Chester Eugene Gleason
Of the younger men of the county seat whose capacity for usefulness in the public service has been tested the gentleman whose name introduces these memoirs has demonstrated an ability, a zeal and an integrity in the discharge of the official duties imposed upon him by the municipality that give fairest promise of continued valuable service in the state legislature, where he now represents the Fourth Berkshire District. He was born in Somerset county. Maine, as were his father and grandfather.

The founder of the Maine family of Gleasons, now numerously represented in that state, was Elijah Gleason, a native of Pomfret, Connecticut, whence at the close of the Revolutionary war he took his family to Maine, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of Somerset county. He and his descendants wrested many fertile fields from the dense forests of the Pine Tree state, dividing their time between the cultivation of the acres cleared and the marketing of the timber felled.

Bryant Gleason, a son of Elijah, married Betsey Corson, and of the children born to them was Benjamin Gleason, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch. Benjamin Gleason was born March 9, 1828, in the village of Canaan, Somerset county. Save for one year spent in Australia, whither he was attracted by the gold discoveries of the early fifties, his life has been passed in his native county. Upon his return from the Antipodes in 1854 he purchased the two hundred-acre tract of land in Oakland upon which he has since continued to reside. He married, March 28, 1855, Caroline Victoria, daughter of Washington and Betsy (Spaulding) Mclntyre, also natives of Somerset county. Washington Mclntyre was a leading citizen of Bingham, served efficiently for a number of years as one of its board of selectmen and was its capable representative in the state legislature. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Gleason, all of whom are still living, are named as follows: Carrie E., wife of Chester Small, decorator, of Oakland, Maine; Benjamin Franklin Gleason, farmer, of Alton, New Hampshire; Laura Belle, wife of Andrew D. Libby, farmer and stock raiser, of Oakland, Maine; Charles Sherman Gleason, physician, of Wareham, Massachusetts; Harry Clayton Gleason, dentist, of Boston, Massachusetts; Chester Eugene Gleason, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Nora Susan, wife of William L. Corson, photographer, of Madison, Maine; Howard Pul- sifer Gleason, milk dealer, of Worcester, Maine; and Arthur Augustus Gleason, who assists in the cultivation of the homestead farm.

Chester Eugene Gleason received his initial schooling in his native place, and completed his education in 1887 with a business course at Maine Wesleyan Seminary, Kent's Hill, Reedfield, Maine. He found immediate employment with the Boston & Albany railroad, in that company's ticket office at Kneeland Street Station, Boston. It is an all sufficient commentary on his fidelity to the interests of this company that he remains in its employ, having been successively promoted in its Boston office named until he had attained the chief clerkship, a position which he held from 1894 to 1898. In the latter year he was sent to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he has since continued to officiate as passenger and ticket agent at Union Station.

From the attainment of his majority Mr. Gleason has been staunchly Republican, and while privately active in his party's interests in Boston it was not until after several years' residence in Pittsfield that his services were sought in public behalf. In December, 1902, Ward Seven, Pittsfield, elected Mr. Gleason, by a majority approximated as two hundred, as its representative in the city council. He was placed upon the ordinances, printing and paving committees. Of the last named committee he served as secretary, and in that capacity throughout 1903 demonstrated such aggressiveness and fearlessness in protecting the city's interests during the important work involved in the improvement of North and West streets as to challenge general attention and win the public approval, and his unanimous choice as president of council for the encandidate for the legislature, representing the Fourth Berkshire District. His vote (2,393), the largest ever cast for any candidate in that district, was the emphatic tribute to his capability and faithfulness in the public service. Mr. Gleason is a member of Crescent Lodge, F. and A. M., Pittsfield; St. Paul's Chapter, R. A. M., Boston; Boston Council and Boston Commandery, K. T.; Aleppo Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Boston; and of Columbian Mystic Circle, Boston. He is a member also of the Railway and Steamboat Agents' Association of Boston.

He was married in October, 1897, to Miss Clara Belle Randall.
Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts
By Rollin Hillyer Cooke,1906 - Submitted by K. Torp

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