Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 29

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972

USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885 > Part 29

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

233

TOWN OF NEW MARLBORO.

MILL RIVER, a post village and the municipal center of the town, lies in nearly the center of the township, on Konkapot or Mill river. It has two churches, (Roman Catholic and Congregational), one hotel, three stores, town hall, grist-mill, two saw-mills, three paper-mills and about fifty dwell- ings. It is decidedly a manufacturing village, and has, within a mile, eight dams each with a head varying from seven to twenty-five feet, and aside from this is one of the lovliest villages in Southern Berkshire, and was the last to loose its business on account of remoteness from transportation facilities. The question of building a railroad to Canaan, Conn., to connect with the lines there, is being agitated, which, if it succeeds, will restore the village to its past importance.

NEW MARLBORO, a post village located about two miles east of Mill River, and the same distance north of Southfield, is the oldest community in the town. It has one church (Congregational), one store, the buildings of the South Berkshire Institute (now used as a summer hotel), and about twenty dwellings.

SOUTHFIELD, a post village located in nearly the central part of the town, has two churches (Congregational and Baptist), one store and about twenty dwellings.

CLAYTON, a post village located on the line between New Marlboro and Connecticut, has one store, a blacksmith shop, the Sheffield China Clay Works, and about a dozen dwellings. It came into the town along with the annexation from Sheffield in 1871.

HARTSVILLE, a post village located in the extreme northern part of the town, near Lake Buell, has one church (Methodist), one store, a machine shop, foundry, grist and saw-mill, and about a dozen dwellings.

Of the paper industry as carried on at Mill River, Hon. Byron Weston, of Dalton, gives the following history, appearing in The Paper World of Novem- ber, 1880 :-

"In 1836 a paper-mill was built at Mill River, by Wheeler & Gibson. It was burned the following year, and when rebuilt was located across the river from its first site, where it still stands, and where writing paper has been made by Wheeler & Gibson, Wheeler & Sons, Wheeler, Sheldon & Babcock, Gib- son, Crosby & Robbins, George Robbins, Marlboro Paper Company, and the Brookside Paper Company. In 1838 or '39 John Carroll built a small straw mill on the privilege next below the Wheeler mill. In 1856 he made addi- tions, improvements and changes, and began the manufacture of writing pa- per, but soon abandoned it for the manufacture of printing paper made from straw, the second mill in the country to make white paper from rye straw. In 1873 Mr. Carroll took into partnership with him James Goodwin, and they built another mill on the site below, which they bought from George Sheldon. These mills were afterwards operated by the Carroll Paper Company. In 1877 James Goodwin became sole proprietor and still runs the mills, making three tons of print paper per day. Above the old Wheeler mill, Beach & Adams, in 1839 or '40, built a small mill and made printing paper. The several pro- prietors have been E. C. Brett & Co., Adams & Brett, Paul Face, Wheeler, Sheldon & Babcock, Gibson, Crosby & Robbins, George Robbins, Marlboro

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Paper Company, and the Brookside Paper Company. In the same locality Messrs. Andrews, Sheldon & Adams built a mill for making manila paper in 1856. George Sheldon soon bought out his partner, and run the mill until 1872, when it was burned and the ruins were sold to J. Carroll & Com- pany."

The Berkshire Paper Company .- The first mill built by John Carroll, about 1840, was burned in 1868, and immediately rebuilt. The lower mill, built by Sheldon & Adams in 1856, burned in 1872, and the ruins sold to J. Carroll & Company, was rebuilt by them in 1874. In 1876, on the death of Mr. Carroll, the company took its present name, with James Goodwin, presi- dent. They employ sixty hands, with capacity for turning out five tons of book paper per day.

Mill River Hotel, Frank W. Keyes, proprietor, is located in the midst of some of the finest scenery and best trout fishing grounds in Southern Berk- shire, making it an extremely pleasant summer resort. Mr. Keyes, who is a popular host, has been here since 1879.

The South Berkshire Institute Buildings, located at New Marlboro village, which until lately were devoted to the uses of a popular educational institu- tion, were built in 1856. They are now leased by Ira G. Tuttle, who con- ducts therein a fine summer hotel, capable of accommodating 120 guests, and containing fifty-two rooms arranged singly and in suites.

The Sheffield China Clay Works, located at Clayton village, were estab- lished by Orchabla Taft, in 1866, and in 1873 were taken by Robert L. Taft, the present proprietor. The clay is mined, washed free from sand and dried, when it is shipped to consumers a fine pottery clay, and for use in the manu- facture of paper. Mr. Taft employs fifteen hands and turns out about 1,500 tons per annum.

F. G. Holt's saw-mill and box factory, on road 70. was built by McAlpin Bros., about 1844, and was bought by the present proprietor in 1871. The mill has the capacity for cutting 250,000 feet of lumber per annum.

Wallace Canfield's saw and plaining-mill, located on road 73, was built about 1844, and came into Mr. Canfield's hands in 1876. It has the capacity for cutting 300,000 feet of lumber per year.

Hartsville machine shop and foundry, located on road 3, is the property of a stock company and is managed by G. T. Sheldon. It is operated in the manufacture of saw-mills and stump-pullers, and in all kinds of repair- ing.

John A. Doucaster's saw, grist and flouring-mill, located on road 3, was originally built in 1804, and came into the possession of Mr. Doucaster in 1870. It is supplied with an upright saw, two runs of stones, and does cus- tom work.

John G. Calkins's saw, grist and flouring-mill, located on road 49, was built by W. Abbott, about 1830, and was purchased by Mr. Calkins in 1878. He does custom work and deals in grain and feed.

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TOWN OF NEW MARLBORO.

Walter Rote's grist-mill, located on road 44, was built in 1883. Mr. Rote does custom work and deals in grain and feed. He also makes cider.

William B. Gibson & Son's steam saw and shingle-mill, tub factory and cider and feed-mill, located on road 67}, was built by the present proprietor in 1865. The saw-mill has the capacity for turning out 200,000 feet of lum- ber per annum, while in the other departments he manufactures oak pails and tubs and cider jelly.

Dr. John Scoville's saw, shingle, planing and grist-mill, located at Konka- pot, on road 58, was erected in 1856, and came into Mr. Scoville's hands about 1879. The grist-mill is leased to Edward B. Grant, while a cheese factory connected with the property is leased and operated by C. E. Burns & Co.

Chauncey B. Brewer's saw, shingle and cider-mill, located on road 24, has been owned by the present proprietor since 1876. It has the capacity for manufacturing 500,000 feet of lumber, 200,000 shingles, and fifty barrels of cider per annum.

Henry Sisson's saw, planing and pulp-mill, located at Mill River, came into his hands in 1857. He can manufacture 600,000 feet of lumber per annum.

Fred G. Alexander's grist and flouring mill, located on road 24, was built by the present proprietor's father in 1858. The mill has two runs of stones and the capacity for grinding 200 bushels of grain per day.

The first white settler in the town was Benjamin Wheeler, who remained here during the severe winter of 1739-40, engaged in clearing his farm, his nearest white neighbors being in Sheffield, a distance of ten miles. Near the outlet of Brewer's pond there was a small colony of Indians, who, like the other Indians of the county, were generally friendly, though they forbade Mr. Wheeler the use of his gun lest he should shoot deer with it, thus taking from him part of the means upon which he depended for support. During the following summer he visited Marlboro and returned with his family. In 1741 the settlement was strengthened by the arrival of Noah Church, Jabez Ward, Thomas Tattlow, Elias Keyes, Joseph Blackmer, Jesse Taylor, John Taylor, William Witt, Philip Brookins, and, soon after, Samuel Ryan, from Marlboro, and vicinity ; in 1744-45, Joseph Adams, Charles Adams, Moses Cleveland, Nathan Randsford, Thomas Randsford, Solomon Randsford, and Jarvis Pike, from Canterbury, Conn. ; Eli Freeman and four brothers, from Cape Cod ; in 1745, families by the name of Sheldon, Wright and Allen, from Northampton, and Seth Norton, Ezra Sheldon, and - Harmon, from Suf- field, Conn. ; in 1746 William Alexander and John Thompson, from Dedham ; and in 1760, Bullard and Rawson, from Meriden, Conn. In 1753, John Collar, grandfather of Deacon J. N. Collar, owned and occupied the farm now owned by Mrs. John P. Wadsworth. He served two campaigns as an officer in the Continental army in the defence of the colonies, and for sev- eral years as lieutenant-colonel in Ashley's regiment, in the Revolution. In

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1754, Eben Smith, afterwards Captain Smith, of Revolutionary fame, Ger- shom Howe, Timothy Rober and William Keyes all owned and occupied lots in township No. 2, contiguous to the south line of the colony.

At the first drawing of lots, Wheeler drew No. 25, which remained in the family until about 1872. Lot No. 21 was set off for the first settled minister, No. I for the second, and No. 48 for schools. August 25, 1737, Nahum Ward, Esq., of Shrewsbury, was appointed and. empowered by the house of representatives to assemble the proprietors of this township for certain specific purposes. He issued his warrant, convening said proprietors on November 29th, at the house of Jonathan Howe, inn-holder in Marlboro, Middlesex county, at which meeting Nahum Ward and Colonel Ephraim Williams were appointed a committee to petition the house. On the very next day they presented to his excellency, Jonathan Belcher, a petition setting forth that they had paid into the hands of the honorable committee of the court the sum of f1,200 for defraying the expense of surveying said township and for other necessary charges, and for the purpose of cultivating a good agreement with the Indian owners of said land ; and that there might be no grounds for uneasiness, they had purchased said land of Tap-hen-han-new-ak, also Konkapot, chief of the Housatonic tribe, and sundry other Indians, "which deed is duly executed and acknowledged before the Hon. John Stoddard, the consideration being £300, and no tobacco or rum, which sum the proprietors had actually paid," making a total of $7,500.00. The committee further stated that "the amount is greater than ever paid by any other proprietors," and closed by asking a "further grant of land," and that "the Konkapot deed may be approved and fully ratified."

On the 7th of the following December the house voted, in answer to this petition, that the deed from the Housatonic Indians "be and hereby is fully allowed and approved of, to all intents and purposes," and also, "that a fur- ther grant of 11,000 acres be made to the grantees of said township, upon condition that seven more families be added to the township," hence the second division.

October 31, 1738, the proprietors, at a meeting held at the house of widow Sarah Howe, inn-holder in Marlboro, a committee was chosen to make ar- rangements with suitable persons to raise a grist-mill in No. 2. At a subse- quent meeting the committee reported a failure to accomplish the purpose ; but in June, 1739, a contract was made with Nathan Ward to build both a grist and saw mill on "Iron Works river," now Mill river. In consideration of this service he received £120 in money and fifty acres of land. Ward first gave bonds in the sum of £500 to keep the mills in good repair and running order for twelve years, when the money was raised for him by taxing the lots £2 each. A grant of twenty acres of land was also made to Joseph Blackmer, "to encourage him in raising a grist-mill," and at the same meeting a cash appropriation was made for the purpose of raising "the town stock of powder, lead and flints." The last vote at this, as well as the other pro-

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prietors' meetings, was to instruct the treasurer to "pay the shot to Landlady Howe," which was usually £1 25. 3d.

In 1741, Samuel Bryan, Noah Church, Jesse Taylor, Phineas Brown and Nathan Randsford were appointed a committee to. "locate the meeting- house," procure the ground for the same, and to raise the building. They located this important structure on lot No. 22, having first procured of Adon- ijah Church a deed of three acres of land, " for to set the meeting-house on." By vote of the proprietors, the building was to be forty feet long and thirty- two feet wide, with a twenty-foot shed. The contract was probably let to one Thomas Tattilow, though the records fail to state such fact. July 17, 1744, the proprietors being duly assembled at widow Howe's, it was voted among other things, "to accept of the choice of the inhabitants of No. 2 of the Rev. Thomas Strong to settle in the work of the Gospell ministry in said township," and choose Dr. Benjamin Gott, Abraham Williams, and Jabez Ward to pre- pare articles of settlement and salary, and report at a future meeting. Sub- sequently the committee reported that the Rev. Mr. Strong have a settle- ment of £150, old tenure, and an annual salary of £50 in bills of credit, " so long as he proves faithful." The committee report was accepted, both by the proprietors and Mr. Strong, and on October 31, 1744, the first church was formed, with five members, viz .: Moses Cleveland, Samuel Bryan, Jesse Taylor, William Witt and Joseph Adams, and on the same day the Rev. Mr. Strong was ordained pastor. In the same year, 1744, special grants were made to Elias Keys and Moses Cleveland, " to encourage them in the building of mills upon Iron Works river, in township No. 2."

Prior to 1749, all proprietors' meetings were held in Marlboro, Middlesex county, 125 miles distant, on account of Indian troubles attending the first French and Indian war. The next ten years, up to 1759, was employed in forwarding the settlement of No. 2; but on June 15th of that year, that township ceased to exist, and New Marlboro took its place. At the first town- meeting, held soon after, the following officers were elected : Jabez Ward, Solomon Randsford and Jesse Taylor, selectmen ; Elihu Wright, town clerk ; Jesse Taylor, treasurer; Zenas Wheeler, clerk of the market; Ozias Pike, constable ; and " a suitable number of tythingmen." The first born in the town were twins, a son and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brookins. The dis- tinction of having brought the first wagon into the township is a matter of dis- pute between the descendants of Capt. Solomon Hart and Capt. Samuel Bryan. The first newspaper subscribers in the town were Edward Stevens and Harvey Holmes, the latter of whom is now a resident of Great Barrington. The first native of the Emerald Isle to become a resident of the town put in his appearance in 1839, in the person of Timothy Wrinkle. It is said, that although there was nothing in his appearance or demeanor to distinguish him from any other ordinary man, and although he went quietly to work in the Wheeler paper-mill, no elephant broken loose from a caravan could have cre- ated a greater excitement. The people flocked up the valley and down the hill-sides to catch a glimpse of the first Irish resident.

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The attitude taken by the town relative to the Revolutionary struggle was early and decidedly developed. At a town-meeting assembled on the second Monday of July, 1774, the following resolutions were passed :-.

" Resolved, That King George the Third is our rightful king, and that we will bear true allegiance to him :

" Resolved, That the inhabitants of this, his Majesty's colony in America, are justly entitled to the rights and liberties that the inhabitants of Great Britain are entitled to : which rights and liberties have been particularly con- firmed to the inhabitants of this Province, by charter :

" Resolved, That it is one of the grand rights and liberties of said inhabit- ants of Great Britain that they cannot constitutionally be deprived of their property but by their own consent :

" Resolved, That the late act of British Parliament for giving and granting to his Majesty a duty upon all tea imported into America, which duties by said act are made payable in America, for the purpose of raising a revenue within the same, was made without the consent of the inhabitants of America, whereby their property is taken from them without their consent and therefore ought to be opposed in all legal and prudent ways :

" Resolved, That it is the undoubted right of the inhabitants of said col- ony in all actions to be tried by their peers of the vicinity, and therefore all those acts of British Parliament that in any way respects the collection of duties aforesaid, whereby the trial by jury is taken away, or whereby the an- cient trial is in any way altered, are unconstitutional and oppressive :

" Resolved, That when any franchises and liberties are granted to a corpo- ration or body politic, those franchises and liberties cannot be legally taken from such corporation or body politic, but by their consent or by forfeiture, that the inhabitants of this province have divers grants and liberties, and valuable franchise granted to them by charter, which franchises and liberties have not been forfeited or relinquished by said inhabitants, thereby the late acts of the British Parliament the most valuable of those franchises and lib- erties of the said inhabitants are taken from them without even the form of a trial, therefore :

" Resolved, That it is the indispensable duty of every person who would preserve to himself and to posterity the inestimable blessing of liberty by all constitutional ways and means in his power, to endeavor to avert the much dreaded consequences of those arbitrary and oppressive acts, and that for that purpose it is prudent for the inhabitants of said colonies to enter into an agreement not to purchase or consume the manufactures of Great Britain under such limitation and exceptions as shall be agreed upon, and that such non-consumption agreement is neither unwarrantable, hostile or treach- erous, or contrary to our allegience to our king, but tends to promote the peace and safety of the community."

In the war of 1812, New Marlboro responded promptly to the call of the country, and during the summer of 1814 Captain Joseph S. Catlin was in com- mand of a company formed by detachments from several militia companies with Luke Harmon for lieutenant, Benjamin Smith, Jr., ensign, and Jonathan Arnold, fifer.

The town's expenditure on account of the late war, which was never re-im- bursed, was $25,778.53. The soldiers' record of the town bears the names of 202 men, 21 of whom were killed, or died of wounds, during the service. One hundred and nine enlisted in Massachusetts regiments, twenty-four in

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TOWN OF NEW MARLBORO.

Connecticut regiments, and the rest elsewhere. At the close of the war there was standing to the town's credit, over and above all calls, a surplus of twenty- two men.

Jehiel Baldwin, a descendant of Nathaniel, who came to this country from England about 1620, came to New Marlboro in 1744, settling on road 40. He reared a family of seven children, of whom his eldest son, David, married Lois Churchill, and remained on the old homestead, rearing six children. David, Jr., his second son, married Esther Morley for his first wife, by whom he had two children, William R. and Isaac H., and by his second wife, Electa Heath, four children, Edward C., Esther E., Edwin R. and Henry M. For twenty years William R. has carried on business in Southfield, where he had his store burned three times, and has also been engaged in the manufacture of whips for several years. He has been a justice of the peace for the past five years. Edward C. was engaged in the whip business for a number of years, and was president of the company for some time. Esther married Martin Van Deusen, and resides in the town. Edwin R. resides on the old homestead, which has been in the possession of the Baldwin family 140 years. He at present is employed by B. Hammond & Co., as a traveling salesman. Henry M. lives in West Stockbridge.

Eli Freeman, with four brothers, came to this town from Cape Cod in 1744, Eli locating on road 6, cor 16. Silas, his oldest son, born October 11, 1746, was the first male child born in town. Silas married Elizabeth Hasson, located on road 25, and reared a family of nine children, Alice, Sibyl, Silas, Weltha, James, Karson, Calvin, Heman and Elizabeth, each of whom lived to be over eighty, and some over ninety years old. The youngest, Elizabeth, still lives with A. J. Freeman, son of Heman, upon the old homestead.

Timothy Leonard, or "Hermit Leonard," as he was called, was a very eccen- tric person who came to New Marlboro from Danbury, Conn., just previ- ous to the Revolution, locating near East Pond, with the intention, it is said, of bringing his intended bride thither in the following autumn. Upon return- ing to Danbury, for her, he found that she had married his brother. This so worked upon the feelings of the man as to partially destroy his reason. He returned to his lonely cabin, where he lived the life of a hermit during the remainder of his days, denouncing all womankind as false, dying in June, 1817, aged about seventy years. He was buried near the cabin that had served as his solitary abode for so many years though his body was subse- quently disinterred, it is supposed, and found its way to the dissecting table. In signing his name to any document, he always used the following phrase, clearly demonstrating his insanity : " I, Timothy Leonard, God of Gods and Lord of Lords."

Seth Sheldon, one of the first settlers in New Marlborough, removed from Northampton, Mass., to this town, in 1745, locating on the farm now owned by John Alexander. His son, Seth, born in this town July 13, 1784, married Hannah Lyman, of Southampton, who is still living at the age of

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TOWN OF NEW MARLBORO.

ninety six. They reared four children, two of whom, Seth L., of Great Bar- rington, and Corinthia U. Clary, of South Deerfield, Mass., survive.

Seth Norton removed from Suffield, Conn., locating in this town in 1745. His three sons settled in New Marlborough, Samuel locating on read 70, where D. White now lives; Seth on road 35, on the Rugby place, and Phineas on road 72, upon the place now owned by Sheldon Norton. Phineas reared a family of four children, of whom one of his sons, Dan, married Hannah Hurd, of Sandisfield, and located on road 69, where his son Egbert D. now resides. He reared a family of six children, Sheldon, Rowland, Corydon, Clinton, Egbert D. and Eunice. Four of this family still live in town.

Ezra Sheldon came to New Marlboro from Suffield, Conn., in 1745. His son, Eben, who located on road 13, reared a family of three children, of whom Josiah located on the old homestead. Josiah married for his first wife Esther Stevens, by whom he had three children, George S., Henry W., and Esther A. For his second wife he married Charlotte Wheeler, by whom he has had two daughters, Elizabeth and Emily. Henry W. is a prosperous farmer.

Among the early settlers there came from England to this country three Canfield brothers. Matthew settled in Norwalk, Conn., and had a son, Sam - uel, who also lived in Norwalk and reared a son, Samuel 2d. The latter came to southern New Marlboro and settled on the place now owned by William H. Sardam. He married, first, Abigail Austin, August 1, 1709, she being a daughter of Thomas Austin, of Norwalk ; and second, Abigail Dean, May 9, 1711. He died in September, 1712. Samuel 3d, born June 4, 1710, was twice married, his first wife being Mary Barnum, and his second, Mary Wallen. He died February 10, 1804. His son, Samuel 4th, born in 1734, was twice married, his first wife being Mehitable Stillson, and his second Abi- gail Babbitt. He died May 19, 1806, having reared ten children, one of whom, Daniel, born May 19, 1761, died at Lenox, March 8, 1841, having also one son, Samuel 5th, born February 9, 1770, and who died at New Marlboro August 25, 1854. Daniel was twice married, first to Rebecca Hotchkis and second to Ruth Stevens. He reared ten children, Roderick, Ruel, Ruammi, Rama, Rupus, Erastus, Rial, Rebecca, Ruth, and Daniel. Samuel 5th was twice married, his first wife being Hannah Bishop and his second Lois Sheffield, and had nine children, Mahitable, Dennis, Sally, Myron, Philena, Samuel 6th, Naomi, Elmore B., and Edward S. The latter two are now living on their farms in Southfield, having passed their allotted three score and ten, and although having lived un- eventful lives are honored and respected by their townsmen. Elmore B. has been twice married and has three children. Edward S. is quietly passing his old age with the wife of his first choice, hav- ing reared three daughters, all of whom died within one week and were buried in the old burying-ground in the south part of the town, where lie

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Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 29

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office Number of Pages: 972

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972