Levi S. Gould

Levi Swanton Gould (March 27, 1831 – March 22, 1917) was an American businessman and politician who served as a member, and chairman of the Middlesex County, Massachusetts county commission, and as the first mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts.

Levi Swanton Gould
1st Mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts
In office January 1, 1900 – January 1, 1901
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	John Larrabee
Chairman of the Middlesex County Commissioners
In office January 1897[1] – March 22, 1917[2]
Member of the Middlesex County Commission
In office January 1897[1] – March 22, 1917
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives[3]
In office 1868[3] – 1869[3]
Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Melrose, Massachusetts [4]
In office 1885[4] – 1889[4]
Member of the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Melrose, Massachusetts[4]
In office 1885[4][5] – 1892[5]
Member of the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Melrose, Massachusetts[4]
In office 1869[4][6] – 1869[6]
Town Meeting Moderator of the Town Meeting for the Town of Melrose, Massachusetts[1]
In office 1865[1] – 1899[1]
Succeeded by	None - office abolished
Personal details
Born	March 27, 1831[3] Dixmont, Maine[3]
Died	March 22, 1917 Melrose, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican[4]
Spouse(s)	Mary Eliza Payne
Children	Mary Pearl Gould, b. September 5, 1862 ;[7] Annie Elizabeth Gould, b. April 30, 1866.[7]
Residence	280 Main Street, Melrose, Massachusetts[2]
Occupation	Shoemaker
Profession	Bookkeeper, Accountant; Furniture manufacturer
Signature

Early life and education

Gould was born to Dr. Levi Gould and Elizabeth Webb (Whitmore) Gould[3] in Dixmont, Maine[3] on March 27, 1831.[3] When he was six months old his family moved to his father's home town of Stoneham, Massachusetts.[3] In 1843 his family moved to the Town of North Malden, (now the City of Melrose,[3]Massachusetts). Gould was educated in the public schools of North Malden and at Waitt's and Ingalls' academies in Melrose.[3]

Family life

Gould married Mary Eliza Payne[7] the daughter of Samuel and Mary (Vose) Payne[7] on February 23, 1860.[7] They had two children, Mary Pearl Gould, born on September 5, 1862,[7] and Annie Elizabeth Gould, born April 30, 1866.[7]

Business career

In 1866 Gould became connected with the F. M. Holmes & Company.[8] F. M. Holmes & Company, was a business that manufactured and sold furniture.[8] 1878 Gould purchased F. M. Holmes and Company[8] and ran it as the F. M. Holmes Furniture Company.[8] The F. M. Holmes Furniture Company factory was in Charlestown, and its warehouse and salesroom was in Boston.[8]

F. M. Holmes Furniture Company advertisement from the March 1886 issue of the Atlantic Monthly.

Death

Gould died in Melrose, Massachusetts on March 22, 1917.[9]

End notes

1. Gould, Levi Swanton (1905), Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men Who Have Served the County Since its Settlement, Somerville, Massachusetts: Somerville Journal Printer, p. 123.
2. LEVI S. GOULD OF MELROSE DEAD County Commission Head for Past 20 Years Served in Legislature--First Mayor of Home City, Boston, MA: Boston Daily Globe, March 22, 1917, p. 11.
3. Mason P, Edward P. (1892), Massachusetts of To-Day, Boston, MA: Columbia Publishing Company, p. 599.
4. Rand, John Clark (1890), One of a Thousand: a Series of Biographical Sketches of One Thousand Representative Men Resident in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, A.D. 1888-'89, Volume III, Boston, MA: First National Publishing Company, p. 260.
5. Goss, Elbridge Henry (1903), The History of Melrose, County of Middlesex, Massachusetts, Boston, MA: First National Publishing Company, p. 281.
6. Goss, Elbridge Henry (1903), The History of Melrose, County of Middlesex, Massachusetts, Boston, MA: First National Publishing Company, p. 280.
7. Cutter, William Richard (1908), Historic Homes & Places and Genealogical & Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County Massachusetts, Volume IV, New York, New York: Lewis historical publishing company, p. 1411.
8. Cutter, William Richard (1908), Historic Homes & Places and Genealogical & Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County Massachusetts, Volume IV, New York, New York: Lewis historical publishing company, p. 1410.
9. Cutter, William Richard (1916), The Register of the Malden Historical Society, Number 5, Lynn, Massachusetts: Malden Historical Society Frank S. Whitten printer, p. 1410.

Further reading

• Cutter, William Richard: Historic Homes & Places and Genealogical & Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County Massachusetts, Pages 1410-1411, (1908).
• Gould, Levi S.: Ancient Middlesex with Brief Biographical Sketches of the Men Who Have Served the County Since its Settlement. Somerville Journal Print: Somerville, Mass., (1905).
• Mason, Edward P.: Massachusetts of To-day: A Memorial of the State, Historical and Biographical, Issued for the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. Columbia Publishing Company, Pg. 599, (1892).
• Rand, John Clark, One of a Thousand: a Series of Biographical Sketches of One Thousand Representative Men, Boston, Massachusetts First National Publishing Company, Pg. 260, (1890).

External links

• Works by or about Levi S. Gould at Internet Archive