USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Clinton > History of the origin of the town of Clinton, Massachusetts, 1653-1865 > Part 21
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252
LATER LIFE OF H. N. BIGELOW.
many of our best citizens located here at his suggestion; he was the president of the Clinton Savings Bank from its or- ganization to his death; he was a director and vice presi- dent of the First National Bank of Clinton from the time it was incorporated to 1868; he was the chief agent in the es- tablishment of the Clinton House, our first hotel worthy of the name; it was largely through his efforts that the Wor- cester and Nashua Railroad, of which he became a director, passed through the town; he presented a building lot to the Baptist Society and offered one to the Methodists, while he gave without stint of his energies and his means to the Con- gregational Society to which he belonged, finding time amidst all his other cares to act on building committees and serve for years as superintendent of the Sunday school. There was no department of life in the community in which his influence was not felt for good, and, during the formative period of the town, he was the acknowledged leader in every enterprise for its advancement. It is needless to attempt to make any statement concerning his ability, his untiring in- dustry, his noble character, for the mills and the town are a visible proof that he possessed them all in the highest degree.
Although we have justly given to the Bigelows full credit for founding the leading industries of Clinton, yet they had many co-workers, who ably seconded their efforts. Like all great organizers, they had the faculty of choosing suitable agents for executing that which they planned. Having made this choice, they had the further power of securing from cach man the most efficient labor of which he was capable. Our history would be incomplete without some account of these co-workers. Many of them in later times conducted independent enterprises and must therefore be considered elsewhere. Foremost among these was J. B. Parker, who not only gave material expression to the ideas of E. B. Bigelow, but also furnished many valuable sugges-
253
CLERKS AND BUILDERS.
tions of his own. Under him in the machine shop, as we have already noted, there were many young men such as A. C. Dakin, D. B. Ingalls and John J. Boynton, who afterwards became prominent citizens. In the office work, and in the management of the mills, men like A. S. Carleton and C. L. Swan, by their integrity, their painstaking accuracy, their clearness of statement and general business ability, did much to make financial success possible. All these and many others, scattered through the manufacturing departments, must receive attention elsewhere. Then there are many of their assistants who have been closely identified with the history of Lancaster Mills, who must be grouped under the agency of Franklin Forbes. Leaving all these aside, there are still a larger number who deserve extended notice, than our limits will allow us to consider.
At the Carpet Mill, C. S. Patten was the first bookkeeper. He was a native of Maine, but came here from Hopedale. He was in the Lancaster Mills office before he went to the Carpet Mill. He was town clerk and also clerk of the Uni- tarian Society. He left Clinton before 1855. George Delano also worked in the office for a short time. He went to New Bedford. Henry M. Simpson, the clerk of the corporation, and private secretary of H. N. Bigelow, had a desk here from 1854 to 1858. Henry Kellogg, a director of the com- pany, was for a time a "subordinate manager." He built the house now occupied by A. A. Burditt.
William T. Merrifield, who took the contract for building the mills and tenement houses of the Lancaster Mills Cor- poration, was born April 10, 1807. It is said that this con- tract was larger than any he had before taken. Mr. Merri- field resided in Worcester, and on the day when he was to meet the directors of the corporation to consider the con- tract for building, drove to Clintonville through a blinding snow-storm and almost impassible drifts to meet his engage- ment. The directors had not expected him in such a storm, and were strongly influenced by the force of character he
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LATER LIFE OF H. N. BIGELOW.
displayed in overcoming such obstacles to conclude their bargain with him. The price received for all his contracts here was over three hundred thousand dollars, and he spent several years in completing them. During a part of the time he was employed here, he drove back and forth between Clintonville and Worcester. He occupied the Parker house for a short time. He owned a large tract of woodland in Princeton and brought his building materials from thence, using over fifty teams for the purpose.
After finishing his work here in 1848, he constructed the Merrifield buildings in Worcester, and thus became one of the largest real estate owners of that city. He was exten- sively engaged in cattle breeding, and was chiefly instrumen- tal in importing and breeding Jerseys. He served in both branches of the Worcester city government and in the legis- lature. He was president of the Worcester Horticultural Society, of the Worcester Agricultural Society, and of the Worcester County Mechanics Association, and held numer- ous other positions of trust and honor. His family mansion with its extensive grounds was among the finest in the city. He died December 27, 1895. Three children survived him.
The brick work of these mills as well as that of the Clin- ton Company's and Bigelow Carpet Company's mills was done by Ezra Sawyer and his brother, Luke. Their brick kiln was near Mine Swamp Brook. These brothers had ex- tensive contracts outside of Clinton, among which was one for the state asylum at Utica, N. Y. Ezra Sawyer was for years a leading citizen of this community, and will be noticed elsewhere.
Horace, Theodore and Milton Jewett were all sons of Benjamin Jewett of Bolton. The father was a carpenter. He moved to Sterling about 1824. All the sons received the training of the district schools and learned their father's trade. Horace, who was some eleven years older than The- odore, came to Factory Village soon after the Bigelows, and worked for them as a wood machinist. He had a house on
255
OVERSEERS.
Mechanic Street. His wife inherited from her mother, Mrs. Churchill, the brick house, known as Jewett's Block, at the corner of Church and School Streets. Here, Mr. Jewett passed the better part of his life. Theodore Jewett, who was born July 26, 1820, married Esther L. Eaton, a sister of William Eaton, October 4, 1843. They had one son and two daughters. He came to Clintonville in the year of his mar- riage, to work as a wood machinist. He was in the employ of the Clinton Company until 1863, and then became a pat- tern maker for the Bigelow Carpet Company. He continued in their service until 1884. His family has always attended the Congregational Church. We shall have occasion to speak of his brother, Milton Jewett, in connection with the gas works.
Horace Whitney and Robert S. Freeman were among the early workers in the machine shop. After a while, they left Clintonville and bought a farm on the edge of Sterling. Freeman sold out his share of the farm to Whitney and re- turned to this section. He owned a house on the southwest corner of Prospect and Walnut Streets. David Smith was another of these early workers. He helped make the looms of the Lancaster Mills, and when the looms were set up had charge of the weaving room for a short time. He afterwards went to Hampton, N. H., where he became a wheelwright.
It would be impossible even to enumerate all the over- seers of the various mills, but there are some whom from prominence and length of service should receive brief men- tion. William Eaton worked in Shirley with H. N. Bigelow and followed him to Clintonville. After working for the Clinton Company for some years, he became the overseer of a weaving room at the Carpet Mill. He held this position for fifteen years, resigning in 1865. He afterwards lived in South Lancaster and then in Worcester, where he died Janu- ary 3, 1881, at the age of sixty-six years.
Stillman Houghton was born in Harvard. He came to Clintonville from Shirley in 1839. He worked at the Coun-
256
LATER LIFE OF H. N. BIGELOW.
terpane and Coachlace Mills and was an overseer of the weave room under William Eaton, his brother-in-law. He went to Philadelphia when the coachlace looms were sold. He afterwards returned here and was an overseer in the Wire Mill. Later, he went into business in Worcester. He died April 26, 1889.
John P. Buzzell was a native of Brome, Canada. He was born August 1, 1828. He spent his youth on his father's farm in Canada. He attended the town schools. While still a youth he went to Lowell to work in the mills. He married Maria Morton of Lowell. He came to Clinton in 1850 to work as a second-hand for Stillman Houghton at the Coachlace Mill. In 1855, he went to Lewiston, Maine. He returned two years later to become overseer in a weav- ing room at the Carpet Mill. His first wife having died, he married Mary A. Freeman in 1862. He had two daughters by this marriage. He made valuable improvements in the Bigelow Carpet Loom, and in time became superintendent of the Carpet Mill. He died May 29, 1881.
Allan Carswell, a Scotchman, was for many years from the time that the mills began, in charge of the winding room. John Neil, also Scotch, was the first designer. Freeman M. Gordon was for thirty-six years the engineer. He resigned in 1887. Henry Eddy, who was the first overseer of the cloth room, after some years moved to the West, where he became a prominent hotel keeper. Frank P. Holder, who followed John J. Boynton as overseer of the old weaving room, was a young man of remarkable ability. He after- wards went to Yonkers, N. Y., and is now agent of the large carpet mill there. John G. Heighway, a native of Kidder- minster, England, came to America in 1844, to Clinton in 1850. He was in the employ of the Bigelow Carpet Com- pany for thirty-three years as a repairer of looms. He was a deacon in the Baptist Church and a member of the school committee of the town. He died February 21, 1884.
Ebenezer W. Howe was born in Holden in 1817. He
علم
257
PERSONAL MENTION.
came to Clinton in 1844. Ile was overseer of the spinning room of Lancaster Quilt Mill. Later, he was a baker in the brick building now owned by Dr. P. T. O'Brien. He was the " leading musician in town," and for some years chorister at the Congregational Church. He went to Worcester. He died September 9, 1885.
Caleb Sawyer was born in Boylston, March 21, 1810. He had charge of the spinning room of the old Quilt Mill in its early days. Later, he was in control of the blanket weaving department of the Bigelow Carpet Company and still later was over the fence department at the Wire Cloth Mill. He was a deacon of the Congregational Church.
Peter Sawyer, a grandson of Moses Sawyer and a son of Peter Sawyer, was born in ISII. He worked as a carpenter for the mills for some years, and afterward he worked inde- pendently. He died April 22, 1885.
Charles F. Greene, a son of Levi Greene, born in Lancas- ter, was the overseer of wood repairs at the Carpet Mills. He worked at the mills from the beginning until his death, March 29, 1871. He was at the time of his death the Wor- shipful Master of Trinity Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons.
John T. Wright, a native of Paisley, Scotland, came to America and to Clinton in 1850. He worked at the Lancas- ter Mills for a short time, but spent most of his life here in the employ of the Carpet Company, as a loom repairer. He died April 24, 1885. His son, Daniel, became agent of the Appleton Mills of Lowell. James Wright, a brother of John T., was overseer of the new weaving room at the Car- pet Mill. Both of these brothers were Baptists. Another John Wright was a dyer for the Clinton Company, and later in charge of the bleachery at the Quilt Mill. He died at Jamaica Plain, October 19, 1873, at the age of seventy-one.
Samuel Osgood was a native of Milford, N. H. He camc to Clintonville before IS45. He was for many years in the employ of the Clinton Company as a machinist. He died April 6, 1874. Edward C. Osgood is his son.
18
258
LATER LIFE OF H. N. BIGELOW.
Jonas Hunt was born in Boylston, Mass., April 29, 1810. He passed his childhood on his father's farm. He learned the trade of a machinist and worked in West Boylston and Providence. He married Eliza Parker in October, 1840. They had one son and three daughters. He came to Clin- tonville in 1842. He worked in the old machine shop of the Clinton Company. He helped to build the first looms for the Bigelow Carpet Company and was in its employ for many years. In 1847, he built a house, now 92 Main Street, where he lived until his death, August 25, 1892. He was an original member of the Congregational Church.
William T. Freeman was born in Provincetown, Mass. He was educated in the schools of Worcester, where he passed his childhood. He learned the trade of his father, that of a carpenter. He was drawn to Clintonville in 1847 by the abundance of work offered to carpenters. For twenty-eight years he was in the employ of the Carpet Corporation. He has also had the oversight of many pieces of work in various places, where special skill was required. He married Martha A. Hastings in July, 1849. After her death, he mar- ried Ellen E. Stone in March, 1858. The family have been earnest workers in the Unitarian Society. We shall have occasion hereafter to notice his work as a soldier.
Peter Stevenson was born at Bannockburn, Scotland, July 8, 1821. His father was a miner. He passed his child- hood in his native country. He learned the trade of a dyer, and having come to America was employed at Troy, N. Y. He married Christine Elliot, June 5, 1846. They had ten children, six of whom are living. He came to Clinton, September, 1852, and became the overseer of the dyeing de- partment of the Bigelow Carpet Company. Several of his sons have served the same company. He owns the estate on Pleasant Street which he now occupies. He is a Congre- gationalist.
CHAPTER XVI. SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT NO. 10.
1838-1850.
IT will be remembered that the School District No. 10 of Lancaster, covering most of the territory now the more thickly settled part of Clinton, began building its first known school-house on what is now the south corner of Main and Sterling Streets, in 1800. In 1824, a larger house was built to accommodate the increased population, near the spot where Parson's blacksmith shop now stands. This building was still in use in 1838, and was considered a remarkably fine school-house for its day. Many of our older citizens recall this low brick structure on the eastern slope of the grove- covered hill and, as they read these lines, may imagine them- selves again waiting as scholars at the door upon the north of the house, or seated on their high benches with their "well- hacked writing desks" before them, longing to be out under the trees which came closely up to the western windows.
A few are still living who, as citizens, attended the meet- ings of the district, and took part in the discussions there. It is evident from the reports of these meetings, that citizens of those days understood clearly the business they had in hand and were capable of attending to it with great direct- ness and dispatch .*
* The following record, unaltered in spelling and punctuation, is a fair sample of those kept by the successive clerks :-
Jan 1, 1838, the inhabitants of school district No. 10 in Lancaster, held their annual meeting and voted as follows;
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SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT NO. 10.
The following is a list of those who served as "prudential agents" from 1838 to 1847:
Williams Green, January 1, 1838, to April 21, 1838; James Stone, withdrawal of Williams Green, to January 7, 1839; William Burditt, January 8, 1839, to September 7, 1840; Williams Green, September 7, 1840, to January 3, 1842; James Pitts, January 3, 1842, to January 2, 1843; Levi Greene, January 2, 1843, to January 1, 1844; Haskell McCollum, Janu- ary 1, 1844, to January 6, 1845; Joseph B. Parker, January 6, 1845, to January 4, 1847; Laban Bennett, January 4, 1847, to union with District No. 11, August 10, 1847.
The following names, in addition to those of the pruden- tial agents, occur prominently in the records from 1838 to 1847. They are given in the order of their appearance on the records: Jonas B. White, H. N. Bigelow, Henry Lewis, John Burditt, Nathaniel Rice, Lorenzo Whittemore, Samuel Dorrison, Joseph Rice, Jr., Nathan Burditt, John Burditt, Jr., William Taylor, Eben Pratt, Horace Jewett, H. W. Pitts, John Cunningham, E. K. Gibbs, Levi Houghton, J. P. Hough- ton, A. S. Carleton, Ezra Sawyer, C. G. Stevens, Alfred Knight, R. W. Holbrook, J. D. Otterson and G. H. Kendall.
Ist Chose James Stone Moderator.
2d Jonas B. White Clerck.
3 Williams Green Agent.
4th Voted to have three months winter school.
5 to have six months summer school if there be money enough.
6 to have winter school begin Ist monday Dec.
7 summer 3d " in April.
8 a vacation of two weeks when the school is half done.
9 Voted to buy five cords of hard wood fitted for the stove and put into the school house before the first of Sept .- what is necessary for this winter's use to be delivered and fitted for the stove immediately. Nathan Burditt Jr. has engaged to furnish the wood at $3.65 per cord.
10 Voted to dissolve this meeting.
JONAS B. WHITE, Clerck.
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TEACHERS.
In 1839, the crowded condition of the winter school forced the district to vote compliance with the law of the state requiring each school having over fifty scholars to have an assistant .* It was also voted during this year that the school-house might be used, under certain restrictions, for any meetings for moral, religious and intellectual improve- ment. In October, 1842, it was voted to enlarge and repair the school-house, and that the money should be raised by subscription. It was also voted to dispense with the services of an assistant during the ensuing winter term. In 1844, a new school-house for the use of the youngest scholars, was erected a little north of the old one at the cost of two hun- dred and twenty-five dollars and fifteen cents. The library provided for the district at an expense of thirty dollars by the town and state, received considerable attention during this year. Many of the books then obtained are still kept at the High School building. A. S. Carleton was the first librarian.
The school committee's report of Lancaster, 1842-1843, the first published, was written by Rev. E. H. Sears. Com- menting on school affairs in District No. 10, it states: that the school of G. W. Burdett "consisted of eighty-eight differ-
* The teachers from 1839 to 1847 are as follows :-
Asa Wellington, 1839 and 1840, (Salome Pratt, assistant), eight weeks; Salome Pratt, summer of 1840, twenty-three weeks; Nathan Tirrell, 1840 and 1841, (Salome Pratt, assistant), about twelve weeks; H. Stratton, summer of 1841, twenty weeks; George W. Pierce, 1841 and 1842, twelve weeks; Mary Ann Burditt, summer of 1842, twenty weeks; George W. Burdett, 1842 and 1843, (Nancy Bacon, assistant, three weeks), about six- teen weeks; Nancy Bacon, summer of 1843, sixteen weeks; George W. Burdett, 1843 and 1844, twelve weeks; Emily M. Faulkner and Lydia Farnsworth, summer of 1844, ten weeks each; John Low, Jr., 1844 and 1845, twelve weeks; Caroline M. Whitney, 1845 and 1846, primary school, two terms, eight weeks each; Sabra Tolman, 1845 and 1846, higher school, two terms, summer and winter; Harriet Whitcomb, 1846 and 1847, pri- mary school; Lucy D. Lunt, 1846, higher school, summer term; George W. Warren, 1846 and 1847; higher school, winter term.
262
SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT NO. 10.
ent scholars, many of them small;" that, in consequence of these numbers and the varying ages of the pupils, the teach- er "had a severe labor,-which was faithfully performed." An old register for the winter of 1843 and 1844, preserved by Dr. Burdett, enables us to look more closely into the nature of the school. The whole number of names of scholars en- tered, is ninety-five, but a considerable part of them attended only a short time. The average age of these scholars was about ten years. The oldest was nineteen, the youngest three. There were six only four years of age, eight more only five. The attendance was necessarily very irregular as so many of the children were so young and lived at such a distance from the school, to which they were obliged to walk over roads which were imperfectly cared for according to modern stand- ards. The average attendance was fifty-nine and five tenths. Half of these scholars brought their dinners, and after hastily devouring the contents of their pails, they spent the hour coasting down the hill through the pasture, from where Wal- nut Street now runs, to the lower factory pond. If the skat- ing was good, this occupied their attention. If the weather was bad, they stayed in the school-house, and jolly times they had of it. Of course, the school was ungraded, and there was the greatest possible diversity of attainment, so that the number of classes was legion, and the time of reci- tation for each necessarily short. Fortunately the variety of subjects taught was small. Eighty-two studied reading and spelling; sixty-four, arithmetic; thirty-five, grammar; twenty-nine, geography; twenty-seven, writing; eleven, nat- ural philosophy; three, book-keeping. The children of the old families, the Sawyers, Rices, Lows, Burditts, Harrises, Stones, Dorrisons, Pratts, and Lewises, with the Greenes, Houghtons and Jewetts, made up the greater part of the scholars. Among those who have since been prominent in the life of the community, we notice the names of A. A. Bur- ditt, C. C. Stone, James N. Johnson, Emory Harris, Albion Gibbs, E. N. Rice, Augustus Lowe, and C. F. Greene.
263
CLINTON HIGH SCHOOL.
Our Clinton High School was "a plant of slow growth," it had its roots in a small private school which was kept in a building erected for the purpose by Horatio N. Bigelow. This building was situated on Walnut Street, southwest of its corner with Church Street. It was a little wooden struc- ture, one story high. It was afterwards moved to where No. 4 now stands, thence to High Street, where it was raised and another story, and used for business purposes. It is the building now next south of the Clinton House Block. Mr. Bigelow started the school in order that his own children and those of other prominent families in the village might continue their studies under favorable influences. It was placed in charge of trustees, among whom were Rev. Charles Packard, Dr. G. M. Morse, Rev. J. M. R. Eaton, and Wm. T. Merrifield. This was in 1846. The school was first taught by Miss Adolphia Rugg. It naturally drew its pupils in a large measure from the schools of the neighboring districts, but this was an advantage, as these were overcrowded, and of course, the establishment of a High School tended to raise the standard of education.
In 1847, an arrangement was made whereby District No. II was united with District No. 10. At a meeting of the legal voters of this new District No. 10, held August IC, 1847, a set of rules and regulations was adopted; these provided that a prudential committee to consist of three persons, and a board of overseers of not less than seven members, should be chosen to carry into effect the school system which had been agreed upon. The prudential committee was to select and hire instructors, see that the school-houses were kept in repair, and have general supervision of financial matters. The board of overseers was to make all necessary rules for the government of the schools, determine the course of in- struction and the grading of the scholars. The scholars of the district were divided into three grades, called the First, Second, and Third. It is a noteworthy fact that graded schools were at that time unknown in the state except in a few of the larger cities.
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SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT NO. 10.
To accommodate the rapidly increasing number of schol- ars, the "Brick House" on Main Street was repaired and altered. The primary school house was moved to the north part of the district, and a new school-house was built on "Harris Hill" (Berlin Road), and another near Lancaster Mills (Oak Street). In order to prepare these accommoda- tions, the district was assessed a tax of five hundred dollars, and secured a loan of thirty-five hundred.
The course of studies seems not to have been fully settled upon until the following year. In the report of 1848 and 1849, the following books are assigned for study in the respective grades:
Primary School-Leavitt's First and Second Readers, North American Spelling-Book, Colburn's Mental Arithme- tic, Emerson's First Part, Smith's Introduction.
Second School-Leavitt's Third Reader, North American Spelling-Book, Greenleaf's Introduction, Colburn's Mental, Morse's Geography, Well's Grammar.
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