USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Sutton > History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1876 to 1950, Volume II > Part 14
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Mrs. Shaw tells the following story: Before her marriage she came to visit her sister, whose husband was then the minister at the West Sutton Baptist Church. One day, driving with the H. B. Bullard family, they passed the Elliot farm. She remarked, "That is a beautiful place. Who lives there?" When told it was the Elliot place, she replied, "That ought to be my home." Years afterward, she married S. Martin Shaw, began her married life in West Sutton, and then came to the Elliot place to live.
The next farm, south on the State Road, was owned in 1876 by Herman A. Kimmel. The Kimmels had three children: George, Emma and Louise. Louise taught in Torreyville and other schools in Sutton and later was married to Clinton White, who operated the Buttonwood Mill. While Mr. Kimmel owned the farm the house and barn burned and the present house and barn were built by him.
In 1890 Mr. Kimmel sold to Herman Kupfer. The Kupfers moved here from Worcester. Mr. Kupfer and his wife Clara were natives of Saxony, Germany, where they were married. Mr. Kupfer came to this country first, returned to Germany for a visit, and soon after his second trip to the United States in 1883, his parents and wife followed him. He was an expert machinist, working for many years at the Heald Machine Co., Worcester. He was a machinist instructor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. His parents, Florenz John Kupfer and Laura, made their home with him. Florenz died in 1907 and Laura in 1913.
The Kupfers had eleven children: Richard, now deceased; Nellie was married to Joseph Hart and resides in Millbury; Edith was married to Joseph Ward and is now deceased; Herman, Jr., unmarried, lives in Sutton; Clara, the widow of Mitchell Gravelin, lives in town; Lillian married Wallace Vigeant; George married Blanche Savage and lives in Worcester; Charles, who married Lydia Savage, resides in Worcester; Flora died in infancy; Elsie, who married Fred Swett of Worcester, is now deceased. Mr. Kupfer's wife Clara died in April 1921. He went to Germany in 1923 for a visit, and there married Anna Rust, who returned to this country with him. She left Sutton in 1926. In 1919 Herman Kupfer sold one acre of his farm, on the east side of the road, to his son Richard, who built a bungalow on it. The ice house on the farm was destroyed by fire one Fourth of July night. The hurricane of 1938 demolished the barn. Herman Kupfer, Sr. died in January, 1940. The farm was then sold to Charles Flansberg of Grafton.
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Mr. Flansberg lived here with his wife Mildred, daughter Marie (1938) and son Charles (1942). He covered the house with brick shingles, built a modern piggery and shelter and a modern barn. He sold the farm to Joseph Vanden Akker of Whitinsville in 1950. George DeBoer and family now live there.
The bungalow, on the opposite side of the street, built by Richard Kupfer in 1919, is most attractive. He was working at that time for Reed and Prentice. His wife, Carrie Sawyer, whom he married in 1901, died in January 1925. The next summer he went to Germany and there married Lydia Sichon, who was a furrier and owner of a shop in Saxony. She returned to the United States with her husband. They had one daughter, Sonya Ingrid Kupfer, born in November 1928. Mrs. Kupfer is very artistic and has laid out gardens with arbors and a trellis. Mr. Kupfer constructed the garden furniture. He died in 1944. Their daughter died in 1947 of diabetes.
Across the road from Mrs. Kupfer's home is a small cottage house, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Bibeau and son Edmond (1937). Mr. Bibeau works at Wyman and Gordon's in Worcester.
Proceeding in a southerly direction on the west side of the road we find the new home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Flansberg-a ranch type house. At the northeast corner of the junction of State Road and Hartford Turnpike, stood the home of George Inman Putnam with a barn on the west side of the road. The children of George and Anabel (Putnam) were: Grace, active in church work, who died in Holden; Fred, deceased; Maynard living in Grafton; Annie Barr Earle of Uxbridge and Mary, deceased, who was married to Charles Harwood of Sutton.
The barn on this property was blown down some years ago and what was left of the old house was demolished about 1909. The house had been unoc- cupied for many years.
The land on all four corners of the Hartford Turnpike and State Road became the property of S. Martin Shaw.
In 1934, the northwest corner of the juncture of the two roads, or where the George Putnam's barn stood, was leased by S. Martin Shaw to the United States Government as a site for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. An artesian well was drilled with a remarkable flow of water, and about twenty buildings includ- ing barracks, mess halls, officers' quarters, kitchen and showers were constructed to accommodate 200 youth, part of the C.C.C. At one time more than this number were housed here.
What remained of the corps was transferred to East Douglas, the camp buildings taken down and the artesian well filled up with stones.
On the southeast corner of the juncture of the roads, Mr. Shaw sold land to C. E. LaRochelle of Whitinsville in 1931. This was in the days of prohibition and Mr. LaRochelle erected a gas station. He maintained that a bus line was to be operated through the town and this would be a stopping place. The gas station turned into a dime and dance hall, known as the Blue Jay Club. In a few years Mr. LaRochelle sold to William Bellageron, who later sold to Ulysses Paquin. The Paquins made an apartment over the club and lived there with sons Ronald and Warren. Farther south Mr. Paquin built a cellar on which he intended to erect a house.
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In this connection it is interesting to note that many years ago James W. Stockwell and Henry B. Bullard, when the former was representative from this town, endeavored to have an electric railroad pass through Sutton and this vicinity. Mr. Marcus Coolidge of Fitchburg was likewise interested in the project.
On the northwest corner of Ray Lane and the Turnpike is the old home of Nancy and Simeon Keith. They had five children: George L .; Royal; Jane, who married a Mr. Root; Amanda married to Mr. Cleveland and Caroline, who became the second wife of Mr. Root.
George L. married Sarah Paine of Burrowsville, R. I. and remained at the home place. Simeon and Nancy Keith both died here. George and Sarah had four children: Walter and Jennie who died in infancy, Carolyn A. who married Henry Tyler of Worcester and George Andrew who married Mary Edna Putnam. George L. died here but Sarah died in Worcester at her daughter's home. All of the Keiths made shoes in their homes.
The next owners were Mr. and Mrs. George Brightman, who held the prop- erty for a few years. In 1914 it was sold to Mr. Guy of the Guy Furniture Store of Worcester. He sold to Arthur Swanson, proprietor of Town Talk Bread. Mr. Swanson made many changes and installed a Delco Electric system. In 1922 it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Cressey. Mrs. Cressey rented it for a year to Dr. and Mrs. Harold Morgan, after which it was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Elder of Millbury, and then sold in 1937 to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Guganig, who moved here from Millbury.
Mr. Guganig was in the New England Power Co. Virginia J., the daughter, was employed in the office of the same company. During World War II she spent 21 months in the air service, at Westover Field and at the Pentagon Building in Washington. Her twin brother, Donald W., is married and lives in Vermont where he, too, is connected with the New England Power Co. He was in the R.O.T.C. in Georgia. The Guganigs made many improvements in the house and grounds. Mr. Guganig died in Nov. 1941.
In 1942, the following summer, Mrs Guganig sold to Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Tourtelotte, who reside here. Both are employed in Worcester. Mr. Tourtelotte, a tuba player, is a very fine musician.
East of the Royal Keith place was the home of George W. and Eliza (Bennett) Ray. They had one son Herbert L., who married Lucia Hoyle. George Ray died in 1892 and his wife in 1912. Many families have lived here; at one time, Maynard Putnam and later H. Clifton Batcheller. The house was vacant for some time when it was purchased by Vernon Tilden of Worcester. The house was completely modernized and the grounds improved. At first it was used as a summer home only, then as a year-round dwelling. Mr. Tilden sold to Mr. Foor, connected with the Millbury Water Co. When Mr. Foor was transferred to the west he sold to the present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis C. Hayward. Mr. Hayward is overseer in the Wuskanut Worsted Corp. Mr. and Mrs. Hayward reside here with their two children, Lewis Adin, born June 22, 1947 and Susan Mary, born Dec. 13, 1948.
West on Central Turnpike, just beyond the intersection of Putnam Hill Road, is a small cottage which was built by George E. Keith, Jr. in 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Harmon of Worcester purchased the property in August 1950 and
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live there with their small daughter Lois Ann, born Dec. 11, 1951. Mr. Harmon is employed by the American Steel and Wire Co. in Worcester.
The building west on Mendon Road, now occupied by Horace C. Batcheller, was the home of William R. Donaldson in 1876. Mr. Donaldson married Ann Rice, who lived at what is now Adam's Corner, Northbridge, but at that time was part of Sutton. William Donaldson made shoes. A little shop stood west of the house where he plied his trade. He had three children: Elizabeth, who married Walter Cook of East Douglas where she resided until her death in 1948; Frank, now deceased, who married Nora Fairbanks of Douglas; Everett Wilson, who was born in this house Feb. 25, 1868 and who died in Sept. 1947.
In 1887 William Donaldson sold this property to Mrs. Lucy Fuller Putnam Stoddard. Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard catered at the Exchange hotel in Worcester. After Mrs. Putnam Stoddard purchased this house her parents Mr. and Mrs. Waldo Putnam, moved here from Oxford. They both died here; Waldo in 1898, and his wife Mary in 1902, also their daughter Martha in 1895, who had married Charles A. Moffet. Emory Stoddard died in Worcester and Mrs. Lucy Stoddard passed away here in 1917. Waldo J. B. Putnam, Mrs. Stoddard's son, made his home here. In 1888 Waldo married Miss Leonora Johnson of Sutton. They had one child who died. In 1890 they were divorced. The following year Mr. Putnam married Jennie Eaton of Boston. They had one son, Warren, who died in infancy. Jennie passed away at Christmastime in 1918. Two years later Mr. Putnam married Alice Kimball of Millbury. They had one child, Faith Kimball Putnam.
In 1936 the place was sold to Horace C. Batcheller, who with his wife, Bertha (McDonald), and his father, H. Clifton Batcheller, came here to live. His father died while his son Horace was in military service in World War II. The Batchellers still reside here. Both are employed in Millbury.
Where the present Putnam Hill School stands was a house whose removal to the center is spoken of in the past history. The present school originally stood between the Sumner Putnam place and the Mitchell house. The cellar hole is still visible.
Mr. Mitchell built this house, west of the Batcheller's, on the site of the former house, destroyed by fire in 1875. Mr. Mitchell was a jewelry auctioneer and traveled a great deal. On one trip in 1893, he died after a short illness. A year later, the place was sold at auction to Nathaniel and Clara (Bennett) Parshley. Mrs. Mitchell went to West Sutton to live and then to the northern part of the State with a niece where she died.
Mr. and Mrs. Parshley had these children: Louis, who died unmarried; Nancy, who married Frank Cullina of Eight Lots, lived in Worcester and is now deceased; Frank, married to a Boston woman, lived in Boston and died in that city; Mabel, the wife of George Buck, lived in Millinocket, Maine and is deceased; Minnie, married and living in Providence, R. I .; William, attended law school and practised in Worcester, was married and died in Grafton where he resided; Grace, died at an early age and Reginald, died when twelve. Mr. Parshely was a Civil War Veteran, a native of Salem. He died in 1906, and was buried in Salem. In 1917, Mrs. Parshley bought the Hall Putnam place; Louis remained at home and ran the farm.
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Clara Parshley sold the Mitchell house to Edward Sylvester, Sr. in 1918 and Mr. Sylvester sold to Charles P. King about 1922. The Sylvesters had five children: Edward Jr., who served as a marine in World War I, lives in the south; May, married, resides in Connecticut; Earl, a successful poultryman, was married and lived in West Sutton, but now is in Florida; Dorothy, married and living in Beverly and Doris, who lives with sister May. Mr. Sylvester died in 1942. Mrs. Sylvester makes her home with daughter Dorothy.
Charles P. King was the oldest son of B. Frank King. He and his wife, Ruth (Clark) King, lived here some years with their two sons, Donald and Robert Gordon. Ruth was a graduate nurse and became the first school nurse in Sutton. She worked hard and conscientiously. She contracted tuberculosis and died in 1928. The family then moved to Manchaug where Mr. King had purchased the mill-farm property. December 28, 1939, Mr. King passed away. Both sons served in World War II; Donald in aviation in Alaska, Robert Gordon in artillery in Italy.
Superintendent of Schools Clarence M. Harris, in his 1928 report, paid the following tribute to Mrs. King:
"Words cannot express our appreciation of the services in our schools of the late Mrs. Ruth C. King, who for many years ministered faithfully and unselfishly to the needs of the school children of Sutton. Her memory will long remain with us."
After the Kings moved to Manchaug, the house was rented to the Peter Zuidemas until they purchased the Hammond place in West Sutton. It then was rented to Mrs. Gladys Marble, who purchased in 1940. Mrs. Marble, her brother William Slocum, her daughter Marion with husband, Roland Young, reside here with their children, Paulette, born in 1947 and Roland W. Jr., born in 1948.
The house, west of the Putnam Hill School and across the street from the Mitchell house, was occupied in 1876 by Mrs. Hannah Putnam, who lived alone and boarded the school teachers. After Mrs. Putnam's death in 1897, Mrs. Frances Medbury, widow of Rev. Nicholas Medbury, a Baptist minister, who had lived for a while at the Bullard farm, bought it for her home. In 1900 Mrs. Medbury had a stroke and her niece Susan Adelaide Luther came to care for her. This she did with unselfish devotion for twenty-two years. In 1922 Mrs. Med- bury passed away, leaving her possessions to her niece for her faithfulness. Miss Addie survived her aunt for five years, dying suddenly in 1927.
The property was then sold to Mrs. Cora (Putnam) Dermott of Virginia, and it had several tenants. For two years Mr .and Mrs. Chester Roaf and son lived here; later Mr. and Mrs. Xeveria (Pete) Peltier for a like period of time. The house was vacant for a short time and was next rented by Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Walden and sons, Thomas and Gordon. Mr. Walden worked in an East Douglas mill. Other tenants followed for short periods.
Going west on Mendon road past the Batchellers' and Marbles', we come to the former Sumner Putnam place. After the death of Mrs. Putnam in 1901, it was purchased at auction by Mrs. Waldo Putnam, who later sold to Mr. and Mrs. G. Andrew Keith. It was rented for several years. In 1918 Mr. Keith remodeled the house and he and his wife went there to live. At this time Mr. Keith was tax collector and a deputy sheriff. In their youth Mr. and Mrs. Keith
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were well known for their dancing. He played the violin and knew every square dance and was in great demand as a prompter for the old time dances.
It was not uncommon to hear him sing the orders as he called:
"First lady lead to the right hand couple Swing that lady with the right hand;
Then take that lady and lead to the second couple and four hands around. Then the two ladies lead to the third couple and four hands around.
All balance partners and swing the same."
Mr. Keith died here in 1929. Mrs. Keith remained with her son George Keith and wife. She died in 1946. The George Keiths resided here, renting part of the house to the Gordon Waldens. The land which originally went with this place was sold to David T. Putnam. In April 1952, fire destroyed the house and all the buildings on the place, removing another landmark in the town. The house was said to have been built in 1838.
In 1876, the dwelling on Mendon Road and the Turnpike was the home of Asa P. Dodge and his wife, who was Miss Frances Putnam. They had two children, Walter and Nellie. Walter married Florence Willard of Millbury. They lived in Worcester. Walter Dodge has passed away, and his widow, who has remarried, still resides there.
The daughter Nellie when quite young married Charles R. Luther. In a few years they were divorced. She then married Arthur Davis of Worcester and after his death she married Mr. Nutting. This marriage lasted but a few years. Mrs. Nutting who is in poor health still resides in Worcester.
Asa Dodge made shoes in the western side of the house which was his shop. Like so many of the country folk, he carried the finished product to Worcester.
Upstairs in the house there was a dance hall where many a festivity took place as well as a quilting party. In the neighborhood there were some very accom- plished dancers, Mary and Andrew Keith, perhaps, being the best known in the town.
Asa Dodge died in 1895. His widow remained here for a time and then went to live with her children in Worcester where she died.
In 1896, Henry B. Bullard purchased the homestead for his daughter Louise, who had married Charles R. Luther. At that time Mr. Luther was in the employ of the railroad. He gave up this business and engaged in farming, which he con- tinued until he took over the H. B. Bullard store in West Sutton. The Luthers had two sons, Robert H. and C. Raymond.
Robert H. Luther is Special Agent for the Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Philadelphia in Detroit. He was an officer in World War I., at the close of which he married Miss Hazel Pennamen of Worcester. Mr. and Mrs. Luther are talented musicians.
The younger son, C. Raymond Luther, is a retail milk dealer in Dudley. He married Gertrude Richardson of Sutton Centre, Sept. 8, 1915. They lived upstairs in the old Oliver Hall home. He operated both this farm and that of his father. Two of their children were born in Sutton, Olive Phyllis, Jan. 13, 1917 and Donald Robert, July 5, 1918. After he purchased the Mason Farm in Dudley in 1918, the family moved there. A daughter Gertrude Louise was born in 1922.
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Mrs. Luther died in Dudley, July 1, 1922. Mr. Luther married Celia Tucker for his second wife. Their son Henry died at the age of six. The Luthers now live in Dudley.
Charles Luther died in 1935. For a year and a half Mr. and Mrs. Herman Munyan and sons, Roger and Dean, lived here and operated the farm in a small way. Mr. Munyan was a clerk at the American Steel and Wire Co. They moved to Leicester. Mrs. Luther resided in the old home until the summer of 1951 when she moved to Dudley to be near her son Raymond.
The place was bought by David L. Stevenson in December 1951. Mr. T. J. Stevenson, David's father, acted as agent for David since David was in Germany in the army at the time. He served in the Military Police and at that time was in M. P. Company, 1st. Division.
The house on the Central Turnpike at Century Farm Road, now owned and occupied by Timothy J. Stevenson and family, was built by Nathan Putnam in 1767, and was first known as the Nathan Putnam place and later as the Oliver Hall place, Oliver Hall being the owner when the first edition of the History of Sutton was written.
Oliver Hall's daughter, Susan Hall Luther, had two children, S. Adelaide, born in West Brookfield in 1849-died in West Sutton, June 4, 1927; and Charles R., born in West Brookfield in 1855-died in the Asa Dodge place, March 1, 1935. Her husband, Robert Luther, bought the Hall place from his father-in-law, Oliver Hall, December 21, 1874. In part payment Mr. Luther agreed to support Mr. Hall for the rest of his life. This agreement for support was by a bond secured by a mortgage for $2000 upon the property. Mr. Hall lived here till his death December 3, 1879. Mr. Luther lived here with his family until his death in 1908.
The Luther family owned this farm until December 2, 1921 when Charles R. Luther sold it to Charles and Marie Nichols of Worcester. During the four years that they owned it, they used it as a summer place only, occupying it very little. They did much, however, toward restoring the house to its original state, rebuild- ing the fireplaces and chimneys, and replacing all the newer windows with exact duplicates of the originals.
On June 3, 1926 this place was bought by Timothy J. and Sarah E. Stevenson, the present owners. It was used by them as a summer home until 1938 when light, heat, and plumbing were installed. The heating plant was tested September 21, 1938, the day of the great hurricane which caused such havoc throughout New England, leaving many homes without electric service. For two weeks life here was as primitive as when the house was first built, for without electricity there was no water, light, or heat.
Mr. Stevenson was a teacher of English at the Worcester South High School and from 1920 to 1949 was principal of the Worcester Evening High School. He helped to organize the Sutton Historical Society and served as its first president.
The Stevensons had six children, three daughters and three sons. Elizabeth born August 22, 1919-died October 27, 1927. Mary Elizabeth was born November 19, 1920 and married Francis P. Sweeney of Hartford, Conn., October 5, 1946 and went to live in Leicester, Mass. James Edward was born May 24, 1924, graduated from Boston University and served in France and
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Germany with the 100th Infantry Division in World War II. Robert Michael was born February 20, 1924. He graduated from the Massachusetts School of Art in Boston and is employed in the art department of the Farrington Manu- facturing Co. of Boston. David Leo was born August 9, 1927 and studied agriculture at Worcester North High School. He served in the army of occupa- tion in Germany in 1951 and 1952. Sally Ann was born October 1, 1930 and is the only one of the Stevenson children now living at home.
RARE BUTTERFLY-AND-STRAP HINGE ON DOOR AT STEVENSON PLACE, HAND FORGED ON PLACE IN 1767.
UNUSUAL DOUBLE DOORS TO MILK-ROOM AND TO MILK-CELLAR WITH COMPARTMENTS ABOVE FOR RIPENING CHEESE. Rings for pulls and latches operated by fingers show quarter inch grooves worn by many fingers. Latches work from this side of doors only.
During the time that the Stevensons have lived in this charming old house, there has occurred a great awakening of interest in the life of our early New
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England ancestors. The Stevensons have shared in this interest and have done all that they could to restore to this house its original colonial atmosphere. They have succeeded in obtaining through the Luther family some of the furniture used in this house by the Hall family nearly a century and a half ago.
Some of the interesting legends concerning this place were told by Mr. Charles R. Luther. All the hardware used in building this house, even to the nails, were made by Nathan Putnam in the blacksmith shop which stood east of the house. The foundation at this forge is still standing. One room, the east living room, has on its doors four kinds of hand forged hinges: strap, L, H, and H&L hinges. One bedroom door has a combination butterfly and strap hinge. This rare hinge is used here because the door is hung on a board wall instead of on the usual door post.
It was Mr. Luther, who pointed out Nathan Putnam's monogram NP, carved in the lintel over the stairway and, imprinted in the plaster just below the mono- gram, the date 1767. This stairway itself is rather rare because of its fishtail arrangement at the top, which enables one in ascending to turn either right or left off the stairs. On one of the bedroom floors is still preserved a stenciled pattern in black, used as a floor decoration about the time of the American Revolution.
In 1876 the C. C. Holm farm, right on Mendon Road going west, was owned by the widow and heirs of (Capt. ) Peter Putnam. The widow, Nancy Cummings (Putnam), died here in 1879 at the age of eighty-four. In 1880, John R. Humes, husband of Capt. Putnam's youngest daughter, Sarah M., bought the property. At this time the farm comprised about forty acres. A little later Mr. Humes added by purchase about twenty acres more. He greatly improved the land, remodeled the house and built a new barn.
Besides carrying on the farm Mr. Humes for more than forty years dealt in wood and lumber. For many years he held public office, serving as Highway Surveyor, Assessor, Selectman and School Committeeman. He died here in 1918 in his eighty-fifth year. All of his children, George M., J. Fred, Nancy Evelyn and Frank E. were born here.
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