USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol I > Part 10
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" The sterling traits of character of Mr. Hall, revealed by his daily association with his fellow men, displayed a type of grand and noble manhood rarely met with, worthy of the emulation of younger men as a model for the guidance of a useful and honorable life.
" Be it Resolved, That the club rooms be draped in mourning thirty days as a token of sorrow at the demise of our late brother.
" Be it Resolved, That the profound sympathy of this club be ex- tended to the sons, sister and other relatives of the deceased in their irreparable loss.
" Be it Resolved, That a copy of these sentiments and resolutions be transmitted to the family of the deceased, and a copy be spread upon the records of this club.
" OSCAR S. ROBERTS, " JNO. H. NOBLE, " EDWARD H. BRIDGMAN, "Committee."
Mr. Hall married in 1849 Mary Monroe Powers, of the historic New England family which gave to the world the famous sculptor. Hiram Powers. Mrs. Hall was a worthy descendant of a worthy race. a devoted, self-sacrificing mother to the five sons whom she left, and an inspiration and helpmeet in all that that word implies to her hus- band. She died in June, 1901, and thus Mr. Hall had more than a half century of this most beneficent of associations. To those who were nearest to him he was wont to ascribe all credit for any success which he had attained to the good counsel and encouragement of this loving
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and faithful wife. Their eldest son. George Edward Hall. who was born February 22, 1853, married Edna C., daughter of Charles Seaman, and has two children, Clinton and Marion H. Hall. Henry L. Hall, born October 3, 1861, married Ida, daughter of Noah Redford, of New- port, Rhode Island. Burton P. Hall, born April 19, 1867. married Bertha, daughter of Horace Packard, of Brooklyn, and has a son, Clif- ford. Robert E. Hall, born March 15. 1871, married Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Thomas H. Lerned, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and has two chil- dren, Mary and Elizabeth. The youngest son, Harold N. Hall, is un- married and is an architect, practicing his profession in New York city. All of the children reside in and near Plainfield. New Jersey.
CLINTON QUACKENBUSH RICHMOND.
Among the citizens of North Adams whose public services and pri- vate enterprises have been alike valuable to city, county and common- wealth, the gentleman whose name introduces these memoirs may be appropriately numbered. He is also of that interesting and considerable group of men in Berkshire county whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers of New England and who proved so strongly capable of meeting the emergencies of pioncer life and of subsequently declaring and sustaining their independence of a tyrannous rule. He is lineally descended from
John Richmond, who was one of the first purchasers in Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1637, and died there March 20, 1664, aged seventy years. Early tradition says that John Richmond was from Ashton Keyes, a parish four and a half miles from Crichlade, Wiltshire. Eng- land, where he was baptized in 1597. An abstract of his will is given in
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" New England Genealogical and Historical Register," Vol. VII. p. 180, and his children are named. One of his descendants was
Edward Richmond, born in Taunton, Massachusetts, 1756. He served in the Revolutionary war. His son was
Josiah Richmond, who served in the Plattsburg campaign during the war with Great Britain in 1812. He moved with his family from Pittston, New York, to Hoosick, New York, and kept a hotel for many years on the old stage road from North Adams to Troy. His son was
Albert E. Richmond, born in Pittston, New York, September 23. 1819; died May 31, 1895. Although brought up in the hotel business, he gave it up at his father's death and entered the mercantile business at Hoosick. He removed to North Adams, Massachusetts, in 1860, and purchased the Berkshire House, which he conducted for twenty-seven years, with the exception of a short time when he kept the Mansion House in Troy, New York. He also kept the Wilson House in North Adams for a few years, and built the Richmond House, which he man- aged until 1887. Mr. Richmond served in the New York assembly, and in 1888 in the Massachusetts legislature, and was a member of the prudential committee of the fire district in North Adams, and of the water works board. He was a member of the North Adams Club.
He married, October 22, 1857, Anna M. Quackenbush, born in Hoosick, New York, in 1836 (for genealogy see Cebra Quackenbush, this work). They had three children : Clinton Q., William W., treas- urer of the Hoosick Savings Bank, and Grace V., wife of T. E. Dore- mus, of Wilmington, Delaware.
Clinton Quackenbush Richmond, born December 17. 1859, at Hoo- sick, New York, graduated from Drury high school, 1877, and from Amherst College with the degree B. A., class of '81, and is a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Society. His first business association was with his father in the conduct of the Richmond Hotel, North Adams.
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His next enterprise was the establishing of a plant at North Adams for the manufacture of carbon for electric lighting apparatus, and this busi- ness was sufficiently successful to challenge the interest of the Thomson- Houston Electric Company, which purchased the same and removed the plant to Fremont, Ohio. With others Mr. Richmond, in 1888, pur- chased the street railway line between Adams and North Adams, then operated with horse cars; an electric equipment was installed, and the Hoosick Valley Street Railway Company incorporated, one of the earliest of the electric roads of Massachusetts. Mr. Richmond served as president of this company from 1888 to 1902. During Mr. Rich- mond's term of service as its presiding official the road was extended to Williamstown at the west and to Cheshire at the south, at the latter point connecting with lines to Pittsfield, one line running from the latter place to Great Barrington through Lenox. Lee and Stockbridge. Especially substantial contributions to the architecture and business of North Adams by Messrs. C. Q. and W. W. Richmond were the erection of the New Richmond Hotel and Richmond Theater, both of which were conducted initially by them. Mr. Clinton O. Richmond was espe- cially interested and assisted in securing the location of the State Nor- mal School at North Adams, and rendered service also in securing the necessary appropriations for the Greylock Mountain Reservation. Mr. Richmond's political affiliation is with the Republican party, which has called his services into requisition to numerous offices of trust and high responsibility. He represented North Adams in the state legislature in 1896 and 1897, serving efficiently on numerous important committees, is a member of the Massachusetts state board of education, to which he was appointed in 1901 by Governor Crane to fill the unexpired term of President Carter of Williams College, and reappointed by Governor Douglas for the 1905-13 term. He was for nine years a member of the
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North Adams school board and advanced the cause of education locally by successfully championing many wise measures. He also served for a period as president of the North Adams board of trade.
Mr. Richmond married Hannah M. Bates, daughter of Ellsworth N. Bates, a native of Cummington, Massachusetts, and who read law under the preceptorship of the late Senator Henry L. Dawes, subsequently re- moving to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he practiced law. He was captain in Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the civil war, and ill health engendered at the siege of Vicksburg resulted in his demise in 1863. His wife was a native of North Adams, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Richmond have a son, Clinton Whitman, born October 22, 1890, and a daughter, Mary Quackenbush Richmond, born November 24, 1900.
JOSEPH HENRY WOOD.
Joseph Henry Wood, senior member of the firm of Wood Brothers, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was born AAugust 5, 1850, in Nails- worth, a suburban district of Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, son of John Pooley Wood, who located in 1860 in Pittsfield, where he was engaged in the shoe manufacturing business for six years with Alvin Leffingwell under the firm name of Leffingwell & Wood. In 1866 John Pooley Wood purchased his partner's interest in the establishment, and conducted the same with marked success during the long period of thirty-one years. He early won and always retained the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens. Since 1897 he has been living in retirement in Pittsfield. His wife was Elizabeth Hemming, also a native of Gloucestershire. She died in 1901, leaving three sons and two daughters, the immediate subject of this sketch being the eldest of the children.
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Joseph Henry Wood received his initial schooling in London, England, a tuition which was supplemented by attendance in the public schools of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1882, in partnership associa- tion with his brother, William P. Wood, he became established in busi- ness in Pittsfield for the sale of pianos, organs, music and musical in- struments and goods generally, under the firm name of Wood Brothers. From an extremely modest beginning the business developed until it became the leading one in its line in western Massachusetts. This magnificent result has been attained by dint of industry, enterprise and business integrity. Its growth has necessitated the establishment of a branch house at North Adams, and for a long period the two stores practically monopolized the music business of Berkshire county. In advancing the musical interests and cultivating the musical taste of the people of this community the firm of Wood Brothers has been a most important factor, both through the handling of instruments of superior make and in securing numerous public entertainments by distinguished artists, vocal and instrumental. A further business connection of Mr. Joseph H. Wood is a considerable interest in the Musgrove Knitting Company, manufacturers of cotton and worsted underwear, at 76 West street, Pittsfield, of which concern Mr. Wood is president. He is also a stockholder and director in the Spark Coil Company, Pittsfield. Mr. Wood is one of the executive committee of the state central committee for the Protection of Fish and Game, and in that capacity has rendered valuable service to the state. He was one of the first of the citizens of Pittsfield to urge the formation of what was originally known as the Riverside Rifle and Gun Club, with which and its successor, the Pitts- field Rod and Gun Club, he has had almost constant official connection since its formation in 1875. He is a member of Crescent Lodge, F. and A. M .; Berkshire Chapter, R. A. M .; Berkshire Council, R. and
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S. M .; and Berkshire Commandery, K. T. He married, January 20, 1872, Clara M., daughter of the late Danicl and Eliza (Clark) Dainty. Daniel Dainty was for many years a highly respected merchant of Pittsfield. The children of this union were Clara Mabel, now wife of the Rev. John M. Harris, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church at Hoosic Falls, New York; the Misses Laura, Maud, and Jessie Alberta Wood, the latter a graduate of Pittsfield high school, class of 1903; and Albert William Wood, graduate of Pittsfield high school, class of 1904. Mrs. Clara M. (Dainty) Wood died November 2, 1893. Two years later Mr. Wood married Miss Melvena Frances Nickerson, daugh- ter of the late Captain Francis and Melvena (Cook) Nickerson, of Provincetown, Cape Cod. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, Pittsfield.
WILLIAM PORTER WOOD.
The gentleman whose name introduces these memoirs is one of Pittsfield's substantial business men, who, notwithstanding the demands upon his time of a great and growing business, has ever been dominated by a desire to further every interest and influence that makes for public weal and whose services have been brought into requisition frequently and have been given freely and efficiently in the discharge of numerous and diverse private and public trusts. William Porter Wood was born June 9, 1853, in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. England, son of John Pooley Wood (see sketch of Joseph Henry Wood).
William P. Wood, second of the children of John Pooley Wood, received his preliminary schooling in London, England, and this was followed by attendance upon the public schools and Carter's Business College of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His first business connection was as clerk in John Breakey's shoe store on North street. He then learned
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shoemaking with his father, and this association continued for four years. The following eight years found him in the employ of the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company, for six years of which period he was located in Berkshire county, for one year in Worcester and for one year in Waltham, Massachusetts. He then accepted the management of Cluett & Sons' music house at Pittsfield, and in this connection secured the foundational practical knowledge which with subsequent similar experience and employment so well equipped him for the business which he with his eldest brother, Mr. Joseph H. Wood, established in 1882 under the firm name of Wood Brothers in Pitts- field, Massachusetts, for the sale of pianos, organs, music and musical instruments and goods generally. From an extremely modest start this business has developed rapidly and is now the leading one in its line in western Massachusetts. This magnificent result has been attained by dint of industry, enterprise and business integrity. Its growth has necessitated the establishment of a branch house at North AAdams, and the two stores combined practically monopolize the music business of Berkshire county.
William P. Wood is a director of the Wilcox & White Company, of Meriden, Connecticut, manufacturers of the " Angelus," the best of automatic piano players. He has from time to time undertaken, with other public-spirited citizens, to advance the business and general inter- ests of the community in securing the location of various manufacturing plants in or near the county seat. In advancing the musical interests and cultivating the musical taste of the people of Berkshire county the firm of Wood Brothers has been a most important factor both through the handling of instruments of superior make, and securing public en- tertainments by distinguished artists, vocal and instrumental. William P. Wood was president of the Berkshire County Musical Society, which
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for a term of years gave annual musical festivals wherein such soloists as Nordica, Blauvelt. Watkins Mills, and others of like fame were participants.
Mr. Wood is staunchly Republican in his political proclivities and has given unstintedly of time, talent and means to secure the success of his party. His services have been in constant requisition as delegate to conventions, local, county and state, since 1888; he has served as a member of the city committee, and continuously since 1898 as member and treasurer of the county committee. In 1892. as a resident of the sixth ward, Mr. Wood was sought by his party as the aldermanic can- didate most likely to carry that Democratic stronghold which up to that time had never returned a Republican to the board of aldermen. He was elected to that board, and his exceptionally efficient service in claims and fire department committee work in that body attested the wisdom of his constituents in their choice of a representative. In 1896 he was a member of the state central committee, and in that year also was nominated for the office of county commissioner, to which he was elected by the flattering majority of 3,999. He was re-elected in 1899. and again in 1902. As county commissioner Mr. Wood and his asso- ciates have succeeded in establishing a new order of things in the county buildings, especially in the improved facilities installed for their ventilation ; and notably in the substitution for a proposed extensive addition, of an admirable plan of re-arrangement whereby much addi- tional space needed for the transaction of the public business was gained1 at a saving for the people of the sum of $50.000. The county debt lras been reduced $60,000 during this period of excellent management with no appreciable addition to the tax rate. Fraternally Mr. Wood is a member of Crescent Lodge, F. and .A. M .: Berkshire Chapter. R. A. M .: Berkshire Council and Berkshire Commendery. Knights
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Templar. He is past master of his lodge; past high priest of the chap- ter ; past commander of the commandery; past district deputy grand master of the district, and past distriet deputy grand high priest. He is past chancellor of Berkshire Lodge, Knights of Pythias, a member also of Royal Arcanum, and past master workman of Ancient Order United Workmen.
He was married December 25, 1873, to Ida M., daughter of Edwin Davis, of Pittsfield. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have two sons and two daughters: John E., who is now preparing in the most practical way possible for ultimately engaging in the piano business by learning piano making in the Kranich & Bach factory, New York; George E., clerk in Pittsfield National Bank: E. Grace, wife of A. R. Norton, organist of Simpson Methodist Episcopal church, Brooklyn, New York, and who have one child, Ida Laura Norton; and Elizabeth M., wife of A. U. Brander, vocal teacher, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, to whom has been born a son, William Wallace Brander. Mrs. A. R. Norton is solo soprano of St. James Episcopal church, Brooklyn. Mr. and Mrs. Wood reside at 48 Onota street, and are members of the South Congregational church.
LAWRENCE C. SWIFT, M. D.
Dr. Lawrence Chew Swift, for a number of years a leading physi- cian of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, was of excellent ancestry, numbering among his forebears several who rendered conspicuous service to the patriot cause during the Revolutionary period.
Thomas Swift, the founder of the family of that name in America, was a son of Robert Swift, of Rotherham, Yorkshire, England. The town records of Dorchester, Massachusetts, show that he had land granted him there in November, 1634, was admitted freeman in 1635.
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and was a member of the Rev. Mr. Wareham's church in 1636, with his wife Elizabeth. She was probably a daughter of Bernard Capen, who came from Dorchester. England, and died in Dorchester. Massachu- setts, November 8, 1638, and who had been a representative several times, and was prominent in public affairs. Thomas Swift held many town offices, and town meetings were held at his house. He had ten children. The second was
Thomas Swift, born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, June 17, 1635. died at Milton, Massachusetts, January 26, 1717-18. He married, De- cember 9, 1657. Elizabeth Vose, died January 26, 1676, daughter of Robert Vose, of Milton. He married (second), October 16, 1676. Sarah Clapp, who died February 4. 1717-18. He received land in Milton from his father-in-law in 1659, and that with other lots was the original homestead and remained in the family until 1835. He was a member of the church in Dorchester, and a founder of the First Church in Mil- ton, April 24, 1678, and became a deacon August 20, 1682. His wife was admitted to the church October 2, 1681, by letter from the church in Dorchester. He held many town offices, was representative and a lieutenant, and was appointed to take charge of the Neponset Indians. The youngest of his six children was
Colonel Samuel Swift, born in Milton. December 10, 1683, died October 13, 1747. He married, November 6, 1707, Ann Holman, who died May 19, 1769, daughter of Thomas Holman, of Milton. Colonel Swift was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Milton. was a judge of the court of common pleas, colonel of militia, representa- tive. and selectman for .upwards of twenty years. He was father of eleven children, of whom the fifth was
Samuel Swift, born in Milton, June 9. 1715, died August 30, 1775. He married in 1738, Eliphal Tilley, born February 7, 1713, daughter
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of Samuel and Eliphal Tilley. He married (second). October 5. 1757. Ann Foster, born October 3. 1729. died May 8. 1788, daughter of Cap- tain Hopestill and Sarah (Allen) Foster.
Mr. Swift was graduated from Harvard College in 1735. He studied law and located in Boston, and soon became one of its most influential citizens. His zeal and resolution led many Bostonians to secrete their arms when General Gage desired to have them brought in. and he presided at a meeting where it was agreed to use the arms and pitchforks and axes in an attack upon the British troops on the com- mon. General Gage heard of this and imprisoned Mr. Swift and others. His incarceration brought on a disease from which Mr. Swift did not recover and, as it was expressed by President Adams, "he was a martyr to freedom's cause." The fifth of his nine children was
Dr. Foster Swift, born in Boston, Massachusetts, in January, 1760. died August 18, 1835. He married, February 18, 1783. Deborah De- lano, born September, 1762, died June 3, 1824, daughter of Captain Thomas and Elizabeth Delano, of Nantucket. Mrs. Swift was descended from Philip de Launoy, who served Charles V of France in 1543, and whose ancestry has been traced back three centuries earlier. Dr. Swift began to study medicine in 1779, and about 1780 was appointed surgeon on the sloop-of-war " Portsmouth," which was captured. He was im- prisoned at St. Lucie, and escaped with others after remaining there for thirteen months by capturing a vessel lying in the harbor. In No- vember, 1782, he went to Virginia, carrying a letter to General Wash- ington, who gave him friendly aid, but he lost his health and returned to Nantucket. He removed to Dartmouth and later to Taunton, where he practiced medicine until 1809, when he removed to Boston. He was made post surgeon in the army and died while in the performance of his duty in New London. Of his six children the eldest was
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General Joseph Gardner Swift. LL. D .. born in Nantucket, Massa- chusetts. December 3. 1783, died July 23. 1865. He married, June 6, 1805, Louisa Margaret Walker, born October 14. 1788, died Novem- ber 15, 1855, daughter of Captain James Walker, of Wilmington. North Carolina. An exhaustive biographical sketch of General Swift, who was the first graduate from the National Military Academy, West Point. has been published. He was father of twelve children, of whom the seventh was
McRee Swift, born in New York, April 15, 1819. He has been a successful civil engineer, largely engaged in the construction and man- agement of railroads in various states of the Union, and also in various important manufacturing enterprises. He married. September 15. 1842, Abby Hortense Chew, daughter of Thomas John Chew, U. S. N. Of this marriage were born ten children, of whom the fifth was
Lawrence Chew Swift, M. D., born February 24. 1852. He was graduated in 1879 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, and in 1880 served an interneship in Charity Hospital. He was one of the leading physicians of Pittsfield. Massachusetts.
Dr. Swift was married April 16, 1884. to Miss Mabel Bruce Grif- fith, daughter of Colonel Joseph M. Griffith, of Des Moines. Iowa. She died and he married (second), on June 2, 1896. Miss Mary Gatch, also of Des Moines, Iowa. Dr. Swift died June 1, 1905.
HENRY A. FRANCIS.
Henry Almiron Francis, general manager and treasurer of the Pontoosuc Woolen Company, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, comes of an honorable ancestry dating from early colonial times. He was born in Pittsfield, October 6. 1861.
Robert Francis appears in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1651. where he died January 2, 1712. His common lot in Wethersfield was
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No. 56. He was surveyor of highways, 1675 and 1685. His wife was Joan, whose family name is unknown ; she died January 29, 1705. Their fourth child was
Sergeant John Francis, born in Wethersfield, September 4, 1658. One authority says he died February 18, 1708, aged fifty-three, but the New England Register (Vol. XVII, p. 262) gives date as December 28, 1711. He married, February 10, 1680, Sarah , who died. He married (second). April 3. 1682, Mercy Chittenden, born 1662, died October 13, 1745, aged eighty-three. He had fourteen chil- dren by his second wife. The eighth was
Robert Francis, born in Wethersfield, January 29, 1697, married Elizabeth Butler. They had five children. The fourth was
Captain William Francis, born in Wethersfield, February II, 1730, died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, March 13, 1818. He married, Octo- ber 1, 1753, Phebe Woodhouse, born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, No- vember 26, 1730, daughter of Joseph and Dorothy (Buck) Woodhouse. He probably married (second) Huldah who died in Pittsfield, February 20, 1820, aged eighty-nine, according to the Pitts- field Sun, which describes her as his relict. He was an early settler of Pittsfield, was appointed a fence viewer 1761 ; was a Revolutionary sol- dier; was on the town list 1772, with a family of nine persons, and was on the census of 1786. He had six children. The first was
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