| Leominster: Death of Sumner M. Frost
Sumner M. Frost, a well-known citizen of this town, died at his residence, 35 Pearl street, early this morning, in 67th year of his age. Mr. Frost had been a resident of Leominster since he was 17 years old and after a most honorable record of service in the Civil War, came back and acquired a competency which enabled him to retire over 20 years ago and enjoy the fruits, though his later years were clouded by sorrow over the loss of his wife and children. This sorrow was a far heavier burden than the ill-health which he had been obliged to endure by reason of the privations he had suffered in the Civil War, most of which were the result of confinement in the prison pens of the South and which were sufficient in themselves to explain some eccentricities of conduct. Mr. Frost was born in Orange, Jan. 28, 1841, and when a child went with his parents to Phillipston to live. He came to Leominster in 1858 and entered the employ oif F. W. & F. A. Whitney and worked for them until the outbreak of the Civil War, and his enlistment in the 15th Mass. regiment of infantry. He was made a prisoner at the disastrous battle of Balls Bluff and was confined in Libby and Salisbury prisons for seven months, after which he was exchanged. He had undergone such hardships as to unfit him for military service and he was honorably discharged for disab ility. The call of patriotism was, however, too strong for him, and his health having become sufficiently renewed, he enlisted again, this time in the 4th Heavy artillery and served to the end of the war. After his discharge by reason of the expiration of the war, he came back to Leominster, entering the employ of the F. A. Whitney Carriage Co. and later became a member of the firm, retiring in 1885. He married, Sept. 15, 1864, to Miss Ellen A. Tilton, and their two children, Rosco F. and Mar A., are both dead. Mrs. Frost died in 1899. Mr. Frost was a member of the Orthodox church and a very liberal contibutor to its support. He was a member of the Leominster club and of Wilder lodge, F. & A. M. The funeral will be at his late residence, 35 Pearl street, Thursday at 2 p.m. |