Biography and Genealogy of Western Massachusetts Collections – Page 6 of 11

Biography of Grover Chester Bowman

GROVER CHESTER BOWMAN – To be responsible for the proper and up-to-date management of modern schools, to endow them with an atmosphere which pervades both the teaching staff and the students, requires men of superior endowments who, as students have been in contact with high-class educational establishments of different types. In this respect Mr. Grover Chester Bowman, superintendent of schools of North Adams, has been singularly fortunate for having as a student, at a period of life when the mind is in a state for high receptivity and plasticity, come under the influence of the academic atmosphere of two of … Read more

Biography of Gracia Maria Peirce

GRACIA MARIA PEIRCE-The Peirce family, at least that branch of it which has been indigenous to New England soil for nearly three centuries, is believed to have descended from John Pers, who came from Norwich, Norfolk County, England, to New England in 1637, being accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth and their four children. They made the voyage either on the “John and Dorothy” of Norwich or the “Rose” of Yarmouth. A register of certain emigrants to New England has the following item: “April the 8th, 1637. The examination of John Pers, of Norwich, weaver, aged 49 years, and his wife, … Read more

Biography of Gordon Rollin Joslyn

No name is more prominently and actively associated with the automobile mercantile industry in Western Massachusetts than that of Mr. Joslyn, who is the executive head of the Franklin County Dealers’ Exchange, and who within a very few years has expanded the garage and agency interests of which he has charge throughout a territory that is not bounded by the county. Mr. Joslyn performs the business in which he has made himself a leader thoroughly and well, and centralizing his forces as president of the Joslyn Motor Company at Greenfield, he has found therein the rewards of a lifelong career … Read more

Biography of George S. Wickham, M.D.

GEORGE S. WICKHAM, M. D. – Bringing to his profession a large ability, supplemented by a tireless energy and directed by his splendid preparation, Dr. George S. Wickham, of Lee, stands among the noteworthy physicians of Berkshire County. Active in practice only since the recent war, Dr. Wickham has established his name in this section as that of a thoroughly able and forward looking professional man, and in his future his friends are confident that the community will be greatly benefited. Dr. Wickham is a son of Nicholas and Ellen (Smallwood) Wickham, his father died in February, 1g09, but his … Read more

Biography of George P. Dion

GEORGE P. DION – Many monuments to the artistic and architectural skill of George P. Dion engage the eye in Chicopee and vicinity. He has been closely identified with the various phases of building operations, inclusive of architecture, in his native city and elsewhere for more than forty years, and he takes rank as the oldest architect in point of, number of years of practice in Chicopee. He has attained not a little renown as the designer of many important structures in this section, chief among them, perhaps, in point of beauty, type and usefulness, being the new Church of … Read more

Biography of George Herbert Burnham

GEORGE HERBERT BURNHAM – Walter Le Veutre came to England at the time of the Conquest, in 1066, in the train of his cousin-german, Earl Warren, sonin-law of William the Conqueror. He was lord of the Saxon village of Burnham and others, and from Burnham, where he lived, he was known as De Bumham. He took his surname from this town. The name is often spelled Burnam, Bernam, and Barnham, as well as Burnham, and in the old Anglo-Saxon, Beornham, Byrnhom, and in other forms. In the old Norse the name is Bjorn, which in Anglo-Saxon is Beorn, and Burn … Read more

Biography of George Henry Fletcher

GEORGE HENRY FLETCHER – The name of Fletcher has been known in the United States since 1630, and has been borne by many prominent citizens, the Fletchers having generally been leading people in the various communities where they have dwelt. Originally the name was written Fledger, and was the name of the trade of the makers of arrows, or as some authorities think, of the affixing the feather to the arrow, fledging it. In French the word Flechier has also the same meaning, and some have inferred a French extraction. The traditions, however, all concur in making the early ancestors … Read more

Biography of George Henry Allyn

A resident of Holyoke, Hampden County, for more than half a century and prominently connected with his town’s great growth and development during that period, as one of its leading and most expert realtors, Mr. Allyn was a descendant of an old and historic Connecticut family of English extraction. The first member of the family to settle on Massachusetts, was his great-grandfather, David Allyn, born October 23, 1759, at Allyn’s Point, Connecticut, who came to Hampden County as a young man and settled on 1795 in Montgomery, which town, however, at that time was still part of Hampshire County. There … Read more

Biography of George Guy Ross

GEORGE GUY ROSS – To point with pride to the fact that the blood of King Charles I of Scotland on his paternal side, and of the royal Stuarts on his maternal side courses in his veins is the privilege and right of George G. Ross, well known and successful sporting goods dealer of Greenfield. But with equal pride does he point to the fact that of his more immediate forebears his father and grandfather were honest farmer folk, who were not ashamed to acknowledge that the earth yielded of her fruit to their labors whereby they were enabled to … Read more

Biography of George Gibert Tait

Vice-president of Tait Brothers, the large Springfield concern dealing in milk, cream, condensed milk and ice cream, is the third son of James and Mary Laurentine (Decatur) Tait. He was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts, November 5, 1872, and received his education in the schools of his native city. He was graduated from the grammar school and attended the high school for three years. Upon the completion of his studies he entered the employ of his uncle, George C. Tait, a milk dealer, with whom his brother, Harry J., was employed already, and has risen through successive posts to the vice-presidency … Read more

Biography of George Edward Reed

GEORGE EDWARD REED – Laundry interests in Western Massachusetts have a most satisfactory representative in the Amherst Laundry Company, of which George Edward Reed is the president, and whose prominent place in Amherst industry he was the means of securing, through a far-sighted and successful endeavor to establish an up-to-date plant. Mr. Reed is an expert man in his calling; he has spent practically all his career in the one line of business; and he is highly regarded by his associates and by the general public. He is of Vermont parentage and ancestry, his grandfather, David Swan Reed, a farmer, … Read more

Biography of George Edward Adams

GEORGE EDWARD ADAMS, president, treasurer, and general manager of the H. K Smith Company, of Springfield, engaged in selling the Ford automobiles and tractors and the Lincoln car, also a Ford product, is the head of one of the most successful concerns with regard to sales and equipment, for his offices, show rooms and service station are among the most completely equipped in Western Massachusetts. Mr. Adams was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, December 8, 1880. His father was Le Roy Franklin Adams, and his mother Ella (Crosby) Adams. The branch of the Adams family to which he belongs is one … Read more

Biography of George Eberlein

GEORGE EBERLEIN-For generations the Eberlem family in Germany has maintained the Eberlein Blacksmith Shops, which were founded by one of their forebears in 1788. Every generation has produced one sturdy and efficient blacksmith, who loves his trade and manages the shops so well that their excellent reputation continues. George Eberlein himself began to learn smithing when he was ten years old, and had mastered it by his fourteenth year with German thoroughness, and he has greatly benefited by his knowledge since he came to America. William Eberlein, his grandfather, died in Germany in 5876. His son, William Eberlein, was born … Read more

Biography of George Brown Waterman

GEORGE BROWN WATERMAN, postmaster of Williamstown, is a descendant of an old and prominent Massachusetts family, his paternal great-grandfather, John Waterman, who was born in Coventry, Rhode Island, May 18, 1755, came to Cheshire, Massachusetts, in the latter part of 1776 or 1777. During the first and second years of the Revolutionary War he was a sailor or privateersman annoying the commerce of Great Britain. After coming to Massachusetts he made his home for two years in the family of Captain Daniel Brown, remaining there in the absence of the captain while he was in command of his company at … 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 Frederick Bridgman Shaw

FREDERICK BRIDGMAN SHAW, farmer, of South Amherst, Massachusetts, was born April 16, 1876. The family to which he belongs is one of the oldest and most noted in New England. (I) The immigrant ancestor was Abraham Shaw, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1636. He was admitted as a freeman, March 9, 1636-37, and at the time was a proprietor of Watertown. When his house there was burned down in October, 1636, he moved to Dedham. He signed the famous compact, and was elected, September 6, 1638, a constable of Dedham. Abraham Shaw moved to Cambridge, where he became a … Read more

Biography of Frederic H. Rhodes

FREDERIC H. RHODES – From junior clerk to president of a large insurance concern, and owing his promotion to nothing else but inherent capacity and gifts of an exceptionally high kind coupled with energy, perseverance and tenacity in following a certain guiding line, such is in brief the career of Frederic H. Rhodes, president of the Berkshire Life Insurance Company of No. 7 North Street, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Frederic H. Rhodes is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was born July 14, 1878, a son of Robert M. and Mary S. (Witherspoon) Rhodes. He received his education in the public … Read more

Biography of Fred M. Myers

FRED M. MYERS – The large service to his profession that Mr. Myers has rendered during his practice of the law, which has been for the most part at Pittsfield, has requited him with such returns as satisfactory clientage, and thorough and skillful performance of duty secure for their devotee. As a general practitioner, and in his present popular partnership, Mr. Myers is accorded place with the advancing group of attorneys in this part of the State who grace and honor their profession with unvarying maintenance of established high standards. He is a son of Henry W. and Jennie M. … Read more

Biography of Frebun Elwin White

FREBUN ELWIN WHITE – The immigrant ancestor of this family, Captain Thomas White, is believed to have come to America with Captain Gorges, in 1623 as the latter came to Weymouth, Massachusetts, in that year. Captain Thomas White was born in England and died in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1679. He was admitted a freeman March 3, 1635, and lived in Weymouth the rest of his life. He was deputy to the General Court from 1637 to 1657, and again in 1671, and held other offices of trust and responsibility. His children, born at Weymouth: Joseph, Hannah, Samuel, Thomas, Ebenezer, of … Read more

Biography of Frank Whitman Roberts

FRANK WHITMAN ROBERTS – The surname Roberts is frequently encountered in the early records of New England. There were Revolutionary soldiers, farmers, business men, and seafaring men of that name, and their progeny is today scattered over the land, while many descendants of the older settlers of the name still adhere to the original soil. The seafaring men of generations past in New England were venturesome and enterprising persons, some of them whalers, others traders with the West Indies, whose islands then had even more glamorous and romantic atmospheres than they have today, although they are still glamorous and romantic. … Read more