Herbert Newton Ackerman.
Mr. Ackerman was the seventh president of the Medford Historical Society and an interested worker.
In the early morning of September 24, 1925, he passed quietly away from us. Born in New Haven, Conn., May 19, 1853, he came in early life with his parents to Medford, his grandfather being one of the old Medford granite workers.
His education was in the Medford schools.
He graduated from the High School in 1870, then in one of the adjoining buildings, now the Centre School.
He was president of the High School Association, formed soon after, which published the ‘School History,’ by Principal Cummings.
After a course in Bryant & Stratton business college he was in the accounting department of the Boston & Lowell R. R., and for thirty-eight years with the American Board of Foreign Missions.
His was the particular duty of shipment of supplies to distant missionaries.
He served our city faithfully on its School Board for several years.
In his early youth he joined the Trinitarian Church on High street, and in 1872 he became a a charter member (perhaps the youngest) of the West Medford Congregational Church, of which his father was one of the first deacons.
He was a leader among its young people and later a deacon.
He was well qualified to take up the work (previously assigned to former President Brown, so suddenly taken from us) of preparing the Register's history of that church.
During his later years he was connected with the Mystic Church—one of its deacons, emeritus at the last, doing some fine historical work at its seventy-fifth anniversary.
He was chosen a vice-president of this Society in 1915, and ever after gave of his time and effort to our work.
During the five years he thus served, in which were strenuous days and exacting duties (two of the vice-presidents being laid aside by [p. 77] sickness), your president found him his right-hand man, and during the following five years, in our reversed positions, he was ever striving for our welfare and success.
Appointed upon the city's committee for Patriot's Day he entered heartily into the plans for the coming Revolutionary memorial and was one of the ‘Minute Men of 1925.’
That was his latest public work.
Illness in May prevented his doing more.
In bodily weakness he returned to his daily duties and his persevering zea kept him at his office till a certain line of work was finished.
That duty done he came home to sleep,— his last sleep, which wakes not here.
—M. W. M.
