•THE RETR0SPP:CT OF THE YEAR. 171 



Board, af'ler that position was created. His Services were 

 of such great vahie to the city, that he had been, on 

 several occasioiis, besoiight to accept the nomiiiation of 

 the mayoralty, hut steadily declined its acceptance. 



He was President of the Merchaiits' National Bank, of 

 Salem, vice president of the Salem Savings Bank, a trus- 

 tee of the Salem Hospital, chairman of the standing 

 committee of the First (Unitarian) Chnrch, one of the 

 original trustees of the Salem Pubh'c Library, elected by 

 the city Council, Feb. 26, 1888. His was the iirst death 

 in that Board. He was largely instrumental in the con- 

 summation of the arrangements by which the Bertram 

 estate was deeded to the city, for a public purpose, and 

 manifested great interest in this embryo Institution, and 

 his loss was severely feit by his associates ; he also ex- 

 pressed a like degree of interest in the proposed memorial 

 to the patriotic dead of Salem, a few years since, making 

 at the time a muniticent ofler to share in the expense, but 

 the city Council failed to adopt the idea, and the matter 

 was dropped. 



A member of the Finance Committee of the Essex 

 Institute since 1879, he took an active part in the purchase 

 of the Daland house and htting the same for the arrange- 

 ment of its library and various coUections. Mr. Emmer- 

 ton was a man of independence, of great firmness and 

 decision of character, of marked integrity and uprightness 

 as a Citizen, and was greatly respected by those associated 

 with him in trusts and business affairs generally. 



Admitted to membership, July 1, 1878. 



James Arthur Emmerton died on Monday evening, De- 

 cember 31, 1888, aftera short illness at his home, in Salem. 

 It is a noteworthy circumstance that this is the second some- 

 what sudden death that has occurred in the Board of Trus- 



ESSKX INST. BULLETIN, VOL. XXI 12 



