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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April 1, 1912. 



Obituary Record. 



A PEESONAl ESTIMATE OF HENRY C. MORSE. 



MK. ;\IORSE was almost the last of a brilliant coterie of 

 typical New England business men, whose interests cen- 

 tered about the rubber trade. Although competitors 

 oftentimes, thej' knew each other intimately, lunched together at 

 the Trade Club, attended meetings of "Rubber Manufacturers 

 Mutual," were cordial supporters of the Rubber Club, and ad- 

 dressed each other by their tirst names in the most democratic 

 and intimate fashion. They knew each other's strength and 

 weakness to the last detail. They fought out points of business 

 ethics with the give and take of strangers. Then in time of 

 stress turned to and helped each other with money, advice and 

 influence. With it all a strong current of loyalty to each other, 

 and a desire for the good of the trade at large, were ever present. 



Of this circle not the least interesting personality was Henry 

 C. Morse. He was a small man physically, compactly built, 

 alert, always genial, and at his best surcharged with vitality. 

 Perhaps his most remarkable characteristic was that of being 

 able to bear up under long-continued adversity and to present 

 always a smiling face to friend, foe and circumstance. That he 

 would not be ultimately successful, or that his policies would 

 fail, did not seem to occur to him ; and the history of the com- 

 pany of which he was for so many years the active head amply 

 justified him in his faith. It was under his guidance, and while 

 he was still at the helm, that it shook off its burden of indebted- 

 ness and became at once a great success and a monument to his 

 ability. Perhaps it was the strain of those long years of con- 

 stant and anxious endeavor that, once success was assured, 

 dimmed the brilliant intellect, fettered the cool judgment and 

 shadowed the keen memory. 



The last years of his life, passed in the companionship of a 

 devoted wife, with everything that wealth could afford, were by 

 no means unhappy. Indeed, just the reverse was true. To the 

 last he was friendly, contented and free from pain. 



Those who knew him best, however, love to remember him as 

 he sat in his Franklin street office, his desk clear of papers, no 

 matter how great the press of business, fully in touch with every 

 detail, and yet unhurried, with ample time for friendly jest, 

 anecdote or business conference, and with it all ready and even 

 eager to help any and all who came to him for advice or comfort. 



A strong man was Henry C. Morse and a successful one. He 

 jested over his own adversities, but those of others received his 

 most serious and sympathetic attention. The memory of the man 

 will long be preserved by those who knew him, and, in the silent 

 watches, the kindly, friendly, helpful presence will often be 

 recalled. 



THOMAS MARTIN. 



When the funeral of the late Thomas Martin was held, on the 

 afternoon of March 10, in the Horace Memorial Free Baptist 

 Church in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the great company of people 

 who attended the services, filling the church and overflowing 

 into the streets, showed by its diversified character the many- 

 sided interests that filled Mr. Martin's life. There were mem- 

 bers of Congress, mayors of cities, bankers, manufacturers, and 

 hundreds of mill operatives. 



Mr. Martin died, after an illness extending over seven or eight 

 months, on the evening of March 7, at his home in Winchester, 

 Massachusetts, whither he moved, from his former home in 

 Chelsea, about five years ago. For forty years he had been 

 closely identified with the business, civic, social and religious 

 life of Chelsea. 



He was born in Countesthorpe, Leicestershire. England, August 

 2, 1838. At the age of 12 he was apprenticed to a manufacturer 

 of elastic fabric. He served an apprenticeship for seven years; 



and in 1S05, at the age of 23. he was engaged by an .American 

 syndicate to come to this country and take charge of the only 

 mill in the United States at that time making elastic fabrics, 

 which was situated at Easthampton, Massachusetts. Three years 

 later he went to Chelsea, and became superintendent of the mill 

 of the Boston Fabric Co., now known as the Revere Rubber Co. 

 He remained with that corporation nine years, and in 1874, being 

 joined by his brother William T., who had just come from Eng- 

 land, he opened an elastic fabric mill in Chelsea, under the name 

 of T. Martin & Brother Manufacturing Co. The business extended 

 until, at the time of Mr. Martin's death, the company had five 

 mills in Chelsea and two in Lowell, employing, all told, 600 hands. 



His manufacturing business, however, did not engross his entire 

 attention. A quarter of a century ago, he founded the Provident 

 Co-operative Bank in Chelsea and was president until his death. 

 For seven years he was president of the First National Bank of 

 Chelsea and a trustee of the Chelsea Savings Bank, vice-president 

 of the Frost Hospital and a trustee of Bates College at Lewiston, 

 Maine. 



In politics he was a Republican, and was elected repeatedly 

 to positions in the Chelsea Common Council, and the Board of 

 Aldermen, and also served a term in the Legislature. He was 

 keenly interested in the "No license" cause and contributed gen- 

 erously to it. He was exceedingly active in religious work. The 

 Horace Memorial, now used as a place of worship by the Chelsea 

 Free Baptists, was erected by Mr. Martin in memory of his eld- 

 est son, who died in his twenty-first year in 1885. Mr. Martin 

 is survived by his widow, a son, Bertram T., of Chelsea, and two 

 daughters, Mrs. Albert W. Fitz and Mrs. Ethel S. Brierley, both 

 of London. 



MRS. J. VAN rUSSEN REED. 



jMrs. J. \'an Dussen Reed died in Paris, France, on March 14, 

 1912. 



Soon after the death of her husband, the late John \'an Dussen 

 Reed, who died in 1892, Mrs. Reed was elected to succeed Mr. 

 Reed as president of the Eureka Fire Hose Co., and remained in 

 that position as the nominal head of that company until 1906, the 

 actual management of the business being vested in B. L. Stowe 

 as vice-president, and George A. Wies, as treasurer. 



Mrs. Reed (Mary L. Mitchill) was born in Union Square, New 

 York, and was a daughter of the late Samuel L. Mitchill, who 

 during his life was at the head of the Savannah Steamship Co. 

 Mr. Mitchill died in 1873, leaving as his survivors a widow, son 

 and three daughters, all of whom are now deceased, a sister's 

 death having preceded Mrs. Reed's by but a few weeks. Two 

 married daughters survive Mrs. Reed. 



P. M. S. BHODIE. 



News is received of the death of P. M. S. Brodie, manager of 

 the works of the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph 

 Works Co., Limited, Silvertown, London, England, who had 

 filled that position for over 11 years, having, however, for many 

 years previous been connected with the company in minor po- 

 sitions. He started as assistant at the Sheffield branch, and by 

 reason of his conscientious service worked his way rapidly up 

 to the important office which he held at the time of his death. 

 He was a man of fine business capacity and of a genial, at- 

 tractive personality. 



FKEDEEICK H. NAZRO. 



Frederick H, Nazro, at one time the best known auctioneer in 

 the shoe trade, died suddenly at Palm Beach, March 5, aged 66 

 years. Mr. Nazro was born in Boston, the son of a prosperous 



