USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume II pt 1 > Part 21
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TOWN OF LEE.
best educators in Massachusetts and his teaching of his pupils was uot contracted to the narrow period while they were formally connected as schoolmaster and schoolboy but continned through years of friendship until the death of Deacon Hyde. The best thing which he was taught was how to learn for himself without the aid of a tutor, and this he learned well.
At the age of 15 he was engaged as clerk in the store of Smith & Bosworth, in Lee, but a year after at the age of 16, he took charge of the store of D. C. Hull & Sons as general manager of the store and business. Two years later, in company with H. S. Hurlbert, he began business for himself in a store and flouring mill. This was improfitable and Mr. Smith went to New York at the age of 20 and became salesman for Leonard Brothers in the silk business at a dollar a day. His success was so marked that his salary was handsomely increased and he was taken into partnership ; but in two years he left to enter the Smith Paper Company as treasurer.
Of his career in that office we have already spoken, so far as it was directly connected with the company; but it went much beyond that. On the organization of the American Paper Makers' Association in 1878 he was chosen first vice president. He presided in 1880 at the meeting held, as the others had been, at Saratoga, the president, William Whiting, of Holyoke, being absent on account of ill health. Mr. Smith made an opening speech which so fully accorded with the feelings of the Association and was so well expressed that he was unanimously chosen president.
He was now at the head of the paper making industry of America which was of greater magnitude than that of any other country in the world. He had a perfect knowledge of the business. He had a remarkable faculty of expressing his thoughts clearly, forcibly, and logically. But he had to meet Professor Perry, a free trade teacher in Williams College. This, with the common school education which he calls " limited," he did suc- cessfully. The victory was altogether on the side of the common school boy with his "limited education." The doctrine of the protection of American manufactures, especially that of paper, by a protective tariff has rarely had a more able defender than Wellington Smith. Fully pos- sessed of all the facts and having made a thorough study of them Mr. Smith makes deductions which are almost logically irresistable and which results fully sustain. Mr. Smith's able pen was largely employed in this direction while he held the office of president of the association and at other times. He peremptorily declined a reelection against the wishes of the whole body, for reasons which concerned his own business and also because he believed that other parts of the country ought to be promi- nently represented in its management ; but his interest in it was not in the least diminished. He is still a great leader in the paper making business of the United States.
In 1874 Mr. Smith made a tour of Europe and wrote home letters of great interest, which showed how brilliant his powers of observation
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
were. His vivid description of different cities and other points of interest left no doubt that, however his education had been obtained, it was of a character to be proud of. There was nothing in them but what indicated a thoroughly well educated gentleman.
At the convention of the eleventh Congressional distriet for the choice of delegates to the national republican convention of 1880 for the nomina- tion of president and vice president of the United States there was mach excited feeling, and the gentleman who was first expected to be elected from the Hampden portion of the district was defeated. Mr. Wellington Smith was, however, elected. not only without opposition but with the hearty approval of both sections of the party. He was opposed to the reelection of General Grant, at first favored the nomination of Edmunds. but early looked for the nomination of General Garfield, which he con- sidered the best which could be made and sustained. Events gave evi- dence of his good judgment. He proposed General Garfield before the meeting of the convention and his views were printed in the New York Herald. After the nomination he gave him earnest and valuable support, which was well appreciated, although Mr. Smith neither desired nor re- ceived any office from the national government.
In the year 1882 the office of executive councilor for the eighth district fell to Berkshire, and Mr. Smith was chosen by a large majority. A journal, not of a partisan character, speaking of his nomination, said : "He is eminently qualified for the position of councilor. Not alone be- cause he is tried and sagacions in business, for he has other qualities which fit him for the place. He is a man with a mind of his own, not vacillating, but quick to see the right side of a question, and just as quick to see the wrong and oppose it." He served faithfully and well through the difficult year of General Butler's administration, but de. clined reelection on account of the pressure of business affairs, although the tone and recommendation of leading jurnals suggested that if he con- tinned in politics he would soon have been elected Congressman or gover- nor. But he is yet young and one or the other of these may come in good time if he desires it.
Mr. Smith represented the paper makers of the county before the Congressional tariff commission at Chicago and performed that service in a way which might well lead the paper making community to desire to see him upon the floor of the House of Representatives and hear from him there. His remarks there and admirable letters which he wrote at the time were published throughout the country and some of them in England.
In 1882 Wellington Smith was president of the Ancient and Honora ble Berkshire Agricultural Society, and it was visited, through his intin- ence, by Governor Long, Congressman (now Governor, Robinson, and candidate Bishop.
In 1861 Mr. Smith married Miss Mary, daughter of William A. Shan- non, of Lee, who was born at Northampton. March 25th, 1839. She died
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in 1877, and the expressions of grief for her loss were exceptional throughout the community. He was again married in 1878. to Miss Annie, daughter of James Bullard, of Lee.
THOMAS HURLBUT.
Berkshire county has drawn liberally from Old Connecticut for its supply of enterprising, thrifty citizens, attracted hither on account of its manufacturing privileges, offered upon its numerous and never-failing streams. The list of such men, if it could be collected, would be a for- midable one.
Thomas Hurlbut was an honored name in that list. He was born in Wethersfield, Conn., September 20th, 1794. the only son of Ozias and Eunice Hurlbut. His parents were married May 22d, 1793. A daughter, Mary, was their only other child. Thomas Hurlbut received his educa- tion in the common school and academy of his native place. In 1822 he formed a copartnership with Charles M. Owen, under the firm name of Owen & Hurlbut. These men were of the same age, and this partnership continned unbroken thirty-eight years. They purchased of the firm of Brown & Curtis the " two vat " paper mill in South Lee, which had been built by Samuel Church in 1806, the second mill in the county, one at Dalton, erected in 1801, being the first. They were prosperous in their business and purchased the grist mill, near their first mill, and converted it into a paper mill. These mills were situated on the right bank of the Housatonic Riyer.
They also purchased other mill sites and lands for futureuse. They also bought the " Forge," at South Lee, on the opposite bank of the river. so as to control the entire water power of the river at that point, and on that site erected a flouring mill ; the site now covered by the Hurlbut Paper Company's new mill. They put in a cylinder in 1833, a calendar in 1834, and a ruling machine in 1836, showing an early adoption of all improvements in their business.
The firm also, in 1857-S, built the mill in Honsatonic, now owned by the Owen Paper Company. In April, 1860, the firm dissolved, Mr. Hurl- but retaining the property in South Lee, and Mr Owen that at Honsa- tonic, and each associated a son in the business. It is just to remark that the instance is rare where the partners of a firm worked together for so many years so successfully and harmoniously. The name of Owen & Hurlbut became the synonym for just and honorable dealing,and the water mark of " O. & H." was the guarantee, the country over, for good goods.
Mr. Hurlbut married, December 10th. 1829, Lucy Loomer. He had already built at South Les the fine residence which has been the birth- place of all his children, and is the cherished homestead of the family.
Their children are as follows :
Jane L., born May 27th, 1832, wife of Henry M. Clark, of Boston : two children, Henry Clark, jr., and Catherine H.
Thomas Otis, born June 14th, 1834. senior partner in the firm of
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HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE COUNTY.
Hurlbnt Paper Company, and who became associated with his father upon the dissolution of the firm of Owen & Hurlbut.
Mary Deming, born December 22d, 1836, widow of J. Walter Kar- rick, who died in Lonisville, Ky., September 4th, 1871. One danghter, Lucy Loomer.
John Butler, born December 12th. 1839, died September 19th, 1841. Helen Augusta, born August 13th, 1842; living at the homestead.
Henry Clay, born April 11th, 1845 ; junior partner of Hurlbut Paper Company.
Frances Louisa, born April 18th. 1847, died April 4th, 1850.
Thomas Hurlbut died at his residence, April 28th, 1861, aged 66 years, 7 months. and 8 days. His wife survived him many years. She died at the homestead March 4th, 1880, aged 74 years and 4 months. Mr. Huribut was a man devoted to his business, cared little or nothing for public life, his chief delights being his family and business. He did, however, consent to serve his district one term in the General Court. He was a regular attendant upon the Congregational church'at Stockbridge, of which his wife was a member. For a short time after the dissolution of the firm of Owen & Hurlbut the business was carried on under the name of the South Lee Paper Company. In 1864 the Hurt- but Paper Company was formed, at first a stock company, but as such was soon dissolved, and has since been carried on under the same name as a partnership, Thomas O. and Henry C. Hurlbut constituting the firm.
In 1872 their new mill, 373 feet long, 50 feet wide, and, including basement and attic, four stories high, was built. All modern improve- ments in building and machinery have been introduced in the building and furnishing of this mill. The whole product is 10,000 pounds of fine writing paper per day.
AMOS GEAR HULBERT.
The subject of this sketch, Amos Gear Hulbert, the seventh child and second son of Amos and Esther (Gear) Hulbert, was born at Wethers- field, Conn., February 7th, 1799. He was a descendant of Lientenant Thomas Hulbert (or Hurlbut), the ancestor of the Hulbert family of Con- necticut, who was born in England in 1598, and emigrated to this country in 1630. In 1636 he was an officer of the first company that garrisoned the fort at Saybrook, Conn .; served and was wounded in the Pequot war, and later, settled in Wethersfield. Conn., where he died in 1673. aged seventy-six years. From his second son, John, born in 1638, and who settled in Middletown, Conn., and through his third son, Ebenezer, and his son, Ebenezer 2d, who died in 1777, and his son, Amos, born in 1752 and died at Lee, Mass., in 1835, descended Amos Gear Hulbert.
The early boyhood of Amos was spent in Suffield, Conn., where the family resided from 1799 till 1808. Then for two years he was at Bland- ford, Mass .. at which time (1810) his father removed with his family to Mill River, near to Sheffield, Mass., and remained three years.
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. TOWN OF LEE.
From Mill River, when eleven years of age, Amos went back to Wethersfield for the purpose of attending the academy. While here he lived with an aunt and gave himself diligently to his studies, in which he made good progress. Returning in a year or two to. Mill River, he helped his father on his farm, and when there was not full employment on the farm for bis teams he used them in carting ore to a furnace near Copake, and Amos drove one of the teams. So bright and intelligent did he appear, and so faithful to his duties was he, that one day the owner of the furnace to which he carried the ore put his hand kindly upon the boy's head, and pushing back the hair from his brow, said : ". My lad, yon will do something better than this some day." Often in after years Mr. Hulbert referred to this incident as having fairly thrilled him with hope and conrage. Soon after, desiring to become a carriage maker, he served his time as an apprentice in Canaan and Salisbury, Conn., and then found employment as a journeyman in Great Barrington and Stock- bridge, Mass.
In 1820, when twenty-one years of age, Mr. Hulbert. with his brother Samuel Augustus, removed to Lee, where they established themselves in the carriage manufacturing business.
They erected shops in what was formerly called " The Huddle." very near the present site of the mills of the Smith Paper Company. Here they pushed their business with great energy and skill, but in a short time a fire swept away all their buildings. It was a severe test to the young manufacturers, but with that courage and promptness which ever after characterized them, and assisted by the kindly citizens who "turned in to give them a hand," they soon erected more commodious buildings on grounds north of the present railroad station. Though during the first decade of their business there was no railroad transpor- tation to New York, Albany, and Boston, the skillful young mechanics soon gained for their carriages such a high reputation that from these cities, and through their agents there, from the South and West, and from beyond the Atlantic, orders poured in upon them. One apprentice after another was taken. and so thoroughly were they trained as mechanics and men that the manufactory of S. & A. Hulbert was re- garded as one of the best schools of preparation for a manly and prosperous life. To have served one's time with S. & A. Hulbert was regarded as a diploma which entitled its holder to position and respect in any community.
January 27th, 1824. Mr. Hulbert was married to Cynthia. eldest danghter of Ansel Bassett, of Lee, and immediately commenced . honse keeping" in the house which he had purchased at the northern terminus of Main street and contiguous to the manufactory. The house, now oc. cupied by Dr. E. Wright, who married Mr. Hulbert's daughter Julia. enlarged and improved, still stands, and here for over 45 years Mr. and Mis. Hulbert lived. Relatives and friends from far and near received the most cordial welcome and boundless hospitality. The sonsand daughters of
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Lee, especially the apprentices, some of them men of character and influence in the land, recall with grateful memories the worthy couple.
Though not born in Lee Mr. Hulbert was as thoroughly interested in and identified with its growth and prosperity as if he had been " to the manor born."
He united with the Congregational church in 1822 and continued in its communion till the close of his life. Though Mr. Hulbert was . fer. vent in spirit " he was never accustomed to a leading participation in the meetings for prayer and conference, but his home was made sacred by the family altar where, till his last sickness, he was accustomed to lead the family devotions.
His prominent characteristics were cordiality, frankness, a spirit of investigation, indomitable perseverance, and great thoroughness in all he undertook. In every thought and fibre and movement he was an enthu- siastic business man, and the perfect system with which he arranged all his affairs allowed him opportunity for social life and for reading, in both of which he became more interested as the years passed on : and this en- thusiasm was tempered by such wise and careful conservatism as effectu- ally guarded him against imprudent speculations and investments.
When, in 1849, the Stockbridge & Pittsfield Railroad came to Lee and cut through the very center of the carriage shops, the partnership which had continued for nearly thirty years was dissolved. In the settle- ment Mr. Hulbert purchased the buildings, moved and transformed many of them into dwelling houses, which he continued to superintend even at the ripe age of four score and five years. Nor was this enough for his diligence and enterprise. Soon after the closing of his career as a mann- facturer he entered upon the fire insurance business, and continued to write risks till within a few weeks of his death. To Stockbridge. to Lenox, to Pittsfield he drove in company with friends visiting under his hospitable roof, after eighty years of age, with all the best and business push of his early life.
In the summer of 1873 when 74 years of age. Mr. Hulbert, in com- pany with Rev. Edward P. Ingersoll, of Brooklyn. N. Y., and Rev. J. L. R. Trask, of Holyoke, visited Great Britain and the Continent of Europe. extending the trip as far east as Vienna, where the World's Fair was then being held. He entered with the enthusiasm of a young man into all the scenes and experiences of travel, and gave himself to the thorough investigation of things both new and old. He seemed to see everything and was not content until, by questions and investigation, he could so completely master what he saw that he could store it away in memory for future reflection and use.
One evening in London, after a very full day of riding and walking from place to place, one of the " boys" (for so the " dominies" counted themselves) said : " Uncle, hadn't we better call a cab ? It is after ten o'clock and it is three miles to our lodgings?"" Are you tired ?" said the oll gentleman. " No, sir!"' was the response, but with an upward
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inflection. "Come on, then," said the veteran, and with firm steps he marched to his lodgings.
The writer of this sketch vividly recalls the enthusiasm of Mr. Hul- bert when the " Lee Centennial" was approaching, and yet more vividly the mingling of surprise and deep interest with which his fellow towns- men and friends turned their eyes upon him, as upon that memorable oc- casion he arose and with a voice thrilling with emotion read a volunteer toast which he had prepared. Mounted upon a chair and clinging with his right hand to a tent pole he said : " In looking over this interesting andience I see many on whose heads the almond tree has flourished, and to those I offer the following :
" The aged who have borne the heat of the day-In patience possess ve your souls. Your days are numbered but not finished ; may those that remain be your brightest and best." The sentiment was at once no- ble, poetic, tearful. and devont, and received the hearty and grateful ap- plause of the multitude.
In person, Mr. Hulbert, like his brother, was above the medium height. As the years advanced he became rounded and robust in frame, which gave dignity to his bearing. relieved and softened by the pleasant radiance of his countenance, which. in conversation, was always aglow with the affection and enthusiasm of his nature. Usually declining office and shrinking from public positions he always had a lively interest in the affairs of the town, and was honored by his fellow townsmen with vari- ous offices of trust the duties of which he fulfilled with his usual promptness and thoroughness.
During the early summer of 1884 it was evident to his friends that he was nearing the end of life. But though oppressed with sickness and the weariness of age he held bravely to his employments till the middle of July, after which he was obliged to relinquish his customary duties. Slowly he yielded. Tenderly ministered to by his daughter and her hus. band ; cheered by visits from his son, Mr. H. C. Hulbert, of New York ; comforted by the kindly sympathies of his pastor and friends and above all sustained by a blessed hope of immortality in Christ. upon the 6th day of August he died, and in the fullness of years was "gathered to his fathers.'
HENRY CARLTON HULBERT.
Henry C. Hulbert, at present senior member of the house of H. C. Hulbert & Co., No. 53 Beekman street. New York, and for nearly thirty. five years a resident of Brooklyn. is the o fly son of Amos G. and Cynthia (Bassett ; Hulbert.
Henry C. Hulbert was born at Lee, Mass., December 19th, 1831. The paternal branch of the family settled in this country, at Saybrook, Conn., in 1630, in the person of Lieut. Thomas Hulbert.
His mother. Cynthia Bassett. was a descendant of the families of
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Bassett and Dimmock, both early settlers of Plymouth, Mass. The fam- ilies removed from Cape Cod to Loe about 1770.
Mr. Hulbert, in his early boyhood, attended the district school which was held in the brick school house just across the Housatonic near the foot of the "Col. Nye Hill." At ten years of age he entered the old Lee Academy, and continued his stu lies until thirteen years of age. He then entered the store of William Taylor, of Lop, where he remained for six months. Then returning to school life, he continued his studies in the Lee Academy until he was sixteen years of age.
At school he was a leader among the boys, and not backward in as. serting what he thonght to be his rights. At one time Mr. Kimball. the principal at the academy, refuse & certain privileges usual in regard to re- hearsing for an exhibition. A meeting of the boys was agreed upon at Mr. A. G. Hulbert's barn. The case was thoroughly disenssed. and the boys, under the leadership of Henry, agreed to present one more re. spectful demand for their rights, and if not allowed, to withdraw in a body on the night of the exhibition.
They proceeded to the post office, then at the foot of Academy street. where they met Mr. Kimball who yielded much more readily than it was supposed he would, granting the boys all their requests without their threats of proceeding to extremities, which would have been promptly carrried out if they had been denied.
Later years explained the reason for so ready a compliance. It seems Mr. A. G. Hulbert, without the knowledge of the boys, was in the barn when the boys convened, and, unobserved, heard their disenssion. Bring satisfied the boys were in the right, and knowing the determination of their leader to stand by what he believed to be just (being a chip of the old block), he hurried down town. met the teacher, showed him the trouble that would follow if the boys were longer deprived of their rights, and persuaded him to grant their request if made in a proper manner. imme- diately without discussion.
At the age of sixteen, eager for a mercantile life. Henry re entered the store of William Taylor as junior clerk, where, however, he remained only a few months. At this time an incident occurred that exhibitedl the peculiar promptness of the employer, and the trust he put in his junior clerk. One day a man from Lenox Furnace called at the store for a bar- rel of flour. Henry told the head clerk not to trust him, and was advised to "mind his own business." The man drove up the street and m .: Mr. Taylor who, recognizing his flour, hurried to the store and asked if the man had paid for it, and upon being informed it was charged, he turned to the head clerk and said : " Didn't you know this man was not good ! Henry knew he was not worthy of credit. Henry knows every man in town, and if you don't know a man is good. ask him. Now Henry. fol- low that man and make him bring it back." Henry followed him, found him at the head of the street at another store, climbed into the wagen and waited. As the man came out of the store Henry insisted upon the re-
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turn of the barrel of flour. The man refused, and ordered the boy out of the wagon, but there was no "get out " to the boy. Finally, by tact and firmness combined, Henry got the man back to the store, where he was soundly berated by Mr. Taylor, who said: " You tried to steal a barrel of flour from my boys while I was away."
After a few months (May, 1848) Henry accepted a situation in the dry goods store of Plunkett & Hulbert, at Pittsfield, at that time one of the largest establishments in Western Massachusetts.
On his way to Pittsfield his father, who accompanied him, said, "My boy. I give you your time, you can have what you earn. I shall give you nothing until I die, so you must take care of yourself. After this I
shall never give you another order. Hereafter it will be advice. But I wish to say now, and my last order is, wherever you are placed in life be a man. Don't shirk responsibility. If you get into trouble pay your way like a man if you have to sell your shirt off your back, and be smart enough not to get caught the second time."
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