USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Gardner > History of the town of Gardner, Worcester County, Mass., from the incorporation, June 27, 1785, to the present time > Part 26
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" His older brother, Seth, born in Concord in 1738, was carried with his father's family to Shrewsbury and in 1762 was married to Martha Temple of that town. He soon after re- moved to Sterling and served as lieutenant in the army of the Revolution. Purchasing a farm within the limits of what is now the town of Gardner, he was living there at the time of the incorporation of that town in 1785, and, in connection with John Glazier, was one of the petitioners and chief promoters of that aet, and was the first Town Clerk. He was a black- smith and carried on the large farm which he owned in the centre of the town, his house being on the site of the present Town Hall, and the farm embracing within its limits, the com- mon, the burial ground, and the lands occupied by the church, the hotel and most of the residences in the vicinity of the Town Hall. He died in 1827, aged 89 years. His son Benjamin, born in Gardner in 1773, was married to Mary Whitney, sister of Phineas and Amasa Whitney, prominent citizens of Winehen- don, Mass. He inherited his father's farm. He was, for many
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years, the Town Treasurer and was highly respected and influ- ential in town affairs.
" His children were Levi, Benjamin F., Walter, William, Seth and Charles. He died in 1849, in his 77th year. Of his children, Charles died at the age of six years; Benjamin F. died, in 1844, having been engaged successfully since his ma- jority as a trader, and a part of the time, as a manufacturer of chairs ; William died, in 1873, in Boston, where he had resided since 1830, and had been engaged in business there and in Charlestown, with success, till 1855, in which year he retired from business ; Levi, Walter, and Seth survive and are each of them engaged successfully in the manufacture of chairs.
" Levi Heywood was born in Gardner, December 10th, 1800. His early advantages, for education, were only those usually enjoyed by the children and youth, at that time, in rural towns, with the addition of two terms at the academy in New Salem, Mass. The diligent improvement of these opportunities fitted him for the vocation of a school teacher, in which he was en- gaged, in his native town and in the adjoining town of Win- chendon during the winters 1820-21 and 22. In the spring of the latter year he went to Rochester, N. Y., and was employed there about a year in stone-work by contract. Returning in 1823 to Gardner, he entered into partnership with his brother Benjamin, in the very miscellaneous business of a country store. This relation he continued till the year 1829.
" In 1826, he commenced, in Gardner, the manufacture of wood-seated chairs. In 1831, he went to Boston and opened a store for the sale of chairs, in which business he continued till 1836. He also, in connection with William R. Carnes and his brother William, under the firm style of Heywood & Carnes, started a mill for sawing veneers from mahogany, etc., in Charlestown. This mill was burned in 1835. He then returned to Gardner and entered into partnership with his brother Wal- ter, who, with others, had been for some years engaged in the manufacture of chairs, on part of the premises now occupied by Heywood Bros. & Co. The veneer mill in Charlestown was
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rebuilt and Mr. Levi Heywood retained his interest in it, until 1849.
" The business, of the new firm in Gardner, was conducted with success, the manufacture being mainly by hand, the only machinery being the ordinary turning lathe, and circular saws, which were operated by water power, obtained from the pond now known as Crystal Lake. In 1841, it occurred to Levi Heywood, that machinery specially adapted to the various processes of manufacture, might be introduced to advantage. His brother, of a more conservative disposition, hesitated to leave the well-worn paths in which they were achieving reason- able success. This difference of opinion led to a dissolution of the partnership, Levi purchasing his brother's interest. He at once gave his thoughts and labor, to the devising and construet- ing of special machinery, as well as to the introduction of dif- ferent kinds of wood-working machinery, which were already in use for other purposes, and were also adapted to his purpose. In the successful carrying out of this idea, he inaugurated a new era in the chair manufacture, and herein manifested much enter- prise, together with the fertility of resource, mechanical skill and inventiveness, and the purpose to introduce constantly new and valuable features, both in methods of manufacture and in style of product, which have always characterized him, and have been large elements of his success.
" As an instance of his originality, in the matter of mechani- cal devices, it may be said that as early as 1835, he conceived the idea of the band saw, now universally adopted as one of the most valuable tools in wood-work. The idea was original with him, though not really novel, for as early as 1808, Wm. New- berry of London, Eng., had conceived the same idea and made a crude model of a band sawing machine, but did nothing more with it. So thoroughly were its advantages anticipated by Mr. Heywood, that he consulted with B. D. Whitney of Winchen- don and with Charles Griffiths, of Welch & Griffiths of Boston, as to the feasibility of constructing a machine of the kind. Both of these gentlemen, experts in such matters, agreed that with
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the quality of saw-blades then made, or any known methods of uniting them so as to make an endless band, the idea could not be successfully carried out. As is well known, M. Perin of Paris, France, has, since that time, accomplished what Mr. Heywood, so many years before, conceived to be both desirable and feasible.
" In 1844, on the first day of July, he received into partner- ship Gen. Moses Wood, then of Providence and afterwards President of the Rollstone Bank of Fitchburg, and his brother Seth, the style of the firm being Heywood & Wood. This partnership continued till July 1st, 1849. At that date Gen. Wood retired from the firm, and Messrs. Calvin Heywood and Henry C. Hill were admitted, the style of the firm being changed to L. Heywood & Co.
" Mr. Heywood, in addition to his business relations, as the head of the firm of Heywood Bros. & Co., has since 1847, been a partner with Hon. W. B. Washburn of Greenfield, Mass., in the manufacture of chairs and wooden ware, at Erving, Mass., the style of the firm being Washburn & Heywood. They are also largely engaged in the manufacture and sale of lumber, owning about 3,000 acres of woodland in Erving, Northfield and New Salem.
" At this point, it is proper to refer to the inventions of Mr. Heywood, which have been mostly to meet the demands of his own business, and have largely contributed to its success. Among them may be named one for a wood chair-seat, one for tilting-chair, three for machines for splitting, shaving and otherwise manipulating rattan, and four for machinery for bending wood. He has also invented a very valuable process (not immediately connected with his own business but of value to it, as utilizing in a new direction, the pith of the rattan after stripping the enamel from it,) for injecting rattan with india- rubber or other suitable material, thus making an excellent sub- stitute for whalebone.
" Of the merits of his wood-bending process, it may be proper to introduce the testimony of M. Fr. Thonet of Vienna, Austria,
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the head of the largest chair manufacturing firm in the world, employing some five thousand operatives. After visiting the factories of the Messrs. Heywood, he wrote, 'I must tell you candidly that you have got the best machinery for bending wood that I ever saw, and I will say that I have seen and experi- mented a great deal in the bending of wood.' The Heywood patents have been combined with those of John C. Morris of Cincinnati, on which the patents of Blanchard have, after pro- tracted litigation, been decided to be infringements. The com- bined patents, owned by the Morris & Heywood Wood-bending Co., it is believed, cover the really effective methods for bend- ing wood.
" Mr. Heywood, in addition to his large personal business, he having retained to the present time - though now in his seventy-eighth year,-the supervision in all its details, of the mechanical department of the business, including the adapta- tion and construction of new machinery and devices for greater economy and perfection of manufacture, has been very active in public enterprises. He represented the town in the Convention for revising the Constitution of the State in the year 1853, and in the lower branch of the Legislature in 1871. He has been a Director in the Gardner National Bank and a Trustee of the Gardner Savings Bank from the organization of those institu- tions.
" Mr. Heywood is not personally identified, by membership, with any church. A regular attendant, however, of the Con- gregational Church in Gardner, he is a liberal contributor to its current expenses, and responds cheerfully and liberally to the calls of benevolence. He is also largely interested in educa- tional matters, and personally in the schools and has made liberal donations of land and otherwise, to the town in this direction. Respected in the highest degree for personal in- tegrity and excellence of his character in all the relations of life, his example is for good to the large number of his em- ployes and to the community by which he has been long looked up to as its wealthiest and most influential citizen."
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GARDNER A. WATKINS.
This gentleman was born in Peru, Berkshire County, Mas- sachusetts, September 13th, 1833. Being, from childhood, of a mechanical turn of mind, when not engaged in school, or at work on the farm, he was occupied as a carpenter, and in kin- dred employment, until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to Lakeville, Conn., where he was engaged, for five years, in the office and factory of the celebrated surgeon, Dr. Benja- min Welsh, manufacturer of surgical instruments. At the ex- piration of this time, he removed to Springfield, Vt., where he was engaged in the same business, until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, in the spring of 1861, when he turned his attention to the construction of complex machinery, for the manufacture of shoe lasts, hooks and eyes, etc. In the year 1863, he went to Proctorsville, Vt., where he became interested in the manufacture of clothes pins, mop-handles, flour-sifters and chair stock. In 1866, he began the manufacture of wood seat chairs and also made an attempt at splint and cane bottom chairs.
The following are some of the reasons, resting in Mr. Wat- kins' mind, for making a new departure from the old Chinese pattern, used for more than four centuries, in the construction of cane chairs : The demand for a smooth, better and more durable chair seat for common use ; some method by which to avoid waste of cane, time and trouble, in distributing the frames of chairs over the country, to be seated, as well as the annoy- ance of teaching a new generation, the art of caning chairs ; some way by which this work could be done, systematically, in the factory, under the supervision of the manufacturer, with the use of suitable machinery, and, lastly, a better chair, for less money.
After thorough and patient experimenting, he found that cane could not be superseded by any other then known sub- stance, for seats and backs, for common chairs, the grain of
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swamp ash being the nearest to cane, but so scarce and expen- sive, as to limit its use. Obstacles, which at times, seemed in- surmountable, were finally overcome. After months of patient and incessant toil, in inventing tools and machinery for this special purpose, Mr. Watkins succeeded in weaving an all wood or cane fabric, of various figures and patterns, of any desired width and length. This was acknowledged, at the United States Patent Office, to be the first production of this sort and an entirely new article of manufacture. The question
then arose as to the most practical method of securing this fabric to the frames of chair seats and backs, of all forms. This problem, at first, seemed to be one easy of solution, but, after various attempts which proved either to be worthless or too expensive, Mr. Watkins became almost satisfied that the Chinese was the only possible method, namely, that of making holes through the frame of a seat or back, as near together as possi- ble, then drawing in the cane, from side to side, to the greatest possible amount. This would produce just that figure of net work, so common in the old Chinese pattern. However, per- severance, with a commendable degree of Yankee ingenuity, was destined to be more than a match for the " heathen Chinee." In the spring of 1867-8-9, Mr. Watkins succeeded in reaching satisfactory results, which were recognized, from time to time, at the United States Patent Office, in various grants, some of which bear the following dates : Patent chair seat, May 14th, 1867 ; patent chair seat, April 6th, 1868 ; patent chair seat, April 7th, 1868 ; shuttle for weaving chair seats, March 10th, 1868 ; improved shuttle for weaving chair seats, reissue, Novem- ber 2d, 1869 ; seating machine, July 13th, 1869 ; scroll saw- table, August 2, 1869 ; channeling or grooving machine, Sep- tember 6th, 1870 ; embossing chair seats, September 6th, 1870 ; spliced bottom, September 6th, 1870; continuous spline, Au- gust 15, 1871 ; improved rattan for chair seats, September 19th, 1871; process for splicing cane, December 12th, 1871.
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SPLICING CANE.
This process is worthy of special mention. In the specifica- tion, forming part of Letters Patent, the inventor uses the fol- lowing language : " The object of this invention is to prepare strands of rattan, for weaving; and the invention consists in removing the enamel surface, from the ends of the strands, by ' scarfing' them down preparatory to splicing, and connecting the ends together in the manner hereinafter referred to. As is well known, the outer surface of rattan is covered by a silicious enamel, which is extremely hard, and, to a great extent, im- pervious to moisture, so that any attempt to join one or more strands together by means of cement, is sure to prove in- effectual ; hence, the great value to be derived from splicing such strands together, for the purpose of weaving them in a cloth of any desired length and width, has, to some extent, been lost. My invention fully obviates this difficulty.
Since the length of these strands is limited, to a great extent, it is essential, in order to successfully weave them, in a loom, that the strands be spliced one to the other, to any desired length. In order to accomplish this, I scarf the ends off. This scarfing is for the double pur- pose of removing the enamel from the surface of the strand, so that cement will adhere thercon, and also to enable one scarfed end to be cemented to another, without increasing the thickness of the strand at the splice. The scarfing may be done in many ways, not necessary here to mention, since I do not limit my- self to any particular means of accomplishing this object. The ends of the strands being scarfed, as above described, are next charged with cement, and when a sufficient quantity of strands is so prepared, the cemented ends are exposed to a jet of dry steam, or other artificial heat, until the cement liquifies, and then pressing the scarfed and cemented ends together, they will at once adhere, and the strands thus prepared or spliced may be reeled up, in any desired length, ready for weaving."
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The machinery, by which this scarfing process is accom- plished, is worthy of mention, as a product also of Mr. Wat- kins' inventive genius. The instrument, by which the ends of the cane are shaved down to the thinnest edge, is a small cylin- der, about two inches in diameter, upon whose surface are formed numerous horizontal knives or cutters. This cylinder is fixed upon a revolving shaft, upon which it is capable of per- forming six thousand revolutions in a minute. Directly in front of this cylinder, is a brass plate, whose surface is so contrived, that, when the end of the strand is placed upon it, and, by means of a treadle, is moved back under this revolving cylinder, it so adjusts itself to the revolving knives, as to produce, in the most exact manner, the required " scarf." This process, is almost instantaneous. The pressure, being removed from the treadle, the beveled brass table, by means of a weight, is immediately thrown back, ready for the renewal of the process. Near by the person doing this work, is stationed a pot containing hot cement, into which is plunged a small brush, so connected with this machinery for scarfing the ends of the cane, that while the end of the strand is passing under the re- volving cylinder, the brush is dipped in the cement, from which it immediately arises, on the removal of the pressure from the treadle. The strand, thus scarfed, is drawn under this brush, by which it is immediately cemented. It requires from two to three hours to harden this cement, on the searfed ends of the strand. These strands are then taken, by another operative, whose duty it is to join them together and wind them upon bobbins. Near this person is a jet of dry steam, which is made to pass through wood, in order to secure freedom from moisture. Into this steam jet are passed two cemented ends of the strands, the cement, upon which, is instantly liquified, after which, the two ends joined together are passed between two heated iron wheels whose surfaces are pressed together by means of a treadle. This process firmly unites the scarfed and cemented ends of the strands. By means of another treadle motion, the united strands are wound upon a bobbin capable of containing
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three thousand five hundred feet. This bobbin is so arranged, that it revolves at the option of the operator. By the motion of a spiral shaft, upon which is cut a right and left hand groove, the strand, while being wound, is carried automatically, from side to side, of the inner surfaces of the bobbin, thus produc- ing uniformity in filling it.
POWER LOOM FOR WEAVING CHAIR SEATS.
This loom involves the general principle of all looms. One distinguishing characteristic, however, in the loom now to be described, is the shuttle, by which, strands of cane are drawn through the warp, formed of the spliced strands, from the bobbins already mentioned. It is well known, that, in the weaving of cloth, the shuttle is driven through the warp strands, delivering the woof thread, as it passes. Considering the in- flexibility and bulkiness of the cane strands, to be used as filling, even should it be possible to wind them upon spools, it will be readily seen, that the ordinary process of weaving, could not prevail in the construction of rattan fabric. To obviate this difficulty, Mr. Watkins invented the shuttle now used in his loom. This shuttle is a flat bar of steel, about twenty-two inches in length, consisting of two equal plates, which are so united, that the different parts form two jaws, at the end which enters the warp. This end, of the shuttle, is shaped like a pair of pliers, thus making it susceptible of passing, without inter- ference, through the warp strands. Within the jaws, of this shuttle, are little spurs or nippers, for holding the end of the woof strand, which it is to draw through the warp. Between the two halves of the shuttle, there is a wedge shaped device, called the tongue, which is attached to a rod, also within the shuttle, and which is so contrived, that, when the mouth of the shuttle has reached the woof strand, which it is to carry back, this tongue, passing over a swell, within the jaws of the shuttle, causes its mouth to open, when it drops instantly into a con- cavity, by which operation, the jaws are allowed to close im- mediately upon the end of the strand, thus holding it firmly in
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their teeth. The shuttle is then drawn back, through the warp, holding the strand in its mouth, till it reaches the edge of the web, when the tongue passing forward, over the swell, again opens the mouth of the shuttle, leaving the end of the strand in the precise position required. The shuttle is then ready to re- turn, repeating the operation at the rate of seventy-five " picks" ยท per minute. Upon the feed side of the reed, of this loom, by which the woof is beaten firmly together, is fixed a knife, which is so adjusted, in its relation to another knife edge, that, the instant the shuttle reaches the opposite side of the web, it cuts off the strand, at the exact length required. This shuttle is fixed upon a carriage, which is made to pass back and forth, upon its ways, by crank motion. Attached to the rod within the shuttle, to which is fastened the tongue, which opens and closes its jaws, is a projecting horizontal har, the end of which, striking adjustible hunters, upon one side of the ways, throws the tongue, by which the jaws of the shuttle are opened and shut, backwards and forwards as convenience requires.
As a matter of course, it would be impossible to describe accurately this ingenious device, for weaving cane web, without the assistance of the necessary diagrams. Although this shut- tle is capable of making seventy-five " picks" a minute, Mr. Watkins, whose motto is " excelsior," is confident that he can construct a loom, whose shuttle shall be capable of one hundred and twenty-five " picks" a minute, and even more. Another feature of this loom, is the saving of time, by so arranging the reed, that it returns to its position, after having beaten up the web, before the shuttle has receded from the warp, by passing under it, while the shuttle is still in motion. Another charac- teristic, of this loom, is the ingenious device for feeding; ten strands being used in such a manner as to cause a desirable variety, in the texture of the web. Still another feature of the loom is the simplicity of the method, by which tension is applied directly to the outer rim of the bobbins, this being secured by the friction of steel springs pressing against the wood. This loom is capable of weaving fifty-four thousand
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feet of cane, per day, which is equal to three hundred and thirty Grecian seats.
That Mr. Watkins has achieved a wonderful success, in this invention, is universally confessed. By it, he has revolution- ized the manufacture of chairs, and created a new era in this important branch of our industries.
To Mr. Watkins is also due the honor of having first applied power to the process of bending wood for chair frames and backs. Previous to this time the rails and backs of chairs were bent by levers worked by men, making the labor very ex- hausting to those engaged in it. With the application of power, to this particular branch of the chair business, only half as many men are now required to do the same amount of labor, as were required previous to this invention.
Mr. Watkins is also the inventor of machines for making spi- ral springs, used in tilting chairs, and for cutting the thread upon the ends of these springs. Mr. Watkins is a gentleman who has spared no pains in nourishing his genius, as an inventor. Whatever of scientific works, or expensive tools, have been regarded, by him, as essential to the attainment of the one great aim of his life, he has not hesitated to procure. He has, since 1870, been employed by Heywood Bros. & Co., upon a salary.
The Automatic Channeling Machine, the Crimping Press, the Spline and Embossing Press, also inventions of Mr. Watkins, have already passed under review, in chapter VII., of this work. This gentleman has perfected several improvements in machinery, for the manufacture of chairs, for which he has not yet secured Letters Patent. At the present time, he is engaged in the construction of a Double Press for inserting woven seats in frames, weighing five thousand five hundred pounds, eight feet long, four feet wide and ten feet high. The following, among others, are the inventions and improvements of Mr. Watkins previous to his engaging in the chair business, for which he has received Letters Patent, namely : Hook Fasten- ings for army tents, Improved Physician's Pocket Prescription
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Scale and Measure, Improved Letter Weight and Eraser, Arti- ficial Arm and Hand, Invalids' Drink Tube, Swinging Splint, for fracture of the leg, scapula, patella and elbow joint, Sur- geons' Bullet Extractor, Spring and Tooth Holding Stethescope, Ball and Socket Truss, etc.
SAMUEL L. FITTS.
This gentleman was born in Mason Village, N. H., in 1830. His father was a mill-wright, in which business he himself was engaged, till the age of twenty, when he went to Fitchburg, where he was employed by the Putnam Machine Company. He went to Ashburnham in 1858, where he was employed by the Winchester Brothers until 1877, when he came to Gardner in the employ of Heywood Brothers & Co. The following are his inventions : An Automatic Boring Machine, for boring frames to chair seats, patented June, 1861; a Machine for Dressing Chair Backs, patented in 1864. These patents are now owned by Mr. George Winchester, of Ashburnham. Also a Power Loom for weaving chair seats. The novelty of this invention consists in the construction of the shuttle and filling holder, which holds a number of pieces, at the same time making the changes automatically, and is regarded as a very efficient machine, for the purpose for which it is designed.
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