Page:One of a thousand.djvu/479

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PARTRIDGE. PATTERSON. 465 His early educational advantages were meagre, and limited to six weeks' schooling every winter until he was sixteen, working the remainder of the time at his father's trade, that of blacksmith, until twenty years of age. Selling goods another year for his brother brought him to his majority, when he started business on his own ac- count. His first venture was to hire a horse and wagon by the day, purchase a barrel of honey, and retail it by the pound ; in three days all was sold. He next purchased a horse and wagon, and bought and sold other useful articles, until at length he es- tablished a business route from Gardner to HORACE PARTRIDGE. Greenfield, along the line of the Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad, which was then (1847) in the course of construction, mak- ing his headquarters at Athol. Mr. Partridge was married in Gill, June 17, 1847, to Martha Ann, daughter of Sam- uel and Livia (Rawson) Stratton. Of this union were three children : Jennie Lind (now Mrs. Benjamin F. Hunt, Jr.), Frank Pierce, and Nellie Rosalie Partridge (now Mrs. W. E. Nickerson). Mr. Partridge resided at Athol a short time after his marriage, and then removed to Boston and engaged, first in the dry- goods and millinery, then a few years in the auction business, and later in jobbing and retailing fancy-goods, notions, etc. The rapid and uniform growth of business compelled him, from time to time, to seek larger and more commodious quarters. His son-in-law, Benjamin F. Hunt, and his son, Frank P. Partridge, are now part- ners in the firm, under the name of Horace Partridge & Co., and a new and large es- tablishment on Lincoln Street, Boston, has been erected to meet the demands of the legitimate growth of their trade, now re- quiring the chartering of several steamers each year to supply the immense quantity of toys and fancy-goods which are im- ported. Their retail trade is supplied at the old premises, 55 Hanover Street, with branch stores at 499 Washington Street and 57 Temple Place, while the importing and wholesale business is located at the new store, 63 to 97 Lincoln Street, with sample rooms at 148 and 150 Wabash Ave- nue, Chicago, and 12 Park Place, New York City. Mr. Partridge has been a large dealer in real estate, and has owned and built about three score dwelling-houses. He has thoroughly domestic tastes, and what little time he can spare from his busi- ness he devotes to the embellishment of his grounds and dispensing the hospitality of his home. He resides on North Avenue, Cambridge, where he has. built pleasant residences adjoining his own for each of his married children. He is a great lover of fruit and flower culture, and has long been a member of the Massachusetts Hor- ticultural Society. He is an exceptionally busy man, working from sixteen to eigh- teen hours per day, personally closing his office at night ; has not been sick for over a quarter of a century; and has never, dur- ing his business life, taken a vacation. He has avoided the allurements of politics, and the only organization he has consented to join has been that of the Ancient and Hon- orable Artillery Company. PATTERSON, ADONIRAM JUDSON, son of James and Nancy (Holt) Patterson, was born in Spring township, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, April 3, 1S27. On his father's side he is of Scotch-Irish an- cestry ; on his mother's side English — descended from Sir Thomas and Sir John Holt, who figured conspicuously just be- fore and during the reign of William III. His father, a man of learning and in early life a teacher, took personal charge of his education. The schools did something for him — his father did more. Cut off in early manhood from college privileges by