USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885 > Part 17
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Nicholas Crane emigrated to this country from Wexford, Ireland, about the year 1837, finally coming to Dalton, and locating on East Main street, where he now resides. He married Sarah Morgan, of Pittsfield, the union being blessed by a family of eight children, namely: Thomas, John, Edward, Nicholas, Mary A., Sarah T., Michael and Kittie, six of whom are still living.
Elijah Curtis's father, with his two brothers, emigrated to Massachusetts from England, and all served in the war of 1812. John, son of Elijah, mar- ried Patty Newell, of Dalton, who bore him nine children, of whom two still survive. Hannah, wife of Seth Walker, and now of Medina, Ohio, and John, who married Mary Smith for his first wife, by whom he had ten children, four of whom are still living, namely : Mary Prentice, of Pittsfield ; Cynthia Perkins, of Dalton ; Adda N. Balch, of Elgin, Ill .; and Diodana C. Clark, of Springfield. After the death of Mary, John married Polly Nye, whom he also survived, marrying for his third wife Margaret Clark. He now resides in Dalton, on road 9.
Isaac N. Allen enlisted twice in the war of the Rebellion. His son, Alpheus N., also served in this war, and died in the hospital at New Orleans, in 1869.
Stephen D. Tower removed to this town, from Windsor, in 1854, locating on road 7, where he resided until his death in 1881. He married Esther E. Beals, in 1831, who bore him ten children, but one deceased. His son, David H., who now occupies the homestead, married Margaret Young, of Huntington, Mass., in 1869, and has one son, Walter L.
George E., son of Nathaniel Hager, of Pittsfield, married Hattie N. Wil- son, of Dalton, and has five children, Susie B., Hattie W., George S., Lucy
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G., and James W. He served in the Rebellion, and was taken prisoner at the time of Sheridan's raid, May 10, 1864, and imprisoned at Andersonville, and other prisons, making his escape during the removal of the prisoners at the evacuation of Charlestown, February 17, 1865.
Joshua A. Barton, born at Butternuts, N. Y., in 1800, married Relief Vinton,. rearing eight children, four of whom, Harvey B., of Stockbridge, Mrs. James M. Parsons, of Lenox, John S., of this town, and Henry A., are still living. The latter married Dorcas A. Benton, of Lenox, who bore him six children, four of whom are living : Mrs. Lephia O. Warren, of Windsor, Wesley B., who married Carrie Lewis, of Bridgewater, Conn., Mrs. Grace Parker, of Dalton,. and Henry A., who married Carrie M. Curtis, of this town, where he resides, on road 22, corner 23. and has four children-M. Alta, Charles H., Blanche M., and Claire C. John S., brother of Henry A., Sr., married Phebe T. Hol- den, of Cairo, N. Y., who bore him three children : James A., residing in this town, who married Elvia Kidd, of Tiskilwa, Ill .; Emma E. Raymond, of Hinsdale ; and Willie.
Alexander M. Groesbeck, of Albany, who married Emaline Holmes, of Palmer, Mass., and located in Lee, was the father of eleven children, four of whom survive : Jane Butler, who resides in Minnesota ; Adell E .; and Frank- lin N., who married Hattie Maynard, of this town, and has one child, Edna. M., and Charles H., of this town, who married Clara A., daughter of C. C. Benton, of Lee, and has two children, Emma L. and Grace A. Charles served two years and a half in the Rebellion, being honorably discharged at its close ; and his grandfather, John B. Holmes, served in the Mexican war.
Richard A. Davis, of Oneida county, N. Y., married Mary C. Davis, of the same place, and had born to him twelve children, of whom three survive, namely : James, of Middlefield, Mass., Mary J., of Sharon Springs, N. Y., and Theodore. The latter married Bertha Blinn, of Canaan Four Corners,. N. Y., and located finally in this town, where he now resides, and has a family of four children, Cora E., Chloe E., Jennie I., and Mary A. He served in the war of the Rebellion, in the 37th Mass., Co. E., from which he was honor- ably discharged after a service of three years.
Marcus Putnam, of Becket, and a descendant of Gen. Putnam, of Revolu- tionary fame, married Phebe Rouse, of Windsor, and became the father of six children, four of whom still live, namely : Joseph and Rufus, of Westfield, Charles, of Pittsfield, and Henry H., of Dalton, who married Jane Cady, of this town, and has one child, Lucy I.
Daniel, son of Daniel Brownson, of Cornwall, Conn., and a blacksmith by trade, married Mary Dean, of Cornwall, where he located, rearing two chil- dren, Philo, who died in the war of the Rebellion, and Emery M., engineer in a paper-mill in Dalton, where he now lives. He married Lucy Ann Nobles, of Cornwall, and has six children, Philo C., Francis M., Ada, Edwin H., Louisa,. and Eugene E.
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TOWN OF DALTON.
Timothy, son of James Callaghan, a native of Ireland, emigrated to this country in 1850, and is now a resident of this town. He married Anna Cur- tain, of Cork, Ireland, who bore him seven children, all of whom, Nellie, Katie, Julia, William, Hannah, Mary and Maggie, are living.
John Callahan, of county Cork, Ireland, son of James, came to this country in 1857, and resides in Dalton. He married Ann Suttle, of Galway, Ireland, and has three children.
Maurice Callaghan, a native of Ireland, and a resident of Dalton, came to this country in 1839. He married Catharine Curtain, of Lanesboro, and has four children, James, Hannah, Ellen and William.
Willard Cooper settled in Windsor, Mass., about 1800, and married Mary Saunders, by whom he had seven children : Royal E., Eliza M., Clara A., Leander C., Marietta, John C., and Samuel W. Samuel, the youngest son, married Minerva Maynard, of Dalton, for his first wife, by whom he had two children, Willard M., and Carrie ; and for his second wife married Louisa Maynard, both being of this town of which he is a resident.
John H. Smith enlisted twice in the war of the Rebellion, serving the first time in the 47th Mass., and in the second time in the 16th Mass., an unat- tached company, and was honorably discharged.
Amasa Converse, one of the early settlers of Windsor, married first, Sinai Chaffee, rearing six children, afterwards marrying Esther Walker, daughter of Robert, of Revolutionary fame, who bore him four children. His youngest son, Charles A., also married twice, rearing by his first wife, Jane A. Rice, one son, Amasa R., now a banker, of Cheyenne, Wyoming; and married for his second wife Sarah Mitchell, of Windsor, locating first in that town, but afterwards, in 1873, coming to Dalton, where he died in 1880, leaving one daughter, Ethel, wife of Frank A. Fowler.
Myron A. Sherman, grandson of Sylvanus Parsons, who was a Revolutionary pensioner, married Lucinda Booth, rearing five children, and is now a resi- dent of Dalton, on road 5.
Thomas Thompson came to this country from England as a sergeant in Gen. Burgoyne's army, among the British Grenadiers, a noted regiment,-all of the men being six feet in height. He married Martha Smith, of Bridge- water, and finally located in Pittsfield. Thomas D., son of Thomas, married Abbie Barlow for his first wife, and for his second the widow of Jonas Flint. He has two sons, George W., a paper maker in Brooklyn, N. Y., and Fred- erick A., in the same business in Westfield, Mass. Thomas resides in this town, at the age of ninety.
John Brown, who was one of the early settlers of Windsor, was a deacon in the Congregational church there for fifteen years, his son John, Jr., served in the same office ten years, and the latter's son, Alpheus, twenty-five years. His wife was Abigail, daughter of Captain Pierce, of Windsor. Alpheus, Jr., residing in this town, on road 7, married Czarina, daughter of Gen. Holbrook, of Windsor, rearing eleven children, six of whom, Addison W., Henry C.,
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Charles O., Selden S., Edward E. and Francis W., are now living. He served in the war of 1812.
Dwight M., son of Lewis Bartlett, son of Edward, an early settler in Worth- ington, Mass., married Clarissa J. Ramage, of Holyoke, Mass., and has one child, Laura E., and resides in Dalton. Lewis married Laura A. Prince of Windsor. His other two children are James L. and Amanda, both married.
William B. West, of English descent, and grandson of Josiah West, of Sal- isbury, Conn., who was a Revolutionary soldier, resides on road 5, in this town. He married Julia Loveland, for his first wife, and for his second the widow of William Reed, having one son, Josiah, now living.
Andrew J., son of Ethan A. Mason, and grandson of Nathan, of Cheshire, married Anna Jenning, of Adams, and has two children-Ernest, Marinda, wife of Samuel Hildreth who has two children, Rufus R. and George I. ; and Andrew J. was wounded in the war of the Rebellion and honorably dis- charged. He now resides on road 3 in this town.
Osiah Hawley was an early settler in Otis, Mass., rearing a family of ten children, among whom was Harry S., father of William Henry, a resident of Dalton. Harry L. married Betsey Crittendon, of Otis, and has four chil- dren now living. He was a farmer in Sandisfield, and died at the age of eighty-seven. William Henry married Charlotte J. Whitney, of Otis, and has had three children. His grandfather, William Crittendon, served in the Revolution.
Henry H. Knight is a grandson of James Knight, who came from Eng- land to this country as a soldier under Gen. Burgoyne, and was at the battle of Saratoga, afterwards locating in Saratoga county, where he died about 1820. Henry H. resides in Dalton.
Alonzo, son of Asa Cone, formerly a resident of West Stockbridge, and grandson of Levi Crittendon, a Revolutionary soldier, and who served at the battle of Bennington, is a resident of Dalton, on road 22. He was twice married, rearing by his first wife, Elizabeth P. Nichols, of Richmond, two children, both deceased. For his second wife he married Elizabeth A. Day, of Rowe, Mass., who is still living.
Charles P., son of Hubbard Sanderson, of Rutland county, Vt., and grandson of Weller Sanderson, an Englishman, and a Revolutionary soldier, married Mary J. Fredericks, of Lenox, and now resides in Cranesville.
John W. Flansburgh, grandson of John Waldron, of Coxsackie, N. Y., a pensioner of the war of 1812, is a resident of Dalton, a carpenter by trade.
John Dwyer, a resident of this town, emigrated to this country about 1850. He married Bridget Callahan, who bore him six children : Maggie, Edward, Francis, Mabel, Willie and Joseph, all living.
Lawrence Connors, of this town, a native of Galway, Ireland, married Julia Callahan, of the same place, who came to this country about thirty years ago. He has seven children.
Spencer Fuller, a native of Whitingham, Vt., married Maria Flemming,
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and reared a family of eight children : Elmira, Hiram, Jerusha, Evaline, Willard, Harvey A., (who married first Ida A. Cross, of Searsburg, Vt., and afterwards Sarah Porter, of Lanesboro, and has one child,) Guy W. and Adelia, six of whom are living. He resides in Cranesville. Samuel G. Fuller, son of Spencer, married Anna Crosier, of Searsburg, has two chil- dren, and also resides in Cranesville. His grandfather, Gardner Flemming, served in the Revolution.
James S. Smith, son of Amos, married Caroline Comstock, of Stock- bridge, rearing five children-Cynthia P., Melissa M., Roswell P., Olive M., and James S. The widow of James S. now resides upon the homestead on road 5, in Dalton, which was first settled by Amos Smith. James married for his second wife, Eliza Driscol. of this town, who bore him four children, namely: Andrew D., Emma C., Arthur L. and Helen M.
The First Congregational church, located on Main street, at Dalton village, was organized by Rev. John Leland, Daniel Collins and Thomas Allen, with eleven members, February 11, 1785, Rev. James Thompson, being the first pastor. The first house of worship was built in 1795, and stood where the lower cemetery now is. The present building was erected in 1812. It will comfortably accommodate 300 persons, and is valued, including grounds, at $5,000.00. The society now has 100 members, with Rev. George W. Andrews, pastor.
The Methodist Episcopal church, located on Main street, was started in 1812, composed chiefly from dissenters from the Congregational church, while some attached themselves to the new church from political motives, connected with the last war with the Great Britain, and others still on account of the Congregational society moving their church building to a new site. Their church building was erected in 1834, at a cost of $1,400.00. It will comfortably seat 350 persons, and is now valued, including grounds and parsonage, at $1,050.00. The society has 165 members.
St. Agnes Roman Catholic church, located at Dalton village, was organized by the Right Rev. P. S. O'Reyley, in 1880, with 800 communicants. Rev. Father Cronin, the present incumbent, was the first pastor. The church building was erected in 1880, at a cost of about $17,000.00. It will accom- modate 600 persons, and is valued, including grounds and other property, at $18,000.00. The society now has 1,000 members.
E GREMONT lies in the southwestern part of the county, in lat. 42° 10' and long. 3º 35', bounded north by Alford, east by Great Barrington and Sheffield, south by Sheffield and Mount Washington, and west by Columbia county, N. Y. Dr. Holland, in his History of Western Massachu- setts, speaks of the original grants that covered the present territory of the township as follows :-
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TOWN OF EGREMONT.
"The Indian reservation, made at the time of the purchase of the lower Housatonic township, extended through the present town of Egremont. A considerable part of this was leased by the chiefs of the Stockbridge tribe to Andrew Karner, October 20, 1740 ; and, in 1756, a portion of the reservation was purchased of the Indians, and this tract became known as the 'Shawenon Purchase.' It was 'bounded east on Sheffield, south on Indian land, west on the land lately laid to Robert Noble and others, called Nobletown, and to ex- tend north as far as said Nobletown, to the northeast corner of said town ; to run east over to the Stockbridge west line.' This tract of land, for the con- sideration of £20, was conveyed to Ebenezer Baldwin, Aaron Loomis, Josiah Phelps, Benjamin Tremain, Samuel Colver, Samuel Welch, David Winchell and several others. Nobletown was west of the dividing line between Mass- achusetts and New York, being at the present time a part of the town of Hills- dale. In October, 1756, another tract of land, afterwards known as the Spoor Grant, was conveyed by the Indians to Isaac and Cornelius Spoor, and others. Karner's lease passed from hand to hand until it was lost sight of. At last, between thirty and forty years ago [written in 1857], it came into the posses- sion of William F. Gragg, of Augusta, N. Y., who laid claim to the land which it covered. In 1826, however, the occupants paid him $400.00 for his right, and thus adjusted the claim."
Mr. S. B. Goodale, in a manuscript history of the town, tells another of Indian grants, substantially as follows : A tract of land containing story I,200 acres, extending from the present village of South Egremont westerly to the mountain, a chestnut tree standing formerly in the little inclosed yard in front of the Mt. Everett House being the northern boundary, was sold or leased by the Indians to one of their tribe named John Van Guil- der, and his brother-in-law, Andrew Karner, each having 600 acres. At the same time, also, was sold a like tract lying in Sheffield, to Messrs- Vosburgh and Gordon. John Van Guilder was a strong Indian boy, who, having found a home with a Dutch family living just over the line in New York, took the name of his foster father, though his real name was Konk- apot. Previous to the purchase mentioned he rejoined his tribe and mar- ried the daughter of a white settler named Karner, and on the removal of the Indians from Stockbridge they made the above mentioned transfer. Van Guilder's half-breed descendants were at one time numerous in the town, though the majority of them removed to Granville, N. Y. The last of them here was a State pauper, named Reuben Winchell, who died in 1850.
In 1836 an agent of the Stockbridge tribe appeared here, claiming the prop- erty that had been leased to Karner, agreeing to settle the matter, however, for $1,000.00; but two years later he accepted $400.00 in settlement of the claim. The tract delivered to the Indian, Van Guilder, seems to have been given under a warrantee deed, hence the title of the owners was good.
But be these matters as they may,the Indian grants, together with other lands, were incorporated as a district of Sheffield, February 13, 1760, under the name of Egremont. The new district was invested with all the powers, immunities, and privileges accorded the townships of the province, except the right of sending a representative to the general court, this right being held in common with
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TOWN OF EGREMONT.
Sheffield. The privilege of sending its own representative was not accorded until some years after. Why the name Egremont was chosen is not definitely known. Some assert that it was given in honor of Lord Egremont, of Eng- land, by some emigrant or emigrants from that Lord's borough ; others, that it was so named in honor of Charles Wyndham, Earl of Egremont, who, in 1671, was made secretary of state ; while still another, though improbable version, is that the district being originally a part of Great Barrington and Sheffield, was by natural agreement set off as a separate district, hence the name Agreement, finally corrupted into Egremont.
Since its incorporation Egremont has had its boundaries changed so often that it is now extremely irregular in outline, bearing no resemblance to its orig- inal proportions. The boundary line between it and Alford was not finally established until February 6, 1790, and the 22d of the same month parts of Sheffield were annexed to the town ; on June 17, 1817, a part of Mt. Wash- ington was annexed; and February 16, 1824, other parts of Sheffield were annexed, and the boundary line between the two towns was finally established in 1869, so that the town now has an area of about 16,000 acres.
The surface of the town is extremely varied and irregular, the western and southern portions extending up upon the eastern slope of the Toconic moun- tains, rough and craggy ; while portions of the eastern section are level and productive, with an undulating territory lying between them, sinking, however, in the central part of the town, into an extensive swamp. The soil in most parts of the town is productive and adapted to grain raising, while some locali- ties afford excellent grazing lands. Green river, having its source in New York, winds through the northern part of the town, and Karner river through the southern section, both flowing an easterly course. Winchell pond, covering an area of about 140 acres, lies in the northern part of the town, and Marsh pond, covering an'area of seventy-two acres, lies in the central part. Marble quarries have been opened in the northern part of the town, by Henry Tobey and David Olmstead, which yield a marble of good quality and of consider- able extent.
The geological formation is principally Levis limestone, underlying most of the eastern section, while the other portions are made up mostly of mica, tal_ cose and argillaceous slate.
In 1880 Egremont had a population of 875. In 1883, the town employed one male and five female teachers in her public schools, to whom was paid an average monthly salary of $40.00 to the males and $35.33 to the females. It had 103 school children, while the entire amount raised for school pur- poses was $1,046.66.
EGREMONT is a post village located in the eastern part of the town.
NORTH EGREMONT, a post village, is located in northern part of the town.
SOUTH EGREMONT, a post village, is located in the southeastern part of the town.
Dalzell & Co.'s carriage hardware works .- In 1845 David Dalzell came
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TOWN OF EGREMONT.
to Egremont, from Hudson, N. Y., and purchased the carriage business of Major Karner, located where the present works now are, at South Egremont. In 1850 he added to the works the manufacture of fine carriage axles, In 1868 he took into partnership with him his two sons, David, Jr., and William C., and in 1876 added the manufacture of the Dalzell & Ives patent, wrought- iron case-hardened axle boxes, increasing the business to large proportions. In 1878 David, Jr., died, and in 1879 his death was followed by that of his father, thus leaving the business entirely in the hands of William C., who, in October, 1880, took Roscoe C. Taft as a partner. The firm now employs sixty men, turning out 12,000 sets of axles and 12,000 sets of axle boxes per annum.
Benjamin's cork sole factory .- In 1879 Arthur A. Benjamin, then twenty- five years of age, established the business of manufacturing cork insoles, at South Egremont, only making about fifteen dozen pairs per day. He now em- ploys sixty hands, uses 600 yards of cotton-flannel and 400 of enameled cloth making 500 dozen pairs of soles per day.
The permanent settlement of the town was commenced about 1730, though it is said that Andrew and Robert Karner, from Rhinebeck, N. Y., and John, Isaac and Jacob Spoor, from some other part of that State, came in at an earlier date, supposing they were locating on territory belonging to New York. Between 1730 and 1756 the settlement increased rapidly, the following named being among the early arrivals : Nicholas Karner, Jacob Karner, Cornelius Spoor, Ebenezer Baldwin, Aaron Loomis, Josiah Phelps, John Perry, Timothy Hopkins, Elias Hopkins, Nehemiah Messenger, Benja- min Tonman, Samuel Colver, Samuel Younglove, William Webb, Jonathan Welch, Samuel Welch, Robert Joyner, Gideon Church, Ebenezer Smith, Aaron Sheldon, Israel Taylor, William Roberts, Joseph Hicks, Edward Bai- ley, Abraham Andrews and John Fuller. In March, 1760, the first district meeting was held, when Samuel Winchell was chosen clerk, and Jonah West- over, Timothy Kellogg and Isaac Spoor, were elected selectmen.
Isaac Fuller, from Tuxbridge, Conn .; came to Egremont about 1735, and built a small house near the brook just east of the old Tuller burial ground. His land, however, was then included in that of the town of Sheffield, and was a part of the old Indian tract purchased by a Mr. Vosburgh. During the French and Indian war, Mr. Tuller acted as wagoner in transporting provis- ions and supplies across the country into Canada, making, it is said, some money thereby. After the war he returned to Egremont and built the brick house now owned by James A. Gardner, from brick he manufactured on his own farm. This is the oldest house in the town, having been built in 1761. Mr. Tuller died in 1797, aged eighty-five years. John Tuller, 2d, built the hotel at North Egremont.
Ebenezer Baldwin was an early settler, making the first settlement on the farm now owned by Henry Burget. James Baldwin was born on the old homestead, on what is now known as Baldwin hill, in 1759. He married
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TOWN OF EGREMONT.
three times, first when quite young, and reared five sons, Ephraim, Benjamin, Jonathan, Stephen and Cyrus, and two daughters. Ephraim inherited a qual- ity of great executive ability from his father, and was made a colonel during the war of 1812. In 1829 he was elected representative, being returned the following term. In 1831 he was appointed a justice of the peace, holding the office fourteen years, and in 1842 he was appointed postmaster at North Egremont, which position he held eight years. Col. Baldwin married Dim- mis Karner, February 23, 1815, who survived him, his death occurring June I, 1863. They reared six children, only four of whom attained a mature age, and only two, Levik, of California, and Mrs. Julia F. Rounds, of Egremont, are living. Stephen married Elizabeth Smith and reared one son, Stephen, Jr., who now resides on road 4. Benjamin married Maria Crippen for his first wife, by whom he had six children, five of whom, Joel, Fanny, Franklin, William and Maria, are living ; his second wife was Mary Joyner, who bore him three children, Albert H., Edwin A., and Thodore S. Jonathan Bald- win married Esther Church, of Great Barrington, who bore him nine chil- dren, six of whom, Cyrus, Emeline, Andrew J., Mason, Theodore and Lydia, are living.
Nicholas Race, from Scotland, was an early settler, locating on the farm now owned by David Millard. Isaac N., son of Nicholas, was born here in 1771, married a daughter of Seneca Tuller, and reared six children, two of whom, Seneca T., of Egremont, and Rovilla T. Kinney, of Canaan Four Cor- ners, N. Y., are living.
Joseph Kline came to Egremont, from New York State, with his father, John C., in 1802, he being at that time only six years of age. He became the husband of Sabra, daughter of Levi Karner, and in 1827 purchased the farm now owned by his son, Joseph A, where he reared seven children, five of whom, Levi K., Dimmis A. (Mrs. Stephen Baldwin), Almira A. (Mrs. John B. Taylor), Joseph A. and Lydia J., wife of George C. Parson, of California, are living.
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