History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I, Part 57

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 700

USA > Massachusetts > History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I > Part 57

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" Hasten slowly" is the motto of the house, which salutes one entering at the front.

Memorial Hall and Public Library .- The first circulating library of any extent of which any record can be found is that of Northampton Social Library. Following there was the High School Lyceum Library, and in 1834 the North- ampton Young Men's Society was commenced, wbich estab- lished a library and reading-room, and the books of the So- cial Library were soon added to its shelves. In January, 1839, a book club was formed, which is still in existence, its members being limited to 20. The Young Men's Institute, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a library and promoting public instruction, by lectures or otherwise, was organized in 1846. The first meeting of which there is any record was held on the 8th of January, 1846. The week following, on the 15th of January, the organization was completed, a constitution and by-laws adopted, and Henry Bright chosen President ; Joseph Lathrop, Treasurer; W. O. Gorbam, Corresponding Secretary ; and W. D. Whitney, Re- cording Secretary. It was reported that 8312 had been con- tributed, and arrangements were made for a course of lectures. The books of the already existing libraries were probably given to the Institute, as a vote was passed on the 21st of Oe- tober, 1846, authorizing J. P. Williston to "act with the principals of the high schools as a committee to choose books for the Social Library, according to the stipulation contained in the conditions on which that library was given into the charge of the Institute." For a number of years the library was kept in a room over the store of Nathan Dikeman, in Shop Row. Soon after the present town-hall was built, in 1850, the Institute asked and obtained of the town the free use of a room in the hall, and in the same year a reading-room was added to the library, but was discontinued in 1852. It was removed, in 1850, to the room in the town-hall at present occupied by the water commissioners. A few years afterward the library was moved across the hall to the two rooms now used by the school committee, and in them it was kept till its re- moval to the present building. In May, 1852, Otto Goldsmith and Jenny Lind Goldsmith presented to the Institute 8700, the

1864

Resigned.

Amherst ..

1859

When Service From what

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HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

proceeds of a concert, which they desired should be " devoted to the purchase of standard works, well bound, such as are be- lieved to be of permanent value." The letter accompanying the donation was, by vote of the Institute, framed and hung in the library. In November, 1852, the subject of forming a free public library, in accordance with a then recent law of the State, was put into the hands of a committee, who reported in its favor ; but the subject was, after discussion at several meet- ings, indefinitely postponed. At a meeting held March 10, 1853, a committee was appointed to obtain an act of incorpora- tion. On the 21st of April, 1853, an act was granted by the Legislature, naming Samuel A. Fisk, S. W. Hopkins, and Henry Dikeman as corporators of the Northampton Young Men's Institute. This was accepted in July of the same year, and the Institute reorganized under it. The first catalogue of the library was printed in 1857, the second was issued in 1862, and the third, the present one, in 1874. Supplements have been printed at various times, as books accumulated.

On the 29th of February, 1860, the Institute voted to offer

Christopher Clarke, and M. M. French. Subscription papers were at once circulated, the sons of Northampton living abroad were appealed to, and many very liberal donations were obtained. The largest sum was that given by Mr. John Clarke, amounting in all to $7000, of which $5000 was do- nated to the building fund and $2000 to the Young Men's Institute. Mr. George Bliss, of New York, subscribed $5000, and Mr. E. II. R. Lyman, $3500. The private subscription was filled in the summer of 1871, and the committee at once proceeded to the work assigned them.

In July, 1869, occurred the death of Mr. John Clarke, who Jeft by his will the "sum of $40,000 in trust to the town of Northampton, for the benefit of the public library in said town, for the erection of a suitable building, and the increase and maintenance of the library, and for no other purpose." In accepting the trust thus conferred upon it, the town, by a special vote, set apart the income of the fund for the purchase of books.

As soon as the subscription was completed the committee

MEMORIAL HALL AND PUBLIC LIBRARY.

the use of the books to the town of Northampton, for a free public library, so long as the town should annually appro- priate a sum not less than 40 cents for each of its ratable polls. At the annual meeting in that year the town accepted the proposition, and appropriated $500 for the increase and main- tenance of the library. From that time the town has made annual appropriations, varying from year to year, the largest amount, $2500, being granted in 1873.

In 1867 measures were first taken toward obtaining a library building, and a committee was appointed by the In- stitute to act in reference to the matter. In 1868 the lot on which the building is located was purchased, donations for that purpose, of $1000 each, having been obtained from E. H. R. Lyman and Whiting Street. At the annual town-meeting in 1869 a vote was passed appropriating the sum of $25,000 for the purpose of erecting a memorial hall and public library building in honor of our fallen soldiers, whenever a like amount shall have been raised from other sources, and a com- mittee of five persons appointed to carry out the vote. This com- mittee consisted of Charles Delano, A. T. Lilly, Luke Lyman,

in charge of the matter proceeded to obtain the necessary plans for the construction of the " Memorial Hall and Public Library Building." Consultations were had with some of the most noted architects in the country who had made public buildings and libraries a special study, and the present plan was offered. After obtaining bids for the erection of the building, it was found that it could not be built for the sum of money in the hands of the committee. A meeting of the town was called, and the alternative presented of reducing the size of the building or increasing the appropriation. It was announced that a further private subscription of $4000 had been made, on condition that the building should be erected in accordance with the original plan, and the sum of $16,000 additional was voted. The work was put under con- traet, and the building erected in 1872 and '73. The committee had not taken into account, in their estimate of expenditures, the cost of the heating apparatus nor the shelving for the books. The work was substantially completed in the fall and winter of 1878, and the committee, having expended all the appropriations, asked the town for money enough to put in

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the steam-boiler and pipes. At the first meeting the town refused an appropriation. A second meeting was afterward held, at which the sum of $4000 was voted for this purpose, and the committee proceeded at once to put in the heating apparatus. The library was removed to the new building in March, 1874.

The memorial hall and library building stands deservedly in the front rank of similar buildings in this country. The memorial hall, the most imposing portion of the building, constitutes the main entrance, and is 64 hy 40 feet. The hall is 25 feet square, with bays on each side 5 feet deep. The floor is of marble, and the ceiling 20 feet high. It is cased in black walnut and ash, elaborately carved and highly finished. On each side, in the recesses, will be placed the tablets con- taining the memorial records of our fallen soldiers. In the rear of the hall is a building, 80 by 54 feet and two stories high, containing the library and reading-room. At the rear end of the memorial hall is a broad flight of steps ascending six feet to the library-room. At either side of this ascending entrance-way is a stairway descending to the reading-room. From the landing-place at the library-doors ascend steps on each side to the museum and art-room immediately above the memorial hall, and occupying the entire front of the building. The library-room is 79 by 51 feet, with a nave in the centre 26 feet wide and 27 feet high. The books are arranged in cases directly beneath the nave in the centre of the room, and inclosed in a neat iron railing, giving ample room outside for the use of visitors. The cases are 10 feet long and 7 feet high, and when the entire space is filled with them there will be ample room for 32,000 volumes. The entire capacity of the building is sufficient for three or four times that number of books. On the same floor with the library are four smaller rooms, two on each side of the memorial hall. Those on the west side are used, the larger as a general reception-room, and the smaller for books on art and costly volumes not to be taken from the building. These two rooms have been handsomely and luxuriantly furnished by L. B. Williams, Esq., of North- ampton. The two rooms on the opposite side are used, the larger as a consulting-room, in which works of reference, to be examined only in the building, are kept, and the smaller as the librarian's private apartment. Directly below the library is the reading-room, which is 38 by 51 feet, with smaller rooms in the rear, used for storage, work-rooms, etc. Here is also a circular stairway leading from the cellar to the library-room, and two elevators for books and packages. There are two entrances to the reading-room, one on each side of the building, just in the rear of the memorial ball. In the front of the building and under the hall are cloak- room, lavatory, water-closets, etc. In the cellar, extending under the entire building, is the steam-boiler by which the whole is warmed. The total cost of building and grounds was $77,249.79.

The building was occupied in March, 1874, and the library rearranged, a new catalogue printed, and the whole opened to the public on the 30th of March, 1874. The books are classified and arranged on the shelves in a new and very con- venient manner, devised by Rev. Wm. S. Leavitt, who, for the last half-dozen years, has efficiently and satisfactorily managed the affairs of the institution. The arrangement of the books is such that, however the library may be increased, each class can always be kept by itself in adjoining cases. The first figure is the number of a shelf; 1, 2, ete., up to 9, designate the class to which the books on that shelf belong. Thus all books whose shelf numbers commence with the figure 1 belong in the class of fiction or juvenile literature ; all commencing with figure 2 belong under biography ; figure 3, history, travel, voyages, and so on up to 9, which includes art, architecture, and illustrated works. There is a tenth class, comprising books of reference, which have no numbers attached to them, but are kept in the consulting-

room, where any one is at liberty to examine them. For cach shelf there is a little box, like a post-office box, bearing the number of the shelf, in which are placed the tickets given for the books which are drawn out from that shelf. These simple arrangements are found to facilitate, perhaps as much as possible, the task of finding any particular book on the shelves, or, if it is missing there, of tracing it to the person into whose hands it has gone.

The number of books on the shelves of the library is now not far from 12,000. At the publication of the previous cata- Jogue, in 1862, the number of volumes was stated to be 4500. The increase within the last thirteen years has been about 7500 volumes. A large portion of this increase has been made within the last four years, and has been purchased with the income of the John Clarke fund. It cannot be expected, however, that the library will continue to increase as rapidly in the future, as no small portion of the income of the fund is now swallowed up in running expenses, the town having rescinded the vote dedicating the income of the fund to the purchase of books, and at the same time decreasing the amount of its annual appropriation.

The fund of $40,000, represented by $50,000 second-mort- gage bonds of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, was among the securities stolen from the Northampton National Bank at the time of the great robbery in 1876, and have not yet been recovered. No income has been received from them for two years, while the road has been in the hands of a receiver.

For many years the duties of librarian have been performed in a most satisfactory manner by the present librarian, Miss C. S. Laidley, who was first chosen to that position when the library was first opened in the present town-hall. The in- creased labors incident to a larger circulation of hooks, and its removal to the new building, demanded other assistance, es- pecially in the evenings, when six persons are usually busily employed.

The library is in a very prosperous condition, and reflects great credit upon the enterprise and intelligence of the citi- zens of Northampton.

BANKS.

NORTHAMPTON BANK.

The first banking institution established in this town was the old Northampton Bank, organized March 31, 1803, with the following directors : Ebenezer Hunt, Jonathan Dwight, Samuel Porter, Oliver Smith, Benj. Prescott, and Erastus Lyman. Levi Shepherd was the first president, and Levi Lyman the first cashier. The bank went into operation in the fall of 1803, when a new board of directors was chosen, at which Samuel Hensaw was chosen president, Mr. Lyman continuing as cashier. The institution was comparatively short-lived, continuing about a dozen years.

THE HAMPSHIRE BANK

was organized Ang. 15, 1813, with the following-named di- rectors : Joseph Lyman, Ebenezer Mattoon, Seth Wright, Oliver Smith, and Ebenezer Hunt, Jr. Joseph Lyman was elected president, and Thos. Swan cashier. The capital stock was $100,000. This bank continued in operation about twenty years, with Hon. Joseph Lyman as president during the entire period.

THE NORTHAMPTON NATIONAL BANK.

The Northampton Bank, of which the National Bank is the successor, was organized April 13, 1833, with a capital of $100,000, which was increased in 1837 to $200,000. The first board of directors was constituted as follows : Eliphalet Wil- liams, Thos. Napier, Lewis Strong, and John Hopkins, of Northampton ; David Mack, Jr., of Amherst ; Thos. White, of Ashfield ; and Nathan Coolidge, of Ihadley. Eliphalet Williams was chosen president, which position he held until 1850, when he resigned, and J. D. Whitney was chosen his successor. He remained in the office nine months, when Mr.

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HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

Williams was re-elected, and officiated until 1857, when he again resigned, and J. H. Butler was chosen to the position. In 1867, Mr. Butler resigned, and Mr. Williams was again made president, which position he occupied until his death, in 1874. Oscar Edwards has been president since. The first eashier of the bank was J. D. Whitney, who was succeeded in 1850 by Chas. White, of Brooklyn, Conn., who remained until 1861, when J. L. Warriner, of Springfield, was chosen. In 1874, Mr. Warriner resigned, and the present cashier, Mr. Whittelsey, became his successor. The bank was reorganized as the Northampton National Bank in 1865, and the capital increased to $400,000. The present directors are as follows : Osear Edwards, Winthrop Hillyer, Geo. W. Hubbard, L. B. Williams, II. R. Hinckley, J. L. Warriner, Eleazer Porter, William Skinner, and George A. Burr.

THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK

is the successor of the Holyoke Bank, which was organized in 1848, with a capital stock of $100,000. The first board of auditors was as follows: John Clarke, Samuel Williston, Austin Smith, Joel Hayden, Oliver Edwards, Jed Allen, Luke Sweetzer, Charles Delano, and A. H. Bullen. The presidents of the bank have been as follows: John Clark, 1848-56; Samuel Williston, 1856-62; Joel Hayden, 1862-73; William B. Hale, 1873, present incumbent.

The following-named persons have served as cashiers from its organization to the present time, viz. : Thomas Green, 1848-55; Matthew B. Bartlett, 1855-63; Henry Roberts, 1863, present eashier.

The Holyoke Bank was chartered with a capital of $100,000, which was inereased to $150,000 in 1849, and in 1850 to $200,000. The bank was reorganized as the First National Bank of Northampton, May 2, 1864, with a capital of $300,000. This was increased in 1865 to $400,000, and in 1869 to $500,- 000, its present capital. The bank was located in the second story of the building corner Main and Pleasant Streets until 1865, when the present fine banking building was erceted, corner Main and King Streets, at a cost of $40,000.

The present board of directors is constituted as follows : S. M. Smith, W. B. Hale, E. II. Sawyer, M. M. French, MI. A. Spaulding, H. F. Williams, A. L. Williston, Charles Cook, and P. M. Wells.

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY NATIONAL BANK.

This institution was organized in May, 1864, chiefly through the instrumentality of Luther Bodman, Esq., who had been for a long time president of the Conway Bank. It was char- tered with a capital of $100,000. The first directors were as follows : Luther Bodman, J. C. Arms, Dr. James Dunlap, Deacon Wm. II. Stoddard, Wm. H. Dickinson, Hiram Nash, Josiah Allis.

Mr. Bodman was chosen first president, and still retains the position. The first cashier was W. C. Robinson, who was succeeded, in 1865, by the present cashier, Lewis Warner. The capital of the bank was increased to $200,000 in 1864, and in the following year to $250,000. The present bank building was erected in 1872, at a cost of $26,000. It is a briek structure, with iron front, and is one of the handsomest business bloeks in Northampton. The present directors of the bank are as follows: Luther Bodman, Josephus Crafts, James Dunlap, Wm. II. Stoddard, Merritt Clark, Wm. H. Diekinson, and Hiram Nash.

THE NORTHAMPTON INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS

was incorporated March 1, 1842. The incorporators were J. H. Butler, Samuel L. Hinckley, and Stephen Brewer. The first meeting was held Oct. 1, 1842, when the following officers were chosen: C. P. Huntington, President ; John P. Williston and Benjamin Barrett, Vice-Presidents; John Clarke, Ansel Wright, Winthrop Hillyer, W. A. Arnold,

N. A. Hawley, Joseph Lathrop, Trustees; J. II. Butler, Auditor ; S. L. Hinckley, Secretary and Treasurer.

The presidents of the bank have been as follows : C. P. Hunt- ington, 1842-50; Erastus Hopkins, 1850-53; Joseph Lathrop, 1853-57; Winthrop Hillyer, 1857-64; Benj. Barrett, 1864- 67; J. H. Butler, 1867-68; Wm. Allen, 1868-76 ; S. T. Spauld- ing, 1876-77; H. G. Knight, 1877, present incumbent.

Treasurers, S. L. Hinckley, 1842-53; W. O. Gorham, 1853- 54; Benj. Barrett, 1854-64; John Whittlesey, 1864-66; L. Maltby, 1866, present incumbent.

The present officers and trustees are as follows: H. G. Knight, President ; Eleazer Porter and M. M. French, Viee- Presidents ; L. Maltby, Secretary ; W. Hillyer, O. Edwards, J. L. Warriner, D. Kingsley, C. B. Kingsley, M. Smith, F. Dickinson, F. H. Dawes, S. M. Cook, Elisha Hubbard, H. R Hinckley, Merritt Clark, C. E. Lamson, T. G. Spaulding, Trustees.

The present elegant and spacious banking building was erected in 1877, at a cost of $26,000. Previous to this time the bank had occupied rooms successively in the office of the treas- urer, over the store of O. A. Skilton, and in the second story of the Northampton Bank building. This institution is in a highly-prosperous condition, its assets amounting to $2,000,000.

THIE HAMPSHIRE SAVINGS BANK

was organized in May, 1869. J. C. Arms was chosen presi- dent, Lewis Warner treasurer, and Luther Bodman seere- tary. In 1873, Mr. Bodman was chosen president, and still officiates in that capacity. This bank has had a successful eareer, and its deposits now amount to $473,852.91. The present officers are as follows: Luther Bodman, President ; Wm. H. Stoddard, A. Wright, Webster Ilerrick, and Lewis Bodman, Viee-Presidents; Il. A. Longley, W. T. Clement, L. B. Williams, James C. Arms, Josephus Crafts, James Dunlap, Solomon Alvord, Wm. H. Diekinson, Hiram Nasb, E. Il. Wood, E. A. Edwards, and W. A. Nash, Trustees ; Lewis Warner, Secretary and Treasurer.

THE FLORENCE SAVINGS BANK

was organized April 5, 1873, and opened on the following month. Deposits are placed on interest quarterly. The amount of deposits Jan. 1, 1869, was 888,855.40. The insti- tution is successful, and its present officers are as follows : A. T. Lilly, President ; George A. Burr and Oran Storer, Viee- Presidents ; A. L. Williston, Samuel Porter, A. G. Hill, H. F. Cutler, George P. Warner, H. 11. Bond, S. A. Bottum, D. F. Ranney, Amos Eldridge, A. B. Clark, W. L. Wilcox, E. E. Wood, R. M. Branch, R. D. Wilson, J. B. Learned, and M. W. Bond, Trustees.

THE NORTHAMPTON BANK ROBBERY.

This quiet town was thrown into a state of great excitement Wenesday morning, Jan. 26, 1876, by the evidence that an attempt had been made to rob the vault of the Northampton National Bank. The news spread like wildfire, and through- out this whole region, and in faet all over the country, there was the most intense interest manifested to learn the details of the burglary, which, in brief, are as follows :

On the night of Tuesday, Jan. 25, 1876, seven masked men entered the house of John Whittelsey, cashier of the bank, and simultaneously took charge of the seven inmates, hand- cuffed and bound them, and forced the eashier to give the com- binations to the locks on the vault-door, on the safe in the vault, and on the iron box inside the safe. At first refusing, he finally, after receiving severe personal injuries, gave the combinations. The burglars entered the bank after the bank watchman and night polieemen had gone off duty, opened the vault and the safe, took about $12,000 in eurreney and nearly $800,000 in bonds, and decamped. The first alarm was given about a quarter before seven, but the general alarm was not

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HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

given until an hour or more after. Even then, so skillfully did the burglars do their work that it was not known that any of the funds of the bank had been taken until the following night, when, a safe manufacturer having arrived from New York in answer to a summons, it was found that the robbery had been successful, and that $800,000 in money and bonds had been transferred from a place of supposed security to the possession of thieves.

It appears that the seven burglars went to the house of Cashier Whittelsey, on Elm Street, soon after twelve o'clock at night. They passed down the Paradise Road, went up the ravine nearly opposite J. C. Ward's house, and thence across the lots, approaching the house from the rear.

The house was occupied by Mr. Whittelsey's family, con- sisting of himself and wife, Miss Mattie C. White, of Wil- liamsport, Pa., a niece of Mrs. W., and Kate Nugent, the kitchen girl; also by Mr. T. B. Cutler, a Hampshire Gazette printer, his wife, and Miss Benton, an invalid lady, making seven occupants of the house, whose sleeping-rooms were all on the second floor.

The burglars all wore masks on their heads and faces, and were dressed in overalls, with jackets or blouses of the same goods. One of them wore a linen duster. They wore rubbers while in the house. Two of them were rather tall and the others of medium height, but all were stout and stalwart men. Their masks were made by cutting off the legs of men's drawers and pulling them over the head, cutting holes for the eyes. One mask, however, was made of cambric, and this was worn by the leader of the gang. They talked consider- ably while in the house, but used very little rough or profane language. Two or three of thein seemed to be men of gentle- manly manners, as indicated by their conversation and the consideration and attentions shown to the ladies. They ap- peared to be under the direction of a leader, who gave orders directed to " number one," "number two," and so on. No names were spoken, but they had signs, one of which was a sort of hissing noise and another consisted of rapping. Their voices, with one exception, all seemed to be those of Ameri- cans : but one man spoke with a brogue.

Their seemed to be a simultaneous movement upon all the apartments, and, there being seven of the burglars, there was one for each inmate of the house. Two men entered Mr. Whittelsey's room, one going to his side of the bed and the other to the side occupied by Mrs. Whittelsey. One spoke sharply to Mr. Whittelsey, who was asleep, and that aroused him. Mrs. Whittelsey was awake then, and, instantly com- prebending the object of the visitation, she told them it was of no use for them to get Mr. Whittelsey's key, as the bank-vault could not be opened without the other keys, which were in the possession of Mr. Warriner and Mr. Prince. The reply was, " We have them." Mrs. Whittelsey said this before the burg- lars made known the object of their visit. The man who entered Miss White's room was seen by her as he came in. He had a dark lantern, and wore a linen duster. She supposed it was Mr. Whittelsey in his dressing-gown, and that there was some trouble in the house or that the house was on fire. When she saw it was not him she screamed and sprang out of bed. Ife pushed her back and told her to keep still and she should not be hurt. She also comprehendled the object of the visit.

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History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I, Part 57

Author: L.H. Everts & Co Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts Number of Pages: 700

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 700