SAWYER. SCIIIN'DI.ER. 54 1 Dr. Sawyer may be regarded as the father of the Universalis! Historical Soci- ety, of which he has been secretary and librarian for more than fifty years, during which time he has collected about three thousand volumes. Dr. Eddy dedicates the second volume of his " Universalism in America" to Dr. Sawyer, "whose influ- ence," he says, " in shaping the thought of the Universal ist church far exceeds that of any other living man." SAWYER, Timothy Thompson, son of William and Susannah (Thompson) Sawyer, was born in Charlestown, Middle- sex, now in Suffolk county, January 7, 181 7. His ancesters were among the earliest set- tlers in Massachusetts. One of them, James Thompson, came to Charlestown with Gov- ernor Winthrop's company in 1630. On the other side, Thomas Sawyer settled in Lancaster in 1641. His early education was chiefly obtained at the public schools. His business life was commenced in the hardware and ship- chandlery store of his uncle, Thomas M. Thompson, in Merchants' Row, Boston. When he was twenty years of age his uncle died, and for five years he continued the business alone. In 1842 he formed a part- nership with John W. Frothingham, under the firm name of Sawyer & Frothingham, who carried on the same business for two years. About this time the firm of Gage, Hittinger & Co. was formed to engage in the wharfage and ice business, of which Mr. Sawyer was a partner. In 1846 the firm name was changed to Gage, Sawyer & Co. The house was extensively engaged in the shipment of ice, and had business connections in the principal southern cities, in several of the West India Islands, in Rio Janeiro, and Calcutta, and was widely and honorably known. Mr. Sawyer retired from active business in 1862. For thirty-eight years Mr. Sawyer has been a director in the Bunker Hill National Bank, and a trustee of the Warren Institu- tion for Savings nearly as long. In 1880 lie was made president of the Warren In- stitution for Savings, and in 1S84 was elected president of the Bunker Hill Na- tional Bank, which offices he still holds. During his active career he has held many local offices of trust and responsi- bility. In 1840 he was a member of the finance committee, and assessor in 1841 of the town government of Charlestown. In 1843, '44, and '45 he was a member of the school committee. The town became a city in 1S47. In 1848, '53, and '54 he was a member of the common council under the city government — elected president the last year, but declined to serve. He was mayor of Charlestown in 1855, '56, and '57, and chairman of the school com- mittee from 1855 to '64. In 1857 he was a representative in the Legislature, and in 1858 state senator. His first election to the office of mayor was as the citizens' candidate in opposition to the candidate of the Know-Nothing party, and this was the first defeat of that party after its organization in the State of Massachu- setts. When the Charlestown public library was established, in i860, he was elected president of the board of trustees, and continued to hold the office until the city was annexed to Boston, in 1872. He was president of the Mystic water board from 187 1 to '76, and of the Boston water board from 1876 to '79, and for the first three years of its existence was a member of the fire commission of Boston. Mr. Sawyer has been treasurer of the Bunker Hill Monument Association since 1879, anc l Ior years one of the trustees of Tufts Col- lege. In religious matters Mr. Sawyer has been equally active and prominent, having been upon the standing committee of the First Universalist church of Charlestown for nearly half a century, and for ten years its chairman. SCH1NDLER, SOLOMON, one of the foremost of Boston's rabbis, was born April 24, 1842, at Neisse in Silesia. In the gymnasium (Latin school) at Neisse, and at Breslau he perfected the early mental training which he received at home. His father, a great Hebrew scholar, devoted many hours a day to instructing his son in Hebrew and Talmudical lore. Mr. Schindler, however, discovered at an early age that he could not believe in the letter of the Bible, and therefore he ob- jected to being trained for the Jewish ministry. He left Breslau, and after many struggles he subsequently attended the normal school for teachers at Ober-Glogau, his intention at that time being to become a pedagogue. The full term at that institution is three years, but he completed it in two years. He passed successful examinations at Breslau, and afterwards " pro schola et rectoratu," at Buren in Westphalia, obtain- ing the title of rector. His life had been full of tribulation dur- ing the years of his studies, but this ended when he became a tutor in private families, preparing boys for college.
