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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
A
DESCRIPTIVE AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
BRISTOL COUNTY
MASSACHUSETTS
PREPARED AND PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
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THE
FALL RIVER NEWS
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AND
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THE
TAUNTON GAZETTE
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WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
HON. ALANSON BORDEN
OF NEW BEDFORD
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THE BOSTON HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
1899
PART II
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Captain Herbert A. Clark
CAPT. HERBERT ALLEN CLARK, of Attleborough, whd holds the position of regimental
quartermaster in the United States volenteer army, is the only surviving son of Samuel W. and Charity H. (Cushman)
Clark, and was born in Middleboro, Mass., Feb. 22, 1859. He is descended from the earliest Puritan stock, his maternal
ancestor being Robert Cushman, the financial agent of the Plymouth Colony, who joined the Pilgrims in New England
in 1621. His paternal ancestor, John Clark, came to Plymouth about 1623, and besides these Captain Clark is related
by ancestral ties to several of the prominent families of the Massachusetts settlements, including that of Gov.
William Bradford. His grandfathers, Abisha T. Clark and Elias Cushman, were both respected farmers of Middleborough,
where his father, Samuel W., followed the occupation of carpenter and builder until his death in 1883, at the age
of sixty-two. His mother, Charity H. Cushman Clark, still survives.
Captain Clark was educated in the Middleboro public and high schools, graduating from the latter in 1876. On the
31st of January, 1877, he went to Attleborough, Bristol county, and entered the jewelry mannfactory of Horton,
Angell & Co., with which firm he has ever since been connected. This widely known firm was established in 1870
by Edwin J. and Gideon M. Horton and Benjamin J. Angell, under the present style of Horton, Angell & Co., and
from the first has been successfully engaged in the manufacture of men's and women's gold plated goods, such as
cuff and collar buttons, sets, etc., from the first quality rolled-gold plate. It has gained a national reputation
for the high standard and artistic workmanship of its product. As an apprentice during a period of a little more
than three and one-half years Captain Clark thoroughly mastered every detail and acquired a practical knowledge
of the business, and in the autumn of 1880 was made superintendent. He filled this position for several years,
becoming a partner in the firm on the 1st of January, 1886. Edwin J. Horton had died and had been succeeded by
Major Everett S. Horton, his brother, whose sketch appears in this volume; Mr. Angell and Gideon M. Horton died
in 1886, but the firm name has remained unchanged, the present partners being Major E. S. Horton, Capt. Herbert
A. Clark, and Thomas
S. Carpenter.
In politics Captain Clark is a staunch Republican, yet he has never sought nor ac‰epted public office. He has,
however, been somewhat active in local political affairs and is now (1898) a member of the Republican town committee
of Attleborough. He is one of the most public spirited of citizens, taking a deep interest in all matters affecting
the community at large, and liberally supporting every movement which promises reasonable benefit and general good.
As a business man he has displayed ability and sagacity of a high order, and is a director of the Attleborough
Savings and Loan Association and of the Attleborough Mutual Fire Insurance Company.
Captain Clark has been prominently and actively connected with muitary affairs during the past eleven years. He
became a member and sergeant of Co. I, 5th Regt. M. V. M., at its organization in 1887, and was elected second
lieutenant in 1889, first lieutenant in 1892, and captain in 1895. In 1897 he was appointed inspector of rifle
practice on the staff of Col. J. H. Whitney. The war between Spain and the United States brought him into the volunteer
army as quartermaster of his regiment, which was mustered in as the 5th Mass. Vol. Inf., being appointed quartermaster
and mustered into service June 23, 1898. Captain Clark is a thorough soldier, an excellent disciplinarian, and
popular with his officers and men. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, holding membership in Ezekiel Bates Lodge,
King Hiram Chapter, and Attleborough Council, of Attleborough; in Bristol Commandery, K. T., of North Attleborough;
in Aleppo Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston; and in the Scottish Rite bodies to and including the
thirty-second degree, which were conferred upon him at Providence, R. I., in 1896. He is also a member of Orient
Lodge and Gideon M. Horton Encampment, I. 0. 0. F., and of Pennington Lodge, A. 0. U. W., all of Attleborough.
He is unmarried.
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