Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 33

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 33

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).

266

TOWN OF OTIS.

John Davison, a Revolutionary soldier, was born November 28, 1763, and was one of the early settlers of this town, locating on a farm on road 29. His son Thomas lived on this farm and reared a family. Edmund, son of Thomas, who now occupies the homestead, was born in 1839, married Jennie Chapman, of Palmer, Mass., and has one child.

Samuel Tillotson, a clothier by trade, moved from Monterey to Otis, locating on road 1, upon the farm now owned by Waite C. Broga, where his son George W. was born. George W. married Mary, daughter of Elijah Palmer, and lives on the Elijah Palmer farm. They have three children.

Richard Pearl, a Revolutionary soldier, came from Wellington, Conn., in 1790, and located on road 6. His grandson, Richard D., (son of Nathan), now seventy-seven years of age, who has lived on the farm all his life, married Elenora Hunter, a native of Otis, and has three children. He has been a selectman in Otis. His son, John H., is a mason and farmer, living with his father. William, another son, who served in the 49th and 57th Regiments Mass. Vols., is in Winsted, Conn. Ellen S., a daughter, resides with her father.

James Clark came to Otis from Charleston, R. I., about 1794, and settled on a farm in the extreme southern part of the town, near the reservoir gate. James Clark, Jr., came here with his father when about eight years of age, married Fannie Clark, of Middletown, Conn., and had eight children, all of whom, except Sylvester, are living. Charles, James and Sarah reside in Otis. James married Augusta Stratton, of Sandisfield, and has reared six children, five of whom are living. He has been a selectman seven years, which office he how holds. He has always been a farmer, and has also been engaged in the lumber and real estate business.

Moses Day, from West Springfield, Mass., came to Otis about 1830, and engaged with Thomas Davison in the manufacture of clock-cases, afterwards had a harness shop, but soon entered into general mercantile business. He was proprietor of the hotel which still bears his name, his two sons having succeeded him. Mr. Day was a deputy sheriff for over twenty years. He married Mrs. Henrietta McKeen, of Kent, Conn., and had three sons, Edward L., George D., and Henry A. Edward was for a time proprietor of Day's hotel but now resides in Stockbridge. He has held the office of deputy sheriff about twenty years, in which office he succeeded his father. Henry A. is now proprietor of the hotel. He was a member of the 49th Regiment Mass. Vols., in the late war, under Col. Bartlett, and was under Gen. Banks at the seige of Port Hudson. He married Lizzie C. Chadbourn, and has one child.

Chester R. Cornwell, who was born in West Granville in 1819, and came with his father, Chester, to Otis when he was twelve years of age, was a shoe- maker by trade. He married Nancy L., daughter of William Carter, and had nine children. Of the six now living, five reside in Otis. His son, Charles H., is a blacksmith doing a prosperous business. Chester R. has held sev-

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TOWN OF OTIS.

eral town offices, and was at one time proprietor of the mail route between Great Barrington and Chester, Hampden county.

Loren Flint settled about 1834, on the farm on road 28, where his widow still resides, with her two sons. Levi and Joseph. Of a family of eleven, four others survive, three sons living in California. One son died in the late war in the Wilderness.

Ephraim Gibbs, born in Blandford, Mass., in 1804, came to Otis in 1839, settling in the eastern part of the town, and since 1842 has lived on a farm off road 23. Mr. Gibbs married twice, having three children by his first wife and nine by his second. He has held the offices of selectman, assessor, and constable.

Elias B. Palmer came to Otis from Hopkinton, R. I., in 1865, locating on road 14, where he still resides. He has three sons and one daughter. Elias B. is one of twenty brothers and sisters, there being ten of each.

William Tinker is a native of Tolland, Mass. He learned the tanners trade of his father, and continued in that business until 1857, when he went to Colebrook, Conn., and became one of the firm of Sawyer, Tinker & Co., carrying on a cotton goods manufactory, a flouring-mill, and also a mercan- tile business. In 1865 he came to Otis, and purchased the tannery of Jonas A. Stone & Co., which he has since operated. Mr. Tinker has heid several town offices, and in 1880 was representative of the 5th Berkshire district to the general court. He has four children, one of whom, Richard, is a physician of Manchester, Conn.

Samuel C. Marshall was born in Tolland, Mass., where he learned the car- penter and builders trade. He came to Otis in December, 1875, and bought a turning-shop just over the line in Sandisfield, which business he still follows. He married Julia E. Spring, of Tolland, Mass. His one child died in infancy.

Albert B. Champlin was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., a son of Dr. H. C. Champlin, of Owego, N. Y. At the age of fourteen years he removed to Blandford, Mass., and a few years later came to Otis, though he subsequently resided in Becket, whence he enlisted in the 2d Mass. Heavy Artillery and served eighteen months. He returned from the war in June, 1865, and has since been a resident of Otis. He married Ruth W. Ellsworth, of Becket, in 1856, and has reared four children, three of whom, Willard H., Sarah J., and Charles S., are living.

Oliver, Nathan, Asa, and Amaziah Snow, brothers, with their cousin, Syl- vanus Snow, came to Otis from Ashford, Conn., abont 1770. They have several descendants now residing in Otis. Nathan is represented by his daughter, Mrs. Letitia Davis, and her daughter, Mrs. O. S. Higley ; Asa, by his grandchildren, Mrs. S. C. and Miss H. C. Snow, and William H. Snow ; and Sylvanus by his great-grandchildren, Frederick, Claud, and Blanche Perkins. Asa was a Revolutionary soldier.

The Congregational church of Otis, located at Otis village, was organized

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TOWN OF PERU.

by Rev. Zadock Hunn, of Becket, with seven members, February 2, 1779. A house of worship was erected in 1807, which was destroyed by fire just after it was completed ; and in 1810 the present edifice was built, which, with the improvements it has received, is now valued at $3,000.00. The society now has eighty-two members, with Rev. James C. Seagrave, pastor.

St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal church, located at Otis Center, was organ- ized by Hon. Lester Tilley, John Demmock and others, in 1829, the first pastor being Rev. Mr. Parker. Their church building, erected soon after the organization of the society, will comfortably seat 150 persons and is valued, including grounds, at $1,500.00. The society now has twelve members, with Rev. Mr. Hilliard, rector.

The Advent church, located on road 5, was organized in 1879, by George W. Tillotson, Mrs. Elizabeth Warren, of Hinsdale, being the first to fill the pulpit. The church building will seat about 200 persons. The society has a full attendance and is under the pastoral charge of Rev. Enoch Phelps, of Westfield.

The Baptist church, located at West Otis, is a very old society, though it has now no regular pastor. Their church building, erected about fifty years ago, will seat 200 persons.

P ERU lies in the eastern part of the county, in lat. 42° 25' and long. 3º 58', bounded north by Windsor, east by Cummington and Worthington, in Hampshire county, south by Middlefield, in Hampshire county, and Washington, and west by Hinsdale. , It has an area of about 27,000 acres, which was erected into a township as follows : June 2, 1762, nine townships were sold at auction in Boston, among which was " Township No. 2," whose territory included the present town of Peru and parts of Hinsdale and Mid- dlefield, in Hampshire county. No. 2 was purchased by Elisha Jones, for £1,460. Subsequently, Oliver Hartridge, of Hatfield, became associated with him in the ownership of the grant, and in his honor it was named Par- tridgefield, being incorporated under this title July 4, 1771. March 12, 1783, a part of its territory was taken, in connection with portions of Becket and Washington in this county, and of Worthington, Chester and Prescott's grant, in Hampshire county, to form the township of Middlefield, of that county. The remainder of the town was divided in 1795, the western part being incor- porated as the " Westerly Parish of Partridgefield," which, June 21, 1804, was erected into the township of Hinsdale. Two years later, June 19, 1806, the name of Partridgefield was changed to Peru, since which time no changes have been made in its territorial limits.

Lying upon the summit of the Green Mountain range, the surface of the town is wild, rough and mountainous, with scenery wild and romantic, but with a soil that is hard and rocky, rendering the locality poor for farming,

269

TOWN OF PEKU.

though it is excellent for grazing and stock-raising purposes, while it has 2,398 acres of valuable woodland. The highest point of land is French's mountain, rising to a height of 2,239 feet, near the center of the town, and affording a prospect that is grand and extensive. It was an important station during the late trigonometrical survey of the State. There are a number of streams, though they are small, as they have their source here, flowing east into Hamp- shire county, and west into Hinsdale. This water-shed is so remarkable that the water from the roof of the Congregational church, at Peru village, finds its way from one side into Westfield river, while from the other it unites with the Housatonic.

The rocks that make up the geological structure of the town are principally of gneiss and mica-slate formation, though the town has a quarry of excellent limestone.

In 1880 Peru had a population of 403. In 1883 it employed twelve female teachers in its public schools, at an average salary of $18.60 per month. There were seventy-two children in the town, while the entire amount raised for school purposes was $616.67.

PERU, a post village located on a hill near the central part of the town, at the junction of roads 21, 15, 13 and 22, has a church (Congregational), town house, store, and half a dozen dwellings.

Robert Mc Cray's saw-mill, located on rood 16, operated by both steam and water-power, was built about forty years ago, though there has been a mill on the site for a hundred years. Mr. McCray manufactures lumber, shingles and lath.

Jewett H. Geer's saw-mill, located on road 32, built in 1860, is operated by steam and water-power. Mr. Geer manufactures lumber, shingles and cloth-boards. His was the first steam power ever in the town.

The settlement of the town was commenced in 1766, by Henry Badger, from New Jersey, and by Nathaniel Stowell, who came in about the same time, from Connecticut. About this time, also, Peter, Daniel and Nathan Thompson, from the eastern part of Massachusetts, located in the town, and were followed soon after by Ebenezer Pierce. The first town-meeting was warned by William Williams, the warrant being directed to " Cornelius Thayer of Partridgefield, in the county of Berkshire, yeoman," and was held August 13, 1771, at the dwelling of Nathan Watkins. The list of officers chosen on this occasion was as follows: Nathan Fisk, moderator ; Nathaniel Stowell, town clerk ; Cornelius Thayer, Michael Darling, and Capt. Francis Miller, selectmen and assessors ; Cornelius Thayer, treasurer ; Ebenezer Southland, constable ; Henry Badger, sealer of weights and measures ; James Watkins, sealer of leather ; David Miller, Nathan Watkins, Phineas Watkins and Peter Tompkins, highway surveyors ; Jedediah Benton and Thomas Whitney, fence viewers ; Abraham Blackman and Daniel Walker, field viewers ; Ebenezer Pierce and Henry Badger, Jr., tything men ; Thomas Miller and Daniel Chapman, wardens ; Wilson Torrey and Moses Little, deer reeves ; Edward

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TOWN OF PERU.

Kibby and Josiah Fish, hog reeves; and Sylvanus Smith and John Lesuer, surveyor of clapboards and shingles.

The first team to cross the mountain into the town was in 1767, the route taken by them subsequently becoming the turnpike from Albany and Pittsfield to Northampton and Boston. The church was organized in 1770 and the first church building erected in 1780. Several of the inhabitants served in the war of the Revolution, among whom were Capt. Nathan Wat- kins, Joseph Badger, and Nathaniel Stowell. These and many others belongd to the company of minute men who marched upon the Lexington alarm, under the command of Watkins. They were enrolled in Col. John Pater- son's regiment, stationed at Fort No. 3, in Charlestown, at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill.

William, Amasa, Thomas and Lemuel Frissell, four brothers were among the very earliest settlers of Peru. Lemuel located on road 9, where J. P. Sennett now resides, and died there. He reared five children. His son, Frank, passed his life on the homestead, and built the house which Mr. Sennett now occupies. None of Lemuel's family survive. Thomas located on the place where E. E. Keeler now lives, on road 7, where he resided until his death. He, also, had a family of five children, none of whom are living except Statira, who became the wife of William Bowen, and resides on Peru hill in the village. Amasa, who resided on road 7, in the house now owned by Mr. Mattoon, of Lenox, was thrice married, having by his first wife four children, viz .: Judeth, who was a missionary to the Indians, and died in Arkansas; Mason, a graduate of Williams college, who became a law- yer, removed to Missouri, where he became a county judge, and died there ; John, who graduated from Williams college with the degree of A. B., in 1831, be- came a physician and surgeon and now resides in Wheeling, West Virginia ; Soc- rates was a farmer who passed most of his life in Peru, but died in Middlefield. Amasa had, by his second marriage, two children, Amasa C. and Elizabeth. Amasa C., a minister, is in New York city, in the employ of the American Tract Society, and Elizabeth married and removed to New York city, where she died. Socrates, son of Amasa, married Mary Scott, of Peru, and reared a family of ten children-Emerson, Addison, Mason, Mary, John, Dwight, Edward I., Martha, Ralph, and Joseph B. Of these Emerson married and had born to him a family of three children and is now living in Worthington, Hampshire county ; Addison died in infancy ; Mason is a physician and den- tist in Minneapolis, Minn., and reared two children ; Mary became the wife of Joseph Knight, removed to Lakeville, Conn., and had five children, dying in 1883 ; John, who resided in Kansas, was twice married, reared a family of five children, and died in 1884; Dwight, who resides on road 17, married Ann Eliza Rockwell, of Peru, and had born to him seven children, four sons surviv- ing ; Edward I. died in Florida during the war ; Martha resides, with her second husband, in Chester, Mass., and has had two children ; Ralph, a hardware merchant in Syracuse, N. Y., married in Eastern Massachusetts, and has had

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TOWN OF PERU.

three children ; Joseph B., a resident of Clinton, Ia., has a family of four children ; William, brother of Amasa Frissell, had a family of three children, and died in Peru.

David Brown was one of the early settlers in Peru, coming here from Rhode Island. He was the father of four children, -- Solomon, Daniel, Oliver and Sally. Solomon married Sally Gilbert and was blest with a family of eleven children-Elijah, Dolly, Rhoda, Cynthia, Orrin, Allen, Electa, John, Reuben, Urial and Sarah, and died in Peru. Elijah died in Pittsfield, having reared a family of seven children ; Dolly married in Hinsdale, had three children, and moved to Illinois, where she died ; Rhoda, who had a family of five chil- dren, was married and died in Hinsdale; Cynthia has been twice married and is now living with her second husband, in Cheshire. She has no children ; Orrin, a resident of Peru, has been twice married, rearing nine children ; Al- len, who married in Canada, is living with his third wife, and has had eleven children ; Electa, who married and died in Pownal, Vt., had five children ; John was twice married, became the father of ten children, and is now living in Hinsdale with his second wife ; Reuben, who had six children, mar- ried in this town, but is now a resident of Minnesota; Urial married in Ver- mont and has had seven children. He now resides on road 2 ; Sarah, who married in Pownal. Vt., where she now resides, has had seven children ; Daniel, son of David Brown, removed to Hinsdale, where he died, having had eight children born to him. Olive, who married and resided in this town, but died in Hinsdale, had nine children. Sally, who made her home in Canada, died there, having had a family of nine children, making ninety-one decendants of David Brown.

Nathaniel Stowell, who immigrated to Peru, from Pomfret, Conn., between 1764 and 1768, accompanied by three sons, located on the place now occupied by Dea. Stowell. He reared four sons and six daughters-Cyrus, Henry, Daniel, Azel, Molly, Clara, Lucelia, Experience, Lois and Aletheia. Cyrus, born in Connecticut, was twice married, having by his first wife one child, and by his second, four. He was a farmer, and represented Peru in the legislature for thirty years. Cynthia, his first child, married Capt. Elisha Rockwell and lived and died on the old homestead, on road 13. Henry was twice married, having by his first wife twelve children, Austin, James C., Hiram, Caroline, Franklin, Aletheia, Cynthia, John M., Henry E., Susanna, Esther A. and Margaret P. Of these Austin married and died in 1825. James C. was married three times, having, by his first wife one son, who is a resident of Hartford, Conn. A daughter by his second wife is married and is also a resident of Hartford. James C. is now residing on road 25 with his third wife, Harriet Bacon, of Peru, by whom he has had one son, who died in the army. Hiram, brother of James C., died at the age of twenty-four. Caroline married Elijah Wentworth, of Hinsdale, and had two sons, both of whom are married, Merrick living in Chatham, and Milo in Hinsdale. Frank- lin married, for his first wife, Lydia Graves, of Middlefield, and reared three

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TOWN OF PERU.

children,-Almond, who resides in Candor, N. Y .; Austin, who married Hyla C. Watkins, of this town, by whom he has seven children, and now occupies the farm formerly occupied by his father, Franklin, off road 18 ; and Lydia J., wife of Dwight Geer, of Middlefield, who has three children. Franklin married, for his second wife, Sarah Bowen, of this town, who died in 1878 childless. Aletheia married Horace Streeter, of Hinsdale, and had four chil- dren, and removed to New York State where she died. Cynthia, widow of Elijah Wentworth, of Hinsdale, has had two children, and is a resident of Hinsdale. John M. married Melissa Ferguson, by whom he had three chil- dren, two being dead, and a daughter now residing in Blandford, Mass. He had, by his second wife, Elizabeth Smith, of Becket, one child. They have also adopted a son, Charles I. Stowell, who resides with them. Henry E. married Betsey Stannard, of Lee, who is now dead, and was the father of nine children. Susanna is now dead. Esther A. married, had one child, and re- moved to Worthington where she died. Margaret P., wife of Seldon Fergu- son, was the mother of three children. She removed to Hinsdale and died there, Hervey married for his second wife, Mrs. Jerusha Herrick, who died November 5, 1883, at the age of ninety-six, and who bore him one child, which died young. Daniel, brother of Hervey, reared a family of six chil- dren, and removed to Illinois, where he died. Azel married in this town, reared seven children, and immigrated to New York State where he died. John M., son of Azel, married in Kentucky. He is Mayor of Milwaukee, Wis., and has had three children, two now living. Molly married David Ide, had a family of six children, and resided on the farm, on road 18, where Austin Stowell now resides, both Molly and David dying there. Clara, who married and went to New York State, had four children. Lucelia married and removed to New York, dying there. Experience also married and moved to New York, where she died. Lois became, by her second marriage, the second wife of David Ide, of Peru, and died there. Aletheia was the second wife of Rev. John Leland, pastor of the Peru church. Cynthia had five sons and one daughter, Lorenzo, Pitt, Cyrus, Eunice, Dwight and Jarvis. Lorenzo died single in Peru; Pitt went to the West; Cyrus married Mary Pierce, and removed to New Hampshire ; Eunice married and removed to Hinsdale ; Dwight married and resides in Northampton ; Jarvis married in North Adams, where he now resides and has a family of two children. He is judge of the district court. The 105 decendants of David Stowell here recorded doubtless fall short of the true number.

Amasa Rockwell, who removed to Peru from Connecticut, about 1780, and located on road 13, where T. Grace now resides, was married three times, having by his first wife six children, Elisha, Polly, Levi, Haven, Martha and Amasa. Elisha, whose whole life was passed in Peru, was the father of nine children. Polly married in Hinsdale, had a family of ten children, and died there. Levi married in Peru, afterwards emigrating to Ohio, where he died. Haven was married, lived and died in Ohio. Martha died when a young

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TOWN OF PERU.

lady. Amasa, Jr., married in New London, Conn., and died there. Amasa, Sr .. reared by his second marriage four children, Julius P., William H., Enretta, and John C. Julius P. married in Lanesboro, lived and died in Pittsfield. William H. married in Hartford, Conn., and removed to New York city, where he and his wife died. Enretta has been twice married, both husbands being now dead. She resides in Chester, Mass. John C. married in Hartford, Conn., and is now a resident of Pittsfield. By his third mar- riage Amasa had two children, a son, who died in infancy, and a daughter, Ann Eliza, who married Dwight Frissell, residing on road 17, and has had seven children, four sons of whom are now living.

Col. Joseph Thompson, from Brimfield, Mass., came to this town soon after the Revolution, but left his family here about a year afterwards to look after some land which he had purchased in Ohio. He had a family of two sons, Amherst and Artemas, and four daughters. Artemas built the house where William S. and Sylvester S. Brown now reside, and kept a tavern here eight or ten years. He was the father of six children. His father, Amherst, born in Brimfield, Mass., came to this town with his father. He reared a family of ten children, Sally, Joseph, Abigail, Amherst, Jr., Almira, Smith, John, Lovina and Angeline. One died while young. Sally married and had a family of eleven children, removed to Ohio, and died there. Joseph, who lived and died in Peru, had two children. Abigail married and removed to Wisconsin, where she died, having had a family of five children. Amherst, Jr., married in Northampton and finally removed to Chicago, Ill., where he died. He reared six children. Almira married and went to Michigan, where she still lives. Smith married in Windsor, and has always resided here, on road 20, upon his father's farm. He has two children. John, president of the Chase National Bank, in New York city, has three children. Lovina, who married in Plainfield, but subsequently removed to Michigan, is the mother of five children. Angeline married in Montreal, where she now lives and has three children.

Steward Shumway, born in 1807, came to Peru from Belchertown, Mass., about 1826, and married Mary Leland, of Windsor, where he has since resided, rearing a family of eight children,-Charles S., Caroline M., Cathe- rine, Caroline M., 2d. George D., Henry L., Edwin and John W. Charles S. died on board ship, while going from Australia to South America. Caro- line, Catherine and Caroline, 2d, died when young. George D. moved to Ohio, where he married and still resides. Henry L. also married and resides in Ohio. Edwin married Julia Norcott, of Becket, for his first wife, and Charlotte P. Edwards, of Windsor, for his second, and resides on road 21. John W. died here, at the age of twenty years.

The Congregational church, located at Peru village, was organized by eight or ten of its original members, in 1770, Rev. Stephen Tracy, from Nor- wich, Conn., being the first pastor. Their first house of worship, a wood structure, erected in 1780, was superseded by the present edifice in 1808.

18*

274

TOWN OF PITTSFIELD.

This building will comfortably accommodate 600 persons, and is valued, including grounds, at $4,500.00. The society has eighty-nine members, with Rev. J. M. Lord, pastor.

P ITTSFIELD, the shire town of the county, lies in the western-central part of the same, in lat. 42° 27' and long. 3º 45', bounded north by Lanesboro, east by Dalton and Washington, south by Washington, Lenox and Richmond, and west by Hancock. Owing to conflicting grants, the township became the joint property of Col. Jacob Wendell, of Boston, Col. John Stoddard, of Northampton, and Philip Livingston, of Albany. Col. Wendell was an ancestor of the late Wendell Phillips and of Oliver Wen- dell Holmes, and both he and Stoddard were prominent actors in the early Provincial proceedings. Colonel Stoddard was one of those to open the settlement of Sheffield, to establish the mission at Stockbridge, and was also a commander of militia during Queen Anne's war. In consideration of this and other services the general court granted him, in 1734, one thousand acres of " unappropriated lands in the county of Hampshire," as a reward for his "great services and sufferings for the public in divers journeys to Albany, and the eastern parts, upon public affairs; his serving in war with good success ; his transactions with the Canadian and other western Indians ; and his entertaining of them at his own house without any expense to the Province." The act was passed by the legislature, December 17, 1734, and was duly confirmed, though the report of the survey was not submitted until June 22, 1736, giving the bounds of the grant as follows :-

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Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 33

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