Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 45

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 45

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).

Lawrence Lynch, born in Irelend in 1732, emigrated to America in 1755, at the age of twenty. He married Dorcas Root, of Great Barrington, and came to Stockbridge, purchasing the land where Reuben Lynch now resides, and had born to him six sons and five daughters. One son, Moses, born in town in 1769, married Miss L. Cadwell, and reared one son, Reuben, and two daughters. Reuben's children were Mary E., who married George F. Whiting, Louisa B., the wife of William H. Palmer, and Charles L., who resides upon the homestead, on road 25. The latter married Katie Cooper, rearing a family of four sons, namely, John C., Charles E., George, and Willie. Charles L. is one of the selectmen and a prosperous farmer. Reuben Lynch is still living at the ripe old age of eighty-seven years.

Asa Bemen, a native of Wethersfield, Conn., came to this town with his 24*

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wife about 1767, and purchased 500 acres of land, upon which five Indian wigwams were located at the time, and erected a house and blacksmith's shop where James Barnes now resides, and in which locality many relics, indicat- ing conflicts between the white and red men have been found.

Asa Williams, with his wife, Sylvia Parks, came to Stockbridge in 1776, and located upon the place now owned by G. P. Bradley, on road 17. Will- iam Williams, born in 1790, married Dolly Joslin, of Salisbury, Conn. Theodore J. Williams, born in this town in 1816, a prosperous farmer, resides on road 17, corner 18. Edwin, another son, resides with Theodore.

Daniel Curtis, third son of Abel and Sarah Neil Curtis, was born in this town in 1798, and married Abigail Carpenter, of Stockbridge. Carlton, son of Daniel, married Julia Lumbart, of this place, and had born to him two daughters, Jane and Maria B. Stephen C., son of Daniel, who was born upon the homestead in 1811, married Mary Dewey, rearing six children-Matilda, at home; Sylvia (Mrs. Dwight C. Davis); Abbey (Mrs. John H. Burghardt), now living. Stephen C. is owner of the Iram Curtis homestead, known as the "Mirror Lake farm."

Samuel Goodrich, son of David and Abiah Andrews Goodrich, was born in 1800, in this town, upon the place where David F. now resides. Samuel married Mary C. Hunt, in in 1829, by whom he had two sons and six daughters-Henrietta, wife of Jonathan E. Field, of this town ; Alice G., wife of John F. Morrell, of Amherst, Mass ; Sarah and Mary being among the number. Samuel now resides upon a farm, or Goodrich street.

Daniel R. Williams, son of Col. Prentice Williams, was born in this town in 1811, and now resides on East Main street. He married Frances M., daughter of Judge William P. Walker, of Lenox, and engaged in mercantile business, continuing in the same until 1850, In 1837 he was appointed director of the Housatonic bank, in 1853 cashier, and in 1865 president of the bank, which office he still holds.

Ezekiel Landon Goodrich, born in Sheffield in 1798, removed to this town early in the present century. He married Charlotte, daughter of Judge Henry Brown, of Ohio, who died in 1820, after which he married Hannah James, and reared three sons, John, of Ohio, George H., and Charles. The latter, who is engaged in mercantile pursuits, married Amelia Mason, of New York city, by whom he had a family of nine children.

Mr. Brinton came to this town at the age of sixteen, with a capital of twelve cents, and entered a wagon shop with Henry Lincoln. He married Cornelia Rathbun, locating on the present site of the Methodist parsonage, and had one son and two daughters, Edward C., born in 1829, Cornelia J., now Mrs. Alonzo Whipple, and Mary E., now in Buffalo, N. Y. Edward C., who married Lydia M. Robinson, is engaged in the furniture business on Church street.

Henry, son of Moses Smith, a Revolutionary soldier, of Groton, Conn., married Hannah Crosby, and reared nine children, Thomas H., of Illinois,

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Mary Ann (Mrs. Elizur Smith), Martha M., widow of Dr. Frissell, Henry L., Adelaide S., Maria (Mrs. Kelsey in France), Armenia, wife of Albert Morey, Mrs. Stella Shorrill, and Mary A. H. L. Smith is town assessor of Lee, and resides in that town on road 39.

Vassell White, born in Blandford, Mass., in 1799, came to Stockbridge in 1837, about five years after his marriage to Lucy Brown, and was blest with twelve sons and two daughters, among whom are the following : Whitman V., a physician and surgeon in New York; Newton T., who became a lawyer, and died at the early age of twenty-six. Lizzie B., wife of H. S. Durand, of Racine, Wis .; and Lucy, a teacher in Curtisville. Dr. Whitman V. was surgeon in the Rebellion at the taking of Hilton Head, and at the seige of Petersburgh post-surgeon at Governor's Island, and later surgeon of the 57th Mass. Vols. Mr. H. S. Durand is adjuster of the Home Insurance Co., of N. Y., and resides at Racine, Wis.

James Caffrey, a native of Ireland, immigrated, with his wife, to America in 1837, coming to this town in 1839, and reared six sons and nine daughters, John, Mary, James, Thomas and William, twins, Philip, Margaret, Ella, Liz- zie, Rosanna. Julia, Joseph, Jane, Katie Ist, and Katie 2d. James was a member of Co. C, 49th Regt. Mass. Vols., and his sons, James, Jr., Thomas and Philip, served in Co. A, 37th Regt. Mass. Vols. William J. married Bridget Colgan, by whom he had two children, Ann Elizabeth and William George.

James Barnes, son of William Barnes, of Buckfastleigh, England, came to Lee, Mass., with his parents, when but eight years of age, and removed to this town in 1848. He was twice married, having by his second wife, Mary E. Remont, one daughter Mary L., and for his third wife he married Mrs. Celia Noble, a widow lady, and now resides on road 24, upon the Remont homestead.

Nathan Willis, son of Capt. Charles and Sarah (Curtis) Willis, had a fam- ily of two sons and two daughters, Nathan C., Lucy, Sarah, who became the wife of J. F. Pratt, and Charles, treasurer of Stockbridge Savings bank. Nathan C. married Fannie B., daughter of Jay Curtis, who bore him two daughters, Clara, wife of George H. Babcock, and Mary who resides at home on the Curtis homestead on road 24.

Patrick Burns, a native of County Wicklow, Ireland, immigrated to America at the age of twenty-one, and after a short location in various places, came to Stockbridge in 1855, and located on road 34. He married Margaret Kil- duff, of Greene county, N. Y., by whom he had a family of twelve children.

The Stockbridge Congregational church .- The history of this church has already been given, as is identical with that of the Indian mission. The old church building, erected in 1784, did service until 1823, when the present structure was erected. The successors of Dr. West, who was dismissed with his assistant, Rev. E. G. Swift, in 1818, have been as follows: Rev. David D. Field, D. D., 1819-37; Tertius S. Clark, D. D., 1837-50 ; Alfred H.

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Dashielle, 1850-60 ; Rev. N. H. Eggleston, 1860-69 ; Rev. E. C. Hooper, 1870-73 ; Rev. J. C. Bodwell, 1874-77; and Rev. F. B. Perkins has served since 1880 Rev. David Dudley Field, D. D., who succeeded Dr. West, has left an impression upon the people of the county which renders his mem- ory not less dear than that of his worthy predecessor. He was born in Madi- son, Conn., May 20, 1781 ; was graduated at Yale college, 1802; studied theology with Dr. Backus, of Somers, Conn .; was ordained at Haddam, Conn., April 11, 1804. where he remained fourteen years. He was next settled in Stockbridge, where he filled up a prosperous pastorate of eighteen years. By a singular concurrence of circumstances he then returned to his former parish, where he remained fourteen years more. Having now reached the age of seventy, his children, who were acquiring wealth, and have since gained world-wide fame, desired him to retire from the cares and labors of the min- istry, and return to the old' homestead in Stockbridge, there to pass the residue of his days. Here Dr. Field passed his latter days, enjoying the af- fection of the people of Stockbridge, and indeed of all the county, whose his- tory he has done more than any other man to illustrate and preserve. For eleven years he was secretary of Berkshire County Bible Society, and in vari- ous ways exerted himself to increase its funds and enlarge its usefulness. About 1826 Dr. Field and Judge Walker visited nearly all the principal towns in the north part of the county, and meetings were held, where the object of this Bible Society was explained, and its wants were ably set forth. The result was that an impulse was given to the Society, which continues to this day. This venerable man,-this able divine and accurate historian,-this worthy successor of Sergeant. Edwards and West,- passed quietly to his long rest on the 15th of April, 1867.

The North Congregational church, located at Curtisville .- This society was organized December 22, 1824, by a colony of sixty-three members who withdrew from the old church for this purpose, their first pastor being Rev. Nathan Shaw. Their church building, a neat brick structure capable of seat- ing 250 persons, and valued, including grounds, at $5,000.00, was erected in 1826. The society now has 115 members, with Rev. Timothy A. Hazen, pastor.

St. Paul's Episcopal church, located on the corner of Pine and Main streets .- This society was organized in February, 1834, Rev. (afterwards Dr.) Samuel P. Parker, being the first rector. Services were first held in the upper room of the old academy, and it was not until ten years later, in 1844, that a church building was erected. But the society now has an elegant new church edifice, which was consecrated in the latter part of last November (1884). It is a memorial church, built by Charles E. Butler, in memory of his wife, one of the Sedgwick family, who died March 17, 1883. The building, and its contents, taking no account of land, which was already owned by the society, cost nearly $100,000.00. The furniture and the different parts of the church are arranged according to high church requirements. On the

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transept wall, below the organ loft, are fac-similies of the ten panels of the singing boys and girls of Luca della Robbina, the Florentine sculptor of 1400-01. These sculptures are in all degrees of relief, and were made for the Florentine cathedral. They are now in the Uffizi palace, where a cast of them was taken by the Berlin Art Society, from whence a few copies have been made, this being one of them. They were given by Misses Laura and Emily Tuckerman, of New York. The organ is of moderate size, but of singular excellence. The pulpit is a mass of carvings and fine cabinet work. It is the gift of Rev. Henry F. Allen. now rector of the church of the Messiah in Boston, who was rector of this church from 1865 to 1872, the gift being in memory of his mother. The center window in the rear wall of the chancel is in memory of Rev. Dr. Samuel P. Parker, the first rector of the church, with a pastorate of fifteen years, and is given by his friends. He founded several churches in New England, and died November 16, 1880. The stained glass of the window represents St. Paul as he stood on Mars hill and preached of a Savior and a resurrection to the Stoics and Epicureans. The artist was LaFarge, and this specimen of his work is said to make as fine a window as is to be found in this country. There are five other memo- rial windows, bearing the names of former members of the church. The finest art work in the church is the baptistery, which cost $10,000.00. It is opposite the transept, and is faced on floor, walls and semi-dome with marbles of great beauty and fine polish, coming from France. The memorial tablet, surrounded by cherubims and bearing a memorial inscription, was designed by St. Gaulliens. Two stained glass windows in the baptistery came from Tiffany's. The seats, the beautifully carved furniture, and the finely paneled wainscoting of the church are of oak, stained so as to develop the grain and give it an antique appearance. The floor is of tiles. The roof, of southern pine, panels between oak rafters and joists, and is supported by oak trusses, tied to the walls with beams which are carved angels. The inside of the walls is of cream-tinted brick ; the outside of bluish-gray stone. The tower has a slight taper and a pyramidal roof in the Swiss style. The clock was given to the church in 1854 by G. P. R. James. The church has had six rectors since its organization, as follows : Rev. Dr. Parker, 1838-'46; Rev. Justin Field, 1846-'49, now rector of the Episcopal church in Lenox ; Rev. Thomas R. Pynchon, 1849-'55, lately president of Trinity college and now professor in the same ; Rev."Jesse A. Penniman, 1856-'58, now dead ; Rev. Dr. Parker again, 1858-'65 ; Rev. Henry F. Allen, 1865-'72 ; and for the last twelve years, Rev. Arthur Lawrence, whose family name is well known in New Eng- land and elsewhere. The attendants of this church have been and are many famous people. Dean Stanley preached in the old church in 1882, the only country church that he attended or in which he preached while in this country.

The First Methodist Episcopal church .- As early as 1837 Stockbridge be- gan to be included in a preaching circuit, services being held in the old acade-

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my building and in the town-hall ; but no church building was erected until 1882-'83, when the present structure, located on Church street was built. It will seat 300 persons, cost $5,250.00, and is valued, including grounds, etc., at $8,000.00. The society has seventy-nine members, with Rev. H. C. Humphrey, pastor.

St. Joseph's church (Roman Catholic), on Laurel Hill street, Stockbridge, was organized by Rev. Peter Eagan, the first pastor, June 9, 1861, with about 375 members. The first and present church edifice, of stone, was erected in 1860, and will seat comfortably about 500 people, the present number of its members. The church property is valued at $17,000.00 and the parish is under the pastoral care of Rev. Michael Carrol.

T YRINGHAM is a small, triangularly outlined town lying in the southern-central part of the county, in lat. 42º 14', and long. 3º 49', bounded north by Lee, east by Becket and Otis, southwest by Monte- rey, and northwest by Great Barrington and Lee. This was one of the four townships designated as 1, 2, 3 and 4, granted on the 15th of January, 1735, for the purpose of building a road between the Connecticut river and the Housatonic settlements. These townships were, in their numerical order, Tyringham, New Marlboro, Sandisfield and Becket. Monterey was embraced within the limits of Tyringham up to 1847, but the history of these early af- fairs, including that of the Tyringham Equivalent and the North and the South Eleven Thousand Acres, are fully stated in the sketch of the early road referred to above, on page 52, and in the sketches of New Marlboro, Sandisfield, Becket and Monterey, so it would be superfluous to repeat it here. The ter- ritory of Tyringham was divided into twenty-one portions, " by lines running from northwest to southeast, half a mile from each other, from the southwest to the northeast corner. House lots from forty to eighty acres each, were laid out on the six portions next to the six southwestern, contiguous to each other, abutting on the lines contiguous to the townships." Lot No. 35 was set apart for the first minister, No. 21 for the second minister, and No. 20 for schools, while sixty-seven lots were drawn by the proprietors, the number of proprie- tors having been increased by the general court, in this, as in the townships, in consequence of the increase of territory. The remainder of the town, with its rights in the three tracts mentioned, were also brought into division among the proprietors.

The surface of the town is rough and mountainous, though there is consid- erable good farming land. It is crossed by two heavy ranges of hills, which extend in an easterly and westerly direction. One of these stretches along the northern border of the town ; the other, a little above the south line, takes a westerly direction, and after passing a few miles, rises and spreads into Beartown mountain. In the valley between these ranges, Hop brook, rising in

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a small pond in Otis, flows westerly and discharges itself into the Housa- tonic, in Lee. On the northern border of the town lies Goose pond, a sheet of about 225 acres. These ranges of mountainous hills we have mentioned af- ford many prospects of unusual interest, while one of them, Toby's mountain, in the southwestern section of the town, was used as a point of observation during the late trigonometrical survey of the State.

The geological structure of the town is made up of rocks of limestone, gneiss, mica-slate, and quartz formation. Iron ore has also been found.

In 1880 Tyringham had a population of 542. In 1883 the town employed nine female teachers in its public schools, at an average monthly salary of $23.28 each. There were ninety-seven school children residing in the town, while the entire amount raised for school purposes was $878.61.

TYRINGHAM is a post village located on the banks of Hop brook, in the central part of the town. It has two churches ( Methodist and Baptist ), one store, a paper-mill, rake factory, saw-mill, cider-mill, wagon shop, blacksmith shop, and about twenty-five dwellings.

Tyringham paper-mills .- " The Turkey mill," so-called, was built in 1832, by Riley Sweet and Asa Judd, under the firm name of Sweet & Judd. It had two engines, a cylinder machine, and made about 400 pounds of paper per day. In 1833 it was bought by Ingersoll & Platner, and in 1833 Elizur Smith took an interest and the firm became Ingersoll, Platner & Smith. Mr. Ingersoll soon sold out to his partners and the mill remained Platner & Smith's until the formers death in 1855. In 1849 they put in a Fourdrinier machine and began making water-marked, first-class paper, which soon became known as equal to any made anywhere in the world. By the year 1855 it had been enlarged and improved to a great extent, steam-power was added, and it was fitted with seven engines. A few years later it burned. George Cannon sub- sequently rebuilt it with three engines, but it has not been successfully oper- ated and is now idle. Ezra Heath and Joshua Boss built the Bay State Wrap- ping Mill, in 1846. It was afterwards owned by Johnson & Fargo. It burned down, was rebuilt by George & John West, sold by them to John Trimble, burned again in 1870, and has not been rebuilt.

George W. Oles's rake factory, located on road 9, turns out about $10,000.00 per annum, in the manufacture of all kinds of rakes.

George W. Garfield's cider-mill, located on road 9, turns out about 1,000 barrels of cider per annum.

George R. Warren's wagon and repair shop is located on road 9, where he does all kinds of work in this line.

M. V. B. Steadman's rake factory, located on road 17, manufactures all kinds of hand-rakes.

John C. Garfield & Son's rake factory is located on the corner of roads 12 and 13.

The settlement of the original territory of Tyringham was commenced in 1739, by Isaac Garfield, Thomas Slaton, and John Chadwick. In the fol-

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lowing August, John Brewer, from Hopkinton, put up a house a little south of the pond (now in Monterey) which now bears his name. Here in accord- ance with a contract made with the proprietors, he erected and put mills into operation. Mr. Brewer's house was among those fortified in the French war, beginning in 1744, and here soldiers were put in garrison by the provincial government Among these was William Hale, who afterwards became a set- tler, and a deacon of the church. In 1750 the proprietors, who had previ- ously held their meetings and done their business in the eastern part of the State, commenced holding their meetings in the township, and March 6, 1762, the town was incorporated, with a name, said to have been suggested by Lord Viscount Howe, a few days before he fell in battle near Ticonder- oga, after Tyringham, in England, where he owned an estate. The early set- tlements were all made in the southern part of the territory, now embraced in the town of Monterey, a part of which was afterwards known as South Tyringham. It was not until the year in which the town was incorporated that the first settler, Dea Thomas Orton, put up his log house on Hop brook, in the northern part of the town. Among the early settlers were the Heaths, Hales, Wilsons, Thompsons, Parkers and Halls.

Isaac Garfield removed from Boston to this town (the part now Monterey) about 1735 ; and the next bearing that name of whom anything is known, are Isaac, Enoch, John, Elisha, Solomon, Daniel, and Esther. All the Gar- fields in this place are descendants of Isaac, Sr. Isaac, Jr., was the first child born in the town. He married Margaret Orton who bore him seven children-Archibald, John, Thomas, Isaac, Daniel, Sally and Christine. Archibald and John moved to Onondaga Co., N. Y., and died there. Thomas, who resided on the homestead until his death, in December, 1858, married Hannah Merrill, and reared two sons and three daughters. Isaac made his home in Otis, married Mary Parks, by whom he had a family of four chil- dren ; Daniel, a merchant of this town, married Sophia Strong, to whom was born one son and three daughters. Sally became the wife of Parden Mosier, and removed to Vermont. Christine died young, and her grave was the first in the village cemetery.

Francis Clark, born in Middletown, Conn., October 2, 1757, married Mary Johnson. He emigrated to this town in 1773, locating on road 19, upon the place now owned by S. C. Johnson. He reared a family of ten children, all growing to manhood and womanhood, but most of whom removed to the west. Two remained in town, and settled here. Daniel Clark, is the only representative of this family in town, and resides on a farm adjoining the one formerly owned by his father. He is an enthusiastic mineralogist and has a fine cabinet of minerals of his collection.

Dea William Hale, a descendant of one of the first settlers in America, and one of the first to locate in Tyrington, married a daughter of Capt. John Brewer, and reared a family of seven sons and four daughters.

Capt. Thomas Stedman was born in South Kingston, R. I., in 1766, where

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he resided until the age of thirty-three years, following the sea, and engag- ing mostly in coasting trade. About this time he removed with his fam- ily to the East Mountain of Tyringham, where he resided for six years, when he was placed in charge over the pier boat off Point Judith, which position he held three years. During his first voyage from the point to Newport he encountered a heavy gale and was driven upon an island near the mouth of the Bay, and subjected to great hardships. His friends, missing him for three days, supposed him dead, and his funeral sermon was preached. When the American Independence was declared, Thomas was a lad of ten years. He voted for the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and for Washington for President, and voted in this town regularly for fifty-six years. The dark day of 1780 was a memorable to event him. Capt. Stedman reared a family of four children, William, Benoni, Robert and Sarah, who came from Kingston, R. I., with their parents, on horseback, to Tyringham, May I, 1799. They were accompanied by Thomas Williams, a brother-in-law of Thomas, and were four days on their journey. His daughter Sarah, now the widow of Frederick Cone has had no children of her own, but has reared a family of eight by adoption.

Amos Northup came to Tyringham, from Duchess county, N. Y., at an early date and located upon a farm on Hop brook, where he reared six sons and three daughters. One of these, John, married Sarah Miller, of Gran- ville, Mass., and reared three children, Dennis, Sabrina and John M. He lived at one time near Goose pond, upon the farm still known as the Nor- thup place. John M. married Caroline Garfield, daughter of Thomas Gar- field, December 12, 1833, and live on the old homestead nearly fifty years. He held various offices of trust in his town, and represented his townsmen in the legislature, in 1859. He was born in 1811 and died in 1881. His wife, born in 1813, survived him two and a half years.

Churches .- The conditions of the grant of Tyringham made provision for the establishment and support of the ministry. In 1740 a vote was passed for the erection of a church, which was put up in 1743, though, in conse- quence of the disturbances of the period, it was not finished for several years. It was situated on one of the highest hills inhabited at the present day, and was located within the present bounds of Monterey. It was a cheerless build- ing, situated in a very bleak place, and occupied a site on house lot No. I, drawn by Rev. John Cotton, of Boston. This building answered the purpose for which it was built, for many years. In 1796 a second house was built upon the same lot, which was dedicated July 4, 1798, and which was much more decent and comfortable than the original structure. Aside from its unprotected exposure to the wind, the site was as appropriate and beautiful as could be wished, occupying the summit of a gentle elevation, over which the principal road passed, and standing near the center of a common of sev- eral acres. To these churches the Congregational portion of the inhabitants of Hop brook came up, a distance of four miles, for two generations. Al-

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Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 45

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