USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts .. > Part 13
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the loss of his eyesight some six years since, might yet be in active practice.
On December 20, 1828, five days prior to the anniversary of his birth, Dr. Fisk was united in marriage with Miss Emeline Moul- ton, of Chaplin, the ceremony being solem- nized at the home of Parson Jared Andrews, of the Congregational church. The Doctor was at that time engaged in a mercantile business in company with his brother William, who subsequently died in Malden, Ill., in 1872, in the seventy-third year of his age, being one of the wealthy and influential citizens of that place. Two children blessed the union of the Doctor and his wife, the elder being Dr. Charles L. Fisk, Jr., of Greenfield, who is married and has three sons and one daughter. The younger child is Caroline, wife of Calvin L. Butler, of Greenfield; and she has two children, one son and one daughter, both of whom are now married. Mrs. Fisk passed to the higher existence May 2, 1890, aged eighty- one years, having lived in happy wedlock sixty-one years. On the day that marked the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage they celebrated no golden wedding, feeling that their union was for time and eternity. Its earthly period was one replete with joy and harmony, not even the Angel of Death crossing their threshold until it bore the devoted wife and affectionate mother to her eternal home.
For more than threescore and ten years has the Doctor been a member of the Masonic Order, having been initiated the evening of his twenty-first birthday into the Masonic Lodge of Lawrenceville, then a suburb, but now included within the limits of Pittsburg, Pa., an uncle of his being Master of the Lodge at that time. Dr. Fisk was made a Knight Templar a full half-century ago; he has served as Senior Warden, the highest office but one, of the Royal Arch Masons, and likewise oc-
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cupied the same position in the Connecticut Valley Encampment of Knights Templars. Politically, the Doctor was in his earlier years a Jeffersonian Democrat ; but, having a heart- felt sympathy for the oppressed, he joined the antislavery party, adopting for his motto that of the Liberator -a paper established in Boston, in 1831, by William Lloyd Garrison -" My country is the world, my countrymen are all mankind." He was a warm advocate of the views of that party, and, as " depot mas- ter" on the underground railway at Kill- ingly, Conn., assisted many a poor refugee on his way to freedom. He became personally acquainted with many of the leaders of that cause ; and a warm friendship sprung up be- tween the Doctor and William Lloyd Garrison, at whose table he has dined.
Dr. Fisk has always stood high among those of position and influence wherever he has lived, and in the management of local affairs has been quite prominent, having served as Constable and as Justice of the Peace for years, and, while a resident of Connecticut, came within one vote of becoming a member of the State legislature. He has ever taken a deep interest in the cause of education; and he as- sisted in establishing the Danielsonville Acad- emy, being one of the contributors to that enterprise, and later one of the examin- ing committee when enrolling the corps of teachers. He was also one of the founders of the Eclectic College at Worcester, Mass. Dr. and Mrs. Fisk joined the Congregational church at Chaplin, Conn., and were among its leading members for some years; but, having taken a decided stand on the slavery question, he, with about twenty-five others, remonstrated with the church for communing with and al- lowing pro-slavery men to preach. The re- monstrance being of no avail, they all withdrew from the church; and since that time the Doc-
tor has been classed as a Free Thinker. He has a taste for music, and a talent for litera- ture which often finds expression in rural verse, as he terms it, and has produced many manu- script works, besides more than a hundred beautiful poems that have been printed, about thirty of them commemorative of his birthday, including one written on his ninetieth anni- versary, which lack of space prevents us from publishing. It is pleasant to record that the gloom of loneliness and blindness besetting the worthy Doctor's declining years has been in great measure dissipated through the kind and judicious ministrations of his excellent housekeeper, Mrs. E. D. Chase, who not only manages his domestic affairs and has charge of his finances, but reads to him, conducts his correspondence, and dispenses medicines to the patrons that still call at his office for well- tested pills and potions. Mrs. Chase has been a widow for some years. Her maiden name was Cantrell, and she is a native of Deerfield.
ILBERT G. HILLIARD, who for over thirty years has been a resident and prominent farmer of Northfield, Mass., was born in Cornish, N. H., December 17, 1811, being a son of Amos A. and Sarah (Huggins) Hilliard, of that town. Amos A. Hilliard, having spent his boyhood and youth on his father's farm, on reaching his majority purchased a tract of timber land and at once began the work of clearing and getting the land into a state of cultivation. At first he made his home in a log house, but long after erected frame buildings, and still later on built the brick house in which he lived up to the time of his death, which occurred in his eighty-sixth year. His wife was Sarah Hug- gins, of Cornish, and they had six children, of whom but two are now living: Gilbert G.,
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the principal subject of this sketch; and So- phia, who married Kimball Smith for her first husband and afterward a Mr. Martinsdale, and is now ninety-four years old. The mother died in Cornish at the age of eighty-two.
Gilbert G. Hilliard spent his early years on his father's farm in Cornish, N. H., where he was educated in the district school. As a boy he assisted in the task of clearing the farm, con- taining one hundred and fifty acres, which he became the owner of at his father's death, residing there up to 1858, when he sold it and came to Northfield Farms to the place where he now resides, a farm of about thirty acres, in connection with which he has another near by containing about forty acres. In 1833 he married Sophia Plastridge, the daughter of Caleb Plastridge, of Cornish, N. H., and to them six children have been born, namely : Ellen, who married Fordyce H. Smith, an employee of the Estey Organ Company of Brattleboro, Vt., and has a daughter Mabel and a son Gilbert H. ; Sula, who married Marshall Stearns, of Northfield, and died at the age of thirty-six, leaving three daughters - Kate L., Eunice L., and Rosa M. ; Sarah, who married Frederick Morgan; Freeman, who lives with his father on the farm and has been thrice married, his first wife being Isadore Wright, who died at the age of twenty-three, leaving one child, Fred W., his second wife Ellen Hayward, who died at the age of twenty-eight, and his present wife Sarah G., who is the mother of their daughter, Emma; Emma, who married George Merriam, of Greenfield, and died at the age of twenty-six, leaving one daughter, Florence ; Ada, who first married Dr. Morgan, by whom she had one son, Carl, and afterward George Chamberlain, by whom she has one daughter, Marguerite. Mrs. Hilliard died in 1881, at the age of sixty-four.
Mr. Hilliard is a Democrat, and was for-
merly a member of the Baptist church, but later embraced the Methodist faith. He has served as Sunday-school superintendent and class leader, and is one of the prominent men of the church.
AMALIEL D. GODDARD, son of George and Caroline F. (Wales) Goddard, is a native-born citizen of the town of Orange, where he is an important factor of the agricultural and business inter- ests, owning a finely improved farm within its limits, and being extensively engaged in the manufacture and selling of lumber. He was born March 19, 1844, and is descended from worthy pioneer stock, his grandfather, John Goddard, having been an early settler of the place.
John Goddard was born and bred in Ver- mont. In early manhood coming to Orange, he was for many years one of its well-known citizens and very active in advancing its wel- fare. In 1794 he built a substantial house near North Orange; and this is now standing, in fairly good repair. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Forrester, bore him four- teen children, nine of whom grew to maturity ; namely, Amos, Solomon, Lucinda, Augusta, John, David, Charles, Mary, and George. He was a very prosperous tiller of the soil, clear- ing a good farm before his death, which oc- curred while he was in the prime of a vigorous manhood, being but fifty-six years old. His wife survived him many years, living to the age of fourscore. He was a very large and powerful man, a veritable athlete, tall and well proportioned; and many stories of his wonderful strength are still told. His wife was also a woman of fine physique, and their children, naturally inheriting the physical char- acteristics of their parents, were stout and well built; and it is noted that the parents and
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their nine children, at the time the youngest child was ten years of age, weighed two thou- sand and two hundred pounds.
George Goddard, son of John and Hannah F., was born in North Orange, November 2, ISII, and, being reared on a farm, was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits. He purchased a tract of land in Orange, which he ably managed several years, and in addi- tion carried on for some time a successful butchering busines. He subsequently re- moved to Athol, where he took a contract for laying the rails on the Fitchburg railway, a business for which his great strength made him peculiarly adapted, he being able to lift three rails at a time. He next went to Indiana, and was there engaged in a like occupation for two years, when he returned to Athol to accept a position in a machine-shop. Three years later he purchased the old homestead, where he spent his remaining days, living to the ripe age of eighty-one years. His wife, Caroline F. Wales, attained the venerable age of four- score and four years, passing to the bright world beyond in March, 1895. Six children were the fruitage of their union; namely, Lucinda, Augusta, Sumner, Emerance, Milly, and Gamaliel.
Gamaliel D. Goddard acquired a practical education in the North Orange schools, and first worked for wages in a furniture-shop at Tully. When very young he was one of the volunteers of the Civil War, having enlisted August 3, 1862, in Company F, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, in which he served bravely for a little more than a year. Returning to the duties of private life, Mr. Goddard resumed his position in the furniture- shop, remaining there eleven years. He then began investing his money in real estate, first buying the old Goddard homestead; and since that time he has bought and sold several
farms, and now owns about one hundred and fifty acres of land, one of his places being known as Wilbur Mill. In 1893 Mr. Goddard built a fine residence, one of the most comfort- able and conveniently arranged of any in the vicinity. In September, 1888, he formed a partnership with F. P. Williams in the lumber business, and since that time has been prosper- ously engaged in buying wood lots, from which he has cut the timber, sawing it into lumber and marketing the same. His trade is very large, three hundred thousand feet a year being a small estimate of the amount.
Mr. Goddard was united in marriage in 1867, to Hattie P. Forrester, who was born in North Orange, November 2, 1844. Her father, Nathaniel Forrester, was born August 6, 1821, and is a well-to-do and respected farmer of North Orange. He married Frances Goddard, who was born in Boston, July 16, 1821 ; and they became the parents of three children : Fannie, Hattie, and Waldo. The home circle of Mr. and Mrs. Goddard has been cheered by the birth of three children: Ger- trude, born November 28, 1868; Elliott, born August 7, 1870; and Albert, born September 16, 1872. In his political views Mr. Goddard is a stanch Republican, and has served his town with credit as Selectman. Socially, he is an esteemed member of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, Post No. 17, and of North Orange Grange, No. 86.
LISHA D. ALEXANDER, one of the prominent business men of Colerain, Franklin County, Mass., was born in the adjoining town of Leyden, July 21, 1818, son of Elisha B. and Mary (Brown) Alexander, the former a native of Colerain, the latter of Leyden. Solomon Alexander, father of Eli- sha B., was a native of Connecticut, and was
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one of the early settlers of Colerain, where he cultivated a farm. He died at Leyden at an advanced age. He was twice married, his first wife bearing five children, and his second wife, who was also a native of Connecticut, and lived to be eighty-two years of age, bear- ing one son, Elisha B., above named.
Elisha B. Alexander was born and brought up in Leyden, owning a farm in that town, and was a veterinary surgeon of some note. In politics he was a Democrat. He belonged to the State militia, bearing the rank of Cap- tain for some time, and receiving promotion to that of Colonel shortly before his resigna- tion. He died in Shutesbury, at the age of eighty; and his wife lived to be eighty-five. They were both members of the Methodist church, in which he was class leader for years. They had eight children, six of whom are now living, namely: Almira, widow of Josiah Gates, in Leyden; Elisha D., our subject ; Jerusha, widow of Edwin Gibbs, at Lock's Ponds, Shutesbury; Esther, widow of Peter Gates, in Bernardston; Nancy, widow of Stephen Brown, in Scott, N. Y. ; William, residing in Leyden, on the old farm. Electa P., wife of William Babcock, died at the age of seventy-two; and Henry S. Alexander died at forty-six.
Elisha D. Alexander lived on his father's farm in Leyden until forty years of age. When a young man he learned the carpenter's trade and also that of carriage-making. In 1865 he established himself at his present place of residence, where he shortly became busily engaged in conducting a farm, grist- mill and saw-mill conjointly, besides making use of the skill acquired in his youth in mend- ing wagons and doing other mechanical work, keeping a general repair-shop. Mr. Alexander is a first-class business man, widely known in these parts as a dealer in flour, grain, wood,
lumber, and fertilizers. His post-office ad- dress is West Leyden.
On January 20, 1848, he was married to Maria F. Stewart, of Colerain, a sketch of whose family history will be found in the no- tice of her brother, Edmund B. Stewart, on another page. Mrs. and Mrs. Alexander had nine children, four of whom are deceased, namely : Orrin and Orise, twins, and Leroy and Linnia. The living are: Mary, wife of Albert Robertson, of Winooski, Vt .; Eva E., wife of George Mattison, of Colerain; Elisha L., who has a laundry in Springfield; Emma H., wife of Lewis G. Blodgett, of Greenfield; and Edmund S., who lives with his parents. He was born December 31, 1860, and went to work in his father's mill when a boy. In 1886 he bought the mills of his father, and now gives his whole attention to milling, turn- ing out large quantities of lumber ready fin- ished for building purposes, and carrying on an extensive trade in feed, which is manufact- ured at the grist-mill.
Elisha D. Alexander votes the Democratic ticket. He and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which both are members ; and they are among the oldest and most es- teemed residents of the town. Mr. Alexander is a genial and whole-souled man, whom the cares of life have not soured or spoiled ; and it is a pleasure to meet him in business or friendly relations.
ENRY C. HASKELL is a well- known and highly successful farmer of Deerfield, whose property extends along the river-bank, and occupies a very de- sirable location. He was born at Wendell, in the eastern part of Franklin County, on Octo- ber.25, 1837; and his father, Nye Haskell, was also a native of that town, being a son of
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Nathan Haskell, who moved there from Hard- wick, Worcester County, Mass., and settled on a farm. The descent of Nathan Haskell from his first American ancestor, as gathered from the History of Hardwick, may here be briefly given, as follows: Roger Haskell, who was born in England, died in Beverly, Essex County, Mass., in 1637. His son Mark re- moved to Rochester, Plymouth County, in 1693, was Town Clerk there in 1697, and died in 1699. Mark's son Roger married Mary Swift, of Sandwich; and their son Ephraim bought land in Hardwick in 1773, which was occupied after his death, within less than a year, by his son Ephraim Haskell, Jr., who married Eunice Nye, of Rochester, and be- came the father of Nathan Haskell.
Nye Haskell was the youngest of the two children of Nathan and Lucy (Knowlton) Haskell, and he resided with his parents until their decease. He succeeded to the posses- sion of the homestead in Wendell, but sold the property in 1840 or 1841, and then for a short time conducted the Lake Hotel, which he soon sold, and became interested in a stage line from Greenfield to Barre. He finally moved to Deerfield, where in 1842 he pur- chased the farm now owned and occupied by his son, which he improved to a considerable extent in the way of rebuilding, and here fol- lowed agricultural pursuits with the most pros- perous results until his death, which occurred in 1860, at the age of fifty-four years. He married Esther Field, daughter of David Field; and their union was blessed with two children - Henry C. and John G., the latter being also a successful farmer of Deerfield. Mrs. Esther Field Haskell died at the home of her son Henry, aged sixty years. She was a descendant of Thomas Clarke, of whom an early historian of Plymouth says, "It is a well-received tradition that this ancient man
was the mate of the 'Mayflower' and the one who first landed on the island which bears his name." As a settler, Thomas Clarke arrived at Plymouth in the "Ann" in 1623. The question whether the latter was an officer of the "Mayflower" in 1620 is one which the genealogist, S. C. Clarke, who has compiled a record of some of his descendants, says "cannot now be settled with any certainty." Thomas Clarke appears to have been one of the leading men in the Plymouth Colony, being a deacon of the church from 1654 to 1697, when he died, at ninety-eight years of age. He was representative to the General Court in 1651 and 1655.
Henry C. Haskell received both a common- school and an academic education, and at home, assisting his father in carrying on the farm, was carefully trained in various branches of agriculture. After his father's death he purchased his brother's interest in the home- stead property, consisting of about eighty acres, and has since carried on general farm- ing with energy and ability, which has pro- duced most satisfactory results, his place bear- ing evidence of judicious husbandry. He conducts a well-equipped dairy, for the main- tenance of which he keeps a very fine herd of Jersey cows; and he also deals quite exten- sively in agricultural tools and implements, including Adriance Buckeye Mowers and De- laval Cream Separators.
In 1868 Mr. Haskell was united in marriage to Miss Rhoda McClellan, daughter of James McClellan, a prosperous farmer of Deerfield, who moved to this town from Colerain in 1840. Mr. Haskell is a Democrat in politics, and has always taken an active part in public affairs, having served as a Selectman for six years, three of which he has been Chairman of the Board, and Assessor two years; and, al- though his district is strongly Republican, he .
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was elected a Representative to the State legis- lature for the years 1887-88. He is of the liberal type in religion, and attends the Uni- tarian church.
MOS L. AVERY, the oldest merchant and one of the leading citizens of Charlemont, where he was born April 6, 1831, is a business man of much prominence in the western part of Franklin County. His parents were Abner and Dorinda (Barnard) Avery. Several of his ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were of Connecti- cut birth.
His father's father, Amos Avery, was born and reared in Montville, Conn., and there in youth and early manhood engaged in agricultural pursuits. Coming to Franklin County, Massachusetts, when it was mostly a wilderness, he settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Haskins, and built a tannery, which he operated for many years; and in addition thereto he worked at the shoemaker's trade to some extent. He cleared and improved a good farm and raised fine stock, including some noted horses, of which he was a great lover, making a thorough study of their habits and their care, he being for many years the only veterinary surgeon in the vicinity. He was a man of great influence, active in all works for the public good, and served in many of the local offices. In politics he was a Whig.
He married Eunice Avery, a daughter of Oliver and Abigail (Sears) Avery, who was not a relation, although bearing the same sur- name. Her father was born on November 10, 1728, and died June 27, 1815, and was an original settler of the town of Charlemont, coming here when most of its territory was in its original wildness, and buying a large tract of land, which has since been divided
into seven good-sized farms. After building the typical pioncer log cabin, Oliver Avery went to Greenfield for his bride, returning with her in an ox cart. Early and late, with undiminished energy, he labored in felling trees and improving the land; and before many years comfort and prosperity smiled upon his efforts, his homestead being one of the best tilled and cared for in the locality. He re- placed the original log structure by a substan- tially built frame house, which, although erected one hundred and fifteen years ago, is still in fine condition, and occupied by Deacon David Avery, a hale and hearty man, who was born there January 19, 1805. Captain Oliver Avery was an expert in the use of the rifle, and kept the family larder well supplied with game, having shot on or near his farm, in one year, thirty wolves, nineteen bears, sixty deer, and two moose. His wife was a faithful help- meet, and spun the flax which they raised, weaving it and making it into clothing and bedding. Amos and Eunice (Avery) Avery reared fifteen children; namely, Azubah, Abner, Betsey, Charlotte, Rebecca, Eunice, Abigail, Louis, Freelove, John, Abel, Oliver, David, Amos H., and Lucretia.
Abner Avery, their second child, was born March 19, 1786, on the old homestead, which he afterward bought. Following in the foot- steps of his ancestors as regarded his politics, he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and in his religious views was an Orthodox Congregationalist. Mr. Abner Avery spent his last years at Charlemont village, where his death occurred December 26, 1857. His first wife was Dorinda Barnard, of Shelburne, who was born September 24, 1787, and died October 24, 1833. His second wife was Sarah Dean. Of the two unions twelve chil- dren were born, the offspring of the first being William B., Rhoda A., Gardner F., Amanda
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L. and Clarissa (twins), and Amos L., of whom we write; and of the second, Charlotte M., John D., Wales T., Sarah D., Prudence R., and Abner D.
Amos L. Avery began when a boy of four- teen years to work out as a farm laborer, after- ward entering a factory, where he was engaged for five years in making scythe snaths. At the age of twenty-three he became a clerk for May- hew & Avery. Later he entered the employ of J. H. Wells, in East Hampton, remaining there a year, and was then engaged five years in Bernardston with R. F. Newcomb in the old brick store. In 1861 Mr. Avery decided to establish himself in business, and accord- ingly came to Charlemont and rented from the Mayhew heirs the store he now owns, pur- chasing it on the Ist of April, 1868. Begin- ning his mercantile career in a very modest way, he has gradually increased his business, adding to its departments, and has been obliged to enlarge his original building and erect a new storehouse. Mr. Avery now has one of the finest-equipped stores of general merchandise to be found in this part of the State, carrying a stock including everything, apparently, that the most exacting customer can call for, from hardware to dry goods. Strictly honorable in his dealings, prudent in the management of his affairs, and giving close attention to his business, he has won the confidence and es- teem of his patrons.
The union of Mr. Avery and Ellen R. Car- ter was celebrated June 7, 1859, and has been hallowed by the birth of one son, Oscar C., born September 15, 1860, now in business with his father. He married Henrietta M. Eldridge, and they have one child, Henry L. Mrs. Avery was born November 23, 1836, and is a daughter of M. T. and Rosina (Scott) Carter, respected residents of Hawley, where she was reared to womanhood.
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