USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Lee > Lee : the centennial celebration and centennial history of the town of Lee, Mass. > Part 25
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The same year in which the Laflins commenced the mercantile business at the south end of the village, Messrs. John Nye, Jr. & Co., built a new store at the upper end on the site of the present block of Messrs. Sparks & Ca- sey. This firm was composed of four partners, John Nye, Jr., Messrs. Ball & Bassett, Thomas Bassett and Isaac C. Ives, who were at this time running a paper mill, and started the store as an auxiliary to their other business.
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Mr. Ives was the manager of the store, and the firm con- tinued in trade till 1835, when it was succeeded by Ives, Sturges & Co. William T. Fish afterwards occupied this stand for a number of years, and was succeeded by Messrs. Hitchcock & Bradley, and in 1871 by Messrs. Sparks & Casey, the present merchants on this ground, who removed the old store of John Nye, Jr. & Co., and put up the com- modious block which bears their name.
In 1833, Messrs. Benedict & Chamberlin came to Lee from Dalton and built the store now occupied by James W. Ferry at the corner of Center and Mill streets. This firm traded here only two years, and was succeeded by Henry Sabin & Co .; Messrs. S. & A. Hulbert being the company. A prosperous business was built up by this firm, and after a few years, Mr. Sabin bought out his part- ners and continued trading at the old stand with only a short interval, when the store was occupied by Messrs. Platner & Porter till 1852, when he sold out to Charles N. Couch, who soon after took in his brother-in-law Mr. Theron Reed, as partner. The firm of Couch & Reed was succeeded by Homer Hitchcock, and he in turn by the present enterprising merchant, James W. Ferry, who has enlarged and much improved the premises.
About the time of the erection of the store in which Mr. Sabin traded so long and successfully, Mr. Milton J. Ingersoll, a grandson of "Squire Ingersoll," built a store on the west side of Main street, which he conducted a few years in connection with the paper business. Mr. Inger- soll was succeeded by Austin D. Moore, who remained only a year or two, and was followed in 1837 by Messrs. Phelps & Hill, soon after by Phelps & Field, and in 1841 by Messrs. S. & N. Gibbs. Mr. S. Gibbs soon retired from the firm and was succeeded by Mr. John R. Smith in 1843, when the trade was continued in this store by the firm of Gibbs & Smith till 1851, when Mr. Gibbs was suc-
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ceeded by Mr. S. S. Rogers. The latter soon going into the paper business with the Messrs. May, was followed by Edward Bosworth. The firm of Smith & Bosworth continued till the death of Mr. Smith, which occurred in 1860, when Mr. Bosworth traded alone at the old stand till 1869, and then he removed to Northrup's block at the south end of the village, taking in George H. Tanner as a partner in 1876. The firm of Bosworth & Tanner are now doing the largest mercantile business ever done in Lee, their sales amounting to $110,000 annually.
In 1846, Mr. George H. Phelps built a block of stores and offices in connection with his tin shop, directly south of the store erected by Milton J. Ingersoll. In this block Messrs. Bostwick & Patterson commenced trading in 1847, and were followed in 1849 by Messrs. Rogers & Mills, the latter company dissolving in 1851, when Mr. Rogers formed a partnership with Mr. J. R. Smith, and the block has been mainly used since for clothing and millinery stores.
In 1849, Messrs. J. & L. Church erected a block of stores at the south end of the village, just north of the bank, which was occupied in part by Messrs. Taylor & Averill, Taylor & Eldridge, and Thomas P. Eldridge. The latter, one of the most enterprising of the Lee merchants, re- moved to New York city, there building up, in con- nection with George Bliss & Co., a large business. This block was burned in 1857, but was rebuilt the same year by J. M. Northrup, who put up the present substantial brick block in which Messrs. Bosworth & Tanner are doing a large business, occupying two stores, the one for gro- ceries and the other for dry goods, buying out for this purpose the goods of A. G. Harding, who for a few years occupied one of them.
The "Exchange " block on the other side of the street was erected by Dr. Peabody in 1859, and was occupied
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at first as a drug store and for a milliner's shop, but T. A. Oman, having purchased it, removed his dry goods and groceries here from East Lee, where he had been suc- cessfully trading for some years. Mr. Oman was suc- ceeded in 1876 by Messrs. Albee & Sabin, and they by the present firm of Albee & Moore in 1877. Morey's and Baird's blocks, on the north of the Exchange, have never been occupied for general mercantile business, but for drugs, clothing, hardware, etc., as at present.
Besides the mercantile business done in the center of the town, more or less goods have been sold since early in the present century at East and South Lee. James Whiton opened a store in East Lee, in connection with his furnace, which was afterwards continued for many years by Wm. P. Hamblin. T. A. Oman also traded in East Lee for a number of years before his removal to the Center. Mr. Oman was succeeded by R. R. Harder, and he in turn by Wm. Avery the present occupant of the Oman store. Messrs. Benton & Garfield started a store in Water street at the same time, they commenced the paper business there which is still continued by Mr. Gar- field. At South Lee, Messrs. Owen and Hurlbut ran a store for many years in connection with their paper business, but finally sold this branch of their business to J. T. Mer- rill & Co., and the store at the west end of the village is now conducted by Charles G. Merrill. At the east end Nathaniel Tremain early in the century opened a store in connection with his hotel. For several years, Leroy S. Kellogg has been the merchant in this part of the village.
It is evident from the above brief sketch of the Lee merchants, that the mercantile business here as every where, has been a changeable and precarious one. It probably never was on a better foundation than at present. In the early history of the town, it was the
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custom of the citizens to go to Stockbridge to trade, as the merchants there were early established and kept a greater stock. The tide has turned; Lee is now the center of trade for most of the surrounding towns. The largest dry goods merchants are, Bosworth and Tanner, whose sales average $110,000 a year, Sparks & Casey, $50,000, William Taylor, $30,000, James W. Ferry, $30,000 and Albee & Moore, $30,000. In all, it is esti- mated that the amount of goods now sold here annually, including the dry goods, groceries, clothing, boots and shoes, drugs, etc. must exceed half a million of dollars.
It is curious to notice the division of trade that has gradually grown up among the merchants. The first traders kept regular country stores, dealt in dry goods, groceries, drugs, jewelry, clothing, hardware, etc. Now there are besides the dry goods merchants, three regular druggists, two boot and shoe stores, three clothing stores, two jewelry establishments, two tin shops, one hardware merchant, two flour and feed stores, one tobacco dealer, one book and variety store, one dealer in ladies' fancy goods, and one fish and fruit market.
MECHANICAL INDUSTRIES.
Lee has ever been well supplied with good workmen in almost every department of mechanical industry. Ansel Bassett and John Crosby, were among the first carpenters and joiners, and built many of the early dwell- ings and barns. The farmers, however, in those days were skilled, to a greater or less extent, in mechanical trades, and did much of their work within themselves. The Ingersolls, the Howks, the Bradleys, the Balls and others had shops in which they kept a good supply of tools, and did their own common carpentering and cobbling, and sometimes made their own carts and wagons.
David Baker and Eli Bradley were the first shoe-
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makers, keeping no shops expressly for the business, but going from house to house and working by the day, charging a dollar for a day's work of twelve hours.
Clothing both for men and women, was mostly made in the family, but sometimes a seamstress was employed to aid in this department, and her regular per diem was twenty-five cents. The first regular tailor was Simon Sterns, who early in the present century started a shop in the house first east of the Center school-house. He afterwards opened a shop in the village over the cabinet shop of Mr. Abner Taylor.
The first blacksmith was Nathaniel Bassett, whose shop stood on the north side of East Park street, about where High street now opens into Park. Mr. Bassett was born in Sandwich, Mass., in 1757, and came to Lee in company with his brother Cornelius in 1778. He lived at first in the rear part of what is now the residence of Mr. E. A. Moore, and afterwards built the two story front of this house. He did good service in the Revolutionary war for which he received a pension from his grateful country. He was a good mechanic, a useful citizen and an humble Christian. He died in 1846 at the ripe age of 88, leav- ing, among other monuments to his memory, some noble elms, a row of these trees having been set out by him on either side of Park street.
The first mason that settled in Lee, was Cornelius Bas- sett, who came here with his brother Nathaniel in the first year after the incorporation of the town. He built a one-story house on the ground on which now stands the residence of Mr. Wellington Smith; in fact the same timbers which Mr. Bassett used a hundred years since, are now the frame-work of the first story of Mr. Smith's house. That he was a good mason is manifest from the mortar still remaining, which he put on many of the old houses, and which is as hard as a stone. He was also a
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good man, having a very humble opinion of himself, but true to his God, and faithful to his fellow men. In ac- cordance with the custom of most, if not all, masons of his day, he took his bitters regularly at 11 o'clock A. M., and 4 o'clock P. M., but gave up the habit cheerfully when the temperance movement was started here in 1825. In his last sickness he was afflicted with running sores. He bore the affliction with great fortitude, affirm- ing that it was in consequence of the rum he had imbibed. Showing his ulcerated limbs to his pastor, Dr. Hyde, he remarked, " there are my four o'clock's which for so many years heated my blood and are now boiling over."
The first cabinet-maker that settled in Lee was Abner Taylor, who came here in 1806, and by great industry and frugality, aided by a very energetic wife, brought up a family of eight children, giving them all a good education, and sending one, Dr. Edward Taylor, to col- lege. Mr. Taylor's first residence was a little east of the village, where Mrs. Axander now lives, but in 1815 he bought the house formerly occupied by C. T. Fessenden on the corner of Main and East Park streets, which he afterwards moved back and erected the residence which constituted his home for the remainder of his life. Ready- made furniture was a thing unknown when Mr. Taylor settled in Lee. Everything, even to a coffin, was made upon order, and it may be added, was made to do service. Much cabinet work of Mr. Taylor's manufacture still re- mains to testify to his skill and thoroughness. Having so many children to educate, he took great interest in the public schools and especially in the establishment of the Lee Academy, and was abundantly rewarded by seeing his five sons all making their mark in the world, four as merchants and one as a clergyman. He was active in the shop, the church, and all public interests till a few days before his death which occurred in 1853, at the age of
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69. In looking over Mr. Taylor's account books, one is astonished to find how cheap living and dying were in his day. His charges for coffins were from $2.75 to $9.00. The latter sum, the highest on the books, being charged for a cherry coffin with extra trimmings for Dr. Hyde.
The painter's and glazier's trade seems not to have been a distinct business here in the early days. Glazing was done by the carpenters and joiners. Many houses were left unpainted, a few were painted red or yellow, and the brush in these cases seems to have been used by the builders, or by some farmer's boy who had acquired some little skill by practice in handling it. Benjamin Ful- ler was the first who made painting a regular trade. He came to Lee about 1820 and continued the business till his death, and trained a number of others to aid and succeed him. Scarcely a red house remains in town. White succeeded red as the fashionable color, and now the various stone colors are the prevalent style.
The wheel-wright trade was early practiced in Lee, but the wheels made here by Josiah Spencer and others were more for house than factory purposes. Almost ev- ery family had its big and little wheel ; the former for spinning wool and the latter for flax. These wheels were often made quite elaborately, and some of the flax wheels are now used for picture-frames. Water-wheels were also made here as wanted, and this branch of the business in- creased as the other diminished, as has been noticed in the history of the manufactures.
Stone-cutting was early introduced into Lee by the brothers, Thomas and William Sturgis, who carried on distinct shops, the former at East Lee, and the latter on the hill-road between East Lee and the Center. These two establishments supplied grave stones and other cut stone work for most of Southern Berkshire. Their mon- uments are to be found in almost every grave-yard in
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this vicinity. These brothers originated, as did all the numerous Sturgis tribe of the country, from a good family on Cape Cod. Thomas' skill in stone-cutting descended to his son Edwin, who, though a septuagenarian, still car- ries on the business at the old shop established by his father early in the century.
For tin goods, Lee long depended upon the tin-ped- dlers who came around bartering their wares for rags, sheep-skins, old pewter, etc. The brothers, A. & E. Com- stock, first started a regular tin shop in Lee in 1835, and were bought out in 1837 by Mr. George H. Phelps, who continued the business till his death, which occurred in 1875, succeeded by his son, Henry C., who had for some years been a partner with his father. Mr. Phelps, Sen., was also for a short time associated with Matthew D. Field in the paper business, and in 1862 was appointed Deputy United States Assessor. He was a man of clear head and positive convictions. He has left his monument in town in the form of a numerous and much respected family, most of whom are settled here.
The first harness-maker in the center of the town was George Stillman, who came from Wethersfield in 1825, but remained only a few years. Previous to this time the citizens went to the neighboring towns for their har- nesses and saddles and repairs of the same. The tide has turned and Lee now supplies the vicinity with goods in this line, there being two harness shops at the Center and two at South Lee.
Jethro Thatcher was the first cooper. The Thatcher Genealogy states that he came to Lee soon after the mar- riage of his oldest daughter (1796), " to enjoy the pas- toral ministrations of Rev. Dr. Hyde," being dissatisfied with the Unitarian influence which then prevailed in Barnstable, his former residence. He purchased a farm on the Williams' grant, being the one lately owned by
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George Markham and now constituting a part of the plantation of Mr. Elizur Smith. In connection with his farm, he worked at his old trade of a cooper, and made pails, churns, butter firkins and cider barrels for the town. He was very deaf, and is remembered by some still on the stage, as taking his seat in the pulpit on the Sabbath with Dr. Hyde, and standing by his side during prayer and preaching, with his ear trumpet directed toward the minister, that he might catch every word that fell from the lips of the divine whom he so much revered. Mr. Thatcher died in 1826, and was succeeded in the business by Joseph Chadwick, who is better remembered as a tithing man, making himself almost as conspicuous in the church by his loud reproval of naughty boys as his prede- cessor was by his position in the pulpit. Mr. Chadwick died in 1857, and with him died the cooper's trade in Lee ; barrels, pails, tubs and all the work of this craft being now more economically wrought in large establishments.
To give a detailed account of all the changes among the mechanics in this town would swell this volume to undue proportion. Suffice it to say, that each trade, the cooper's excepted, has grown with the growth of the town, and now Lee is supplied with craftsmen in almost every department of mechanic art, ready to do the work of this and neighboring towns.
PRINTING AND NEWSPAPERS.
Printing was one of the last mechanical arts introduced into this town. In 1840, E. J. Bull opened a printing office in the old store of John B. Perry, and soon after commenced publishing The Berkshire Democrat, edited by L. D. Brown. This paper had a short life here, and was transferred to Stockbridge, and published there under the name of The Weekly Visitor, but soon ceased to have even a name to live. In 1851, a printing office was started
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here by Messrs. Charles French and Josiah A. Royce, two enterprising young men, masters of their trade, who were occupied for a few years mainly in printing wrap- pers for the paper manufacturers. In December 1856, a prospectus was issued from the office of The Westfield News Letter, announcing that The Lee Home Companion would be published weekly in Lee, commencing on the first of January, 1857. This stirred Messrs. French & Royce to a similar enterprise, and on the same day in which appeared the Home Companion was also published the first number of The Valley Gleaner. The former proved to be a second edition of the Westfield News Letter, with a local editor and a page devoted to Lee news and advertisements. The Gleaner appeared on a small sheet, 18 by 24 inches, with only four columns on a page. At the end of the first year the Companion ceased to exist, and the Gleaner was enlarged to five columns on a page, and still further enlarged to six columns at the commence- ment of its fourth year (1860). In 1862, Mr. Royce bought out his partner, and for twelve succeeding years was both editor and publisher of the Gleaner, assisted the latter part of this time in the editorial department by Alexander Hyde, to whom and J. P. Clark, a practical printer, he sold the office in 1874 ; in the mean time hav- ing enlarged the paper to its present size. Mr. Clark re- tired from the office the first of January, 1876, and in 1877, Mr. Hyde sold out to the present proprietors, Messrs. Rockwell & Hill.
In 1868, The Central Berkshire Chronicle was started in this town, and printed and published by Wm. H. Hill & Co., and edited by James Harding, now of the Pittsfield Eagle. This paper continued three years and then its subscription list was transferred to the Eagle, Mr. Hill continuing his job office in Lee. In 1876, the Chronicle was revived by Mr. Hill, and continued for about a year when it was
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united with the Gleaner. The latter paper has now a cir- culation of over 1,100, and in its office most of the job printing is done for this and neighboring towns, paper- makers' wrappers being a specialty.
PUBLIC HOUSES.
The first house opened in town for the entertainment of strangers was a small log-house, 16 feet square, that stood in the hollow a little west of the present residence of Mr. John Verrase. The second public house was located in Cape street, near the saw-mill of the late Adan Ingram, and was but a little improvement on the first. The first house that deserved the name of hotel was the " Red Lion," so named from a furious red lion painted on the sign-board. This was built in 1778 by Nathan Dillingham, and stood on East Park street, near the pres- ent residence of Judge Pease. The "Red Lion" was the only hotel in the village till 1834, when the Housa- tonic House was built by William Cole, on the site of Memorial Hall. The "Housatonic" was greatly enlarged and improved by Mr. Hicks in 1865, and was burned in 1867 and not rebuilt. In 1354, George Van Deusen opened a public house at the north end of the village, called the Center Hotel. This house, greatly enlarged and improved, is now well kept by Thomas Norton. In 1868, Mr. Edward Morgan opened the Morgan House in the residence of the late William Porter, and afterwards enlarged the premises to accommodate his increasing custom. The Morgan House is now managed by H. C. Winegar & Son.
In the days of stages and turnpikes, public houses were numerous. In 1803, Jedediah Crocker opened a tavern, as a public house was then called, in East Lee, where John Moran now lives. In 1815, Pliny Shaylor opened another a mile or two farther east, and in 1820,
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Samuel Sturgis still another, the Sturgis House, now kept by Watson Strickland. The two first named houses were discontinued, when the travel centered in the railroad. South Lee also, for a long time, had two hotels ; one kept by William Morrill, and the other by Nathaniel Tremain. Besides the above, the houses now owned by T. L. Foote and Jared Bradley were used as public houses early in the present century.
PROFESSIONAL.
[For an account of the Lee clergymen see the ecclesiastical history of the town.]
THE LEE LAWYERS.
For thirty years after the incorporation of Lee, and nearly fifty years after the first settlements, there was no law office in the town. Not that there were no crimes here and no causes for civil action, for during and after the Shays' rebellion there was much division of society, much bitterness of feeling and many violations of law. Fortunately about this time, Dr. Hyde was settled as pastor over the Congregational church here, and being eminently a man of peace, his first mission was to cast oil on the troubled waters. How well he succeeded, the citizens of that time were fond of telling their children. As Mr. Cornelius Bassett expressed it, "We were terribly Shaysy when Dr. Hyde came to Lee, but the good man melted us together by his kindness and sympathy." The discipline of the church was parental but thorough, and outside of the church, public opinion frowned upon all injustice and dishonesty. Neighbors settled disputes among themselves mainly by reference. What little liti- gation occurred, was managed by Lenox and Pittsfield lawyers. Thus things ran along till 1807, when Alvan Coe, a native of Granville settled here as a lawyer. He was a good jurist, but did not find the field an inviting 41
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one for his professsion, and after trying it two years, de- cided upon studying theology, and was afterwards a pastor at Sandusky, Ohio. Augustus Collins succeeded Mr. Coe, and built an office on the south side of Park street, a lit- tle west of the " Red Lion " hotel. Mr. Collins remained two or three years and then moved to Westfield, succeeded by Rollin C. Dewey of Sheffield, who also re- mained but a short time, removing to Indiana. The first lawyer who made his mark upon the town was William Porter, son of Dr. William Porter of Hadley. Mr. Porter graduated at Williams College in 1813, studied law with Hon. George Bliss of Springfield, settled in Lee in 1817, and here remained till his death in 1853. Probably no layman has ever made a better impress on society here than Mr. Porter. . He was not brilliant nor eloquent, but his whole make-up was so symmetrical that his counsels in town and his pleas at the bar, carried great weight with them. He was a safe leader, examined every subject with candor, and had the courage to express his honest convictions. In 1834-5, he represented the Berkshire district in the State Senate. In 1834, he was chosen trustee of Williams College and held this trust till his death. For eight years he was also district attorney. It was, however, in his family, church and social relations that his noble nature found its most genial action. He loved learning and did much to build up the educational interests of the town. His widow and three children survive him. One son is a professor in Beloit College, Wisconsin, and the other is a paper maufacturer at Unionville, Conn. One daughter died early, and the other married the Hon. Franklin Chamberlin of Hart- ford, Conn.
With Mr. Porter studied Edward V. Whiton, son of Gen. Joseph Whiton, who, after his admission to the bar in 1831, practiced law here a short time and then removed
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to Janesville, Wis., where he rose to the high position of Chief Justice of that State.
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