USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol I > Part 15
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Augustus Keefer Boom received his preliminary education in the public and high schools of Albany, New York, and there took up the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. John Swinburne, one of the most distinguished physicians and surgeons of the Empire state. He was graduated from the medical department of Wooster Univer- sity, Cleveland, Ohio (now College of Physicians and Surgeons) and immediately thereafter entered upon the practice of his profession at Adams, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, where he has ever since been located. He is a member of the Northern Berkshire Society, and a Fellow of Massachusetts Medical Society. Fraternally his association is with I. O. O. F. and B. P. O. E. His public service has been as town physician and member of the board of health, in both of which capacities he officiated for a number of years. He also rendered effective service as assistant engineer of Adams fire department, an elective of- fice. His political affiliation is Republican. Dr. Boom is one of the
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board of United States pension examiners, his associates being Drs. O. S. Roberts of Pittsfield, and Dorville M. Wilcox of Lee.
He was married January 26, 1887, to Maria, daughter of Anthony and Harriet de Rouville of Albany. Of the children born to Dr. and Mrs. Boom, the first born, Lulu May, died when eleven years of age. The surviving children are Florence and Hazel.
JAMES MADISON BARKER.
The death of Judge James Madison Barker, which occurred at the Union Club in Boston, Massachusetts, October 2, 1905, removed from Berkshire county. Massachusetts, one of its representative citizens, a man widely known for his high character, great ability and rare personal charm, a man of high ideals, a wise and sound adviser in business af- fairs, both of the individual, corporation and the community, identified with healthy and honorable institutions, and who served his native state in a judicial capacity for about a quarter of a century, first on the supe- rior bench, and later as a judge of the highest court in the common- wealth.
He was born in Pittsfield. Massachusetts, October 23, 1839, a son of John V. and Sarah (Apthorp) Barker, and grandson on the maternal side of James Apthorp, of Hinsdale, Massachusetts, whose house was situated on the road running north, past the cemetery. He pursued his preparatory studies at various schools and academies and entered Will- iams College, where he took high rank, and from which he was gradu- ated with the class of 1860. He studied law in New York city and at the Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the bar January 13. 1863. Shortly afterward he opened an office in Pittsfield and continued in practice, being associated at different times with Charles N. Emerson
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and Thomas P. Pingree, and also for a time was in the office of Rock- well & Colt. In December, 1873, he was chosen a director of the Berk- shire Life Insurance Company of Pittsfield, and in 1876 became vice- president, succeeding the late Edward Boltwood, who became president as the successor of the late Thomas F. Plunkett. He was chief legal adviser of the company, and his counsel was of great value to all of his associates in the conduct of the business.
He was a member of the state house of representatives in 1872-73 and served on the committee on railroads, which included in its member- ship two men who afterward served with him in the superior court, Judges Charles P. Thompson and John W. Hammond, the latter being with him also on the supreme bench. It was during that year that the great Boston fire occurred and Governor Washburn convened the legis- lature in special session. That sitting of the great and general court will be especially remembered because of the resolution censuring Charles Sumner, which was adopted in the house by a vote of one hundred and three years to sixty-six nays. an act of which Massachusetts was after- ward heartily ashamed. It was to the credit of Mr. Barker that he was recorded in the negative on that vote. The following year the harsh and unseemly action was rescinded by both branches of the legislature, happily before Senator Sumrer died. The next year Mr. Barker was re-elected, and served on the same committee, one of whose members was the late A. L. Soule, of Springfield. In 1873-75 Mr. Barker was a commissioner to inquire into the expediency of tax and exemption law revision, and in 1881-82 was a member of the commission on consolida- tion of the public statutes. In 1882 he was appointed to the superior court bench by Governor Long, to whom fell the duty of making an amusual number of judges, and in 1891, was promoted to the bench of the supreme judicial court by Governor Russell. Mr. Barker possessed
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a finely-balanced mind, and in his long career as judge his opinions were valued by all those who love justice and right. The distinction he sought was to faithfully discharge the exacting duties incident to his position, and he never was satisfied unless he reached the heart of a case and viewed it from every standpoint. He was a prominent delegate to the Republican national convention, which was held in Chicago in June, 1880. That was the year when the movement for a third terin for Gen- eral Grant failed, and a disposition to turn to Mr. Blaine as the alterna- tive was headed off by the nomination of Garfield and Arthur. In the issue between those who called for a higher standard in the civil service and those who demanded a continuance of the spoils system, Mr. Barker allied himself with the reform wing, and labored earnestly with his asso- ciates on the Massachusetts delegation to secure in the party platform an honest expression in favor of reforming the civil service. On the occasion of the inauguration of Pittsfield's first city government Judge Barker delivered an address remarkable for its review of the past and its prophecy for the future. He also delivered the address at the laying of the cornerstone of the Thompson Memorial chapel at Williamstown. At the time of the celebration of the centennial of the Congregational church at Hinsdale in 1895, Judge Barker was one of the speakers.
Interested in all things relating to the history of the county, Judge Barker was a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Berkshire Historical and Scientific Society. He was president of the Berkshire Athenaeum and Museum, a director of the Pittsfield National Bank, a member of the First church parish, though not of the church society, the Monday Evening Club, the Park Club and the Country Club of Pittsfield. He was also deeply interested in educational matters and served as a trustee of Williams College, his alma mater, and of the Clark Institution for Deaf Mutes. He was literary in his tastes and
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his papers, covering a wide range of subjects, were invariably charac- terized by a breadth of vision, depth of thought and lucidity of expres- sion that were most charming. One of the most recent of his essays that found its way to the public had to do with the Museum of Natural History and Art which Zenas Crane, of Dalton, presented to Pittsfield. When the addition to the institution was completed, Judge Barker wrote an appreciation of it, which was remarkable for its elegant diction and expressiveness. He dwelt upon the new opportunty for rational enjoy- ment in this community and of the widened field for study and reflec- tion it offered. He was a good listener as well as a forcible and able speaker, and his judgment on a variety of matters commanded instant respect. He was an earnest advocate of out-door life and activity, was an habitual visitor to the golf course and a player of ability, and also got much enjoyment from hunting, being a good shot. A favorite resort of his in the Berkshires was Windsor hill, where a shooting box is main- tained and where he went frequently.
Judge Barker married in Bath, New York, September 21, 1864, Helena Whiting, daughter of Levi Carter and Pamelia Nelson (Woods) Whiting. Mrs. Barker died several years ago. The surviving relatives are: Olive and Elizabeth Barker, who live at the home, 76 Bartlett avenue; Alice Barker, a student in Smith College; Mrs. Harry Day, of New Haven, Connecticut, daughters ; a son John, who is a practicing attorney in Boston; two brothers, John V. Barker, Jr., of Barkersville, and Charles Barker, and a sister, Miss Sarah Barker, of Barkersville. The funeral services of Judge Barker were held at the First Church of Christ in Pittsfield, October 5, 1905, and were attended by the justices of the supreme and superior courts. The various courts adjourned as a mark of respect to his memory, and the flag on the court house was placed at half-staff as soon as his death was announced. On the bench
Ce. le Chesney
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Judge Barker was the keen, far-seeing, able and unprejudiced servant. viewing from the broad plane of intelligent interpretation of the law, all cases that came before him. At home he was the interested. earnest and useful citizen, and his life came as near the ideal as it is possible to attain. He strove always to do exact and equal justice to all men, and that he succeeded will be the verdict of those who knew his worth.
CUMMINGS C. CHESNEY.
Few New England counties of approximate population can present as great an array of strong men who have been factors in their develop- ment as can the county of Berkshire, Massachusetts. To the extended list of those native to the territory in question who may be appropriately grouped in this connection must be added also a number alien to the soil. in various fields of thought and labor, whom force of circumstances have located within its borders. Of the latter class the gentleman whose name forms the caption for these memoirs is a conspicuous example.
Cummings C. Chesney, first vice-president of Stanley Electric Manu- facturing Company, was born in Selins Grove, Snyder county, Pennsyl- vania. October 28, 1863. son of John C. and Jane (McFall) Chesney, both natives of Pennsylvania. His attendance upon the public and high school of Northumberland was supplemented by the course of Blooms- burg State Normal school, and this was followed by his entrance into Pennsylvania State College, from which institution he was graduated with the class of '85. The honors which marked his college course were the sophomore prize for mathematics, junior prize for chemistry, and junior prize for oratory. His scholastic achievements were not his only dis- tinction during these student days, as he was keenly interested in athletics generally and baseball particularly, and won renown on the
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ball field as one of the best catchers and coaches in the country. Dur- ing the year following his graduation he was assistant to the professor of chemistry of his alma mater, and during this period also captained the college ball team with such splendid success as to challenge the attention of lovers of the national game throughout the country. It was perhaps not an unmixed evil that he was seriously injured on the ball field at the close of the season of '86, if thereby he was deterred from entering the ranks of professional league ball players as a number of his associates were induced to do. However brilliant his career might and doubtless would have been in this field of athletics, it could in no measure have compensated for any slightest deviation from that path which he seems to have been destined to follow, and which has placed his name with those of Franklin. Tesla, Edison, the Fields, Morse. Marconi. Stanley, Kelly, Thompson, and others who through wonderful invention and discovery have applied that mighty force, elec- tricity, to the world's use.
When partially recovered from the effects of the accident mentioned, Mr. Chesney accepted the position of professor of mathematics and natural science at Doylestown ( Pennsylvania) Seminary. This con- nection continued until November, 1888, when he resigned to accept a position as experimental chemist in the laboratory of William Stanley, at Great Barrington, which was operated in the interests of the West- inghouse Electric Company. In the summer of 1889 this laboratory was transferred to the shops of the United States Electric Lighting Com- pany. Newark, New Jersey, then a recent addition to the Westinghouse plants. Here Mr. Chesney continued to be employed until November, 1890, in experimenting along electro-chemical lines and in designing electric dynamos and motors. He then in company with Mr. William Stanley. Jr., returned to Berkshire county for the purpose of estab-
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lishing an electric manufacturing company. A stock company was forined at Pittsfield with a capital of $25,000 to which Messrs. W. A. Whittlesey. W. R. Plunkett, W. W. Gamwell, Charles E. Hibbard, and others were subscribers. and the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Com- pany was then modestly installed among the manufacturing plants of the Berkshire Hills. In 1891 the Stanley Laboratory Company was formed in which Messrs. William Stanley, Jr., C. C. Chesney and John F. Kelly were associated in electrical engineering experimental work, with the especial end in view of designing and inventing new ap- paratus for the Stanley Company. From this plant emanated much of the best inceptive work in alternating generators and the first suc- cessful experiments in long distance transmission. As a result of this collaborative experimenting and invention in its behalf the Stanley Com- pany under Mr. Chesney's chief electrical engineership developed with amazing rapidity, becoming so important a factor in the manufacturing world as to challenge the attention of the great general electric com- pany, with which a combination was effected in 1903, when the capital stock of the Stanley Company was $4,000,000. Mr. Chesney was elected to the office of which he is the incumbent in 1904. The following quo- tation from Vol. XXXVIII, No. 22, of the " Electrical World and Engineer " serves to indicate Mr. Chesney's standing among electrical engineers as well as to furnish interesting detail relative to his con- nection with the Stanley Company and his individual achievements in the field of applied electricity :
" After the incorporation of the Stanley Manufacturing Company, it soon became apparent to those associated with Mr. Chesney that his broad general knowledge and clear conservative judgment indicated him as the man to guide the electric departments of the manufacturing es- tablishment, and the future demonstrated that this estimation was not at fault. With his associates and staff of assistants, Mr. Chesney early per-
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fected the induction type of alternator to a point far beyond anything before reached in this country and not surpassed in the world. To him is due the credit of having laid out the first polyphase transmission plant to be put into successful operation in America. The plant is at the present day supplying light and power for use in the towns of Housatonic and Great Barrington, Massachusetts. When Mr. Ches- ney and those around him contended that alternating-current generators could be run in parallel under conditions prevailing in practical opera- tion they were opposed by all American engineers of standing, yet the fight proved a winning one. When others were preparing to prove that the winding of 10,000 to 12,000 volt generators was an impracticability Mr. Chesney designed alternating-current generators for such voltages with great success. It might be added that for even lower voltages Mr. Chesney was the pioneer as the first 6,000-volt generators built and successfully operated in America are of his design, and are still furnish- ing alternating-current power to Quebec.
" When it became apparent that transformers of large capacities would be a valuable addition to the electrical plants of the time, not- withstanding predictions to the contrary by those presumably in a position to know, he with his associates again realized their convictions in a most satisfactory manner, and to him is due the design of the first commercial 100-light transformer ever used in this country, which was made by the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company in 1891.
" A long list might be given of electrical developments in which Mr. Chesney has been a pioneer. AAmong other work switch-board instru- ments, high-tension arc-breaking devices, frequency indicators, indicat- ing wattmeters, lightning protection for high- and low-tension circuits, and many other appliances have all had a share of attention and always with satisfactory results. One of the most striking and practical ex- hibits at the Pan-American Exposition was the 'S-K-C' phase and frequency-changer, which transformed the three-phase, 25-cycle Niagara current to two-phase, 50-cycle currents for lighting and power pur- poses in the Electricity Building. This is one of Mr. Chesney's more recent inventions.
" Mr. Chesney is seldom idle, and an idea of value has little chance of escaping him, as is shown in some degree by the numerous patents issued to him, and by the many unique and valuable details to be found in the 'S-K-C' apparatus. His friends like to think of him not only as the man of resource and energy, always ready to seize the best that can be found and incorporate it into his work, but they also remember his enthusiasm for athletic sports and the time when he was one of the most clear-minded college baseball catchers and coaches in the country. His control over his fellow-students was remarkable at all times and
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he had an intuitive knowledge of their strong points. When it was a question of organizing a champion baseball team, he saw quickly how to use the available material at hand. This characteristic of prompt thought and the ability to make the most of men and things about him has remained with him through all of his engineering and research work, and has been one of the potent factors in placing that work in the rank of highest order. He has, in short, always been a man of action rather than of words, but when the latter prove necessary they are for- cible and cogent."
Mr. Chesney is president of Vermont Power and Manufacturing Company, of St. Albans, Vermont; and a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Society of Arts and Man- ufacturers of England. He was married October 28, 1891, to Eliza- beth, daughter of the late J. E. Cutler, for a number of years a prom- inent contractor of East Orange, New Jersey, whose wife was of the historic New Jersey Ford and Kitchell families. Mr. and Mrs. Ches- ney have four children: Malcolm L., Elizabeth, Margaret and Kath- erine. They reside on Dawes avenue, Pittsfield, and attend the First Congregational church.
ALLEN HENRY BAGG.
Allen Henry Bagg, mayor of Pittsfield, 1905 and 1906, is a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, born April 4, 1867, son of Edwin and Catharine (Hull) Bagg. He received a public school education, and found his first employment when sixteen years of age with the Peirson Hardware Company, Pittsfield, remaining therewith twenty years. being engaged in a managerial capacity at the time of his resignation. During the period of the above business Mr. Bagg made very successful invest- ments in local realty, much of which was improved by him.
His connection with Republican party politics has been close and active. Two years' efficient service in the Pittsfield city council was
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followed in 1903 by his inauguration of a movement for the nomination of business men of unquestioned character and standing for the various city offices. A committee was appointed to wait upon the gentlemen whose candidacies were sought, and a large majority of these consented and were subsequently nominated and elected. Mr. Bagg was elected to the board of aldermen of Pittsfield, and served as president of that body in 1904. He was elected to the mayoralty for 1905, and re-elected for the ensuing year.
He has taken an interest in Young Men's Christian Association work, assisting in the establishment of the Pittsfield branch, and serving for thirteen years as director and recording secretary. He is of the directorate of Pittsfield Cemetery Company, and had charge of the build- ing of the chapel given by the late Mrs. Edwin Clapp. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Berk- shire Chapter. Sons of the American Revolution, and the First Congre- gational church, Pittsfield.
He married, February 24, 1903. Mary Campbell Clapp. daughter of the late Edwin Clapp.
THE RUSSELL FAMILY.
The Russells of Pittsfield are lineally descended from William Rus- sell, who came from England between 1636 and 1645. He brought with him his wife Martha, and son Joseph, who was born in 1636. He and his wife were members of the church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1645, and their children were baptized there, although the second, who died in 1642, may have been born in England. He died in Cambridge, February 14. 1662, and his widow married, March 24, 1665, Humphrey Bradshaw, and (third) May 24. 1683, Thomas Hall. She died in 1694. William Russell had ten children. The fourth was
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John Russell, born in Cambridge, September 11, 1645, died March 6, 1723. He married Elizabeth Fiske, born probably 1654, daughter of David Fiske, the son of David Fiske, who was at Watertown in 1638.
Mr. Russell was at Cambridge Farms, Massachusetts, at the or- ganization of the parish in 1693, and the largest subscriber for the meeting house. He was an original member of the church in 1696. His wife was soon after a member of the church in Lexington. He was a wealthy and leading citizen, and held many offices in town and parish. (There was another John Russell who removed to Wethersfield.) Of his children the eldest was
John Russell, born in Lexington. Massachusetts, November 9, 1671. He married Rebecca They were admitted to the church in Lexington, April 10. 1715. He was one of the proprietors of Brimfield, Massachusetts, which was laid out in 1701. but not settled for over twenty years. In 1731 Mr. Russell was moderator of the town meeting, and in 1732 of the proprietors' meeting. All of his children settled in Brimfield. He had six children. The fourth was
John Russell, born in Brimfield, March 22. 1749, died in Chester- field. November 12, 1828. He married at Chesterfield. December 5, 1786, Sarah Rice, born in Brookfield. November 17. 1762, died in Pittsfield, June 18, 1847, daughter of Peter and Dinah Rice. He lived in Chesterfield. He was blind from the age of sixteen.
Solomon Lincoln Russell, born in Chesterfield. February 4, 1791. died in Pittsfield. January 8, 1882. He married. May 31, 1821. Wealthy Nash. born February 8. 1797, died in Pittsfield. May 21. 1858, daughter of Elijah and Paulina (Warner) Nash. of Conway, Massachusetts. He had eight children :
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I. Solomon Nash, born in Conway, August 1, 1822, married Caroline A. Wheeler.
2. Charles Lewis, born January 14, 1824, died February 13, 1872, unmarried.
3. Joseph, born May 17, 1826, married Sarah Rowley. He was a farmer in Hinsdale, Massachusetts.
4. Mary, born October 7, 1828, died September 7, 1862, unmar- ried.
Sarah, born October 7, 1828. married George L. Weed. Mr.
5. Weed was superintendent of deaf and dumb asylums in Columbus, Ohio, and Wisconsin, later removing to Philadelphia, where they now reside.
6. Zeno, born May 19, 1834, married Charlotte M. Rice, of Con- way, who survives him, with two children, Jane Austin and Henry Ruland. Mr. Russell died in 1881, and had been in the woolen business with the firm of S. N. and C. Russell.
7. Hezekiah Stone, born December 7, 1835, married Martha A. Rowley. He has been a manufacturer since 1863. He was a select- man of the town in 1887 and 1888, and was mayor of the city in 1900. He has had nine children, of whom three are married.
8. Franklin West, born August 22, 1841, is manager of the woolen business of the S. N. and C. R. Russell Manufacturing Com- pany.
SOLOMON NASH RUSSELL.
The Russell records heretofore given serve to show conclusively that from early colonial days the immediate descendants of William Rus- sell were useful and honorable members of society in Eastern Massa- chusetts. It is equally true that his more remote posterity have been and are important factors in the development of Western Massachusetts.
JE. herpell
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The first of these to locate in Berkshire county was Solomon Lincoln Russell, third of the eleven children of John and Sarah (Rice) Russell above referred to. Solomon L. Russell was born in Chesterfield, Hamp- shire county, Massachusetts, February 4, 1791, living to attain the great age of ninety-one years, his death occurring at Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts, January 8, 1882.
He married, May 31, 1821, Wealthy Nash, born February 8, 1797, died in Pittsfield, May 21, 1858, daughter of Elijah and Paulina (War- ner) Nash, of Conway, Massachusetts.
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