Congregational church

Biography of Isaac Burrows Snow

ISAAC BURROWS SNOW – Forty years of experience in the insurance business, preceded by several years of pioneer railroading in the West, represents the experience of Isaac Burrows Snow, who is now living retired in Bernardston. Mr. Snow is a member of the Mayflower Society, being a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster, and of Stephen Hopkins, of the “Mayflower.” Nicholas Snow, the immigrant ancestor of Mr. Snow’s line, came to Plymouth in the ship “Ann” in 1623, and had a share in the division of land in Plymouth in 1624. In 1634 he settled in Eastham, Massachusetts, where he … Read more

Biography of Joseph Huntoon

Joseph Huntoon, deceased, a native of Hanover, New Hampshire, was born April 17, 1812, and came to Illinois in 1837, and settled at Andover Heights. Shortly afterwards he went to what is now called Richland Grove Township, where he was united to Miss Sylvia Tanneg in marriage also a native of New Hampshire, having been born at New Ipswick October 22, 1822. Joseph Huntoon only had a common school education and at an early age learned the shoemaker’s trade. In 1844 he and Mrs. Huntoon took up their residence in Moline and he was the first shoemaker of that place, … Read more

Biography of Luke E. Hemenway

Mr. Luke E. Hemenway, father of Charles, F., was born in Shoreham, Vermont, August 7, 1816. His father was Francis S., born at Grafton, Massachusetts, January 23, 1784, and his mother was Clara Turrill, born in the year 1786. He was a direct descendant of Ralph Hemenway and Elizabeth Hewes, who were married at Roxbury, Massachusetts, July 5, 1634. He received a common school education at Shoreham, Vermont. Leaving home at the age of thirteen, he worked in a store at Bethel, Vermont, until the year 1838, when he removed to Grand de Tour, Illinois, where he married Jane E. … Read more

Biography of John Deere

No citizen in Rock Island County, or throughout the country, was probably more widely known than John Deere of Moline. He was born at Rutland, Vermont, February 7, 1804, and died May 17, 1886. 1805 the family moved to Middlebury, Vermont, where the children attended school in a district schoolhouse, which had a long fire place across the end of the room. The reading, writing and little arithmetic obtained here, before he was twelve years old, was the principal educational start Mr. Deere had for life. He afterwards attended private school for a few months, but the inborn inclination for … Read more

Biography of Patterson S. McGlynn

Patterson S. McGlynn, one of the proprietors of the Daily Dispatch, was born in Connecticut in 1850, of Irish parentage. He was educated by his father to read and write and to be appalled by the multiplication table before being sent to country schools in Iowa, commencing at Washington in the State named, “graduating” to a printing office when he was thirteen years old, and then at the age of sixteen going back to school in the old stone school in Davenport, where his printing-office education raced him through to graduation to the high school. But his education may be … Read more

Biographical Sketch of De Witt Clinton Dimock

This pioneer Moline business man and sterling citizen was born October 1, 1820, at Wellington, Connecticut. He came west and located at Geneseo, Illinois. in 1840, taking up his residence in Moline in 1843. His activities as a manufacturer began in 1852 when he formed a partnership with Judge John M. Gould for the making of furniture and wooden ware. On the incorporation of the firm of Dimock, Gould & Company, in 1869, he was elected its president. This position he held till 1884, when he retired from the head of the concern, retaining his connection through the office of … Read more

Biography of Thomas M. Sechler

Moline is a city of manufacturers, one of the most prominent of whom is the subject of this sketch, Thomas M. Sechler. He was born October 25, 1841, in Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, at which place his father, D. M. Sechler, at that time conducted a carriage factory. His father, Daniel Montgomery Sechler, was born at Danville, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1818, and his mother, Pamela (Mackey) Sechler, was born in Rutland Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, December 19, 1819. She is still living at her home in Cincinnati, Ohio. T. M. Sechler’s paternal great-great-great grandfather came from Holland in 1685, together … Read more

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 Arthur Berkmere Richards

ARTHUR BERKMERE RICHARDS, inheritor of a vast meat trade, and in later years a dairy farmer at Amherst, Massachusetts, was born in Cummington, Connecticut, May 23, 1864. The name he bears is one of the names of Welsh origin widely known and prominent in the United States, which originated in making a surname from the possessive form of the father’s name. It signifies Richard’s son. At least seventeen different coats-of-arms belong to the different branches of the family. A manor at Caernwyck, Marioneth County, Wales, was inherited by Sir Richard Richards, president of the House of Lords, and Lord Chief … Read more

Biography of Alexander Montgomery

ALEXANDER MONTGOMERY – Unique among the business institutions of Hadley, Massachusetts, is the Montgomery Company Incorporated, rose growers, the firm consisting of Alexander Montgomery, president, and his two sons, Alexander William Montgomery, general manager, and Robert James Montgomery, treasurer. Each of these three men has a long record of experience behind him, and the concern, which has been deservedly successful, holds a place of high honor in the trade and has frequently been represented on the officers’ lists of florists’ organizations. The Montgomerys are descendants of an old Scotch family with a tradition of farming and gardening that goes back … Read more

Biography of Samuel Partridge Billings

SAMUEL PARTRIDGE BILLINGS, as deputy collector of internal revenue for Franklin and Hampshire counties, is rendering efficient service in local public office. Mr. Billings traces his descent from Richard Billings, who was in Hartford, Connecticut, with his wife, Margery, in 1640. He removed to Hatfield, Massachusetts, in 1661, and died there March 3, 1679. The line descends through their son, Samuel Billings, who married Sarah Fellows, daughter of Richard and Ursula Fellows. Their son, Samuel Billings, who married Hannah Church. Their son, Fellows Billings, born February 15, 1704, died June 29, 1784; removed to Conway during the Revolutionary War, in … Read more

Biography of Edward Parsons Swan

EDWARD PARSONS SWAN – Many years of success in a prosperous business enterprise have fairly earned for Edward Parsons Swan a place among the well-established manufacturers of Western Massachusetts. Mr. Swan is a descendant of an old New England family of English ancestry, which traces its origin back to a Dane of noble ancestry. The Swans have possessed land in the counties of Kent and Derby since the Norman Conquest, their possessions in the first named county including the manors of Swanscombe, Densted, Sutton, and Denton. Immigrants of the name came to New England at an early date, and their … Read more

Biography of Dr. John Hallam Roberts

DR. JOHN HALLAM ROBERTS – A man of fine education and scientific in the practice of his profession, that of a veterinarian, Dr. Roberts is one of the highly esteemed residents of Northampton, Massachusetts. His forebears are from English stock. Edward Roberts, the great-grandfather of Dr. Roberts, was born in England. He came to the province of Quebec, Canada, in 1816, and his wife’s name was Hallam. His son, Samuel Roberts, was born in England in 1800, and died in Canada in the province of Quebec, in 1898, aged ninety-eight years. He was the eldest child of his parents, and … Read more

Biography of James Neild

JAMES NEILD – The Neild family came from the North of England. Thomas Neild, a native of Halifax, Yorkshire, England, a stone cutter by trade, now living in Jamestown, New York, was born on February 9, 1854, and came to America in 1882, locating first at Albion, New York, where he procured work in his trade. He later moved to HoVey, New York, and in 1893 came to Holyoke, Massachusetts, and entered the mill of the American Thread Company, working there for four years. After this he returned for a time to England, but later came back to America and … Read more

Biography of Ansel Clark Ernest Stimson

ANSEL CLARK ERNEST STIMSON – The Stimson family were settlers in the State of Vermont for generations before one of their members came to Massachusetts and founded a large family. (I) Charles Stimson came from Dunnerstown, Vermont, to Northfield, Massachusetts. He was a cooper by trade and died in Northfield. He married Anna Robbins, and their children were: 1. Lucy. 2. Lydia. 3. William 4. Polly. 5. Charles Ezra. 6. Jonathan. 7. Royal E. 8. Sarah. 9. Lucius, of further mention. (II) Lucius Stimson was a native of Northfield, where he was born in 1825, and died at Erving, in … Read more

Biography of Rufus Walker

Rufus Walker, one of the most extensive fuel dealers in Moline, was born in Williamstown, Orange County, Vermont, December 10, 1839, his parents being Rufus and Susan Walker. Eleven children, seven boys and four girls, were born to this couple. The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, died December 22, 1839, when the subject of this sketch, the youngest of the large family, was only twelve days old. The seven sons all learned the same trade as the father, that of shoemaking. Rufus Walker obtained a common school education in Williamstown, and in November, 1860, he left his native … Read more

Biography of Henry A. Ainsworth

Henry A. Ainsworth, president of the Moline Trust and Savings Bank, and president of the Williams & White Company, manufacturers of steam hammers and other special tools, is classed among the truly representative citizens of Moline, and dates his residence there since 1870. He is a native of Vermont, born in Williamstown, September 28, 1833. His father, Calvin Ainsworth, was also a native of Vermont, born in Brookfield, but in early life moved to Williamstown, where for fifty years he was a general merchant, well and favorably known in all that section of the country. He married Miss Laura Lynde, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Harry Ainsworth

Among the leading manufacturers of Moline, Illinois, is Mr. Harry Ainsworth, vice-president of Williams, White & Company, manufacturers of heavy machine tools. Mr. Ainsworth was born at Geneseo, Illinois, May 9, 1862. He is the son of Henry A. Ainsworth (whose biography appears in this book) and Sarah A., his wife. He was educated in Oberlin College (class of 1884) and Harvard Law School (class of 1887). Although admitted to the bar of the State of Illinois, Mr. Ainsworth never practiced, but instead entered the office of Williams, White & Company with his father, where he has continued ever since … Read more

Biography of Stephen Henry Velie

The City of Moline owes its prominence throughout the United States, and in fact, throughout the entire civilized world, chiefly to its manufactories. And to Stephen Henry Velie, deceased, who, during his life, was conspicuously identified with several of that city’s leading manufacturing establishments, Moline is greatly indebted for the preeminence she now maintains in industrial enterprise. Mr. Velie was born April 21, 1830, near Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York, his boyhood, until he arrived at the age of fifteen years, being spent upon his father’s farm in that county. During this period he attended the public schools of … Read more

Biography of Hon. J. A. Strowbridge

HON. J.A. STROWBRIDGE. – Mr. Strowbridge, universally known as one of the leading business men and philanthropists of Portland, Oregon, was born in 1835 in Monteur county, Pennsylvania. With his parents he early made a home in Ohio, receiving the substantial home training of very careful christian parents, and gained thereby the habits of thrift, industry and enterprise which have made him uninterruptedly successful through life. He was also afforded excellent advantages at school, and prepared himself to enter the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware Ohio, with a view to studying law. When but a lad of fourteen he was … Read more