USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts > Part 35
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William Bird Kimball passed his boyhood in Oakham, and prepared for his collegiate course in Easthampton. He entered Amherst College, from which he graduated with the class of 1856. Immediately after completing his studies he engaged in agriculture in West- boro, where he conducted a large dairy farm until the commencement of the Civil War. He then enlisted as a private in Company K, Thirteenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volun- teers, and was mustered into service as a Cor- poral July 16, 1861. His regiment was attached to the Army of the Potomac, and participated in all of its decisive battles. He saw much hard service, his term of enlistment extending over the most important period of the Rebellion; but he escaped without injury. He was promoted from grade to grade, and was honorably discharged from the service August 1, 1864, as Captain of his company.
After leaving the army, Captain Kimball set- tled in Enfield, where he resumed his former occupation; and since 1865 he has residcd in Enfield village. His farm of two hundred acres is mostly on Great Quabbin Mountain. Besides gencral farming, hc has engaged ex- tensively in the buying and selling of cattle. His residence, which is one of the finest and most substantial in Enfield, was crected by the Hon. J. B. Woods in 1835, and is still in a good state of preservation.
On February 17, 1858, Captain Kimball was united in marriage to Frances C. Woods. She was born in Enfield, August 8, 1835, daughter of the Hon. Josiah B. Woods. Mrs. Kimball's grandfather, Deacon Aaron Woods, moved from New Braintree to Enfield in 1785, and purchased a large tract of land on Great Quabbin Mountain, which became known as the Woods farm. He was a representative citizen of his day, and the remainder of his life was passed in Enfield. The Hon. Josiah B. Woods was born in Enfield, November 18, 1796. He was closely identified with the early development of the industrial resources of his native town, and for many years was engaged in the manufacture of flannels and satinet goods. He also conducted mercantile business in connection with his mills. He was a very prominent man in Enfield, possess- ing literary talents of a high order, and was also a clever inventor.
Captain Kimball has long been prominent in public affairs in Enfield. He has served as a member of the Board of Sclectmen, Town Clerk, Treasurer, and Assessor for several years, and was Overseer of the Poor and a member of the School Board for over twenty- five years. In 1877 he was elected to repre- sent his district in the legislature, and rendered able service in that capacity. He has advanced in Masonry as far as the Blue
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Lodge, and is a comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic in Enfield. During the pres- ent year he has taken up his residence in Bos- ton, but he will continue to realize much enjoyment in passing a portion of his time at his old home among the beautiful and pictur- esque scenery of Western Massachusetts. Captain and Mrs. Kimball are members of the Congregational church.
OHN H. STORRS, a large real estate dealer and one of the successful busi- ness men of the town of Ware, was born in Victory Mills, Saratoga County, N. Y., in 1831, son of John Frink and Sally (Topliff) Storrs.
John Henry Storrs, his paternal grand- father, was a successful agriculturist of Ash- ford, Conn. He married Miss Polly Frink, and three sons and a daughter were born of their union, as follows: John Frink Storrs; Bazalel Storrs, a farmer, who died at the age of sixty-two years, leaving no family; Will- iam Storrs, who is married, but has no chil- dren; and Polly, the wife of Harvey Sedgwick, of Palmer, Mass.
John Frink Storrs, when grown to man- hood, turned his attention to the livery busi- ness, which he first took up in Oswego, N. Y. In 1839 he came to Monson, Mass., and later resided successively in Stafford and at Elling- ton, Conn., but finally removed to Ware in 1856. Although he began without cash capi- tal, he was very successful. He had a large and profitable business. Besides his livery stable, he had on the road thirteen stages, re- quiring the employment of eighty horses. His wife, to whom he was married in 1818, bore him a son and daughter; namely, John H. Storrs and Maria Storrs. The latter was for about forty years the leading milliner of
Ware. She has now retired, and resides with her brother. Their mother died in 1860, sixty-two years of age; and their father, after living to the age of seventy-nine years, passed away eight years later.
John H. Storrs attended the high school and Monson Academy, and later the school at Stafford, Conn. He left school to take a clerkship in a general merchandise store, where he remained for six years. He then purchased a team, and during the succeeding six years was successfully engaged in selling goods throughout Tolland County, Connecti- cut, and vicinity. In 1856 he removed to Ware, where he opened a dry-goods and mil- linery store in company with Charles Wilcox, under the firm name of Wilcox & Storrs. Two years later his partner withdrew; and he carried on the business alone until 1869, at which time, having overworked so that his health was failing him, he sold out to parties from Boston. He then took up the real estate business. He began by purchasing vacant land, erecting buildings upon it, and then selling or renting the same. In 1868 he began to build on seven acres of land that he had purchased for two thousand dollars in 1866. Of this land within the past three years he has sold about fifty building lots, at prices ranging from three hundred to one thousand dollars each. He also purchased a farm containing fifty-eight acres, for which he paid seven thousand, five hundred dollars. The sale of a part of this property has brought him twenty-five thousand dollars, and he has still a large part of it left. His sons, John H., Jr., and George D., are now engaged in the business with him; and they are the larg- est operators in Ware. Among the buildings they have erected are: the brick blocks on Main and North Streets, embracing eleven stores and the post-office; and the Mansion
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House, a fine modern hotel. They have also four other stores, which they rent. The erec- tion of stores and blocks was begun in 1881. Besides attending to his own property, Mr. Storrs also takes charge of property belonging to non-residents.
He has been twice married. The maiden name of his first wife was Miss Delia Pierce. She died in 1859. He afterward married Miss Emma J. Draper, a daughter of Lyman Draper. Of the six children born of this union one died when nine months old and one at the age of three years and six months. The others are: John H. Storrs, Jr .; George D. Storrs; Mabel O., wife of George W. Dunham, the teller of the Ware Savings Bank; and Mary B. Storrs, who is now at Smith College and a member of the class of 1896. Mr. Storrs has one grandson, John H. Storrs, third, son of John H. Storrs, Jr., who is six years of age. His second wife died July 13, 1891, in the fifty-first year of her age. Mr. Storrs votes with the Democratic party. He has been a Selectman and Asses- sor for many years. .
YMAN W. CLAPP, an enterprising agriculturist of Westhampton, was born in that town, September 5, 1859, son of Reuben and Susan (Burt) Clapp. Mr. Clapp was reared on the family homestead to the occupation he follows. In his boy- hood days he assisted on the farm in labors suitable for his years, while attending school in the neighborhood. After finishing with school, he gave his whole time to farm work, putting into practice the lessons in agriculture imparted by his father, and in time attained the skill and thoroughness which mark his farming to-day. His undertakings are inva- riably successful. With characteristic enter-
prise he has also established a substantial business in manufacturing lumber, owning and operating a saw-mill in this locality. He takes an earnest interest in public affairs, and is foremost in promoting all legitimate schemes designed for the advancement of the town or the county. For the past two years Mr. Clapp has held the office of Selectman and Assessor. He is also Road Commis- sioner, Field Driver, and Constable. Politi- cally, he is a sound Republican. Both he and his wife are sincere and faithful members of the Congregational church.
On June 8, 1886, Mr. Clapp was united in marriage with Elizabeth Ewing, daughter of William Ewing. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are: Her- bert Wright, George Ewing, and Mary Eliza- beth. He and his family reside on the old homestead with his parents, whose sunset years he is careful to see are spent in quiet- ness and comfort.
HE SWIFT RIVER COMPANY of Enfield, well known throughout the United States as manufacturers of a fine quality of fancy cassimeres and silk mixt- ures, dates back to the year 1821, when the firm, under the title of D. & A. Smith, began in a small way the manufacture of cotton goods. Fifteen years later, in 1836, the fac- tory was destroyed by fire, but was immedi- ately rebuilt. The firm, which then consisted of Alfred, David, and Alvin Smith, continued to carry on the enterprise until 1852, when they were joined by Edward Smith, and the present company was organized. Each year the plant was increased in size, and new improvements were introduced. Finally, in 1862, the mill was enlarged to double its
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ARTHUR L. KINGSBURY.
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former capacity. The old cotton and satinet machinery was removed, and in its place there were set up eight sets of machinery for the manufacture of fancy cassimeres. The mill #
is supplied with both steam and water power, and is kept in operation the entire year round. It is the leading enterprise of the village of Smiths, furnishing employment to about one hundred and twenty-five people. The present members of the firm are Edward P. Smith and his brother, Henry M. Smith, the former holding the position of President and Treas- urer and the latter that of General Manager and Agent of the company.
Edward Smith, the father of Edward P. and Henry M. Smith, was born in the town of Granby, this county, and lived there on a farm until he was twenty-five years old. He then went to Holyoke, where he conducted a small cotton-mill for a time; and he and his brothers acquired possession of the entire water privilege of Holyoke, and held it up to 1847. After that he was engaged in various enterprises until 1852. when he became iden- tified with the Swift River Company. His connection with that firm continued until his death, in April, 1891, eighty-six years of age. He was an old-time Whig, and later became a stanch Republican. He was very active in political matters, and served one term as a member of the State legislature. During many years of his life he was an active worker in the Congregational church and a liberal contributor for both church and educational purposes. In the course of one year he gave twenty-five thousand dollars to five different colleges. He married Eliza Smith, of Granby. They have two sons by the marriage and two by adoption. The former are: Ed- ward P., born in Granby, Mass., September 3, 1833; and Henry M., also a native of Granby, born August 20, 1835.
Edward P. Smith, the senior member of the Swift River Company, completed his early education in the academy at Easthampton, after which he entered Yale College. He was married in 1856 to Miss Charlotte J. Woods, of Enfield. They have no children. In poli- tics he is a Republican; and, while he takes much interest in his town, and has served one term as Selectman, he is to-day far too busy a man to accept office. His residence, which lies between the two villages of Enfield and Smiths, is one of the finest in the district ; and a prettier view than that which surrounds his home would be hard to find in Hampshire County.
Henry M. Smith completed his education at Williston Seminary. He was then em- ployed for two years in a store in South Had- ley, after which he came to Enfield, and went to work in the mill of which he and his brother are now the owners. In November, 1860, he was united in marriage with Miss Loraine P. Andrews, of Enfield, who has borne him an interesting family of two sons and a daughter: Marion A., Alfred W., and Edward. Like his brother, he is a stanch Republican and one of the most influential citizens of Enfield. He has served as Select- man and in other offices. They reside in the elegant residence recently erected above the village of Smiths, surrounded by luxury of the extent and character consistent with a cultured taste.
A RTHUR L. KINGSBURY, the gentle- man whose portrait is seen on the adjoining page, is extensively en- gaged in the paper-box industry at Northamp- ton, Mass. He was born in Tolland County, Connecticut, January 2, 1861. His father, Addison Kingsbury, was born in 1836 at
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South Coventry, Conn., and was a son of Alvin Kingsbury, a woollen manufacturer of that town. Grandfather Kingsbury married a cousin of the same name, and reared three sons and two daughters, of whom Addison and his two sisters are the only survivors, two sons having died in their youth. Alvin Kingsbury reached an age somewhat in ad- vance of middle life, and his wife attained seventy years. Addison Kingsbury married Elizabeth Libbie, a native of Scotland, Conn., and their three children were: Arthur L .; Charlotte, who died at the age of three years ; and Louis Addison, who is now in charge of the box-manufacturing business which his father established in 1868 at Cov- entry. The mother died in 1880, at the age of forty-three years; and Addison Kingsbury married for his second wife Sarah M. Scott, of Coventry.
Arthur L. Kingsbury acquired his educa- tion in his native town; and, although he was obliged to leave school before completing his course, for the purpose of attending to his father's business, he continued to pursue his studies while thus engaged, and was graduated with his class in 1880. In the following year he came to Northampton, and assumed charge of the paper-box manufactory founded by his father. The business under his energetic management rapidly grew in proportions, and in 1893 the company was incorporated of which he is now General Manager and Treas- urer. They occupy a large three-story brick block, one hundred feet by fifty feet, situated at 38 and 40 North Street, and employ from sixty to seventy-five workmen, their product for the year 1894 amounting to two million, seven hundred thousand boxes.
In 1884 Mr. Kingsbury married Alice Palmer, of Willimantic, Conn., daughter of Louis and Ellen (Davidson) Palmer, her par-
ents being natives of Scotland, Conn. Miss Palmer was graduated in 1878 from the same school which Mr. Kingsbury attended, and she taught there from that year until her mar- riage. Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury are members of the Edwards Congregational Church, and reside at 88 North Street, where Mr. Kings- bury erected a very pleasant and comfortable residence in 1889. They have one son, named Harold, now eight years of age.
OHN F. MORELL, an agriculturist of Amherst, was born in Lenox, Mass., December 16, 1837, son of Horace F. and Mary A. (Pierce) Morell and grandson of John Morell. The latter was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on January 9, 1753. He was a tanner, and successfully followed his trade while also engaged in farming. He lived in Lenox, Mass., during the greater part of his life, and was Captain of a company in the State militia. He was the father of eight sons and a daughter, all now deceased. His death occurred at Lenox on April 13, 1818. His wife, whose maiden name was Esther Fowler, died March 25, 1828.
Horace F. Morell was one of twins. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. With this exception he spent his life in Lenox in the occupation of a farmer. Besides the old Morell homestead, he owned a farm of seventy-five acres. He was a hard-working and successful man. He died when seventy - two years of age, and his wife's death occurred when she was seventy-three. Both attended the Congregational church, and in politics he was a Whig. Of the eight children born of their union four reached maturity, while but one, John F., now survives. Those deceased were: Mary F., born in Lenox, October 30, 1821, who died November 24, 1857; John P.,
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born February 7, 1823, who died September 12, 1823; Abigail P., born July 26, 1824, who died March 3, 1833; Catharine M., born August 31, 1827, who died March 15, 1890; William A., born November 13, 1831, who died October 31, 1885; Abigail J., born July 19, 1834, who died December 20, 1841; and George H., born October 17, 1841, who died August 31, 1851.
John F. Morell acquired a good practical education in the common schools and academy of Lenox, Mass. He remained on the old homestead until thirty-five years of age, devot- ing his attention to agriculture. He was also connected with the Central Berkshire Chron- icle of Lee. He was editor of this paper for sixteen months. He was also a reporter on the Union and the Springfield Republican for some time. Later on he engaged in the coal trade in Lenox, and continued in it for several years. In 1882 he moved to his present farm in South Amherst. It contains two hundred and ten acres of land, and is one of the largest farms in that part of the town. He is now carrying on mixed farming with success, mak- ing a special feature of his dairying. His farm is in a good condition, and his residence is pleasant and attractive.
In 1861, on November 6, he was joined in marriage with Miss Martha J. Bradley, a native of Lee. She died in 1877, aged thirty- seven years, leaving a son and daughter, Cora D. and William B., both of whom are now living. In May, 1881, he married for his second wife Miss Alice G. Goodrich, who was born in Stockbridge, Mass. By this union he also has a son and daughter; namely, Edith G. and George F.
The Republican party numbers Mr. Morell among its faithful adherents. He was its candidate for the legislature in 1874, and, although running far ahead of his ticket, was
defeated by the reactionary movement against prohibition in that election. For several years he has acted as chairman of the Repub- lican Town Committee of Amherst. He has served his town most acceptably whenever chosen for any official capacity. He has been Assessor, and he is now a member of the School Committee. While a resident of Lenox, he served on the School Committee, and was chairman of that board for nine years. He served several successive years as modera- tor of the Lenox town meetings, and has long been President of the Village Improvement and Cemetery Associations. He is a member of the Amherst Grange. Though liberal in his religious views, he attends the Congrega- tional church, of which he is one of the larg- est supporters, and of which his wife is an officer.
AVID HILL, a well-known and re- spected attorney of Northampton, was born in Perrinton, Monroe County, N. Y., on February 9, 1838. On the paternal side he is of English antecedents, his father, Robert Hill, having been born and bred in Yorkshire, England.
After arriving at maturity, Robert Hill left his Yorkshire home for America, going first to Canada, where he lived a few years, and where in 1829 he married Isabel McMitchell, who, born in the north of Ireland, was reared in Canada. He was a blacksmith, following that trade in Perrinton, N.Y., whither he removed soon after his marriage, until past middle life, also carrying on general farming on the homestead which he there purchased. Both he and his wife lived to an advanced age. He died in 1879, and she ten years later. They had a family of sixteen children, of whom four sons and four daughters grew to adult life. Of the four sons two have since
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died, namely: George H., a farmer in Wayne County, New York, who died at Palmyra, August 4, 1894, aged sixty-four years, leaving one son and one daughter; and Robert L., a farmer on the old homestead, died at the age of fifty-six years. One son besides the subject of this sketch is now living; namely, Nelson H. Hill, a farmer at Bushnell Basin, Monroe County, N. Y.
David Hill was reared on the home farm, and there obtained a practical experience in agriculture, not taking a permanent leave of farm life until about thirty years of age. He acquired a good education, leaving the district school when fifteen years old to attend the Lima Academy, and subsequently pursuing his studies at Fairfield Academy, in Herkimer County. This institution he left in 1862 to defend the old flag, volunteering as a private in the One Hundred and Twenty-first New York Volunteer Infantry. He was early pro- moted to the rank of First Lieutenant. On his promotion his friends at home presented him with a sword, toward the purchase of which no one was allowed to contribute more than one dollar. This sword is one of Mr. Hill's most cherished possessions. His war service, however, was mostly in the Army of the Potomac, as Captain of Company F, One Hundred and Fifty-second New York Volun- teer Infantry, from which he was discharged a scarred veteran, he having received many wounds, though the only very serious one was the wound in his right hand, received at the battle of Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864. After receiving his discharge, he returned to Fair- field Seminary, and completed his course there, and then entered Amherst College, Amherst, Mass., graduating in the semi-cen- tennial class of 1871. In the fall of 1871 Mr. Hill came to Easthampton, accepting the position of a teacher in Williston Seminary,
where he remained as one of the corps of instructors five years. While there he de- voted his leisure to his professional studies, reading law with Judge Bassett, and entered the Boston University Law School in 1877. He graduated from there the following year, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1878. In 1882, having rested and travelled in the West for a year, Mr. Hill formed a copartner- ship with J. B. O'Donnell in Northampton, and has since then won an excellent reputa- tion in his professional career and a large general law practice. Politically, he is an uncompromising Democrat, although he has not been conspicuous in official positions. For three years he served as chairman of the Board of Education in Easthampton, and for several years has been chairman of the parish committee of the Payson Congregational Church of that place.
Mr. Hill was married June 7, 1880, to Josephine Scott, of Perrinton, N. Y., a daugh- ter of William Scott, deceased. They have five sons, as follows: David Arthur, born in 1880, who is in Williston Seminary; Anson Harris, born in 1883; Robert Scott, born in 1885; Francis Web, born in 1887; and Jo- seph Henry, a bright little lad, born in 1892. Should these sons, so favorably launched upon life's journey, grow to stalwart men, with the physical, mental, and moral attainments of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hill will have served their day and generation well, and will have a family of which they may be justly proud.
HRISTOPHER W. PAIGE, an old and respected resident of Prescott, was born in Hardwick, Mass., Feb- ruary 22, 1821, son of Christopher and Judith (Bigelow) Paige. The Paige family is of English and Scotch origin. The first repre-
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sentatives in this country were three brothers, who came to America in 1665, and settled in Medford, Mass., where the old Paige farm is still occupied by members of the family. Jesse Paige, the grandfather of Christopher W., was an early settler in Hardwick, where he worked industriously, tilling the soil dur- ing a long and exemplary life, and was counted among the well-to-do residents. In religious belief he was a Congregationalist. A family of five children brightened his household, two sons and three daughters.
Christopher Paige, the father of Mr. Paige, was born and bred in Hardwick. In 1822 he moved to Prescott, settling on the farm which is now occupied by his son, and for many years was engaged in general farming. The Paige farm was formerly owned by Constant Ruggles; and at the time of its purchase by Mr. Paige it consisted of one hundred acres of good land, the yearly crops from which yielded him a handsome income. Politically, Mr. Paige supported Democratic principles. He was a man of prominence in the town, and served as Postmaster, Selectman, and in other minor offices. His religious creed was that of a Congregationalist, and he was an active worker in the interest of the Congregational Society of the town. He lived to be eighty- one years of age, dying at the homestead. His wife, who was a native of North Brook- field, attained the advanced age of ninety-two. Six children were born to them, as follows: John Foster, who died at the age of eighty- three; Nancy, wife of Chester Conkey, also deceased; Mary, who died in the dawn of young womanhood, at the age of sixteen ; Francis B., familiarly known as Deacon Paige, who died at seventy-six; Abigail, widow of Rodney Russell, residing in Pres- cott; and Christopher W., whose name heads this article.
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