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 CHOATE. CLAFLIN. 117 CHOATE, Charles Francis, son of Dr. George and Margaret (Hodges) Choate, was born in Salem, Essex county, May 16, 1S28. He is a lineal descendant of John Choate, the common ancestor of this distinguished family in Massachusetts. John Choate came from the west of Eng- land to the colonies about 1641. The coat-of-arms belonging to the Choate fam- ily indicates its knightly origin. The early education of Mr. Choate was received in the public schools of Salem, ending in the Salem Latin school, where he prepared for college. He was gradu- ated from Harvard in the class of 1849. He then became a tutor in mathematics, and while discharging the duties appertain- ing to his position, also attended the law and scientific schools of the university. He was admitted to the Suffolk county bar in September, 1855, and at once opened a law office in Boston. His legal practice was largely devoted to railroad interests, including those of the Old Colony Rail- road Company, Boston & Maine Railroad Company, of which he was counsel. The knowledge and experience thus gained in twenty-two years of professional life eminently qualified him for the position he now holds. Mr. Choate's primary association with the Old Colony Railroad was in the capacity of counselor to the corporation, having been employed as such since 1865. In 1S72 he was elected to membership in the board of directors, and in 1877 was chosen president of the company by a unanimous vote. Since that time he has been honored with a consecutive annual re-election. Since his administration began, the record of the road has been one of contin- uous and remarkable prosperity. Simul- taneously with his election to the presi- dency of the Old Colony Railroad, he was elected to the presidency of the Old Colony Steamboat Company. Mr. Choate has been a director and vice- president of the New England Trust Com- pany for several years, and is vice-presi- dent of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company ; but with these excep- tions he has declined to accept any office in addition to those in which he has won so much distinction, and the duties and responsibilities of which are sufficiently exacting for the abilities of any one admin- istrator. Mr. Choate was married in Utica, N. Y., November 7, 1855,10 Elizabeth W., daugh- ter of Edward and Hannah (Thompson) Carlile. Of this union were five children : Edward C, Sarah C. (wife of J. Montgom- ery Sears), Margaret M., Helen, and Charles F. Choate, Jr. CLAFLIN, WILLIAM, son of Lee and Sarah (Adams) Claflin, was born in Mil- ford, Worcester county, March 6, 181S. He was educated in the public schools, in Milford Academy, where he prepared for college, and in Brown University, from which latter institution he was obliged to retire on account of ill health. He then worked in his father's manu- factory for three years. For many years he was engaged in the wholesale boot and shoe business in St. Louis, Mo. (having gone there for the recovery of his health), and later on in Boston. He was a mem- ber of the House of Representatives from 1849 to '53, inclusive ; member of the state Senate in i860 and '61, and president of the Senate the latter year ; lieutenant- governor in 1866, '67 and '68, and governor, in 1869 '70 and '71. In 1S64 Mr. Claflin became a member of the national Republican executive com- mittee, and was its chairman from 1868 to '72. He was elected, as a Republican, to Congress from the 8th congressional dis- trict, and served two terms, from October 15, 1 S7 7, to March 4, 1881. In 1868 he received the degree of LL. D. from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., and in 1869 the same degree from Harvard. In his commercial career, from a small beginning, Mr. Claflin by his tact and en- terprise built up a large and prosperous business in the West. He returned to Bos- ton with the purpose of establishing him- self in the manufacture of boots and shoes. His venture proved successful, and expan- sions in his business succeeded each other to keep pace with the increasing demands of trade, until he has become one of the proprietors of a number of boot and shoe factories in different parts of Massachu- setts, employing a very large number of workmen. He is senior partner in the house of Claflin, Coburn & Co., Boston. Mr. Claflin has two sons : Arthur B. and Adams U., and one daughter, Mrs. Emma C. Ellis. In politics Mr. Claflin has ever been a staunch Republican, and all of his political honors have been given at the hands of that party, although his character and repu- tation have won the confidence and hearty support of many of his political opponents, and frequently carried him into office ahead of his ticket. His religious training and convictions early identified him with the