USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 44
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349
SPRINGFIELD.
EWIS AUGUSTUS TIFFT, one of Massachusetts' bravest volunteers during the late war, was born in Nassau, N. Y., June 13, 1836, being the oldest of the four children of John and Sally (White) Tifft. His great-grandfather, John Tifft, went to New York from Rhode Island, the Tiffts, or Teffts, having originally settled in the latter State upon coming to this country. Mr. Tifft came to Springfield during his boyhood, and attended the high school. After graduating there he became a clerk in the office of the Massachusetts Mu - tual Life Insurance Company. In 1860 he married the eldest daughter of Ex- Lieutenant-Governor Eliphalet Trask. In 1862 he was com- missioned lieutenant in Company A, Forty-sixth Regi- ment, M. V. M., and was soon promoted to the captaincy of the company. He was not only a thor- ough soldier and officer, but became the warm personal friend of every sol- dier under his com- mand. His courage and good judgment a . find favorable men- tion in the Adjutant- General's Report of an engagement at the Neuse road bridge, near Batch- elder's Creek, North Carolina, in May, 1863, where he held his position with his command for some hours after being deserted by the remainder of the Union forces which had been engaged, and he had been reported at headquarters as having been taken prisoner. His situation was finally ascertained and reinforcements were sent to him. Later, after the Forty-sixth was mustered out, he was appointed captain of the Eighth Massachusetts Infantry, and did provost duty at Balti-
LEWIS A. TIFFT.
more for three months. His service in the war was courageous and creditable in a high degree. At its close he engaged in business as an insurance and gov- ernment claim agent, and in 1868 became secretary of the Springfield Mutual Fire Assurance Company, which position he held up to the time of his death, in connec- tion with the agency for other companies. Captain Tifft served the city capably in both branches of the City Council, and was the nominee of the Republican party for mayor in 1873. Captain Tifft died Aug. 31, 1874, at the age of thirty- eight. The Spring- field Republican, at the time of his death, said : "Had death spared him he would have been mayor of Springfield, and a worthy one. Lewis Tifft was a man of few faults, and of many shining virtues. His character was never impeached in any relation of life : by nature frank, brave and honora- ble, he won and held the confidence of his friends with no more ease than that of the public. His courage was physical and moral alike. As in the risks of war he never shunned expos- ure, so in society, business or politics, he never skulked a belief nor evaded any consequences of his avowed position." Captain Tifft left three children, Eliphalet T. Tifft, the present city treasurer, an office to which he has been elected five years in succession, and two daughters, Lurancie and Lantie. The Springfield Camp of Sons of Veterans is named L. A. Tifft Camp in honor of his memory. His untimely death was mourned by thousands in Springfield who had never enjoyed personal acquaintance with him.
350
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
N OYES W. FISK for a quarter of a century has been a prominent resident of Springfield, and in the latter part of that period has been one of the lead- ing men of the city. He is the head of the Fisk Manu- facturing Company, the prosperity of which is a monu- ment to his business sagacity. Mr. Fisk was born at Hinsdale, N. H., March 15, 1839. He was the son of Thomas T. and Emily (Hildreth) Fisk. A few years before his death, in 1861, his father had started in a small way the manu- facture of soap at Hinsdale, and it is the outcome of that business that the son today conducts, now one of the largest and most important business concerns in the country. Noyes W. Fisk, at the age of thirteen, entered the store of Freder- ick Hunt, at Hins- dale, as clerk, and an incident that oc- curred at that time is one that has played a prominent part in his life. Mr. Hunt handed young Fisk a pair of scissors, with the remark that he would need them in cutting cotton cloth. Mr. Fisk has carried those scissors in his pocket ever since, not even excepting the time he was in the war. He re- mained in the store about four years, and then went to Northampton, Mass., as book-keeper for Thayer & Sar- gent. Soon afterwards he went to Springfield, where he entered the office of the Wason Manufacturing Com- pany, with which his brother, George C. Fisk, had re- cently become connected. He remained there a year or two, when he was succeeded by Henry S. Hyde, now treasurer of the company. Mr. Fisk then became book-keeper for E. B. Haskell & Sons, grocers, with
NOYES W. FISK.
whom he remained until he entered the army, in 1862. He enlisted with Company A, Forty-sixth Regiment, and after serving one year, returned to Springfield and started a grocery and provision business. In 1867 he disposed of this business and went into the manufacture of lampblack. The following year he was burned out. Then he went into the soap business, buying an interest in the old business of his father, which, in the mean- time, had been removed to Springfield, his brothers, George C. and Lu- cius I., who had previously been in- terested in the busi- ness, remaining as partners. In 1880 Lucius I. Fisk died, and the business was reorganized as the Fisk Manufacturing Company, with George C. Fisk as president, and Noyes W. Fisk as clerk and treasurer, and these two gen- tlemen and Charles A. Fisk, as direc- tors. Mr. Fisk married Emma G. Adams, of Hinsdale, N. H., Aug. 25, 1862, and a few days later Mr. Fisk marched to the front, leaving his bride in Hinsdale. On his return from the war they went to Spring- field, where they have since resided. They have one child, Harry G. Fisk, a daughter having died in infancy. Mr. Fisk was for seven years a mem- ber of the Common Council, and was for eleven years a member of the Board of Water Commissioners. Not only as business man but also in his capacity as council- man and water commissioner, he has won the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, with whom he is very popular. The demands of his business have been such as to prevent him from accepting other public offices.
351
SPRINGFIELD.
E. C. ROGERS is one of the most enterprising and progressive business men in Western New England. He has made an enviable record for himself in the business world, although he started the battle of life as an employee of one of the concerns of which he is now president and manager. Mr. Rogers was born at Ogden, Munroe County, N. Y., May 6, 1838. He was the son of John and Betsy (Covell) Rogers. When he was seven years of age his parents removed to Western Michigan, where he remained for eleven years, during which time he attended the public schools and worked on a farm. He went to Spring- field in 1856, when he was eighteen years of age. There he attended the public schools until he finished his educa- tion. In 1859 he became a clerk in the office of the Greenleaf & Taylor Company, manufac- turers of paper, at Huntington. When the war broke out Mr. Rogers enlisted as a sergeant in the Forty- sixth Massa- chusetts Regiment. This was in 1862. When he returned from the war he was an orderly sergeant with an excellent record. Mr. Rogers returned to his old position with the Greenleaf & Taylor Company. In 1865 O. H. Greenleaf of this company became president and man- ager of the Holyoke Paper Company, and in 1866 Mr. Rogers became treasurer of the new concern. He remained in this position for two years. In 1868 he returned to the old company as treasurer and manager. In 1873 the name of the Greenleaf & Taylor Manufac- turing Company was changed to the Massasoit Paper
Manufacturing Company, when a new mill was erected at Holyoke and the capital increased to three hundred thousand dollars. In 1882 Mr. Rogers's company took hold of the Chester Paper Mill at Huntington, which had been erected in 1853 by the Greenleaf & Taylor Company, and of this mill Mr. Rogers is now president. Both of the mills are handsomely equipped and turn out many tons of fine writing paper every day. Mr. Rogers is a resident of Springfield, where he has for many years ranked as one of the representative men of the city, in both business and social affairs. He is a director of the John Hancock National Bank of Springfield, and also of the Springfield Electric Light Company. He was for many years a director in the Springfield Union Newspaper Com- pany, and is one of the directors of the Home National Bank of Holyoke. Mr. Rogers is a Republi- can in politics, and has always mani- fested a lively in - terest in the political campaigns, although he has been adverse to taking office. He served, however, as a member of the Common Council in IS82, 1883 and 1884, being president of the board the latter year. Mr. Rogers was secretary and treasurer of the American Paper Manufacturers' Association in ISS7 and ISSS, and was president of the same association in 1889 and 1890. The first banquet of the association at an annual meet- ing was held while he was its president. Among the paper manufacturers of New England, as well as in busi- ness and financial circles generally, Mr. Rogers is widely known and highly respected for his many fine qualities.
E. C. ROGERS.
352
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
M' ICHAEL DUNN, of Springfield, is prominent among the men of Western New England, who, by honesty, industry and close attention to business, have arisen to prominence. Mr. Dunn is pre-eminently a self-made man. Born in the parish of Aghavoe, Queen's County, Ireland, on March 24, 1833, his early life was spent on a farm. One of a family of eight, he received his education in the schools of his native land, supplemented by extensive reading, observation and travel. In 1851 Mr. Dunn emigrated with his parents to the United States, locating at Paterson, N. J. He obtained a position in a woollen mill, where he worked twelve hours a day for twenty-five cents a day. By untiring energy, push and appreciation he be- came overseer. He soon bettered him self by a situation in a cotton mill, where he remained for sev- eral years, becoming thoroughly conver- sant with the busi- ness. He then be- came connected with a dyeing and bleach- ing establishment, where he formed the foundation for his future success. In company with John Anderton he went to Chicopee Falls, in 1871, and established the Hampden Bleachery. In 1875 he became interested in the Musgrove Alpaca Company, located at Chicopee, as a partner, his atten- tion being still given to the bleaching business. This continued for six years, when misfortune overtook the company by the peculations and treachery of the officers. The concern failed, and Mr. Dunn lost a quarter of a million dollars. With a stout heart and a stronger determination to win, he again put his shoulder to the
MICHAEL DUNN.
wheel, and once more earned success. To-day he is probably the wealthiest Irishman in Western New England. In 1887 Mr. Anderton died. Mr. Dunn purchased his interest in the Hampden Bleachery from the heirs, and carried on the business as sole owner until 1891, when he sold it to his nephew, Daniel J. Dunn, and Edward Foley, both of Chicopee Falls, accepting a position himself as agent and treasurer of the company, and devoting his spare time to safe financial invest- ments, in which he has been fortunate. He was one of the original incorpora- tors of the Chicopee Falls Savings Bank, was elected trustee and vice-president, continuing as such until his resignation at the last annual meeting. He is at present connected with several corpora- tions in Springfield and Holyoke. In Chicopee public life he played a promi- nent part, acting as assistant engineer, selectman and mem- ber of the Board of Health. He would have been given rep- resentative honors, but declined. In financial matters Mr. Dunn has the reputa- tion of a safe and sound business man. Mr. Dimn married Miss Mary E. Norton, of Somerville, on March 3, 1867, and they have five children : Margaret E., the wife of B. J. Griffin, of Springfield ; Katharine L., aged twenty- one ; Joseph J., eighteen, a student at Fordham College, N. Y. ; Mary H., fifteen, and Kieran, aged twelve. Mr. Dunn has at different times in his life travelled over the greater part of the United States and the British Provinces. He is a man of broad sympathies and a deep student of human nature.
353
SPRINGFIELD.
JOHN H. CLUNE is one of the most prominent Democrats in Springfield, and well known through- out the State. Although a young man, he has been at various times secretary, treasurer and chairman of the City Committee of Springfield, has been a member of the County Committee and is at the present time a member of the executive committee of the State Cen- tral Committee, in which he represents the Democracy of Western Massachusetts. In business Mr. Clune has also made a flatter- ing success. Mr. Clune was born in Springfield, July 4, 1856, the son of Mi- chael and Catherine (Arthur) Clune. His education was re- ceived in the Spring- field public schools, although his school- days ended when he was eleven years of age. When thirteen years old Mr. Clune entered the establish- ment of the Milton Bradley Company for the purpose of learn- ing the lithographic printing business. He remained there for three years, dur- ing which time he became a complete master of the trade, after which he went to work for Jacob C. Lutze in the same business. He re- mained with Mr. Lutze sixteen years. In 1887 Mr. Clune was appointed city marshal by Mayor Maynard, and held the position two years. On retiring from this office Mr. Clune pur- chased the business of T. P. Sampson, funeral director, which he has since conducted with ability and success. In politics Mr. Clune has had an unusually successful career, and for a young man, has a remarkably large acquaintance throughout the State. His first office was held in 1885, when he was elected to the Springfield
JOHN H. CLUNE.
Common Council from Ward Three. He served the people in that branch of the City Government two years, during which he made a remarkably good record. He served on the Committee on Parks and on the Prop- erty Department Committee. He was on the Committee on Parks when Forest Park was presented to and ac- cepted by the city in 1885. He withdrew from city politics in 1887 in order to accept the appointment as city marshal. Mr. Clune was elected a member of the City Committee in 1880, was made sec- retary and treasurer in 1884, for its Cleve- land campaign, and chairman in 1885. He was elected a member of the County Committee in 1886, on which he served with credit for a year. On the retirement of James B. Carroll from the State Central Com- mittee in 1889, Mr. Clune was chosen as his successor, and in every one of his official positions he has won dis- tinction for shrewd management and soundness of judgment. Mr. Clune was the candi- date for sheriff of Hampden County in 1892, when there was little hope of being elected, and made a good run. In business life Mr. Clune has always stood high. He was married to Catherine Donvan, of Springfield, in 1877. They had four children. Mrs. Clune died on March 24, 1889. He has always been prominent in church and social life, being a member of St. Michael's Cathedral, and of several social organiza- tions in the city. As political manager and as business man, Mr. Clune has won the confidence of the com- munity in which he lives.
354
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
E X-LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR ELIPHALET . TRASK was one of the most distinguished men Western Massachusetts has produced. He was select- man before Springfield became a city, then alderman, and afterwards mayor, in 1855. In 1857 he was elected lieutenant-governor, with General Nathaniel P. Banks as governor. Ex-Governor Trask was born at Monson, Jan. 8, 1806, the son of Josiah and Eliza (Webb) Trask. His childhood was spent at Monson, and when twelve years of age he went to live with his maternal grand- father, at Stafford, Conn. He learned the trade of an iron founder. The work was hard and the wages low,-not more than ninety-two cents a day,- but he remained indus- triously at work until he had saved enough, in 1834, to start a foundry with his brothers, Lanson and Abner, in Springfield. In 1836 he sold his interest to his brothers and started a foundry of his own, which he continued until the time of his cleath. Mr. Trask began political life as a Whig. He re mained with this party until the " Know-Nothing" party sprung into ex- istence. He was an earnest advocate of the abolition of slavery, and first came into prominence as a public man in 1850, when, as a leader, he prevented a mob from interfering with an abolition speech in Springfield. In 1857, as the tidal wave of "Know-Nothingism " was receding, the Republicans and part of the " Know- Nothings " elected Nathaniel P. Banks, governor, and Eliphalet Trask, lieutenant-governor. They were twice re-elected, in 1858 and 1859. He was present at the
ELIPHALET TRASK.
Chicago Convention in 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was nominated for the presidency, and accompanied the delegation to Springfield, Ill. (as a guest of the president of the Convention), to officially notify Mr. Lincoln of his nomination. During the War of the Rebellion he was actively interested, and his influence and aid always went to sustain the Government. He was a warm friend of Governor Andrew, the Massachu- setts war governor, and was frequently in consultation with him regarding the commission for the officers of the regiments from West- ern Massachusetts. He was also a per- sonal friend and warm admirer of Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garri- son and Henry Wil- son. When the Re- publicans of Massa- chusetts divided upon the issue . of nominating General Butler for governor, Mr. Trask espoused the Butler cause very warmly, and after that time was an In- dependent. Al- though devoted to his own church (the Universalist), he was a warm friend of all churches and of all moral and educa- tional movements. Governor 'Trask mar- ried Ruby Squier, daughter of Solomon and Sarah (Moulton) Squier, of Monson, March 3, 1829. Mrs. Trask died Nov. 26, 1890, and Governor Trask died thirteen days later, on Dec. 9. They had ten children, six of whom are still living : Henry F., Albert, Mrs. Harriet F. Davis, Mrs. H. S. Hyde and Mrs. W. H. Hawkins, of Springfield, and Mrs. Edward Newcomb, of Albany, N. Y. They celebrated the sixtieth anniver- sary of their marriage a year before their death.
355
SPRINGFIELD.
G ENERAL HORACE CLARK LEE was born in Springfield, Jan. 31, 1822. After graduating from the public schools and taking courses at the Greenfield and East Hartford, Conn., academies he embarked in the dry goods business, first in Boston and later in Springfield. In 1858 he was tax collector of Springfield, and in 1859 city treasurer, which office he filled until he entered the army. General Lee's mind displayed a military bent when he was twenty years of age. In 1842 he was instrumental in organizing a military company which was known as the Spring- field Guards. He served in the subor- dinate grades of the command, and was elected captain a few years after its organi- zation. In 1854 he was chosen colonel of the Third Massa- chusetts Artillery, which was reorgan- ized as the Twelfth Regiment of Infan- try the following year, Colonel Lee retaining the com- mand. Mainly through his efforts the Twenty-seventh Regiment, Massa - chusetts Volunteers. was organized, and on Sept. 20, 1861, he received his commis- sion as colonel. The regiment took a prominent part in the battles of Roanoke Island and Newbern. After the latter engagement Colonel Lee was appointed acting brigadier-general, and under that title gained honorable mention for his gallantry at the battle of Goldsboro, N. C. Shortly after this General Lee was appointed provost marshal for the district of North Carolina, and soon afterwards the department of Virginia was added to his command. He served in this capacity until January, 1864, and received many
HORACE C. LEE.
commendations from his superiors for the manner in which he performed his duties. After resigning as pro- vost marshal he participated in the battle of Drury's Bluff, where he was captured by the confederates after a brave defence. He was first taken to Libby prison at Richmond, and was afterwards transferred to Camp Oglethorpe, Macon, Ga. From here the fifty federal officers of the highest rank were ordered to Charleston and placed under fire of the Union guns. The govern- ment, in retaliation, then sent fifty confed- erate officers to Mor- ris Island and placed them under Southern fire. This resulted in an exchange of prisoners on April 2, 1864. Again rejoin- ing his regiment, he served until Sept. 27, 1864, when he was mustered out with the brevet of briga- dier-general. After leaving the army General Lee entered the custom house at Boston, where he re- mained four years. In 1868 he re-em- barked in business in Springfield. In 1 87 2 he was ap- pointed postmaster by President Grant, and held the office twelve years under Presidents Garfield, Arthur and Hayes, He died June 22, 1884. General Lee helped organize E. K. Wilcox Post, G. A. R., being its first commander. He was also a member of the Knights Templar, Loyal Legion and of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery of Boston. As an instance of his military and civic popularity may be mentioned the presentation to him, in 1855, on the occasion of his assuming the command of the Twelfth Regiment, of a handsome sword, the gift of the citizens of Springfield.
NEW
B EDFORD
N NEW BEDFORD has had an experience which has fallen to the lot of few cities in the United States. It has seen its principal industry sink into decline, an industry which had made of a tiny hamlet an important and wealthy city. On the ruins of one industry has been built up another and a greater. The old whaling city of the United States is now one of its great manufacturing centres. To only one other city, Fall River, does it yield the palm for the number of spindles employed in cotton manufactures ; at its present rate of increase it will soon yield to none.
The city is growing more rapidly, proportionately, than any other city in New England. By 1895, at the latest, the population of 1880 (26,485) will have been doubled. When it is stated that five new cotton mills are now in course of erection, the cause of the increase is suggested. Of these mills four are being erected by corpora- tions which have been organized since February, 1892, with a total capital stock of $2,100,000. The five mills will run at the start 206,000 spindles.
New Bedford is the wealthiest city of its size in the Union, its wealth approaching $100,000,000. The readiness with which capital for promising enterprises is obtainable was well instanced when the project for the erection of the Pierce Mill was set on foot a few months ago. Through the exertions of a single individual the proposed capital stock of $600,000 was all subscribed within four days.
There are about twenty-five cotton mills in the city, and one woollen mill. These mills are owned by four- teen corporations having a total capital stock of $11,310,000 and running in all 1,040,500 spindles and 15,834 looms. Two of the mills make yarns exclusively, the others produce varieties of fine goods and sheetings. Alike in structure and internal fixtures, the New Bedford mills are unexcelled anywhere.
The manufactures of the city are not limited to the textile industry. There are over one hundred and ten other factories which turn out a large variety of products. Among the largest are the Morse Twist Drill and Machine Company (capital, $600,000), whose goods find a market all over the world ; the Pairpoint Manufacturing Company ($400,000), fine silver-plated ware ; the Mount Washington Glass Company ($83,000), fine and cut glassware ; Hathaway, Soule & Harrington ($250,000), boots and shoes ; Clark's Cove Guano Company ($800,000), fertilizers ; New Bedford Cordage Company ($375,000), and New Bedford Copper Company ($250,000).
The whaling industry, in which the city's wealth was earned, while sadly reduced, is by no means extinct ; and New Bedford, now as in the olden days, does the largest whaling business of any place in the world. When the industry was at its height, in 1857, there were 329 New Bedford vessels of all kinds in the fleet, out of a total of 569 from all United States ports. On Jan. 1, 1892, the New Bedford vessels numbered 48, out of a total of 92 from all United States ports. The high price of whalebone does much to make the industry profitable. In 1891 the average price was $5.38 per pound. In 1866 the average was $1.37 per pound.
The city has rare natural beauty. It rises from the west bank of the Acushnet River and the north shore of Buzzards Bay ; and from the hill, which constitutes the finer residential part, a view of land and water, rarely excelled, presents itself. No American city of even twice its population can boast such well-kept and beautifully shaded streets. It is surrounded on all sides by lovely summer resorts which are easily reached, some by land over finely macadamized roads, others by sea in comfortable and commodious steamers. But the city is itself a choice summer resort. Nowhere are there better facilities for boating, bathing, fishing and driving. Like Newport, it has an ocean drive, three and a half miles in length, around the Point, which is a never-failing source of pleasure in summer. And the nights are always cool and invigorating.
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