USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol I > Part 6
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have been given place in the rooms of the Berkshire Athenaeum, whose librarian and curator is Harlan H. Ballard, president of the Agassiz Association.
How fertile a field is Berkshire county for such investigations is evidenced by a citation from the illustrated catalogue pamphlet issued by the Athenaeum authorities in 1904, with reference to the ornitho- logical display in the Museum. This recites the interesting fact that during the months of May and June there is in the eastern United States no better place to study bird life than on the grounds of the Pittsfield Country Club. From the club house, almost any morning in mid-May, can be identified by sight or hearing at least twenty-five species of birds. During a three hours stroll through the grounds, on May 14, 1904, fifty-one species were recognized, while in one single minute the notes of no less than nine different species were heard. According to Ralph Hoffman, of the one hundred and ninety-seven species of birds that inhabit the highways, water-courses, fields and forests of Berkshire, about ninety are residential, remaining during the entire year. Of "cottagers," to use a local term, there are sixteen species. These spend the winter in the south, some as far away as Central or South America, returning in the spring to build their nests and rear their broods. Then there are the "transients," that winter either in the north or south, and are only seen as they pass over in their migrations. All these many and interesting species are displayed in the ornithological department of the Museum.
FORT MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Fort Massachusetts Historical Society grew primarily out of the effort of Mrs. Jennie Paul Goodrich, and the ladies whom she
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associated with herself for the patriotic purpose of preserving the identity of the site of the famous old stockade known as Fort Massachusetts, built in 1745, and destroyed by the French and Indians in August, 1746, and afterwards rebuilt. The site is about one and a quarter miles west of the centre of the city of North Adams, and its only marker for many years was " The Perry Elm," a tree planted in 1857, near where stood the northeast corner of the stockade, by Professor Arthur Perry, of Williams College, assisted by students of that institution. This is now a large and flourishing tree.
Some years ago the owner of the land including the stockade site purposed dividing the tract into building sites, and Mrs. Goodrich's proposal to purchase that portion which was of historic worth met with a cordial response from the women of North Adams. In order to pro- cure means for their purpose, they obtained the use of the Hoosac Val- ley News, through the generous cooperation of its proprietor. Edward A. McMillin, and put out a special issue of that paper on November 23. 1895, comprising twenty-four pages, and of which five thousand copies were printed. All the labor upon this issue, except that purely me- chanical, was performed by the women who had lent themselves to this praiseworthy task, and women alone contributed to its columns, their essays and other writings presenting a most meritorious array of orig- inal work ; while they also secured through their own efforts a very large advertising patronage. This venture brought to its authors a sum of thirteen hundred dollars, which was used in the purchase of a portion of the land desired. More needed to be obtained, however, and to accom- plish this purpose eighteen persons, representatives of the older fam- ilies of North Adams, met on October 14, 1896, in St. John's Parish House, to perfect the organization of the Fort Massachusetts His- torical Society, a charter for which they had procured January 18th,
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preceding. According to the terms of this instrument " the purpose for which this corporation is formed is to purchase, preserve and improve the site of Fort Massachusetts." Accordingly one and a half acres were purchased, covering a trifle more than the original stockade ground, at an outlay of three thousand dollars, all of which has been liquidated except about four hundred dollars.
In 1897 a flagstaff was reared upon the stockade site by the Society. and from it was displayed on October 23d of that year, a beautiful na- tional flag, the gift of Mrs. Hiram Sibley, a former resident of North Adams. The flag was drawn to its place by Professor Lewis Perry, of Williams College, son of Professor Arthur Perry, who forty years before had planted the commemorative elm. This flag has since been displayed on all patriotic occasions.
The intention of the Society is, as soon as practicable, to erect a permanent monument to mark the historic site of Fort Massachusetts. What form this will take has not yet been decided, but it is safe to as- stime that it will be in every manner worthy of the spot and of the Society.
Mr. A. C. Houghton, then first mayor of the city of North Adams. in 1897 donated to the city a building for a public library. In his deed of gift he reserved two rooms for the use of the Fort Massachusetts Historical Society. In these rooms are contained a valuable collection of portraits of early pioneers, manuscripts, maps, prints, engravings, to- gether with domestic utensils, weapons, agricultural implements, and other relics of the pioneer days. all possessing peculiar historical inter- est. and which will have an ever increasing value as the years go by. The rooms are much frequented by school teachers and students of the neighborhood, as well as by the hundreds of tourists who visit the Berkshires during the summer months.
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The annual meetings of the Society have been largely educative to the public, and on these occasions are heard speakers of high ability and wide reputation. At the October meeting in 1905 the Society dined at the Wellington, two hundred persons being present. Among the speakers were Mr. C. Q. Richmond, toastmaster; Judge George P. Lawrence; F. F. Murdock, principal of the Normal School; Dr. John Bascom, of the Greylock Reservation Commission; and Professor Lewis Perry, of Williams College.
The original officers of the Society were as follows: S. W. Bray- ton, since deceased, president ; Colonel F. S. Richardson, secretary ; Mrs. C. Q. Richmond, treasurer ; Mrs. Jennie Paul Goodrich, registrar. For the past six years Dr. John Bascom has been president; and the other officers are: W. Arthur Gallup, vice-president ; Edward A. Mc- Millin, secretary ; Mrs. Hannah B. Richmond, treasurer; Mrs. Jennie Paul Goodrich, registrar and custodian. There is also an executive committee consisting of Charles H. Cutting, F. W. Wilcoxson, C. Q. Richmond, Valmore Whitaker, Mrs. Edward W. Blackinton, Mrs. S. W. Brayton, Mrs. Mary Hunter Williams, Miss Angie Blackinton.
SONS AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
Berkshire County Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, was founded through the action of a meeting held in Pittsfield, April 15, 1887, as a result of which a committee representing every town in the county was appointed to secure members. The application to the State Society for a charter was signed by thirty-one citizens of Berkshire county, and the charter was granted April 19, 1889. A constitution was adopted and the first board of officers elected was as follows: Wel- lington Smith, president; John M. Stevenson, A. J. McCulloch and
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Charles H. Evans, vice-presidents: Rollin H. Cooke, secretary and registrar ; Donelson M. Peck, treasurer; J. F. L. Adams, historian ; Rev. S. L. Rowland, chaplain : T. W. Richmond, James W. Hull, Keyes Danforth, F. J. Barrett, A. T. Treadway, managers.
The Society has brought about the placing of markers at the graves of many revolutionary soldiers in every town in the county, hav- ing met with the willing cooperation of all the town officials concerned. The Chapter is now completing a laborious task well begun by Mr. Rol- lin H. Cooke (and whose ambition it was to bring it to completion, a consummation defeated by his tragic death), the compilation of a record of all revolutionary soldiers from Berkshire county, with the dates of birth and death, the roll being intended to include the very many who emigrated to other states after the revolution.
The present officers of the Chapter are as follows: Allen H. Bagg, president ; Edward T. Slocum, James H. Punderson, Roscoe C. Taft, vice-presidents : Joseph E. Peirson, secretary and registrar : William C. Stevenson, treasurer; J. F. Alleyne Adams, historian; Rev. J. E. C. Sawyer, chaplain; N. H. Sabin, A. J. McCulloch, H. D. Sisson, John M. Stevenson, Edward H. Brewer, board of managers.
The following is the list of members :
Adams, J. F. Alleyne, Pittsfield.
Bagg, Allen H., Pittsfield.
Barrett, Frank J., Lenox.
Brewer, Edward H., Dalton.
Brown, Howard P., Pittsfield.
Brown, W. T. Kendall, Pittsfield.
Bush, Edward H., Dalton. Brooks, Thomas L., Pittsfield.
Chapin, Clifford S., Great Barrington.
Clark, Eliot A., Pittsfield.
Drowne. Charles N., Pittsfield.
Evans, Charles H., Great Barrington.
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Gale, Bennett T., Lee.
Hale, Edward P., Lenox.
Hull, James W., Pittsfield.
Joyner, Frank H., Pittsfield.
Kellogg. Charles W., Pittsfield.
Kimball, Daniel A., Stockbridge.
Lawrence, Edgar T., Pittsfield.
Manning, John H., Pittsfield.
McCulloch, Almiron J., Savoy.
Moore, Marcus T., Pittsfield.
Peck, Donelson M., Pittsfield.
Peirson, Frank E., Pittsfield.
Peirson, Joseph E., Pittsfield.
Punderson, James H., Stockbridge.
Root, Henry A., Pittsfield.
Sabin, N. Henry, Williamstown.
Sawyer, J. E. C., Williamstown.
Sisson, Harry D., Pittsfield.
Slocum, Edward T., Pittsfield.
Smith, Wellington, Lee. Smith, Augustus.R., Lee.
Stevenson, John M., Pittsfield.
Stevenson, William C., Pittsfield.
Taft, Roscoe C., Egremont.
Treadway, Allen T., Stockbridge.
Warner, Milton B., Pittsfield.
Whittlesey, William A., Pittsfield.
DAUGHTERS AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
The Peace Party Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, was organized February 5, 1897, with twenty charter members, through the efforts of Mrs. James B. Crane, who was afterward chosen regent. The name of the chapter was chosen in commemoration of a large party given by the citizens of Pittsfield in the autumn of 1783 to celebrate the ratification of peace following the termination of the Revolutionary war.
The Chapter Day occurs in November, the month in which occurred the famous Peace Party above mentioned. The annual election of
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officers takes place in January. Until recently four meetings have been held each year, the others being, in addition to those just named, in April and August, nearly all on dates commemorating some Revolutionary war event in which ancestors of chapter members were present. In the month of October. 1905, it was decided to hold meetings once each month during the ensuing winter.
In April is commemorated the battle of Lexington, by awarding prizes to pupils in the high school of Pittsfield for the best essay on some Revolutionary subject. In August, or near the date of the battle of Bennington, a field meeting has been held which thus far has proven one of the most satisfactory meetings of the year. In 1902 the Chap- ter made a pilgrimage to the scene of this memorable encounter.
Soon after the organization of the Chapter the nation became in- volved in the war with Spain. Although the Chapter, as a body, took no prominent part in relieving the sufferings of the sick and wounded of the American army, many individual members gave generously of money as well as of time, their gifts amounting in the aggregate to not less than four thousand dollars. In its corporate capacity the Chapter has contributed liberally to the national work of the Daughters of the American Revolution : to the erection of the tomb of Mary Washing- ton; to the building of the home in Washington for the Society at large: to the statue of Washington designed by Mr. Daniel French, and erected in Paris during the year of the Exposition; and to other objects of general interest. It has erected in the park in the centre of the city of Pittsfield a beautiful sun-dial to commemorate the famous "Old Elm," a native forest tree particularly identified with the history of the city and county.
Through the aid of the late Rollin H. Cooke and the efforts of a very capable committee, the Chapter has located more graves of Revo-
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lutionary soldiers than any other Chapter in the Union. The Chapter has provided Revolutionary markers for these graves, cleaned and straightened the headstones, and on Decoration Day adorns them with wreaths of evergreen.
During the eight years of its existence the Chapter has increased in membership from twenty to seventy-two. It has had two real Daugh- ters of the Revolution: Mrs. Ann Eliza Prentice, who is yet living; and Mrs. Mary Thompson, deceased. Other members who have passed away are as follows : Mrs. Julia C. Mitchell Weston, Mrs. Mary Brew- ster Adam, Mrs. Mary Goodrich Crane, who was the first regent; and Mrs. Frances Stevenson Beach.
The present officers of the Chapter are: Mrs. Caroline Whittle- sey, regent ; Mrs. Harriet O. Slocum, vice-regent ; Mrs. Florence N. Peirson, secretary; Miss Clara Bridgman, assistant secretary; Mrs. Mabel W. Peirson, treasurer; Mrs. Margaret Baldwin, registrar; Mrs. Hattie C. Stevenson, historian. The following is the membership roll :
Miss Lilian B. Adams.
Mrs. Sara Andrews (G. W.), Dalton.
Mrs. Margaret Baldwin (E. G.).
Mrs. Emma Bardwell (R. G.).
Miss Olive Barker.
Mrs. Achsah A. Beach (W. N.), Williamstown.
Mrs. Marion Brackin (J. A.).
Miss Fanny Brewster.
Miss Clara Bridgman, Dalton.
Mrs. Mary Bridgman (E. A.). Dalton.
Mrs. Anna F. Bennett, Lanesboro.
Mrs. Ella C. Bryant (C. M.), Williamstown.
Mrs. Avis E. Burton (S. C.).
Mrs. Elizabeth Chapin (A. N.).
Mrs. Harriet Chickering.
Miss Annie Clapp.
Mrs. S. H. Clapp. Mrs. Kate Clary. Mrs. Mary Clark (Eliot).
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Mrs. Abbie Cooley (W. . H.), AAbroad. Mrs. Almira Cooley (S. M.). Mrs. Ellen J. Crane (Zenas), Dalton. Miss Clara L. Crane, Dalton. Mrs. Ellen H. Cranston (W. H.). Mrs. Nancy M. Dodge. Mrs. Mary Foote (W. B.). Miss Emeline Foxcroft. Mrs. Harriette W. Francis. Mrs. Nellie Gardener (W. R.). Miss Mary J. Goodrich, Stockbridge. Miss Ethel Hawkins. Mrs. Lilian Haynes (S. T.).
Mrs. Frances Hammond, Abroad. Mrs. Mary L. Hinsdale (J. H.). Mrs. Isabel A. Jones (E. A.).
Miss Harriet Kilbourne. Mrs. Anna Laird (J. H.), Hinsdale.
Mrs. Minnie M. Lament ( Harry). Mrs. Eliza L. Lane. Mrs. A. M. A. Lombard (L. A.), Abroad.
Mrs. Sylvia Loveless. Mrs. Madeline B. Norton (A. A.), Boston.
Mrs. Alice Nachtmann, Albany.
Mrs. Alida Orr (John). Mrs. Henrietta Parker (R. T.).
Mrs. Elizabeth Partridge (H. W.).
Mrs. Mary Allen Peck (T. L.). Mrs. Florence N. Peirson (F. E.). Mrs. Mabel W. Peirson (J. E.).
Mrs. Louise C. Pomeroy (T. L.). Mrs. Kate C. Plunkett (G. T.), Hinsdale. Miss Mary E. Porter.
Mrs. Eliza Prentice. Mrs. Martha Read (F. F.). Miss Florence Read, Pontoosuc. Mrs. Mary Rifenbergh. Mrs. Florence Roberts ( Fred).
Mrs. Jennie Root (J. A.). Mrs. Fannie Robbins ( F. A.). Springfield.
Mrs. Lena Robertson (M. W.). Mrs. Caroline Smart (W. S.). Adams. Mrs. Louise P. Shedd ( Horace). Mrs. Anna Stevens (L. A.).
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Mrs. Harriet O. Slocum ( E. T.).
Mrs. Hattie C. Stevenson ( J. M.).
Mrs. Sarah G. Stevenson ( Will).
Mrs. Seraph H. Stevenson.
Mrs. Isabel J. Stone (J. B.).
Mrs. Susan B. Snyder ( Henry). Cheyenne. Wyo.
Mrs. Emily Tilden ( George).
Mrs. Ellen Tracy ( W. A.).
Mrs. Martha Wadhams.
Miss Maria Warriner.
Miss Mary Wellington.
Mrs. Anna M. Wentworth (W. H.).
Mrs. Caroline W. Whittlesey (W. A.).
Mrs. Olivia L. Wilson ( N. H.).
Dr. Alfreda Withington.
Miss Minnie H. Wolfe.
Mrs. Luella S. Wocdruff (R. A.).
Mrs. Helen M. Wright (C. H.).
Mrs. Kate Clary.
Mrs. Ford.
Mrs. S. Harold Clapp.
BERKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
This notable society had its beginning in a meeting held in Pitts- field, on January 30, 1808, at the tavern of Captain Pepoon. This meeting had been brought about by Elkanah Watson, who had exhib- ited the previous fall two fine merino sheep, a ram and a ewe, the first of that breed ever brought to New England. They attracted much attention, and he reasoned that a display of more animals, on a large scale, would have a good effect. During the winter he urged the intro- duction of merino sheep, and finally brought about the meeting of Jan- uary 30th.
Mr. Watson's first exhibit was on a spot about which cluster many historical associations, the present City Park, and which remained in its natural state until about 1812. Its most conspicuous feature was
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"The Old Elin," a magnificent tree standing near the present centre of the Park, rearing itself to a height of one hundred and twenty feet. its first limb branching out ninety feet above the ground. In its shade much transpired which made the history of Pittsfield notable. In 1825 it looked down upon the great ovation given to General Lafayette, who made a visit to the town and was received with great ceremony and en- thusiasm. The tree finally became unsafe, and in 1862 was cut down. It was commemorated in " Taghconic," by Joseph E. A. Smith :
" You must have heard of the old Elm of Pittsfield Park. It has its place of fame among The Trees of America; and has had this many a year. It is not long since it rose here, among the young green growth, the scarred and seared veteran of centuries. Straight into the air it sprang, one hundred and twenty-six feet ; a tall grey pillar, bearing for sole capital a few green branches, and a few withered, shattered and bare limbs. From Greylock to Monument Mountain there was no inanimate thing so revered and venerable. Nor had it grown thus without a story. and one with which the stories of others, and human lives, were closely entwined."
Under " the Old Elm" Elkanah Watson exhibited his sheep, and here was held, in 1810, the first "cattle show," notable as the real be- ginning of the Berkshire Agricultural Society, which, while not the first organization of the kind in the country, was the first in Massa- chusetts. True, " The Western Society of Middlesex Farmers " had been formed in 1794, and was incorporated in 1803, but it was not in purpose what the Berkshire Society was. The farmers present at the cattle show of 1810, under the inspiration of Mr. Watson, determined that the institution should be made permanent, and at the next session of the legislature a charter was procured for the " Berkshire Agricult- ural Society for the Promotion of Agriculture and Manufactures." The officers at organization were: Elkanah Watson, president ; William
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Walker and S. H. Wheeler, vice-presidents; Caleb Hyde, corresponding secretary ; Thomas B. Strong, recording secretary : John B. Root, treas- urer ; Joseph Shearer, Ezckiel Bacon, and Jonathan Allen, trustees. The fair of 1811 witnessed a procession of domestic animals, including sixty yoke of oxen drawing a plow, and floats containing cloth making ma- chinery in operation, and specimens of Berkshire county manufactures. Premiums were first awarded, in 1812 and 1813. to women for articles of their own production. A decided innovation was introduced in 1814, a committee of practical farmers being sent into the fields through- out the county to award premiums for standing crops. A legislative appropriation of two hundred dollars annually for three years was made in 1816, and this was followed two years later by an act granting aid to all county societies which should comply with certain conditions. The Berkshire Society first awarded premiums in plowing matches in 1818. As the Society gradually developed it became a principal model for others, and Thomas Gold, the third president, said in 1822: " The fame and influence have extended over the entire surface of the United States, its example followed, its approbation courted by its ex- tended offspring. It has been recognized, as well in Europe as in America, as an original novel plan, and the most excellent organization ever conceived to promote the great interests under its patronage." An effort was made in 1823 to procure a permanent location for fair grounds, but it languished until 1855, when a tract of nearly thirty acres of land was purchased from William W. Goodman, at an outlay of twenty-two hundred dollars. The grounds lie about a mile and a half north of the Pittsfield Park, and command a magnificent view of the surrounding country. There was erected an Agricultural Hall, and later a dining hall, while suitable sheds and barns have been built from time to time. On the grounds is a half-mile track for speeding purposes.
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Elkanah Watson declined a re-election as president in 1814, and in 1816 removed from the county. He died in Port Kent, New York, in 1842, aged eighty-four years. He always regarded with great pride his labors in Berkshire county, and the inscription upon his monument records him as "The Founder and First President of the Berkshire Agricultural Society."
BERKSHIRE AND COLUMBIA MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
This society was organized February 21, 1798, and has the dis- tinction of being the first missionary society in the United States. At the first meeting twenty-three were enrolled as members, each pledging to give one dollar annually.
The object of the society was "to send missionaries to destitute fields to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to distribute Bibles, Vincent's Catechism, and tracts." The territory which supported the society embraced Berkshire county and the adjoining county, Columbia, New York. Collections were taken annually in the Congregational churches of these counties. The first collection received was from the church in Spencertown, Columbia county, and amounted to $5.64. The first year two missionaries were sent out: Rev. Joseph Brogen to the Susquehanna, and Rev. Beriah Hotchkin to the " Western Settle- ments," which extended westward from the Mohawk Valley. For many years missions were sustained in the states of Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont. In 1805 a donation of " Bibles, Testaments, Prim- ers and Dialogues " was received from a gentleman in Boston. Dona- tions came in from other distant places. Female cent societies figure among the donors. In time, after the formation of national and state missionary, Bible and tract societies, Columbia county ceased to con-
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tribute, but Berkshire county has still an organization and a fund, the income from which still is devoted to home work among the feeble churches of the county.
At its last annual meeting, held February 20, 1905, it was voted to make efforts to increase the present fund so that a sufficient income can be realized to support in full a county missionary. The present officers of the society are: President. Judge Edward T. Slocum, of Pittsfield: Vice-President, Rev. George A. Andrews, of Dalton; Treas- urer, John L. Kilburn, of Lee; Secretary, William G. Harding, of Pitts- field: auditor, Edward S. Rogers, of Lee; and a board of seven trus- tees.
BERKSHIRE COUNTY HOME FOR AGED WOMEN.
In 1899 the sons of Mr. Zenas Marshal Crane erected at Pittsfield, as a memorial to their father, the elegant edifice known as the Berk- shire County Home for Aged Women, and which, since its founding, has supplied to many lonely ones the lack of love and kindly attention of kindred. In June of the same year the matron and two old ladies entered upon the occupancy of the building. At the outset many peo- ple, and among them some who gave to the institution their most de- voted effort, were skeptical as to the real necessity of such a Home, and seriously doubted if there could be found a sufficient number of persons of the class for which it was intended, to justify its main- tenance. But if it was slow in making known its reasons for its exist- once, it has amply vindicated itself and taken an enduring place among the worthy charities of Berkshire county.
Since the institution opened its doors, sixty-one old ladies have been received as inmates, thirty have died, nine have withdrawn or been
2 anas Gram 1801.
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dismissed. and twenty-two are now inmates. The Board of Control is officered as follows: Mrs. Zenas Crane, president; Mrs. C. W. Kel- logg, vice-president; Mrs. William Newton, honorary vice-president : Mrs. Edward T. Slocum, secretary; Mrs. Minnie R. Trowbridge, treas- uirer.
The corporation numbers two hundred and thirty contributing mem- hers. Besides the home care provided for the inmates of the institu- tion, each year various entertainments are gotten up for their enjoy- ment-teas at private residences, sociables, and seats at lectures, theat- rical performances, concerts, etc. The annual cost of maintaining the Home is about $11,000. The endowment fund is nearly $50.000, and the property is valued at about $35,000.
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