USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol II > Part 33
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
Mr. Blackinton conducted the business alone until 1850, when he received into partnership Charles Atkinson and John B. Tyler, under the firm name of S. Blackinton & Company. In 1855 Mr. Atkinson re- tired, and was succeeded by John R. Blackinton, the firm name remain- ing unchanged. In 1861 the interests of John B. Tyler and John R. Blackinton were bought by Sanford Blackinton's son, William, who be- came an equal partner with his father, under the firm name of S. Black- inton & Son, which so continued with wonderful success until the death
459
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
of the son in 1875. a period of fourteen years. Under the will of Will- iam S. Blackinton the business was required to be carried on for two years under the old firm name. At the expiration of that time the S. Blackinton Woolen Manufacturing Company was organized, with a paid-up capital of $250,000-a splendid advance from the three hundred dollars at the beginning in 1821. Mr. Blackinton became president of the company, and so continued tintil his death.
Around the factory and the single house which stood near it at the beginning, has grown up the village of Blackinton, whose population has been largely made up of the mill operatives. Mr. Blackinton there built a church at his own expense, and presented it to a society represent- ing a union of the Baptist. Methodist and Congregational churches of North Adams. He resided in the village until 1872, when he built his beautiful home on Church Hill, in North Adams, but after taking up his residence there he continued to visit the mills daily.
Aside from his factory interests Mr. Blackinton was a most active and useful man. He built the fine Blackinton Block; served as a di- rector of the Adams Bank from the time of its organization in 1832, and was president from the time it became a national bank. He was an earnest member, of the Baptist church, and was one of the most liberal contributors to the building of the church of his denomination in North Adams (one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical structures in Berkshire), and was also generous toward other denominations. He took an intelli- gent part in political affairs, and. while in no sense an office seeker, served efficiently in various local offices. and in the legislature in 1831 and 1832. He was a Whig, and became a Republican at the organization of that party.
Mr. Blackinton was twice married. His first wife was Mary, daughter of Asa Russell, of Pownal, Vermont, and their children were
460
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
William S., Mary Frances, and Austin; the last named died at the age of three years. He married (second) Eliza, daughter of Joel Robin- son, of Attleboro, and to them was born one son, Everett Austin.
William S. Blackinton. eldest son of Mr. Blackinton, married Susan Frances. daughter of Benjamin F. Robinson, of North Adams, and to them were born two sons and three daughters.
IVILLIAM GORDON BACKUS.
The late William Gordon Backus, widely known through a long period as one of Pittsfield's leading merchants and artisans, was born in Pittsfield in April, 1812, son of Absalom Backus, also a native of Pitts- field, whose father, Lebbeus Backus, a native of Connecticut, located in Berkshire county. Massachusetts, prior to the Revolutionary war, and was a lieutenant in the patriot army from Pittsfield.
The schooling of William Gordon Backus was limited, and he was early apprenticed to learn the trade of tinsmith at the old Peck estab- lishment, and became a partner therein upon attaining his majority. He entered into business on his own account a few years later, and developed a very small establishment to large proportions, leaving it a valuable property to the sons who conduct it.
He married Laura A., daughter of Comfort B. Platt, long a resident of Pittsfield. Of their children, Albert Platt Backus, born in 1850, died in 1887, married Minnie Tuthill, of Westford, New York, and left a son, Gordon T. Backus. Charles H. Backus, born in 1862, died in 1888. William G. Backus, born September, 1848, married, 1881, Emma, daugh- ter of T. Carrier, a merchant of Albany. Frank C. Backus, born 1855, married Grace West, and has a daughter, Laura W. Backus.
Messrs. W. G. and Frank C. Backus, in partnership association, con-
461
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
.
duct the business established by their father in Pittsfield, in what is known as the Backus Block, purchased by him more than a half century ago, and continuously occupied by him and his sons and successors. William G. Backus was assessor for five years, and water commissioner for ten years.
GEORGE BROWN WATERMAN.
George Brown Waterman, of Williamstown, is a representative of old and prominent Massachusetts ancestry. His paternal great-grand- father, John Waterman, was born in Coventry, Rhode Island, May 18. 1755, and during the first and second years of the revolutionary war was a sailor or privateersman annoying the commerce of Great Britain. He came to Cheshire, Massachusetts, in the latter part of 1776 or 1777, his home for two years thereafter being in the family of Captain Daniel Brown, remaining there while the Captain was absent in command of his company at the battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777. Mr. Water- man was enrolled as a minuteman. He married Anna Hall, a native of Stafford, Connecticut, about 1780, and his eight children were born in Cheshire. In 1803 he removed to his farm adjoining the village of North Adams. During his youth he received but limited educational advan- tages, but became one of the best informed men of his time. He was fortunate in securing the friendship of Dr. William Towner, who prac- ticed medicine in Cheshire before his removal to Williamstown, and Elder John Leland was another associate and lifelong friend. Mr. Waterman served as a delegate from Adams to the state convention of 1820 for amending the constitution of Massachusetts, and previous to that time had been a member of the legislature. He was of a social disposition. kind to the poor and unfortunate. He removed to Williamstown in 1829,
462
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
and his death there occurred May 28, 1830, at the age of seventy-five years and ten days.
Colonel William Waterman, the eldest of the five sons of John Waterman, was born April 6, 1784. at Stafford Hill, Cheshire, Massa- chusetts, in a house still standing on the southern slope of that hill. He owned the Sands Springs, kept by his son, Henry B. Waterman, near Williamstown. The last named was the father of George B. Waterman. and he was accidentally killed by a Troy and Boston railroad train as he was crossing the tracks near the springs. He married Catherine Brown, a daughter of Joseph Brown, of Goole. England, who was born there and learned the machinist's trade. His father, George Brown, was the founder of the family in America. Coming from England, where he was a linen manufacturer, he located at Schaghticoke, New York, where he started a linen factory, and was there married. He conducted this factory until an advanced age, when he retired from all active business pursuits, his death occurring in 1846. His son, Joseph Brown, with others, was the founder of the Episcopal church in Schaghticoke. and his death oc- curred in 1849.
James Madison Waterman, son of Colonel William Waterman, was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, in the old Richmond house, which was built by his father, May 11, 1821, and died in Williamstown, May 16, 1894. Mr. Waterman came to Williamstown with his father at an early age, and lived there the remainder of his life, during which time he became very prominent in the affairs of the town, holding many offices, especially that of selectman, to which he was re-elected twenty-five years. For many years also he was special county commissioner. Mr. Water- man had a very genial nature, which gained for him hosts of friends throughout the town, county and state. His ability in relating comical
463
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
events of characters renowned in Williamstown was widely known. Mr. Waterman is survived by one son. Marcus M. Waterman. of Troy, New York.
George Brown Waterman, son of Henry Bucklin and Catherine (Brown) Waterman, was born July 10, 1862. and the educational train- ing which he received in the public schools was supplemented by study at Glen Seminary, a private school of Williamstown. Putting aside his text-books at the age of seventeen, he was thereafter engaged in work at Valley Falls, Troy and North Adams. He came to Williamstown as manager for T. W. Richmond's coal office, and for nine years was also agent for the National Express Company. In 1889 he formed a part- nership with Fred E. Moore, the firm name being Waterman & Moore, and they purchased the property occupied by the old Union House and Methodist church. remodeling the same, and the old church part is now occupied by the town hall. The firm bought out the T. W. Richmond & Company's coal business in Williamstown, this being a branch of the North Adams firm, and to this added lumber, lime, cement and building material. In addition to his extensive business interests Mr. Waterman has also found time to devote to political matters, and in 1895 was elected a representative from the First Berkshire District. For many years he was also a member of the board of registers, and a member of the ceme- tery committee for several years. He is a member of the Congregational church, in which he served as a deacon for eight years.
Mr. Waterman married Frances Laura Brockway, only daughter of the late David Brockway, a native of Stephentown, New York, and a lawyer of marked ability. He studied for his profession in Ballston Spa, New York, and practiced in Troy, and later in Topeka. Kansas, where he retired from the practice of law, and whence he removed to Albany, New York, in which city the marriage of Mr. Waterman was celebrated.
464
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
HAROLD ARTHUR SPENCER.
Harold Arthur Spencer, a successful young business man of North Adams, member of the real estate and investment firm of Spencer Brothers, and in various ways identified with the business and social affairs of his city, was born in Weymouth, Nova Scotia, August 24, 1882. His American progenitor was his great-grandfather, who came to this country from England during the war of the Revolution, in- tending to settle in one of the thirteen colonies, but his disinclination to fight or take sides against his mother country led him to finally locate in Nova Scotia.
Rev. William Spencer, father of Harold Arthur Spencer, was a Baptist elergyman, who preached during the early part of his life in Nova Scotia, removing thence in 1887 to accept a call from the Baptist church of Quincy, Massachusetts. His subsequent pastoral charges were in Wilmington and Readsboro, Vermont, and in Becket, Massa- chusetts, and from the last named place he came (1894) to North Adams. His death occurred in May, 1901. His wife, who survives and resides in North Adams, was Grace Davidson, a daughter of the late Robert Davidson, a ship owner and captain in Nova Scotia. Rev. and Mrs. William Spencer had five children, who are living, as follows : Elizabeth C .; Albert E., who is a teller in the North Adams National Bank ; William L., who is professor of Greek in Fisk University, Nash- ville, Tennessee : Percy F., who is of the clerical staff of North Adams National Bank; and Harold Arthur, mentioned hereinafter.
Harold A. Spencer was early initiated into business life, leaving school at the age of fifteen in order to work for the Canedy-Clark Shoe Company of North Adams. After a year with that firm he was em- ployed about a year and a half in the Arnold Print Works, and during
Harold & Spencer
465
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
that time devoted three hours each night for five nights in the week to study, in order to compensate for lack of completed school education. He then went to work in the checking department in the office of the Clark and Brown laundry, was bookkeeper for two years thereafter in the Co-operative Bank, and then started in business for himself under the name of Spencer Brothers, with present offices in the Dowlin block. The firm conducts a general real estate and investment business and have been very successful. In 1903 a branch office was opened in Readsboro, but was sold out in the fall of the same year, and the entire business concentrated at North Adams. At the same time the firm sought larger quarters in the same block, moving to No. 400 Dowlin block, and there they have ample office room for the convenient dispatch of their large and growing business. Mr. Spencer served for a time as treasurer of the North Adams Co-operative Association, and is a' mem- ber of the finance committee of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion, superintendent of the primary department of the Baptist Sunday school, affiliates with Manchester Unity Lodge, I. O. O. F., and in politics is a Republican.
He married, December 27, 1904, Ada, daughter of the late William E. Watmough, a well known resident of North Adams, retired from business.
WILLIAM FRANCIS BARTLETT.
William Francis Bartlett, brevet major-general, United States Vol- unteers, numbered among the most gallant defenders of the Union dur- ing the Civil war, was born in Haverhill, Essex county, Massachusetts, June 6, 1840, and died in Pittsfield, Berkshire county, December 17, 1876. His death was made the theme of a beautiful poetic tribute by the gentle Quaker poet, John G. Whittier :
२०
466
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Oh, well may Essex sit forlorn Beside her sea-blown shore; Her well beloved. her noblest born, Is hers in life no more!
Good men and true she has not lacked, And brave men yet shall be : The perfect flower, the crowning fact, Of all her years was he!
As Galahad pure, as Merlin sage. What worthier knight was found To grace in Arthur's golden age The fabled Table Round ?
Richard Bartlett. the founder of that branch of the family to which General Bartlett belonged, came to New England before 1640, and set- tled at Newbury, where he died in 1647. His son, Richard, Jr., born in England in 1621, was the father of Samuel, born in 1646, from whom the line was continued through his son Thomas (who married Sarah Webster), Enoch and Bailey, to Charles L., father of William Francis. The records show that the early Bartletts were public-spirited, liberty- loving citizens. Enoch Bartlett married a daughter of Dr. Joshua Bay- ley, of Haverhill, formerly a surgeon in the British navy. Bailey Bart- lett, born in Haverhill, in 1750, was very active in public affairs, serv- ing as a member of the legislature, as a delegate to state conventions, as a member of congress, and as sheriff of Essex county for nearly forty years. He married Peggy White. daughter of John White. Jr., a de- scendant of William White, an early settler of Haverhill.
Charles L. Bartlett. son of Hon. Bailey Bartlett, was a commission merchant of Boston. His wife, Harriet Plummer, was of an old Essex county family. They had five children. William F. being the only son.
At the outbreak of the rebellion, William Francis Bartlett was in his junior year at Harvard College-a tall, slender youth, with boyish
467
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
spirits, not a hard student, and politically was recognized as a champion of what was then termed " state rights." On April 17. 1861, he re- sponded to the first call of President Lincoln for troops for the vindica- tion of the national authority, enlisting in the Fourth Battalion, Massa- chusetts Volunteer Militia, and on the 25th with it proceeded to Fort Independence. On his return, after about a month's experience of mili- tary duty. he wrote in his journal that he valued the knowledge there acquired more highly than all the Latin and Greek he had learned in the last year. His intelligence and faithfulness favorably impressed his com- manding officer. F. W. Palfrey, and when that gentleman became lieu- tenant-colonel of the Twentieth Regiment Volunteer Infantry, he secured for young Bartlett the appointment of captain. His commission was dated July 10. 1861. At the battle of Ball's Bluff, in which he was en- gaged on October 24. 1861. he showed admirable courage and self- possession : and in the six months that followed, when, owing to the casualties of service, the duties and responsibilities of second officer of the regiment present in the field devolved upon him, such was his zeal and untiring energy that he proved himself most efficient and accom- plished. In drilling his regiment, his height, soldierlike carriage. ex- cellent horsemanship, and powerful voice caused him to appear to the greatest advantage. On April 24. 1862, at the siege of Yorktown, Vir- ginia, a minie ball from a sharpshooter's rifle struck his leg, necessitating amputation four inches above the knee-a sad fate, but he bore it with Spartanlike courage and patience. Returning to his home in Massa- chusetts, after a few weeks in a hospital in Baltimore, he rapidly re- covered his strength. He attended class day at Harvard College, and received his degree at commencement.
When he next took the field, it was as colonel of the Forty-ninth Infanty Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, which left the state
468
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
in November, 1862, sailed for New Orleans in January, 1863, and two months later began its march toward Port Hudson. In the assault on the fortifications, May 27, Colonel Bartlett led his regiment on horse- back. he being the only mounted man on the field, and a conspicuous mark for the foe. Admiring his bravery, it is said that the rebel officers ordered their men not to fire at him. He was, however, wounded twice -slightly in the heel, and seriously in his left wrist-and for some time it was feared he would lose his hand. About three months later his regi- ment was mustered out at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. During the en- suing fall and winter he recruited the Fifty-seventh Massachusetts In- fantry Regiment, of which he had been commissioned colonel. On the 28th of March, 1864, a sword was presented to him by the citizens of Winthrop, then the residence of his father's family. On the 24th of April, Governor Andrew visited the camp of the Fifty-seventh Regiment and presented to it the usual set of regimental colors, committing the banners to the charge of Colonel Bartlett as an officer firm and loyal, a citizen faithful and patriotic, and a friend in whom was no guile. At the battle of the Wilderness, in May, 1864, the colonel of the Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment was again wounded, this time in the temple. In June he received his commission as brigadier-general, and was as- signed to the Ninth Army Corps. At the storming of Petersburg, Vir- ginia, on July 30th, his wooden leg was crushed, and he was taken pris- oner. Then followed nearly two months of confinement in rebel prison hospitals, followed by his exchange, his journey home to Winthrop and reunion with family and friends, the surgeons with grave faces prescrib- ing perfect rest and quiet, with careful treatment, for six months. He was much out of health in the winter and spring of 1865. In June and. July of that year he had a short period of service, his last, as commander of the First Division, Ninth Army Corps, near Washington, his health
469
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
still being much impaired. In August he was given six months' leave of absence. with the privilege to go abroad. He was mustered out of the United States military service in July, 1866. For meritorious and gal- lant service during the war he was brevetted major-general United States Volunteers, March 13, 1865.
On October 14, 1865, Colonel Bartlett was married to Miss Agnes Pomeroy, of Pittsfield, and on the 18th he sailed with his wife for Eng- land. They remained abroad till the following June, when he returned much recruited. The next three or four years, which he spent in Berk- shire county, were years of physical weakness and wearisome toil. He became treasurer and general manager of the Pomeroy Iron Works at West Stockbridge, and also engaged with Colonel Cutting in the paper business. In November, 1869, he began to build a house in Pittsfield, near the Pomeroy homestead. In 1870 it became needful for him to seek rest, and he went to England for a brief stay. In his few remain- ing years illness succeeded illness, and his business cares and perplexities increased. Yet his powers of rallying were wonderful, and he had much enjoyment of life. He was keenly interested in the public welfare. Most of 1873 and 1874 he passed in Richmond, Virginia, in charge of the interests of the Powhatan Iron Company. In December, 1875, he returned with his family to their home in Pittsfield. The period that followed was one of rapidly failing health and failing fortunes. Toward the end, while he was simply waiting, his sufferings were very great, but were borne with absolute fortitude and sweetness, the powers of his mind remaining unimpaired to the last. The kindness of his friends freed him from the burden of anxiety for his family, and, as he said, inade it much easier for him to go.
After leaving the army. General Bartlett took an earnest interest in political movements, not as a partisan, but as a friend of true reform
470
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
and of good government, and was repeatedly urged to accept nomination to high offices. As a speaker on certain memorable occasions-notably at Harvard Commencement in 1874, when he was chief marshal of the day; at the Lexington Centennial; at the dedication of the Haver- hill ( Massachusetts) Public Library, in November, 1875; and on Fore- father's Day, the same year, in New York city-he showed himself pos- sessed of true eloquence, thrilling the hearts of thousands.
In April, 1871, General Bartlett became senior warden of St. Stephen's Episcopal church, in Pittsfield, and in September he was con- firmed. His life, to those who saw it, was an object lesson in Christian faith. His letters and the extracts from his journal printed in the Memoir plainly show of what spirit he was. "His interest in what is most valuable to every community, in religion, in education, in the eleva- tion of politics, in true reform, was always fresh." Yielding not one particle of principle, the crippled hero was quick to " counsel reconcilia- tion with those whose arms had shattered the promise of his life. His patriotism was true patriotism. His love of country embraced the whole country. His absolute devotion to the flag made him eager that every American should love and honor that flag as he did."
General Bartlett is survived by his wife and six children, namely : Agnes, wife of Henry A. Francis, of Pittsfield; Carolyn, wife of James Howard Kidd, residing at Trivoli-on-the-Hudson; Edwin, of Boston, connected with the Brookline Gas Company; Robert Pomeroy; William Francis, Jr., with the Boston and Maine Railroad Company, of Boston ; and Edith, the youngest. Mrs. Bartlett is a daughter of the late Robert and Mary Center (Jenkins) Pomeroy, and is of an old Berkshire family.
471
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
NATHAN S. BABBITT, M.D.
The family of which Nathan S. Babbitt, M.D., was a lineal de- scendant was founded in this country by Edward Babbitt. who settled at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1643. In the line of descent from the pioneer ancestor appears Dr. Snell Babbitt, father of Nathan S. Babbitt, who was an able practicing physician in his day, residing successively in Hancock, Savoy and South Adams, Massachusetts, and whose death occurred in the latter named town about the year 1825. Dr. Snell Bab- bitt married Jael Edson. a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts.
Nathan S. Babbitt was born in Hancock, Berkshire county, Massa- chusetts, August 30, 1812. He attended the common schools of his native town and continued his studies at the academy in South Adams, but was prevented from entering upon a classical course by lack of funds. He began a course of medical reading with Dr. H. M. Wells, of Wind- sor, and with his father: entered the Berkshire Medical College, Pitts- field, which was then the medical department of Williams College. and was graduated in 1833 at the age of twenty-one. He began the prac- tice of his profession in South Adams, and continued the same until 1846, when he moved to North Adams, where he continued in practice until his death, November 5, 1889. For more than four decades he oc- cupied a position of prominence among the medical men of western Massachusetts, and his long period of usefulness was productive of much good to the community in which he resided. In addition to his private practice he served for twenty years as a special surgeon of the Troy, Greenfield and Hcosac Tunnel Railway, and for some time held the ap- pointment of United States pension examiner. He was the first resi- dent member of the Northern Berkshire Medical Society, was a mem- ber of other professional societies, and was an active factor at the larger
472
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
gatherings of the profession in Boston. He was also actively interested in political affairs, and represented his district in the legislature. He was a Master Mason and a past master of La Fayette Lodge.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.