Henry M. Francis

Henry M. Francis (June 13, 1836 – October 13, 1908), often known as H. M. Francis, was an architect in Massachusetts. A number of his works, alone or with sons, are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.[1] His finest work may be the Murdock School in Winchendon, Massachusetts, built in 1887.[2]

Henry Martyn Francis
Henry M. Francis, c. 1907
Born(1836-06-13)June 13, 1836
DiedOctober 13, 1908(1908-10-13) (aged 72)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect

Life and career

Henry Martyn Francis was born June 16, 1836, in Lunenburg, Massachusetts to Franklin Samuel and Jane (Kimball) Francis. He attended the Lunenburg public schools and Lawrence Academy and in 1858 left Massachusetts to work as a surveyor in New York, where he was employed on expansions of the Croton Water Works. Late in the same year he returned to Massachusetts and began the study of architecture with Boston architect Alexander R. Esty. From 1861 to 1864 he worked as a carpenter in Lunenburg, Westfield and Florence, Massachusetts. In 1864 he began working for George F. Meacham in Boston, and the following year went to Portland, Maine where he worked for George M. Harding.[3] He was employed by Harding during the reconstruction of the city after the fire of 1866.

In 1868 Francis moved to Fitchburg and established an architecture practice. Francis was sole proprietor of his practice until 1903, when he formed a partnership with his two sons, Frederick L. Francis and Albert F. Francis.[3] Though the elder Francis died in 1908, the firm of H. M. Francis & Sons was operated by his sons until the outbreak of World War II.

Personal life

Francis married in 1867 to Emily Josephine Leighton of Bloomfield, now Skowhegan, Maine. They had three children, two sons and a daughter. His two sons, Frederick Leighton Francis (1870-1919) and Albert Franklin Francis (1875-1946) would both study architecture in his office before their partnership was formed. Frederick L. had additional training from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, having graduated in 1892.[3]

Henry M. Francis died October 13, 1908, at home in Fitchburg. He had been partially paralyzed since 1906.[4]

Legacy

Many buildings designed by Francis and his sons have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural works

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "WIN.71", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  3. "Francis Family," in Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, vol. 4, ed. Ellery Bicknell Crane (New York and Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1907): 303-305.
  4. "Death of Henry M. Francis," Fitchburg Sentinel, October 14, 1908, 1.
  5. Fitchburg Historical Society, Fitchburg (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2005)
  6. "GRO.147", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  7. "FIT.418", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  8. "FIT.215", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  9. "WSR.32", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  10. Kimball Public Library NRHP Registration Form (1985)
  11. "Listed Properties," nh.gov, New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  12. Goffstown Public Library NRHP Registration Form (1995)
  13. "FIT.T", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.
  14. "ASB.A", mhc-macris.net, Massachusetts Historical Commission, n. d. Accessed April 6, 2021.

Notes

  1. Listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1999 as part of the Ashburnham Center Historic District.

Further reading

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