History of Concord, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts United States of America

Frank Hagar Bigelow, scientist, was born at Concord, Mass., Aug. 28, 1851. He was graduated at Harvard university in 1873, and during the three following years was employed as assistant to Dr. B. A. Gould in the astronomical observatory at Cordoba, in the Argentine Republic; and in 1876 and 1877 was under Professor Newcomb at the U.S. naval observatory, Washington. Theological studies occupied him until 1880, when he was ordained to the priesthood of the Protestant Episcopal church, and became rector at Natick, Mass., but owing to a pulmonary difficulty he abandoned parish work. He was again at Cordoba in 1881-'83, permanently regaining his health in that interval; and for the following six years he was professor of mathematics and astronomy in Racine college, Wisconsin. In 1889, he entered the nautical almanac office in Washington under his former chief, Professor Newcomb, and was connected with the eclipse expedition to West Africa in that year. He invented an important process for taking star transits by photography, which has proved of great value to astronomers. In October, 1891, Mr. Bigelow was appointed to the newly created professorship of meteorology in the U.S. weather bureau. His most important paper is a "Monograph on the Solar Corona," published by the Smithsonian institution in 1889.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Charles Wilder Davis, soldier, was born in Concord, Mass., Oct. 11, 1833. He was educated in the public school, became a member of the 5th Massachusetts militia, and removed to Chicago, Ill., where he was employed in a book store, and in 1862 entered the volunteer army as captain in the 51st Illinois infantry. He was made adjutant of the regiment and was promoted to the rank of major in September, 1862. His first battle was at Island No. 10, and his next at Corinth. He was wounded at Murfreesboro, Dec. 31, 1862, and again at Chickamauga, Sept. 19, 1863. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel and was severely wounded at Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863, and confined in hospital for several months. He received promotion to the rank of colonel in May, 1865, and in the same month received the surrender of Gen. M. Jeff Thompson's army of Missouri of 7978 men. He was mustered out of the volunteer service in June, 1865, and returned to Chicago, where he was active as a member of the G.A.R, and of the Loyal legion. He was commander of the Illinois commandery of the Loyal legion at the time of his death, which occurred at Chicago, Ill., Dec. 16, 1898.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

George Frisbie Hoar, senator, was born in Concord, Mass., Aug. 29, 1826; son of Samuel and Sarah (Sherman) Hoar, and a direct descendant of John Hoar, son of Charles Hoare, sheriff of Gloucester, England. John Hoar emigrated to America, settled at Scituate on the "Coniliassett Grant." and removed to Concord about l660. George Frisbie Hoar was graduated at Harvard, A.B., 1846, and LL.B., 1849, and was a practising lawyer in Worcester, Mass., 1849-68. He was city solicitor, 1860; president of the board of trustees of the city library; a representative to the general court of Massachusetts, 1851; a member of the state senate, 1857, and a representative in the 41st, 42d, 43d and 44th congresses, 1869-77, declining a nomination for the 45th congress. He was president of the Massachusetts Republican state conventions of 1871, 1877, 1882 and 1885; a delegate to the Republican national conventions of 1876, 1880, 1884 and 1888, presiding over the convention of 1880, and serving as chairman of the Massachusetts delegations of 1880, 1884 and 1888. He succeeded George S. Boutwell as U.S. senator, March 5, 1877, and was re-elected in 1883, 1889, 1895 and 1901. While a representative Mr. Hoar was a member of the committee on education and labor, of the committee on election, of the committee on the judiciary, a manager of the impeachment of Secretary Belknap, and chairman of the special committee to investigate the claims of the rival state governments in Louisiana in December, 1876, and a member of the electoral commission of 1876. In the U.S. senate he was chairman of the committees on privileges and elections and the judiciary and a member of the committees on claims, civil service, engineering bills, library, Nicaragua claims and rules, and chairman of the select committees on woman suffrage and relations with Canada. He served as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution in 1880; president of the American Antiquarian society; trustee of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology; trustee of Leicester academy, of the Worcester Polytechnic institute and of Clark university, and a member of the Massachusetts Historical society, of the American Historical association, of which he was president, and of the New England Historic Genealogical society. He was overseer of Harvard university, 1873-79; received the degree of LL.D. from William and Mary in 1873, from Amherst in 1879, from Yale in 1885, and from Harvard in 1886, and was president of the Alumni association of Harvard university in 1900. He was married in 1853 to Mary Louisa, daughter of Samuel D. Spurr, of Worcester, Mass. She died in 1859, leaving a daughter and a son in 1862 he was married to Ruth Ann, daughter of Henry W. Miller, of Worcester. In 1898 President McKinley offered him the ambassadorship to England, to succeed John Hay, which offer he declined.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Sherman Hoar, representative, was born in Concord, Mass., July 30. 1860; son of Ebenezer Rockwood and Caroline (Brooks) Hoar; grandson of Samuel and Sarah (Sherman) Hoar, and of Nathan and Caroline (Downes) Brooks, and great grandson of Roger Sherman, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was directly descended froth Charles Hoar, whose widow, Johanna, with four children came to America from Gloucestershire, England, in 1640. He attended Phillips Exeter academy, and was graduated from Harvard in 1882, and from Harvard law school in 1885. He began to practise law in Boston in 1885, entered the firm of Storey, Thorndike & Hoar in 1886 and was a Democratic representative in the 52d congress, 1891-93. He was U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts, 1893-97, when he resumed his private practice of the law. He was married first, June 2, 1886, to Caroline Prescott Wood, who died in 1891, and secondly, Dec. 6, 1892, to Mary Buttrick, of Concord, Mass. He was representative in the Massachusetts Volunteer Aid society at the military camps during the Spanish-American war, and while thus engaged contracted typhoid fever. He died in Concord, Mass., Oct. 7, 1898.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Concord, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts

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