History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 75

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 75

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At the city election in December, 1882, Alonzo Davis was elected mayor, and so acceptable was his administration that he was re-elected to the office the two following years, and is the only man thus far in our history as a city who has held the office of mayor for three successive years.

In 1883 it became necessary to build a fourth reser- voir, and Falulah Reservoir was accordingly con- structed that year at an expense of a little over fifty- two thousand dollars. As the City Council made no appropriation for this expenditure, it became a part of the city debt, which, November 30, 1883, was $686,- 430.70, an increase of about fourteen thousand dollars over the debt a year previous, showing that had it not been for this extraordinary expense there would have been a very material decrease in the city debt that year.

In 1883 the Wachusett Electric Light Company was incorporated, and since the fall of that year has furnished most of the principal streets of the city with brilliant and satisfactory illumination.

The year 1884 will long be remembered by the citizens of Fitchburg as the year when the Hon. Rodney Wallace made aud proceeded to carry out his generous proposition to provide the city with an elegant and commodious public library building, together with a site for the same. July 1, 1885, witnessed the completion of his noble project, the dedication of the costly and substantial structure and its formal presentation to the city by the donor. The Wallace Library and Art Building will be spoken of at greater length under the head of Libraries and Lectures, in the section on the educational history and progress of Fitchburg.

In his third inaugural address, in January, 1885, Mayor Davis recommended the construction of a system of sewers of larger capacity than then existed in the city, and, in accordance with his suggestion, plans were drawn and the work of construction entered upon the following spring. During 1885 one and a quarter miles of sewer were built, of which seven hundred and twenty-five feet consisted of a

main sewer twenty-six by thirty-nine inches, built of brick and located in Elm, Oliver and Putnam Streets.

The net debt, November 30, 1885, was $635,124.11, a gratifying decrease of over $51,000 during the two previous years. The city was in a prosperons condi- tion, and in 1885 had a population of 15,375 and a valuation of about $12,000,000. Building was brisk during the three years from 1883 to 1885 inclusive, and some new concerns were put into operation, nota- bly the Cleghorn Mills in 1885.

Several prominent citizens died in the course of these three years. Charles Burleigh, one of Fitch- bnrg's most ingenious mechanics and competent busi- ness men and a prominent member of the Putnam Machine Company, died May 28, 1883. Of his many valuable inventions the most prominent are the Bur- leigh Rock-Drill and the Patent Air-Compressor, which have made his name familiar wherever great engineering feats have been accomplished.

March 12, 1884, died Cyrus Thurston-" Uncle Cy," as he was for many years familiarly called- prominent in musical circles in Fitchburg since the early years of this century, and noted for his long and valuable service on the Board of Overseers of the Poor of the town and city of Fitchburg. Only a few days after his decease our citizens were called upon to mourn the loss of a much younger, but more noted musician, Warren S. Russell, leader of the Fitchburg Military Band.

October 27, 1884, ex-Mayor William H. Vose passed away, full of years and universally loved and. respected.

In the autumn of 1885 the temperance people of Fitchburg made a strong effort to carry the city for "no license." They nominated Frederick Fosdick, president of the Fitchburg Steam-Engine Company, as their candidate for mayor, and at the election, in De- cember, he was triumphantly elected, and no license was established by a decided majority. Mr. Fosdick served the city two years as mayor, and made a good record for himself and the city in every way ; and his efforts to carry out the principles of the temperance party, and the good success that rewarded these efforts, are deserving of the highest praise.

During 1886 and 1887 a number of changes were effected in the city affairs, which have proved to be advantageous. Mayor Fosdick, in his first inaugural address, recommended that Fitchburg follow the example of some other cities, and pay the Water Department for water used by it each year. This plan was adopted in 1886, and resulted satisfactorily, and has since been continued. By this means some $15,000 per year is paid to the Water Department, which helps materially in extinguishing the water debt without making any perceptible increase in the rate of taxation. He also recommended the appro- priation of 820,000 to the sinking fund, instead of $10,000, as heretofore, which was done.

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FITCHBURG.

Ahout this time bursts were frequently occurring in the cement-lined water mains, and Mayor Fosdick advocated replacing them with iron mains. This work was begun in the spring of 1886. The cement- lined pipe in Main Street was replaced by a 16-inch iron main, and the pipe in several other streets was replaced by iron pipe of suitable size, during the summer, at a cost of a little over $34,000, which was covered by the issue of scrip to the amount of $35,000. This, of course, increased the debt somewhat, but the increase was comparatively small (about $8,000), the net debt, November 30, 1886, being $643,369.16. About $15,000 were expended in the same way in 1887, and the debt increased about $2,500, being $646,012.27 November 30, 1887. It has been found that no repairs, or only very trifling ones, are neces- sary to keep the iron mains and pipe in good condi- tion, which causes an annual saving of several thou- sand dollars that would simply have been wasted on repairs of the old cement-lined pipe.

The rapid growth of the city during 1886-87 caused a great demand for new streets and sidewalks, and large sums were expended for these purposes. A brick trunk sewer, 36x29 inches, was built through Laurel Street, and smaller sewers through connecting streets, during the summer of 1887, at a cost of over $31,000; a substantial brick city stable was built iu 1886, at an expense of about $5,000. Thus it will he seen, that though the city spent a very large sum of money during these two years, yet it was wisely expended, and we are now in good condition to meet our constantly and rapidly.increasing prosperity.

In 1886 the Fitchburg Street Railway was incor- porated, and began to lay their track in the early sum- mer. The track-layers immediately followed the work- men engaged in replacing the cement pipe, so that Main Street was pretty thoroughly torn up during the greater part of the summer of 1886.

Much building was also going on in all parts of the city at this time, the largest building erected being the Orswell mill, built in 1886.

At the city election in December, 1887, Hon. Eli Culley, who was mayor in 1880-81, was elected by the people as their chief executive for the year 1888.

Early in 1888 the Fitchburg Railroad Company made a long contemplated move and one most ad- vantageous to Fitchburg, by purchasing a large tract of land in what is now called East Fitchburg, about a mile east of Union Passenger Station, and announc- ing their intention of using it as a location for their extensive car-shops, heretofore established and main- tained at the Boston end of the road. Work was soon begun on the necessary buildings, a description of which will be given in another section. When these shops are completed and in full operation they will cause a very material increase in the population and add much to the prosperity of the city.

July 4, 1888, witnessed a grand celebration in Fitchburg. E. V. Sumner Post 19, G. A. R., has the

credit of getting up this celebration, and the city and our citizens generally helped to make it a success by liberal gifts of money. The principal feature was a very large trades' procession in the morning. The other exercises of the day were at the Fitchburg Park, and included a dinner, addresses, sports and a balloon ascension in the afternoon, and a fine display of fire-works in the evening.

During the portion of 1888 now past death has been busy here, and up to this time (autumn) has taken from us five men who have for a long time beeu prominent in the history of Fitchburg. February 7th died Gardner S. Burbank, since 1851 an influential citizen, and for fifteen years a member of the firm of Crocker, Burbank & Co. He accumulated a large property, the most of which he left in the hands of trustees, the income to be paid to Mrs. Burbank dur- ing her life, and at her death the whole amount is to be paid over to the city of Fitchburg and devoted to the building of a city hospital.

May 23d died Hon. Alonzo Davis, an ex-mayor of Fitchburg and, since 1845, a prominent manufacturer and business man.

July 31st died John Putnam, senior founder of the Putnam Machine Company, and a resident of Fitch- burg since 1838.

September 3d died Hon. Ebenezer Torrey, for over sixty years a prominent citizen of Fitchburg. A brief sketch of Mr. Torrey appears in the Professional chapter.

October 11th ex-Mayor David H. Merriam died, being the fifth man of prominence in town to die dur- ing the first ten months of 1888.

We will close this portion of the history of Fitch- burg with a table showing statistics relative to the growth of the town since its incorporation. The pop- ulation in 1888 is estimated from the number of polls, May 1st.

Year.

Population.

Valuation.

No. of Polls.

1765

259

... ...

1791

1,151

... ....

1800

1,390

1810.

1,566

....

1820

1,736

$359,966

321

1830

2,179

540,009

494

1840

2,570

935,342

702

1850

5,120

1,995,749

1,308

1860

7,854

3,527,456

1,938

1870

11,260

10,373,403

3,248

1880

12,405

9,132,844

3,680

1885.

15,375

11,494,562

4,561

1888.

20,000

13,694,890

5,962

CHAPTER XL.

FITCHBURG-(Continued.)

HISTORY DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

IN the preparation of this portion of the sketch the writer has depended largely upon "Fitchburg in the

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

War of the Rebellion." To Henry A. Willis, Esq., the author of this valuable memorial of what Fitch- burg did to preserve the Union, the writer takes this occasion to render grateful acknowledgment for per- mission to take from it many facts essential to this portion of the history, and which cannot be easily obtained elsewhere.

Before entering upon our condensed history of Fitchburg's part in the Civil War, it may be well to give a brief account of the military companies in the town prior to the breaking out of the war.

In 1861 there were two military companies in exist- ence here. Of these, the organization which was by far the older was

THE FITCHBURG FUSILIERS .- This company was formed from the " Old Sonth " Company of the Fourth Regiment, Second Brigade, Seventh Division, Massa- chusetts Volunteer Militia, and a charter was granted it under its present name of Fitchburg Fusiliers, De- cember 14, 1816. The organization of the company was perfected at a meeting held February 3, 1817, at which time John Upton was elected captain, Alpheus Kimball, lieutenant, and Walter Johnson, ensign. The uniform adopted was "a blue coat, trimmed with bell buttons and lace, pantaloons of the same color as the coat, made to button over the boots and trimmed with bell buttons from the bottoms to the hips, and the caps were bound with red morocco and varnished and otherwise * ornamented as a committee chosen might think proper.'"

The Fusiliers first appeared publicly in their new uniforms on the Fourth of July, 1817, on which occa- sion the ladies of Fitchburg presented the company with a handsome banner. A standard was also pre- sented to the company by the ladies in September, 1841.

The Fusiliers were always on hand to attend " mus- ter," and, according to all accounts, used to have very enjoyable times at the old-fashioned muster, which was essentially different from the modern variety.

Many of our prominent citizens have commanded this company during its existence of nearly three- quarters of a century.

Its record during the war will be given further on.

At the present time this company forms a part of the Sixth Regiment Infantry, Massachusetts Volun- teer Militia, and is designated as Company B.

The other military company in town at the time of the breaking out of the war was known as

THE WASHINGTON GUARDS .- It was organized in July, 1855, on petition of Charles H. Foss and fifty- nine others, and on the 19th of the same month officers were chosen as follows: John B. Proctor, Captain ; Hiram P. Minot, First Lieutenant ; Charles H. Foss, Second Lieutenant ; Oscar A. Battles, Third Lieutenant ; Varins Stearns, Fourth Lieutenant. At a meeting a week later the name of Washington Guards was adopted by vote of the company. The uniform consisted of " a cloth cap, smaller at the top

than at the base, and surmounted by a blue pompon; dark blue pants and coat with epaulettes ; patent- leather body belts and webbing cross-belts." In February, 1859, the company purchased seventy of the well-remembered bear-skin caps.

During the war the Guards formed the nucleus of six Fitchburg companies and its name and organiza- tion were given up ; but August 23, 1866, a company was formed, chiefly through the efforts of Richard Tucker, in which were many of the old Guards. This company took the name of Union Veterans and Hiram P. Minot was chosen captain. Sept. 11, 1868, the company voted to change the name to Washington Guards. This is the present existing organization, and it forms a part of the Sixth Regiment Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, being designated as Company D. The headquarters of the Sixth Regi- ment have for some years been at Fitchburg, Henry G. Greene, of this city, holding the position of colo- nel.

At the time of the breaking out of the war Fitch- burg had a population of about eight thousand, and during the whole course of the war the town was ever ready to furnish her full share of men and money to aid the Union. Mr. Willis indeed said truly in the introduction to his book, "A community which has sent nine companies into the field during the war, which has promptly filled its quotas under all calls and has now to its credit seventy-five men surplus above all demands upon it, has certainly a record of which it may well be proud and one well worth preserving.".

It is gratifying to note that Fitchburg's zeal and activity were also officially recognized by a man, and in a manner that left no doubt as to the sincerity of the tribute to the loyalty of the town. The occasion on which these words were uttered was the funeral of Lieutenant-Colonel George E. Marshall, of the Fortieth Regiment, at the town hall in Fitchburg, and the one who spoke them was Hon. Alexander H. Bullock, then Governor of Massachusetts. Colonel Marshall, a son of Abel Marshall, of Fitchburg, was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864. He was buried on the field, and his remains were not recovered until the spring of 1866. The town voted to give his remains a public funeral on the 19th of April of that year. It was an imposing funeral, and was attended by His Excellency, Governor Bullock, and his staff and other officials. During the course of the solemn ceremonies Governor Bullock made a brief and eloquent address, in which he spoke feel- ingly of the glorious career of young Marshall through the twenty-four battles he was engaged in, of his well-deserved promotions, and of his gallant conduct in that disastrous charge at Cold Harbor, where he "fought and died in obedience to orders, and for the sake of his example." He then paid the follow- ing tribute to Fitchburg :

I do not forget, in the thick-coming memories which the scene en-

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forces upon me, that thia ancient and beautiful town of Fitchburg-to which by neighborhood ties of birth and youthful residence my heart ever draws me and ever will-distinguished herself by the promptness, by the alacrity, by the prodigality of means and of men with which cha entered upon the opening, solema drama in the early days of the war. Not many towns in the State matched her record, and few, if any, sur- passed her.

We will now endeavor to give, in as condensed a form as possible, an account of Fitchburg's part in the Civil War.

On Saturday, April 13, 1861, news reached the town of the attack on Fort Sumter, and Major Anderson's gallant defence. The next day came the news of its surrender. Then, fast following, came President Lincoln's call for seventy-five thousand volunteers. Captain John W. Kimball, of the Fusil- iers, and Captain Edwin Upton, of the Guards, reported their companies ready to march at once if wanted. But already enough whole regiments had been offered, and Governor Andrew hurriedly des- patched the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Regiments for Washington, and the old Ninth Regi- ment, to which both the Fitchburg companies then belonged was obliged to wait.

During the next few days anxiety possessed the hearts of the people, and little business was done. Then came the 19th of April, a day twice memorable in the annals of our country and especially of Massa- chusetts. Late in the afternoon of that day the wires brought us the following: " The Sixth Massachusetts Regiment is now fighting its way through Baltimore; four men have been killed, many wounded, and the fighting still going on."

The shock produced by this message was terrific. Massachusetts blood had been spilt and must be avenged. A citizens' meeting was hastily called, which was held on the afternoon of Saturday, April 20th. Alvah Crocker, Esq., presided. Mr. Crocker and various other citizens spoke patriotically and elo- quently upon the all-engrossing subject, after which the following resolutions were presented and unani- mously adopted :

Resolved, That we respond cordially to the Proclamation of tha Presi- deot of the United States ; that we declare our unflinching resolution to support our Government in its struggle to maintain its honor, integrity aud existence.

Resolved, That we will use our utmost endeavors to sacure a vote of the towa whereby the sum of ten thousand dollars shall be raised by direct tax, which sum of money shall be appropriated to provide for the aup- port of the families of any of the soldiers who may be called out dur- ing the present war, and for fitting out and equipping such men.

The next day was Sunday -- the first in war-time- and the services in all the churches in town were of a patriotic nature. During the day the ladies of Fitch- burg were not idle. It was expected that on the mor- row our companies would be called upon, and their kind hearts, anticipating what might be the needs of the near future, prompted them to busily engage themselves in the preparation of lint, bandages and clothing for the brave men who, like the "minute- meu " of the last century, stood ready to go to the front at a moment's notice.

The following week was one of feverish anxiety. Our companies were not called upon, and inany of the soldiers assisted the ladies in their preparation of bandages, etc., at the armories. The zeal of the citizens suggested many measures, some of which were not very practical. One of these was that each soldier from Fitchburg should have a revolver and a bowie knife, and one hundred and fitty revolvers were actually bought for this purpose, and Whitman & Miles, with characteristic liberality, offered to manu- facture the same number of bowie knives. This scheme was abandoned before the time came to march.

On April 27th a town-meeting was held, at which it was unanimously voted to raise ten thousand dol- lars for the soldiers and their families, and a com- mittee of seven (Ebenezer Torrey, Moses Wood, Che- dorlaomer Marshall, William Woodbury, Levi Downe, Alpheus P. Kimball and Timothy S. Wilson) was chosen to take charge of the appropriation. A com- mittee was also chosen to see what reduction could be made in town expenses for the current year.

By this time the Fusiliers and Guards had recruited their companies, and on the day of this town-meet- ing a grand parade was held, in which the company from Leominster joined.

On May 4th an adjourned town-meeting was held to hear the report of the committee on retrenchment. This committee made a report recommending a re- duction of five thousand dollars in the town appro- priations for the year,-two thousand dollars each from schools and highways and the remaining one thousand dollars from other departments. Their re- port was accepted and the recommendations adopted, though all regretted the reduction in the school ap- propriation. During the other years of the war, it is but just to say, the school appropriation was not diminished for war expenses. At this same meeting the chairman of the committee having charge of the ten thousand dollars voted for the soldiers and their families, read the following note, which is self-ex- planatory and an honor to the medical profession :

To the Military Relief Committee,-Gentlemen: The undersigned physi- cians of Fitchburg meothers of the Massachusetta Medical Society, through you hereby tender gratuitous professional services, when de sired, to the families of the soldiers of this town while engaged in tha war to defend the Government of the United States against the present Southern Rebelliou.

THOMAS R. BOUTELLE, JONAS A. MARSHALL, ALFRED HITCHCOCK, JAMES R. WELLMAN, GEORGE JEWETT, GEORGE D. COLONY.

Fitchburgh, May 1, 1861.

These physicians faithfully fulfilled the promise contained in the above note until the close of the war. Only two of the signers are now living,-Drs. Jewett and Colony.

Thursday, May 16th, was a great day in Fitchburg. The two military companies paraded and the school-

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

children with their teachers and all the citizens joined in a grand patriotic demonstration. In the evening there was a presentation, at the town hall, of two handsome silk flags, procured by the ladies at an expense of eighty dollars. The hall was crowded, and after the opening of the meeting by the presiding officer, Hon. J. W. Mansur, Miss Emma Twitchell presented one of the flags to the Fusiliers. Captain Kimball made a fitting acknowledgment of the bean- tiful gift and caused his men to swear that "it should never trail in the dust while a single arm was left to uphold it." Miss Eliza Trask then presented the other flag to the Guards, whose commander, Captain Upton, accepted it on behalf of his company with appropriate remarks.

An account, necessarily very brief, will now be given of the companies sent out from the town, and of the work, both public and private, done by the citizens who remained at home during the war period.

COMPANY D. SECOND REGIMENT .- Soon after President Lincoln issued his call for three years' troops, James Savage, Jr., of Boston, opened a re- cruiting office in Fitchburg. A company was raised in about a week and was attached to the Second Regiment and designated Company D. Most of the men in this company were from neighboring towns, because there were then in town two full companies, and, as the chances of their being called into service soon seemed to be good, the young men did not care to leave them in order to join Captain Savage's com- pany. But, notwithstanding the fact that only a few of our own citizens enlisted in it, it was always known as the "Fitchburg Company."

The Second Regiment was mustered into service May 11, 1861, and served the entire three years; and a large number re-enlisted at the end of this time. July 14, 1865, it was mustered out of the service and started for Boston, receiving a fine reception in New York as it passed through the city. On July 26th, it was finally discharged, after having served four years, two months and fifteen days. During this long period it made a brilliant record and participated in numerous battles, among which may be noted the following: It was in the thickest of the fight in the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 6, 1861, and lost heavily; at Antietam, September 17, 1862, it served gallantly, capturing a flag from the enemy and losing about seventy of its members; at Chancellorsville it was hotly engaged for an hour and a half and lost one hundred and twenty-eight in killed and wounded; on the 2d and 3d of July, 1863, it made a most hon- orable record at Gettysburg ; it accompanied General Sherman on his " grand march to the sea " in the lat- ter part of 1864. Ou the 24th of May, 1865, it took part in the grand review of the whole army, after which it performed provost duty near Washington until it was mustered out of the service.

COMPANY B, FIFTEENTH REGIMENT (FITCHBURG

FUSILIERS) .- As has been before stated, the Fusiliers and Guards belonged to the old Ninth Regiment, and it was expected that this regiment would be filled up and accepted as the old Ninth ; but instead of that, its number was assigned to a regiment of foreigners recruited in Boston. This left both of our companies out in the cold, so to speak. On the 11th of May, 1861, the Fusiliers voted to volunteer for the war, and finally the company was ordered into camp at Worcester, and became Company B of the Fifteenth Regiment.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 75

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1576

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576