History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 93

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 93

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In 1806 the town voted to purchase a two-wheeled hearse, and in 1808 voted to build a hearse-house.

In 1856 the town purchased of Charles Gerry, Silas Hosmer and Levi Downe about fifty acres of land situated on Mt. Elam Road, in the southerly part of the town, at a cost of a little over two thou- sand dollars. Work was soon begun upon clearing and laying out the grounds, and at the present time Forest Hill Cemetery, as it is named, is an attractive and well-kept burial-place.

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St. Bernard's Cemetery, on St. Bernard Street, in the easterly part of the town, is owned by St. Ber- nard's Parish, and has been in use for some years.

There are several small burying-grounds in various parts of the township, which have not been used for burial purposes for many years.

In concluding this sketch, the writer desires to ex- press his thanks to all who have, in any way, assisted him in its preparation. To the librarian of the Fitchburg Public Library, Mr. Prescott C. Rice, and his assistants, the writer feels especially indebted for their uniform courtesy and efforts to aid him in col- lecting material from the manifold resources of the library.

The sketch is necessarily condensed and incom- plete. Doubtless some facts of importance and de- serving of mention have been inadvertently omitted ; for, to condense the history of a place like Fitch- burg, for a period of a century and a quarter, into the space allowed in this volume, without making some omissions, would be almost an impossibility.

It is to he hoped that the writer's intention of giv- ing, in the foregoing, a fair account of the history of Fitchburg, from its incorporation to the autumn of 1888, has been accomplished, and that the future historian of the city may obtain from it numerous facts never before published, which are well worth elaborating in the more ample space that will be given to the " History of Fitchburg " which, sooner or later, must be forthcoming.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ALVAH CROCKER.

Alvah Crocker, of Fitchburg, Mass., was born at Leominster October 14, 1801. His father, Samuel Crocker, was born March 22, 1774, and his mother (née Comfort Jones) on the 23d of August, 1777. Mrs. Crocker was a descendant of the celebrated Adams family, and inherited all its self-reliance and independence of character. Nobly struggling under adverse circumstances, and unwilling to receive as- sistance not absolutely necessary, she aided to nur- ture the children in habits of honest industry, and to accustom them to exertion, not only from necessity, but also from choice. Such an education as they received proved to be a greater instrument of tem- poral success than large fortunes in the hands of numberless children of luxury and ease.

From this sensible and energetic mother young Alvah derived his most prominent characteristics.

In his father the spiritual element was more pro- nounced than the secular, and revealed itself in a remarkably unselfish, devoted and consistent life. An earnest Christian, of the Baptist denomination,

he rarely entered into conversation without intro- ducing the subject of religion.

With such a nature, developed under such influ- ences, worldly success was simply a question of time to the aspiring boy. Its beginnings, like those of most American monarchs of industry, were suffi- ciently humble.

His father's occupation was that of a vatman, in the employ of Nichols & Kendall. He himself was sent to work in the mills at the early age of eight years. Being of studious turn, and eager to avail himself of every opportunity of acquiring useful knowledge, he gladly utilized the privilege of access to Mr. Nichols' library, and stored up in his memory, for future use, many facts and principles; thus laying, broad and deep, the foundation for a coming superstructure of imposing grandeur and use- fulness.

Having once tasted "the Pierian spring," Alvah Crocker's thirst became insatiable. All his energies were taxed, that he might earn and accumulate enough money to defray the expenses of a coveted collegiate educatiou : a plan in which he received no encouragement from his father. At the age of six- teen he had saved the sum of fifty dollars, with which he entered Groton Academy. There he re- mained for several months until necessity obliged him to resume labor for the acquisition of further funds. He did not, however, relinquish his studies, but prosecuted them in the evening as diligently as he attended to business during the day, and triumph- antly kept pace with his class in the academy.

In 1820 the persistent youth went to work in a paper-mill at Franklin, N. H., and three years after- ward removed to Fitchburg, Mass., where he entered the employ of General Leonard Burbank, who was the pioneer of the paper manufacture in that sec- tion of the State. The mill was situated where the works of the Rollstone Machine Company are now located, and in the midst of surroundings marvel- ously different from those which encircle the latter establishment.

Conscious of his own powers and laudably ambi- tious to create, direct and acquire on his own account, he next determined to embark in independent enter- prises. 1n 1826, aided by borrowed capital, he erected a paper-mill in a birch swamp in that part of West Fitchburg subsequently known for many years as Crockerville.

Hopeful, prudent and pertinacious, he never lost courage, but toiled with unflagging energy and zeal until he had accomplished his purposes. From this epoch until 1830 life was a continuous struggle to meet his many obligations. The times were hard; he was in debt; a freshet injured his mill ; the mode of paper manufacture changed from manual to me- chanical; machinery was required for successful com- petition with his rivals, and the necessitated outlay demanded increased capital. Difficulties gathered

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thick and fast; but courage and force carried him safely through all.

Keen to perceive in what measures his own inter- ests lay, and prompt to act upon clear convictions, Mr. Crocker soon abandoned the practice of consign- ing his products to commission merchants for sale, and took the whole of affairs into his own hands. Sending his paper by his own teams into Boston, he also sold it directly to customers. In truth, his finan- cial situation was such as to demand the clearest foresight and the shrewdest economy. He was still owing twelve thousand dollars of the sum borrowed for the original investment, and also four thousand dollars to his commission merchants; ten thousand dollars more must be obtained for the purchase of machinery to put him on equal terms with his com- petitors. The great majority of men would have de- spaired under such circumstances; but his strength was equal to the burden, and the possibility of fail- ure was not allowed to number in the factors of his calculations. The capital desired was secured, busi- ness prospered, debts were paid, the shoals and rocks were passed, and his bark rode gallantly on the deep waters.

Continuous prosperity and enlarging business in- duced Mr. Crocker to build additional paper-mills, and also to increase and diversify his activities by entering into the construction of railroads. In 1850 the firm of Crocker, Burbank & Co. was organized. This firm-of which the son of Mr. Crocker is a prominent member-owns, at the present time, seven paper-mills, and produces about fifteen tons of paper daily. The Snow, or Upper Mill, was built in 1839, and, after passing through several hands, came into possession of Crocker, Burbank & Co. in 1862. The Cascade Mill was erected in 1847, and was purchased by the firm in 1863. The Upton Mill was built in 1851, and was purchased in 1859. The other mills belonging to the firm were built in the following order,-the Whitney Mill in 1847, the Hanna Mill in 1852, the Lyon Mill in 1853 and the Stone Mill in 1854, and were purchased, respectively, in 1868, 1860, 1869 and 1871.

Of brilliant practical endowments, public-spirited, and prone to large undertakings, Mr. Crocker clearly identified his private interests with the welfare of his adopted town. He thoroughly understood that what- ever would increase the population, the wealth, or the resources of Fitchburg, would directly or indirectly be of service to each of its citizens, and would amply repay the expenditure of time and money in cordial, intelligent co-operation. The town had entered upon a career of substantial prosperity about the year 1833, and was proud of its mills, its academy, its news- papers, its three churches, and prouder still of a goodly number of wise and enterprising men. The immense advantages of railroad transportation were more or less appreciated, and by none more truly than by Mr. Crocker, who bent all his disciplined energies to

the construction of a railroad from Fitchburg to Bos- ton. This was in 1834, at which time he prepared the way for himself, and for many others, to distinction and fortune. Being employed by the town of Fitch- burg to build a road farther up the Nashua Valley, he found the land-owners on the proposed extension opposed to it, and demanding exorbitant prices for the ground required ; but, nothing daunted, he bought the whole Nashua Valley as far as the Westminster line at the prices asked, gave the necessary land for the new road, and reaped for himself and the public the benefits afforded by new and improved means of communication.

Such services as these very properly commend him who renders them to the good graces of his fellow- citizens, and distinguish him as a fitting repository of public trusts. The sharp-sighted electors of Fitch- burg, with these convictions, elected Mr. Crocker to the lower house of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1835. His beneficent action in that body justified the sagacity of his constituents. In 1836 he voted for the subscription by the State of one million dol- lars to the completion of the Western Railroad. But for his zealous advocacy, it is more than probable that the subscription would not have been made- certainly not at that time. Returning home, he began to arouse the people of Fitchburg and the contiguous towns to the incalcuable importance of direct railroad communication with Boston, and did not cease to agitate the subject until his wishes were realized in the finished structure. His abiding conviction was that Northern Massachusetts must have communica- tion by rail with the tide-water, or pale into utter insignificance. At first he aimed simply to secure a branch road from either Worcester or Lowell ; but wider knowledge impelled him in 1842 to boldly ad- vocate an independent route from Fitchburg to Bos- ton. His pecuniary resources were laid under liberal contribution for necessary surveys, and both the routes he then selected have since been followed by railroads.

In 1842 Mr. Crocker was again elected to the pop- ular branch of the Legislature, and again toiled with wonted zeal and efficiency for the accomplishment of his favorite project. A charter was finally obtained, in the presence of much ridicule and opposition, and work on the Fitchburg Road was speedily begun. While the new enterprise was in progress of construc- tion, he went to England to buy iron and other materials, and in different ways to foster its interests. His interest in the progress of the work, from the hour that the first pick was struck into the earth un- til its completion, was unfailing, and on the 5th of March, 1845, he enjoyed the pleasure of riding into Fitchburg on the first locomotive that ever passed over the road. That was one of his proudest and happiest journeys. His election as first president of the railroad company fittingly followed. In June the same year he resigned his office to enter upon the

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presidency of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Company, which he continued to hold until the com- pletion of the road to Brattleboro', Vermont.

Mr. Crocker's financial condition at this time was one of soundness and healthful growth.

The fortitude, the heroism, the generalship of former years had brought him rich substantial re- ward. The construction of the Fitchburg Railroad, in particular, greatly benefited both himself and the town. The massive stone depot, built on the completion of the road, was placed on land owned by him in what was known as Old City. This was contrary to the expectation of a large number of people, who had supposed that it would be located on higher ground, and that, because of the heavy grade, the road could not be extended farther to the West. The citizens of the upper part of the town had also desired to have the depot in their neighborhood, and were by no means pleased with its location in the Old City.

"Crocker, you can never get your road out of Fitchburg," his friends were wont to remark. But little was said in reply. He quietly continued to labor, and in less than three years work was com- menced on the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad from Fitchburg to Greenfield. The latter artery of social and commercial life was duly perfected ; and, as we have seen, he had the honor of being its first president, and held that office two years.

Mr. Crocker was afterward largely engaged in rail- road operations in different parts of the State, and was especially interested in the Troy and Greenfield Rail- road and in completion of the Hoosac Tunnel. In their behalf he delivered several hundred lectures in the years 1847 and 1848, and probably did as much or more than any other man in Massachusetts to make the piercing of the Hoosac Mountain an engineering and transportational success. When the latter work fell into the hands of the State he was one of the com- missioners charged with its administration. Nothing likely to conduce to the public good seems to have escaped his notice. He was prominent in bringing before the citizens of Fitchburg the importance of a complete system of water-works, and contributed in no small degree to the embodiment of his own recom- mendations. He also raised buildings for the manu- factures diverse from his own specialty, and thus established new branches of industrial art in the town, thereby adding to its population, wealth and resources.

searching for a more direct route between Miller's Falls and Greenfield than the one pursued by the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, he had been called to observe the magnificent water-power pos- sessed by the Connecticut River at Turner's Falls. Charmed by its natural advantages, and perceiving the possibilities of a great manufacturing city around the spot, he conceived the project of converting pos- sibility into actuality, and, with the characteristic promptitude and decision, threw himself into its exe- cution. Thenceforward this gigantic scheme took almost exclusive possession of his mind. In com- pany with other capitalists, whom he invited to join him, he organized the Turner's Falls Company in 1866. The new corporation purchased the rights and franchises of an old organization, known as "The Proprietors of the Upper Locks and Canals on the Connecticut River, in the 'County of Hamp- shire," and proceeded to carry out their plans. They also purchased largely of the lands in Mon- tague, lying on the river front, near the falls. A dam having a fall of thirty feet and a capacity of thirty thousand horse-power, was next constructed, and the water-power thus rendered available for use.

From 1866 until the time of his death the daring projector worked hard for the prosperity of the new town, spending large sums of money in the promo- tion of its interests, and enlisting theaid of others in the great undertaking.

What Mr. Crocker would have achieved in the wise and energetic prosecution of his plans at Turner's Falls, had his life been spared, is matter of probable conjecture. Reasoning from the great results he had effected in the few years devoted to the task, he would doubtless have left it a splendid monument of his genius and creative power. But in the midst of his hopes and ambitions, and while contriving and striv- ing to compass his end, he was suddenly cut down, and the realization of his schemes devolved upon his associates. The plan of a public library and of similar beneficent institutions had taken definite shape in his mind, and was prevented from passing into concrete form by his lamented death. There are two banks in Turner's Falls,-the Crocker National Bank and the Crocker Institution for Savings,-both of which he was instrumental in organizing. In the Crocker National Bank, his son, Charles T. Crocker, is a director, and of the Savings Institution he is a trustee.

Mr. Crocker was also one of the originators of the Rollstone Bank at Fitchburg, in 1849, and held the office of director from that time to the day of his death. In 1870 Mr. Crocker was elected president of the bank. Throughout the whole of these terms of valuable service he labored incessantly for the adoption of measures intended to develop the resources of North- western Massachusetts. His conspicuity in this par- ticular suggested the propriety of his being chosen to fill the unexpired term in Congress of the Hon. Wil-

The leading ambition of Mr. Crocker's life, so far as corporate growth is concerned, was, however, less in Fitchburg than in Turner's Falls. The pros- perity of the latter town was what he desired more than that of any other. Without loving the first less, he loved the latter more. He wished to see it rival Lowell, Holyoke and other manufacturing cities in size and commercial importance, and even to excel them; and to that end he spared nothing in his wonderful genius aud manifold resources. While liam B. Washburn, who had been elected Governor of

E. Joney

Eugena J. Miles

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the State. Mr. Crocker-a Republican in politics- was accordingly elected to the vacaut post, and took his seat in the National House of Representatives on the 2d of January, 1872. He was re-elected to the Forty-third Congress,-receiving 14,919 against 4,588 cast for his Democratic competitor,-and served from January 14, 1872, until December 26, 1874, on which day he died, very unexpectedly, at the age of seventy- three years, two months and twelve days. The ordi- nary bound of human life had been passed, and yet there were strong probabilities of fruitful years to come. But on the 19th of December-a week preceding his decease-he was seized by a peculiar kind of cold, epidemic at Washington, and left the capital for the home in which he was so soon to die. The funeral services were celebrated at Christ Church, in which an appropriate sermon was delivered by a former pastor, the Rev. Henry L. Jones, of Wilkesbarre, Pa.

Mr. Crocker was married three times. His first wife, née Abigail Fox, and he were united on August 14, 1829. She died August 21, 1847, leaving five children. Miss Lucy A. Fay became his second wife on the 9th of April, 1851, and died on the 29th of January, 1872. On the 20th of November of the same year he was again married, to Miss Minerva Cushing. Of his four daughters and one son, children of his first wife, only one daughter and the son are now living.

EBENEZER TORREY.

Ebenezer Torrey was born at Franklin, Mass., August 16, 1801, and died at Fitchburg September 3, 1888. He was the son of John and Sally (Richard- son) Torrey. He fitted for college at the academies at Leicester and Lancaster, Mass., and entered Harvard University at the age of seventeen years, graduating in 1822. He then went to Fitchburg and studied law with John Shepley, a leading member of the Worces- ter County bar, and was admitted to the bar in 1825, In 1827 he formed a partnership with the late Na- thaniel Wood, which continued for nearly fifty years, and was one of the leading firms of lawyers in the county. In 1832, upon the incorporation of the Fitch- burg Bank, Mr. Torrey was chosen cashier, and, although he still continued his connection with the firm of Torrey & Wood, he devoted the greater part of his time to the business of the bank. In 1859 he was elected president of the bank, which office he retained during the remainder of his life.

The Fitchburg Savings Bank commenced business in 1846. Mr. Torrey was its first treasurer, and after- wards became its pre-ident. In 1831 he was chosen a director of the Worcester Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and served in that position during the remainder of his life, having been elected president of the company in 1879. He was treasurer of the town and city of Fitchburg continuously from 1840 to 1874, inclusive, when he declined a re-election, and was the first treasurer of the Cushing Academy of Ashburn-

ham. In 1831 and 1847 he represented the town of Fitchburg in the Legislature, and in 1849 was one of the five Senators from Worcester County. In 1852 he was chosen a Presidential elector, and voted for Gen. Winfield Scott. In 1853 he served in the Executive Council with Governor Clifford, and during the suc- ceeding year with Governor Emory Washburn. In 1825 he married Frances Houghton, of Fitchburg, who died in 1831, leaving two daughters, the elder of whom was the wife of George A. Cunningham, of Boston, and the younger is the wife of Hiram A. Blood, of Fitch- burg. In 1832 he married Sarah Arnold, of Ux- bridge, who, with their only son, George A. Torrey, of Boston, survives him.

In the words of Rev. Mr. Pierson, who preached his funeral discourse, "The key-note of Mr. Torrey's char- acter was personal honor and uprightness. He was a man to be depended upon. You could trust him in all relations and emergencies. His life and action moved on like clock-work-the regulation and routine of good habits. From early manhood to old age he scarcely took an extended vacation. More than many men he seemed to have the capacity for continuous work. His was a busy, active, industrious life.

" Another secret of Mr. Torrey's sanity of mind and body was his commingled intelligence and humor. He had at once wisdom and wit. This humor was not oc- casional with him. It was habitual. It was ingrained in his temperament. He saw the ludicrous as well as the sublime side of things. He chose the sunny, rather than the shady paths of life."

EUGENE T. MILES.

Hon. Eugene Temple Miles, second mayor of the city of Fitchburg, familiarly known in Fitchburg as Captain Miles, was born in Framingham, Mass., Au- gust 26, 1826. He was the son of Jonas M. and Anstis (Kendall) Miles.

His father, Dea. Miles, was a resident of Shrewsbury for many years, but the family were temporarily residing in Framingham at the above-named date. The name of Miles, or Myles, as it frequently appears upon the an- cient records, belongs to a family of honorable men- tion in the annals of the Commonwealth. John Miles, the emigrant ancestor, was a resident of Concord as early as 1637, and in that town, or immediate vicinity, he was succeeded by his son Samnel, while his grand- son Samuel removed in 1729 to Shrewsbury, from whom the deceased was the fifth generation in descent, and the seventh generation since the emigration to New England.

In early manhood Mr. Miles was several years in the hardware trade in Worcester, as clerk, and for a short time the junior partner of Poole & Miles. In January, 1856, he removed to Fitchburg, where he continued to reside until his death. During the first few months of his residence here he was associated in business with A. G. Page at West Fitchburg, but in

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July of the same year (1856) Mr. Page sold his inter- est to Angustus Whitman, and the firm of Whitman & Miles entered upon a long and highly successful ca- reer. The business, as is well known to all our resi- dent readers, was the manufacture of cutting-knives, including a variety of edge tools and kindred wares. Under skillful management the business constantly increased until an annual business of from $100,000 to $250,000 has been done, and in a few instances the larger sum has been exceeded.

In 1869 extensive branch works were established in Akron, Ohio, and in 1864 the firm was succeeded by a stock company, but the name was little changed, and the name of the deceased has been honorably and prominently connected with the business for twenty years, being president of the company from the date of its incorporation until his death.

He was connected with a number of other mann- facturing companies in Fitchburg, and also at Akron, Ohio.

Large and intimate as have been his business con- nections with Fitchburg, Mr. Miles has been inti- mately associated with the civil and monetary affairs of the town for many years, and has frequently been chosen to positions of responsibility and trust.

He was a member of the Board of Selectmen in 1864, '65, '66 and '72, and mayor of the city in 1875. He was one of the directors of the Fitchburg National Bank, and one of the trustees of the Fitch- burg Savings Bank.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 93

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