USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol II > Part 29
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MARTIN EDWARD STOCKBRIDGE.
Martin Edward Stockbridge, postmaster at Dalton, was born at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, August 19. 1849, and is the last lineal descend- ant in the male line of Caleb Stockbridge, who was one of the respected citizens of Pittsfield about the year 1800. He was a carriage smith and painter, and worked at his trade with Edwin Clapp for a number of years. He had four children by his first marriage : David, Mary A., Caleb, Lyman; and by his second marriage there were two children : Edward, who makes his home in Ansonia, Connecticut, and Charles, who resides in Meriden, Connecticut.
David Stockbridge, the eldest son, was born in Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts, and devoted much of his life to the tilling of the soil. He mar- ried Catherine Pulver, of Schodack, New York, a direct descendant of one of the sturdy old Dutch families that settled in the Empire state at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Stockbridge made their home at Pitts- field, and the following children were born to them: Martin E .; Mary A., who was born in 1851, and with her one child now makes her home in New York city, her husband being deceased; and Walter, who was born in 1860, and died at Cohoes, New York, about 1872.
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Martin Edward Stockbridge was educated in the public schools of Pittsfield and of the town of Washington, and his early years were spent upon farms in these two places. He afterward worked in the town of Old Hadley, and in 1865 returned to Pittsfield, where he was em- ployed as a salesman in a grocery store for several years. In 1873 he received an appointment to a position in the railway mail service, and for eighteen years traversed the road between Boston and Albany. Dur- ing that time he was promoted on various occasions until he had charge of the car crew. In 1873 he removed to Dalton, where he has since been numbered among the public-spirited and progressive citizens, con- stantly working for the best interests of the town. He votes with the Republican party. and for the past ten years has been chief of the Dalton fire department, while at the present time he is connected with the Vet- eran Firemen's Association. He belongs to Unity Lodge, F. and A. M .; to the Knights of Pythias, and to the Grange, and is treasurer of the Congregational church, where he and his wife attend. He is also con- nected with the Business Men's Club, the Village Improvement Society. and the Live Oak Club.
In 1872 Mr. Stockbridge was married to Miss Eliza Hunt Dick- inson, a daughter of Ulramiah Porter and Caroline (Green) Dickinson, her father being a representative of an influential family of Berkshire county.
ALONZO F. BENTLEY.
Alonzo F. Bentley, a retired citizen of Dalton, Massachusetts, who has achieved remarkable success in his line of trade through perseverance and close application to work, was born in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, August 2, 1833, a son of Gideon C. and Samantha (Davis) Bentley.
Gideon G. Bentley (father) was born in the town of Lanesboro,
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Massachusetts. February 26, 18II, his parents having removed from New York state, locating first in the town of Dalton, and subsequently removing to Lanesboro. In early life Gideon G. Bentley, with an older brother, was apprenticed to learn the trade of blacksmith; the brother did not take to the trade, but Gideon G. remained until he became its master. Upon taking up his residence in this section of the state, he first leased a shop at what is now the corner of North and Main streets, in the town of Dalton, and subsequently resided in Pittsfield. On March 2, 1832. at the age of twenty-one years, in the town of Washington, Massachusetts, Gideon G. Bentley married Samantha Davis, daughter of Aaron and Mara ( Wolcott) Davis, who were married November 26, 1795, and were natives of Stafford, Connecticut. Mara (Wolcott) Davis was the youngest child of Ephyrus and Mabel Wolcott, of Stafford, Connecticut. The children of Aaron and Mara (Wolcott) Davis were as follows: I. Lilly, born December 26, 1796, married Solomon Lemley, of Hinsdale, November 8, 1820, and two of their children reside in this vicinity. 2. Willis, born September 14, 1799, died October 24, 1801. 3. Orpha, born September 25, 1802, married Everson Curtis, of Hinsdale. 4. Zeruah, born August 28. 1804. 5. Almena, born November 25. 1807. married Philander Booth, and leaves a number of descendants in the town of Dalton. 6. Samantha, aforementioned as the wife of Gideon G. Bentley, was born at Springfield, August 25, 1809, and is living at the present time (1904) with Alonzo F. Bentley, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. 7. Jonathan, born January 29, 1812, died in infancy. The children of Gideon G. and Samantha (Davis) Bentley were: Alonzo F., mentioned at length hereinafter; George A., born in Dalton. Decem- ber 4, 1837, died in the following year ; Mary, born at Dalton, February 16. 18440, died two years later : Sarah A., born at Dalton, November 9.
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1847. died 1856; Mary M., born February 23, 1844, died the following year.
Alonzo F. Bentley attended the common schools of Dalton, Massa- chusetts, whither his parents removed when he was three years of age. After laying aside his school books he entered his father's shop, where he thoroughly acquired the details of the trade of blacksmith. During his long and useful career he followed this line of business with the excep- tion of one year that he was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and a short time that he spent in the business of carpentering. He was emi- nently successful in his chosen line of trade, and was enabled to retire from active pursuits in 1903, since which time he has rented his shop. He has served his town in the capacity of selectman, assessor and con- stable, being the incumbent of the latter named office several times. He is a Republican in politics, and a Universalist in religion.
In 1856 Mr. Bentley married (first) Saralı A. Holmes, no issue; and on May 18, 1890. he married (second) Eliza M. Booth, a descendant of Philander Booth, who married Almena Davis, a sister of Samantha (Davis) Bentley. Their children are : Sarah E., born January 21. 1891 ; Dwight A., born May 10, 1893; and Hazel, born September 18, 1896.
GEORGE FRANKLIN BOOTH.
George F. Booth, of Dalton, Massachusetts, proprietor of the Berkshire Talc Manufacturing Company, is a representative of a family of English descent. The pioneer ancestors were three brothers- Richard, James and John-who located in Connecticut about the year 1700, but shortly afterward branched out, and their descendants may be found in various sections of the country.
Jacob Booth, the lineal ancestor of George F. Booth, was born
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April 9. 1770, and in May. 1797. married Lucinda Richmond, of Chesterfield. Massachusetts, when she was a girl of seventeen years. Their children were: Jacob, born 1798: Lucinda, 1799: Elizabeth. 1800; Roxanna, 1802: John. 1804: Williani S., 1807: Richmond J., 1808: Philander. 1811; Mary A., 1813; Mary A., 1814; Emily, 1818; Charles H., 1822: Abraham, 1823: Watson, 1826. Both Jacob and Lucinda (Richmond) Booth lived to the advanced age of ninety years.
Philander Booth, father of George F. Booth, was born January 19. 18II. He married Almena Davis, daughter of Aaron and Mara (Wol- cott) Davis. of Stafford, Connecticut, and had three children : Lu- cinda Richmond, born April 14. 1839, married Myron Sherman, of Worthington, Massachusetts, and they are the parents of four children ; George F., mentioned hereinafter; John Marshall, born March 27, 1845. married Celia Reed, of Windsor, and their family consists of two chil- dren.
George F. Booth was born in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, July 3, 1843, on what has since been called the Booth estate. In early life he attended the district school. and later was a student in a business school at Poughkeepsie, New York. For some years he aided his parents in making the farm a paying investment, and about the time he attained his majority he decided to test the business capabilities of the western section of the United States, which was then in its prime. He settled in Bartlett, Iowa, established a general store, and after conducting it for two years returned east, was married to the lady of his choice. and ac- companied by his bride returned to the west and continued his business for the next two years at Bartlett, during which time the tiny settlement grew to a good sized place, and he also saw the railroad, which he was somewhat influential in building. cross the district in a number of places. At that time all transportation was by river boats, and for supplies it was
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necessary to go down the Missouri to the cities; he was a passenger on the boat that carried the first Union Pacific locomotive to the west. About 1871 Mr. Booth returned to his old home, and finding his parents well advanced in years, and as his wife was rather opposed to returning to the west, he decided to take charge of the farm and look after the comfort of his parents. About this same time a soapstone deposit was found on the farm, and, receiving what he considered a good offer, the farm and quarry were sold. Mr. Booth and parents removed from the old farm, which was located on the Hinsdale line, to the Booth place in Dalton. Subsequently Mr. Booth repurchased the soapstone quarry on the old farm, and now manufactures the product into a powder for use in various ways, the plant being known as the Berkshire Talc Manufacturing Company. Mr. Booth is an adherent of the principles of the Republican party, and a member of the Congregational church.
On February 13. 1868, Mr. Booth married Eliza A. Aldrich, a mem- ber of a highly esteemed and well known family of Worthington, Massa- chusetts, and their children are: Nellie J., born in Bartlett, Iowa, Feb- ruary 15, 1869, married W. F. Evans, of Dalton, Massachusetts; Eva Maria, born in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, November 21, 1871, wife of C. C. Bartlett, of Dalton, Massachusetts, and mother of three children ; and William F .. born in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, August 16, 1875, re- sides with his parents.
LYMAN PAYNE.
Among the sons of Berkshire county who have passed away, whose names were synonyms for integrity, and who were of generally recog- nized sterling worth, the gentleman whose name introduces these memoirs was a pronounced type. He was a descendant in the fifth gen- eration from the founder of the American family of that name, four
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Lyman Payne
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generations of one of the branches of which have been identified in a substantially valuable way with the growth and development of Berk- shire county, Massachusetts. Stephen Payne, a native of Great Elling- ton, England, embarked for the " New World " with his wife and three children in the ship " Diligence," of Ipswich, and was located as early as 1660 in Hingham, Plymouth county, Massachusetts. His will is one of the earliest of record in the State House, Boston. His descendants subsequently removed to Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and eventually lo- cated at Woodstock, Connecticut. The son and namesake of this pio- neer settler, Stephen (2), was born in 1699, and in 1727 married Sarah Leach. Their son Stephen (3), married Anna Bushnell, and in 1773 brought his family from Woodstock, Connecticut, to settle in the then savage-infested wilderness of western Massachusetts, locating at Par- tridgefield, now Hinsdale, Berkshire county.
Of the children of this last mentioned Stephen, Ebenezer Leach Payne was born in Andover, Connecticut, September 21, 1762. He was therefore but eleven years of age when his father began the clearing and cultivating of a farm just south of the old Boston and Albany turn- pike, on the edge of Peru, about two miles east of the present town of Hinsdale. The hardships and dangers incident to a border life were felt in the fullest measure in this locality, and the sons of these pioneers were perforce endued with both the courage and the physique demanded for the very serious business of life at that period. They rallied readily at very tender ages to the Patriot cry for independence, and when but fourteen years of age Ebenezer Leach Payne shouldered his musket as a substitute for his father, who was ill. He was present at Ticonderoga when the English forces under General Burgoyne compelled the evacua- tion of that fort by the Patriots, and his reminiscences of the retreat in- volving the crossing of Lake Champlain on rafts of logs formed a most
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thrilling narrative. He participated in the battle fought at Hubbard- ton, Vermont, where the seven hundred retreating Americans took their stand. an engagement from which the English, who greatly outnum- bered the Patriot forces, wrested victory from defeat only through the opportune arrival of reinforcements under the Hessian General Riedesel. Before the termination of this protracted struggle for liberty, father as well as son took up arms in the Patriot cause, and thus the Payne house- hold in the highlands of Berkshire, like hundreds of others in the old Bay State, were compelled to face the severe enough ordeal of pioneer struggle for a living while its natural protectors were engaged in more than ordinarily hazardous warfare. Ebenezer Leach Payne married. May 12, 1783, Keziah Kenny, who was born in New Milford, Connecticut, June 18. 1766. They settled in that portion of Hinsdale known as the " North Woods," about two miles from the center of the town. Their children were: Alpheus, born in 1787: Daniel, 1789: Stephen, 1791 ; Bushnell, 1793: Noah, 1795: Chauncey, 1798: Sally, 1800; James, 1803; Elijah, 1806; Keziah, 1809; Lyman, 1811; and Elvira, 1813. Of these Keziah was the last survivor. She married Haskell Barrett, and attained the great age of ninety-five, her decease occurring March 9, 1904. Of the sons of Ebenezer Leach Payne, Judge Elijah Payne. who died in Hudson, New York, was the father of Hon. Louis F. Payne, a Republican politician of national repute, whose stalwart advocacy of the wisdom of returning General Grant to the presidency for a third term, and whose great activity, with Senator Roscoe Conkling. in hold- ing together the immortal " 306" delegates to the national convention pledged to General Grant's support, were the especial features of one of the most notable campaigns in the history of our national politics.
Lyman Payne, the immediate subject of these memoirs, youngest of the sons of Ebenezer Leach Payne, was born in Hinsdale, July 8.
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ISII, received such education as was afforded by the local schools, and throughout his youth assisted in the cultivation of the homestead farm. He married, May 28. 1837, Emily Emmons, born at Hinsdale, June 2, 1815, daughter of Ichabod and Mindwell ( Mack) Emmons. Ichabod Emmons was a native of East Haddam, Connecticut, where he was born March 17, 1778. He became known as Major Emmons, the title being acquired by his connection with the local militia. He was widely known for his wittieisms on the floor of the state assembly, where he represented his town for a number of terms. Major Emmons died April 26. 1839. His wife, Mindwell (Mack) Emmons, was born Sep- tember 6, 1779, at Middlefield, Massachusetts, and died June 23. 1862. In 1841 Lyman Payne removed with his family to Brighton, near Rochester, New York, and there purchased a large farm which he cul- tivated with success, the while keeping in close touch with the best thought of the day. for he was throughout his life a student. In his new place of residence he obtained early recognition as a man of su- perior judgment, and he was chosen to represent his district in the state legislature in 1853-54, serving for two years with conspicuous ability. In 1855 attention to his interests in certain salt wells and coal fields of Virginia led to his removal to that state (now West Virginia). He continued a resident of West Columbia until impaired health led him to return to the place of his nativity. He purchased in 1859 the John T. Mack farm on Maple street, Hinsdale, added thereto largely, hav- ing a farm of more than six hundred acres at his decease. His farming operations were conducted on progressive lines, every character of im- provement in agricultural methods and machines being resorted to. He raised some of the finest horses ever bred in western Massachusetts, and his Durham and Holstein cattle were equally notable. Notwithstanding the pressure of considerable private interests, Lyman Payne always found
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time to devote to the public service. Many trusts were imposed upon him by his town, and he served the county six years as one of the board of commissioners, during four years of this period acting as chairman of that body. His fidelity to the interests of his town and county was as marked as to his private affairs. For many consecutive years he lent liis best efforts as a member of the school committee to advance the educational interests of his community. He was a valued and valuable member of the Berkshire Agricultural Society, and for a period served as its president. He commanded the respect of the community not alone because of his business ability and personal integrity, but because of his absolute clean-mindedness and purity of life. In the same year in which he was married, Mr. Payne united with the Congregational church, and with characteristic fidelity and christian zeal he continued to maintain close relations with and to render valuable service and material aid to that denomination throughout his life. For thirty years he served as one of the church committee at Hinsdale, and for a like period taught classes of young men in its Sunday school, his capable instruction and manifest deep personal interest in the members of which are still held in grateful remembrance by many who acknowledge the beneficence of this association. The decease of Mr. Payne, December 20, 1888, was a profound grief to his kindred and a wide circle of warm friends, and a (listinct loss to his community. He survived his wife by several years. her death having occurred February 14. 1885. Of four children born of this union, a son and daughter survive: Lyman Mack Payne, and Emily, now wife of Azariah S. Storm. Lyman Mack Payne was born at Brighton, New York, February 4. 1847: resides in the old homestead on Maple street, Hinsdale, and operates the extensive agricultural and stock breeding interests of the family estate, conjunctively with retaining an office connection with the New England Mutual Life Insurance Com-
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pany, with insurance headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. He mar- ried, October 22. 1872, Helen, daughter of Jolin Milton Tuttle, of Hins- dale. (See Tuttle family, in this work. ) Mr. Azariah S. Storm is a traveling representative of Bennett & Sloan, of New York, and resides with his family in Dorchester. Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Storm have four children, viz: Mary Payne, Emily Zilpha, Katie, and Mack Payne. The three eldest of the children are married, Mary becoming the wife of the Rev. George H. Flint. Emily of Dr. Myron Barlow, both of Dorchester, Massachusetts: and Katie, wife of George Tupper. of Duluth, Minnesota.
RAYMOND FAMILY.
The Raymond family are direct descendants of the French, who, early in the history of this country, settled in western Pennsylvania, and it is from this branch of the family that descended Asahel Raymond, the ancestor and father of the Raymond family which were among the prominent and influential residents of the town of Hinsdale, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. Asahel Raymond removed from Peru and set- tled in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and his son, Amos Raymond, soon took up his residence in Hinsdale.
Amos Raymond married Lena Jackson, daughter of Deacon Joshua Jackson, a representative of one of the best and first families in this vicinity, and to them were born four children: I. Abraham, who died when a young man at Sandusky, New York, where he was engaged in the hotel business. 2. Asahel, mentioned hereinafter. 3. Ansephroni, who became the wife of James Madison Whipple, and mother of three children ; all the members of this family are now deceased, the last one having passed away in 1885. 4. Ansena, who became the wife of Humphrey Bicknell, of Windsor, who subsequently removed to Pitts-
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field : they were the parents of five children-Mary, Raymond. Amos, all of whom are deceased; Sophroni. wife of Mr. Cline, of New York city ; and Alice, wife of Joseph Nickols, their residence being in Dalton.
Asahel Raymond married for his first wife Electa Curtiss, daugh- ter of John Curtiss, of Dalton, the ceremony being performed about 1840. Their children were : Minerva, married to Silas Sears, of Savoy, and their children were: Frank, who died in early life; and Minnie, now deceased, who was the wife of Mr. Davidson; Louisa, who be- came the wife of Henry Sears, of Savoy, brother of Silas Sears, and they are the parents of two children, Frank and Emma Sears; Amos E .. married Emma Warriner, of Windsor, their family consists of nine chil- dren, and they reside in Dalton ; John C., a resident of Springfield, mar- ried Annabella Ballou, of Becket, and they have four children; Asahel, Jr., married Martha Pease, of Middlefield; they reside in Dalton and are the parents of four children. The mother of the above mentioned children died, and Mr. Raymond married (second) Sylvia Miner. daugh- ter of Samuel Miner, of Windsor, of one of the most prominent fam- ilies in the town. Their children were: I. Lena Hannalı, mentioned hereinafter; 2. Samuel M., born June 30, 1842, married Emma Bar- ton, of Dalton, and one son was born to them, who is now deceased ; 3. Abraham J., born November 16, 1843, married Jennie Ross, and they with their two children make their home in Everett, Massachu- setts ; 4. Daniel G., deceased, was born September 8, 1845, mar- ried Minnie Watkins, of Hinsdale, who bore him one daughter; they now reside in Pittsfield; 5. W. Lyman, born September 8, 1847 ; he has traveled extensively throughout the country and now resides in Hins- dale, Massachusetts, and shares half of the Raymond legacy with his sis- ter, Lena H .; 6. James M., born August 29, 1849, married Elida Jones, of Boston, Massachusetts, and two children were the issue of this union ;
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they reside in Sherborn, Massachusetts ; 7. Charles H., born October I, 1851, married Julia Thayer, of Worthington, and their family con- sisted of four children: Mr. Raymond is deceased, but his widow and children make their home in Peru; 8. Mary L., born July 16, 1853. died at the age of sixteen years.
Lena H. Raymond, eldest child of Asahel and Sylvia (Miner) Ray- mond, was born November 20, 1841. She is one of the two members of the Raymond family who have made their home in the town of Hins- dale, Massachusetts, residing on the block in the center of the village which her mother left to her and her brother W. Lyman. During her childhood she attended the public schools of Peru, where she obtained an excellent English education, and early in life displayed remarkable business ability, which was put to a practical test in the management of the large force of farm hands employed on the extensive estate be- longing to her parents. She assumed entire charge of this portion of the work, and conducted it in a most economical and business-like man- ner. She devoted her time to her parents in their declining years, con- tributing all in her power to their comfort and ease. Miss Raymond is remarkably active, and takes a keen interest in all enterprises and projects that conduce to the improvement and prosperity of the town. She is one of the interesting characters of Hinsdale, and is widely known and justly famous throughout this section of the state for her love for legal proceedings. She is a firm believer in the tenets of the Baptist faitlı, but attends the Congregational church, there being no church of that denomination in the town.
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GEORGE W. EDWARDS.
Among the younger merchants of Pittsfield who have won recogni- tion as men of superior business capacity, the gentleman whose name introduces this narrative may be appropriately numbered. He was born in Pittsfield, January 16, 1876, son of the late George W. and Ida ( Mills) Edwards, the former a native of Laconia, New Hampshire, the latter a daughter of the late Josiah Mills, who was a prominent lawyer of Chatham, New York.
The late George W. Edwards was a soldier in the Civil war, serv- ing as first lieutenant in the Twelfth Regiment New Hampshire Vol- unteer Infantry. Locating in Pittsfield, he purchased of Washington Root the jewelry business that had been established by the latter in 1848, at No. 44 North street, and this business was continued by Mr. Edwards at the location named during the remainder of his life, becoming the leading industry of its kind in Berkshire county. It was conducted for a time following Mr. Edwards' decease ( 1890) by his widow, the man- agement being entrusted to Edward J. Spall, and is now owned by Mrs. Edwards and her son, George W. Edwards, the latter having a two-thirds interest in and charge of the establishment. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Edwards (Sr.) had two children, Blanche Mills Edwards and George W. Edwards, Jr.
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