USA > Connecticut > Windham County > Danielson > Sketches concerning Danielson, Conn > Part 8
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William A. Brewster came down from Hampton when the depot village was begun and erected a drug store with a tonement above where he resided. For some time in the forties he was the only druggiet in the new village. His building stood opposite a botel that Eli Aylesworth erected about 1840 and possibly both buildings were in progress at the same time: He was physician but mcet of his time was absorbed in the drug store. In those times the daily newspaper was not much in evidence in 1)., but the doctor took the New York Triture which, during the Mexican war, he was in the habit of resding everinge by the light of a camphene lamp to his friends and customers who dropped in to learn the neve of the day. At that time the telegraph was rapidly being extended thrn
the country westward toward the Mississippi, but the diffusion of news, somewhat slower than sow, was mainly dependent upon the newspaper. Dr. Brewster was said to have been a Gne reader. He was still engaged in the druggist's business as late as 1856. In the fall of 1859 an elderly drug store man was still holding out in the larger of the two woodon buildings that once stood upon the site of the Hutchins Block. The writer has sometimes thought that since the' doctor had sold his place of business to Horatio Webb, this elderly man may have been Brewster. The next year Rockwell F. Lyon was established there in the same line of business.
Christopher C. Crandall sLd bis oon Cranston have been mentioned as doing business in a building on Main street south of the depot. Mr. Crandsil was early identified with those who built up a Methodist society and church building in D. bach in the forties. Along in the fifties he was overseer of the carding room of the old Danielscn mills (p. 87), and resided . in a mill tenement that stood where the Hyde Block is now located. In the fall erd winter of 1857-8 the shops and mills of D. were closed owing to the finan- cial crisis of that time. It was in that intesval, the writer conjectures, that Mr. Crandall's service with the Danielson Company terminated and that at the Instance of his son Cranston, le bought out Josiah Bennett, continuing his merchandise business. Tho two parts or rooms to the store were separated by s partition with an arched open space eight or ten feet wide about midway of the length of the rooms. Mr. Crandall remained in business in his location thru the Civil war, but about 1866 he sold out to Merrill
YEND GENERATION
&. Ladd, who had been clerking for him and who wat 's son of the James Ladd mentioned as having been Overseer of the weaving roon & of the Danielson mills. He advertised extensively in the Transcript, but after a while, turning out to be a fast young man, bo fan the business of the store under and left towa. R. F. Lyon who had become the leading druggist of the borough, bought the wreckage of the drug and medical department of the store. Some attention will next begiven to another group of Danielson's business men of the middle fifties.
William. C. Bacon, furniture, paper hangings, and house Tarnishing goods. In the Arcade, end toward the railroad.
S. Hyde & Co., general hardware store; furniture, stove's, etc. North side of Railroad Square on the corner east trout what was then the Reynolds grocery store.
Amasa Dowe & Son, clocks, watches, jewelry and station- ery. In the Luther Day building room toward the Maid street railroad crossing.
John P. Chamberlin, clocks, watches, jewelry, stationery and school supplies. In the Arcade, northeast end or room toward the old Methodist church.
Bonj. F. Chapman, Meat market; corner Main and Centef street, or Woodward drug store location,
A. G. Scranton, , bouse and sign painter. Shop in the basement of the Rothwell Hall building.
Thos. Burlingame, painter and glazier; stop cn Brooklyn Side between the Green and Walker residences.
William C. Bacon succeeded to the making and repairing of household furniture in the shop that his father established in Westfeld ir 1820 (p. 57). The late forties found William C. extensively engaged in the furniture business in aescciation with Hezekiah
1.
BERTCHRO CONCERNING DANIEL8QE
L: Danielson. Besides the store in this first brick Arcade, Bacon & Danielson maintained the shop in. Westfield during the middle and late forties. About New Year's day, 1849, the building that other arms alto occupied was completely destroyed by fire. A". soon as weather conditions permitted building oper- ations to begin that year, another and similar brick structure arose on the site of the one burned down. which was two stories and attic high, destined to en- dure sixteen years. This was the Arcade of Danielson local history. H. L. Danichton's association with W. C. Bacon appears to have terminated with the fre, but . Bacon re- established hinselt in the new block and in the end of it toward the mallrest. He was again burned out in the diczot Ere of November, 1865, the third business place to be turned upet that site. With perseverence Mr. Bacon established bimsell in again in hisline of business by purchasing the disused Rothwell Hall building and making a new start in it.
. Silas Hydo was born in Canterbury, Conn., Sept. 16, 1821. He came to D. back in the forties about the time that the Waldo brothers did. There were two brothers, Silas and Isaac who bought out Pierce & Burdick in 1847 and continued their hardware business under the firm name of S. & I. Hyde. Isaac was attracted to California during the gold mining days and appears to have remained there. A, larger building was erected in 1857, the old one being moved to Academy street to the east of Main and changed to a dwelling-house. He retired fron: the hardware business in 1865, but engaged in other enterprises; such as building the Ely & Hyde three.story wooden block in 1869; which was burned down April 22, 1880:
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IM YHGIK MAY 4OU GENERATION
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"Amasa Dowe & Son." So read the sign on the front of their place of business, not in square lettera, aut in the form of script. Thesenior of the firm came from Providence with his family in October, 1845. and first occupied a' emall ore-story building beside a larger one on the site of the Hutchins Block. Mr. Dowe had several locations, both before and after his: con united with him in business. Marshall Prouty Dowe was born in Providence June 20, 1885. When of anfficientage, during school and academy vacations,, " he worked in the printing offices of the village. While. in association with his father which began in 1854, : they usually occupied opposites sides of the room . using separate counters with cases upon them. The . junior member of the firm dealt in toys, stationery, books, newspapers and magazines. We find that in . the early fifties Amasa lowe was located in the Ar- cade building and by the year 1854 the firm that bad. now been formed were in the Day Building. Horatio Webb having bought the Brewster drug store building in the late fifties and moved the postoffice into it, in the spring of 1861 be added a room to it on the side toward the depot. When completed the Dowe firm moved to it from the l)ay Building and were ite first occupants. While in this location M. P. Dowe began (1862) in a small way a circulating library which was gradually enlarged. In 1863 the firm again moved, this time across the street to a building rent to the Attawangan House where the postoffice had been located. . Here they remained until 1870 when a last removal was. made to a store building on Main street next northeast from the site. of the old M. E. church. This store building was purchased in 1878.
114'
BRITOHIS CUNGSKIING D
John Pierpont Chamberlin was born in Brooklyn, Conn .; December 17, 1806. Left an orphan in infancy he was reared by an aunt living on a farm in West Woodstock, ConD. When about 21 be bought an Interest in a shoe manufactory. Later in life he re- moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and engaged in business there with Joshua Perkins of Lisbon, Conn. In 1846 Mr .. Chamberlin returned to the Fast and engaged in; business in the first brick Arcade of D. built that year, only to be burned out of it about three years later. When toward the close of the year 1865, he was again burned out of the second brick Arcade he. had previously become the owner of the building, carrying partial insurance on it. He promptly began business once more iu what was called the Currier Block, now the Danielson Inn, ard later he bought the Franklin Building which was altered into the Windham County National Bank in 1915. Mr. Cham- berlin was a gentlemanly and genial sort of tradee- man and a man of integrity. He was one of those of that family name 'who dropped the "a" out of the spelling of its last syllable, probably because they thought the family name long enough without it.
Benj. F. Chapman resided in Westfield. When a young, man he married a daughter of Ebenezer Kingsbury, landlord of the tavern at Killingly Center, in 1842. He was already established in the business in the middle forties (p. 66) and continued to main- tain a meat market in the Woodward drug store location, until sometime subsequent to the close of the Civil war. After his death a son, Charles F. Chap- man continued the business until his sudden death In his cart while on the street, Feb. 20, 1904.
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IS THEIK DAY. AND GENERATION
Concerning A. G. Scranton we have little of any data except that his shop was under the Rothwell . Sall building and that be nas & Civil war soldier:
Thos. Burlingame came from Plain field and resid: od on Front street until 1857 when the family troved to the south tenement of the northernmost brick house on the west side of Tiffany street, the one that bas an.ell part. He had quite a family of soms and daughters, the oldest ci when worked in the Quire- bang mill. In the fall of 1869 the family moved to Willimantic and in the spring of 1861 a reincyal was made to Wauregan. Twosone died in the ero y during the war. Tubercolosis ran in the family and swept of most of its members after reaching adult age. The hoxt group will concern shoe shop men, both large and small owners, and other shoemaking mechanics.
Abner Young & Co., shop at that time on the east side: of Mechanic street north of Rötbwell Hall.
Noab Shumway, shop west of Rothwell Hall at the rail- road termination of Academy street.
W. A. Burrows, shop and store west of the Main street railroad crossing near the Day Building.
James Bussey, Corner Water and Short street.
There were also Elisha Frissell, Rufus Jillson and other occupants of the Dean shop on Cottage street near the west side of the railroad; Horace Burroughs, Westfield; William Humes near Rothwhll Hall; without attempting to specify locations, Geo. C. Keecb, Willian. Keect, Alex. Brown and Samuel Tripp were workers in the shoe lice back in the middle fifties. A little later along in that decade (1858) the Keech brothers built a shop at the northwest corner of the Quinebaug Square where the factory boarding. toute now stands and the four persons last named worked in it during the next two or three years.
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SKETCHES GOGO INQ DABINLION.
We shall only speak of the two first samed por- sons in these noses. In the earlier ffties a number of mon in Danielson, generally heads of families, toft the vocations they were engaged in and went into the whoomsking business. In the middle fifties there were as many as a half dosen shops in the borough engaged in manufacturing shoes by the old-fashioned Band processen. In cold weather men ard boys word boots; with the boys choes were an article of Sunday. woar. Lyon and other Massachusetts towns furnished most of the boots then worn. - Abner Young was born in Killingly, November 29, 1819. At the age of 17 he began working at the carpenter's trade which be Iallowed as a joiner and builder until. about 1859 chou he went into the shoe manufacturing business. establishing a shop on the cast side of Mechanie street above Oak. In 1861-2 be erected a larger shop en the west side of the street which the Conant pict. . ure thowane swo-story-and-attic building. He hed in far forged ahead sa to employ more hands thenasy" other shop in the borough. He continued in theshoe making business until 1874 by which time newly in- vented machinery was driving the small shops out of aristence. Honest raatinto the clothing business.
Noah Shumway was from Oxford, Mass., where his sheostry had lived for several generations." His father and family moved into Rbcdo Islard in 1842
. The father of Noah Shumway was also named Nosh. Bord fu 1770 He may have heard the cannonading around Boston de 1775-6, "He was a descendant of Peter Schaumweigh, & Huguenot! who settled in Oxford, Mass., toward the end of the seventeenth century. This frat Noah Shumway and his wife went to Houston County; Ninn., where they had sons settled and died the Orst June 20, sod the second. October 8. 1857.
kad located near Bridgeton, a village that adjoint Pascoag. The second Noah Shumway went to Daniel. son sometime in the forties and took charge of the. Oundall satinet mill. In the early fifties he went into the shoemaking business. He had several sons and daughters; one of the latter was a telegraph operator at the depot in the time of the Civil war.
Next follows quite an extended list of the lesser manufacturers, makers of different articles, various, callings, minor vostions, otc. First, in regard to establishments that used steam or water power:
Allen & Olds, (Charles Allen and Nathan Olds), irod foundery, Cottage street near the railroad. This firm used `team power .- Mark Glines, carriage shop; on Center street hext east of Davis Block. This shop contained a small steam engine .- H. L. Danielson anc Gec. S. Truesdell, wood and iron work. On west dde of Broad street; used steam power. -William Short, reed maker; in the basement of the stone- built shop .- O. M. Capron manufacturer of cotton battingi see p. 76 .- Marcus Fyler, whetstone manufacturer; shop on the Brooklyn side of the river. The last three establstart. ts were operated by water power. - Loren Bates and William Young, roller covering, in north part of the old-time annex to the Tiffany cil !.
Day & Spalding, Elisba Chamberlin, John H. Keech, Geo. S. Truesdell, carpenters and builders; Jeremiah Young, mill and bridge builder.
Franklin Clark, cabinet maker; Henry Arnold, saddler and harness maker; Asa W. Graves, gunsmith and sporting supplies; Willard Leavens, power loom harness maker; Dan- iel Arnold, marble worker, "by square rule and compass" ás he advertised his business.
J. K. Logee, bakery, in the rear of the Currier Block Building that became the Danielson Inn.
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Attorneys and Counsellors at Lies
Elisha Carpenter; Edward L. Condall; Eeri Martin; L. H. Rickard. . All of the above named lawyers had their offices in the Arcade except Lucini H. Rickard who built a small office on his father's premises on Main strect sometime in the early sixties. Here the building remained watil Septem- ber, 1904, when it was moved out to give place to a sy fool addition to the Cyr Block.
Physicians & Surgeons :-
Stephen C. Griggs, physician and surgeon; B. P. Com." botanic physician; Samuel Hutchins, physician.
Hotels and Restaurantst.
Attawaugan Hotel, Lewis Worden, proprietor; Amos & Peckham, York House; same location as Shumway Building; Railroad House, Chas. E. Hutchins, on Franklin street; Restaurant, Ebenezer Kingsbury, corner of Main and Fur- nace street. .. Official Holdings and Minor Occupations .-
George Danielson, borough warden; B. P. Coe,, high sheriff; O. P. Jacobs, deputy sheriff; Freeman James, post- master; Horatio Webb, railroad station agent; Wm. Drowne, fruit and ornamental trees; F. S. Luther, traveling agent; J. W. Richards, stage line proprietor; Joseph Sao livery stable; Ephraim Keach, blacksmith; Hiram Moredook, teamster; Ira W. Arnold and Israel Simmons local tailors.
Geo. H. Leavens and Anthony Ames formed a partnership in the dry goods line of business ateri the time that the interval specified as the middle fifties closed, their location being in the Davis or Franklin Block.
The local paper of the middle fifties was called the Wind. ham County Telegraph, Charles J. Little, editor. It had been started as a Whig paper March 8, 1848 and bad severel owners in succession. J. Q. A. Stone bought it of Little about July 1, 1859 renaming it the Windham Co. Transcript.
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The interval just passed over was an interesting ono viewed merely from a local stand point, and, with civil war intermittently going on in Kansas over the Slavery question, was for the country at large a mea mentous one politically, the thir was not fully realfd= od at the time. Among the percentile men therd was . . lass who preferred not to discuss the Blavery question overmuch publicly whatever opinions they may have expressed in the privacy of their homes. The people at large, including those who possessed something educationally abovethat which the common sobools of the fime afforded, had their limitsticks in regard to questions of common knowledge in compar- thon with what even a laborer may acquire in present days, but they did possess a good fund of sound com- mon senso. The borough had its public library of à few bandred volumes started at the suggestion of. Rev. Thomas O. Rico of the Congregational Church with the assistance of the business men. It was called "The Young Mers' Library Arreciation c: Danielson- ville," was located in the second story of an addition to the Day Building and are open Saturday after- rooms and evenings. There too, were "Uncle Tom's Cabin" days when Mr. Brown's brok was being widely read, particularly by the female help of the mille.
In those times the common tradermen were more of less indiferent in regard to their week day clothing, especially the growers, who moved about with their clothes dusted with flour, and plain dress applied to most of those of other vocations; but these restric: tions by no means applied to the dry goods merchante, the lawyers and some ofbest of sederisiy callinge who babilaally dressed well.
180 FRITCHLI GORI ELF ING DAR ! EL80%
Here follows a llet of dates of the death of the men in active business life in Danieleor during the middle ifties, in so far as we chance to have theie carte in hand. It will be seen that several of them survived into the first and record decades of the present car- tury. Some of the latter had been long retired.
A, B, C, AND D. -
. Anthony Ames, April 6, 1917; William C. Bacon May 9, 1877, Loren Bates, May 20. 1901, John D. Bigelow, February 14, 1888, Thos. Burlingame, November 1870, Daniel P. Burlingham, October 19, 1905. Horace Bur. ronghs, March 15, 1884, Orville M. Capron, April 6, 1880, Chauncey C. Chamberlin, September 3, 1902, Jobn P. Chamberiin, February 14, 1871, Benjamin F. Chapman, September 11, 1895, Edward L. Cancall, October 5, 1885, George Danielson, August 17, 1883, Hezekiah L. Danielson, November 7, 1881, Amasa Dowe, December 2, 1898, Mar- sball P. Dowe, August r1, 1911. .
E. TO R.
Edwin Ely, January 13, 1883; Asa W. Graves, March 31 1904; Josepht K. Green, June 19, 1885; Stephen C. Griggs, February 1. 1901; Samuel Hutchins, January 16, 1886; Silas Hyde, September 22, 1911; George C. Keech, Septem- ber 16, 1901; William C. Krech, March 8; 1913, Willard Leavens, February 17, 1802: Flavei S. Luther, August 10, 1913; Nathan Olds, December 12, 1860; Gleun H. Rey- nolds, August 8. 1909; Samuel Reynolds, July 31, 1882; Lucius H. Rickard, 1898; Martimeus Koderick, Jan. 3, 1864. REMAINDER OF NECROLOGY LIST.
Israel Simmons, August 3, 1882; Jobn Waldo, May 3, 1907; Simon S. Waldo, March 10, 1909; Horatio Webb, 1863 ;. Clinton L. Young, 1869; Jeremiah Young, Feb 23, 1897.
HECKMAN BINDERY INC.
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JUN 96
Bound -To -Please® N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962
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