USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts .. > Part 33
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business at Montague on a very small scale, with a capital of sixty dollars, himself and wife being the only operatives, until a time when its growth required assistance; and ere- long the enterprise assumed such importance as to necessitate the employment of twenty hands. In 1887 he moved to Greenfield, where he established his factory in the large three-story brick building that had been erected by the county for the sheriff's resi- dence and jail. Mr. Weisbrod purchased this property, which afforded ample facilities for the enlargement of his business; and he now employs from forty to seventy hands.
Mr. Weisbrod and Miss Mary E. Newcomb. of North Adams, were married at Greenfield on September 14, 1869: and they have seven children, one of whom. a daughter. died at the age of seven years. The four sons and two daughters who survive are as follows: Carl, who wedded Florence Leslie, grand-daughter of the famous publisher, Frank Leslie, and is in company with his father; Willis Hamilton. also in company with his father; Luther H., an apt and industrious workman in his father's employ: Bertha, who is at present attending school; Elsie; and Frederick William. Mrs. Weisbrod was well educated, and taught school previous to her marriage. She and her husband are members of the Congregational church. and Mr. Weisbrod is Deacon of this and a Director and the Treasurer of the Young Men's Christian Association.
ENRY WARD CLOGSTON, a suc- cessful farmer and dairyman of Ber- nardston, was born in Springfield, Mass., June 22, 1859, son of William and Sarah E. (Poor) Clogston. William Clogs- ton's father, John Glasford Clogston, was a native of Goffstown, N. H., born. August 5,
1794; and his wife, Eunice (Roberts) Clogs- ton, was born in Strafford, Vt., July 29, 1797. He was a farmer, and resided in Strafford many years. On the breaking out of the War of 1812 he enlisted, and did good service for his country. He and his wife belonged to the Universalist church, and in politics he was a Republican. They had eight children, five of whom are now living: Spencer Clogston lives in Tunbridge, Vt .; Mary, in Norwich, Vt. ; Aphia, in Strafford, Vt. ; and Luman, in Fair Haven, Vt .; Will- iam, in Springfield, Mass. John, Henry, and Lucius are deceased.
William Clogston, the father of Henry Ward, was born in Tunbridge, Orange County, Vt., July 15, 1831, but during the greater part of his life has been a resident of Springfield, Mass. For at least twenty years he has acted in the capacity of travelling salesman for the Powers Paper Company, and is still with them, having been in their ser- vice longer than any other man employed by them. He is a good business man, and knows how to make customers and friends when on the road, and does not lack for the latter, whether at home or en route. He owns a fine library, and has a valuable collection of antiquities and other curiosities, and is extremely well informed in the early history of Massachusetts.
William Clogston was united in marriage to Sarah E. Poor, who was born in Robbinston, Me., February 20, 1833. Ancestors of Mrs. Sarah E. Poor Clogston were among the very early settlers of America. A certain Phillip Poor immigrated to this country so long ago that the date is very uncertain, but certain it is that many years later his descendants, among whom were Captain Thomas Poor and Captain Jonathan Poor, took active part in the French and Indian War; and members of this
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family have also taken part in the Revolution and, later still, in the great Rebellion. Mr. and Mrs. Clogston have had four children, two of whom are deceased, namely: Willie, who was born in June, 1853, and died in 1855; and Harry V. The only daughter, Ida F. Clogston, born August 9, 1856, is the wife of Walter Shipman, of Springfield, who is connected with the Springfield Republican. Henry W. Clogston, the subject of this sketch, was the youngest-born of the family. The parents are liberal in their religious views, and in politics both father and son are Republican.
Henry Ward Clogston spent the days of his boyhood in the city of Springfield, where he attended school and formed many of the friendships of youth which are so pleasant to renew in riper years. At the age of sixteen he left school; and, entering the office of the Springfield Homestead, he began mastering the mysteries of the printer's craft, but at the end of a year gave it up, and entered upon his career as a farmer. He commenced by work- ing out, receiving for his first month's wages five dollars. For three seasons he worked for others, but the fourth year hired a piece of land in Springfield, which he worked for two years. So well did he succeed that he was enabled to buy one hundred and twenty acres of land at Bernardston; and on March 10, 1881, he moved to this town, and started as his own master on his own land. He has since acquired adjoining property, and now has in all one hundred and forty-two acres of very good land, with convenient buildings. At present he has twenty-two head of stock - full blood Jerseys and grades. He gives his entire time and thought to his farming and dairying, and is making a grand success. The cream from his dairy is in great demand, and Mr. Clogston is already reckoned as one
of Bernardston's most enterprising and thriv- ing farmers.
On September 12, 1881, Henry Clogston was united in marriage to Eva L. Ross, who was born in Northfield, Vt., March 27, 1862, daughter of Freeman and Jane O. (Preston) Ross, both now living in South Royalton, Vt., where her father follows the carpenter's trade. Mr. Clogston and wife are members of the Unitarian church, and he is an adherent of the Republican party in politics. They have; one son, Willie H. Clogston, who was born July 3, 1882.
APTAIN ALVAH P. NELSON, a re- tired farmer and lumberman of Cole- rain, and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in this town, May 9, 1828, a son of David and Hannah (Brown) Nelson. His father was a native of Colerain, his mother of Rhode Island; and their marriage took place on February 5, 1824. Captain Nelson's grandfather, William Nelson, moved from Stonington, Conn., to Whitingham, Vt., where he lived one or two years, and then came to Colerain during the early days of the settlement of the town. He cleared a farm in the wilderness, first owning a small tract of fifty acres; but by his persistent industry he acquired a large farm, which he successfully conducted for many years. He died there, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha Riddell, and who also lived to reach a good old age, became the mother of six children - three sons and three daughters - who grew to maturity, and have passed away.
David Nelson succeeded to the possession of the old homestead, and resided there during his entire life, engaging in the lumber busi- ness in connection with farming. He at-
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ALVAH P. NELSON.
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tained a prominent position in the community, was a Selectman for four or five years, and also held other offices in the town. He was an officer in the State militia, a Democrat in politics. and liberal in his religion. His death occurred at the Nelson homestead, March 19, 1876, at the age of seventy-four years, his wife having died at the age of fifty- eight years. Of their seven children six lived to reach maturity, namely: Willard D., a resident of Colerain; Marcus, who now re- sides at Champlain. Ill. ; Alvah P., of this sketch : Samantha B., wife of F. H. Ballou; Elizabeth, who died June 12, 1852, at the age of eighteen years: and Mary A., who died December 4. 1867, at the age of thirty-one years. she being the first wife of F. H. Bal- lou. She left one son, William H.
Alvah P. Nelson was educated in the schools of his native town, and on reaching manhood adopted the business of his father, which he followed throughout the active period of his life, with the exception of a year passed in the service of his country during the Civil War, he having enlisted in Sep- tember. 1862, as Captain of Company B, Fifty-second Massachusetts Volunteers. He participated in the battle of Port Hudson, together with other memorable engagements, and, being disabled, was honorably discharged on August 14, 1863. Subsequent to his return home he continued to conduct business successfully in connection with farming. He owns a very fine farm, which is well im- proved, and possesses one of the most comfort- able homes in the neighborhood.
On January 17, 1865, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary A. Barber, who was born at Halifax, Vt., June 15, 1842, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Lucy (Nelson) Barber, of that town, her father having been born there on October 10, 1817, and her
mother at Colerain, November 9, 1816. Mr. Barber is a Republican in politics, and has been a member of the Board of Selectmen. He is also active in other official capacities, and is a Universalist in his religious views. They have had a family of four children, three of whom are now living, namely: Maria A., wife of Charles B. Denison, of Colerain; George A., a resident of Halifax, Vt .; and Mary A., who is the eldest. The other, Frank H. Barber, died at the age of twenty- one years.
Captain and Mrs. Nelson have no children. They are liberals in religion, and are so- cially very popular, having a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Captain Nelson is a Democrat in politics; and he is a com- rade of Greenleaf Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Colerain. Many will recognize with pleasure the portrait of this stanch patriot on another page. Vain were the hope of the republic without its brave defenders :
" Men - high-minded men -
Men who their duties know,
But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain !"
HRISTIAN F. SCHUSTER, profes- sor of music, residing in Greenfield, Franklin County, is a gentleman of talent and culture, occupying a high position among the musical celebrities of Western Massachusetts. He was born in New Prussia, near Leipsic, Germany, in 1826, son of Adam and Louisa (Lipold) Schuster, his father being a farmer in very comfortable circum- stances. They reared a family of five chil- dren, but he was the only one to come to America; and one son and two daughters are still living in the fatherland.
Christian F. Schuster inherited in a marked degree the musical ability native to his par-
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ents; and special attention was early paid to its development, his entire time for four years, which he spent in Altenburg, being devoted to the study of music. Among the other musical instruments on which he learned to play was the trombone, in order that, if drafted into the army, he might join the band. At the age of twenty-two years he came with the Germania Band to the United States, making the voyage in a sailing-vessel, and being thirty-five days on the ocean. Of the thirty-five members of the band who came over at that time only two besides Mr. Schuster are now living, namely: Herr Eckhart, a noted musician of St. Paul, Minn .; and Professor Eichler, formerly leader of the Germania Band in Boston, now living in that city, retired from active pursuits. Mr. Schuster is still hale and hearty, young for his years. He has always devoted himself to the teaching of music, both instrumental and vocal, paying special attention to voice culture, teaching in public schools, and giving private lessons. For some years after coming to this country Mr. Schuster remained with the Germania Band; and he was the first person to play the trombone solo in the city of New York, mak- ing his appearance in the old tabernacle on Broadway. He subsequently joined the Ital- ian Opera Company of Philadelphia, belong- ing to it for some time, and afterward settled in Brattleboro, Vt., and while there played the organ in the Congregational church every Sunday.
Mr. Schuster was first married in Brattle- boro, Vt., in 1854, to Lizzie Brown, a daugh- ter of Addison Brown, whose widow is still living in that place, an intelligent and active old lady of ninety-two years. Mrs. Lizzie B. Schuster died in 1860, leaving four children, of whom two died when young, the living ones being Paul, who is cashier of the Forest
City National Bank, of Rockford, Ill., and is married; and Elizabeth, the wife of Dr. Twitchell, of Dorchester, Mass. Mr. Schus- ter was again married in 1865 to Augusta R. K. Jonas, who was born in Kleine Heils- bach (one hour's ride from Frankfort-on-the- Main), Germany, and of this union three sons and one daughter have been born, namely: Christian, Jr., who resides in Holyoke, Mass., is married, and has one child; Carl, a pianist ; Franz, who is in the newspaper business; and Alma, a very interesting and bright young lady, living at Holyoke, Mass., with her brother.
Politically, Mr. Schuster is an adherent of the Democratic party, although taking no active part in local affairs. He is held in the highest respect throughout the community, where he has hosts of friends, with never a known enemy, and, with the exception of his unfortunate collision with a highwayman, has had a most happy life. At that time he very narrowly escaped death, being horribly cut and bruised about the head and face, from the effects of which he was long unconscious and his life despaired of for twelve days, during which he suffered much, both from the nervous shock and the physical injuries.
R ANSOM S. FOSTER, a prosperous and well-known farmer of Leyden, Franklin County, was born in this town, February 9, 1826, son of Ezra and Nancy (Smith) Foster. His grandfather, Ezekiel Foster, who was a native of Connecti- cut and son of an English settler in that State, removed when a young man to Ber- nardston, Mass., where he married, and set- tled down to farming, which he followed in connection with hunting and fishing; for at that time the woods and streams abounded in
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game and fish of various kinds. In 1782 he came to Leyden. and here spent his last days. He was a patriot soldier of the Revolution. Ezra Foster. the eldest son of Ezekiel Foster, was born in Bernardston, September 21, 1779, and was therefore about three years old when his parents removed to Leyden. He received a good practical education in the schools of this town, where he afterward engaged in agricultural pursuits, and became a prominent citizen. He was chosen by his townsmen to fill various offices of responsibility and trust, that of Selectman among others; and he also served as a Captain in the State militia.
Ransom S. Foster, who was reared to the vocation of a farmer, received a practical edu- cation in the district schools, and in addition to his agriculture has engaged in carpentry and wagon-making. The old Foster home- stead, where he now resides, was willed to him. It comprises one hundred and fifty acres of productive land, and on it is one of the oldest houses standing in Leyden to-day. Mr. Foster was married February 18, 1852, to Miss Climena Frizzell, who was born in Leyden, April 19, 1828, daughter of Rufus and Sabra (Wells) Frizzell. Her father was born October 6, 1793, being the son of Reu- ben and Anna (Squires) Frizzell, the former of whom died January 20, 1818, aged forty- seven years, and the latter June 16, 1844, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Rufus Frizzell was successfully engaged in the trade of a carpenter, which he followed in conjunc- tion with farming in Leyden, where he resided up to the time of his death, July 20, 1867. His wife, Sabra Wells Frizzell, was born June 11, 1793, and died December 6, 1845. She bore him six children, of whom Mrs. Climena F. Foster is the only survivor.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Foster has been blessed by the birth of seven children -
one son and six daughters - all of whom grew to maturity ; and five are living to-day. A brief record follows: Mary C., wife of Henry Potter, of Brattleboro, Vt., died in her twenty-seventh year; Sara S. Foster died at twenty-one years of age; Lottie L. is the wife of Frank J. Allen, of Greenfield, Mass .; Nora H. is the wife of F. A. Cowan, of Natural Bridge, N. Y .; Nancy S. married Dr. D. Griffin, of Lynn, Mass .; Frank R. Foster lives on the old homestead; and Lilia E. Foster was educated in the State Normal School in Salem, Mass., and is a school- teacher.
Frank R. Foster was educated in the schools of Leyden, and for a time was engaged in teaching school. Since his return to the old homestead he has successfully devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, and is to-day classed among the rising young farmers of the town. In politics he is a supporter of the Republican party, and for three years has served on the School Committee, a position he is well qualified to fill, as he takes especial interest in educational matters. He is also an active and prominent member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. In political affilia- tion Mr. Ransom S. Foster is a Republican, and in religious belief is a Universalist. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Foster's whole life has been spent in the community where he now resides, and of which he is a useful and highly respected citizen.
EVI J. GUNN, a prominent manufact- urer of Greenfield, was born in the village of Conway, June 2, 1830. His father, Levi Gunn, was born at Montague in 1793, and was a son of Levi Gunn, Sr., a farmer in that town, who died in the prime
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of life, leaving a wife and three children. Grandfather Gunn's widow, whose maiden name was Mary Jewett, afterward married a Mr. Hale; and this last union was blessed with three children, Mrs. Hale dying in Mon- tague, at an advanced age. Mr. Gunn's father followed the trade of blacksmith, resid- ing in the towns of Conway and Buckland. In 1814 he married Delia Dickinson, of Whately, Mass. ; and they reared a family of eight children - two sons and six daughters - of whom six are now living. Levi Gunn, the second of the name, died at Conway in 1862 ; and his widow, who long survived him, de- parted this life in 1881, aged eighty-eight years, both having been active to the last.
Levi J. Gunn attended the schools of his native town, where he obtained a fair educa- tion; and he also acquired in his youth some knowledge of his father's trade. At the age of eighteen years he abandoned that calling, and entered the employ of a manufacturer of carpenters' tools at Conway, from which place he came to Greenfield about the year 1853. Here he continued in the same business until 1864, when, in company with Charles H. Amidon, he commenced the manufacture of clothes-wringers, the firm conducting a suc- cessful and profitable business for a period of ten years. At the expiration of this time a stock company was formed, with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars, for the purpose of developing and carrying on an enterprise for the manufacture of hardware specialties, consisting of carpenters' and other mechanical tools, their factory being located at Miller's Falls. Mr. Gunn has held the position both of treasurer and manager of the company since its organization, his energy and capability having been the means of establishing and maintaining a large and very successful trade, their annual production
being greatly in excess of its former amount, and requiring the services of two hundred workmen.
On October 5, 1853, Mr. Gunn married Miss Esther C. Graves, of Sunderland, daugh- ter of Cephas and Miranda (Church) Graves, who were both natives of that town. Her father, who was a prosperous farmer, died in 1847, aged fifty-four; and his widow was called to rest in 1865, aged sixty-six years. They had a family of eleven children, ten of whom lived to reach maturity; one, Allen, a farmer, now resides upon the parental home- stead of his wife; another, Elias, is a resident of Oshkosh, Wis .; and a third, Royal C. Graves, resides in Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Gunn have one son, Levi Walter, a graduate of the Greenfield High School, who married Sybella Eastman.
The family attend the Congregational church, of which Mr. Gunn is a member of the Financial Committee, and for the past fourteen years have occupied a most pleas- antly situated and comfortable residence, sur- rounded by giant elms, at 24 Main Street - a delightful home. Mr. Gunn is a Republican in politics, and has served two terms as As- sessor and Selectman. He was for two years a State Senator, and served a similar length of time as a member of the Governor's Coun- cil. He is a stockholder in the Greenfield Savings Bank.
ENRY S. RANNEY, an honored and respected citizen of Ashfield, is noted as being, both in point of age and time of service, the senior incumbent of the office of Town Clerk in Franklin County. He was born in Ashfield, Mass., March 5, 1817. His paternal grandfather, George Ranney, was born at Chatham, Conn.,
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January 9, 1747. In 1780, after his marriage with Esther Hall, he came to Ashfield, and bought one hundred acres of wild land, which now constitutes the farm owned by Charles Howes. He cleared a large portion, erected good buildings, and, while establishing a home and rearing a family, acquired a compe- tency. He was a stanch adherent of the old Whig party, but held no political office. With his wife. his religious associations were with the Congregationalists. She died at about middle age, and he at the age of seventy-five years, leaving seven children: namely, Samuel. Jesse, Joseph, Hannah, Esther. Anna, and George.
George Ranney, Jr., was the youngest child born to the pioneer household. his birth occur- ring May 12, 1789, on the Ashfield home- stead, which he afterward inherited, and managed with skill until 1832. Then, selling his property, he removed to Phelps, N. Y., where, with the exception of one year, during which he was engaged in the lumber business in Michigan, he carried on general farming until the time of his decease, at the age of fifty-three years. He married Achsah Sears, who was born April 11, 1789, and died August 7, 1869. They reared nine children, as follows: A. Franklin, George L., Henry S., Lucius, Priscilla M., Harrison J., Lyman A., Lemuel S., and Anson B.
Henry S. Ranney, the special subject of this brief record, was educated at Sanderson Academy, and worked on the home farm until the age of fifteen years, when he accepted a position as clerk with S. W. Hall, one of Ashfield's most enterprising merchants, after- ward occupying a similar position in the store of Jasper Bement. He later formed a copart- nership with Richard Cook; and they opened a store of general merchandise, in which they carried on a substantial business for five years.
Selling his interest here, Mr. Ranney next went to Boston, where he was engaged in a mercantile business with George C. Goodwin for four years. Returning then to the scenes of his childhood, he was employed as a clerk for a time with Joseph Bement, a son of his former employer, but soon went into business at the old stand with S. W. Hall. In the month of April, 1851, he sold out his interest in the store, and bought the property in the village known as the John Williams Hotel, which was built in 1792 by Zachariah Field, and by him used as hotel and store. This property Mr. Ranney has always kept, though not using it as a public house. He has en- tirely remodelled it, arranging the rooms for tenants, having six tenements besides the por- tion which he himself occupies, often enter- taining transient guests. In 1857 he bought sixty acres of land near by, and until 1885 successfully carried on general farming in connection with a variety of official business.
In 1839 Mr. Ranney was chosen to the office of Town Clerk, and since that time has filled the office forty-eight years. On March 18, 1851, he was appointed by Governor George S. Boutwell Justice of the Peace, and has since performed the duties connected with the office in a most faithful and satisfactory manner. He has the courage of his convic- tions, was an early antislavery and Free Soil voter, and is to-day an independent Republi- can in politics, voting for the man and meas- ures most desirable and fit. He has been prominent in the management of local and State affairs, and, besides serving various terms as Selectman and Assessor, he has twice served as Representative to the legislature, having been elected in 1852, and again in 1868. He has ever taken an especial interest in promoting the educational and moral ad- vancement of his native town, and has served
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as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sanderson Academy for forty years, having been President of the Board one-half of that time. He has long been one of the most active and esteemed members of the Congre- gational church here, holding the office of clerk.
Mr. Ranney has been twice married. His second wife, whom he espoused on June 26, 1856, and who died on August 25, 1890, was Julia A. Bassett, a daughter of Francis Bas- sett. The maiden name of his first wife, to whom he was united June 20, 1844, was Maria J. Goodwin. She died in 1855, at the age of thirty-three years, having had four children : the eldest, Ralph H., born March 16, 1845, married Rosa S. Bassett, and died in 1876, leaving her a widow with two children - Ray- mond R. and Clara M .; Ella L. Ranney, born September 24, 1847, died in 1874, leaving her husband, Albert W. Packard, and two children - Austin G. and Ella M .; Clara M. Ranney, born August 2, 1851, died in 1859; and George G., who was born May 22, 1853, lived but four months.
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