USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol I > Part 25
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Montreal, in 1884 was sent to North Adams, Berkshire county. Massa- chusetts, as assistant pastor, and in 1885 was transferred to Ware, Massachusetts, where he was located for about one year. In 1886 lie was given a pastorate at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where he organized a parish, which today stands as a monument to his labor. After four years' work in Fitchburg he went to Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, where he spent seven years, during which time he established schools and a convent. He was then transferred to Williamstown, Massa- chusetts, and after three years in that field was appointed pastor of the Notre Dame church, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, assuming charge in January. 1901, this house of worship being for the French speaking residents of Pittsfield. Since that time. a period of almost five years. he has accomplished remarkable achievements. He has purchased a parochial residence for the parish, has purchased a parcel of land for school purposes on Pearl street, whereon will be erected a Catholic school for French people about the year 1906, and has reduced the church debt some seven thousand dollars. There are about seventeen hundred attendants in three hundred and seventy-five families, all of whom are faithful and conscientious in the performance of their duties, and loyal to their church. and the work done by Father Baudouin was successful. During the past years he has had an assistant in the per- son of the Rev. A. J. Jacques. Father Baudouin is greatly beloved by his parishioners for his earnestness and untiring labors in their behalf.
JOHN SEELEY ADAMS.
For nearly fifty years the late John Seeley Adams was closely iden- tified with the manufacturing interests of Adams, and he was one of the most prominent factors in developing the natural resources of that locality, thus bringing it forward to the position of importance it now
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occupies in the industrial world. He came from a family of manufac- turers, being a son of Washington and Laura (Seeley) Adams, and is, therefore, a representative of two well known western Massachusetts families.
Washington Adams came from Great Barrington to Adams about the year 1852 and engaged in the manufacturing of cotton warp, as a member of the firm of Adams & Seeley, which erected the factory and inaugurated the business now conducted under the style of the Adams Brothers Manufacturing Company. He was one of the leading business men of Adams in his day, and resided here for the remainder of his life. Washington and Laura (Seeley) Adams were the parents of seven children, namely: George Washington, John Seeley, Mary, Charles, Henry, Frank and Ruth. Of these the only one now living is Henry, who resides in Adams.
Jolin Seeley Adams was born at Vandeusenville, in the town of Great Barrington, February 3, 1832. He attended school in southern Berkshire and resided there until the removal of his parents to Adams, and as a young man he entered the employ of his father. After the death of his father he entered the firm which became known as Adams Brothers and Company, the partners being George W. and John S. Adams. They produced large quantities of cotton warp of a superior quality which is extensively used in the textile industries, and the high standard of their products were never allowed to deteriorate, thus giv- ing them a prestige in the market which has been steadily maintained to the present time. The business expanded into such large proportions as to necessitate the superseding of the individual partnership concern by a corporation, which was duly organized as the Adams Brothers Manu- facturing Company, and John S. Adams eventually became its presi- dent, a position he was superabundantly qualified to occupy. He con-
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tinued to direct the affairs of the concern for the remainder of his life, and his business career was marked by a spirit of enterprise and opti- mism which not only brought substantial profits to his own corporation, but proved exceedingly beneficial to the general business interests of the town. In politics Mr. Adams acted with the Republican party and for two terms represented the third Berkshire district in the lower branch of the state legislature, serving with credit to himself and his constituency upon several important committees. He also served the town of Adams in various capacities, notably as water commissioner for a number of years, and for a period of six years in succession served as assessor without political opposition. He was prominently identified with the Masonic order, and one of the leading members of St. Mark's (Protes- tant Episcopal) church, in which latter he was for many years the senior warden; was one of its most liberal supporters financially, and was an- nually chosen to represent it in the diocesan convention. To the church as well as to his other trusts he gave the benefit of his superior business ability, and his death, which occurred September 13, 1903, was regarded as an irretrievable loss to the entire community. On November 10, 1857. Mr. Adams was joined in marriage with Miss Mar .. King, daughter of Dr. King, a well known Greek missionary of his ex, Mrs. Adams is still living, as are also their three children, namely: jonn S., Edith S. and Elizabeth.
John S. Adams, son of John Seeley and Mary (King) Adams, is a native of Adams and was educated in the public schools of that town. At the conclusion of his studies he entered his father's factory in a sub- ordinate capacity and acquired a complete knowledge of the business in all of its details. He married Miss Frances E. Judd. Their children are : Arthur K. and Myrtle Irene.
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WILLIAM AUGUSTIN DALY.
William Augustin Daly, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is an excel- lent representative of that class of men who, born abroad, came to the United States at so early an age that, while he preserved his national characteristics of energy, industry and indomitable resolution, his rear- ing was distinctively American, and when he came to enter upon his life's career it was with ample equipment and full knowledge of the con- ditions confronting him and of the obstacles to be conquered in the achievement of success.
He was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1833, son of Joseph A. and Elizabeth ( Kennedy) Daly. The father was a woolen weaver, and he followed his calling in Dublin, where he married and where his children were born. The woolen industry there having suffered great depression, he sought to improve his condition by removing with his family to Leeds. England. Here, however, he also failed to find sufficient em- ployment and after an arduous struggle of nine years he sailed for the United States. He brought with him a strong letter of recommenda- tion testifying to his skill as a workman and his worth as a man, and soon found employment-New York City was his landing place. He labored with a hearty will and strong determination, having as his stimulus the hope of soon sending for his family. In the course of two years he was enabled to consummate his purpose, and in 1844 his wife and family of children were again about him. It was in the days of the old fashioned sailing vessel, and the little family suffered serious discomfort during their long voyage of nearly two months. while the husband and father, knowing of the time of their departure, was mean- time filled with anxiety lest some fearful disaster should overtake them. For a short time the family made their home in Lebanon, New York,
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whence they removed to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. There Mr. Daly found work in the Stearns Woolen Mills, in West Pittsfield. Shortly afterward he took employment in the mills of L. Pomeroy & Sons, for whom he worked for a period of fourteen years. Mr. Daly then re- moved to Canaan, Connecticut, where he engaged in woolen manufacture on his own account. He entered upon this undertaking under auspi- cious circumstances, but was soon doomed to bitter disappointment, his mill taking fire and burning down, sweeping away all his property and means. The family then removed to Queensbury, New York, and here Mr. Daly died, in 1862, leaving the following children: John, born in 1823, who married Nora O'Brien, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and is now deceased; Jane, born in 1825, who married James Glennon, of Pittsfield, and they reside in Taconic, Pittsfield; Joseph, born in 1827, who is deceased, and whose first wife was Maria Denney, and his second wife was Eliza Farrell; James, born 1829, who married Susan Mc- Donough and reared a large family ; William A., to be further referred to; Eliza, and Sarah, who never married and live together in Pittsfield.
William Augustin Daly, of the family before named, was a lad of eleven years when he accompanied his mother to this country. He brought with him all the fresh anticipations and buoyant hopes of youth, and also the energy and sense of responsibility of a man. He aided his father to the utmost by his labor, in order to provide for the wants of the numerous children. At the same time he did not lose sight of what was needed for his own advantage and his future usefulness, and, unable to avail himself of the advantages of the day school, he pursued his studies at night. and acquired a good practical education, paying particular attention to those branches which he deemed as most ad- vantagecus. After the death of his father he and his brothers estab- lished themselves in a woolen manufactory at Queensbury, New York.
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They conducted a successful business for a period of eight years, when misfortune paid them a second visit, their mill being burned down, as had been one during the lifetime of their father, then removed to Fair Haven, Vermont, but after a short stay there in 1870 William A. Daly returned to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he entered the employ of E. B. Whit- tlesey, and subsequently became superintendent in the mill of J. L. Peck. After a sojourn here of eight months he returned to the mills of L. Pomeroy & Sons, to take the position of overseer in the weaving room. He acquitted himself in this capacity most usefully and creditably for five years, then removing to Middlefield, Massachusetts, where he ac- cepted a similar position in the mills of J. K. West & Company. He was so employed when (in 1880) he had premonitions of failing health, and he went south in hope of beneficial results, remaining eight years, and during a portion of this time serving as superintendent of a woolen mill near Atlanta, Georgia. Returning in 1888, he entered the Taconic mills at Pittsfield, where he remained for three years, and for the fol- lowing seven years worked in the Pontoosuc mills at Pittsfield. In 1902 he again went south and again entered the employ of the same company for which he had served more than twenty years before, and with which he yet remains. Mr. Daly is known as one of the most capable woolen manufacturers in the country. He has witnessed and participated in every stage of the development of the woolen industry from its primitive to the most advanced methods, and is able to point back to many im- provements in processes as the fruits of his own labor and thought. His life has been one of phenomenal industry, and a census of the labor- ers in his peculiar field would discover few whose experiences would equal his own, and none who could surpass him. His personal traits are such as are befitting one with so excellent a business record. Like the others of his family, he has been strictly temperate through his life,
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and to this fact he attributes in large degree the success which he has achieved and the vigor which has enabled him to continue in a life of unremittent effort, not unattended with disappointments and sorrow. A Roman Catholic in religion, he has always taken an active interest in the maintenance of St. Joseph's church, Pittsfield, and its large and varied benevolences, while at the same time he is liberal in his response to the call of the individual distressed and afflicted. In politics 'his affiliations are with the Democratic party.
In 1857 Mr. Daly married Miss Mary Donohue, daughter of James and Margaret (Hughes) Donohue. Of this marriage were born eight children, of whom six survive: I. Margaret, born in 1858, died at the age of eighteen years. 2. Augustin J., born 1861, who is a lawyer by profession and mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, years 1904 to 1905. 3. William, born in 1863, died when three and one-half years old. 4. Elizabeth, born in 1867, who is unmarried, and makes her home with her brother, Augustin J., in Cambridge. 5. Jennie, born in 1870, who married John Rencenhausen. 6. Frank, born in 1872, who is a printer, and a member of the firm of Gorman & Daly, and makes his home with his father. 7. William, born in 1876, who is an overseer in the Taconic Mills. 8. Annie, born in 1880, married Edward Hall, a contractor of Pittsfield.
The mother of these children, a most exemplary woman, and de- voted wife and mother, departed this life in 1898. The bereaved hus- band has never ceased to suffer under this deep affliction, and it has left its impression upon his health, notwithstanding his robust appearance. The parents have reared to manhood and womanhood a noble family of children, all of whom have entered upon lives of usefulness and enjoy the esteem of a wide circle of friends.
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REV. HOWARD MURRAY DUMBELL.
The Rev. Howard Murray Dumbell, rector of the Protestant Epis- copal Church of St. James, at Great Barrington, Berkshire county, Mas- sachusetts, comes of an excellent English stock, and members of the fam- ily are borne upon the titled rolls of Great Britain. His paternal uncle, Sir Alfred Dumbell, was high bailiff (or chief magistrate) of Ramsey, Isle-of-Man, deemster, and clerk of the rolls. He was knighted by Queen Victoria shortly before the death of that most excellent sovereign. A paternal aunt of Mr. Dumbell is Lady Cuyler.
Howard Murray Dumbell was born December 12, 1864, in Liver- pool, England, son of George William and Georgiana Mary (Cox) Dum- bell. The father, born November 6, 1832, son of George William Dum- bell, banker, of Douglas, was educated at the Rugby school (so well known to American readers through " Tom Brown's School Days "), by Hon. Thomas Hughes. M. P., and at the University of Cambridge. He was secretary of the Hull Dock Company, in Hull. England, for ten years, and held a commission as captain in the First East York Rifles. He came to the United States in November, 1876, and settled in Texas. where he acquired a large ranch near the Mexican frontier. He was brought up in the Church of England, and in 1878 received priest's orders in the Protestant Episcopal church. He built two church edifices in Chattanooga, Tennessee, remodeled one in Jackson, in the same state, and built a church in Sherbrooke. Quebec. His wife. Georgiana Mary Cox, was a daughter of the Hon. Austin Cox, one of the Puisne judges of British Honduras.
Their son, Howard Murray Dumbell, received his early instruction under a governess and tutors in England, and further pursued his educa- tion under tutors in his home on the Texas frontier. He entered the
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University of the South, at Sewanee, Tennessee, and made his theolog- ical studies in the Theological Seminary of the same institution. As a young man. he entered the service of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company, at headquarters, Oscar G. Murray, Esq., general freight agent, now president of that corporation. He also aided in run- ning the line over the International and Great Northern Railway from San Antonio, Texas (the first line in Texas to use the steel rails), to Laredo, Mexico. In 1891 Mr. Dumbell was ordained to the priest- hood of the Protestant Episcopal church, and at once entered upon a career of great usefulness. He was dean of the Cathedral of Tennessee from January, 1893, until February, 1895. In that year he was called to the rectorship of St. Paul's church in Brooklyn, New York city. He served with this church until Christmas day, 1899, when he accepted a call to the rectorship of St. James' church at Great Barrington, Massa- chusetts, and has since that time devoted his energies to the interests of his parish. Inheriting the best traditions of the historic old church of time-hallowed memories, and familiar with its practice and usages through his early associations in a section where it flourished without contamination, he came to his service as a clergyman with deep-rooted principles as well as an admirable mental equipment. He has endeared himself to his people perhaps more closely than had he been " Native here and to the manner born." though it is to be said is a thorough American by free choice and out of an ardent appreciation of American institutions and opportunities for usefulness. He became a naturalized citizen shortly after coming to Great Barrington. It is worthy of re- mark that under the Rev. Dumbell's efficient rectorship St. James parish las materially increased its membership, property interests and service attendance, particularly the last named, having developed a power for good in the community that cannot be overestimated. He has allied
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himself with no political organization, but inclines toward Republican- ism. His energetic services as first president of the board of trade at- tested his interest in local affairs. He is a member and chaplain of Cincinnatus Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Dumbell married, April 8, 1890, Miss Anna Pattison Sherrod, daughter of Dr. John I. Sherrod, who was a veteran of the great civil war, and niece of the Hon. Henry Sherrod, who was United States senator from Tennessee. Mrs. Dumbell is a graduate of Tipton ·Female Seminary at Covington, near Memphis, Tennessee. The children of the Rev. Howard Murray and Anna Pattison (Sherrod) Dumbell are : Howard Murray Dumbell, born in Memphis, Tennessee, July 3, 1891 ; George William Dumbell, born in Memphis, Tennessee, September 5. 1893: Eric Sherrod Dumbell, born in New York City, March 4, 1896; Edith Dumbell, born in Great Barrington, April 17, 1903.
CHARLES GIDDINGS.
A prominent member of the legal profession of Berkshire county is Charles Giddings, of Great Barrington. Mr. Giddings is a representa- tive of an old New England family, tracing his descent from George Giddings, who came from England about 1700 and settled in the eastern part of Massachusetts. His descendants participated in the colonial wars.
Edward J. Giddings was a minister of the Congregational church and filled pastorates at different places in Massachusetts. He married Rebecca J. Fuller, a lineal descendant of Dr. Fuller of the "May- flower " company. Of the five children born to them four are now living : Franklin H., a member of the faculty of Columbia College, oc- cupying the chair of Sociology: Edward F., a lawyer in New York;
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Carrie L., of Chicago: and Charles. mentioned at length hereinafter. Some time before his death Mr. Giddings retired from the active work- of the ministry, and closed his life of unostentatious usefulness April 15. 1904, at Boston, while visiting his son Charles, then a member of the legislature.
Charles Giddings, son of Edward J. and Rebecca J. (Fuller) Gid- (lings, was born May 10, 1867, at Housatonic, Berkshire county, where he received his preparatory education in the Great Barrington high school, and afterward entered Williams College, class of '89. He was prepared for his chosen profession in the law department of New York University. from which he received his degree in 1891, and in 1893 was admitted to the bar. January 1. 1895. he entered upon the active prac- tice of his profession. Mr. Giddings has always taken a leading part in public affairs and is well and favorably known as a political speaker. In 1892 he was actively engaged in the Cleveland campaign. He has acted as moderator at town meetings, and served as delegate to Demo- cratic state conventions. In the autumn of 1893 he was elected to the legislature, and again in 1902 was elected to the legislature and also in 1903. In the latter named year he served on the judiciary committee. and in 1904 on that committee and also on the committee on rules. He was his party's nominee for congress in the first congressional district of Massachusetts. 1904. Notwithstanding the constant pressure of urgent professional and political demands Mr. Giddings takes an active interest in local affairs, and is chairman of the school committee of Great Barrington. It was Mr. Giddings' vigorous work as a member of the legislature in the face of equally vigorous opposition that led to the removal from the heart of the village of Housatonic its progress blocking relic of a former day, the ancient burying ground. He is a member of the Masonic order. and the college Greek letter societies.
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He attends the Congregational church. Mr. Giddings married, Sep- tember 20, 1899, Edith M., daughter of the late Theodore G. Ramsdell, of Housatonic, and they are the parents of two children: Mary R. and Janet F. Joshua R. Giddings, the noted Ohio abolitionist, was a col- lateral connection of the family of which Mr. Giddings is a represent- ativc.
REV. THOMAS H. MCLAUGHLIN.
It is reasonable to infer that there were Catholic people residing in Adams prior to the year 1840, as mention is made of a considerable number of Irish families having established themselves in North Adams as early as 1825, and some of them no doubt found homes within the precincts of the present town of Adams. The first Roman Catholic religious service in Adams, of which there is any record, was held in the dwelling house of Michael Madden. where the Rev. Bernard Cav- anagh, then pastor of the Pittsfield parish, celebrated mass in 1845. On various occasions afterwards, as opportunity permitted, the same clergyman continued to keep alive the religious spirit among the Cath- olics by celebrating mass in a house located on the mill grounds until a small hall on Main street was secured for this purpose. During the rectorship of Father Cuddihy and that of his successor, Father Purcell. the mission was fostered by these zealous Pittsfield priests, who gave to it as much time as could be spared from their regular duties, which in those early days were exceedingly arduous. In 1863 the Rev. Father Charles Lynch was appointed pastor at North Adams, and that clergy- man was able thereafter to give Adams more attention. This fact he soon manifested by purchasing the old Congregational meeting house. which he removed to a lot on Park street and remodeled into an edifice suitable for Roman Catholic worship. On September 12, 1875. Adams
Pros & Too Long how
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was raised from a mission to the dignity of a parish, which became known as that of St. Thomas, and the Rev. E. F. McCourt was ap- pointed its first rector. Father McCourt purchased for the sum of six- teen thousand dollars the land on which the church and rectory now stand, and he continued to labor in the interests of the parish diligently and along progressive lines for the remainder of his life. He died in January, 1880, deeply regretted by his parishioners, and in February. 1881, was succeeded by the Rev. Dennis C. Moran. For some years the old church had been inadequate to the needs of the parish, and Father Moran continued the work of his predecessor leading to the erection of a larger church edifice, the corner stone of which was laid by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Beaven. of the Springfield diocese, May 17. 1896, and the building, sufficiently advanced in construction for pur- poses of worship, was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies by the same prelate, May 9. 1897.
Rev Father Dennis C. Moran, who labored so earnestly and success- fully in behalf of St. Thomas' church, was born in Luffaney, parish of Carrigan. county Kilkenny, Ireland, July 11, 1841. His education. which was begun under the direction of the Christian Brothers, was con- tinued at St. John's College. Waterford, from whence he came to the United States and resumed his studies at Holy Cross College, Worcester. Massachusetts, in 1863. He studied theology at St. Sulpice, Paris, for two years, at the expiration of which time he entered St. Patrick's Col- lege. Carlow, Ireland, where his theological preparations were com- pleted, and he was ordained to the priesthood there for the Boston dio- cese. November 5. 1865. Returning to America he was in April, 1866, assigned to duty as curate under his uncle, Rev. William Moran, then rector at Ware, this state, and five months later was transferred to Lowell. In May. 1868, he began the duties of his first pastorate, that
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of Uxbridge. Massachusetts, where he remained until selected to organ- ize the parish at Winchendon, this state, July 31, 1871, and he continued his labors there until appointed to the rectorate of St. Thomas' church, Adams. His labors in that town during the succeeding nineteen years are fully attested by the importance acquired by the parish under his charge, and the successful culmination of its building operations, and his passing away, which occurred on Sunday morning. July 23, 1899, as the result of a lingering illness brought on by long continued overwork. not only saddened the hearts of his devoted parishioners, but was regarded by all classes, irrespective of race or creed, as a severe loss to the entire community.
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