USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Hampshire County, Massachusetts > Part 44
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three years. He went west in 1866 to He- bron, Ill., where he had charge of a busy dairy farm until 1868, when he returned to Cum- mington. Soon after he purchased the old store of Elisha Mitchell in West Cumming- ton, and ran it for eight years. He then went to Northampton, forming a copartnership with his brother George; and they have since built up a business as flourishing as any in the city. In 1881 the firm purchased their present establishment. Mr. Harlow bought his resi- dence in 1888, having previously paid rent for it for seven years. In politics he is iden- tified with the Republican party, but has little time for official work. He was elected to the Common Council in 1888, but resigned after serving nine months. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar.
Mr. Harlow was married March 14, 1860, to Lovina S. Howes, a daughter of Henry and Lucy Ann (Simons) Howes. Mrs. Howes died in July, 1887, aged sixty-seven years, and Mr. Howes April 28, 1889, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, leaving seven of their ten children, eight of whom grew to maturity. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Harlow five children were born, one of whom, Linus E., died when two years of age. The others are as follows: Lillian L., residing at home, engaged in the millinery business ; Charles N., Jr., a salesman in Springfield, married to Lila A. Hannah; Emma P., wife of Alfred B. Montville, a travelling salesman of Northampton, having two daughters; and Henry Howes, a carpenter, a promising young man of nineteen years.
EORGE W. HARLOW, carpenter, contractor, and builder, of the firm of C. N. Harlow & Co., Northamp- ton, was born during the residence of his par-
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ents, Charles and Orissa (Mason) Harlow, in Maine, his birth occurring in the town of Amherst, September 5, 1842. (A fuller ac- count of the family is given in the sketch of Charles N. Harlow on another page.)
Mr. Harlow was educated in the common schools. His native mechanical talent was developed while working with his father when a young man. He remained beneath the pa- rental roof until some time after the breaking out of the Civil War, when, in August, 1863, he enlisted in defence of the Union. He joined Company C, Fifty-second Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry, and served one year, during which he was at the forefront in sev- eral hard-fought battles. At the time of his enlistment he was a strong and rugged man, five feet eleven inches in height, weighing one hundred and eighty-four pounds. After the battle at Franklin, from lying out at night in the rain he took a severe cold, which re- sulted in a serious lung trouble and diarrhea. In the course of the three following weeks Mr. Harlow lost sixty-three pounds in weight, yet he rejoined his regiment in season for the siege at Port Hudson. He was, however, dis- abled from further service, and took no part in that action. Finally one of his lungs was pronounced "entirely gone "; and he was sent home, supposedly to die. He returned to his father's house on July 19, 1864, a mere wreck of what he was when he left it less than twelve months before. His grand constitution, how- ever, and his strong determination to live en- abled him to recuperate and after a while to resume his former occupation. Since 1881 Mr. Harlow, in company with his brother, has been in business at his present stand.
On September 28, 1865, the ceremony uniting Mary Louise Kneeland and George W. Harlow in the bonds of matrimony was performed. Mrs. Harlow is a native of
Northampton, born September 25, 1842, a daughter of Isaac Newton and Frances N. (Strong) Kneeland. Her maternal grand- father, Seth Strong, was one of the early set- tlers of Northampton, coming herc at a time when wild turkeys and other game were plen- tiful and the site of the present city was a part of the favorite hunting-ground of the dusky savagc. He was a mason by trade, had much inventive genius, and was a lineal de- scendant of Governor Strong, of Colonial fame. He and his wife reared two children of the four born to them; namely, Frances N. (Mrs. Harlow's mother) and Harriet. He lived to the age of eighty-nine years, dying in 1879. In the public library of the town is a history of the Strong family, which dates back five generations; and there are also two val- uable historical works relating to this local- ity, published by Frederick N. Kneeland. Mrs. Harlow's father was very prominent and well-to-do. He made a good deal of money from machinery which he invented for the manufacture of paper and of ink. The latter is now used by the government. He had an income of fourteen hundred dollars per month, but never hoarded it, being generous to a fault. His brother Joseph married Harriet, another daughter of Seth Strong. Isaac N. Kneeland was born April 1, 1820, and died April 4, 1860, just as he was to be appointed government printer. His widow is still liv- ing in Northampton, an active and bright woman of seventy-two years. She has buried four of the seven children born to her, namely: Emily Jane, who died in 1847; Charles, in 1850; Lillian, in 1857; and Anna Isabelle, in 1863. The three who are living are: Mrs. Harlow; Frederick Newton, Cashier of the First National Bank; and Hat- tie Josephine, residing at Paradise Road with her mother and brother.
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The union of Mr. and Mrs. Harlow has been blessed by the birth of six children, as follows: Sarah Gertrude, wife of Charles H. Warren, of Roxbury, Mass., who has one son and two daughters ; George F., who graduated from the high school in 1889, and is book- keeper for C. N. Felts; Arthur Bradford, a salesman for the Banister Company; Annie Mabel, a student in the high school; Grace Evelyn. a pupil in the grammar school; and Ralph Eugene, a school-boy of eleven years. Mr. Harlow and his family occupy 13 Monroe Street, a pleasant and conveniently arranged house, which he built in the summer of 1895. He is a Master Mason, having been Junior Deacon of his Lodge, and belongs to the Will- iam L. Baker Post, No. 86, Grand Army of the Republic, being Sergeant-major of the post. In politics he is a Republican; and he attends the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Harlow is an esteemed and active member.
AMUEL B. DICKINSON occupies the farm in Granby on which his birth occurred June 1, 1844. He is a descendant of a well-known family of this place. His parents, Eli and Hermione (Barton) Dickinson, were lifelong residents of the town. His father carried on general farming until his death, in September, 1867. His mother survived her husband, dying on the old homestead in 1870. Of the five chil- dren born to them three are deceased ; namely, Mary, Julia, and Caroline. The two living are: Samuel B., the subject of this sketch; and Caroline, wife of William Lincoln, of Warren, Mass.
Samuel B. Dickinson acquired his education in the schools of the town. At the age of eighteen years, fired with patriotic enthusi- asm, he enlisted in Company H, Fifty-second
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, under com- mand of Colonel Greenleaf, and shared the fortunes of that regiment for a time in the Civil War. Soon after the engagement at Indian Bend he was taken sick, and in conse- quence was sent to Brashear City, La., then to New Orleans, and finally to his home. On August 14, 1863, he was honorably discharged from the service. Returned to the parental homestead, Mr. Dickinson assisted his father in cultivating the farm, thereby acquiring experience that was of inestimable value to him in after years. When his father died, he assumed the entire management of the prop- erty, which then contained one hundred and fifty acres of good land.
On December 7, 1865, Mr. Dickinson was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Nash, a native of Hadley and a daughter of Lorenzo and Pamelia Nash. The father was a native of Hadley, and spent his early life there; while the mother was a native of Granby. The home life of Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson has been cheered by the birth of three children, as follows: Henry N., a resident of Jamaica Plain, Mass., married to Julia Kimball; Sam- uel R. and Carrie L., at home with their parents. In politics Mr. Dickinson is a Republican. He served his town as Select- man in the years of 1887 and 1888, and again in the four consecutive years from 1891 to 1895. He belongs to the Charles C. Smith Post, No. 183, Grand Army of the Republic, of South Hadley Falls. Both he and Mrs. Dickinson are members of the Congregational church.
T HOMAS GILFILLAN, M.D., a suc- cessful and well-known physician of Northampton, Mass., was born in Mil- ton, N. Y., near Ballston Spa, on January 4, 1829. His father, Moses Gilfillan, who was
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born in Scotland about the year 1798, was growing from youth to manhood during the hard times that were felt in manufacturing districts in England and Scotland shortly after the close of the Napoleonic wars, and which gave rise to secret combinations and as- semblies for the voicing of grievances and rights. He, with others who had caught some of the spirit of the French Revolution, became involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the ex- isting government of Great Britain. The plot was discovered before it was mature; and young Gilfillan, who was one of the leaders, was obliged to conceal himself to escape arrest and punishment. In 1820, after being in hiding for two years, he succeeded in embarking as a common sailor and coming to America.
By trade he was a weaver of Scotch linens; and he followed his vocation in this country, having at one time a factory with hand-looms in Schenectady, N.Y., where he was engaged in weaving counterpanes and carpets, but dur- ing the panic of 1837 he was financially ruined. He saved only a dollar and a half, which he divided with his family; and, leav- ing his wife and five children, the eldest but seven years of age, to face alone the sufferings of want, with the remaining seventy-five cents he made the trip from Schenectady to Aga- wam, Mass., a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles, on foot in midwinter. He afterward removed his family to Agawam, thence to Palmer, and in 1838 to Northamp- ton. Here they remained until 1848, when they went to Rockville, Conn., where he died in 1859. His wife and her three daughters then returned to Northampton. Mrs. Moses Gilfillan, who was a woman of great energy of character and much physical endurance, died in this city in 1884. She and her husband were Orthodox Christians and members of the First Congregational Church in Northampton.
Their remains rest in the Northampton cemetery.
Their son James, who was. a graduate of Williams College, was an editor of the Rock- ville Republican when the father died. Later he became a law student in the office of Con- giessman and Judge Loomis; and in 1860 he entered the United States Treasury Depart- ment at Washington, with which he was con- nected for twenty-one years. While employed as Assistant Treasurer, he was an important witness against the Whiskey Ring of St. Louis, and was rewarded for his courage and honesty by promotion to the position of Treasurer under Ulysses S. Grant. The three daughters, who were graduates of Mount Hol- yoke Seminary, were able teachers here and in the South; and two of them were teaching at Fort Gibson, Miss., when the war broke out, and they were obliged to leave the State.
Thomas Gilfillan is a graduate of Williams College and also of the Pittsfield Medical School, where he completed the course in 1855. He has since been continuously en- gaged in the duties of his profession. In October, 1862, he enlisted in the Forty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment, being appointed Assistant Surgeon to Dr. Waterman, of West- field, and served nine months. After that he re-enlisted in the Fifty-ninth Massachusetts Regiment, in which he served a year, receiv- ing his honorable discharge in September, 1864. In addition to his regular practice, in which he has been very successful, a few years ago he established at his home a gold cure for the treatment of inebriates.
On January 1, 1865, Dr. Gilfillan was united in marriage with Miss Julia M. Brad- ley, a daughter of Zenas H. Bradley, of Cum- mington, Mass. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four children, of whom one died in infancy. The living are: James,
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SILAS G. HUBBARD.
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a book-keeper for the Belding Silk Mills, who is married. and has one son; Rose M., who is attending the high school, and is a young lady of musical talent and a promising student : and Donald R., a youth of fifteen, who is also a pupil of the high school. Dr. Gilfillan is a member of the Massachusetts Medical So- ciety; and he is also a comrade of William L. Baker Post, No. 86, Grand Army of the Re- public, of which he is Surgeon.
RS. RHODA W. HUBBARD, daughter of Justin and Dolly W. (Waite) Hastings, was born in Hatfield, here grew to womanhood and spent her married life of thirty-three years, and here continues to reside since the death of her husband, Silas G. Hubbard, on June 14, 1890. She is a highly intelligent and esti- mable lady, possessing the esteem and good will of her neighbors, and occupying a pleas- ant home. Her grandparents were John and Sybil (Dickinson) Hastings, the former of whom was a practising physician and a real estate owner of Hatfield. Dr. Hastings and his wife both lived to an advanced age. Their children were: Chester; Mary; Sophia; and Justin, the father of Mrs. Hubbard.
Justin Hastings, who was born in Hatfield, January 23, 1800, settled upon the farm which is now occupied by J. Breor, and conducted general farming with success. He died at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, Dolly W. Waite, was born January 24, 1801, and became the mother of three children, as fol- lows: Harriet H., who was born November I, 1825, married T. Bagg, and died November 28, 1874; Rhoda W .; and Ellen M., born November 5, 1831, who married Dexter Frary, and died October 9, 1852. The mother died at the age of seventy-nine.
The Hubbard family of Hatfield are descend- ants of John Hubbard, who accompanied his father from England, and settled in Connecti- cut. Silas G. Hubbard was born on the old Hatfield homestead in 1831, and was a son of John and Clarissa (Clapp) Hubbard. He attended the schools of Hatfield, and com- pleted his education at the Easthampton Academy. He assisted his father in conduct- ing the farm, and resided at the old homestead until the death of his parents, after which he engaged in farming upon his own account, also devoting a considerable time to survey- ing. In 1860 Mr. Hubbard purchased the John Smith property on Main Street, which includes a handsome brick residence and eleven acres of land; and he also became the owner of other valuable real estate. He was an extensive farmer and one of the largest tobacco growers upon the flats. For some years he was President of the Connecticut Valley Tobacco Growers' Association, and was very active in that capacity. The mar- riage of Silas G. Hubbard and Rhoda W. Hastings took place on April 16, 1851.
Mr. Hubbard was a Republican in politics, and served with ability in various positions of public trust, being a Selectman for several years, also School Commissioner and Town Treasurer, and in 1857 representing his dis- trict in the legislature. He was Treasurer of Smith Academy, and for twenty years a Direc- tor of the First National Bank of Northamp- ton and its predecessor, the Holyoke Bank. In religion he was a Congregationalist and a very active member of that church.
Friends and acquaintances of Mr. Hubbard will recognize his features in the faithful por- trait on the opposite page. What manner of man he was and the estimation in which he was held in the county where he was widely known, being for some years the Hatfield cor-
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respondent of the Hampshire Gazette, was well voiced by the local press, from which we quote the following, speaking of him first as a writer :
"In this capacity he displayed rare good taste, excellent judgment, and varied intelli- gence. He was always ready on all questions, whether of current news, which he presented in an acceptable manner, never offending any one, in the history of his town, in which he was especially well informed, better, prob- ably, than any other man of his time, or on questions of a broader scope, having a national interest and importance. He was greatly interested in the celebration held last fall (1889) of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, and prepared the principal his- torical address of the occasion, visiting Boston and other places to search for ancient mate- rial, which he presented in a paper of rare value and great historical interest. Consider- ing the limited opportunities he had for edu- cation and development, being confined to the labors of the farm nearly all his life, he was indeed a man of remarkable research and breadth of mind. He was a great reader and a close student, and his mind was well stored with information covering a wide range of subjects. He looked to causes as well as to effects, and was never satisfied until he knew the beginning as well as the cnd, the why and the wherefore as well as the final results. He was a man of high moral and religious principle."
ENRY A. CROSBY, a farmer and milk dealer of Northampton, was born in Williamsburg in 1844, son of Benjamin Franklin and Parthena (Bradford) Crosby.
Joshua K. Crosby, the grandfather of Henry A. Crosby, was a native of Enfield, Mass.,
and a son of the Rev. Joshua Crosby, who served in the Revolutionary War, and later as chaplain in the War of 1812. Joshua K. Crosby, who was a tiller of the soil and an enterprising citizen of Enfield, married Miss Minnie Scars, of Williamsburg. They reared two of the three sons born to them, namely : Joshua, a successful agriculturist of Sears- ville, in the town of Williamsburg; and Ben- jamin F., who was born in Enfield in 1820. The latter married in 1842, and he and his wife reared three children. Two are now liv- ing : Henry A .; and Ella, the wife of Nathan Abbott, of North Farms. Their mother died in 1852, when but thirty-six years of age. The father, who is still living, resides at North Farms with his daughter's family.
Henry A. Crosby acquired his education in the Williamsburg common school. In 1877 he came to Northampton, and purchased from Charles Sanderson his present farm. It con- tains about sixty-eight acres of land. Besides his farming, he keeps a dairy of choice cows, the milk of which he sells to the people of Leeds.
He was married March 15, 1870, to Miss Mary C. Allen, a native of Dorchester, Mass. She is a daughter of Bennett and Cordelia (Warner) Allen, who now reside in Florence, to which they moved from Goshen, Mass. Her father is a successful carpenter and build- ing contractor. He and his wife reared seven children; and all are now living except Clara M., who died, thirty years of age. Those liv- ing are: Charles T. Allen, of Manchester, N.H .; Mary C .; Flora I., the wife of G. N. Baker, of Florence; Lizzie E., who is unmar- ried, and resides at home; Lucy L., who mar- ried C. B. Tower; and Harriet B., the wife of Lynn Porter, of Florence. Mrs. Crosby's paternal grandfather was Amzi Allen, who was born in Connecticut, but spent his life
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mostly in West Springfield and Florence, Mass. He was twice married, and had twelve children by the two unions, of whom nine grew to maturity, and six are now living. They are as follows: Hiram Allen, of Minne- apolis, Minn .; Robert Allen, who resides in Washington, D.C., and is paymaster in the navy; Frederick, living in Manchester, N.H .; Mrs. George Readio, a widow, living in Flor- ence; Mrs. William Currier, also of Flor- ence; and Bennett, the father of Mrs. Crosby. Mrs. Crosby has borne her husband three children, namely : Flora Maud, eighteen years old, who is a graduate of the Springfield Busi- ness College, and is living with her parents; Earle Bennett, a lad of seven years; and Frank Ashley. Mr. Crosby is a Republican. He has served acceptably as Councilman. He is connected with various fraternal organiza- tions, among which may be mentioned the A. F. & A. M., the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Northampton Grange, and the Knights of Honor.
RS. MARIA S. MEEKINS, of Williamsburg, widow of the late Dr. Thomas Meekins and a woman of superior intelligence, was born in Chester- field, Mass., in the year 1846, a daughter of Spencer and Polly (Abels) Goodman.
Spencer Goodman's birth occurred in Had- ley. A ferry owned by his father was then the only means of crossing the Connecticut River at that point. This was tended by him for several years. Though the work had its pleasant features, it was a trying position, as he was often kept employed all night. Tiring of this occupation, he removed to Chesterfield, where he purchased a farm, on which he lived for several years. He then sold out, and bought another farm in Hadley.
He sold this also, and purchased land in Williamsburg. Here he died, eighty-seven years of age. In politics he was a Democrat and in religious belief a Baptist. His wife reared two sons and two daughters; namely, Maria S., Stephen K., D. Alonzo, and Wealthy C. She lived to the age of eighty years.
Maria S. Goodman, the eldest-born, lived at home until her marriage with Dr. Thomas Meekins. He was born in the town of Will- iamsburg, and was a son of Stephen and Sarah (Hicox) Meekins and a grandson of Thomas and Hannah (Carey) Meekins. His great- grandfather, Thomas Meekins, came to this country from England, and settled in Hat- field, where he became a large land-owner and a prominent citizen, and was subsequently killed by Indians. Thomas Meekins (second) was born in Hatfield, from which place he came to Williamsburg, then but thinly set- tled, and where land was extremely cheap. He first purchased one hundred acres, for which he paid eight cents per acre; and, when he had this cleared, he purchased more. This land is now in the possession of his descendants. He made sundry improvements, among which was the erection of frame build- ings. He met with much prosperity, and died at the age of eighty-five years. His wife's decease occurred when she was sixty years old. His son Stephen, who was born in Williamsburg, assisted his father in clearing the land; and after the latter's death he fol- lowed his father's policy of buying more as fast as the clearing progressed. He also reared large numbers of sheep and cattle, and was the largest stock-raiser in that vicinity. He died at the age of threescore years and ten. His wife, who before marriage was Sarah Hicox, bore him ten children, of whom six grew to maturity. Two died in infancy,
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and the others were: Hannah, Louis, Theo- dosia, Thomas, Christopher, Stephen, Irene, and John. The mother was over scventy years of age at the time of her death.
Thomas Meekins chose for his profession the practice of medicine, and became a skilled physician and surgeon. He was one of the first doctors to locate in the town of Williams- burg, where he acquired a large and remun- erative practice. He was a man of broad liberality, and was very highly esteemed by all who knew him. He took a keen interest in his town, and was ever ready to lend the weight of his influence to any worthy enter- prise looking to its improvement. His death, August 5, 1880, was a loss to the community as well as to his large circle of friends and acquaintances.
DWARD A. ALLEN, a prominent mer- chant of Huntington, was born in Dal- ton, Mass., August 1, 1847, son of Henry M. and Electa C. (Davis) Allen. Mr. Allen's father was a native of Cummington, Mass., where he grew to manhood. Later he moved to Dalton, where he followed agricult- ure as an occupation. On March 21, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company B, Nine- teenth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and served through the Civil War, receiving his discharge from the service in 1865. He died in Chester, Mass. His wife was the mother of four children, as follows: Fidelia, whose husband, Albert A. Griswold, of Dal- ton, was killed at the siege of Port Hudson, and who died, leaving one son, Frank A., who married Lucy Herring, and resides in Hol- yoke; Caroline C., who married Dr. Loomis, a practising physician of Springfield, Mass .; George H., who married Ellen Pendleton, and is engaged in farming in Russell, having
one son, named George; and Edward A., the subject of this sketch.
Edward A. Allen commenced life for him- self at the age of fifteen, when he came to Huntington, and was employed in a bedstead manufactory for eighteen months. He then worked in the paper-mill for a year, after which he was employed by S. T. Lyman in the hardware business for nine years. While here, he learned the tradc of a tinncr. In 1872 Mr. Allen established himself in busi- ness at his present store, and has since con- ducted a successful trade in hardware, tinware, ranges, etc., besides doing considerable work as a practical plumber. For the past six years he has also been engaged in the under- taking business, and later he made an invest- ment in real estate located in Huntington that promises a satisfactory return. He is an energetic and able business man, and his enterprise has met with merited success.
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