USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume I pt 2 > Part 29
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In 1861, the interests in the firm of John B. Tyler and John R. Blackinton were bought by William S. Blackinton, son of Sanford. who became an equal partner with his father, under the firm name of . S. Blackinton & Son," which firm so continued, with wonderful business success, until the death of the son, in 1875, a period of 14 years.
Under the will of W. S. Blackinton the business was required to be carried on for two years under the old firm name. At the end of that time the S. Blackinton Woolen Manufacturing Company was organ- ized under the statutes of the commonwealth with a paid up capital of 8250.000, a very liberal advance on the $300 of 1821.
Mr. Sanford Blackinton is still president of the company and the
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
other officers are O. A. Archer, secretary and treasurer, and Lemuel Pomeroy, general manager. Mr. Pomeroy is a grandson of Mr. Black- inton and Mr. Archer married his neice, a daughter of his brother John.
The village of Blackinton has grown up around the factory which now affords support to many operatives and their families, where, when he first went there, there were no buildings except the old mill and one old house. He has built a church for it at his own expense, and pre- sented it to a society representing a union of the Baptist, Methodist, and Congregational churches of North Adams, whose pastors find no difficul- ty in filling its palpit harmoniously, as they certainly would have done when Mr. Blackinton began to make the village which bears his name. This village was his home until he built, in 1872, his present almost pala. tial residence on Church Hill, in North Adams, on the corner of Main and Church streets. But until the present year he has continued to daily visit the mill at Blackinton village.
Outside of his personal manufacturing business, Mr. Blackinton has been an active man, and so continues. He has been a director of the Adams National Bank since its organizaton in 1832, and president since it became a national bank. Besides his handsome residence and his fac- tory he has contributed to the architecture of the town the fine Blackin- ton Block. on Holden street. He is not at all an office seeker, but has always taken an intelligent interest in politics, being at first a whig and then a republican. Besides holding some honorable municipal offices, he represented Adams in the Legislatures of 1831 and 1832.
He is an earnest and consistent member of the Baptist church, but liberal in regard to other denominations as his action with regard to the chapel at Blackinton shows. He was one of the most generous contribu- tors to the building of the Baptist church in North Adams, one of the most beautiful ecclesiastical structures in Berkshire.
Mr. Blackinton's first wife was Mary, daughter of Asa Russell, of Pownal, Vt., and their children were William S., Mary Frances, and Austin : the last dying at the age of 3 years.
His second wife was Eliza, daughter of Joel Robinson, of Attleboro, the old home of the family; by her he had one son, Everett Austin.
William S. Blackinton married Susan Frances, daughter of Benjamin F. Robinson. of North Adams, by which union there were two sons and three daughters. His daughter, Mary Frances, married William L. Pomeroy, the father of Lemuel Pomeroy, the present manager of the Blackinton Mills.
THE JOHNSON FAMILY.
Residents of North Adams will recall Mrs. Statira (Spellman), widow of Jonathan Johnson, who reared a family of sons there. The family for many generations resided in Connecticut, where these sons were born. Lucins A. and Parsons, two of these sons, are now leading citizens of Beloit. Wis., where they settled in 1855. The former has no descend-
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ADAMS AND NORTH ADAMS.
ants. Those of the latter now living are: Mary A. (Mrs. Theodore B. Wells). Chicago, Ill .; Edgar M., Whitewater, Wis .; Emma E. (Mrs. H. G. Heffron), Silverton, Colorado.
EDWARD F. BARNES, D. D. S.
Edward F. Barnes, D. D. S .. now engaged in the practice of den- tistry at No. 7 West Thirty-third street, New York city, laid the founda- tions of his knowledge of his chosen profession in North Adams, where he was a pupil of A. F. Davenport. D. D. S., beginning in 1864. He graduated.(Philadelphia) in 1870, and afterward settled in New York city. He married the daughter of Stephen Walley, of Williamstown, the first cotton manufacturer in that part of the county.
FORDYCE JOY.
Fordyce Joy married Jane Eliza, daughter of Reuben Smith, of North Adams, and settled in South Adams. He had three children born there. Of these the eldest, Ann W., wife of Lyman Van Loan, died in Pittsfield. Edward Stansbury is now a resident of Chicago. He served in the war of the Rebellion.
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CHAPTER XXIX.
TOWN OF ALFORD.
BY H. C. WARNER.
Descriptive .- Early settlers .- Revolution .- Town Clerks .-- Changes in Boundary. -- Militia .-- Mills and Manufactories .-- Post Office .-- Marble Quarries .- Hotels .- Cemeteries .-- Con- gregational Church .- Methodist Episcopal Church .- Union Meeting House .- Justices .- Physicians .- Town House .- Civil War.
T HIS town is of irregular form. Its greatest length is on the west, where it is a little more than five miles, while its width varies from 240 rods to three miles. The town is mountainous and hilly on all sides except the south, and is divided into an eastern and western section by a mountain range running through its center. Tom Ball Mountain, near the south part of West Stockbridge, extends into the northeast corner of the town, and as it continues south it is called Long Pond Mountain. For several years after the arrival of settlers, wild turkeys, raccoons, deer, wildcats, and bears abounded on these mountains, and it is related by old residents that a man was killed by a bear a century ago in " The Gore, " near where Captain Sylvanus Wilcox settled. With the exception of an occasional wildcat or coon all the above mentioned ani- mals have disappeared. A cave called the Devil's Den, and the Frying Pan Spring are curiosities. The inhabitants are mostly farmers. The soil is either gravelly or loamy with a mixture of clay.
There is no reliable evidence of inhabitants before 1750, and there were not many until 1756. The southern and central part of the town are in the Shawenon purchase, as conveyed October 20th, 1756, by Joseph Quinequaunt and Shauanun, of the Stockbridge Indians, to Timothy Woodbridge, Stephen Kelsey, sen., Ebenezer Hamlin, John Hamlin, Rob- ert Watson, Ebenezer Warner, Eliatha Rew, Elnathan Bronson, Anthony Hoskins, Michal Hoskins. Jonah Fortin, Stephen Kelsey, jr., Simon Cook, Daniel Kelsey. Another tract north of this, called the Greenland Grant, of 1,500 acres, was conveyed by Josiah Dwight and others, as a committee of the General Court. in consideration of $100, to David Ingersoll, July 17th, 1756. In December, 1758. William Bronson was
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TOWN OF ALFORD.
granted 1,425 acres, in the Shawenon purchase, which was surveyed by John Hamlin and Daniel Kelsey, and recorded in the Proprietors' Book, page 127.
Between 1751 and 1760 the settlers were Stephen Kelsey, sen., Dan- iel Kelsey, Stephen Kelsey, jr., Abel Kelsey, William Bronson, Elnathan Bronson, Ebenezer Warner, Ithamar Warner, John Harper, John Hamlin, Ebenezer Hamlin, Anthony Hoskins, Elezer Barrett, Reuben Kelsey, Aaron Sperry. Between 1760 and 1765, Ebenezer Barrett, William Jones, Robert Johnson, Daniel Morris, Moses Bronson, Abigal Ticknor (widow of William Ticknor), Jonathan Ticknor, Daniel Ticknor, Sarah Bostwick, Mehetable Ticknor. Annie Ticknor, Ezekial Olds, Daniel Munger, and Ezra Crippen. Between 1765 and 1775, Sylvanus Wilcox, Benoni Hop- kins, John Hulbert, Simeon Hulbert, James Baker, John Adams, Deodat Ingersoll, Daniel Kellogg, James McLallen, Daniel Griffen, Jabez Olm- sted, Nathan Daley, Joshua Hulbert, Noah Hopkins, Jonathan Hill, James Walker, Job Milk, Henry MeMan, Elezer Morris, Thomas Crippen, Joseph Gilbert, Seth Hamlin, Abner Kellogg, Jedediah Rew, Nathan Sperry, and Seth Olds.
Most of the early settlers were from Connecticut. The Sperrys were from Hartford, the Ticknor and Hamlin families from Sharon, the Barretts from Salisbury, in that State, and the Bronsons from Amenia, N. Y.
The original portion of the town previous to its incorporation be- longed to Great Barrington. In 1769 John. Hamlin and others asked the consent of that town to a separation, but their request was refused. They then applied to the General Court, but Great Barrington again objected : a committee of the town reported adversely to a town meeting then in session, which report was accepted and David Ingersoll, jr., the represen- tative from Great Barrington, Sheffield, and Egremont, was instructed to lay the objection before the General Court. This action for a time pre- vented a separation, but it could not be long delayed, and the new town, named Alford-after a place in England-was incorporated February 16th, 1773. This tract of land, previous to its incorporation, together with a tract extending southward, was called by the Indians. Shawenon ; and shortly after the arrival of white men, that portion where the vil- lage now is was named Podunke. The derivation of this word is un- known and the name is now abandoned.
At the first town meeting in February, 1773, David Ingersoll was moderator ; John Hulbert, clerk ; Deodat Ingersoll, John Hulbert, Wil- liam Bronson, Daniel Kellogg, Elezer Barrett, selectmen ; William Brou- son, treasurer ; Stephen Kelsey and Sylvanus Wilcox, constables and collectors ; church wardens, John Morris, James McLalland ; surveyors of highways, Daniel Griffen, Jabez Olmsted. Daniel Tieknor, Robert Johnson ; deer reeves, Ezra Crippen, Deodat Ingersoll ; sealer of leather and tithing man. Noah Hopkins ; hog reeves, Nathan Daley, Joshua Hulbert ; overseers of the work house, Robert Johnson, James Baker, William Bronson. The house of Bronson was made the work house.
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
Through the Revolution the town sustained its proportion of the public burdens. At a meeting at the house of Simeon Hulbert, February 9th, 1775, a committee was chosen to receive and forward donations to the poor of Boston. At a meeting in December of that year they voted to purchase powder and lead for the use of the town. In 1776 Dr. John Hulbert, William Bronson, Daniel Kellogg, Job Milk, and Sylvanus Wil- cox were the committee of correspondence and safety. In 1777 it was voted to exempt men necessarily employed at the forge from service in the army.
In 1777 Deodat Ingersoll, Nathan Baldwin, Jonathan Hill. Titus Barnes, George Darby, and Caleb Hill were reported as disloyal to the United States. What action was taken the records do not state. It is evident, however, that they became reconciled. as they remained in town. and in after years held office. In 1778 Elezer Barrett, Robert Johnson, and William Bronson were a committee to provide food for the families of men absent in the army .. The same year the town voted that no per- sons be allowed to reside in town unless they have certificates from some public officer that they are friendly to the independence of the United States. In March, 1779, £60 were voted for the support of soldiers' families. In 1780 $2.000 were voted for the purchase of 1,900 pounds of beef for the army, and Dr. John Hulbert, Lieutenant John Adams, Lieutenant Ezra Kellogg, and Captain Sylvanus Wilcox were appointed a committee to procure men for the Continental army.
In 1775 the selectmen were Elezer Barrett, William Bronson. Syl- vanus Wilcox ; in 1776, Job Milk, John Hulbert, Daniel Kelsey : 1777, William Bronson. Joseph Gilbert, Daniel Kelsey ; 1778, John Hulbert, James Baker, Daniel Kelsey ; 1779, Aaron Sperry, William Bronson, John Hulbert ; 1780, Abner Kellogg, Joshua Hulbert, William Bronson ; 1781, Daniel Kelsey, Abner Kellogg, John Hulbert ; 1782, Sylvanus Wil- cox, Jedediah Rew, Joshua Hulbert.
Dr. John Hulbert was town clerk through the Revolution. Since then to 1820 the clerks have been : Seth Hamlin to 1785 ; from 1785 to 1800, John Adams, jr., Moses Fairchild. Philander Hulbert, James Bloss, Jonah Kellogg ; from 1800 to 1820, Isaac Hulbert, Elihu Lester, Sylvanus Tobey, Charles Kellogg, John H. Fairchild, Erastus Hamlin, William B. Fenn.
In 1778 the lands west of the ridge of Long Pond Mountain were an- nexed to this town. Previous to this, Great Barrington extended so far west as to include the ground on which the meeting house and a part of the village stands. The land thus annexed was 652 rods long, with a width of 210 rods at the north and 266 rods at the south end. In 1819 another tract, sixty rods in length, at the south end of the first, was, on petition of Elijah Hewins and Norman Lester, who resided thereon, taken from Great Barrington and annexed to this town. In 1847 the southwest corner of West Stockbridge, where Frederick and Horace Fitch reside. was also annexed. The boundary between the town and Egremont was
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established in 1790. A gore of land west and north of the Greenland grant fell within the town by the establishment of the line between Mas- sachusetts and New York.
The militia of the town eighty years ago formed part of the Ninth division of the State. In September, 1814, a draft being ordered by the State for the protection of Boston, the town militia were paraded on the village green, nearly in front of the present residence of Ezra Ticknor. It beginning to rain the men were marched a few rods east, to the large barn belonging to Dr. John Hulbert, where they took shelter from the storm. Captain Isaac Tuttle, the commander, held a hat containing tickets for the draft, from which each man in turn, stepping from the ranks, drew either a blank ticket or one which designated that he must march to the seat of contemplated hostilities. The sergeants and corporals were first drafted and afterward the privates. Among others present as spectators of this draft was Deacon Elezer Barrett, then eighty- one years old ; Dr. John Hulbert, in old age : and Ezra Ticknor, then a lad of twelve years, who went on the hay mow to witness the proceed- ings. After the Revolution and until the militia were disbanded in 1836, the captains were Philander Hulbert, Isaac Tuttle, Daniel Barrett, Philo Sperry, La Fayette Barnum, Hiram Johns, Michael Tuttle, William Nichols.
The Seekonk River has its source in West Stockbridge and flows through this town in a southeast direction. It receives several tributaries from the west. In 1764 Jonathan Hughes. Daniel Barnes, Joseph Jones, and Ebenezer Barrett erected a grist mill on the west side of this stream, on lot No. 23, where Stephen Smith's mill now stands. In 1793 Elezer Barrett. jr .. conveyed this mill to Blodgett Smith. From 1793 to 1800 · Simeon and Abijah Hulbert and Asahel Gilbert were owners. In 1800 the mill was burned, but was rebuilt by Gilbert, who, in 1802, conveyed it to Jabez Hamlin, sen., who built a stone dam costing $500. The prop- erty continued in possession of Hamlin until his death, in 1830, when it was conveyed to Captain Daniel Barrett. The old mill was furnished with wooden gearing. Several years ago James Marsh had a chair factory here, which was operated until 1856. In 1882 the old mill was taken down and a new one erected by its present owner.
On the same side of this stream, on lot No. 25, a saw mill was erected previous to 1763. To 1805 the owners were Ebenezer Hamlin, Joshua Hulbert, Blodgett Smith, Jonathan Sibley, Joseph Rich, Moses Fairchild. Asahel Gilbert, Erastus Hamlin, Nathan Husted. In 1805 Charles Kellogg became owner. He erected the present grist mill, which in those days was operated as a fulling mill. Mr. Kellogg was succeeded by Moses Fair- child in 1812. In 1814 he was succeeded by Daniel Fenn, William Fenn, and Harlow Fenn, who, in company, carried on the business of cloth dressing until 1825, when they conveyed the property to Hugo Dewey. In 1839 Harlow Pease, of Sheffield, became owner. He operated the saw and grist mill in connection with the cloth dressing establishment until a
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
short time previous to his death, in 1870. This mill is now owned by William A. Ticknor.
In 1784 Nathan Sperry conveyed to Aaron Sperry, in consideration of £100, one half of a saw mill at the west end of lot No. 30, with one half the lot. In 1798 Aaron Sperry conveyed his share to Aaron Johns. This mill was rebuilt by William Johns in 1837. Stephen Sperry's mill for sawing stone was operated for fifty years previous to 1850. These mills have now disappeared.
In 1787, Job Milk had a grist mill on his farm, where Tobey Brook flows into the Seekonk River. Daniel Ball had a furnace for casting hollow ware near the same location about sixty years ago. North of this, where the south branch of the Crotch Brook empties into the See- konk River, Jarvis Davis and Reuben Wilcox had a saw mill from 1810 to 1835. In the northwest part of the town Absalom Calkins had a saw mill from 1843 to 1863.
At the mouth of Trip-hammer Brook, on lot No. 20, in 1795, Benja- min Sibley had a trip-hammer and blacksmith shop, which, in 1797, he conveyed to Ebenezer Pope. These works were taken down about 1812. In the southwest part of the town, on the Green River, Cornelius Wil- liams, from Hartford, Conn., settled in 1800. In 1806 he erected the grist mill now owned by Augustus R. Stoddard. The saw mill at that point was built by Cornelius Williams, jr., in 1840.
In 1801 Captain Elisha Tobey, from Sharon, Conn., purchased of John Bronson, in the south part of the town, 500 acres, which included the farm where his grandson, Elisha Tobey, resides. Captain Tobey's sons were Harry, Barnabas, Sylvanus, Ephraim, Elisha, Jonathan, Heman, and Benjamin. In 1803 he erected a saw mill on a small stream northwest of his residence. This mill in a few years was taken down.
Nathaniel Husted, who came from Woodbury, Conn., in 1797, estab- lished a tannery a few rods southeast of his residence, on the Seekonk River. This tannery he conveyed, in 1837, to William Brown. Brown was succeeded, in 1842, by John Burget, who carried on the business until 1853.
The trades have been represented by James McMann and Justis Burden, coopers, 1793 ; Allen Faxon, blacksmith, 1797 ; Ebenezer Jones, reed maker, 1800 : Eliphalet Jewell, from Salisbury, Conn., carpenter, 1797 ; Chester Foote, shoemaker, from Woodbury, Conn., 1815 to 1844 ; Heman Collins, shoemaker, 1844 to 1864.
Through the efforts of Captain Daniel Barrett, a representative to the General Court in 1827-28. a post office was established at the village in 1829, with Captain Barrett, postmaster. Previous to that year the post office was kept, in connection with Egremont, at the hotel of Major Josiah Webb.
In the northeast part of the town excellent marble is found. Sanford Fitch, from Salisbury, Conn., settled here in 1799, and soon afterward opened a quarry which was worked by Johnson & Stevens until about 1805, when
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they opened a quarry near where Aaron Arnold now resides, which was worked to 1810. The present quarry of Frederick Fitch was worked by James Cook, 1808-12. It was then abandoned, but was reopened in 1846 by Mr. Fitch, who has worked it to the present time. Another small quarry near Aaron Arnold's was, worked by Sanford Fitch and his son Frederick from 1827 to 1841. The quarry first worked by Johnson & Stevens was re- opened by William Milligan in 1833 and operated to 1854. William Johns had a small quarry and Jime kiln south of the above quarries about 1820, which was abandoned many years ago. The Alford Marble Works, which were sold by Sanford Sperry to Theodore McNamee and others, in 1866, for $14,000, were abandoned in 1872, and the buildings, with valuable machinery, went to decay. In the west part of the town a bed of iron ore was operated by John D. Trimper and others from 1853 to 1863. This bed could not be drained, and so proved unprofitable.
In the southwest part of the town, on the Alford and Egremont Turnpike, on the south side of the Green River, at a point where the river crosses the highway, and but a few paces from the southeast corner of the bridge, stands an old gable roof house, in which George Darby jr., kept a hotel from 1798 until his death, February 5th, 1810. From 1791 to 1810 he served several terms as one of the selectmen, and was town treasurer from 1799 to 1809. After his death his widow married his brother, David, who continued the business for awhile. He was succeeded by James Bump, and he by David Wilmot, who soon ceased to keep a public house.
Sixty-five rods northwest of Darby's hotel, and west of the turnpike twenty-five rods, on the same side of the Green River, Peleg Dewey set- tled where George and Robert Curtis reside, and kept a tavern from 1790 to 1800. In November of that year Dewey sold his farm to Josiah Cur- tis. from Sharon, Conn., grandfather of the present occupants. This Josiah Curtis was a prominent Baptist. and a selectman in 1816.
In the southeast part of the town, on the Great Barrington and Alford Turnpike, John Scripture kept a tavern between 1816 and 1835. Scrip- ture was the inventor of a machine for churning, the patent for which he sold for $5,000, in 1808, to Abraham Cole, of Upper Smithfield, Penn.
The largest cemetery is located northwest of the meeting house. The land of the older portion was purchased of Chester Foote. The first per- son buried in this yard was Mrs. Jane Hopkins, November 22d, 1825. In 1848 the cemetery came into possession of the town, and in 1883 it was en- larged three fourths of an acre ou the east.
A more ancient cemetery, eight rods square, is located in the south part of the town, southwest of Lester T. Osborne's residence. The oldest inscriptions read "John, a son of Benoni Hopkins, died 1779; Stephen Kelsey, died May 29th, 1781, aged 81." Dr. John Hulbert, first physi- cian in town, is buried here, but has no tombstone.
North of the village. on the east rond. is an abandoned burial place. from which many bodies have been removed to the new cemetery. The
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
oldest inscribed stones are in memory of Dr. John Adams, October 8th, 1782, aged 67; Joseph and Aaron, sons of Lieutenant John and Chloe Adams, died 1783 : Nathan Sperry, September 16th, 1793. aged 43.
In the northwest part of the town is a small burial place long ago abandoned. The most ancient inscription commemorates the death of John Jagnins, April 8th, 176S.
South of this, near the residence of John L. Milligan on the west side of the highway, not far from Tobey Brook, over a limestone ledge, there are a few graves, but only one has an inscribed stone, to the memory of Hiram and David Andrews, children, who died in 1799 and 1810. Aged residents relate that formerly there were fifty graves here, which have been obliterated by the plow, and that this is the site of an Indian burial place. South of this, and on the same side of the road, Samuel Willoby, from Goshen, Conn .. 1802, a Revolutionary soldier, who died in 1843, aged $6, is buried by the side of his wife, Prudence, who died in 1824, aged 66. His house once stood near his burial place. A private burial place of the Lester and Church families is situated northwest of the residence of Walter Ticknor.
Captain Sylvanus Wilcox, of the Revolutionary army, who, with his company did servicee in the campaign against Burgoyne in 1777, died July 5th, 1825, aged 87, and was buried on his farm, now owned by Evi Champion. Sophia, wife of Captain Wilcox, died November 15th, 1804, aged 30. The graves of Captain Wilcox and wife have been plowed over and obliterated, and their gravestones lie on a ledge of rocks near their supposed burial place. Absalom Calkins, who died in August, 1879, aged 89, is buried on his farm in the northwest part of the town.
Congregational Church .- There is a lack of authenticated material regarding the history of this denomination. At a town meeting, March 30th, 1773. $15 were voted for preaching, but at a meeting December 10th, 1773, it was transferred to the school fund. At a meeting January 10th, 1781, it was voted to settle Rev. Joseph Avery as pastor, on a salary of £40 annually. Mr. Avery remained till 1788, when the town appointed Sylvanus Wilcox, Daniel Ticknor, and Aaron Sperry as a committee to confer with him, and request that he sever his connection with the church. The difficulty between Mr. Avery and his people was caused by differ- ences of opinion regarding Shays' rebellion. The pastor was a firm defend- er of the State, and would not resign, but continued at his duties until dismissed by a vote of the town. September 22d, 1788. The log house where he preached stood near where Lester T. Osborne's tenant house now is. After the dismissal of Mr. Avery the society soon became extinet. As no carly records can be found it is impossible to give the names of the first organization, but Stephen Kelsey, Elezer Barrett, and Robert John- son are mentioned as deacons in the town records. Rev. Aaron Kenne, a Congregationalist, who resided in town from 1805 to 1824, preached occasionally.
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