Pittsfield Massachusetts

Biography of Edward Anthony Kennedy

EDWARD ANTHONY KENNEDY, oculist and aurist, of Hillcrest Hospital, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was born January 17, 1880, at Fairfield, Vermont, son of Thomas B. and Katherine (Horrigan) Kennedy. His father served through the Civil War and was severely wounded in one of the later battles. For many years he was active in the circles of the Grand Army of the Republic. Edward Anthony Kennedy was educated in the public schools of St. Albans, Vermont, and the Medical School of the University of Vermont, whence he was graduated in the class of 1905 with the degree of M. D. He then entered … Read more

Biography of Charles Hulbert Wilson

CHARLES HULBERT WILSON – A man of character who has had a thorough business training under the tutelage of his able father is Charles H. Wilson, of Pittsfield. From the time ha entered his father’s woolen manufactory he has shown ability and a liking for his work and has risen rapidly from one position to another until he is now shouldering the responsibilities of the offices of treasurer and vice-president. The concern is now doing business under the title of James & E. H. Wilson, Inc., and are manufacturers of woolen materials (for details of the business see biography of … Read more

Biography of George A. Prediger

GEORGE A. PREDIGER, a distinguished figure in the profession of law in Berkshire County, who has, largely by his own endeavors, risen to high rank in his chosen field of activity, has been engaged in practice in Pittsfield for thirty-six years, devoting his attention to general lines. He is a son of Henry and Margaret (Meusel) Prediger, his father a prominent shoe merchant of Pittsfield and esteemed by his contemporaries in every line of business endeavor. George A. Prediger was born in Pittsfield, July 5, 1865. Receiving his early education in the local public schools, he was graduated from the … Read more

Biography of Hugh J. Downey

HUGH J. DOWNEY – With enlarging zones of practice wherein Dr. Downey has made his abilities as a physician and his value as a citizen evident and welcome for the pact decade, he has likewise established a wide range of enduring friendships because of an optimistic personality and his advanced methods and usages of the profession, at his medical office and home in Pittsfield. He is a son of Hugh J. and Sarah (McCann) Downey. Hugh J. Downey was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, December 5, 1882, and the family removed to Adams, Berkshire County, during Mr. Downey’s childhood. He … Read more

Biography of Charles Henry Tower

Famous in the annals of American history is the long-established family of Charles Henry Tower, for its representatives helped establish and build up the New England colonies, were always ready to fight for freedom and justice, and participated in the early French, the Revolutionary, and the Civil Wars. Moreover, these men of fine old stock, sturdy and hardworking, were in the habit of using their hands in some trade or occupation of immediate benefit to the community. These traits came down from his forebears to Charles Henry Tower, who in his eighty-nine years and until retirement, was in some way … Read more

Biography of Dr. John Baptiste Philip Sainte-Marie

City physician of Pittsfield, who was reelected to that office in 1924, he is a native of Chicago, Illinois, son of Elie Andrew and Rose Anna (Cyr) Sainte-Marie. When John Baptist Philip was two and one-half years old, the family moved to the city of Montreal, Canada. He was given a finished classical education at the Jesuits’ College of Quebec, and then entered the medical department of La Val University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1896 with the degree of M. D. Dr. Sainte-Marie was appointed house physician, at different times, of three hospitals in Montreal. … Read more

Biography of John William Kenney, D.D.S.

JOHN WILLIAM KENNEY, D. D. S. – The profession of dentistry has a thorough and capable exponent at Northampton in Dr. Kenney who with his present-day methods and valued experience is accounted one of the foremost men in his line in this part of the State, where he has been in successful practice since 1902. He has the highest regard of the public in their appreciation of his skill, as well as of dental offices and laboratory that are unrivaled in the excellence of their equipment. Four generations of this branch of the family have now resided in Massachusetts, his … Read more

Biography of Henry Seeley Taylor

HENRY SEELEY TAYLOR – Thirty-three years have passed since the death of Henry Seeley Taylor caused universal sorrow in the city of Pittsfield, yet many residents of the present day recall his fine face and distinguished figure, both in the clothing store of which he was long the head, and in his activities as a leading member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. As a business man Mr. Taylor was above reproach, his kindly courtesy and considerate interest in his customers having been only the outgrowth and evidence of an integrity which governed every act of his life. Friend of all, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Erastus Cushing

Cushing, William Erastus; lawyer, born, Cleveland, Sept. 23, 1853; son of Henry Kirke and Betsy Maria Williams Cushing; educated Western Reserve College, A. B., 1875; Harvard Law School, LL. B., 1878; married, Pittsfield, Mass., June 4, 1884, Carolyn J. Kellogg; served a number of years as member of Ohio State Board of Commissioners on Uniform Laws, member law firm Cushing Siddall & Lamb; trustee University School, Adelbert College, First Presbyterian Church.

Biography of Joseph Raymond Hampson

JOSEPH RAYMOND HAMPSON – The work in which Joseph Raymond Hampson is engaged is eminently vital and important to the welfare of the people and the progress of the civic body. Mr. Hampson has had wide experience in this general field and has executed many large and important contracts, both for private individuals and for the United States Government. His outstanding success in these various achievements has given his name unusual recognition for a man still looking forward to many years of useful and progressive activity. He is a son of Louis and Viola (Lasher) Hampson, former residents of New … Read more

Biography of Lawrence F. Lyons

LAWRENCE F. LYONS, a member of an old New England family, gifted in his chosen profession of the law, interested in various lines of fraternal and organized advance, and a veteran of the World War, is a thoroughly representative figure in the progress of the day. With interests centering in Pittsfield, he is gaining an enviable reputation in Western Massachusetts, and his friends consider his future one of great promise. Mr. Lyons is a son of Thomas and Mary (McCarthy) Lyons, and the Lyons family has for many generations been prominent in the Connecticut River Valley in the village of … Read more

Biography of Alfred Chester Dale

ALFRED CHESTER DALE – Having come from South Dakota to Massachusetts a little more than twenty-five years ago, when he was thirteen years of age, Alfred Chester Dale, of Pittsfield, is today secretary of the Dale Brothers’ Laundry, Inc., whose branch in that city is only one of five which the corporation operates in this State. The remarkable expansion of the Dale Brothers’ business covers a wide range of territory in two States and in four counties, not to mention the overlapping of much of the contiguous area. Mr. Dale was born in Wilmot, South Dakota, April 17, 1882, and … Read more

Biography of William Edward Staples

WILLIAM EDWARD STAPLES – The same energetic characteristics that were the means of conquering all hardships that apparently stood in the path of Mr. Staples’ career during the earlier part of his life have proven the dominant feature of his activities, and have accompanied him throughout an interesting course both of service and of leadership in the business and the political world. He is conceded to be one of the Western Massachusetts captains of industry and of civic advancement, who, beginning life with but few advantages of a material kind, overcame all difficulties by sheer hard work, pluck, and native … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Allen, Thomas

Allen, Thomas, son of Thomas and Anne C. (Russell ) Allen, was born October 19, 1849, at St. Louis, Mo. He was educated at the high school, Pittsfield, Mass., at the Williston Seminary, Easthampton, and then entered the Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., after which he studied art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, at Dilsseldorf, Germany, where he graduated from the master class in 1878, and afterward studied three years in France. He first exhibited his work in New York, at the National Academy of Design, in 1877, and has been represented in the National Academy at almost … Read more

Biography of Frank Levi Root

Frank Levi Root has lived in the vicinity of Oketo for thirty years. he had prospered in a degree sufficient to meet his sanguine expectations, and not only owned and controls a large body of rich farming land in Marshall County but is also actively identified with Oketo’s business affairs and its civic and community life. Mr. Root was born in Cedar County, Iowa, May 21, 1865. His father, Levi Root, born in Ohio July 9, 1832, grew up in his native state and when a young man moved to Iowa. He was married in Cedar County and had a … Read more

Biography of Melvin Harvey Walker, Jr., M.D.

MELVIN HARVEY WALKER, JR., M. D, has been a medical practitioner in Pittsfield for nearly a decade. He is a native of Westboro, born October 21, 1886, son of Melvin H. and Ann (Moses) Walker; his father being a manufacturer in Westboro; and the mother now deceased. The son Melvin took the usual courses in the grammar grades and was prepared for college in the Westboro High School and Phillips Academy, Andover. He was graduated from Yale University in the class of 1909 with the degree of B. A.; graduated from Harvard Medical School in the class of 1915 with … Read more

Biography of Mann, Stillman

Mann, Stillman proprietor of the Russell House. Mr. Mann erected the stone part of his hotel in the summer of 1877; it is 25×48 feet, and three stories high. There is also a wooden addition, 26×68 feet. The hotel cost $7,000. Capacity is about seventy-five guests. He first came to Russell in April 1871, with the Northwestern Colony from Eastern Wisconsin; at that time there was only a section house in the place. He, in company with H. W. Tusten, built a small shanty, and both families lived in that until other arrangements could be made. Mrs. Mann first began … Read more

Biography of Robert W. Adam

ROBERT W. ADAM – No name in Western Massachusetts represents more faithful service to the people or more honorable activities in a position of large trust than does that of the late Robert W. Adam, of Pittsfield, who served as treasurer of the Berkshire County Savings Bank for a period of forty-six years. This man of brilliant mentality and devoted spirit was one of the most accessible men of his time, always meeting rich or poor alike with the cordiality of the true brother of mankind, while at the same time his courtly manner and distinguished presence marked him as … Read more

Biography of Charles H. Bump

President and secretary of W. J. Foss & Company of Springfield; treasurer of Foss & Bump, Incorporated; and president of the Mortgage and Investment Company, was born in Hudson, Columbia County, New York, June 11, 1881. His father was Charles Henry Bump, Sr., his mother Mary Augusta (Shattuck) Bump. The name is derived from Boneloz of Normandy, a fief held from the Earl of Melleut, and the family Bompas, as the name came to be known in England. It has for centuries been conspicuously and widely in the legal annals of the country, and honorably mentioned in public affairs. It … Read more

Biography of Charles S. Ferry

CHARLES S. FERRY – The firm of Charles S. Ferry & Son, lumber dealers of Pittsfield, which has been conducting one of the largest concerns of its kind in Western Massachusetts, was established by the late Charles S. Ferry, in 1886. In the rapid growth of Pittsfield during the past years this firm played a most important part, because it supplied the lumber and the builders’ materials for much of the construction work that has been done in Pittsfield and the surrounding country. It is over three and a half decades since Charles S. Ferry took over the business from … Read more