Club, New York Athletic Club, Larchmont Yacht, and Jeykll Island Clubs. He was also interested in literature and art, and possessed a library and art gallery surpassed in value and excellence by very few in this country. More than a million dollars worth of paintings were hung in his gallery, and his library contained many volumes of unusual interest. A friend of education, he was a ready contributor to its advancement, and among his beneficiaries was his alma mater - Yale, which received from him a quarter of a million dollars. For six years he was park commissioner of New York City. He was interested in many of its business concerns: a director of the Lincoln National, Astor Place, and Manhattan Company banks, New York Security and Trust Company, and the Lincoln Safe Deposit Company. He was also a member of many social organizations of the city, including the following clubs:

Biographical 21

Union League, Republican, Metropolitan, Players,' Merchants, Down 'Town, Yale Alumni, Riding, Rumson Country and other clubs. He was a member of the New England Society, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, and a trustee of the Young Men's Christian Association.

Mr. Borden married, September 5, 1865, Harriet M. Durfee, daughter of Dr. Nathan and Delena (Borden) Durfee. Two of the seven children of this marriage survive: Bertram Harold, a_ sketch of whom follows; and Howard Seymour, a sketch of whom will be found on following pages.

Harriet M. (Durfee) Borden was of the sixth American generation of the family founded in New England by Thomas Durfee, who was also the ancestor of Abby Walker (Durfee) Borden, wife of Colonel Richard Borden. Her father, Dr. Nathan Durfee, was a graduate of Brown University, class of 1824, and of the Medical Department of Harvard University, class of 1831. He married (first) at Fall River, Delena Borden, daughter of George and Phoebe (Borden) Borden.

BERTRAM HAROLD BORDEN, son of Matthew C. D. and Harriet M. (Durfee) Borden (see preceding sketch), was born in New York City, October 3, 1868. He was educated in private New York City schools, and at the age of twenty entered business life in the dry goods commission firm of Bliss, Fabyan & Company, where he was intimately associated with his father. In the fall of 1895 he was elected treasurer of the American Printing Company, of which his father was president. On July 1, 1910, the firm of M. C. D. Borden & Sons was established at No. 90 Worth street, New York, Bertram H. Borden becoming a partner. In 1912, upon the death of Matthew C. D. Borden, Bertram H. Borden succeeded his father as senior partner of the M. C. D. Borden & Sons, and in the presidency of the American Printing Company and the Fall River Iron Works Company. On January 1, 1918, the cloth mills of the Fall River Iron Works Company became a part of the American Printing Company. In 1923 the firm of M. C. D. Borden & Sons was incorporated under that name and Bertram H. Borden became the president.

In 1918 Mr. Bordan organized the Association of Cotton Textile Merchants, of New York, and was its first president. He is a director of The Bank of Manhattan Company; Claflin's Inc.; The Merchants' Association of New York City; the Liverpool, London and Globe Insurance Company, Ltd.; the Globe Indemnity Company; the Prudential Life Insurance Company; the Star Insurance Company; and a trustee of the Union Square Savings Bank of New York. 'These responsibilities he carries with ability and zeal, devoting himself closely to his business interests. He is one of the strong men of the textile trade and a fitting executive for that industry's active corporation.

Mr. Borden, a native son of New York City, has taken a deep interest in many departments of city life. When a young man he served in the National

Guard, and was on duty during the Brooklyn strikes of 1893. He is on the board of managers of St. Mark's Hospital; is a member of the board of trustees of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and of the Grant Monument Association. He is a member of the New England Society of the City of New York; the Union League, Racquet and Tennis, Union, Merchants' (president), New York Yacht and Atlantic Yacht clubs; the Quequechan and Country clubs, of Fall River; and the Rumson Country Club, of Rumson, New Jersey. Mr. Borden is a keen sportsman, and all his life has enjoyed riding, yachting and country club sports. His home is at Rumson, New Jersey. He is greatly interested in the Borough of Rumson and is active in its civic interests. He is a man of quiet, dignified, fine personality, highly esteemed by his contemporaries of the business world, and popular socially.

Mr. Borden married, in New York City, January 23, 1896, Mary Lavinia Owen, daughter of William H. and Mary Lavinia (Brooks) Owen, of New York City. In winter he resides at No. 48 East Sixtyeighth street, New York City.

General Howard Seymour Borden

GENERAL HOWARD SEYMOUR BORDEN, son of Matthew C. D. and Harriet M. (Durfee) Borden, was born in New York City, April 27, 1876. He prepared in private schools, then entered Yale University, whence he was graduated A. B., class of '98. The same year he. became associated with his father in the American Printing Company, and in 1910, when the firm of M. C. D. Borden & Sons was founded, was admitted to that firm as a partner. Upon the death of Matthew C. D. Borden in 1912, his large business interests devolved upon the sons who had been trained by their father for that responsibility, Bertram H. Borden becoming president of both the American Printing Company and the Fall River Iron Works Company, and Howard §. Borden being chosen as vicepresident and treasurer of the first-named company and treasurer of the last-named. These positions of responsibility are ably filled by the incumbents, and the name of Borden, so long and honorably known in the textile world, never was more prominent than today. Howard S. Borden, in addition to the offices named, is a director of the Lawyers' Mortgage Company, and of the Lincoln Safe Deposit Company, of New York.

On the outbreak of the war now known as the "World War," 1914-18, General Borden, in common with all men of large business interests, saw the need of active codperation with the government, and on the declaration of war between the United States and Germany he took immediate steps to support his country in every way possible. He was appointed chairman, by the President, of the Local Exemption Board at Red Bank, New Jersey. Through his efforts two companies of Coast Artillery were enlisted, and on August 17, 1917, Howard S. Borden was commissioned captain of the First Machine Gun: Company of the New Jersey National Guard. On October 4, 1917, he was commissioned major of the Third Battalion of the Guard, and later he was aide-de-camp by detail on the staff of Governor Edge, of New Jersey, with headquarters at Red Bank, New Jersey. He was commissioned colonel of the Second Regiment, Field Artillery, of the National Guard, August 19, 1918, to October, 1918, then served on the governor's staff; and from November 12, 1919, until December 21, 1920, was colonel of the 6th Regiment of the New Jersey National Guard, and from December 21, 1920, until February 4, 1922, was commander of the 57th Brigade, ranking as brigadier-general. On July 13, 1921, he was commissioned brigadier-general of the Officers' Reserve Corps of the United States Army, and shortly after assigned to command the 212th in all out-of-door recreations, particularly polo, yachting and aviation. "Old Oaks" stock farm is one of his keen delights and there he breeds the best strains of polo ponies; Dalmatian dogs; Irish setters, the "Old Oaks" kennels being famous. He was, for some years, master of the Monmouth county hounds, and is greatly interested in photography, amateur theatricals, hunting and music. In fact, his range of interests reveal a man of extremely versatile tastes, a list of his clubs showing how broad are his recreation pleasures and tastes. He is a member of the New York, Atlantic and Columbia Yacht clubs; Aero Club of America; Rumson Hunting and Steeplechase Association; the Amateur Comedy Club; Motor Boat Club of America; Sea Bright Tennis Club; Sea Bright Beach Club; Mendelssohn Glee Club; Yale Club; Union League Club; Merchants' Club; Army and Navy Club of New York; founder and chairman of the finance committee; Rumson Country Club, of Rumson, New Jersey, of which he was a founder; Delta Kappa Epsilon Club; University Club; Graduate Club, of New Haven; Society of American Officers; and the Quequechan Club, of Fall River. His church connection is with St. George's Parish (Protestant Episcopal), Rumson, New Jersey.

In Orange, New Jersey, February 1, 1900, Howard S. Borden married Edith C. Curtis, born September 9, 1876, daughter of George Curtis, of Hartford, Connecticut, and Ellen (Bradley) Curtis. General and Mrs. Borden have had five children: 1. John Chaloner, born October 26, 1900, Yale A. B., 1923, now associated with M. C. D. Borden & Sons, Inc., New York City. 2. Jeanette, born January 17, 1903, died January 14, 1906. 3. Arthur Bradley, born November 4, 1906, a student at Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut. 4. Doris, born May 21, 1909. 5. William Howard, born October 22, 1915. The family home is "Old Oaks,' Rumson, New Jersey; the New York home at No. 280 Park avenue.

JEFFERSON (3) BORDEN - For three generations the name of Jefferson Borden has been one of large significance to the textile industry in Fall River, Massachusetts, and the present head of the family, Jefferson (3) Borden, is one of the widely prominent business executives of Bristol county at the present time. His lifelong interest in the textile advance of Fall River has won his way to a largely responsible position as vice-president, in charge of manufacture, of the Fall River Bleachery. Mr. Borden is broadly interested in all community advance in civic affairs, fraternal interests, and all that pertains to the welfare of the people.

Jefferson (1) Borden was an early pioneer of the textile industry in Fall River, a man of broad vision and great natural ability, and from the beginnings which he instituted great industries have been developed. He was for a number of years treasurer of the American Printing Company, and held a large responsibility over various subsidiary concerns of that great corporation. He was a man of wide influence in public affairs, both locally and in this section of the State, and his name is one of the honored ones in the annals of Fall River. He married Susan Elizabeth Easton, also a member of an old and influential Bristol county family. Of their children, Colonel Spencer Borden and Jefferson (2) Borden became leading textile executives of this city.

Jefferson (2) Borden was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, June 2, 1844, and died August 20, 1918. His education was begun in the local public schools and he later entered Brown University, at Providence, Rhode Island, from which he was graduated in the class of 1866. He took a special course in chemistry in its relation to the textile industry, and upon the completion of his education he entered the employ of the American Printing Company, of which his father was at that time treasurer. He later became agent of the Mt. Hope Mill, now known as the Conanicut Mill, which was then controlled by the American Printing Company. After a time he became associated with the Aquidneck Mills, of Providence, Rhode Island, in the capacity of superintendent, forming this connection at a time when electricity was first being introduced into the textile industry in a tentative way. Mr. Borden was principally responsible for the adoption of this motive power in the textile plants of Providence and Fall River through his influence as an executive in the industry, bringing about a _ thorough trial of electrical equipment in the mills with which he was connected. Later, Mr. Borden became active as a broker in yachts, as an executive of the Yacht Brokerage and Designing Company, of Boston, Massachusetts. He won international fame in this field, having been the first to design the composition board of wood and metal, which was named "composite," used in the manufacture of yachts. He was the designer of the "R. D.," but probably the best known racing craft which he designed was the "Varda." The "Maybelle Swift," which was especially constructed for the owner, Charles W. Anthony, of Fall River, Massachusetts, was also his work. Power boats and sailing vessels in large numbers were built from his plans and he was considered one of the influential forces of the day in this field of sport. Still retaining his interest, however, in the textile industry, Mr. Bor- den eventually entered the mill supply business in partnership with his son, John Westall Borden, founding the present important firm of Jefferson Borden & Son. He remained at the head of this concern until about four years prior to his decease, when his broken health compelled him to retire, and John Westall Borden took over the interest. Mr. Borden's many other affiliations included the Fall River Bleachery of which Jefferson (3) Borden is vice-president at the present time. The civic advance always commanded the influence and aid of Jefferson (2) Borden, and he was particularly active in the fire department, having served as captain of the first chemical engine in this district, also as district engineer. He was a well-remembered figure of the yacht clubs of Boston, New Bedford, and Fall River.

Jefferson (2) Borden married, on February 4, 1869, Ellen Westall, daughter of Rev. John Westall, of Fall River. Mrs. Borden died about 1914, leaving three children: Jefferson (3), of further mention; John Westall, a sketch of whom follows; and Elizabeth E., wife of Walter I. Nichols.

Jefferson (3) Borden, son of Jefferson (2) and Ellen (Westall) Borden, was born at Fall River, Massachusetts, November 16, 1869. His education was begun in the local public schools, and he was graduated from the B. M. C. Durfee High School with the class of 1888. A week after graduation he became associated with his uncle in the Fall River Bleachery, remaining a part of the organization for about one year, during which time he was active in the office of the establishment. He then went into the manufacturing departments of the concern, and learned every branch of its activities by experience. Three years after entering the plant, Mr. Borden was made its superintendent and continued in that capacity until his election to the office of vice-president, in charge of the manufacturing, which took place November 17, 1921. He is a member of the Church of the New Jerusalem.

JOHN WESTALL BORDEN - A leading industrial executive of Bristol county, Massachusetts, and, indeed, a leader in his special field in this part of the country, John Westall Borden has been engaged in the mill supply business for many years, and is now the sole proprietor of the enterprise long known under the title of Jefferson Borden & Son. Mr. Borden has largely achieved his own success, uniting forces with his father only after he had attained a noteworthy position in his own responsibility. The resulting enterprise gives to Fall River the distinction of being a center of mill supply activities, particularly in the field of transmission, in which this concern specializes.

John Westall (J. Westall) Borden, son of Jefferson (2) and Ellen (Westall) Borden (q. v.), was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, September 28, 1872. His education was begun in the local public schools, and he is a graduate of the B. M. C. Durfee High School, class of 1890. His early business experience was as a member of the office for some six years. During this period Mr. Borden handled various individual interests on the outside, and at the expiration of the time mentioned he determined to resign in order to develop this business which he had already built up to a considerable importance. Accordingly, he severed his connection with the Mechanics Mill and founded an interest under his own name. His father, Jefferson (2) Borden, was deeply interested in his activities, and with long experience in textile affairs and wide influence among textile executives, his name was considered to be of distinctive significance and of special value in connection with any enterprise of this kind. Thus, father and son became affiliated in the enterprise and the title became Jefferson Borden & Son. The influence of the older man on the progress of the business was definite and permanent, although for only a comparatively few years was he active in it. John Westall Borden has been the head of the organization since about 1914, and with his breadth of experience and large executive ability he has developed a business of international importance. The house has been known since it was established as a mill supply house, but their principal activity is in the line of transmission. In the distribution of power throughout the mill, Mr. Borden has developed various ideas of his own, which have been accepted as distinctively original and of the greatest value, and this concern is now the leading transmission house in Southern Massachusetts.

Mr. Borden is affiliated with various industrial organizations in this section, but his time is largely occupied by his business activities. Fraternally he is identified with Massasoit Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and his clubs are the Rotary, Quequechan, Fall River Yacht, and Arctic. He is a member of the Church of the New Jerusalem, which he serves as treasurer.

John Westall Borden married, September 4, 1906, Jessie Stewart, daughter of David C. Stewart, for many years a leading merchant of Fall River, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Borden are the parents of two children: John Westall, Jr., a student at the B. M. C. Durfee High School; and Eleanor S.

SPENCER BORDEN, JR. - As the head of the long established firm known as the Fall River Bleachery, Spencer Borden, Jr., holds a foremost position in the business world of this city and is widely affiliated with the textile industry _throughout the East. A man of broadly practical ability, trained for the special field in which he has always been engaged, Mr. Borden has for nearly thirty years been a definite force for progress in his branch of the textile industry. He comes of a very old and prominent family of Bristol county, a family whose men have been identified with industrial advance in New England for many generations, and whose constructive efforts have done much for the State of Massachusetts.

Elizabeth (Easton) Borden. studies, he became a_ student at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, of Brooklyn, New York, from which he was graduated in the class of 1868. This course was followed by advance study at the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, from which he was graduated at the Sorbonne in 1870. Colonel Borden first entered the employ of the American Printing Company, and was active as a chemist in that connection until the year 1872, when he established the Fall River Bleachery. Even in its early beginnings this enterprise was one of the most important of its kind in the United States and its plant one of the largest. With Colonel Borden's extensive technical training and his deep interest in his work the development of the business was a matter of large and rapid expansion. He became affiliated with many of the older and more important textile corporations of Bristol county, and also held stock in many other branches of industrial activity. Colonel Borden was even more widely known through his interest in fine horses. From the year 1873 practically throughout his lifetime he was a breeder of horses, first Hamiltonians, later Morgans and Clays, and in 1890 he began breeding polo ponies. At this time he headed the stables with the famous and "unbeaten" Kismet, well known to the racing public in 1883 and 1881. At his beautiful estate at Interlachen, on the borders of North Watappa Lake, he continued breeding Arabians throughout his lifetime, becoming an authority on this breed. His many monographs, treating the subject of horse breeding, won the highest esteem among horsemen, and have _ since been considered authoritative. He was tireless in his efforts to improve the breeds in which he was interested and also to uphold the highest standards of ethics in this interest. Mr. Borden was broadly interested in all scientific advance and kept in close touch with electricity in its early development, inventing many appliances, mechanical, electrical and chemical, some in the field of textile production and others of a general nature. Poliitcally Colonel Borden was a leader in Fall River, and from 1890 until 1893 served as a member of W. E. Russell's staff, in which connection he received his mililary rank. This full and well-rounded life was closed on October 17, 1921, at Woodstock, Vermont, where Colonel Borden had gone for a few days of leisure. His significance to the community of which he had been a lifelong resident was on every side revealed by the countless expressions of good will and admiration which were brought out by his decease. His is one of the names which in the annals of Fall River will always remain among the brightest.

Colonel Spencer Borden married Effie Brooks, and they were the parents of four children: Spencer, Jr., of further mention; Lenora B.; the wife of Bernard W. Trafford, of Boston; Alfred B.; and Florence, wife of William Darrach.

Spencer Borden, Jr., was born at Fall River, 'Massachusetts, September 8, 1872. His education was begun in the local public schools, and, later entering Harvard University, he was graduated from that institution in the class of 1894, Interested from boyhood in the enterprise of which his father was the founder and the head, the trend of his educational preparations, as well as his youthful interest, was toward his future as a part of this organization. He became identified with the business shortly following his graduation from Harvard University, and familiarized himself with its details by the very practical method of experience in all departments. Rising from one position to another, each of greater responsibility on the merits of his attainments in the organization, Mr. Borden was received into the firm in due course, and, eventually, upon the death of his father, became president of the corporation. His energy and efficiency have for many years been vital factors in the growth and development of the enterprise, and it was as a broadly capable executive that he took over the duties of his present position. His plans for the future include definite lines of expansion and development, and the history of more than half a century which lies behind him is only an augur of the future of this great interest. Mr. Borden is affliated with the world of finance of his native State as a director of the Shawmut National Bank of Boston and vice-president and director of the Fall River National Bank. In the public affairs of his native city, Mr. Borden takes a deep and constructive interest, but has never permitted his name to be brought forward as a candidate for elective office. He has served as a member of the School Board and the Planning Board. During the World War, he enlisted in the Massachusetts State Guard, and now holds the rang of lieutenant-colonel of the 17th Infantry Regiment. He is a member of the Quequechan Club of Fall River, the University Club of New York, the New York Yacht Club, and the Eastern Yacht Club, these latter organizations revealing his chief leisure interest. He is affiliated with the Baptist church.

Spencer Borden, Jr., married, at Lowell, Massachusetts, June 1, 1901, Sarah Hidreth Ames, daughter of General Adelbert and Blanche (Butler) Ames, and they are the parents of four children: Blanche Butler, Joan, Ames, and Richard.

BRAYTON FAMILY - For over two hundred years the name of Brayton has been associated with . the growth of Massachusetts, yet we must turn to the annals of Rhode Island for the earlier records of this family. There we find that Francis Brayton was received as an inhabitant of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, as early as 1643, and to him the majority, if not all, of the Braytons in this country trace their origin. The names of his descendants have long been prominent in our civic, commercial, judicial, and military history, and a brief outline of that branch of the family, closely allied with growth of Bristol county, is given below.

(1) Francis Brayton, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and his wife Mary had six children: Francis, Mary; Stephen, of further mention; Martha, Elizabeth, and Sarah.

Biographical 25

(II) Stephen Brayton married, March 8, 1679, Ann Tallman, daughter of Peter and Ann Tallman. Their children were: Mary; Elizabeth; Ann; served, of further mention; Stephen; and Israel.

(III) Preserved Brayton, who became the founder of the family in Bristol county, Massachusetts, was born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, March 8, 1685, and married Content Coggeshall, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Timberlake) Coggeshall. Their children were: John, Stephen, David, Baulston, Ann, Content, and Israel, the first two of whom were born in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

In 1714, Preserved Brayton purchased of William Little, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, one hundred thirty-eight acres of land lying in the Great Neck of the Shawomet Lands; in 1724 he enlarged the farm, and these acres, having been in possession of the family through succeeding generations, have long been known as the Brayton Homestead. Today their location may be described as on the west side of Taunton river, between the two bridges, directly opposite the north section of the 'city of Fall River. As the first owners of the land were residents of Plymouth, we infer that Preserved Brayton, his wife, and two oldest children, were the pioneer settlers on this land, yet not the first settlers on the Great Neck, as other families had previously come over from Rhode Island, among whom was the sister of Content (Coggeshall) Brayton with her husband. Their farm purchased in 1700, was located on the east side of Lee's river, west of the Brayton Homest<ad, and this "Anthony Homestead" is still owned by a descendant of William and Mary (Coggeshall) Anthony. Preserved Brayton did not limit the purchase of his lands to those acquired in the Great Neck, for we learn from his will that he gave "a certain piece of land lying in Freetown" to his granddaughter Elizabeth Robinson; "a certain farm" in Rehoboth to his grandson Preserved Brayton; and "a certain piece of land" in another part of Swansea to his grandson Stephen. Thus we know that the family scattered to different parts of Bristol county, while one son inherited a large tract of land in Smithfield, Rhode Island. His daughter, Content, married Samuel Gardner, Jr., and their descendants have also been prominent in this section of Massachusetts. Swansea did not annex the Shawomet Lands until after 1724, but in later records the name of Preserved Brayton is connected with its public offices and various town affairs, and thus we have evidence that his interests extended beyond those of his family and farm to the broader life of the community. Preserved Brayton died in 1761, leaving his Homestead farm to his son Israel, of whom further.

(IV) Israel Brayton was born October 13, 1727, and was twice married; first to Mary Perry, and their children were: Israel; Preserved; Content, who married Captain Nathan Reed; David; John of whom further; Bethany, who married Dr. John Winslow; Mary, who married Philip Bowers; Perry; and Baulston, who married Mercy Slade. Thus the name of Brayton was again united with names of other families prominent in the growth of Bristol county. Israel Brayton married(second) Mrs. Mary Read Bowers and their children were: Nancy; Perry Bowers and Nathan Read (twins), neither of whom lived to maturity.

Although Israel Brayton had a large family, he was able to extend his holdings, and purchased a large tract of land in Tiverton, which he left by will to his son Baulston, while to his son John he left the Homestead Farm.

(V) John Brayton was born in Swansea, April 12, 1762, and died in Somerset, May 12, 1829. His life covered a span of years when the community was filled with anxiety, conflict, privation, financial depression, scarcity of food, great loss of life during the war, and then the unsettled times connected with the re-organization and the forming of a new government. Too young to serve throughout the war, John Brayton enlisted, on August 2, 1780, in Captain Peleg Peck's company of Colonel Thomas Carpenter's regiment. John Brayton married, on September 21, 1782, Sarah Bowers, daughter of Philip and Mary (Read) Bowers, a descendant of three of the passengers of the first voyage of the "Mayflower." Their children were: Mary, who became the second wife of Dr. John Winslow; Sarah, who married Benjamin Clark Cornell; William Bowers, who was drowned at sea when seventeen years old; Nancy Jarrett Bowers, who became the second wife of David Anthony; Israel, of whom further; Content, who died in her seventyfifth year, unmarried; Stephen, who married (first) Mary H. Gray, (second) Abby Gray; Almira, who married Captain Jesse Chace; Betsey; John, Jr., and Caroline, none of whom lived to maturity.

(VI) Israel Brayton was born in Somerset (which had been set apart from Swansea in 1790) on July 29, 1792, and died there November 5, 1866, although he did not pass his entire life on the Homestead Farm after his marriage to Keziah Anthony, daughter of David and Submit (Wheeler) Anthony, he lived a short time in Foxboro, and then removed to Swansea Village, where he remained several years. Subsquently, he became a resident of Fall River, but after the death of his brother Stephen, he returned to the Homestead Farm, where he spent the remaining years of his life.

The children of Israel and Keziah (Anthony) Brayton were: 1. Mary, who married (first) Branford Durfee; (second) Jeremiah S. Young. 2. William Bowers, who married Hannah T. Lawton, of Tiverton. 3. Nancy Jarrett Bowers, who married Daniel Chase, of Somerset. 4. Elizabeth Anthony, who married Roswell D. Hitchcock, a native of Maine; 5. David Anthony, a sketch of whom follows. 6. John Summerfield, a sketch of whom will be found in the following pages. 7. Israel Perry, born in Swansea, May 24, 1829. 8. Hezekiah Anthony, who married Caroline Elizabeth Slade, of Somerset.

DAVID ANTHONY BRAYTON - Gifted with a nature generous and benevolent, with a mind keen and quick in judgment of men, with foresight and wisdom in the handling of affairs, and a charac- ter noted for its sterling integrity, David Anthony Brayton was a citizen of commanding power, whose fearlessness in the performance of duty won for him the confidence and esteem of all who came within the scope of his broad influence.

David Anthony Brayton was the son of Israel and Keziah (Anthony) Brayton, and was born April 2, 1824, in Swansea, Massachusetts, and died in London, England, August 20, 1881. The greater part of his childhood was passed in Somerset, on the farm that for generations had been the home of his Brayton ancestors. He acquired the rudiments of a practical education by regular attendance at the public schools of Somerset and Fall River, and when not at school he worked with great energy and zeal at various occupations. His special aptitude for business led him to find a larger field than that offered by his boyhood home, and when still a minor he made a business trip to Cuba, in later years becoming extensively engaged in trade with the West Indies. The discovery of gold in California intensely interested Mr. Brayton, and in 1849 he sailed in the ship "Mary Mitchell" for the Pacific Coast, where he remained several months. On his return to Fall River, with Silas Bullard as a partner, he erected the Bristol County Flour Mills, the first industry of the kind in this part of Massachusetts, and he subsequently became its sole proprietor.

Shortly after the enactment of the National Banking Law, David Anthony Brayton, with his brother, John S. Brayton, and their associates, established the First National Bank of Fall River, and so faithful and valuable were his services in building up this organization, that at the time of his death the directors of the corporation spread upon its records this tribute: "To his remarkable foresight, energy, and high moral character, this institution owes its origin and its great success."

Fall River had already become a centre of the cotton industry, and Mr. Brayton, realizing the great possibility of its growth, conceived the idea of erecting a large manufactory, for which, in 1865, a site was purchased, bordering on the stream that gave to Fall River its name. As a result of his foresight and business acumen, Durfee Mill No. 1 was completed in 1867; in 1871 Durfee Mill No. 2, a duplicate of No. 1, was built, thus doubling the production of the print cloths of this corporation; and in 1880 the plant was enlarged by the erection of mill No. 3. These mills were named in honor of Bradford Durfee, whose son, B. M. C. Durfee, was the largest stockholder, but they stand as an enduring monument to the enterprise, energy, and sound judgment of David Anthony Brayton. From the time of their incorporation to that of his demise he was treasurer and manager of the Durfee Mills, which for many years constituted one of the largest print cloth plants in the country.

Mr. Brayton's wide-spread knowledge and experience contributed 'to the success of the many enterprises in which he held offices of responsibility and trust. He was director in eight other corporations in Fall River, and at the time of his death was president and principal owner of the Arnold Print Works in North Adams, Massachusetts.

As a citizen, Mr. Brayton took an active interest in the development of Fall River, and his wise counsel and public spirit exerted a powerful influence in the community. He was a regular attendant and active member of the First Congregational Church of Fall River, giving freely to the support of divine worship, and bestowing many private benevolences unostentatiously and discriminatingly.