USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 73
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In 1877 the town of Adams had grown too large and unwieldy, and by legislative act it was divided into Adams and North Adams, and the prosperous daughter is now sturdy and strong, with a population of nearly if not quite eighteen thousand.
The present business community of Adams is exceedingly enterprising and active. In the last ten years the vast output of its manufactories has doubled in value, and the town has increased in population proportionally. Among the manufacturing concerns are the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company, which manufactures sateens and lawns, the Renfrew Manufacturing Company, which makes fine ginghams, the L. L. Brown Paper Company, which turns out some of the best ledger paper that is made in the world ; then there are the cotton warp factories of W. C. Plunkett & Sons and Adams Brothers & Co., and the large lime-kilns of L. J. Follett & Sons, whose lime is sent all over the country, and numerous smaller industries. There are seven churches in town : the Baptist, Congregational, Episcopal, Methodist, two Roman Catholic, St. Charles and Notre Dame, and Universalist.
The scenery of the town is very beautiful, the Hoosac Mountain on the east commanding a view of the Deerfield and Hoosac valleys, while in the northwestern part of the town is Greylock Mountain, the highest point in the State. The mountain is converted into a park, and it has been reserved for that purpose by an act of the Legislature. It is surmounted by an iron tower forty feet high, and the view from it is unsurpassed in the county. Below lies the valley of the Hoosac, nearly three thousand feet below ; Pittsfield, the county seat, with its beautiful lakes, and many smaller villages, are to be seen in the valleys and on the hills ; southwestward the eye sweeps over the top of the Taghconics, away to the Catskills beyond the Hudson. Northwest the peaks of the Adirondacks are visible ; in the north the sturdy ridges of the Green Mountains file away in grand outline ; on the east Monad- nock and Wachusett can be plainly seen, and Tom and Holyoke guard the Connecticut River that flows between them ; southward Mount Everett stands at the portal of Berkshire, through which the Housatonic flows, and all this grand circuit is filled with hills, mountains and valleys.
576
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
SCAR A. ARCHER, of North Adams, was born in Livonia, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1829, and is the son of Benjamin and Clarissa Archer. Mr. Archer's father was a native of Vermont, and his mother came from good Massachusetts stock. His early education was obtained in the district schools, and in 1850 he was ap- pointed by the county of Livingston, N. Y., a pupil in the Albany Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1851. Before entering the normal school Mr. Archer worked three years at the harness mak- ing trade for his father. He taught school in 1851-52, and later was a teacher for four years in the New York Conference Seminary at Char- lotteville, N. Y. Mr. Archer was married, May 24, 1856, to Helen Mary, the eldest daughter of John R. Blackinton, of Blackinton, North Adams, Mass., and in the same year entered the employ of S. Blackinton & Co., woollen manu- facturers, as book- keeper. He re- mained as book- keeper and confiden- tial clerk until 1876, when the S. Blackin- ton Woollen Com- pany was organized as a corporation and he was elected treasurer, an office which he still holds. Mr. Archer has always taken a lively interest in educa- tional methods and has been a member of the North Adams School Board for twenty-five years. He was one of the selectmen of the town for two years. His financial experience has not been limited. Ile has been a trustee of the Hoosac Savings Bank since its formation, and its president for about ten years and still holds that office. Mr. Archer was instrumental in
OSCAR A. ARCHER.
establishing the Blackinton Free Library in 1869, and has been the librarian since that time. In this capacity he has been enabled to accomplish much good for the intellectual life of the community. He has also been chairman for several years of the Book Committee of the North Adams Library. Mr. Archer has always taken a keen interest in literary, musical and educational mat- ters, and is an amateur florist with the means to gratify his cultivated tastes. In politics Mr. Archer has been a Republican since the formation of that party, and not in- frequently during the campaigns his contributions to the party literature are read with interest, and his voice is heard in behalf of the political princi- ples which he sup- ports with so much ability. In religious matters Mr. Archer is an earnest but lib- eral-minded Baptist, and he is superin- tendent of the Union Sunday - school in Blackinton. It will be seen from what has been said that Mr. Archer is inter- ested in every good work and is liberal of his means and of his strength in the promotion of what- ever tends to the welfare of the com- munity. He has a beautiful home overlooking the Hoosac Valley, opposite old Saddle Mountain, in which, with books, pictures, music and flowers, he finds relief from the exacting cares of business. Aside from the office of selectman, Mr. Archer has never been in- duced to accept any political honors, his many other duties having kept him fully occupied. Mr. and Mrs. Archer have been blessed with six children, five of whom are living.
577
ADAMS.
JAMES C. CHALMERS, of Adams, one of the lead- ing manufacturers of that town, was born in Barr- head, Renfrewshire, Scotland, Sept. 9, 1840. He comes of sturdy family, whose name is a familiar one in Scot- tish annals, his parents being John and Janet Pollock Chalmers. The subject of this sketch came, with his parents, to America in the year 1849, and settled in the thriving town of Adams. He attended the public schools of that place until he was fourteen years of age. His first experience in business affairs was obtained in the offices of William Pollock, of Adams, and L. Pomeroy's Sons, of Pittsfield, where he was em- ployed for some time. In April, 1857, Mr. Chalmers entered the employ of the Taconic Mills, Pittsfield, and re- mained with that corporation, doing faithful work, until 2 September, 1862, when he enlisted in the Thirty-seventh Regiment of Massa- chusetts Volunteers, which did splendid service with the Army of the Poto- mac. Mr. Chalmers participated in nu- merous engage- ments, and was se- verely wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864. In July of the same year Mr. Chalmers received his discharge for disability, hold- ing at that time the rank of first lieutenant. In Sep- tember, 1864, Mr. Chalmers again entered business life, this time in the office of William Pollock, of Adams, and in May of the following year became a partner in the firm of William Pollock & Co., cotton manufacturers of Adams. On the death of Mr. Pollock, which occurred in 1866, the partnership was dissolved, and in May,
1867, the Renfrew Manufacturing Company was incor- porated, with Mr. Chalmers as the first treasurer. At the beginning the corporation had a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, which was afterwards increased from time to time until it reached fifteen hundred thousand dollars in 1884, and a magnificent business was built up. For many years the Renfrew Manufacturing Company has been one of the greatest industries of the town, and has won and maintained an enviable reputation in the business world. In February, 1885, Mr. Chalmers resigned the office of treasurer, which he had held for eighteen years, and was elected vice-president of the corporation, which position he still re- tains. He is in many respects a remark- able business man, strong alike as one of the heads of a great corporation, and in his faithful attention to the de- tails of a large busi- ness. In June, 1865, Mr. Chalmers mar- ried the eldest daughter of Judge H. J. Bliss, of Adams, and they have no children. While naturally the best work of Mr. Chal- mers's active life thus far, aside from his army record, has been given to the corporation with which he is connected, he has still recognized the claim of good citizenship in innumerable ways. For two years he was chairman of the Board of Assessors of Adams, and for ten years has been one of the town auditors. In both of these positions he has performed service of a high order, and his business talents have been of great value to the town. In politics Mr. Chalmers is a Republican.
JAMES C. CHALMERS.
.
578
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
W ILLIAM BROWN PLUNKETT was born, April 2, 1850, in the town of Adams, and is the son of William C. and Louisa B. Plunkett. He was edu- cated in the schools of his native town and at the Munro Collegiate Institute at Elbridge, N. Y. When he became of age he entered into partnership in the firm of Plunkett & Wheeler, cotton warp manufacturers, and later another firm was formed to manufacture cot- ton warp, under the name of ,W. C. Plunkett & Sons, in which the subject of this sketch was also a partner. In 1879 Mr. Plunkett was chosen manager and treasurer of the Greylock Mills for the manufacture of ginghams at Grey- lock, North Adams, and under his con- trol the plant has increased from two hundred looms, in 1880, to six hundred looms in 1892. In 1882 the mill at Arnoldsville was bought of Henry Millard, and in 1887 was consolidated with the Greylock plant, under the name of Greylock Mill, No. 2. About five hundred hands are employed at mill No. 1, and about one hundred and twenty-five at mill No. 2. In 1879 W. C. Plunkett & Sons bought the Adams Paper Mill in Adams, removed the machinery for the manufacture of paper, and placed in its stead machinery for the mann- facture of cotton goods. This mill was subsequently burned, and next the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company was established in 1889, and Mr. Plunkett was chosen treasurer and manager. The company erected a large mill containing thirty-five thousand spindles, which was completed in 1890, and another
WILLIAM B. PLUNKETT.
mill, containing forty-one thousand spindles, which was completed in 1892. These factories turn out fine sateens and lawns, and are being operated with marked success. In 1884 Mr. Plunkett's father died, and Mr. Plunkett became the senior member of the firm of W. C. Plunkett & Sons, which now consists of William B. Plunkett and his younger brother, Charles. In addition, as has been stated, Mr. Plunkett is the treasurer and manager of the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Com- pany, and of the Greylock Mills, and more than one thou- sand seven hundred people are employed under his direction, while the capital employed is more than one million six hundred thou- sand dollars. He is also president of the Greylock National Bank of Adams, and a director in the Berkshire Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany of Pittsfield, and in the Berkshire Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company of Pittsfield, and in several Boston com- panies. Mr. Plun- kett is an carnest and influential mem- ber of the Republi- can party, and in 1892 was a delegate to the National Con- vention at Minne- apolis. Although often requested to accept office at the hands of his fellow-citizens, he has uniformly declined, owing to the demands upon his time of the great busi- ness interests in his keeping. Mr. Plunkett is not only a man of great ability, capable of successfully conduct- ing the financial interests in his charge, but he has also a striking personal appearance, being over six feet four inches in height, and possessing the impressive features of a man of marked force and individuality.
ADAMS.
579
JAMES RENFREW, JR.
M ANY years ago, when the raw material that is produced in the sunny cotton fields of the South had to be transported to England, manufactured and brought back to supply the American market, busy brains were at work solving the problem of making the same goods within our own domain. In the success that afterwards attended these efforts, the town of Adams has secured and deserved a full share, and it is one of her most successful makers of cotton goods that is the subject of this brief biographical sketch. The Renfrew Gingham Works has a reputation that extends to the four corners of civilization, and to many of the remote places of the earth, on account of the excellence as well as the usefulness of its chief product. James Renfrew, Jr., of Adams, one of the most ingenious, important and substantial of the cotton manufacturers of the United States, was born in Scotland, the land of sterling mechanical genius, in 1840. He attended school in that country, and came to America in 1849, when he was nine years of age. Here he attended the district schools, and later took an academic course. For about five years, after having completed his school- ing, Mr. Renfrew was a book-keeper in the employ of the Taconic Mills Company, in Pittsfield ; but nearly all his business life has been spent in Adams, where he has practically resided since 1850, in which year he selected that town as his home. Mr. Renfrew first began cotton manufacturing in 1864. A brief sketch of his business career since that time to the present,
when he is the treasurer and manager of the great Ren- frew Gingham Works, of Adams, a corporation with a capital of $1,200,000, and giving employment to hun- dreds of hands, would seem to be appropriate in a summary of the active life of Massachusetts of to-day. In 1864 he first became superintendent of William Pollock's warp mill, and later was admitted to partner- ship in the concern. In 1866, after Mr. Pollock's death, the Renfrew Manufacturing Company was formed, tak- ing Mr. Renfrew's name. He was first appointed agent and manager of the new corporation, and afterwards elected treasurer, the office which, in conjunction with that of manager, he at present holds. In addition to his active duties in connection with the manufacturing company, Mr. Renfrew is president of the First National Bank of Adams, and he is also president of the Holyoke Warp Company, of Holyoke, Mass. In politics Mr. Renfrew is a Republican, but has never held public office, the absorbing cares of business occupying much of his time. His family consists of a wife, daughter and son. In the roll of successful Berkshire manufacturers the name of James Renfrew, Jr., stands among the highest. He has brought to his chosen work those qualities that have made the New England manufacto- ries at the same time the wonder and the admiration of the commercial world. His life has been pre-eminently a useful one, and hundreds of prosperous employees and his standing in the world of commerce attest the qualities of the man.
GREENFIELD
G REENFIELD, the shire town of Franklin County, is a daughter of Deerfield. Bounded on the north by Bernardston and Lyden, on the west by Shelburne, on the south by Deerfield, and on the east by the Connecticut River and Gill, the town contains about 173 square miles and 11,325 acres. It is both a progressive and conservative town. The last census shows that it has about 6,500 inhabitants, and these inhabitants justly pride themselves that no town in the State with an equal number of residents surpasses Greenfield in churches, schools, libraries, water supply, sanitary improvements, streets, sidewalks, well-kept lawns, local government, or in enterprising merchants, careful farmers and level-headed manufacturers.
The town also prides itself on its natural beauty. The hills of Shelburne, Colrain, Bernardston, Deerfield and other towns are delightful to look upon, and are picturesque in all seasons. Over one hundred carriage drives lead into or surround the town. The beautiful Green River murmurs through the lovely meadows, and in the northeast part of the town the little stream known as Fall River, creeps among the hills and valley and mingles its waters with those of the noble Connecticut. Just east of the village a ridge of trap rock runs parallel with the Connecticut. This ridge is about two hundred feet higher than the plains at the west on which the main portion of the town is situated, and from this easy rise, at Poet's Seat, where there is an observatory about thirty feet high, or at the Sachem's Head, the southerly point of the ridge, the eyes rest upon as beautiful scenery as can be found anywhere in the State, not even barring the famous Berkshire Hills.
Nine churches adorn Greenfield : the First and Second Congregational, the Third Congregational or Unitarian, the Church of the Holy Trinity (Roman Catholic), St. James Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, the Baptist, the German Methodist and the German Lutheran.
There is an excellent high school and the grammar, intermediate, primary and district schools are admira- bly kept up, the town last year expending over $20,000 on education. The Prospect Hill School for young ladies is under the charge of Rev. James C. Parsons, a Unitarian clergyman of high standing.
There are two public libraries, the Greenfield Library Association, with about 9,500 volumes, and the Free Town Library, with about 7,500 volumes.
The town has three national banks, with a capital of $500,000 and a surplus of $160,000 more. The Franklin Savings Institution was incorporated in 1834, and its assets amount to $3,539,676. The Greenfield Savings Bank was incorporated in 1869, and its assets amount to $1,750,000. 'The Interstate Mortgage and Trust Company has a capital of $100,000.
'There are prosperous electric light and gas light companies, with the stock owned almost entirely at home, and before many years they will probably be owned by the town.
Among the numerous and diversified manufacturing industries are two shoe firms that together employ about 350 hands ; iron and steel works that give employment to 300 more ; silversmithies that employ 150 more, and numerous other smaller manufactories.
The railroad facilities of Greenfield are much superior to those of most inland towns. The Fitchburg Railroad with two tracks runs cast and west, with ten passenger trains in cach direction and low rates for shippers. The Connecticut River Railroad has two tracks running south and one running north, and preparations for build- ing the second track north are well under way, and the passenger service in cach direction is excellent. 'The town has several excellent hotels and two very beautiful cemeteries. The jail and house of correction is a fine structure, located about a mile out of the village.
It is only natural that the shire town should be the political centre. All the important county conventions are held in Greenfield. The offices of the judge and register of probate, clerk of courts, register of decds and county commissioners are in the court house,
581
GREENFIELD.
N TAHUM S. CUTLER, of Greenfield, was born in Vernon, Vt., April 7, 1837, and is therefore in his fifty-sixth year. His father, Zenas, was a native of Wilmington, Vt., and his great-grandfather was one of the first settlers in Guilford, Vt. Mr. N. S. Cutler was educated in the common schools of Ber- nardston, Mass., and in the Goodale Academy and Powers Institute of the same town. His father at that time owned the Connable farm, and the minority of the subject of this sketch was spent on the farm, except two winters when he taught in the public schools. On coming of age, he began - mercantile life by working as a clerk in a retail shoe store in Springfield. This position he held for three years. At this time his brother en- listed in the Forty- sixth Regiment and went to the front, and N. S. Cutler took his interest in the firm of Cutler & Warner, retail boot and shoe dealers. The firm increased their business, and a large wholesale and jobbing trade was established. Later on, Mr. Warner sold his interest, and the firm name became Cutler, McIntosh & Co. For nine years Mr. Cutler remained in the firm and then withdrew for the purpose of establishing a shoe factory at Bernardston. He purchased the Dr. John Brooks place, and the enterprise was successful from the start, and in 1880 he was employing from thirty to sixty-five persons. For the purpose of acquiring bet- ter business facilities, in 1880 he decided to remove and locate in Greenfield. He began in Warner's Building on Olive Street, with fifty employees and a product not
NAHUM S. CUTLER.
exceeding one hundred and fifty to two hundred pairs of shoes per day. Mr. Alpheus F. S. Lyons, the super- intendent of the factory, was presented with an interest, and later, when more capital was needed, Mr. D. C. G. Field, a former president and manager of the John Rus- sell Cutlery Company, became a partner in the firm. During the past twelve years there has been a steady and rapid growth of the business, until now the firm owns and occupies one of the finest brick shoe factories in Western Massa- chusetts, employing two hundred and fifty people, and producing from fif- teen hundred to eighteen hundred pairs a day. In 1888 Mr. Cutler was elec- ted a member of the Massachusetts House of Repre- sentatives, and was re-elected the fol- lowing year. He served on the com- mittees on Towns and Labor, and ren- dered, as he always does, thorough and conscientious service to the State. In 1891 Mr. Cutler was elected chairman of the selectmen of Greenfield, and re- elected in 1892. He is also a director in the Franklin County National Bank, and the Greenfield Electric Light Company. Socially, Mr. Cut- ler is a genial, hospitable gentleman, a great lover of the fine arts especially, and he can be counted upon to aid by voice and purse every movement that tends to the happiness and prosperity of the community in which he lives. He was married, Nov. 24, 1864, to Miss Hattie I. Hoyt, a charming lady. They have one son, Henry H. Cutler, and one daughter, who is now Mrs. Harry W. Kellogg.
582
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
JAMES SEYMOUR GRINNELL, of Greenfield, the D
son of the late Hon. George Grinnell, comes from good stock and has honored the family name by good work in other lines besides his profession. Born in Greenfield, July 24, 1821, Mr. Grinnell is consequently in his seventy-second year, but notwithstanding this fact is as active as men twenty years younger, and his acquaintance in the county, State and nation is proba- bly wider than that of any other native of his county. Graduated at Am- herst College in 1842, he studied law in the office of Grinnell & Aiken and at the Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1846 and opened an office in Greenfield, and also had an office in Orange. He soon had a valuable office practice and became prominent in many court and jury cases. A keen student all his life of agricultural problems he has been not merely a theoret- ical but a practical farmer and an au- thority on crops as well as law. In 1861 Governor Andrew commissioned him major of the " Old Tenth " Regiment, but family and civil duties prevented his going to the front. In 1862 he removed to Washington, D C., having been appointed chief clerk of the Agricultural Department, for which position his previous studies, experience and natural tastes had well fitted him. Here he remained three years and then became chief clerk of the Patent Office. This place he held ten years, and probably this office was never more ably filled. In 1876 Mr. Grinnell was one of the judges of agricultural imple- ments and machinery at the Centennial, and at the close
of his labors there returned to Greenfield to devote himself to his aged parents. His father died the fol- lowing year, and Mr. Grinnell then became the represen- tative of a family which has been honored and respected for so many years. In 1882 Mr. Grinnell was elected State senator as a Democrat in a county that is strongly Republican, and his party has since honored him and itself by nominating him for Congress, for lieutenant- governor and for treasurer and receiver-general. Presi- dent Cleveland like- wise recognized the sterling merits of Mr. Grinnell and ap- pointed him one of the visitors to the National Naval Acad- emy at Annapolis, Md., the only office which Mr. Grinnell would accept from the administration. Mr. Grinnell has been one of the trustees and vice-president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College for twelve years, and many years a mem- ber of the State Board of Agriculture. Mr. Grinnell is now, in the absence of the governor, the pre- siding officer of the board. In this con- nection it is worthy of note that in Mr. Grinnell's library of six thousand vol- umes, over two thou- sand treat of agriculture. Mr. Grinnell has twice been married. His first wife was Miss Anne E. Stannard, of Fredericksburg, Va. She died in 1857, two years after their marriage, leaving no children. In 1879 Mr.
JAMES S. GRINNELL.
Grinnell and Mrs. Anne Katherine Denison were mar- ried in Greenfield. Mrs. Grinnell is a daughter of the late John Russell and sister of Ex-Congressman John E. Russell, of Leicester. Mr. and Mrs. Grinnell have no children.
583
GREENFIELD.
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