Harriet Nevins
Encyclopedia
Harriet Francoeur Nevins née
Blackburn, (1841–1929) (her name also appears in print as "Harriette"), was an American philanthropist and animal rights activist born in Roxbury, Massachusetts
. Widow of David Nevins, Jr.
, she used her inheritance to leave a legacy to the people of the Bay State. She died November 14, 1929 at her home in Methuen, Massachusetts
.
, was born in Bradford, England
, there he learned the trade of mill machining. At nineteen he was part of a group of men sent to the United States to work in the developing industry. He worked at the mills in Webster, Massachusetts
and in the Fitchburg
Duck Mills. He married Nancy Hill Bugbee of Wrentham
and they had three children: George, William Henry, and Harriet. By 1861, Blackburn had partnered with David Nevins, Sr.
to rebuild the recently destroyed Pemberton Mill
in Lawrence, Massachusetts
.
In April 1862, 18 year-old Harriet married 22 year-old David Nevins, Jr.
David Jr. and his brother increased the Nevins family fortune in the industrial boom of the late 19th century, and the couple moved to South Framingham.
Unfortunately none of their children survived to adulthood, but the couple did act as a guardian to a boy named Hiram Appleman, who later became a minister and adopted a young girl; Elise Nevins would later marry William Finley Morgan of Boston and go on to author books of a religious nature.
In 1894 David Nevins, Jr. built an elegant colonial revival shingle–style home on Nantucket for their summer retreat.
David Nevins, Sr. passed away in 1881, and in 1890 Harriet and David, Jr. moved to Boston to live with his mother, Eliza. For five years, the couple took care of Eliza in her Beacon Street home, but in 1895 the 78 year-old matron died. Three years later in 1898 David Jr. died while on a trip to Europe, leaving a 57 year-old Harriet a wealthy widow. Shortly afterward Harriet moved to the family farm in Methuen, which sister-in-law Julia had left after her husband Henry Nevin
’s death in 1892.
Mrs. Nevins spent the next thirty years socially active and involved with many organizations, donating to worthy causes such as the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Boston Children's Mission and the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies (female branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
).
On November 14, 1929, at 88 Harriet died quietly at her home in Methuen, Massachusetts
, after a lengthy illness, the last twelve months almost entirely at her estate. It is said her death was hastened by that of her beloved chauffeur John G Kilmurray who was struck by a drunk driver on Christmas eve of 1928 while delivering Mrs. Nevins' Yuletide remembrances.
In her will, Mrs. Nevins left money to all her favorite organizations, including the Animal League of Boston, the Red Acre Farm of Stow, and the Ladies Union Charitable Society which operated the Lawrence General Hospital. She also left $2,500 to both towns of Methuen and Walpole to fund the construction of fountains for horses and dogs; the bowl of the Methuen fountain remains in the Methuen Square and is used as a planter and the Walpole fountain is now dry but still stands on School Street opposite the old Stone School (now Walpole Town Hall).
, in 1916 Mrs. Nevins commissioned and donated a specially designed motorized horse ambulance. Built at the Garford Truck
factory and designed by the Monahan Vehicle Company, Providence, R. I., Mrs Nevins commissioned it when after "witnessing the removal of an injured horse in one of the society’s horse-drawn ambulances [she] decided that a more effective method of transferring injured equines might be perfected." Constructed on a Garford one-ton-truck chassis, it had a four-cylinder engine, pneumatic front tires and solid rear tires, as well as headlamps and adjustable lamps of the type found on fire engines. The cab was fitted with a glass windshield and side curtains completely enclosing the driver. The ambulance was a trailer with floor inclined towards the rear, allowing the entrance to be near to the ground, with the loading gate forming a ramp. The body was equipped with top and side curtains to give protection from bad weather. The cost is estimated to have been about $5,000.
In 1917, Harriet Nevins donated the rolling pastures of her farm to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals so that it could be used as a rest home for horses and other unwanted or abandoned animals. The donation was accompanied by a $5,000 bequest toward building construction and the purchase of necessary farm implements and machinery.
First known as "The Rest Home", the property was used for retired police horses and for other horses who worked on the then-cobblestone streets of Boston. Arrangements made with horse owners allowed horses that were still working animals to spend time grazing and relaxing in the pastures. A common agreement was one in which horses would rotate between spending a month on the farm and a month in Boston working.
Now known as Nevins Farm and Equine Center
, the farm is still operated by the MSPCA-Angell
and is the only open-door horse and farm animal rescue center in New England. Part of the 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) property is devoted to the Hillside Acre Animal Cemetery, a 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) pet cemetery of landscaped hillside surround by a tall iron fence.
was built in 1883 as gift from the Nevins family to the City of Methuen to honor David Nevins, Sr.
, Harriet Nevins' father-in-law.
For many years Mrs. Nevins was the chairman of the Library's Board of Trustees, repeatedly giving gifts of funds to expand the collection.
From 1908's Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts:
In 1917 Mrs. Nevins purchased the house next to the library at 299 Broadway which had been assessed at $500; she transferred the house and land to the Nevins Memorial Library the following year. The house became for many years the home of the Methuen Historical Commission. The original building was razed in 1999 and the historical collection moved to the basement of the Masonic Lodge for storage until a more permanent facility can be located.
The Nevins Memorial Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1984. The library is the custodian of the Nevins Memorial Library Historic Collection, much of which is in storage and for which viewing appointments should be made. The collection includes manuscripts and printed materials, family history resources, vital records, assorted objets d'art and collectables, life-sized portraits of Nevins family members, and the stained-glass windows of the library itself.
In her 1929 will, Mrs. Nevins donated $50,000 for the erection of a public building in Walpole, Massachusetts
as a memorial
to her parents, as her father had once lived and done business in Walpole. Blackburn Memorial Building (more commonly known as "Blackburn Hall") was designed by the architectural firm of Putnam & Cox Company of Boston, built by the F.J. Tetreault Company of Walpole, and dedicated in 1932. The red brick building, which features a neo-classical façade with whitewashed columns, is still owned by the Town of Walpole and is used for a variety of activities throughout the year including children's theater productions.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Blackburn, (1841–1929) (her name also appears in print as "Harriette"), was an American philanthropist and animal rights activist born in Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
. Widow of David Nevins, Jr.
David Nevins, Jr.
David C. Nevins, Jr. was a wealthy Yankee merchant in the city of Methuen, Massachusetts during the industrial boom of the late 19th century.-Life:...
, she used her inheritance to leave a legacy to the people of the Bay State. She died November 14, 1929 at her home in Methuen, Massachusetts
Methuen, Massachusetts
Methuen is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 43,789 at the 2000 census.-History:Methuen was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1726; it is named for the British diplomat Sir Paul Methuen. Methuen was originally part of Haverhill,...
.
Nevins Family
Harriet Nevins' father George BlackburnGeorge Blackburn
George "Blackie" Blackburn was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at Miami University , the University of Cincinnati , and the University of Virginia , compiling a career college football record of 61–60–7...
, was born in Bradford, England
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, there he learned the trade of mill machining. At nineteen he was part of a group of men sent to the United States to work in the developing industry. He worked at the mills in Webster, Massachusetts
Webster, Massachusetts
-Media:* Worcester Telegram & Gazette * Webster Times, published every Friday* The Patriot, published every Wednesday* WGFP-AM 940, a country music station* Boston Globe* Boston Herald-Library:...
and in the Fitchburg
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...
Duck Mills. He married Nancy Hill Bugbee of Wrentham
Wrentham, Massachusetts
Wrentham is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,955 at the 2010 census.- History :Wrentham was first settled by the English in 1660 and officially incorporated in 1673. It was burned down during King Philip's War 1675-1676. For a short time, it was the...
and they had three children: George, William Henry, and Harriet. By 1861, Blackburn had partnered with David Nevins, Sr.
David Nevins, Sr.
David C. Nevins, Sr. was a wealthy New England industrialist. Born in Salem, New Hampshire, he owned the Pemberton Mill in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts...
to rebuild the recently destroyed Pemberton Mill
Pemberton Mill
The Pemberton Mill was a large factory in Lawrence, Massachusetts, which collapsed without warning on January 10, 1860 in what is likely "the worst industrial accident in Massachusetts history" and "one of the worst industrial calamities in American history"...
in Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
.
In April 1862, 18 year-old Harriet married 22 year-old David Nevins, Jr.
David Nevins, Jr.
David C. Nevins, Jr. was a wealthy Yankee merchant in the city of Methuen, Massachusetts during the industrial boom of the late 19th century.-Life:...
David Jr. and his brother increased the Nevins family fortune in the industrial boom of the late 19th century, and the couple moved to South Framingham.
Unfortunately none of their children survived to adulthood, but the couple did act as a guardian to a boy named Hiram Appleman, who later became a minister and adopted a young girl; Elise Nevins would later marry William Finley Morgan of Boston and go on to author books of a religious nature.
In 1894 David Nevins, Jr. built an elegant colonial revival shingle–style home on Nantucket for their summer retreat.
David Nevins, Sr. passed away in 1881, and in 1890 Harriet and David, Jr. moved to Boston to live with his mother, Eliza. For five years, the couple took care of Eliza in her Beacon Street home, but in 1895 the 78 year-old matron died. Three years later in 1898 David Jr. died while on a trip to Europe, leaving a 57 year-old Harriet a wealthy widow. Shortly afterward Harriet moved to the family farm in Methuen, which sister-in-law Julia had left after her husband Henry Nevin
Henry Coffin Nevins
Col. Henry Coffin Nevins was a industrialist from an established New England family in the city of Methuen, Massachusetts.-Life:...
’s death in 1892.
Mrs. Nevins spent the next thirty years socially active and involved with many organizations, donating to worthy causes such as the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Boston Children's Mission and the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies (female branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows , also known as the Three Link Fraternity, is an altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the similar British Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 18th century, at a time when altruistic and charitable acts were...
).
On November 14, 1929, at 88 Harriet died quietly at her home in Methuen, Massachusetts
Methuen, Massachusetts
Methuen is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 43,789 at the 2000 census.-History:Methuen was first settled in 1642 and was officially incorporated in 1726; it is named for the British diplomat Sir Paul Methuen. Methuen was originally part of Haverhill,...
, after a lengthy illness, the last twelve months almost entirely at her estate. It is said her death was hastened by that of her beloved chauffeur John G Kilmurray who was struck by a drunk driver on Christmas eve of 1928 while delivering Mrs. Nevins' Yuletide remembrances.
In her will, Mrs. Nevins left money to all her favorite organizations, including the Animal League of Boston, the Red Acre Farm of Stow, and the Ladies Union Charitable Society which operated the Lawrence General Hospital. She also left $2,500 to both towns of Methuen and Walpole to fund the construction of fountains for horses and dogs; the bowl of the Methuen fountain remains in the Methuen Square and is used as a planter and the Walpole fountain is now dry but still stands on School Street opposite the old Stone School (now Walpole Town Hall).
Horse Ambulance
Long active with the Massachusetts Society for the Protection of AnimalsMSPCA-Angell
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center is a 501 non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1868 and is the second-oldest...
, in 1916 Mrs. Nevins commissioned and donated a specially designed motorized horse ambulance. Built at the Garford Truck
Superior Coach Company
Superior Coach was once a school bus body and professional car manufacturer, but today it focuses on building hearses and is located in Lima in Allen County, Ohio.-History:-Garford Motor Truck Company:...
factory and designed by the Monahan Vehicle Company, Providence, R. I., Mrs Nevins commissioned it when after "witnessing the removal of an injured horse in one of the society’s horse-drawn ambulances [she] decided that a more effective method of transferring injured equines might be perfected." Constructed on a Garford one-ton-truck chassis, it had a four-cylinder engine, pneumatic front tires and solid rear tires, as well as headlamps and adjustable lamps of the type found on fire engines. The cab was fitted with a glass windshield and side curtains completely enclosing the driver. The ambulance was a trailer with floor inclined towards the rear, allowing the entrance to be near to the ground, with the loading gate forming a ramp. The body was equipped with top and side curtains to give protection from bad weather. The cost is estimated to have been about $5,000.
Nevins Farm
First known as "The Rest Home", the property was used for retired police horses and for other horses who worked on the then-cobblestone streets of Boston. Arrangements made with horse owners allowed horses that were still working animals to spend time grazing and relaxing in the pastures. A common agreement was one in which horses would rotate between spending a month on the farm and a month in Boston working.
Now known as Nevins Farm and Equine Center
Nevins Farm and Equine Center
Nevins Farm and Equine Center, also known as MSPCA at Nevins Farm and the Methuen Animal Care and Adoption Center at Nevins Farm, is an animal shelter and veterinary hospital in Methuen, Massachusetts operated by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals...
, the farm is still operated by the MSPCA-Angell
MSPCA-Angell
The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center is a 501 non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1868 and is the second-oldest...
and is the only open-door horse and farm animal rescue center in New England. Part of the 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) property is devoted to the Hillside Acre Animal Cemetery, a 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) pet cemetery of landscaped hillside surround by a tall iron fence.
Nevins Memorial Library
The Nevins Memorial LibraryNevins Memorial Library
The Nevins Memorial Library at 305 Broadway in Methuen, Massachusetts was built in 1883 to honor David Nevins, Sr. as a memorial gift from his wife Eliza Nevins , his elder son David Nevins, Jr., and his younger son Henry Cotton Nevins...
was built in 1883 as gift from the Nevins family to the City of Methuen to honor David Nevins, Sr.
David Nevins, Sr.
David C. Nevins, Sr. was a wealthy New England industrialist. Born in Salem, New Hampshire, he owned the Pemberton Mill in nearby Lawrence, Massachusetts...
, Harriet Nevins' father-in-law.
For many years Mrs. Nevins was the chairman of the Library's Board of Trustees, repeatedly giving gifts of funds to expand the collection.
From 1908's Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts:
Mrs. David Nevins, Jr., now the only surviving member of the family, has been especially generous in gifts of books, paintings, statuary and various specimens of the fine arts. Although the endowment of the library is sufficient for its maintenance without the aid of public funds, Mrs. Nevins has increased its value and usefulness by her contributions. The public spirit and generosity of the Nevins family seems to have no bounds in the town in which they made their home.
In 1917 Mrs. Nevins purchased the house next to the library at 299 Broadway which had been assessed at $500; she transferred the house and land to the Nevins Memorial Library the following year. The house became for many years the home of the Methuen Historical Commission. The original building was razed in 1999 and the historical collection moved to the basement of the Masonic Lodge for storage until a more permanent facility can be located.
The Nevins Memorial Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1984. The library is the custodian of the Nevins Memorial Library Historic Collection, much of which is in storage and for which viewing appointments should be made. The collection includes manuscripts and printed materials, family history resources, vital records, assorted objets d'art and collectables, life-sized portraits of Nevins family members, and the stained-glass windows of the library itself.
Blackburn Hall
Walpole, Massachusetts
Walpole is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located about south of Boston and north of Providence, Rhode Island. The population was 24,070 at the 2010 census. Walpole was first settled in 1659 and was considered a part of Dedham until officially incorporated in 1724...
as a memorial
Memorial
A memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
to her parents, as her father had once lived and done business in Walpole. Blackburn Memorial Building (more commonly known as "Blackburn Hall") was designed by the architectural firm of Putnam & Cox Company of Boston, built by the F.J. Tetreault Company of Walpole, and dedicated in 1932. The red brick building, which features a neo-classical façade with whitewashed columns, is still owned by the Town of Walpole and is used for a variety of activities throughout the year including children's theater productions.