USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts .. > Part 20
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Mr. Hinsdale was again married on April 3, 1885, his bride being Miss Isabel A. Brown, a daughter of Nahum P. and Sarah (Pettingill) Brown, of Cummington. Mr. Brown was born in Florida, Berkshire County, Mass .. December 16, 1815, son of Harvey and Rizpah (Thatcher) Brown, the former of whom was a successful farmer of Goshen, where he lived to be forty-five years of age, and his wife seventy-nine years old. They reared six chil- dren : Nahum P., Harvey R., Minerva, Al- mina, Sumner, and Achsah. Nahum P. Brown died January 25, 1878. By his first wife, Sarah Pettingill Brown, who was born May 30, 1817, and died September 3, 1850, he had three children; namely, Osro P., Orrilla E., and Isabell A. Mr. Brown mar- ried for his second wife Miss Clarissa Hawkes, who survives him, and is now living in Savoy, having reared five children: Edwin A., Orline H., Ida S., Achsah, and Inez L. Brown. In political affiliation Mr. Hinsdale is a Republican, and has rendered faithful service in town offices. He is a quiet and unostentatious man, and is esteemed for busi- ness ability and sterling character.
EWIS L. HASTINGS, one of Gill's most progressive and well - to - do farmers, was born in this town, June 5, 1843. His father, Onesimus Hast- ings, was born in Greenfield, as was also his grandfather, Oliver Hastings, the latter hav- ing been a farmer in that town for some years. In 1820 Onesimus Hastings moved to Gill, where he passed the latter years of his life upon the farm now owned by his son, and died here in 1891, at the age of ninety-six. His wife, who before marriage was Mary Newell, was a daughter of Rufus Newell, and was born at Wardsboro, Vt., from which place her
parents moved to Bernardston, Mass., where they resided until their decease. She became the mother of seven children, as follows : Richard, who died in infancy; Mary, who married Josiah Rice, of Greenfield; Laura, widow of William Boyle; Willard; George; Abbie, who married Peter King, of Northamp- ton; and Lewis L. The mother passed her declining years with her son Lewis, but died, at the age of eighty-nine years, at the home of her daughter Laura.
Lewis L. Hastings received a good educa- tion in the schools of his native town, and has spent his entire life upon the farm which he now conducts. He tenderly cared for his par- ents in their old age, and at their decease suc- ceeded to the possession of the old homcstcad, which is a very desirable piece of farm prop- erty, being well improved and in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Hastings is considered by his fellow-townsmen to be one of the most successful farmers in the locality.
On December 30, 1864, he was united in marriage to Martha A. Hayward, daughter of the Rev. Charles and Almira (Stacy) Hay- ward, of Royalston, Mass. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Hastings may herc be briefly named, as follows: Ellen, now deceased; Jen- nie, who married Charles Scott, of Rowe; Clarence, now a resident of Louisville, Ky. ; Flora; Charles; Lilla Belle and Hattie, deceased. Mrs. Hayward was called to rest at the age of sixty-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Hastings have two children : Clarence married Minnie Farrel, and lives on an adjoining farm. He has three children: Walter, Lewis, and Myra. Lilla Belle is still at home with her parents.
Mr. Hastings is a Republican in politics, and very active in the local government. Both himself and wife are members of the Methodist church, of which he is a Trustee
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and very prominent in all its affairs. Mr. Hastings is a progressive as well as a success- ful farmer, possessed in a high degree of the intelligence and practical ability needed in these later days to carry on agriculture with profitable results. Mr. Hastings is proud of his Holstein cattle, having a herd of about twenty registered animals, at the head of which we find a noted bull - " Belle Douglass Sir Colantha," No. 18365 ; "The Black Gal," No. 5071, and Pemsi, 2d, No. 9558, the two cows, being the ones from which his herd springs.
OLOMON H. AMIDON, the origi- nal of the portrait on the opposite page, an extensive contractor and builder at Miller's Falls, was born in Monroe, Franklin County, Mass., September 28, 1840. He is a son of David Amidon, a native of Reedsboro, whose father, Jedediah Amidon, was also born in that town, and there followed agricultural pursuits until his decease. David Amidon acquired the trade of shoemaking, at which he labored for some years in Reedsboro, later in life moving to North Adams, Berk- shire County, where he died, at the age of sixty-nine years, having been a captain in the State militia. His wife, whose name before her marriage was Bertha Dunbar, was a native of Plymouth, Conn., daughter of Isaiah Dun- bar, of that place; and she was the mother of nine children, of whom six are now living, namely: Moses; Charles; William; Sarah Jane, who married John Taft, a resident of North Adams; Lucy M., wife of Stewart Lamon; and Solomon H. Mr. Amidon's par- ents were members of the Methodist church; and his mother, who died at North Adams at the age of eighty-one years, was especially noted for her earnest piety and Christian-like character.
Solomon H. Amidon received his early edu- cation at the schools and academy of North Adams, later attending a select school at Williamstown, and, after completing his stud- ies, went to Greenfield, where he was em- ployed in the planing-shop for a period of three years. He then enlisted as a private in Company G, Tenth Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers, serving three years, during which time he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. He was discharged at Boston, hav- ing been present at most of the famous battles participated in by the Sixth Army Corps. Returning to his former occupation at Green- field, he was there engaged one year, and then worked as a carpenter in this vicinity until 1865, when he went West, and was employed for a time at Altona, Ill. On his return to the East he settled at Miller's Falls, where he has since resided. He has erected a fine block at this place, the silverware factory at Green- field, the stone for which he quarried from a ledge near by, and has also built all of the houses on both sides of the river at Miller's Falls, numbering one hundred and forty, together with various factories, churches, and other structures in this locality, having just completed a dam, eighteen feet high and two hundred feet long, across Miller's River, to be used for furnishing electric power for the electric railroad between Miller's Falls and Greenfield.
In 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss Miriam A. Jones, daughter of Charles H. Jones, of Cortland, N. Y., a cabinet finisher by trade, whose ancestors were New England farmers. Mr. Jones and his wife, Julia Love, of Ithaca, N. Y., still reside at Cortland. They have had four children, two of whom are now living, namely: Miriam A .; and An- nette, who married C. H. Cook, of Cortland. Mrs. Amidon's mother is a member of the
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Presbyterian church; and her father, together with his ten brothers and sisters, are all united with some church.
Mr. and Mrs. Amidon have three children, namely: Minnie; Charles H., a carpenter, who is engaged in business with his father; and L. E. Cleveland Amidon. Mr. Amidon is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the United Friends at Turner's Falls, is a Democrat in politics, having served as Assessor five years, a member of the Board of Health one year, Road Surveyor and Con- stable for several years, and is now serving his fourth year as Selectman, having been first elected in 1892. In his religious views he is of the liberal faith; and Mrs. Amidon is still a member of the Presbyterian church of Cort- land, N. Y.
ISS CARRIE CANNING, a highly successful teacher, who for some time has been actively identified with the schools of Gill Centre, was born in the town of Gill, where also her father, the late Josiah D. Canning, was born, August 13, 1816. Her grandfather, the Rev. Josiah W. Canning, was a native of New Braintree, Worcester County, Mass., and was the son of Cornelius Canning, who was likewise a native of this State. Two of Miss Canning's great- grandfathers, maternal and paternal, served through the Revolutionary War from the bat- tle of Bunker Hill to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown.
Josiah W. Canning, who was ordained a minister of the gospel at Gill in 1806, later became a teacher at Williamstown, Mass., and also New York State, and fitted many young men for college. He preached in Gill at two different periods, nearly thirty-six years in all, during the greater part of the time as pastor of the Congregational church,
and died there, at the age of seventy-four or seventy-five years. Throughout his active career as a minister he was exceedingly busy, both in pastoral work and with his pen, and at his decease left a collection of eighteen hundred complete sermons. All of his sons were engaged in editorial or other literary work. His wife, Miss Canning's grand- mother, whose maiden name was Almira Smith, and who was a native of New Marl- boro, Mass., was the mother of five sons, one of whom, Ebenezer S., an editor at Detroit, died of cholera; another, Edward W. B., studied for the ministry; Josiah D. became a prominent resident of Gill; William Pitt be- came a surgeon in the navy, and died of yel- low fever; Joseph C. was also a surgeon in the navy during the Civil War, and later In- ternal Revenue Collector at New York City. Mrs. Almira Smith Canning died at Gill, aged seventy-four. She was a member of the Congregational church.
Josiah D. Canning was born and reared on the old Canning homestead, which is situated nearly opposite to his daughter's present resi- dence, and at a very early age exhibited an aptitude for literary pursuits, in which he soon displayed marked ability. At the age of thirteen he constructed a printing-press, and by its aid he inaugurated the publication of a journal known as The Village Post. This paper was quite ably conducted, as is shown by its complete file for two years, which is now in possession of his daughter; and, as it had a large circulation, extending from New England to Texas, the juvenile editor and pro- prietor became favorably known as a writer upon various subjects. Young Canning re- ceived a liberal education, and after finishing his studies was employed in a printing-office at Greenfield, from which he later went to Wheeling, West Va., where the journalistic
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experience obtained in his youth became of special value to him. Having spent several years in the latter place, he returned to the old homestead for the purpose of assisting in caring for his parents during their declining years. He next engaged in agriculture, vary- ing the monotony of farm life by making fre- quent and able contributions to different newspapers, which were received with favor, being largely read; and thus he continued to be occupied for the remainder of his active life.
His last literary effort, which was known as "Connecticut River Reeds," was published in 1892, a short time subsequent to his decease, at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. Canning was a strong and well-preserved man both physically and mentally, and had been out and around during the day on which that event occurred. He possessed a very retentive memory, both for places which he had visited and the vast amount of literature which had fallen under his notice; and his fame as a writer not only extended over the United States, but also reached across the Atlantic, his work receiving most favorable commenda- tion on the other side. He was Town Clerk and Treasurer for at least a quarter of a cen- tury, and was chosen Selectman, but was pre- vented from serving in that capacity by excessive labor in other directions. He was a member of the State legislature in 1866, served as Postmaster for fifty years, and fre- quently appeared as an orator in different sec- tions of the State, he being a widely known and thoroughly-respected citizen. Some of the older readers of these pages will, no doubt, recall the fact that a collection of poems by Josiah D. Canning was published in 1838, and that in 1852 another volume, en- titled "Harp and Plough," was also issued by him, which enjoyed a very extensive sale.
He married in 1842 Josephine M. Purple, daughter of Ezra Purple, a farmer, who re- sided at what was known as Grass Hill Farm, now the site of the Mount Hermon School. Her family was a prominent one in that local- ity, a brother having been upon the School Board for many years; and her parents died at the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Canning were the parents of six children, namely : Nellie, who died at the age of twenty-three years; Clara, who died aged about eighteen months; George, who occupies the old Can- ning homestead; Donald, who died in Flor- ida, aged twenty-nine years; Sarah, who married E. S. Chapin, a business man of Boston, and resides in Cambridge; and Car- rie, whose name introduces the present sketch. The mother passed from earth at the age of fifty-nine years. She was an attendant of the Congregational church ..
Miss Carrie Canning, who seems to have inherited from her father a love of learning and a capacity for scholarly attainments, after completing the usual course provided at the district school, pursued more advanced studies successively at Bernardston and at the Berk- shire Institute in New Marlboro. She then commenced the arduous profession of teaching in her native town, her superior natural abili- ties and well-trained mind standing her in such good stead that she has continued to pre- side over one school for a period of twenty- seven consecutive terms. She has always displayed a deep and undivided interest in her work, and has never allowed outside mat- ters of any kind to interfere with proper atten- tion to her professional duties, testimony as to her personal worth, her sound judgment, and practical ability as an educator being afforded by the fact that for three years she has been called upon to serve as a member of the School Board.
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UGENE A. NEWCOMB, junior mem- ber of the firm of Sheldon & Newcomb, hardware merchants, of Greenfield, has filled the office of Treasurer of Franklin County with fidelity and ability continuously since his first appointment to this responsible position in June, 1891, having given such universal satisfaction that he was elected November, 1891, for three years, and for an- other term of three years in November, 1895. He is a native of the county, having been born November 17, 1851, in the town of Ley- den, on the same farm on which his father, Thomas Jefferson Newcomb, first drew the breath of life in 1808.
The latter was of the eighth generation in direct line from Captain Andrew Newcomb, a well-known shipmaster on the New England coast in his day, who married his second wife in Boston in 1663. The intervening genera- tions were successively represented by a sec- ond Andrew, who bore the title Lieutenant ; Simon; Hezekiah, born in 1694; Peter, 1718; Hezekiah, 1747; and Hezekiah, 3d. Lieu- tenant Andrew, who was son of Captain New- comb's first wife, was living, it is supposed, on or near the Isles of Shoals in 1666, but removed with his family about 1675 to Edgar- town, on Martha's Vineyard. His son Simon, who was born about the year 1666, removed in 1713 to Lebanon, Conn. In that old town was born in 1769 Simon's great-grandson, Hezekiah, who is recorded as having been Justice of the Peace thirty years and a member of the General Court twenty years. This was when he was living in Bernardston, Mass., in the western part, now Leyden, to which place he removed with his parents when about three years old. Thomas Jefferson Newcomb was devoted to farming during his early life, but afterward travelled for a commercial house until 1877, when he retired from active pur-
suits. In 1835 he married Rebecca S. Hitch- cock, a native of New York City; and they became the parents of twelve children, of whom three sons and five daughters grew to mature years, and are yet living.
Eugene A. Newcomb was always of an en- ergetic and self-reliant disposition; and, al- though he was obliged to contribute toward his own support from the time he was eleven years old, first beginning work for the neigh- boring farmers during the summer seasons, and attending school in winters only, he ob- tained a good and practical education. When a little older, he worked in Guilford and South Deerfield throughout the harvest season, and in the winter was a student at Powers Insti- tute, Bernardston, where he made excellent use of his time. Mr. Newcomb began his mercantile career as a clerk in the hardware store of George A. Arms in this city, selling goods for him for eleven years, in that time becoming conversant with every detail of the business. In 1881 Mr. Newcomb and his present partner, John Sheldon, bought out the stock and good will of his former employer ; and they have since carried on an extensive and lucrative business, with an enviable repu- tation for fair dealing. Mr. Newcomb is noted for his good judgment; and he possesses traits of character that have given him influ- ence in business, political, and social circles, and gained him a host of friends and well- wishers. In politics he zealously supports the Republican party, and for many years has been one of the Greenfield Board of Regis- trars, and is at present one of the Water Com- missioners. He is prominent in the society of Odd Fellows, having passed all the chairs of the subordinate lodge, and is a supporter of the Congregational church, of which he and his wife are attendants.
Mr. Newcomb was united in marriage May
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IO, 1872, to Hannah T. Dcakin, who was born in Sheffield, England, January 23, 1851, and at the age of thirteen years came with her parents, William and Hannah T. (Thompson) Deakin, to this country. Her father was for many years a commercial traveller, but subse- quently established himself in the coal busi- ness in London, England. He is now living in Philadelphia, Pa., and has retired from active pursuits. His wife died in 1876, in the fifty-third year of her age, leaving three sons and two daughters. The wedded path- way of Mr. and Mrs. Newcomb has been brightened by the birth of four children, namely : William J., a graduate of the Green- field High School, now a clerk in his father's store; Edith, who was graduated from the same school in 1895; E. Robert, twelve years of age; and Rebecca S., a bright little miss, two and one-half years old. They have a very pleasant home at 18 Highland Avenue, into which they moved in 1888, and where their many friends are always sure of a warm greeting.
ENRY J. SMITH, one of Colerain's representative citizens, owns a pro- ductive farm near Griswoldville, and occupies a fine comfortable residence, which he erected in 1894. He is the descend- ant of an old family, his ancestors having settled here at an early date. He was born at Colerain, February 15, 1847, son of David and Emeline (Johnson) Smith, the father being a native of the above-named town. The grandfather, John Smith, was also born in Colerain, a son of David, one of the early set- tlers of the town, who there passed his life in agricultural pursuits. John Smith was a suc- cessful farmer and a very prominent citizen, holding various town offices. The latter por- tion of his life was passed in New York State,
where he died, at the age of nearly eighty years. He was a Whig in politics and an attendant of the Baptist church.
David Smith, father of our subject, passed his entire life in Colerain, where he became a prosperous farmer, and, besides the old Smith homestead, owned at one time about six hun- dred acres of land, being one of the most extensive farmers of the town. He served as a Selectman and Assessor, and was for many years a member of the School Board. He was liberal in his religious views, and in politics was a Republican. His death occurred in his seventy-ninth year. His wife died at the age of seventy-four, having been the mother of eight children - six sons and two daughters - as follows: Lysander and Eva, both resi- dents of Greenfield; Emma, a twin sister of Eva, residing in Charlemont ; Henry J., the principal subject of this article; Edwin C. and Charles W., both of Colerain; Frank A., of Shelburne Falls, and Fred A., twins, who reside in Greenfield.
Mr. Smith received his education in the schools of Colerain and Shelburne. He adopted agriculture as an occupation, and re- mained at home until reaching the age of twenty-five, at which time he moved to Cort- land County, New York. After residing there for seven years, he returned to Colerain, and some years later, in 1888, purchased his present farm, a part of his grandfather's origi- nal estate, which has been in the family for a period of one hundred years. He now pos- sesses two hundred acres of very valuable land, upon which he conducts general farm- ing, giving special attention to dairying.
On September 20, 1872, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Lelia Mather, of Cole- rain, daughter of Frederick and Betsey Mather; and they have five children, as fol- lows: Allen F., a clerk at Griswoldville;
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William D. ; Emma B. : Frederick; and Sarah - all of whom reside at home. Mrs. Smith's parents are no longer living. Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics, and has served as Selectman two years and Assessor one year. He is industrious and energetic as a farmer, and is a gentleman, courteous and affable in manner. He is liberal in his religious views, while Mrs. Smith is a member of the Methodist church.
J OSEPH H. LAMB, proprietor of a finely equipped store at 8 Bank Row, in Greenfield, carries a fine stock of musical merchandise of all kinds, also watches, jewelry, and spectacles, in which he has a large and profitable trade. He is a native of the Green Mountain State, born October 11, 1830, in the town of Vernon, where his father, Mason Lamb, was engaged in general farming for many years.
Mr. Lamb's paternal grandfather, Nathan Lamb, was a descendant of a captain in the British army, who emigrated to the United States about the time of the Revolution, and soon after the close of that war settled at Framingham, Mass. He there married Lucy Pepper, and after a few years of farming in that vicinity removed in 1799 to Guilford, Vt., where his death occurred in 1809. His widow survived him many years, dying in 1854, at the ripe old age of eighty-six. They reared a large family of children, of whom one son, Amherst Lamb, was a Baptist minister of ability and mark, having been ordained to his sacred calling December 18, 1821, in the town of Guilford. He was at one time a representative to the Vermont legislature from the town of Whitingham, where he was long a resident, and where he departed this life in 1870, aged seventy-four years, leaving two
sons. Another son, John Lamb, was a noted local preacher of the Methodist denomination.
Mason Lamb was born in 1799, probably in Guilford, Vt., and was a practical and pros- perous tiller of the soil. After his marriage he settled on a farm which he bought in the town of Vernon. His earthly career was not long as measured by years, his death occurring in 1848, while he was yet in the prime of manhood. He married on April 9, 1828, Mrs. Alice Pierce Tyler, a daughter of Benja- min and Lucinda (Sargeant) Pierce, of Dum- merston, Vt., where she was born in 1795. Several children were the fruit of this union, of whom two died in childhood, and three are now living, namely: Joseph H., of whom we write; Lucy Ann, wife of William Cole, of Putney, Vt .; and Albert E., of this city. The mother had been previously married, her first husband, to whom she was united Decem- ber 6, 1819, having been Jesse Tyler, a well- to-do farmer, who died in his thirty-fourth year, leaving her a fair estate and a family of six little ones, of whom the following is a brief mention: Roxanna is the wife of George W. Kinney, ot Perkinsville, Vt .; Sophia, of Worcester, Mass., is the widow of the late Jesse Frost; Nancy M. is the widow of Rufus Scott, of Dummerston, Vt .; Betsey, widow of Orrin Weatherhead, of Guilford, Vt .; Jesse died in Guilford; and Benjamin P., a resident of Staceyville, Iowa. The mother lived to a venerable age, dying in 1873.
Joseph H. Lamb was reared a farmer's boy in his Vermont home, and after leaving the district school was a student for a year and a half at the village academy. He early became familiar with agricultural labors; but, finding them neither pleasant nor profitable to him, he left home in the spring of 1851 to seek his fortune in Greenfield, and the first year there- after worked for the Russell Cutlery Company,
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during the next six years being employed by the Greenfield Tool Company. Prudent in his expenditures and wise in his savings, Mr. Lamb had by this time accumulated some moncy; and now, in partnership with one of his associates, he opened a grocery store and restaurant. Six months later he bought out his partner, and continued the business alone until 1861. In 1866 he embarked in his pres- ent enterprise. Having begun with sales of, the Estey organ, which has a world-wide re- nown, he has added other instruments and all kinds of musical articles, being the oldest man in the music trade in this part of Massa- chusetts. He has met with excellent success in his business, and has the reputation of being a thoroughly trustworthy man to deal with.
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