History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 40

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1464

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 40

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

A third son, George M., has charge of his store in Boston. Children's shoes are the specialty manufac- tured in this immense establishment, and the sales amount to about five hundred thousand dollars annually. Mr. C. M. Lee was among the first to substitute steam-power for human muscle in the man- ufacture of foot-wear, and to introduce the hest ma- chinery into his factories.

TOOLS .- Mr. L. S. Starrett is the manufacturer of fine tools for mechanics. He commenced this busi- ness in 1880, employing, during the first year, ten men, which number is now increased to forty. Jan- uary 1, 1888, Mr. Starrett issued a finely-illustrated catalogue and price-list of his goods, from which it

appears that, among other exceedingly well-made im- plements for mechanical work, he puts upon the market his Patent Combination Square, Improved Bevel Protractor, Patent Double Square, Double Steel Square, Universal Bevel, Patent Inclinometer, Uni- versal Bevel Protractor, Caliper Square, Micrometer Caliper Square, gauges of different kinds, shrink rules, calipers of various patents, dividers of all kinds, levels, speed indicators, etc.

The Athol Machine Co. was organized under the General Statutes of Massachusetts in 1868. Capital stock paid in, $50,000. This company have an iron foundry, and manufacture hardware specialties, vises, meat-cutters and machinists' tools in general, employ -. ing forty workmen. Their products are sold in every State of the Union, and in many foreign countries. The president of this company is George T. Johnson ; D. A. Newton is secretary and treasurer, S. H. Bel- lows is superintendent, and these form, with A. Bangs and W. H. Parmenter, the Board of Directors.

The Miller's River Manufacturing Company, incorpo- rated in 1863, had at first a capital of $40,000, but this has since been reduced to $30,000. On two occasions this company has suffered much by the destruction of their property by fire. They employ seventy workmen, and manufacture satinets and blankets. Before the death of Mr. C. C. Bassett, he and Mr. George T. Johnson were understood to have a con- trolling influence in this company.

George Gerry & Son are manufactures of wool, waste-dusters, mill gleanings, &c., employing five workmen. Mr. Gerry has been in business about forty years.

Lewis Sanders manufactures kegs, half barrels, &c., employing about forty men. This business was es- tablished in 1882.

George S. Brewer commenced business as a wood- turner in 1870, employing three workmen. He leased his shop to Dennis Goddard in 1887. Mr. Brewer was the contractor for laying the foundations and building the dam for the New Co-operative Com- pany's shoe shop in the Upper Village.

Lewis Cheney is a prosperous manufacturer of car- riages in Athol Centre.

E. E. Partridge manufactures warps, satinets and woolen-goods at his mill in Partridgeville. He is understood to be the owner of the mill, and employs about fourteen persons.

Cutler &: West employ thirteen men in their steam box-mill at South Athol. This mill was built by Foster & Chamberlain, about 1852.

Another mill at South Athol, which is much older, is occupied by H. H. Rice & Co., who also manufac- ture boxes.

The Athol Carriage Works were started in 1876. L. C. Sawin is the proprietor. He employs but little help, and makes no estimate of the amount of his business.

J. W. Goodman came from Dana to Athol in 1880,

1052

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and established the manufacture of billiard-tables, employing from twenty to twenty-five men. He does cabinet-work also.

Edwin Ellis (who died in July, 1888) commenced the manufacture of doors, sashes and blinds in 1847. More recently the business has been con- ducted by

E. Ellis & Son, and the manufacture is confined to sashes and blinds. Fifty men are employed in this establishment, and the value of the annual product is sixty thousand dollars.

L. Morse & Sons (an old establishment dating from 1850) manufacture cribs, cradles, towel-racks, tables and washstands. Their factory was built in 1869. The "Morse Patent Folding Settees," which are vastly superior to everything else of the kind in the market, and are found in a multitude of halls and vestrys, come from this establishment, in which sixty men are employed. The value of the annual product is seventy-five thousand dollars.

Dennis Goddard commenced the manufacture of shoe-boxes in 1887, and employs four persons. His sales amount to two thousand dollars annually.

Stratton Brothers & Co. established themselves in the manufacture of house-finish, packing-boxes, etc., in 1886. They employ seven men, and their annual product amounts to fifteen thousand dollars.

C. Warren Cheney has a job machine-shop, com- mencing his business in 1870. He is the inventor of the Climax Lawn Mower, and sold his right in this machine to a New York company in 1888.

E. S. Handy engaged in the manufacture of sati- nets in 1879.

In 1880 W. H. Kauffman went into business with Mr. Handy, and in 1885 became sole proprietor. Mr. Kauffman employs fifteen persons manufacturing woolens and satincts. His mill produces annually one hundred and fifty cases of goods, each case con- tainining nine hundred or one thousand yards.

H. S. Goddard and Robert Manning began making piano cases July, 1888, in a mill built by the citizens of Athol for their use. The firm-name is Goddard & Manning. They are employing twenty-one men, and will engage more as soon as may be. Their produc- tion amounts to about one hundred cases per month.

The firm of Palmer & Bates began business in Athol in 1871, but. failed in 1879. In that year Butes Broth- ers hegan business, and now employ from seventy to seventy-five persons, in the manufacture of wallets and pocket-books of all kinds.

Co-operative Furniture Company was established in 1879. In 1883 their mill was burned, since which time the business has been carried on in the mill of Monroe Cheney. They make pine furniture, and employ six men.

F. W. Breed, of Lynn, manufactures ladies' shoes in Athol Centre, under the firm-name of Athol Shoe Co., and employ about two hundred and seventy-five persons. The brick factory which Mr. Breed occu-

pies, which stands near the Evangelical Church edi- · fice, was erected in 1887 by a co-operative company, at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars, and was first occupied November 26, 1887. This establish- ment manufactures goods of two hundred thousand dollars' value annually.

A. F. Tyler manufactures sashes, blinds, window screens, screen doors, etc., and does a large business. He commenced in 1876, and now employs forty men. His factory comprises a three-story thirty-two by one hundred and twenty-five feet mill, a three-story thirty-five by seventy-five feet frame structure, used as a warehouse, and a lumber shed one hundred by two hundred feet. Mr. Tyler has an eighty horse- power steam-engine in service.

Grist-Mills .- H. F. Boutelle, Athol Centre; A. W. Moulton, Athol.

M. L. Lee & Co. manufacture men's, youths' and boys' kip boots, brogans and plow shoes, and employ from sixty to eighty persons. This company was es- tablished in 1861. About one hundred cases, consist- ing of twelve hundred pairs of boots and three hun- dred pairs of shoes, are produced weekly. This firm has an office and salesroom at No. 117 Pearl Street, Boston, through which the greater part of their trade is effected.

The firmn is composed of M. L. Lee, J. H. Lee and E. L. Sanborn.

O. E. Tebo has a two-sett woolen-mill at Pinedale. He runs thirty looms and employs thirty-five work- men. Satinets are produced at this mill in large quantities. Pinedale was formerly called Wheeler- ville, and upon the site of Mr. Tebo's mill was a large establishment for the manufacture of wooden- ware.

In 1888 a soap-stone factory was established. The stone is obtained and drawn from Tully Mountain and made up in such forms as the necessities and tastes of the community may demand.

Hapgood & Smith have succeeded to the business of the late Lyman W. Hapgood, and manufacture large quantities of matches.

Oukes' Peg Shop (Templeton Road) .- This was built by Abraham and Ira Oakes about 1825 and they manufactured shoe-pegs in it for about thirty years. The machinery was then removed by its purchaser, a Mr. Wilder, to the Lower Village, where it was soon consumed by fire. The mill tell to the ground in 1875.

Kennebunk Mill .- This was erected about forty years ago by Job Frye, and by him, Isaac Stevens and Jonathan Wheeler used as a saw-mill for about ten years, when W. H. Amsden purchased it and converted it into a door factory. Mr. Amsden's property was small, it is understood, when he estab- lished this business, but when he died, about two years ago, his estate was appraised at more than sixty thousand dollars. W. H. Amsden's sons now conduet the business.

ATHOL.

1053

W. H. Amsden established the manufacture of doors and sashes in 1847, and retired in favor of O. F. Amsden in 1879, but a year later became a part- ner of the latter. The business was then continued for six years, or until the death of the senior partner, under the firm-name of W. H. Amsden's Sons. Wil- liam H. Amsden was admitted to the firm in 1887. The number of men employed is twenty-five and one million feet of lumber are consumed annually. The business of this firm extends from Massachusetts to Florida.

0. Kendall & Co.'s business was established by the late Ozi Kendall in 1847. His son, George N. Ken- dall, became a partner in 1856, and the firm-name be- came O. Kendall & Son. In 1870 Ira Y. Kendall and George S. Pond were admitted as partners, the firm-name then becoming Ozi Kendall & Co. In 1874 George N. Kendall sold out to his partners and ten years later the other partners bought out Ozi Kendall. In 1887 this firm retired from business, selling their shop to Henry Cook.

For many years the " Ozi Kendall Boots" brought the highest prices all over New England and beyond. During the Rebellion many of the soldiers from Athol and the neighboring towns were supplied with them, and after a year's marches amid the sands and swamps of Louisiana returned with them upon their feet in substantially good condition.

Richardson's Machine-Shop .- This was built in 1824 by Josiah Willard and James Young, and used by them as a carpenter's shop. Mr. Willard sold, at length, to Stillman Knowlton and Mr. Young to Nathaniel Richardson. In 1855 Mr. Richardson be- came the sole owner, and remained such till his death, though for a few years before that event his son, Charles Frederick Richardson, had the principal charge of the business to which he has now suc- ceeded, employing about fifteen men.

Among others, Judge Charles Field, Dr. J. P. Lynde and the publishers of the Chronicle and Tran- script have aided greatly in the preparation of this historical sketch, while Messrs. Warren H. Kendall and William G. Lord, young gentlemen of decided historic tastes, have been indefatigable in collecting material for this work,

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ADDISON M. SAWYER.

Addison M. Sawyer, of Athol, is widely known as an inventor and as a prominent pioneer in many fields of study and investigation. He is a son of John and Lucy (Balcom) Sawyer, and was born in Templeton, August 14, 1827. The family, through many genera- tions, has been distinguished for mechanical skill and for aptness in the use of tools and the application of machinery. The father of the subject of this sketch

was a farmer and a mechanic, and while the sons at- tended the stated terms of the public schools of their native town, they were early familiar with labor, and were trained in habits of industry. An elder brother, Sylvanus Sawyer, whose inventions had laid the foun- dations of an important industry, in company with another brother, Joseph B. Sawyer, began the manu- facture of cane at East Templeton, in 1851. The American Rattan Company was organized the follow- ing year, and the enterprise was removed to Fitch- burg. From the beginning the subject of this sketch was employed by the company. He was familiar with the machinery in use, and early directed his at- tention to substantial improvements. By the early process of working and preparing cane, the straw was successfully removed from the outer surface, but the pith, which has proved to be of equal valne, was wasted. Many experiments were made to utilize the pith, but the problem was first solved by the in- vention of Mr. Sawyer. The tubular spurred cutter was patented in d854, and by it the business was rev- olutionized. To the present time the invention has suffered no material amendment, and still continues to defy every and all innovations.

The man whose sturdy toil has removed a forest or has adorned a portion of the earth's surface has not lived in vain, yet often a comparative simple inven- tion represents the possible labor of many life-times.

The tubular spurred cutter, for a third of a century, has performed the work of many men. It has util- ized and given value to material formerly worthless, but which since has commanded many thousands of dollars, and in the use of this material important in- dustries have been established.

From his boyhood Mr. Sawyer has been an expert with the gun and the rifle. In this familiarity with fire-arms is found an incentive and suggestions which led to several important inventions, among which was a combination shell, known in the late war as the "Sawyer Gun," also an improved combination fuse, and other ordnance materials upon which letters- patent were granted.

These inventions were successfully tested by officers of the government, and received a merited commen- dation. The most conspicuous of these was the patent on canister shot or, more generally speaking, on the case for holding canister-shot. This patent was tested by the government and proved of such valne that the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars was awarded the inventor. The Sawyer Canister Shot has become a necessity in the ordnance stores of the government.

While some of these patents were pending, Mr. Sawyer patented a machine for grinding and mould- ing peat, and capable of making brick. While his attention has been directed to other studies, he has permitted this invention to remain unemployed. Yet in his opinion it is an invention of great promise and capacity. Another invention of equal merit was in a combination of rubber and emery, and the manner of

1054

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

constructing an emery wheel for grinding and polish- mer, of Dana. She died July 23, 1876. He married (second) August 8, 1877, Mary E. Stevens, a daughter Guilford, Vt., and more recently of Davenport, Iowa, ing metals. This was patented, and the machines triumphed in the most exacting tests. Another of Darwin H. and Harriet (Andrews) Stevens, of patent secured by Mr. Sawyer was upon a screw- propeller, driven by direct steam, and consequently requiring no engine or machinery.

His more recent studies have been in the realm of science, and include important discoveries in elec- tricity and in chemistry. He has invented a process, which has been patented, of refining and giving ripe- ness and the qualities of age to distilled spirits. This patent, with its immediate and pronounced results, has attracted the attention of scientific men. Later experiments and discoveries of a kindred nature now occupy his active mind, and with unfailing courage and confidence he anticipates fortuitous results.

The career of Mr. Sawyer was prefaced by the in- vention of the tubular spurred cutter, which, from a mechanical standpoint, is a notable achievement in the abridgment of labor, yet of greater value in its instant command of a new material that supports one of the thriving industries of our country. A re- view of his successive achievements, however, leads to the conclusion that the bent of his mind and the bur- den of his study have not been mainly directed to in- genions mechanical contrivances, but rather to a broader field that unites discovery with invention. His later inventions have combined discoveries in science with an intimate knowledge of mechanics, and his more recent triumphs have been the result of in- telligent study and investigation, rather than the ac- cidental fortune of instant invention.

Mr. Sawyer has resided in Athol since early man- hood, and has enjoyed the confidence and respect of his townsmen. In his home-life he is happy and familiar with the comforts and conveniences controlled by ample means. A few years since he purchased a commanding site and ample grounds and erected a costly and commodious mansion. Living in quiet contentment, he is a hospitable host, and enjoys the society of his friends.

Mr. Sawyer was married, October 23, 1854, to Har- riet Elizabeth Blackmer, a daughter of Hosea Black-

MOSES HILL.

Moses Hill, son of Asa Hill and Anna (Ballard) Hill, was born in Athol, August 15, 1822. Ifis par- ents were also natives of Athol. His father was born August 13, 1785, and his mother June 20, 1795. She was the daughter of Joshua and Anna (Raymond) Ballard. She died November 11, 1863. Asa Hill died June 11, 1876.

Moses Hill, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Worcester, Mass., June 15, 1741, and in 1766 married Lucy Garfield. His parents were John Hill and Mary (Haven) Hill.

Moses Hill, Sr., in 1766, bought two hundred and forty-five acres of wild land in the northerly part of Athol, now known as Chestnut Hill, the original deed of which is in the possession of Moses Hill. This deed is dated June 21, 1765. Moses Hill, Sr., died November 15, 1820, and his wife November 16, 1826. Her father lost his life in a raid of French and In- dians in Hinsdale, N. H., in 1755. John Hill died June 25, 1789, and his wife September 9, 1794.

Mr. Hill is a progressive farmer and one of Athol's estimable citizens. He has two children, Mary E. and Lucy A. Hill Lawton.

In person Mr. Sawyer is a man of fair proportions and of commanding presence. His features are re- CHAPTER CXXXVIII. fined and regular, and are lighted with a dark, clear eye of unusual brilliancy, which flashes with every WINCHENDON. transition of thought, and gives expression to an un- failing measure of kindness and sympathy. In man- BY WILLIAM T. DAVIS. ner he is affable, courteous and kind, and in conver- sation he is fluent and intelligent. His opinions are accurately and elearly expressed, yet in a manner both deliberate and thoughtful. His sympathies are warm, his impulses are generous and his friendship is endur- ing. His habit of thought and study is unabated, and he still grapples new subjects with the enthusiasm of |and Templeton, and on the west by Royalston. It is, youth and the strength of disciplined faculties. His qualities are versatile, yet savored with the practical, and his resources are ever at his command.

IN the northern part of Worcester County, border- ing on the New Hampshire line, lies a territory con- taining about thirty-six square miles, bounded on the north by Fitzwilliam and Rindge in New Hampshire, on the east by Ashburnham, on the south by Gardner for the most part, about one thousand feet above the sea, abounding in hills rising from three to four hun- dred feet above that level and traversed by Miller's River, which, in its winding course, runs about four- teen miles within its limits. This is the town of Winchendon, probably deriving its name from some association which Governor Bernard, under whose administration the town was incorporated, had with the town of Winchingdon in England.

Little was known of this territory before 1735. It was the home of the Indian and the deer, and prob- ably none beside the hunter or scont had wandered from the garrisoned settlements of the whites into its dark valleys and forest-covered plains. It was within

1055

WINCHENDON.

the jurisdiction of the province of Massachusetts Bay, and the government of the province assumed the right regardless of any Indian title or claim to grant it to any of its people. Among those to whom grants were made were the heirs of soldiers in King Philip's War, and in the expedition against Canada under Sir William Pepperell in 1690. Thus six townships were granted to the former, among which were Westmin- ster, called Narragansett No. 2, and Templeton, called Narragansett No. 6. Among those granted to the latter were Ashburnham, granted to heirs of Dorches- ter soldiers, and called Dorchester Canada, and Win- chendon, granted to heirs of Ipswich soldiers, and called Ipswich Canada.

The grant of Ipswich Canada, or what is now Win- chendon with the addition of territory since taken from it and the subtraction of territory since added to it, was made by the House of Representatives June 10, 1735, concurred in by the Council June 18th and consented to by Governor Belcher December 29th in that year. Its text is as follows :

At a Great and General Court io aod for His Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, beguo and held io Boston on Wed- nesday, the twenty-eighth day of May, 1735, and contioned by several adjournmeote to Wednesday, the nineteenth of November following.

In the House of Representatives June 10, 1735, in answer to the peti- tion of Lieut Abraham Tilten and others, voted, That a tract of land of the contents of six miles square be laid out in a suitable place in the westeru part of this Province, and that the whole of the Town be laid out into sixty-three shares, one of which to be for the first settled min- ister, one for the use of the ministry and one for the school; and that on the other sixty shares there he sixty admitted; and in the admission thereof, preference to be given to the Petitioners, and such as are the descendants of the others and soldiers who served in the expedition to Canada in the year 1690, viz .: a Tract of Laod for a Township to the said Abraham Tilton and others. And inasmuch as the officers and sol diers (who served in that expedition) were very great sufferers and under- weot uncommon hardships; coted, that this Province be at the whole charge of laying said Township in a regular manoer and of admitting the settlers; that the settlers or Grantees hereby are obliged to bring for- ward the settlement of said Township in as regular and defeosible a man- ner as the situation and circumstances of the place will admit of, aod that in the following maoner, viz .: That they be on the granted prem- ises and have each of them a house of eighteen feet square and seven feet stud at the least; that each Right or Grant have six acres of land brought to, ploughed or brought to English grass and fitted for mowing ; that they settle in the plantation or township a learded and orthodox minister and build a convenient meeting-house for the public worship of God in the township ; the whole of these conditions to be duly complied with within five years from the confirmation of the Plot. And that Capt. Johu Holson and Capt. Joho Choate, with such as the Honorable Board shall appoint, he a Committee for laying ont the Township hereby granted to Abraham Tilton and others, and admitting the settlers as aforesaid, who shall take bond of each grantee to the value of twenty pounds to the Province Treasurer for the respective grantees' fulfilment of the conditions of their grant; each lot as aforesaid to be entitled to and draw future divisions in equal proportions in the township or plan- tatioo; and that the Committee return the Plot of the said township to the Court within twelve months for confirmation, as also the list of the names of the grantees aud their place of residence into the Secretary's office, that so the same may be examined and regulated by a Committee that may be hereafter appointed by this Court. Aod further, it is hereby ordered that in case any of the grantees shall neglect or delay to fulfil the terms of the grant, such person or persons shall forfeit to the Prov- ioce all his or their right and interest io the land hereby granted.

Seut up for concurrence,

J. QUINCY, Speaker.

In Conocil June 18, 1733.

Read and Concorred and ordered that Thomas Berry, Esq., be joined to the Committee for laying out the Township.

J. WILLARD, Secretary.

Dec. 29 Consented to,

J. BELCHER.

A true Copy examined,

THADS. MASON, Dept. Sec'g.

A true Copy Attest, THOS. NORTON, JUN., Pro. Clerk.

In accordance with the above grant Thomas Berry, John Holson and John Choate, the committee desig- nated by the court, on the 13th of April, 1736, allowed the claims of sixty persons, of whom fifty-two were of Ipswich, to be grantees and proprietors. In the following Jnne they laid out the township as required by the grant, but so far as the writer knows, no record exists of the date of confirmation from which the five years' period of forfeiture were to begin to run. On the 31st of May, 1736, the proprietors chose Thomas Norton, of Ipswich, their clerk, and by him the records of the proprietors were kept. But notwith- standing the laying out of the township and the ad- mission of grantees, no attempt at actual settlement was made for a number of years. On the 27th of Oc- tober, 1737, the report of a committee chosen to lay out a division of lots of one hundred acres each was accepted, and five acres were reserved near the centre for a meeting-house, burial-place and training-field, In this division only a part of the town was divided, including seventy-one lots, and in subsequent divi- sions the remaining lots were disposed of. No seri- ous movement towards a settlement was made nntil the close of the first French War, when a committee was sent up "to run the lines and renew the bounds und to see what condition the meeting-house and mill were in." From this it would appear that some steps had been taken in the early years of the grant to com- ply with its conditions, and that a building of some kind had been erected for a place of worship. On the 29th of January, 1752, the proprietors voted one hun- fred pounds, old tenor, to each one of the first ten men who should, by the 1st of the next November, build ¿ house and settle a family. Ten families were con- sequently settled at once on the township, and from that time, notwithstanding the danger of Indian in- vasion during the second French War, became per- manent residents. In 1753 a frame of a meeting- house was erected near the territorial centre, but was afterwards sold unfinished. The records contain the following memorandum of the settlement of families immediately after the offer of one hundred pounds bonus above referred to.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 40

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1464

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1464