USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Leicester > Brief history of Leicester, Massachusetts > Part 8
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CHAPTER VI. LEICESTER-(Continued.) BUSINESS.
Card Business- Wooden Manufacture-Boot and Shoe Business- Tanning and Currying Business-Leicester National and Savings Banks- Miscellaneous Industries.
CARD BUSINESS .- Leicester for many years con- tinued to be a purely agricultural community, the people dependent for a living upon the products of their farms. In the latter part of the last century the industry was introduced which became the distinctive business of the town, and for a long time the principal souree of its prosperity and wealth.
In this enterprise Mr. Edmond Snow was the pioncer. Ile began the manufacture of hand-cards in 1785.
Pliny Earle commeneed the same business in 1786. In 1789 we tind him receiving an order for card cloth- ing from Almy & Brown, of Providence, R. I., and with it a reference to the fact that he had already covered carding machines in Worcester.
Soon after this Sammel Slater came to this country, and the next year, under the auspices of Alny & Brown, began the manufacture of cotton goods by machinery moved by water-power; and Mr. Earle supplied him with the cards by which the cotton was prepared, which was first spun in this way in the United States. Ilitherto, cards had been made in " plain" form, but the tilleting for Mr. Slater was set diagonally or " twilled." The sheets were of calf-skin. The holes were prieked by hand, with two needles fas- tened into a handle. The teeth were ent and bent by machinery and set by hand. The statement that one hundred thousand holes were thus pricked probably falls below the fact. About the year 1797 Mr. Earle
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invented a machine for pricking " twilled " cards, for and continued it for about ten years, as the firm of James Smith & Co., while carrying on business in Leicester as Smith, Woodcock & Knight. Woodcock & Knight removed to the Central Factory, north of the Church, in 1846. In 1848 T. E. Woodcock and Dexter Knight, sons of the senior members, were admitted to the firm, which took the title of Woodcock, Knight which, in 1803, he secured a patent. It was based upon a principle previously unrecognized in American card machinery, which was not only involved in all subse- quent pricking-machines, but is continued in Mr. Whittemore's machine for pricking and setting-that wonderful mechanism the credit for inventing which is so largely due to Eleazer Smith, and of which John | & Co. ' In 1867 the fathers disposed of their interests Randolph, speaking on the extension 'of its patent, to their sons T. E. Woodcock, Dexter, George M. and said, "Yes, I would renew it to all eternity, for it is | James J. Knight. They dissolved in 1881 and sold the only machine which has a soul." In 1791 Mr. the building and machinery to the Card-Clothing Association. The factory was much enlarged and improved in 1866.
Earle associated with himself his brothers Jonah and Silas, in the firm of Pliny Earle & Brothers. They. were probably for some years the largest manufac- turers of card-clothing in the country. From their factory at Mulberry Grove, hand-cards were taken by horse-teams even to Charleston, S. C. They mann- factured machines for carding both cotton and wool, and also had wool-carding mills in several towns in Worcester County and Rhode Island, for the conve- nience of the farmers. Pliny Earle died in 1832, and the business was conducted in his name till 1849 by his son, William B. Earle, who had had charge of it from the year 1819. lle devoted much of his skill to the improvement of the card-setting machine, and as an expert in that machinery is said to have had no superior. In 1837 he received of the Massa- chusetts Charitable Society in Boston, a silver medal for one of his machines.
Silas Earle withdrew from the firm and carried on the business independently, at the Marshall house, on Marshall Street, from about 1806 till the time of his death, in 1842. His machines were bonght by Timothy K. Earle, who then commeneed the business, but soon removed to Worcester.
Daniel Denny in 1792 made hand-cards in Cherry | his home, on the road from Cherry Valley to Auburn, Valley, in the house that stands between Main and Willow Streets, above Kettle Brook.
Woodcock & Knight .- Winthrop Earle began the machine-card business in 1802, in a building in the rear of Col. Thomas Denny's factory, which stood east of the Leicester Hotel. He died in 1807, and John Woodcock continned the business in connection with the widow until her marriage to Alphens Smith, 1808, when Mr. Smith assumed her share. Mr.
to a uniform thickness. In 1811 the factory was moved west of the hotel, and the next year was enlarged by Mr. Woodcock. In 1812 James Smith joined the company, which took the name of Wood- coek & Smith. Mr. Woodcock retired in 1813, and the next year John A. and Rufus Smith took his. place, forming the firm of James & John A. Smith & Co. Rufus Smith died in 1818. In 1825, October 18th, John Woodcock, Hiram Knight and Emory Drury became partners. In 1827 and 1828 they built the Brick Factory. Mr. Drury left the firm in 1829, and continued to manufacture cards on Pleasant Street, a mile from the village. In 1836 they added to their business the manufacture of eard clothing in Philadelphia, with George W. Morse as a partner,
Capt. Isaac Southgate and Col. Henry Sargent, both [of them enterprising and public spirited citizens of Leicester, began the manufacture of machine-cards in 1810, as the firm of Southgate & Sargent, in Colonel Thos. Denny's house. Col. Sargent withdrew in 1812 and was in the sime business till his death in 1829, his brother, Col. Joseph D., being with him from 1814 to 1819. Capt. Southgate, in 1826, associated with himself Joshua Lamb, Dwight Bisco, Joseph A. Denny and John Stone, as the firm of Isaac Southgate & Co., manufacturing machine-cards in the building west of the hotel. Mr. Stone died in 1827, Mr. Lamb retired in 1831 and Capt. Southgate in 1843, when the name was changed to Bisco & Denny. In 1828 they built. the Central Factory and in 1845 the present factory of Bisco & Denny. In 1857 Charles A. Denny and George Bisco joined the firm. Jos. A. Denny died in 1875 and Dwight Biseo in 1882, when John W. Bisco joined the firm. In 1857 a branch establishment was opened at Manchester, N. II. Their factory was enlarged and remodeled in 1883.
Colonel Joseph D. Sargent first made hand-cards at beyond Denny Hill. After separating from his brother in 1819, he continued to mannfacture hand cards at the Brick Factory till his death, in 1849, but sold the other part of the business to Lamb & White, in 1836. Silas Jones, Nathan Ainsworth and William Boggs were at different times his partners.
Josiah Q. Lamb and Alonzo White manufactured machine.cards in Sargent's Brick Factory from 1836 to 1846. when Mr. Lamb retired from the tirm, but Woodcock invented the machine for splitting leather [ made cards at the same place until his death, in 1850.
Christopher C. Denny became associated with Mr. White in 1846, in the firm of White & Denny, who carried on business in the factory of II. A. Denny, which in 1854 they purchased of Henry A. Denny & Sons. In 1868 Mr. Denny disposed of his interest to II. Arthur White, and the firm of White & Son continued business till 1888, when, H. A. White having pur- chased the interest of the father, the concern was consolidated with the "Decker & Bonitz Card Cloth ing Company," incorporated under the laws of Massa elinsetts, which also carries on an extensive business in Philadelphia. ' Mr. White assumed the manage- ment of the Leicester branch. This corporation pur chased the Central Factory, which they enlarged and
1 See Appendix.
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renovated, and added new buildings for the accommo- dation of their new power-plant, and the grinding of cards under patents owned by the corporation, and for additional facilities for their increasing business.
The firm of J. & J. Murdock had its origin in 1840, in that of Southgate & Murdock, composed of Sanı- uel Southgate, Jr., and Joshna Murdoek, Jr. Mr. Southgate retired in 1844, and Mr. Murdock eon- tinned the business alone until 1848, when his brother Joseph joined him, and the firm-name of J. & J. Murdoek was adopted, which is still used. In 1858, John N. Murdoek came into the firm. In March, 1883, Joshna died, and, in the following June, Julius O. Murdock was admitted, forming the present com- pany. For the first eight years the business was small. When the present firm was organized the company had only thirteen machines.
In 1857 they bought the business of Baylies Up- ham, thus adding twenty machines to their plant that year. Previous to 1864 the motive-power was horses in a eireular tread-mill. In that year steam was substituted for the primitive horse-power. At the present time they have one hundred and thirty-seven machines, capable of producing more than one hun- dred thousand feet of cards yearly, and their machine card business is the largest in town. The business has from the first been carried on at the same site. J. & J. Murdock's factory was enlarged in 1856 by the addition of sixty-six feet, and, in 1866, it was further enlarged by what is now the main building, thirty-five by one hundred and fifty feet. In 1868 a new branch of the business was added, and machin- ery put in for currying and finishing the leather for cards, eighteen thousand sides yearly being finished and used for this purpose, in addition to a considera- ble quantity of cloth.
In the early part of the year 1888 a dynamo was put in and the works lighted by electricity.
After leaving the firm of James & John A. Smith & Co. in 1830, John A. Smith began the manufacture of card-clothing on the site of the present Wire Mill. In 1844 he was succeeded by the firm of Southgate & Smith, consisting of Samuel Southgate, Jr., and John S. Smith. In 1859 Horace Waite, who had been making hand-cards on the first floor of Waite's factory while Southgate & Smith were using the upper floor, sueceeded Mr. Southgate, and the firm beeame Smith & Waite. Mr. Smith retired in 1867, and the firm of E. C. & L. M. Waite & Co. was organized. Mr. Horaee Waite died in 1871, Lucius M. retired in 1874, and the business has since been continued by Edward C. Waite.
Josephus Woodeock, Benjamin Conklin and Austin Conklin, as the firm of Conklin, Woodcock & Co., began the machine-eard business on Pleasant Street in 1828; dissolved in 1830, when Mr. Woodcoek, with his brother Lucius, formed the firm of J. & L. Wood- cock. Danforth Rice was with them from 1831 to 1836, and William P. White from 1848 till his death,
in 1881. Charles HI. then took the interest of his father, Josephns Woodcock ; Henry Biseo joined the company, and the business was continued in the name' of L. Woodcock & Co. until 1888, when it was given up, and the machinery sold to the Card Clothing Association. Mr. Lueius Woodcock died in 1887.
Baylies Upham manufactured machine-eards from 1825 till 1857, when he sold to J. & J. Murdoch. From 1825 till 1833 Samuel Hurd was in company with him, and from 1849 to 1855 Irving Sprague.
After leaving Mr. Upham, Mr. Ilurd united with James Trask in the manufacture of machine and hand-eards, on the Trask place, on Mount Pleasant. Mr. Trask died in 1848, and Mr. Hurd removed to the rear of White & Denny's factory. In 1862 he sold to L. S. Watson, but continued to make cards till 1866 on commission. William F. Holman manufactured hand-cards from 1867 to 1873.
Claramon Hunt made eards on a foundation of wood from 1868 to 1874 in White & Denny's factory, and then sold to L. S. Watson & Co.
In 1842 John HI. &' William Whittemore began the manufacture of card-clothing in the building west of the Friends' burying-ground, which William Earle was at the same time using for making card-machines. In 1845 they received their brother James. John H. was killed on the Western Railroad in 1851, and the firm assumed the name of W. & J. Whittemore. James died in 1882. William F., his son, joined the company in 1874. After making eards about a year at Mannville, the Whittemores removed to the Centre Village, and occupied, for a few years, the building on Market Street in which is now Wheeler's meat- market. They then built their factory, which was much enlarged in 1883.
Cheney Hatch, first on Pleasant Street, then on Main Street, made cards from 1823 to 1836, when he sold to Alden Biseo, who soon sold to Henry A. Denny, who, in 1849, took into partnership his sons -Joseph Waldo and William S.,-as the firm of Henry A. Denny & Sons. In 1854 they sold to White & Denny.
Henry A. Denny commenced making hand-cards in 1823, with Emory Drury, as the firm of Drury & Denny, on Pleasant Street, about a mile south of Main Street, where Samuel D. Watson had before carried on the same business two or three years. They dissolved, and he continued alone, on the corner of Main and Mechanic Streets. Afterward he was associated with Reuben Merriam, until 1836, when he purchased the factory hitherto used by Mr. Hatch.
Col. Thomas Denny, with William Earle, made hand-eards on Denny Hill. In 1802 he began the manufacture of cards, hand and machine, on the corner of Main and Market Streets, which he eon- dueted on an extensive seale till his death, in 1814. He had in the same building the post-office and a store.
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Jonathan Earle manufactured cards on Mount Pleasant from 1804 to 1813.
Alpheus Smith built a brick factory, afterward the house of II. G. Henshaw, where he manufactured card clothing from 1813 to 1823, and was succeeded by his brother Horace.
James Stone made hand-cards from 1849 to 1853.
Roswell Sprague built a store opposite the academy, and in it manufactured cards.
Reuben Merriam, in the same house, made hand and machine-cards, and built card machines for many years, from 1821, George W. Morse and Henry A. Denny being at times his partners.
Capt. William Sprague & Sons were engaged in the same business ; also Brigham Barton, Bernard Upham, Samuel D. Watson, Aaron Morse, Guy S. Newton, Timothy Earle, Samuel Southgate, William H. Scott, Oliver Sylvester and others.
Joseph B. and Edward Sargent began the manu- facture of hand cards at the "Brick Factory," May 1, 1854. George H. Sargent eame into the firm January 1, 1859, at which time the well-known Sar- gent Hardware Commission House was established, in New York City. They carried on the hand-card business in Leicester on a large scale, purchasing the interest of several other firms. About the year 1868 they removed the business to Worcester, and in 1883 sold to L. S. Watson & Co.
L. S. Watson & Co. are the principal hand-eard manufacturers in the country. Like other interests in town, this enterprise has gradually grown from a very small beginning. Lory S. Watson came to Leicester from Spencer in 1842, and in company with Horace Waite bought one-half of Col. Joseph D. Sargent's machinery. Waite & Watson made hand- cards in the " Brick Factory " till 1845, when the co-partnership was dissolved, each partner taking one-half of the machines. At this time Mr. Watson had eight card-setting machines, which were dis- tributed in different factories, in which he hired power. The coarse eards were pricked at Mulberry Grove by one of Silas Earle's pricking-machines, and the teeth set by hand. About the year 1861 he bought out Samuel Ilurd and George Upham. In this year he built the present factory, and introduced for power Ericson's hot-air engine. In 1865 he took his son Edwin L. into partnership, under the title of L. S. Watson & Co. The factory was enlarged in 1866, and steam-power was introduced. In 1878 the building was again enlarged, and again in 1885. It is in size one hundred feet by forty feet, and of four stories, and there are also separate store-houses. In 1883 they bought the hand card machinery and stock of Sargent Hardware Co., and for nearly two years carried on a branch establishment in Worcester. At present they have one hundred machines, and mannfacture about 14,000 dozen pairs of hand-cards annually. In 1873 the company began the inanu- facture of wire heddles, which they have continued
as a separate department. The capacity of the wire heddle machines is 100,000 daily.
The history of Leicester is closely identified with the rise and development of card manufacture in this country. At first the entire process was hand- work. The holes were pricked by hand. The ma- chine for pricking was then invented, and for many years the setting of teeth by hand furnished employ- ment for women and children in their homes through- out this whole region. In this way they could, at one time, earn fourteen cents a day. This continued through the first quarter of the century, when the eard-pricking and setting machine began to come in- to general use.
The use of power in the preparation of the leather is of much more recent date. As we have seen, Mr. John Woodcock invented the machine for splitting leather, something like seventy-five years ago, and the preparation of the leather by power has been coming into use within the last twenty-five years. Cloth also is now extensively used.
At first the machines were moved by hand. Dog- power was then introduced, then horse-power. Thirty years ago White & Denny's factory was the only establishment in which steam-power was employed. It is now used in all. Within two years the heavy machines for grinding cards after they are set, has been brought into general use in town. The busi- ness now requires larger facilities and capital than were necessary at an earlier period. There has been a change in the number and magnitude of the manu- facturing establishments. There are at present only five card-clothing factories in town. Formerly many men made hand- cards on a small scale. Now there is only one firm in town engaged in this branch of the business, and there are only three manufactories of cotton and woolen hand cards in the country. There were made in the year 1887 by all the card- clothing manufacturers in the country 975,742 square feet, valued at $1,219,677. Of these, 216,468 feet were made in Leicester, valued at $270,585.
WOOLEN MANUFACTURE .- Samuel Watson is en- titled to the position of pioneer woolen mannfacturer in Leicester. During the War of 1812, or as Washburn states, "previous to 1814 he enlarged bis clothier's shop," and began the weaving of woolen cloth upon looms moved by hand. The mill was located on the Auburn road near Main Street, on the privilege used by Richard Southgate for his saw-mill, the second ereeted in town. Alexander Parkman afterward used it as a fulling-mill, and was followed by Asahel Washburn. According to Washburn's his- tory Mr. Watson leased the inill to James Anderton, who had been bred a woolen manufacturer in Lan- cashire, England, who disposed of his interest to Thomas Bottomly, "who continued to carry on the business there until 1825." The building was burnt February 11, 1848.
Mr. Bottomly may truthfully be termed the found-
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er of Cherry Valley as a manufacturing village. When he came to Leicester there were, as nearly as ean be ascertained, only ten houses in what is now the village. Most of the present residences were built in his lifetime, and it was by him that the three brick factories were ereeted. He was a native of Yorkshire, England. He had worked in the factories as a child, but was afterward a shepherd on the moors, where he earned moncy with which to come to America. He came to this eountry in 1819, land- ing at Philadelphia, where he worked for a short time, and then started on foot for Rochdale, where was James Anderton, whom he had known in Eng- land. Hle found himself without money before the journey was completed, and always remembered with special gratitude the kindness of a family in Connec- ticut who entertained him over the Sabbath. He worked in Rochdale for a time, and came to Cherry Valley, and built what is now Olney's Mill in 1821, and was running it as late as 1824. The cloth was woven by hand in a building before used as a tan- nery, where the post-office now stands.
There was a saw-mill here at an early date owned by Benjamin Studley. About the year 1765 the privi- lege, with an acre of land, was bought by the " Forge Partners," who erected a building for some kind of iron-works. They, however, sold the property, which vas ealled the "Forge Acre," to Matthew Watson,
ho had there a saw-mill till about the year 1821, when Thomas Bottomly built on it a woolen-factory of brick. -och is the early history of this site, with a few varia- tons, as given by Governor Washburn and also by Joseph A. Denny, Esq., except that Washburn makes 1820 the date of building the mill, while Mr. Bottom- ly's son Wright places it 1821.
There have been various transfers of the property since that time. It passed from Thomas Bottomly to the Bottomly Manufacturing Company June 1, 1827, from thein back to Thomas Bottomly November 10, 1846, from him to Samuel Bottomly March 10, 1849, from him to George Hodges July 6th of the same year, and December 21st one-half of Mr. Hodges' in- terest to Benjamin A. Farnum. June 20, 1855, Samuel L. Hodges eame into possession of his father's inter- est, and October 9, 1857, that of Mr. Farnum, making him at this date the sole owner of the property. The factory was partially destroyed by fire September 7, 1864; up to Mr. Ilodges' time broadcloths of superior grade were woven here. Ile introduced the manufac- ture of flannels. By his energy and publie spirit Mr. Hodges did much to build up Cherry Valley.
In 1866, October 9th, the property was conveyed in trust to George H. Gilbert, Jr., George Hodges and Henry C. Weston, and by them to B. A. Farnum, June 7, 1867, Mr. and Mrs. Hodges giving them a quit-elaim decd the same day. Frank C. Fiske came into possession January 1, 1870. The mill was nearly destroyed by fire June 3, 1874. Albert T. B. Ames purchased it August 1, 1874, and at the same time made
a declaration of trust as to one-half of the property, held for George W. Olney, who with him formed the company of George W. Olney & Co. They rebuilt and opened the mill in the autumn of 1874, and eon- tinued to run it till February, 1876. George W. Olney came into entire possession March 22, 1876, and reopened the mill June 14, 1876, since which time lie has continued the manufacture of flannels. Two con- siderable additions have since been made to the main building-one in 1881, and the other in 1885. A store- house and other buildings and several tenement- houses have also been erected, and the general aspect of that part of the village much improved. The factory contains seven sets of cards, forty-six looms and four thousand two hundred and forty spindles. Mr. Olney is largely interested, also, in manufacturing in Lisbon, Maine.
In 1821 James Anderton began the manufacture of broadcloths and cassimeres in the sonth part of the town, in a small wooden mill, built about this time, by Thomas Scott, on the site of the present Lower Rochdale Factory. The Leicester Manufacturing Company was soon incorporated, and continued the same business, being afterward united with the Saxon Manufacturing Company, in Framingham, as the Saxon and Leicester Company. Mr. Joshua Clapp bought the property in 1829 and continued the same line of manufactures till 1840. For two or three years little was done in the mill. It then came into the hands of John Marland, of Andover, who sold it in 1845 to Barnes & Mansur, who added the manufac- ture of flannels. The building was burned in 1846. The same year Mr. Reuben S. Denny bought ont Mr. Mansur's interest, and, with Mr. Barnes, built a brick factory on the same site, which was completed in 1847. Mr. Denny in 1850 bought out Mr. Barnes. This factory was burned in 1851, and rebuilt in 1852. Meantime, about the year 1844, a wooden building had been erected on the site of the present Upper Factory, where the manufacture of carpets was carried on for a year with indifferent success This building Mr. Denny bought while erecting his new factory, and manufactured white flannels. It was burned in 1854, and the present brick building took its place.
In 1856 Ebenezer Dale, representing the firm of Johnson, Sewall & Co., of Boston, came into possession of both factories and a large property, real and per- sonal, connected with them. In the two mills are thirteen sets of machinery. Since 1859, first as the Clappville Mills, then as the Rochdale Mills, they have manufactured flannels and ladies' dress goods, averaging for the last twenty years from one to one and a half million yards. New and improved ma- chinery has within a few years taken the place of the old. E. G. Carlton has for thirty years been the agent and manager, and the reputation of the products of the Rochdale Mills is exceeded by few, if any, manu- facturing establishments in the country.
In 1838 Amos S. Earle and Billings Mann, as the
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firm of Earle & Mann, began the manufacture of sat- inets in the building near the corner of Mannville and Earle Streets, at Mannville, in which Earle & Bros. had made eard-machines and Amnos S. Earle had afterward made hand-cards. Mr. Mann removed from town in 1844. Nathan Daniels beeame Mr. Earle's partner, and the firm of Earle & Daniels built forty feet of the present mill. Mr. Daniels died and the estate being solvent, it was bought by a syndi- cate of creditors.
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