USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume I pt 2 > Part 42
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Among the numerous important litigations in which Mr. Lowrey has been engaged, those involving the largest sums of money were the great Quadruplex Telegraph case, the trial of which lasted three months and in- volved property valued at from four to six millions of dollars ; the case of the New England Iron Company es. the Metropolitan Railway Com- pany for between seven and eight millions of dollars : the Western Union and American Union Telegraph Consolidation Case ; and the lead- ing case of Kent s. The Quicksilver Mining Company.
Mr. Lowrey is now a member of the law firm of Lowrey, Stone & Auerbach, with offices in the Mills Building. He has a city residence at 121 Madison avenue, and a country residence, known as "Solitude," at Tarrytown Heights, Westchester county, N. Y. He was first married in 1862 to Laura, second daughter of Francis Tryon, Esq., merchant, of New York. By her he had five children : Francis Porter, born Novem- ber 21st, 1863; Royal Phelps, born July 22d. 1866 : Grosvenor Porter, jr., February 4th, 1871 ; Virginia Kent, August 1st, 1873 ; and Juliet Tryon, February 6th, 1875. His second marriage occurred in September,
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Grosmon @ Lowrey
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TOWN OF EGREMONT.
1880, with Kate, eldest daughter of Hon. John Douglas Armour, one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Court of the Queen's Bench for Ontario. By her he has one child, Grace Armour, born March 31st, 1882.
ANDREW REASONER.
Andrew Reasoner, one of the self-made men of Berkshire county, was born January 3d, 1821, in South Egremont, in the old house west of the grist mill, then owned by his father, Edwin Reasoner. His father was a native of Beekmanville, Dutchess county, New York, born April 8th, 1795. He was one of a family of seven children of Peter and Elizabeth (Nixon) Reasoner. Jacob Reasoner, his grandfather, came from Holland some years before the Revolutionary war. He had nine children, among whom were John, David, Benjamin, Tallman, and Peter.
Edwin Reasoner received his education in the common schools of Beekmanville, and at the age of 17 years went to work for Martin Buck, a blacksmith of the place, where he served an apprenticeship of four years. In 1817 Mr. Reasoner, then a first-class workman, moved to South Egremont and opened a blacksmith shop on the site now occupied by the axle manufactory of Dalzell & Co. February 22d, 1820, he was married to Christina, a daughter of Isaac and Aurena Race, of Egremont. In 1836 he bought and moved to the place where he now resides, in the south- west part of the town of Great Barrington, on the road leading south- west to South Egremont village. A blacksmith shop, previously occu- pied by Samuel Crippen, stood in the southwest corner of the yard, and in this shop Mr. Reasoner labored early and late until 84 years old, when he retired from the active duties of life.
February 22d, 1870, a party of about sixty friends and neighbors called at the residence of this worthy couple, and in a manner befitting the occasion celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage. Mrs. Reasoner died February 21st, 1875, at the age of 76 years.
Andrew, the subject of this sketch, attended the public schools of his native village until 12 years of age, and then went for three years to the South Egremont Academy. At the age of 15 years he went to work for Jerome Hollenbeck, proprietor of the village hotel, remaining with him two years. He then engaged with Mr. Goodale in transporting marble from the South Egremont quarries to Hudson. About the year 1842 he moved to Fairfield, Conn., where he was employed by George W. Sher. man, in running stages between Norwalk and Bridgeport. When the New Haven Railroad was finished he engaged with Robert L. Schuyler. then president of the Harlem Railroad, in transporting the cars of both roads to the City Hall and Canal street. After the Hudson River Railroad was finished to Peekskill he was employed by that company to take charge of the lower end of that road as agent. His duties were to superintend the movement of trains and the hauling of cars from Thirty-second street to Chambers street. He remained with this company until the year 1862, during which time he had the honor of arranging the train that con-
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
veyed President Lincoln from Albany to New York, on his trip to Washington to be inaugurated, and also arranged and conducted the train that took Lincoln on his memorable private trip to West Point.
In the early part of 1863 Mr. Reasoner took the Long Island Rail- road from the hands of the receiver, and as superintendent closed up the Atlantic street tunnel and built the new road from Hunter's Point to Jamaica. During the draft riots of 1863 a motley crowd gathered at Hunter's Point and clamored for a train to Jamica, that they might reach that point to destroy the draft boxes ; but by a display of re- markable courage and firmness Mr. Reasoner held the excited and furious mob at bay and frustrated their design.
In April, 1865. he took charge of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- way as superintendent, with headquarters at Milwaukee. The road then ran from Milwaukee to La Crosse, with a few branches. He remained with them until January 1st, 1867, during which time he was one of the originators of, and had charge of laying out, the Minnesota Central Rail- way, running from Minneapolis to Prairie Du Chien, now one of the divisions of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. In 1867 he was engaged by the Great Eastern Railway Company as superintendent, and finished 60 miles of that road which was then under way, making a direct route from Chicago to Cincinnati. He remained with this company until the road was lonsed to the Pennsylvania Central Company, in 1869. In May of that year he became superintendent of the Morris & Essex and Dela- ware, Lackawanna & Western consolidated roads, which position he has ever since filled, having charge of 450 miles of track. The road, which was a small affair at the date of his engagement with it, is now one of the heaviest transporting roads in the country. Under his supervision the company has spent millions of dollars in improvements, among which may be mentioned the construction of the large coal and freight piers, and of the great tunnel, through which its trains have to pass to reach the Hudson River.
Mr. Reasoner holds the office of director in three railroad companies, and is president of one -- the Sussex Railroad of New Jersey.
April 3d, 1846, Mr. Reasoner was married to Euphemia Byxbee, of Norwalk, Conn. Their present residence is Morristown, New Jersey.
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
FLORIDA.
BY GEORGE B. GRIFFITH.
Geographical and Descriptive .- Incorporation and First Town Meeting .- Early Events and Cus- toms .-- Post Offices and Postmasters .- Churches .-- Industries .- Schools .- Town House. -- Grange .- Florida in the Nation's Wars .- Streams and Mountains .- Hoosac Tunnel .- Stock Raising.
A NY lover of nature who has enjoyed the privilege of traveling leis- urely over the roads of this mountainous town, either in summer or winter, can fully appreciate the praise bestowed on its scenic beauty by Washington Gladden. . "Every artist," says this well known author, "whether in words or colors, ought to look upon this landscape."
It is not too much to say that this famed region possesses extraor- dinary beauty ; that no part of the world possesses a more enchanting summer and autumn than this section of Berkshire county, while even a winter visit in its stimulating atmosphere and alpine wonders would also prove delightful.
Florida lies on the northeast extremity of the county, occupies three miles and 265 rods in length, and is quite irregular in width. The north- ern part of the town was granted to the town of Bernardston. in consid . eration of the loss sustained by that town in running the line between Massachusetts and the New Hampshire grants, now the State of Vermont. The tract was known for many years as " Bernardston's Grant." Bul- lock's Grant and King's Grant, so called, each contributed territory to Florida, and it is situated on the height of the Green Mountain range. The town is 125 miles west-by-north from Boston, and 22 north-northeast from Pittsfield. It is intersected by the Greenfield Railroad and the Hoosac Tunnel, and for reasons already stated is peculiar in form and boundaries, having Vermont and Monroe on the north, Rowe and Charle- mont-by which it is divided by Deerfield River in a devious line-on the east, Savoy-from which Cold River in part separates it -- on the south, and Adams and Clarksburg on the west. The underlying rock is calca-
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
reous gneiss and the Quebec group. In it occurs an extensive serpentine marble quarry which promises to be well worth working.
Florida was incorporated as a town, June 15th, 1805, and it contains 7,350 acres. Dr. Daniel Nelson, the first settler, from Stafford, Conn., went upon the territory in 1783. Previous to 1795 Paul Knowlton, from Shrewsbury, Sylvanus Clark, from Southampton, Nathan Drury. Esq., from Shelburne Falls, Jesse King, from Deerfield, and Stephen Staples, from Adams, joined him, and soon after this the settlement was consid- erably reinforced.
From the town books, which are in excellent preservation, it is learned that the first town meeting was held at the residence of Captain Luke Rice, on the hill, August 22d, 1805, and was designated as a gather- ing of the freeholders. Captain Luke Rice, for many years afterward a prominent man in town affairs, was chosen moderator, and Jesse King town clerk. The following gentlemen constituted the first board of se. lectmen : Mr. Jesse King, Nathan Drury, Captain Luke Rice. The first collector was David Staples.
The first birth recorded in the town books was that of Diantha Whit- comb, born February 27th, 1805, before the formation of the town, and the next of Loizia Heminway, October 23d, 1810 ; and among the largest families was that of Dr. Daniel Nelson, twelve children, six boys and the same number of girls. Among the first marriages in Florida was that of Benjamin Negur with Abigail Ladler, both of Zoar, married by Jesse King, justice of the peace.
The half penny was the favorite mark to distinguish the sheep of this town from those of other settlements. The tract of land known'as Zoar --- a prosperous and growing community since the completion of the Hoosac Tunnel and introduction of railroads-was for a long time unincorporated, being very mountainous and broken. Daniel Pierce, of Woburn, settled on the tract in 1766. It lies southeast of Florida and partly east of Deer- field River.
The death list of the inhabitants prior to 1810 cannot be found. The oldest person now living in Florida is Betsey Beman, a native of Goshen, Mass., aged ninety years, who resides on the turnpike road to North Adams.
Ephraim Tower, John Porter, and Jeremiah Pike served as constables of the town for a long period. One of the foremost citizens and a judi- cious manager, as well as a successful farmer, was Nathan Drury, for many years the efficient town clerk. , He amassed a handsome property, was the founder of the Drury Academy at North Adams, and gave sev. eral thousand dollars to this now flourishing institution. At his death he left, among other bequests, $100 to the Baptist State Convention, the interest to be appropriated for the purchase of books for the Sabbath school of that denomination in Florida. On his highly cultivated farm in the northwestern part of the town, 700 bushels of potatoes have been raised in a single season, most of which were fed to the stock on the
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TOWN OF FLORIDA.
premises. His widow gave fourteen acres to the Baptist society for a parsonage, some thirty years ago. The clock owned by Mr. Drury is now, as is the farm and the homestead, in the possession of Mr. Moses W. Bliss.
In 1829 there were SO families and 75 dwelling houses in Florida. At the present time (1885) the population is 472, and the valuation of the town, $157, S11. There have been but three postmasters in the western part of the town since the ofce was established, viz .: Luke Rice, Dennis Thayer, and Nathan White, the present incumbent, who was appointed during James K. Polk's administration, in 1848. A post office was estab- lished at Hoosac Tunnel. with W. T. Jencks as postmaster, in 185S. The present incumbent is C. H. Goodell, who keeps the only store in the town. on the site of the first building of this kind erected.
A Baptist church was formed in 1810, the members of which, in 1829, had increased from 18 to 31. The society built a meeting house in 1824, and had preaching a part of the time. This edifice, which occupied a sightly position on the hill, served as a church till 1861, when a new place of worship was built on the opposite side of the road, and but a few rods distant. The old church was bid off at auction by a gentleman from North Adams, converted into a dwelling house, and with but few changes still stands where it was put up, being occupied by James Newman.
In the spring of 1883, at an outlay of $500, general repairs were made on the new church. Excellent heating apparatus was put in, the walls were frescoed, and new furniture, etc., obtained ; the whole accomplished. without resorting to fairs, by a few active members. The present pastor is Rev. George L. Ruberg, who was settled in 1882, this being his fourth pastorate in Berkshire county. The present membership is 79. The Sab- -bath school has an average attendence of 45, Nathan 3. Tandy, superin- tendent.
Among those who have preached in Florida are Rev. Messrs. Nathan- iel McCullock, a native of the " New State," in Savoy ; John Green, William Bogart, Noah V. Bushnell, and Rev. Jacob Davis.
A Congregational church, for some time discontinued, was formed May 4th, 1814, with eleven members. The society was always small, and existed, in a measure, as a branch of the flourishing church at North Adams, by whose minister it was sometimes supplied. Another church. now extinct, of the Christian faith was formed here in 1835 with about twenty five members, and with Rev. Seth Ross as their preacher. In 1830, a Universalist church was formed ; they never owned a meet- ing house, but had occasional preaching until 1850, or a little later. Rev. Joy Bishop was their last pastor, and among those who expounded the word unto them were Rev. Messrs. David Ballou, Daniel Thayer, Joseph Barber, and Hosea F. Ballou.
The mechanical industries of the town have somewhat fallen off, but this has been made up by agricultural improvements, and the stimulus
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
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given the town by the completion of the Hoosac Tunnel and the intro- duction of railroad facilities. In 1855 there were fourteen saw mills in Florida, some of them run by steam, against three now in operation, be- sides the State machine shop and mill, and the new pulp establishment at the east end of the tunnel. At the period mentioned the production of these mills ranged from 20,000 to 100,000 feet of lumber per annum, to the mill. A tannery and grist mill were also carried on.
The wood pulp establishment, a comparatively new industry in Elorda, was formerly used by the State for its condensers, while the work on the tunnel was still unfinished. It has three stories, and the company run. ning it is composed of large capitalists. They make two classes of pulp, commonly called bleached and unbleached, and have the reputation of making the best mechanically drawn pulp in the country. The mill has ten grinders and forty boxes, which have made as much as 17,000 pounds of pulp in thirteen hours. The capacity of the water used at the mill for turning the grinders is 621 horse power, and twenty four men are em- ployed, the mill running both day and night. It is illuminated through- out by the incandescent electric light.
There are now six school districts in town ; two, known respectively as " Hoosic" and No. 6, having been formed since 1855. An elegant new school house, built under the supervision of F. S. Rice, chairman of the selectmen, has just been completed at the tunnel, and it cost nearly $1,800.
The money raised by tax yearly averages $1,850, of which the sum of $500 is appropriated for schools. There are 45 square miles of terri- tory and 43 miles of roads. Rate of taxation, two and one half per cent.
Florida has a fine town house known as Hoosac Tunnel Hall. The original building, erected in 1865, was destroyed by fire in 1873. The new and more commodious hall was completed December 15th, 1884. There are two public houses in town, Jencks & Rice's hotel, a famous summer resort, and the Hoosac Tunnel House. The first named hostelry was opened by Erastus Rice in 1837.
A live farmer's grange, known as Florida Grange, No. 100, was insti tuted in 1875. The present master is Elmer D. Rice.
Florida sent to quell the late Rebellion 45 men, of whom eleven were lost. George W. Bliss and Albert W. Alden were among the first to en- list. Silas Wiley, supposed to have died about August 1st, 1862, fills an unknown grave. A large proportion of Florida's quota were in active service, and were wounded in defense of their flag.
The only facts of Revolutionary history connected with Florida, worthy of special note, are that four Milesian deserters from Burgoyne's army, previous to his surrender, went into this town, and gained their live . lihood mostly by hunting and fishing, for quite a number of years, which they were easily enabled to do, as there were good streams, and several thousand acres of woodland ; and that a body of American troops passed over the mountain ( Hoosac) in midwinter, and in their hazardous march
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TOWN OF FLORIDA.
which lasted three weeks, came near starving and freezing to death. It is said that these soldiers killed, roasted, and ate a dog that accompanied them, in the village of Readsboro, Vermont, on their way to Charlemont, Mass. One of their number, who enlisted at the early age of fifteen, was so exhansted and benumbed with cold that he laid down to go to sleep; he was soon missed by his companions, who turned back and helped him along.
A Colonel White, a great landholder, once owned the road over the Deerfield River, near the tunnel. Here he had a toll bridge, and a most efficient employe in a Mrs. Nelson, who had a very sharp eye for busi- ness. One very rainy night, just as the old lady was abont to retire, a young blade came rattling along in a chaise, and rushing out shoeless and bareheaded, she stood on a board by the side of the gate to receive the customary fee. Reaching down his brawny arm, the young Jehu, in- stead of dropping his pence into her open palm, adroitly lifted the aston- ished dame into his vehicle, and in spite of her expostulations, carried her to the next tavern. Here he paid her lodging for the night, and gave her fifty cents to pay her stage fare home in the morning.
Florida is well-watered, by the river just mentioned, by Tripe Brook in the northwest. and several lovely tributaries of the Cold River on the south, while North Pond, a sparkling sheet of water covering over twelve acres, enhances the attractions of the southwestern angle of the town. One of the most famous waterfalls in Berkshire county, known as the Twin Cascade, is located near the entrance of the Hoosac Tunnel. Two charming little rivulets, bubbling along from different directions, gradu- ally near each other and leap over the rocks to the distance of forty feet into the same basin below ; hence the proper appellation of " Twin Cas- cade."
The Hoosac Mountain is, of course, the striking feature of the town. and from the carriage road over it most magnificent views of this wild al- pine region are obtained.
The entrance to the far-famed Hoosac Tunnel is on the west bank of the Deerfield River, in the eastern center of the town. The top of the tunnel is a semi-circle, with a radius of thirteen feet; and the sides are arcs of a circle, with a radius of twenty-six feet.
The denizens of the mountain districts of Florida are quite largely engaged in stock raising, wool growing, lumbering, and and farming. Some 400 sheep are pastured here annually, and as many as 17.000 pounds of delicious maple sugar have been manufactured in a year. through the winter winds are piercing, the snows deep, and communica- tion between the farm houses scattered among the lofty hills difficult, the people are cheerful and happy.
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