History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 166

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 896

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Dr. De Wolf has for a long period of time been intimately identified with the social, political, religious, and material interests of the town of his adoption. As a citizen he has been foremost in every measure that would elevate the standard of civilization in Chester. As a political man he has always been true to his convictions of duty to a degree that, in the end, secured the confidence of his opponents in his honesty and integrity. In his social relations he has made life cheerful and pleasant for his friends and neigh- bors, and in his declining years he takes pleasure and hap- piness in the welfare and prosperity of his children.

1063

HISTORY OF HAMPDEN COUNTY.

resolved not to raise any money for schools, but at a subșe- quent meeting the same year the matter was reconsidered, and £4 were appropriated to hire a teacher. In 1773 education had been enjoying a l'air measure of prosperity, and early in that year a committee was appointed to report upon " the best places for schools to be kept in the winter for reading and writing, and in the summer for women's schools." Rufus Tinker, who taught school in Chester from 1770 to 1790, was a famous pedagogue in those days, and was, perhaps, the first schoolmaster the town had.

There are now in Chester eleven school districts and twelve schools, for whose support $2094 were expended in 1877. Be- sides the public schools two select schools were taught at Ches- ter village in 1877. The public school at the latter place is the most important, and offers to pupils superior educational advantages. The children in the town between the ages of five and fifteen numbered 259 in 1877.

BURIAL-PLACES.

The oldest burying-ground in the town, and the only one laying claim to ancient date, is the one still used in Chester Centre as the village graveyard. It occupies a site directly opposite the present church, and was laid out in 1770, or per- haps in 1769. It is full of ancient tombstones, bearing many almost effaced inscriptions, the oldest of which dates back to 1770. A majority of the old inscriptions are, however, still clearly legible, although the tombstones themselves have, in many instances, fallen to the ground, while others stand erectly as when first placed in position.

There of the early settlers lie buried Rev. Aaron Bascom, who died in 1814; his wife, Theodosia, who died in 1791; Alexander Gordon, who was buried in 1802, at the age of eighty-five ; John Gordon, buried in 1799; Thomas Elder, in 1814; and his wife, Margaret, in 1786.

The tombstone of Nathan Mann seems to have been the first one erected in the ground, for it bears the date of 1770. Daniel Smith, aged seventy-eight, and his wife, Abigail, aged seventy-one, were both buried in 1771. Nearly all the early settlers who lie in this burying-ground seem to have lived to a ripe old age. The most aged inhabitant was apparently Mrs. Ruth, wife of Capt. Abner Smith, who died in 1818, aged ninety-eight. Abner himself died in 1794, aged seventy- three. The following are other names on some of the old tombstones :

Sally Rust, died 1793; Mrs. Nice, wife of Ebenezer Smith, in 1785; Daniel Snow, "son of Mr. Orin Snow by Thankful, bis wife," in 1795; two sons of Eli and Huldah Johnson, in 1801; Abilene, wife of John Smith, in 1800; Samuel Elder, 1791, and Betsey, his wife, 1801; Sally Mann, 1796; Abigail Bates, 1798; John Moor, 1790; Rosanna, his wife, 1803; James, son of Abner and Polly Pease, 1790 ; Stephen Lyman, 1811; Adah, wife of Crispus Lyman, 1798; John Smith, 1782; Eliza, wife of James Bell, 1796; Matthew Campbell, 1816, and Sarah, his wife, 1788.

There is a tomb on the farm of Mr. Carrington, about half a mile north of Chester Centre, which has frequently at- tracted the attention of the curious, and has also been the subject of newspaper articles. It is hollowed out of an im- mense rock, rising 15 feet from the ground, and measuring perhaps 15 feet square. Within it lie buried lliram Smith (a son of Joab Smith, one of the first settlers and former owner of the farm) and his sister, Isabell Toogood, who was the wife of Samuel Toogood, also one of the earliest settlers. Hiram died in 1863, aged seventy-nine, and Isabell in 1869, aged eighty-four. Long before his death Hiram caused the tomb to be prepared as the last resting-place of himself and sister (who lived with him), " so that" (in his own language) " they might not hear Gabriel's trump at the last day."

SOCIETIES.

SAMOSET LODGE, NO. 160, 1. 0. 0. F.,

was instituted Sept. 17, 1872, and has 65 members, with the following officers : Joseph C. Seagers, N. G. ; Edwin HI. Al- vord, V. G. ; Geo. H. Hapgood, Sec. ; Paul R. Town, Treas.

EARLY MANUFACTURES.

One of the earliest manufacturing interests, after the primi- tive saw- and grist-mills, put in operation was a tannery at the Chester factories, by Spencer Clark, in the early part of the present century. Mr. Clark, after a few years, sold the property to Col. Edwards, of Northampton, who afterward sold to Edmund Hubbard, under whose control the undertaking was very prosperous. It was in operation as late as 1870.

Another enterprise was the organization of a company for the manufacture of glass, about the commencement of the war with Great Britain, in 1812. A large building was erected, a row of tenements built, and for some time matters flourished satisfactorily. The sand used was brought from Washington, Berkshire Co., and the clay from Pennsylvania. Upon the conclusion of peace with Great Britain, it was found that the company could not compete with foreign manufacturers, and the business was reluctantly abandoned. The tenement-houses changed hands, and the factory buildings went to decay. The pecuniary loss involved was considerable.

PRESENT INDUSTRIES.

The manufacturing interest is the leading element at the present time in point of value of productions in the industries of Chester. The State reports give the value of manufac- tures in 1875 as $174,541, and that of agricultural and do- mestie products, $104,071. The most important manufactories are found at the village of Chester, where water-power is fur- nished by the western branch of the Agawam River, and by smaller streams.

The Chester Emery Company (originally known as the Chester Iron Company) is a stock company, controlled by Jas. T. Ames, Esq., of Chicopee, Mass., and has its works in the western part of the village, where the company's mine is situated. This mine was discovered in 1864, and was in Jan- uary, 1879, said to be the only mine of that kind in the United States .* Thirty-five men are employed, and 200 tons of manu- factured emery, valued at $20,000, are produced yearly.

East of the village are the Hampden Emery Company's works, owned by Dr. H. S. Lucas and N. A. Harwood. This establishment is engaged in the manufacture of emery from emery-rock imported from Turkey. Geo. D. Hapgood & Son have a tannery here, and employ 10 men in the production of about $10,000 worth of leather annually. Two bedstead-fac- tories, owned respectively by Wm. Fay and Timothy Keefe, employ each about 12 men, and produce each $20,000 worth of goods yearly. Mica and porcelain clay or kaolin were discov- ered in Chester by Dr. H. S. Lucas in 1875. In 1877 a stock company was formed in New York for the development of these mineral products, and in that year works were erected about three miles south of Chester village. The works em- ploy 15 men, and since their commencement have steadily flourished.

The only other manufactories in the town, apart from saw- mills, are the two shoe-peg factories of A. C. Day & Son and N. B. Prouty & Son, at Dayville.

There are within the limits of Chester 140 farms, the lands of which are largely devoted to the production of hay. Corn is the chief grain product, and considerable attention is given to the manufacture of butter and cheese. The total valuation of the town in 1878 was $463,943, of which $384,963 was in real estate. The total tax-State, county, and town-was $9729, a rate a trifle over two cents on the dollar. The town debt, March 1, 1878, was $15, 196.

CHESTER'S WAR RECORD.

The list below includes, as far as obtainable from the town records, the names of the citizens of Chester who served the United States during the war of the Rebellion, together with the name of the regiment in which cach served.

* This statement refers to the special kind of mineral obtained here. Better material for the manufacture of emery is found in North Carolina.

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HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

Samuel L. Atwood, 31st Mass. Joseph S. Bemis, 34th Mass. Edward D. Bemmis, 62d N. Y. Edson D. Bemis, 31st Mass. Watson Carr, 27th Mass, Eli Carter, 36th N. Y. Gilman W. Clark, 31st Mass. Andrew Crow, 10th Mass. Frank J. Childs, 10th Mass. Franklin W. Dewey, 10th Mass. Oscar C. De Wolf, surg., Ist Mass. Cav. D. Albert Fairfield, 34th Mass. George Garland, 10th Mass. Peter E. Herbert, 10th Mass, George W. Ilowe, 10th Mass. Luke Huvy, 31st Mass. Martin Kennedy, 220 Mass. William Meacham, 10th Mass. Michael McGratty, 34th Mass. Dwight Mallison, 37th Mass.

El'jah Meacham, 34th Mass. Edwin O. Messenger, 10th Mass. Lester Il. Quigley, 27th Mass.

Charles Fay, 46th Mass. Edward E. Quigley, 31st Mass.

Geo. F. Smith, 31st Mass. Henry Talmage, 31st Mass.

George W. Truell, 37th Mass. Henry Town, 99th N. Y. Henry II. Weeks, 27th Mass. E. D. Winslow, chaplain, 19th Mass.

George Riley, unknown. Zachariah Longley, 10th Mass. Samnel Ladd, 27th Mass, Henry Robinson, 27th Mass. Chas. If. Smith, 27th Mass. Ilenry Raftis, 27th Mass. Harrison Moore, 41st Ohio. Dennis Coffin, 46th Mass. Joshua W. Bemis, 46th Mass.

Oliver C. Burr, 461h Mass. Cyrus L. Belden, 46th Mass. Lanson P. Carter, 46th Mass. Joseph Chartier, 46th Mass. Henry E. Dimock, 46th Mass. Wm. C. Dnuham, 46th Mass. Edward Dewey, 46th Mass. Wm. K. Jackson, 46th Mass. James Keefe, 46th Masy. Francis Otis, 46th Mass. Albert II. Sanderson, 46th Mass. Chas. F. Smith, 46th Mass. Geo. W. Wright, 46th Mas8.

Other names (for which regimeutal assignment cannot be ascertained) are as follows : W. H. Waterman, D. B. Richmond, Thomas Conners, Edward Fitzgerald, James Scanlin, Samnel Pease, Horatio Holmes, Daniel Dowd, John Moore, and Joseph Whipple.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

DR. H. S. LUCAS.

This gentleman was born in Blandford, Hampden Co., Mass., on the 10th of September, 1817. His father was a farmer, who removed from Connectieut to Blandford in 1811. In 1828 he removed to Canaan, Columbia Co., N. Y.

Here the doctor received the most of his education at the dis- trict school, which he attended during the winter months, work- ing through the summer upon his father's farm. During the autumns of the years 1836 and '37, he attended two terms at the celebrated Wilbraham Academy. This constituted the sum-total of his educational advantages previous to his arrival at manhood.

Through these school days he was a close and industrious student, never allowing any time to be squandered in unprofit- able pursuits. In addition to his regular studies, he gave con- siderable attention to scientific subjeets.

In the summer of 1840 he began the study of medicine, under the tutelage of Dr. John Merriman, of Canaan, N. Y. During this period of study, as an aid to his financial affairs, he taught school a portion of the time, and in this way obtained the means which enabled him to attend lectures at the Berk- shire Medical Institution, at Pittsfield, Mass., which he con- tinued through the years 1840, '41, and '42, graduating in No- vember of the latter year.

While a student at Pittsfield, he also learned the art of den- tistry in the office of Dr. Willard Clough, of Pittsfield. Suc- eceding his college course, he practiced dentistry at South Lee, Mass., for a short time, and for about one year, in 1843-44, was in partnership with Dr. McAllister, of that town.

In July, 1841, Dr. Lucas removed to the town of Chester, Hampden Co., Mass., where he has resided to the present time, continuing the practice of the medical profession to the year 1878.

Ile continued his scientific investigations, and in 1853 dis- covered a method for producing gelatinous silica from the decomposition of serpentine rock, for which he obtained a patent. By the same process he also succeeded in producing the commercial article known as epsom salts, or sulphate of magnesia. From these discoveries originated the Hampden Paint and Chemical Company, now doing business in the city of Springfield, Mass. The doctor filled the position of ana- lytical chemist for this company for about a year, which was the only respite from his medical practice from 1843 to 1867.

But perhaps the most remarkable event in his career was the discovery of what was for some time supposed to be a vast deposit of iron ore in the mountains around Chester. This occurred in 1856, and arrangements were at once made for the opening and working of the mine, and in the course of about one year twelve hundred tons of mineral were taken out and

transported to the furnaces of Stockbridge, Lenox, and Hud- son.

The financial crisis of 1857 compelled a discontinuance of the business, and it was not renewed until 1863. In the last- mentioned year, in company with his brother, John E. Lucas, and Henry D. Wilcox, he resumed the business. A blast- furnace and forge were erected in Chester, and the manufac- ture of iron was commenced; but the ore proved somewhat intractable, and the results were not satisfactory. In the mean time, the doctor made a more thorough examination of the mineral, and on the 6th of September, 1864, discovered that it contained a large percentage of emery, a mineral hitherto nearly unknown in the United States; in fact, this is believed to have been its first discovery in America.

Coming at a time when the country was engaged in a ter- rible war with internal enemies, the discovery was doubly valuable. Heretofore, the emery used in this country had been imported from the Turkish dominions, and as the En- glish and French governments had a monopoly of the mines near Smyrna, in Asia Minor, and on the Greek island of Naxos, in the Archipelago, the United States government was debarred from procuring its necessary supply, except under unusual difficulties. In this dilemma the Chester emery was utilized, and the government works were supplied from it a considerable time.

This mineral had been repeatedly examined by various sci- entific gentlemen, and specimens were placed in the collections at Amherst College and in that made for the State by Prof. Hitchcock, and labeled magnetite.

In 1868, Dr. Lucas, with Messrs. Charles Alden and II. D. Wilcox, formed what was known as the Hampden Emery Company, and erected a mill on the river, below Chester vil- lage, for the manufacture of emery. On the 18th of May, 1869, the doctor purchased the interest of his partners and continued the business.

In 1874 questions touching the ownership of the mine in- volved the doctor in litigation, which necessitated a change in his business, and from that time he has obtained his material mostly from the Turkish mines. The doctor continued the business in his own name until May 1, 1878, when Mr. Na- than Harwood became associated with him.

The discovery of emery in Chester had created a wonderful interest in the United States, and many examinations and ex- plorations were made in various parts of the country, result- ing in the discovery of the mineral in several localities.

In the spring of 1875, Dr. Lucas made a tour through sev- eral of the Middle and Southern States, including Pennsyl- vania and North Carolina, and examined the localities where corundum had been discovered.

Herman I Lucas

1065

HISTORY OF HAMPDEN COUNTY.

In the spring of 1877 he made a second and more extended tour and a more careful examination, especially in North Carolina. In making his examinations of various localities he rode more than a thousand miles on horseback, and con- sumed the whole summer. During this season's investigations he discovered corundum in North Carolina and Alabama in extensive deposits ; and in March, 1878, he commenced min- ing in Alabama, where he remained about three months, in Tallapoosa County, superintending the operations of getting out and shipping the mineral to Chester, Mass.

In June, 1878, he began operations in North Carolina, which are continued, and which promise at no distant day to develop into important proportions. The mineral found in North Carolina is superior to either the Massachusetts or Turkish emery, and bas been given the name Corundum, the generic name for that family of minerals which includes alumina and the gems sapphire, ruby, etc., and is the hardest known sub- stance next after the diamond.

Dr. Lucas has an extensive, accurate, and practical knowl- edge of minerals, which at the present time is being utilized to

the great advantage not only of those engaged in the emery business, but of the country at large. The importance of this discovery is well illustrated by the remark of a great English statesman, " That the discovery of an emery-mine was of more value than that of many gold-mines."

The business of mining and manufacturing, in which the doctor is now engaged, is carried on by a company, of which he is president and treasurer, and Mr. N. A. Harwood, his partner, financial manager. The doctor gives a large share of his time to the superintendence of mining and shipping the crude material, while Mr. Harwood attends to its manufacture and sale.

The deposits of North Carolina and Alabama are supposed to be practically inexhaustible, and the most serious difficulty now in the way of their rapid development and introduction into general use is their distance from facilities of transporta- tion. This will undoubtedly be remedied before many years ; and the United States will not only be enabled to supply their own necessities, but, to a great extent, the markets of the world.

WALES.

GEOGRAPHICAL.

THE town of Wales is situated in the southeasterly part of the county, and is bounded on the north by Brimfield, on the east by Holland, on the west by Monson, and on the south by Stafford, Conn. It is very nearly four miles square.

NATURAL FEATURES.

The town is hilly, but contains frequent intervales of very good land. The general character of the soil is sandy, occa- sionally changing to a productive loam. The principal body of water is Wales Pond, formerly called South or Moulton's Pond, which is a beautiful natural reservoir, situated a little east of the geographical centre of the town, and covering about 100 acres. Its outlet is Mill or Erwin's Brook, which passes northeasterly into the town of Brimfield, where it unites with the Quinnebaug River. Several smaller ponds are ranged along this brook, whose waters are used for milling purposes.

A number of low mountains or hills diversify the land- seape. On the east is Grandy Hill, which has been so desig- nated from the earliest time. Mount Hitchcock or Gardner Mountain, lying in the northwest corner of the town, partly in Brimfield, rises to a considerable height, and from its sum- mit affords a view of remarkable extent and beauty. Mount Pisgah, just north of the centre of the town, is also quite ele- vated. Warner's Hill lies in the southerly part of the town. Other hills of considerable magnitude seem never to have been honored with a name.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The town of Wales was formerly a portion of Brimfield, and the earliest settlement of the present town was made some- what later than that of the more central portion of the original town of Brimfield. A reference to the history of the latter town in this volume discloses the fact that the first settlements were made in that portion of the town now Brimfield in the latter part of the year 1701, but that no great progress was made prior to 1717. No white settlers seem to have been permanently domiciled in South Brimfield,-the western por- tion of which is now Wales,-earlier than 1726, although

there were sales and grants of land, as well as a limited occu- pation of the same, before that date. South Meadow, now Coburn's Meadow, situated in the southeast corner of the town, was occupied at an early day by the settlers of old Brimfield, and it was there that a large portion of the grass for their cattle and horses was obtained.

The earliest actual settlers in Wales, so far as we can gather from the oldest papers and records, seem to have been John Bul- len and Anthony Needham, who, with their families, located in 1727, and perhaps a year sooner, upon the premises lately owned by Samuel L. Moulton, bordering on the Coburn mea- dow. Anthony Needham and family were domiciled upon the premises which have since constituted the homestead of Nathan Green, West of Wales Pond. It is possible that there were a few other settlers in the town contemporaneously with Bullen and Needham, but their names cannot now be ascertained.

Anthony Needham married Molly Moulton, and had eleven children, six of whom were sons. He died July 2, 1763, at the age of sixty-seven years. His oldest son was Capt. An- tbony Needham, who was the first representative from South Brimfield in the Massachusetts Legislature. His daughter, Anna, was born March 2, 1742, and died in Union, Conn., in 1844, over one hundred and two years of age,-a greater age than any other person born in Wales is known to have at- tained.

John Bullen's daughter Mary died July 15, 1735, and hers is the first death recorded in the town. He and his immediate descendant, John, Jr., remained in the town and died there, but the later descendants on the paternal side removed there- from in 1785. During the first sixty years of the town's his- tory the Bullen family was prominent and influential.

In the drawing that took place for the grants of land, which were recommended by the committee appointed by the General Court,* and confirmed by said court in 1732, John Bullen drew " Lott 28," and Anthony Needhamn " Lott 29."

Nathaniel, Elnathan, Samuel, and Joseph Munger were also among the carly settlers of Wales, Nathaniel was a resident

* See history of Brimfield.

134

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HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

of the town in 1727, and probably came with John Bullen, whose eldest daughter he married. He settled, lived, died, and was buried upon what is now called the " Coburn Farm. " Elnathan Munger settled a mile and a half west of the central village of Wales. His first son, Joel, perished in the Revolu- tionary war. His second son, Darius, became one of the most prominent men the town has produced. Ile represented the town four years in the State Legislature, and filled other im- portant offices. He died Nov. 21, 1815, aged seventy years.

Rev. Ebenezer Moulton was a resident of Wales as early as 1728. He was married and had one child when he settled there. He made his first settlement upon the site of what is known as the "old Wales Tavern-stand," in the upper vil- lage, and he was probably the first to erect a dwelling upon that spot and till the ground. It was through him that the Baptist Church was first organized, in 1736. He served as a captain in the Freneb-and-Indian war, and commanded a company in the expedition to Crown Point, from Sept. 11 to Dec. 25, 1755 .* Ile resided in Wales until 1763, when he removed to Nova Scotia. Ile returned about 1783, and died in the town.

Samuel Moulton, brother of Ebenezer, was a resident of Wales several years prior to his marriage to Molly Haynes, of Brimfield, on Jan. 30, 1739. He occupied the lands now con- stituting the homestead of the late Dr. Aaron Shaw, which he in part cleared, and whereon he erected a rude dwelling. Soon after his marriage he exchanged properties with his brother Ebenezer, and, thus becoming owner of the "old Wales tav- ern-stand," it is said that he thereupon opened, and for years kept, an inn, the first in the town.

John Moulton, brother of Ebenezer and Samuel, was carly settled in Wales. He located and spent his life upon what afterward became the homestead of Henry Pratt, near the outlet of Wales Pond. Freeborn Moulton, another brother, settled and occupied the William L. Needham place. Hle afterward removed to Monson. Jonathan Moulton, a cousin of the Moulton brothers, made his settlement contempora- neously with them, on the " Ball place," in the south west section of the town.

The Needhams, Mungers, and Moultons are said to have come originally from Salem. Families of Johnsons, Jordans, and Iloveys were also among the early settlers in Wales.

The earliest marriage that can be found recorded of resi- dents of Wales is that of Nathaniel Collins and Deborah Morgan, on March 31, 1730. They were among the emigrants from Springfield to Brimfield, and fixed their residence in Wales at the time of their marriage upon the "old Collins place," half a mile southeast from the northwest corner of the town. They raised a family there, and died at advanced ages.

Joshua and Seth Shaw owned land in Wales at an carly period. They held title to a large tract lying upon either side of the present line between Wales and Brimfield, three- quarters of a mile east of the northwest corner of the town of Wales. Joshua settled on the Brimfield side of this traet, and Seth upon the Wales side, in 1731, upon the premises now the Eli Gardner homestead. The latter removed to Palmer in 1736.

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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. II, Part 166

Author: L.H. Everts & Co Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts Number of Pages: 896

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 896