History of Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 1656-1894, Part 60

Author: Kingman, Bradford, 1831-1903. 4n
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1170

USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Brockton > History of Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 1656-1894 > Part 60

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1883, April. William M. Thompson succeeds Mr. Sumner A. Hay- ward in the insurance business, having been for ten years connected with Mr. Hayward in that business.

1883, April 24. Mayor Henry H. Packard's sixty-fifth birthday celebrated at his residence on Belmont street, a goodly gathering were present from various towns, and the occasion was very enjoyable to the host, as well as to all present.

1883. Grand Army Hall in Ryder's block opened June 23.

1883. Bryant's block, corner of Maine and Centre, was erected by Sidney L. Washburn, builder.

1883. The Home National Bank and Charles C Bixby purchased the land at the corner of Main and Church streets, known as the Ruel Richmond estate, upon which they erected the present brick structure, with all modern improvements, in June, 1883. The block is 80 by 112.

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HISTORY OF BROCKTON.

1883. Joslyn's block was begun in July; W. A. Howard, archi- tect, Sidney L. Washburn, builder.

1883, July. The Horse Railroad Company purchased of Charles H. Eldred five acres of land, cast of the residence of Caleb H. Packard in Campello, for the purpose of erecting car stables and buildings for the use of that company

1883. Charles T. Reynolds & Sons, L. Mason, Jay B. and Bion F., have completed a family burial lot, adjoining the Pleasant Street Ceme- tery, otherwise called Thayer Burying Ground, July, 1883.

1883, August. The new webbing factory of Messrs. Herbert & Rapp, was erected in August. Size 160 and 40 feet.

1883, November 12. Frederic W. Ladd, a young man in the em- ploy of Wilson Morse, was severely injured by the discharge of cart- ridges, which he carried in his pocket for the purpose of blasting rocks.

1884, May 31. S. B. and G. E. Curtis purchased the homestead of Tyler Cobb, at the corner of High and Main streets, containing 14,480 square feet of land, for $68,000, or about five dollars and forty five cents per foot, being the highest price ever paid per foot for real estate in the city.

1884, June 4. A large and enthusiastic gathering of the members of the " Old Adelphian Academy " was held in Joslyn's Hall to day, after a lapse of forty years since the school closed. The former preceptors and proprietors, Messrs. Silas L. and La Fayette C. Loomis, were wel- comed heartily, and the exercises were of a most interesting character. Hon. James Sidney Allen presided in the forenoon, welcoming all and introducing the members. A banquet was served in " Satucket " Hall by " Davenport," of Campello, to 268 guests. At the conclusion of this most interesting exercise President Albert G. Boyden, A. M., of the State Normal School, Bridgewater, called the meeting to order, and speeches were made by Robert Bickford, Esq., of Boston, who acted as toastmaster, the Messrs. Loomis, J. S. Barrell of Cambridge, Bradford Kingman, Esq., of Brookline, J. H. Buffum for the Press, Dr. William Everett of Hyde Park, Dr. Liberty D. Packard of South Boston, J. Mason Everett of Canton, the venerable Josiah W. Kingman, Esq., the only surviving trustee of the institution, B. W. Packard and Rev. Mar- cus Ames of Westboro. The success of this most interesting gathering

Josiah W. Kingman

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MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS.

was largely due to the efforts of the secretary, Mrs. George C. Cary, of Brockton, who had been indefatigable in her efforts to bring all the members together.

1884, November. The History of Plymouth county was published, including a history of Brockton by Bradford Kingman, Esq , of Brook- line.

1884, December 4. Josiah W. Kingman, Esq., of Campello, died to-day. He was a highly-respected gentleman and had held various offices in the town, and was a public spirited, progressive citizen.

1888, May 21. A few days previous to the disappearance of the " Old Green House" at the corner of Main and Depot streets, now Perkins avenue, Campello, a goodly number of the descendants of the late Bela Keith, Esq., assembled to renew old associations and look over the old homestead, where so many and happy years had been spent, and bid farewell to the old mansion. The building was removed soon after, and the new and elegant " Franklin Building " took its place.

1888, August 10. A large gathering of the Packard family was held in the agricultural grounds, Belmont street, Brockton, the occasion be- ing the 250th anniversary of the landing of Samuel Packard in this country. Upwards of 600 were seated at the banquet. Martland's Band furnished good music. De Witt Clinton Packard, Esq., the pres- ent able city clerk of Brockton, president of the association, presided on that occasion.

1888, November 30. Mr. Milo Manley, of Marshall's Corner, lost lost part of his hand in a hay cutter.

1889, May 30. C. H. Callahan, station baggagemaster, had his col- lar bone dislocated at Campello, in coupling a car to the engine.

1889, June 12. The second reunion of the " Adelphian Academy " was held in Joslyn's Hall, Center street, to-day, with addresses and poems appropriate to the occasion, and a banquet furnished by Cook, of Boston. Horace N. Tucker, of Stoughton, presided.

1889, July. Edward B. Mellen, S. Franklin Packard, Lucius Leach and Frank E. Packard, formed a copartnership for the purpose of con- ducting a real estate and insurance business.

1889, September 3. Benjamin K. Martis, a farmer at 9 N. Pearl street, Brockton Heights, dropped dead of heart disease while at work.

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HISTORY OF BROCKTON.

1889, October. George E. Keith opened a lunch room in his factory for the benefit of his employees. It is said to have been a success and was patronized by over 300 people daily. A novel idea and original with the proprietor. Mr. Keith with his accustamed liberality donates the profits derived from this branch of his business to the direct benefit of his employees, the money to be used as a fund for the sick under the direction of a committee made up of one representative from each de- partment in the factory.

1890, January. The Old Colony Railroad purchased the land for- merly belonging to Lyman E. Cobb, on Centre street, and used as a grocery store.

1890, February i. Fred M. Bixby and Herbert M. Chase entered into co-partnership as attorneys and counselors at law. Mr. Bixby is now an associate justice of the police court of Brockton.

1890, July 8. A large gathering of the Kingman Family was held to-day, at the exhibition hall of the Agricultural Society in Brockton, on Belmont street. There were present about four hundred persons and the occasion was one long to be remembered. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Kingman Memorial Association, of which Hosea Kingman, Esq., is president. Bradford Kingman, Esq., of Brook- line, Mass., historian and corresponding secretary, Martin Kingman, recording secretary and Rufus P. Kingman, Esq., of Brockton, treasurer. The occasion was the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the landing and settlement of Henry Kingman and his family, at Weymouth, in 1635, who was the ancestor of nearly all of that name in America. The day was extremely hot, but notwithstanding about four hundred persons sat down to the banquet. Martland's Brockton Band enlivened the occasion by their best music.

After-dinner exercises consisted of an opening address of welcome by the president, Hosea Kingman, Esq. A hearty reception to the city by the mayor of Brockton, Hon. William

L. Douglas.

Prayer by the chaplain of the day, Rev. F. A. Warfield,

of Brockton. Historical address by Bradford Kingman, Esq. Then followed short but interesting speeches by Matthew Kingman, Esq., of Peoria, Ill., the oldest member of the family present who had come a long distance to meet his kinspeople. Messrs. Martin Kingman, Esq., a distinguished merchant from Peoria. Hon. Richmond Kingman, a

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MISCELLANEOUS EVENTS.

a banker from Battle Creek, Mich. Arthur L. Kingman, Esq., of the great and growing city of the west, Duluth, Mich. A. Willard King- man, merchant, New York city and his brother, Thomas S. Kingman. His Excellency, Governor Herbert W. Ladd, one of the relatives, of Providence, R. I., was present and addressed the family, with his con- gratulations for the success of the Association. A highly interesting feature of the day was a family poem, by Miss Elizabeth A. Kingman, an enthusiastic and interested member of the association. The poem was full of personal interest to the different branches of the family name and was warmly applauded. Another interesting poem was read by Mrs. Bethia H. Thayer, of Brockton, another member of the family, which was well received and highly appreciated. Through the courtesy of George H. Kingman, Esq., a director in the East Side Street Rail- way, the party was taken to ride through the city on their cars, and afterward assembled around a monument in Union cemetery, which had been generously donated to the association by Rufus P. Kingman, Esq., president of the Home National Bank, of Brockton. The monument was unveiled by Henry Martin Kingman, of Brockton, about five o'clock in the afternoon, with exercises appropriate to the occasion, singing, prayers etc. The dedicatory address was by Bradford Kingman, and a vote of thanks was offered by Hon. Warren Ladd, of New Bedford, Mass., father of Governor Ladd, which were unanimously adopted. After a profusion of flowers distributed around the shaft, the bene- diction was pronounced by Rev. Josiah L. Armes, of Nashua, N. H.

1890, September. A public fountain was erected by Mrs Nathan Keith, as a memorial to the Perkins family, on Trinity Square, Perkins avenue, Campello.

1890, October 7. Dedication of the new fire engine house, corner of North Main and Howard streets, at Montello.

1891, February 2. A passenger train on the Old Colony Railroad collided with an electric car of the East Side Street Railway at Cres- cent street crossing. The motor car was partially destroyed, and Mrs. John Dawson severely injured, with several others slightly injured.

1891, June 10. Frank Murphy, aged six years, ran under the gates at a railroad crossing, and was killed by a train.

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HISTORY OF BROCKTON.

1891, July 8. The second family reunion of the Kingman family in America took place at Elkins Park, Brockton, to-day. Martland's band discoursed their best music. Addresses and original poems, with a fine collation, were the attractions of the hour. The meeting was presided over by Bradford Kingman, Esq, of Brookline, historian of the King- man Memorial Association.

Hon. Ziba Cary Keith, mayor of Brockton, was among the invited guests and gave an address of welcome to the family in behalf of the city. Ezra Kingman, Esq., of East Bridgewater, Davis Copeland, Esq., of West Bridgewater, and Hon. Warren Ladd, of New Bedford, made addresses appropriate to the occasion. Rev. N. B. Thompson was chaplain of the day.

1892, June I. The third reunion of the Adelphian Academy was held this day in Red Men's Hall, Clark's block, being the forty-eighth anniversary of the organization of the institution. The Messrs. Loomis, of Washington, D. C., and Florida were present and greeted their old pupils, and the day was a happy one to all. S. Franklin Packard, Esq , was chairman of the committee of arrangements. Bradford Kingman, Esq., of Brookline, was president of the day. Rev. Joseph F. Lover- ing, of Somerville, chaplain ; D. H. Blanchard, of Avon, treasurer ; Mrs. George C. Cary, of Brockton, secretary. Hon. Ziba C. Keith, mayor of Brockton, gave the address of welcome to the city. Albert C. Boyden, A. M., principal of the State Normal School, Bridgewater, and other prominent men were present. Music by Burrill, and an elegant ban- quet made the day very enjoyable. Original poems by Mrs. Clarrissa Faxon, of Brockton, and Mrs. Deborah C. Chace, of Amboy, Ill., and B. W. Packard, Esq., of South Boston.

1892, December 22. The Cunningham Rifles, Company I, First Regiment of Infantry, M. V. M., dedicated their new armory in Cres- cent block, and is said to be one of the largest of any in the Common- wealth. A musical concert from 8 to 9 p. m., and dancing until 2:30 a. m., together with the attendance of persons high in military circles, and State officials made the occasion most enjoyable and long to be remembered.

1893, January 28. Ira Bosworth, station agent at Campello, fell from a freight car and broke his leg.

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BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE.

1893, March 4. J. G. Grew fell from an engine and was severely bruised at Montello.

1893, May 23. Richard F. Johnson, station agent at Montello, fell from a freight car and was severely bruised.

1893. A portion of the north part of West Bridgewater, including what is known as the Copeland district, was annexed to Brockton by an act of Legislature, May S.

1894, February 20. Rufus P. Kingman, Esq., a highly respected citizen of Brockton, died to-day. He had held many offices of public confidence, was a merchant of the old town, president of two banks, selectman of the town, and treasurer, and at the time of his death was doing faithful work as chairman of the Sewerage Commission, beside other public duties as a financial manager.

CHAPTER XXX.

BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE.

Egyptian Sandalmakers - When First Used - Origin of Shoes - Early Mention in Bible -- Styles of Various Nations-Gentle Craft-Shoes in 1689 -- Cordwainers-Sous of Crispin -- Eminent Shoemakers -- List of Brockton Manufacturers -- Brockton as a Boot and Shoe Manufacturing City-Sewing Machines -- Prosperity of the Same -- Boot and Shoe Trade of New England -- Introduction of Pegs and Machinery -- Seventy -five Years Ago -- Micah Faxon, the First Manufacturer -- Other Early Manufacturers --- In- crease from 1816 -- Goods Manufactured in 1855, 1865 -- Machinery Used --- Retail Dealers-Prominent Manufacturers.

T HE most ancient representations we possess of scenes in ordinary life are the sculptures and paintings of early Egypt, and these, the investigations of travelled scholars from the most civilized countries have, by their descriptions and delineations, made familiar to us so that the habits and manners, as well as the costumes of this ancient people, have been handed down to the present time by the work of their own hands with so vivid a truthfulness that we feel as conversant with their domestic manners and customs as with those of any modern nation to

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HISTORY OF BROCKTON.

which the book of the traveller would introduce us. Not only do their pictured relics remain to give us an insight into their mode of life, but a vast quantity of articles of all kinds, from the tools of the workmen to the elegant fabrics which once decorated the boudoir of the fair ladies of Memphis and Carnac upwards of three thousand years ago, are treasured up in the museums, both public and private, of this and other countries.

With these materials it is in nowise difficult to carry our history of shoemaking back to the earliest times, and even to look upon the shoe- maker at his work in the early days of Thothmes the third, who ascended the throne of Egypt, according to Wilkinson, 1495 years before Christ, and during whose reign the Exodus of the Israelites occurred. When the Italian scholar Rassellini was preparing his great work on Egypt he copied a curious painting as it existed on the walls of Thebes, which represented two shoemakers sitting at their work on their low stools (specimens of which may be found in the British Museum, London), busily engaged in the formation of sandals then usually worn in Egypt. The first workman is piercing with his awl the leather thong at the side of the sole through which the straps were passed which secured the sandal to the foot ; before him is a low sloping bench, one end of which rests upon the ground ; his fellow-workman is equally busy sewing a shoe and tightening the thong with his teeth, a primitive mode of working which is occasionally indulged in at the present day.

The semi-circular knife used by the Egyptians three thousand years since is precisely similar to that of our modern curriers, and is also represented in a painting at Thebes, of that remote age. The warmth and mildness of the East rendered a close, warm shoe unnecessary, and indeed, in the present day they partake there more of the character of slippers ; and the foot thus unconfined by tight shoes and always free in its motion retained its full power and pliability ; and the custom still retained in the East, of holding a strap of leather or other substance between the toes, as represented in the Theban paintings ; Wilkinson in his work on the ' Manners and Customs " of this people says : " Ladies and men of rank paid great attention to the beauty of their sandals ; but on some occasions those of the middle classes who were in the

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BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE.

habit of wearing them preferred walking barefooted, and in religious ceremonies the priests frequently took them off while performing their duties in the temple."

The first known to have been used were fifteen hundred years before Christ, and the first or oldest form was the sandal. Those used by the poorer classes consisted of flat slices of the palm leaf, lapped in the cen - tre, forming the sole, and a double band of twisted leaves secured and strengthened the edge. A thong of strong fibres of the same plant was affixed to each side of the instep, and was secured round the foot, while those of the wealthy classes were made of leather, and frequently lined with cloth, the point or end turning up like a pair of modern skates. Specimens of these sandals, made of leaves or papyrus, are now on ex- hibition in the British Museum. Among the Hebrews shoes were often made of wood, and those for soldiers of brass or iron. Among the Greeks and Romans the use of shoes was not common, and the Spartan youths were early taught to go barefooted, females only being allowed to wear shoes.

From the earliest days there has been a great diversity of style in the different periods of time. The Lacedemonians wore red shoes. Roman senators and patricians wore high black laced buskins, with ornaments of ivory. Some were made with tops of great length, to cover the legs, and were called boots, the tops often being made of skins of wild ani- mals, laced up in front, great care being taken to procure an exact fit.

The Jews commonly went without covering for the feet, except when on very long journeys it became necessary to wear something-in such cases sandals, made simply of a sole, with one or two straps across the instep, heels being seldom used.

The origin of Shoes is from the Hebrew (naal) which signifies both sandal and shoe, although in our translation it is always rendered Shoe. The term is frequently mentioned in Sacred Writ, as when Moses ex- horts the Jews to obedience. Deut. XXIX, 5 -And I have led you forty years in the wilderness ; your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. [Year 1451 B. C.]

In Ruth, 4th chapter, we have a curious instance of the important part performed by the shoe in the ancient days of Israel concerning redeeming, and concerning changing, for to confirm all things : A man

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HISTORY OF BROCKTON.

plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, and this was a testi- mony in Israel, Ruth, and all the property of three other persons, are given over to Boaz by the act of the next kinsman, who gives to him his shoe in the presence of witnesses. The ancient law compelled the eldest brother, or kinsman by her late husband's side, to marry a widow · if her husband died childless. The law of Moses provided an alterna- tive, easy in itself, but attended with some degree of ignominy. The woman was in public court to take off his shoe, spit before his face, saying, so shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house ; and probably the fact of this refusal was stated in the genealogical registers in connection with his name, which is probably what is meant by " his name shall be called in Israel, the house of him that hath his shoe loosed." Deut. XXV, 9. The editor of Knight's Pictorial Bible, who notices these curious laws, also adds that the use of the shoe in the transactions with Boaz are perfectly intelligible; the taking off the shoe denoting the relinquishment of the right, and the dissolution of the obligation in the one instance and its transfer in the other. The shoe is regarded as constituting possession, nor is this idea unknown to ourselves, in being conveyed in the homely proverbial ex- pression by which one man is said to " stand in the shoes of another," and the vulgar idea of " throwing an old shoe after you for luck," is typical of a wish that temporal gifts or good fortune may follow you. At the present time the use of the shoe as a token of right or occupancy may be traced very extensively in the East, and however various and dissimilar the instances may seem at first view, the leading idea may still be detected in all.

In Western Asia slippers left at the door of an apartment denote that the master or mistress is engaged, and no one ventures on intru- sion, not even a husband, though the apartment be his wife's. Messrs. Tyerman and Bennett, in speaking of the termagants of Benares, say : " If domestic or other business calls off one of the combatants before the affair is duly settled, she coolly thrusts her shoe beneath her basket and leaves both upon the spot, to signify that she is not satisfied ;" meaning to denote by leaving her shoe that she kept possession of the ground and the arguments during her unavoidable absence. From these circumstances it would appear that the employment of the shoe may,

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BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE.

in some respects, be considered analogous to that which prevailed in the middle ages, of giving a glove as a token of investure when bestow- ing lands and dignities.

That the shoe was an article in common use among the ancient Israelites we may infer from the passage in Genesis, chap. XIV, v. 23, the first mention we have of this article, where Abraham makes oath to the King of Sodom, " that he will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet," thus assuring its common character.

The Gibeonites " came with old shoes and clouted [mended] upon their feet," the better to practice their deceit, and therefore they said, " Our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey." Josh- ua IX, 15.

Isaiah " walked three years naked and barefooted ; " he went this long period without shoes contrary to the custom of the people, and as a wonder, unto Egypt and Ethiopia. Isaiah XX, 2.

That the sandals and shoes become an article of luxury and refine- ment may be seen in the manner in which the Jewish ladies were par- ticular about their sandals. We are told that although Holofernes was attracted by the general richness of her dress and personal ornaments, yet it was " her sandals ravished his eyes." Again we find the bride in Solomon's song is met with the exclamation : "How beautiful are thy feet with sandals, O prince's daughter !"

Thus we find frequent references to the use of shoes and sandals scat- tered throughout the sacred pages, which we quote as follows :

Exodus III, 5 .- And he said. Draw not nigh hither ; put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Exodus XII, 11 .- And thus shall ye eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet.

Deut. XXXIII, 25 .- Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

Josh. V, 15 .- And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua. loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

I Kings, 11, 5 .- Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

Mark VI, 9 .- But be shod with sandals ; and not put on two coats.

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HISTORY OF BROCKTON.

Luke XXII, 35 .-- And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything ? And they said, Nothing.

Acts XII, 8 .- And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals. And so he did.

Psalmns LY, 8 .- Moab is my wash-pot ; over Edom will I cast out my shoe. . Isaiah V, 27 .-- Neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken.

Amos II, 6 .- Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Israel, and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shocs.

Mathew III, 2 .- I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.

Mark I, 7 .- And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes, I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

Luke XV, 22 .- But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.

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History of Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 1656-1894, Part 60

Author: Kingman, Bradford, 1831-1903. 4n Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1170

Author: Kingman, Bradford, 1831-1903. 4n
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1170