USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 43
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The first mention of schools in the town was under the date of May 5, 1765, when the sum of eight dol- lars was appropriated for the benefit of a school at the centre. In 1766 the sum of twenty dollars was appropriated, and in 1767 it was voted that "the ex- treme parts of the town should have a school by themselves, they providing a place and keeper."
the appropriation for schools was $450, in 1808 it was $500, in 1829, $600; in 1833, $700; in 1840, $1000; in 1844, $1100; in 1846, $1200 ; in 1848, $1500. In 1854 a high school was established under the care of E. A. Upton, and in 1868 a high school-house was built. In that year the appropriation for schools was $3,800, the district system having been abolished in the pre- vions year. In 1877 the appropriation, or, rather, the money expended for schools, was 84631.3], and for the year ending Jannary 31, 1888, the school expenses were, for
Wages of teachers. .$5,237.95
Care of school-honses 437.32
Fuel. 327.5%
Repairs. 209.66
Books and supplies. 660.54
Miscellaneous
305.77
Making a total of. $7,178.82
There are at present in the town a high school, two grammar schools, five intermediate schools, five pri- mary schools and six ungraded schools, making a total of nineteen schools.
The Winchendon Academy was founded in 1843 by Ephraim Murdock, who built a house which was used free of charge at varions times by John G. Giles, Levi O. Stephens, Stephen F. Kellogg, Charles L. Brace, A. H. Merriam and Rev. Wm. Wilmarth. The High School was kept in the academy building until the erection of a High School Honse, and since that time, by direction of Mr. Murdock, the building has been occupied by the lower grade schools of the town.
It is probable that the town of Winchendon had the privileges of a library earlier than any among the small towns in the State. According to tradition, one existed in the early part of the last quarter of the last century. How long it existed, by whom it was managed and to whom it belonged is not known. At any rate it disappeared, and another seems to have existed about the year 1800. This was sold in 1825, and not until the year 1851 can any public library be said to have been established. In that year a cor- poration was formed, which seems to have been in- spired by the efforts of Rev. Mr. Marvin, whose eye was always open to whatever would educate and ele- vate the community in which his lot was cast. The first officers of the corporation were Elisha Murdock, president ; Calvin R. Whitman, vice-president ; H. Harwood, clerk ; Amasa Whitney, Jr., treasurer ; Ira Russell, Orlando Mason, Wm. L. Lincoln, Henry Perley and Ebenezer Butler, Executive Committee ; and A. P'. Marvin, B. O. Tyler, E. Murdock, Jr., D. L. Morrill and Alvah Godding, library committee. Sub- scriptions to the amount of three hundred dollars were raised, and the design of the library was to include lec- tures, from which both instruction and revenues might be derived. This library had a precarions existence until the 16th of January, 1867, when the members of the corporation voted "to present the library to
In 1774 the town was divided into six sections, each of which was to have a school. In 1780 it was voted to have a school-master for nine months, equally divided between the six sections, and in 1785 the sum of fifty dollars was appropriated for schools. After 1786 five or six school-houses were built, and in 1799 the town at the next March meeting, provided the
WINCHENDON.
town will provide for its maintenance and enlarge- ment and proper keeping, for the accommodation of the readers of the town." The town voted to accept the library on the conditions stated, and it is now a free public library, managed by trustees chosen by the town and supported by annual appropriation.
As in the War of the Revolution, the town of Win- chendon kept pace with other towns in its efforts to sustain the government in the War of the Rebellion. On the 27th of April, 1861, a town-meeting was held, at which Giles H. Whitney acted as moderator, and a committee was appointed to report suitable measures for the town to adopt in the existing state of affairs. On the report of the committee it was voted to fur- nish each volunteer with a suitable uniform, a good revolver and eight dollars a month, in addition to government pay. It was also voted to pay one dollar per day for time expended in drilling for a term not exceeding one month. On the 4th of July, 1861, at a town-meeting at which John Cutter presided, it was voted to furnish State aid to soldiers' families in ac- cordance with the provisions of law. At a meeting held on the 19th of July, 1862, it was voted "that under the recent call of the government for three hundred thousand men, the town is called upon to furnish a certain number in making up the quota for this State ; that this town will pay to such men as will enlist within twenty days to make up the re- quired number one hundred dollars each, in addition to the bounty offered by government, to be paid as follows : twenty-five dollars as soon as the recruit is sworn into service, and seventy-five dollars at the expiration of the term for which he enlists, with interest from the true date of his being sworn into service. And if the recruit prefers, the seventy five dollars shall be paid to his family or to those depend- ent on him for their support, by his order at such times and in such sums as the selectmen may think required. In case of death, what is due shall be paid to his heirs. Provided if any volunteer prefer to receive the whole bounty of one hundred dollars at the time he is sworn into service, he shall be paid accordingly."
On the 16th of August, 1862, it was voted "that this town will pay to each man that will enlist within the next fifteen days to make up the quota of this town of the last three hundred thousand men called for by the government, the sum of one hundred dol- lars upon their being sworn into service."
On the 13th of September, 1862, it was voted to pay the same bounty to nine months' men.
These votes, with others, not included in this nar- rative, illustrate the activity of the town in furnish- ing its share of men under the varions calls of the President. The amount of money expended by the town during the war for war purposes was $18,000, of which the sum of $17,949.32 for State aid was paid back by the State. The following is a list of soldiers furnished by Winchendon, with the regiments and companies to which they belonged :
First Regiment. Co. E. W. Stocking
George Taylor.
Second Regiment of Infantry.
George A. Boston
Alfred R. Bowen.
A
Fred A. Bowen,
A
George A. Bruce,
D
Patrick Cassidy
G
H. A. Crocker
Isaac Hadley.
D
Joseph Harrigan
D
Lawrence Lamon
G
C. H. Lawrence
Frederick Maynard.
John Meehan.
D
Stephen Miller
A
Napoleon Miller.
Frank Nash.
Theodore K. Parker
D
IIenry S. Peirce.
D
Frank Peirce.
A
Edward A. Pollard.
George Roberts.
Patrick Shea
John M. Stearns.
C
J. Hervey Taylor
D
Third Regiment.
Charles Bates
John JI. Hitchcock 1
Thomas Mitchell
H
Moran Morris,
Nelson Rice ..
Otis Rice ...
D. Sullivan
Fourth Regimeut.
C. D. Towns.
Fifth Regiment.
Lorenzo Coburn
K
George Goodall.
K
Noah Paro
K
Sixth Regiment.
Ambrose Butler ..
Enoch Nichols
Almon Nutting.
Seventh Regiment.
W. H. H. Putnam.
Ninth Regiment. 11
Marcus Aldrich
Henry W. Clark
Martin McCabe ..
Fifteenth Regiment.
Napoleon B. Bruce,
B
Robert Bruce.
R
Edwin Chase.
B
Andrew Fisher.
B
Seth R. Fisher.
B
R. E. Hartwell
B
Wm. W. Holman B
Charles W. Kendall B
Edward S. Kendall
B
Oscar A. Kendall
B
F. H. Lond
B
Joseph B. Matthews
B
Winthrop Maynard.
B
Charles F. Pope.
B
B
Andrew Riley
Stillman Safford.
B
Abram Scott.
B
Elijah M. Scott.
Walter D. Scott
B
Charles A. Stevens. B
Fred. C. Stewart.
B
George F. Taylor.
Wni. E. Taylor. 13
James H. Tenney
Benjamin Whitcomb. R
Enoch Whitney
Horace Wyman
Sixteenth Regiment.
Win. S. Hersey.
Eighteenth Regiment.
A. G. Nutting.
1
Twenty-first Regiment.
Patrick Brabsten
George W. Bradish.
1
George E. Cook
A
Charles M. Crayton.
C
Patrick Finton.
G
Andrew J. Flagg.
George E. Gorman
G
Jacques Garing
Henry Haskell
Augustus E. Houghton
A
llenry J. Lake.
Joseph Lippit.
George II. Matthews
Robert N. Shaw
John Simonds.
Jerome L. Stevens
James S. Stratton
Josiah T. Town
John Welsh
Edwin Wells
Thomas Wells.
Herbert E. Weston.
G
Richard M. Whitney.
Twenty-fourth Regiment.
Jason L. Coffin
C
S. Jones Hale.
W'm. W. Peirce.
Wm. Welsh
Twenty-fifth Regiment.
Everand A. Alger
George Brown (2d)
Charles II. Stratton.
A. Il. Whitcomb
Twenty-sixth Regiment
Joseph J. G. Ball
1
Madison Beal
1
Levi W. Brooks I
L. V. Clough. 1
Wm. Elford.
I
Edward M. Fitzgerald
1
George Gowan.
1
Joseph Il. Harwood
George Knowlton 1
Il. Lawrence.
Elwin A, Parks
1
Henry Powers
1
Warren Powers
1
Samuel II. Prentiss.
Jerome Rich
1
Frank B. Sawtell
O. L. Sawtell.
HI. C. Lowell
B
E. N. Taylor.
1
Bailey L. Thomas.
Wm. Townsend 1
Twenty-ninth Regiment.
R. C. Smith
Thirtieth Regiment.
David A. Caswell
Fred. Leland
Frank Marshall ..
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1065
1066
HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
Co.
Forty-second Regiment. Co.
Alson Norcross
D
Matthias Challin.
Forty-eighth Regiment.
John Spalding ..
Thirty second Regiment
W. Thompson. B
This ty-fourth Regiment.
l'aul Paro.
Thirty sixth Regiment.
Cyrus Alger
Austin E. Allen
Henry E. Bosworth 1)
Peter Breen
D
George W. Brooks,
Fred. M. Brown
D
Norman Bruce.
D
Robert Bruce,
U
Charles F. Byam
D
S. Chamberlain
Daniel W. Chase
Wm. D. Chase
Frank Chiller.
A
M. V. Coburn.
John L. Combs.
n
John C. Cutter.
Theodore F. Damon
John M. Demary
D
Sanınel C. Felch.
C. B. Fisher. =
Liberty W. Foskett
Wellington Foskett
Adams E. Frenchi.
Jeremiah Gilman
Edward Goddeny
D
Livesey B. Hale
D
S. B. Hale. D
Charles W. Hayden D
A. G. Holman
Osear Morrell D
G. C. Parker D
G. Partridge.
Fraeis D. Perry
George E. Plummer.
Hiram E. Powers
James M. Rich
D
Robert T. Bich
D
Alden J. Sawtell
Fifty-seventh Regiment.
Wm. Smith 11
Marcus Tatro,
Edward T. Warner.
F. L. Whitney. D
B. O. Wilder.
D
A. II. Williams
Fortieth Regiment.
John Fay
Regular Army.
L. J. Wilkinson ..
Walter Wilkinson. Isaac N. Forkett
The regiments of the following soldiers are unknown:
M. V. Barney.
G. A. Jewett.
Frank Bradford.
Dauiel Norcross.
Luke Doyle.
George L. Norcross.
Isaac J. Dunn.
Milton M. Parks.
Milo Evans.
Samuel J. Resdin.
Orlando Gutt.
Albert Samsou.
C'alvin O. Gott.
Henry E. Suow.
Charles S. Hilton.
George "Thomas.
Joseph Hyatt.
The following soldiers were either killed or died in the service :
Edward Alger .. .lied July 19, 1863 1I. 11. Baldwin ...... .... . . ... killed September 19, 1864
doliu Baldwin. .died January 16, 1863
George W. Bradish
died
Peter Breen.
.killed at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864
Levi W. Brooks. died September 19, 1802
George Brown (2d) .died
Robert Bruce. ilied in 1864 at Richmond
H. N. Buttrick
died May 18, 1863
Lorenzo Coburn
died June 2, 1862
Theodore F'. Damon
alied November 29, 1862
Milo Evans
.. died
Patrick Fenton. ... died
C. B. Fisher. .died
W'm. M. Flint ..
died at Baton Rouge, August 14, 1863
Adams E. French
.killed June 19, 1864
Orlando Gott
died September 12, 1802
S. B. Hale
.killed at Spotteylvania, May 12, 1864
D. H. Harding
.died Angist 3, 1863
R. E. Hartwell.
.killed at Chancellorsville, May, 1863
Josialı Hill
died July 19, 1863
Theodore J. Ilill
.died June 25, 1863
T. F. Hubbard
killed March 23, 1863
George Knowlton
.died May, 1863
J. Henry Lake.
killed at Chantilly, September 27, 1862
George H. Matthews,
.died of wounds received at Roanoke
Frederick Maynard killed at Gettysburg
D. McLennon.
died July 2, 1863
Daniel Norcross
died of wounds in May, 1864
A. G. Nutting.
died at Yorktown in April, 1862
G. C. Parker.
.died November 5, 1862
Elwin A. Parks killed in Louisiana June 21, 1863
'C. F. Hubbard,
John O. Kinney
11
Jobn Mitchell
H
Dexter Moore
Orange Morman
H
D. MeLennon
Samuel II. Nimms ..
Salmon Norcross.
H
F. A. Packard
George Page.
H
George H1. Parks
George H. Piper
H
Charles Putney
James A. Raymond
U
Sidney L. Reed
Wm. J. Smith
Charles T. Stearns
Charles Tatro.
H
Lewis Tatro
Charles A. Warren.
=
John M. Wyman
James Mahoney.
First Buttery.
J. l'. Conier
Sixth Battery.
Wesley B. Baldwin ..
George Thomas.
died in prison at Richuioud
Josiab T. Town
died April 27, 1862
Thomas Wells
.died in 1862
F. L. Whitney
.killed in June, 1804
Walter Wilkinson
.. killed at Williamsburg May 5, 1862
John M. Wyman.
.. died May 20, 1863, in Louisiana
The business enterprises on which the town of Winchendon thrives are largely those of the manu- facture of wooden-ware. In the early days of the town farming was the chief industry, but the abun- dance of suitable material in its adjacent forests nat- urally led to the enterprises which have, in later years, characterized it and given it distinction.
According to the census of 1885 the dairy products of the town were valned at $25,011; poultry pro- ducts, $3496; the wood products, $5607; cereals, $1798; fruits, berries and nuts, $3193; hay, straw and fodder, $33,714; meats and game, $2928; and vegetables, $5129.
The varions mills which existed previous and up to 1868 have been so fully described in "Marvin's History," and up to 1879 in his "County History," that it seems almost useless to recount them in this narrative. They have undergone some changes since that time, but for the most part they continue in the same line of business and under the same management. Since that time the establishments of Alvin Streeter, engaged in the manufacture of wood- working machinery ; that of Brown Brothers, at Bal- lardsville, and Wilder P. Clark, at the North Village, engaged in the manufacture of wooden-ware ; of Taft
Wmn. Powers
Patrick O'Conner.
Fifty-third Regiment.
Edward Alger
John Baldwin
Wm l'. Beanial,
L. E. Beckford.
IL
Joseph Bowker
G. Q. A. Bryant
H
11. N. Buttrick
T
Almon E. Carriel
Charles E. Coburn
Patrick Fitzgerald
Eleaser T Flint.
II
Wm. M. Flint
A. A. Gilson
Isaac Gorman.
A
Jonathan Handy
D. H. Harding
11
John II. ]lartwell H
Josiah Will.
Theodore J. Hill.
John W. Houghton
George H. Parks ..
.. died at Aunapolis
George E. Plummer
killed November 16, 1863
Hiram E. Powers
.died September 23, 1863
Charles Putney.
died August 24, 1863
James A. Raymond died February 19, 1863
Charlee Samson
died
Albert J. Sawtell killed at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864
Elijah M. Scott.
killed at Ball's Bluff
Wm. J. Smith
died March 26, 1863
James S. Stratten
.killed at Antietam
E. N. Taylor.
died in Louisiana
Ninth Battery.
Charles Samson
1067
WINCHENDON.
& Day, in the manufacture of brush woods ; of Wm. P. Caldwell, of hardware : of Quimby S. Backus, of oil and gas heaters; of the Glen Allan Cotton-Mills, conducted by White Brothers ; of M. E. Converse & Co., in the manufacture of rattan chairs and toys ; of W. P. Clark & Co., of chairs, and of (teorge S. Loud, of wooden faucets, have been established, and have added to the industry, population and wealth of the town.
Among the older establishments of which some special mention should be made are those of Nelson D. White, Baxter D. Whitney, Orlando Mason, Ozro Hancock and William W. Whitney. The cotton factory of Mr. White, conducted by his sons at Spring Village, stands on the site of an old saw- mill, which was in operation in the early part of the century. In 1826 a woolen factory was erected by Sylvanus Holbrook, which, after running about five years, was converted into a cotton factory, and run by Philip Ridgway and William and John D. Dunbar. For a description of the mills conducted by Nelson D. White and his sons, the reader is referred to a sketch of Mr. White on page 1069.
The manufacture of wooden-ware was begun about fifty years ago by Elisha Murdock, who established it on a firm and lasting foundation. His son-in-law, William W. Whitney, succeeded him, and has shown the skill and good management requisite for the continued successful operation of the business.
The works of Baxter D. Whitney, for the manufac- ture of machinery for working wood, were begun in 1846. In 1852 his dam and buildings were swept away, but promptly rebuilt. Mr. Whitney has, by his ingenuity and inventive power, reinforced his natural business capacity and iosured to his enter- prises a permanent success.
Among the corporations and organized bodies of the town are the Winchendon National Bank, with a capital of $150,000; the Winchendon Savings Bank, organized in 1854; the Gilman C. Parker Post, No. 153, of the Grand Army of the Republic ; a lodge of Odd Fellows, a lodge of Royal Arcanum, a lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, a lodge of Knights of Labor, and one of Good Templars, and a Ladies' Relief Corps attached to the Grand Army Post.
The railroads touching Winchendon are the Che- shire, connecting the town with the Boston and Fitchburg and with the Rutland Railroad, the Ware' River Railroad, connecting Wiochendon with Palmer and operated by the Boston and Albany, the Monad- nock Railroad, connecting Winchendon with Peter- boro', run by the Cheshire Railroad and the Worcester Division of the Fitchburg Railroad, con- necting Winchester with Worcester.
The professional men in the town are Frank B. Spalter and Lafayette Washington Pierce, attorneys- at-law, and Frederick W. Russell, John G. Henry, Nathaniel R. Perkins and Peter S. W. Geddes, the
first two of whom are allopathic, the third homco- pathic, and the last eclectic.
The population of the town is, with its business, gradually increasing. In 1860 it was 2624; in 1875, 3762, and in 1885, 3872. Its valuation has increased more rapidly than its population. In 1865 it was $1,160,952; in 1875, $2,190,889, and in 1885, 82,057,- 308.
Among the natives of Winchendon who have found distinction in other and distant fields of activity, two who have been known to the present generation ought to be mentioned. Artemas Hale was the son of Deacon Moses Hale, who was a captain in the Revolution, and for many years held offices of trust in the town. Mr. Hale was engaged in early life as a school teacher, and finally settled in Bridgewater, in the county of Plymouth. There he lived to a great age, respected and beloved by all within the sphere of his influence. He held many offices of trust, and at one time represented the Old Colony District in Con- gress.
William Barrett Washburn was another distin- guished son of Winchendon. He was descended from John Washburn, who appeared in Duxbury as early as 1632, and afterwards settled in Bridgewater. Elijah Washburo, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1752 or '53, and lived for a time in Leicester, from which place he removed to Hancock, N. H., and died in 1835. He was a colonel in the Revolution, and had twelve children. Asa Washburn, the fifth child, born in Hancock, removed to Winchendon in 1817, and married Phebe, daughter of Capt. Phineas Whitney. He was a hat manufac- turer by trade, and died in Winchendon in 1823. William Barrett Washburn, son of Asa, was born in Winchendon, January 31, 1820. He fitted for college at the Westminster and Hancock Academies, and graduated at Yale College in 1844 in the class with Orrin Ferry, of Connecticut, who afterwards sat with him in the United States Senate. After leaving col- lege he was a clerk in the employ of his uncle, Wmn. B. Whitney, at Orange, until 1847, when he engaged in the manufacture of doors, chairs and wooden-ware, at Erving. In 1857 he removed to Greenfield, where he became interested in the Wiley Russell Mannfac- turing Company, and resided until his death. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Repre- sentatives in 1850, and of the Senate in 1854. He was a member of Congress from 1863 to January 1. 1872, when he resigned to be inaugurated Governor of Massachusetts, to which office he had been chosen in the previous November. On the 17th of April, 1874, he resigned the office of Governor on his elec- tion to fill the unexpired term of Charles Sumner in the United States Senate, and held that office until March 4, 1875. He was for many years president of the Greenfield Bank, and its successor, the Greenfield National Bank, one of the trustees of Yale College, and one of the board of overseers of Amherst College.
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106S
HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
He married, September 6, 1847, Hannah, a daughter of Col. Samuel Sweetser, of Athol, and died at Spring- field, October 5, 1887, leaving two sons and four daughters.
In its municipal capacity, besides the school-houses and public library, to which reference has been al- ready made, the town owns a town farm; a fire department with apparatus consisting of two hand- engines and one steamer, with three hose-carts or carriages, hooks and ladders, three thousand seven hundred and seventy feet of hose of all kinds, and all the necessary tools belonging to the same.
With the business enterprises now in operation and the facilities for reaching markets of purchase and sale, there seems to be no reason why Winehendon should not advance in a career of increasing pros- perity and wealth.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
ELISHA MURDOCK.
The student of the development of the rural towns of New England for the past hundred years will find that the personal records of a few prominent men have gone far to the making of the history of those towns. To this rule Winehendon affords no excep- tion. Whatever distinction she has gained among her sister towns of the old Commonwealth, outside of such personal narrative, is due, in a great measure, at least, to the manufacture of wooden-ware. The per- sonal annals identified with the creation of this in- dustry are those of the Hon. Elisha Murdock, a native of the town-annals that find a fitting place in our history.
Elisha Murdock was born in Winchendon, August 27, 1802. He was the third child of Ephraim Mur- dock and Gebiah Bixby, both natives of Winchendon and parents of a famous family. Elisha, in common with the other children, had the district school edu- cation which the town schools of that day afforded, and afterwards at his own expense continued his studies in the academy at Leicester, Mass., and that at New Salem, N. H. In his early manhood he taught school in Winehendon and some of the neigh- boring towns during the winter months. In 1829 he was elected a member of the School Committee of the town, a position which he held almost continu- ously until he resigned it in consequence of failing health, in 1863. Of his work in this direction some- thing more will he said hereafter.
In 1832 he married Roanah Morse, the fifth child of Isaac Morse and Miriam Spofford. His home life was most happy, extending over nearly forty years. His wife and two daughters survive him,-Ellen R. Godding, wife of William W. Godding, a prominent alienist physician of Washington, D. C., and Sophia M. Whitney, wife of William W. Whitney, the successor
to Mr. Murdock's business and the leading wood- ware manufacturer in the country.
In 1834 Mr. Murdock commenced the manufacture of pails and tubs at his mill at Waterville, one mile west of Winehendon Village. This business proved his life-work, he devoting his full energies to it until his retirement, in 1862, with what result will appear further on.
His publie life was an honorable one. He repre- sented the town in the General Court as early as 1838, in 1840, and again in 1848 and 1851. In 1852 he was elected to the State Senate and re-elected in 1853. In all matters that concerned the public weal he was the first citizen of his town. Finding his health failing, he retired from business and with- drew from public work in 1863. He died March 12, 1870, universally esteemed and regretted.
These are the brief annals of a man whom Win- chendon held in the highest regard and throughont his entire career delighted to honor. Is it asked why was this? the answer is not far to seek ; he was never unmindful of the good of others, and while helping himself he helped them. He found Winchendon a wilderness of pine trees and scattered farm-houses, with hardly any other industry than that of agricul- ture. He lived to see it-and this was in a great measure the outgrowth of his own energy-dotted over with prosperous villages, utilizing its abundant water-power in converting the pine logs into material wealth by means of the processes which he had de- veloped. The industry was a new one when, in 1834, he commenced sending out from his mill finished turned tubs and pails. It is true there had been other parties who, prior to 1834, had here and else- where in the vicinity made, in a limited and imper- fect fashion, buckets and utensils of wood, but the fact remains that it was Elisha Murdock who first established on a permanent basis the manufacture of the turned pail and tub, articles which, coming into general use, have carried the name of Murdock and Winchendon wherever they have been introduced. To three Winchendon men the world is indebted for the turned pail,-Reuben Hyde, who, by his inven- tion of the cylinder or barrel-saw, made sawn staves possible ; William Murdock, the brother of Elisha, who perfected the lathe for turning the pails; and Elisha Murdock, to whose energy and enterprise the finished product was due. They were small begin- nings in 1834, but they proved the planting of an in- dustry which, in twenty years, had grown into a magnificent success, and, though afterwards others following in his footsteps and building still more ex- tensive works, came to reap where he had sown, he has always been regarded, and justly, as the father of the trade, and to-day the E. Murdock & Co. Mills, on the old site, conducted by his son-in-law, Wiltiam W. Whitney, and his grandson, Elisha Murdock Whitney, are the most extensive of any of their kind in the land.
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