USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts of today; a memorial of the state, historical and biographical, issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago > Part 74
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L EVI J. GUNN, of Greenfield, was born in Conway, Mass., on the 2d of June, 1830. His parents were Levi and Delia Gunn, both of good New England stock. The father was a blacksmith by calling, and that trade the son learned thoroughly during the summer seasons, attending in the winters of his boyhood the village schools and later the widely known academy at Shelburne Falls, of which Professor Pratt was the prin- cipal. After this came the period of sterner and harder work. For several years the young man was with the Con- way Tool Company, and when that cor- poration moved to Greenfield Mr. Gunn also located in the shire town. This was in 1852, and the next ten years of Mr. Gunn's working hours were passed in the employ of that company. For a portion of that time Mr. Gunn and C. H. Amidon held the contract for mak- ing all the tools made by the company. Such a contract in those days of course was regarded as one of considerable mag- nitude. Up to the time when these young men took upon themselves this busi- ness responsibility, the work had been done wholly by hand.
LEVI J. GUNN.
The enterprising contractors changed this, and by introducing machinery of their own devising did the work much cheaper than formerly. Thus it can be truthfully said that in this branch of industry Gunn and Amidon were pioneers. They were destined soon to reap the benefit of their talents, for in 1868 the firm of Gunn & Amidon was organized ; a factory was built near the place that is now known as Gunn & Amidon Pond, situated in the north of Greenfield, and
a successful business established. It was at this time that Henry L. Pratt took a third interest in the com- pany and the splendid water power on the Miller's River was purchased. The burning of the Greenfield factory simply hastened matters, for The Miller's Falls Company was immediately organized, and from that time until now it has had an increasingly successful business. When one reflects that this company gives employment to two hundred and fifty persons, and that, while the sales last year amounted to $375,000, over $100- 000 was paid out in wages, it becomes evident not only that the business is well managed, but that the rates of wages are comparatively high, and that Mr. Gunn's employees are well treated, a point of fundamen- tal importance in the life of any man who aspires to be a true success. Mr. Gunn has been treasurer of the company from its organization ; has kept his residence in Greenfield and has served the town as assessor and se- lectman. In 1885 and 1886 Mr. Gunn was elected State senator, and served on the committees on the Hoosac Tun- nel and Manufactures. In 1888 and 1889 he was elected a member of the governor's council and served on the Hoosac Tunnel and Pardon committees. He is a director in the Franklin County Bank and a trustee and member of the Board of Investment of the Greenfield Savings Bank, and has held other positions of trust. He was married to Miss Esther C. Graves, in Sunderland, Oct. 5, 1853, and they have one son, L. Walter Gunn.
RANGÉ
.Co
T HE town of Orange, in Franklin County, was incorporated Feb. 21, 1810, and the first town meeting was held April 2, 1810. The taxable area of the town comprises twenty thousand two hundred and ninety-seven acres, and it measures in length about fifteen miles from northeast to southwest, and varying in width from three to ten miles. It is pleasantly situated on the banks of Miller's River, on the main line of the Fitchburg Railroad, eighty-six miles from Boston and one hundred miles east of Troy, N. Y., and eight miles from the New Hampshire line, and twelve miles from Vermont. Orange is known far and wide on account of its thrifty and successful manufacturers. The New Home Sewing-Machine Company leads this shining list, employing a force of six hundred men. Next is J. B. Reynolds, the shoe manufacturer, who keeps three hundred people satis- factorily employed. The Rodney Hunt Machine Company employs about two hundred men, as also does the Chase Turbine Manufacturing Company. The National Key and Box Company has two hundred and twenty-five people, the Orange Furniture Company, one hundred, and the Leavitt Machine Company nearly as many. Hence it can readily be figured that the leading manufacturers of the town employ fifteen hundred and twenty-five men, and as the kind of manufacturing in Orange demands skilled labor in every department, the town is benefited by having a thrifty and industrious class of citizens, who, as- a rule, own the homes they occupy. The town put in sewers in 1891, and the following year a complete system of water works was established. Five hundred thousand dollars was expended for new buildings in 1892, which included one hundred and six dwelling-houses, a Congregational Church, a Grand Army Memorial Hall, Masonic Temple and three business blocks, besides large additions to the New Home Sewing-Machine factories. The valuation of the town is about three million dollars, and is increasing about one quarter of a million each year. The town and vicinity support over fifty stores, five hotels, seven churches of various denominations, and two weekly papers. Secret orders thrive there, and no less than twenty-five have thrifty organizations, the Masons and Odd Fellows having a membership of about two hundred each and both possessing palatial quarters.
The citizens of Orange have always been awake to the importance of good schools. Modern and substan- tial school buildings have been erected, as soon as they were needed. The high school and the Cheney Street buildings on the "South Side," built of brick with brownstone trimmings, are fine examples of educational architecture.
The town has been very liberal in appropriations for the support of schools, and it has each year granted without opposition the full amount estimated as necessary for their maintenance. The School Committee has been fortunate in having secured in the past a long line of excellent teachers - many of them with normal training - who have by earnest and faithful work raised the standard and given a standing to the schools of Orange of which the people are very proud. For several years the town, taking advantage of the generous State law, has united with two smaller towns in forming a union district, and employed a superintendent of schools. The results of this plan in securing uniformity of work and other benefits which naturally follow a more careful supervision than is possible under a committee system, have been, on the whole, very satisfactory.
A large and well-equipped high school has been maintained by the town for many years. A three and a four years' course of study is provided, and every possible effort is made to induce pupils to seek, after graduation, the advantages of higher education. The common schools, which are carefully graded, are following out a plan of work which requires nine years to complete. Pupils are regularly promoted each year, and admitted to high school on a scholarship certificate from the ninth grade. The regular attendance on these schools has been high, the average based on the average membership being ninety-four per cent.
To the men whose brief sketches follow this brief account should be given the full credit of the prosperity which the town is enjoying. They are the heads of the concerns who employ the labor of the town, and they go hand in hand with their employees in the laudable ambition of making Orange a good place to live in, socially as well as financially.
585
ORANGE.
W ILLIAM L. GROUT, one of the pioneer sewing- machine manufacturers of the world, is one of the three owners of the New Home sewing-machine plant at Orange. Born in Winchendon, Mass., the son of Lewis Grout, a sturdy New England farmer, he spent his boyhood on a farm, and received the ordinary dis- trict-school education. A half century ago, from the age of eighteen to twenty-five years, he labored in his native town and vicinity in wood-working shops, much of the time as fore- man, and, during his twenty-fifth year be- came a partner in T the business. At that age he began the manufacture of sew- ing-machines in his native town. In those days the man- ufacture of sewing- machines was con- sidered folly. He received no words of encouragement from his townspeople, and capital turned its back on what it thought was a " wild- cat " scheme, which could originate only in the brain of a school-boy. This did not discourage Mr. Grout, who was born with a positive disposition. He de- clared, in 1857, that a sewing-machine would be made to do family and all kinds of sewing successfully, and which could be sold at a price so low that every woman in America could have one as a pleasant divider of her toil, thus making her burdens lighter. In 1858 he formed a partnership with Thomas White, and moved the business to Tem- pleton, Mass. Here the output increased so rapidly that they were forced back to Winchendon for the sake of better transportation facilities. There Mr. Grout became sole proprietor, and increased the business
WILLIAM L. GROUT.
almost daily, until he had a flattering offer to move his plant to Canada. This he did, and there made the "G" sewing-machine, well known during the "sixties." He continued the manufacture of that machine until about 1870, when he became associated with the New Home Sewing-Machine Company, of which he is now one of the owners. His first idea about the New Home sewing-machine was to introduce it in Europe. In this he was highly successful ; he made sixteen trips across the Atlantic, and visited every principal place in the Old World, estab- lishing a trade that the company is en- joying to-day. Mr. Grout was acting superintendent of the New Home sewing-machine fac- tory during the years of labor troubles, and among his six hun- dred employees the best feelings always prevailed. There was never a strike or demand for more wages in the New Home factories, which is to Mr. Grout's credit in common with the company. Mr. Grout is pleasantly situated at his home in Orange. He likes good horses, and at 1 his stock farm he has half a dozen that can "road" in less than 2.50, including his favorite stallion, Cohannet, who has a record of 2.17. In 1856 Mr. Grout married Ellen Hemenway, of Barre, Mass., and they have seven children, -William L., Jr., Frank L., Fred E., Charles B., Carl A., Mrs. Willard A. Graves and Mrs. Everett L. Swan. Mr. Grout is president of the Orange Co-operative Bank. He is a Democrat, refused a nomination for Congress in 1888, and has never accepted public office.
586
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
L EVI KILBURN, the present treasurer and a director of the Chase Turbine Manufacturing Company, of Orange, was born in Winchendon, Mass., Jan. 29, 1816, the third of eight children of John and Esther Kilburn. Mr. Kilburn was employed till twenty-one in the pursuit of education, under difficulties, school being taught but eight weeks in the year. During this time he assisted his father in farming and running a saw-mill. At twenty- one, with the savings of his boyhood's labors, he, with his brother John, bought the old home- stead and mill, estab- lished the firm of J. & L. Kilburn, and entered the bus- iness of sawing lum- ber and the manufac- ture of chair stock. He continued in the firm until 1841, when he sold his interest, moved to Gardner, Mass., and entered the employ of L. Heywood, chair man- ufacturer. He stayed there a year and a a half, and then took charge for that com- pany of a chair man- ufactory at Temple- ton, Mass., where he remained until 1849. He then moved to Orange and entered upon an engagement with Davis & Kil- burn, chair and fur- niture manufacturers, for whom he man- aged the business until 1852. When the factory was destroyed by fire that ycar Mr. Kilburn began the man- nfacture of chairs on his own account, and in 1855 he sold out and joined Hamilton Holt, of Worcester, in the lumber business. Mr. Kilburn staying in Orange, the firm did a good business until 1860, when Mr. Kilburn took the management of a chair factory on the site of the present Chase Turbine Manufacturing Com- pany's shops. For the benefit of the creditors of White
LEVI KILBURN.
& French, in 1862 he organized the firm of L. Kilburn & Co., with Richard French and G. E. Poland as part- ners. Mr. Poland retired in 1868, and L. E. Holmes was admitted as a partner. For several years the com- pany did a flourishing business, employing about one hundred and twenty-five men in the factory, besides nearly three hundred people about the town who placed the cane bottoms and backs in the chairs. From 1867 until 1873 L. Kilburn & Co. operated a furniture factory in connection with their chair factory. In 1867 Kilburn & Co. became inter- ested in the Turbine Water Wheel Com- pany, now the Chase Turbine Manufactur- ing Company. Mr. Kilburn was then made treasurer, a po- sition he holds to the present time. In 1868 the chair fac- tory was destroyed by fire, and its site was covered the fol- lowing year by a fac- tory of the Chase Turbine Manufactur- ing Company. This company employs about two hundred men, and turns out water wheels, shingle mills and general mill machines. In 1840 Mr. Kilburn married Isabel R., daughter of Obadiah Walker, of Winchendon. In 1890 the happy couple celebrated their golden wedding and received a warm reception from their townspeople and friends. Mr. Kilburn in politics is a Democrat, and in religion a Universalist. He is one of the founders of the Orange Savings Bank and one of its trustees. He was also interested in the organization of the Orange National Bank, and is one of its present Board of Di- rectors. Mr. and Mrs. Kilburn reside in a palatial home on High Street.
587
ORANGE.
JOHN WILSON WHEELER, of Orange, is a native of that town, and has always resided there, with the exception of a year or two spent in Fitchburg. He was born Nov. 20, 1832, the second of nine children of Wilson and Catherine ( Holmes-Warden) Wheeler, and his only education was obtained in the public schools. For a year or two after his majority he worked as a carpenter ; from 1856 to 1862 he was employed in a general store in Orange ; then, for a few months' time he was occupied in the claim agency business ; and from 1863 to 1867 was engaged in mercan- tile business on his own account. In this year, at the age of thirty-five, Mr. Wheeler associated himself with others, and became engaged in the manufacture of sewing-machines, under the firm name of A. F. Johnson & Co. Two years later, in 1869, a cor- poration was organ- ized, known as the " Gold Medal Sew- ing-Machine Com- pany." In 1882 the corporate name was changed to "The New Home Sewing- Machine Company," and the business has grown from its small beginnings till it now employs nearly six hundred men, and turns out nearly four hundred finished machines a day. From the start, Mr. Wheeler has been the financial manager and one of the controlling spirits of this enterprise. In January, 1881, he was elected trustee of the Orange Savings Bank, and five years later was made president, which position he now holds. He has been one of the directors of the Orange National Bank since June, 1880, and in January, 1888, was elected vice-president. In January, 1889, he was elected direc-
JOHN W. WHEELER.
tor in the Gossard Investment Company, located in Kansas City, Mo. In December, 1890, Mr. Wheeler was elected president of the Worcester Northwest Agri- cultural and Mechanical Society at Athol, Mass., and in 1891 was elected president of the Boston Mutual Life Association of Boston. In 1892 he was chosen direc- tor in the United Coal Company at Denver, Col. In politics Mr. Wheeler is a Republican, and has been called by his fellow-citizens to positions of responsibility and honor. From 1861 to 1867 he served as town clerk, in 1866 was one of the selectmen of the town, and in 1876 was elected a mem- ber of the Legisla- ture. In 1888 he was one of the dele- gates to the National Republican Conven- tion at Chicago which nominated President Harrison. He is a prominent Mason, was one of the founders of Orange Lodge, or- ganized in 1859, was its first secretary, af- terwards its treas- urer, and was also a charter member and first treasurer of Crescent Royal Arch Chapter, organ- ized in 1884. Mr. Wheeler was married in Orange, Oct. 9, 1856, by Rev. Hosea Ballou, to Almira E., daughter of Daniel and Almira (Porter) Johnson. Three children have been born of this union, but only one survives,- Marion L., wife of John B. Welch. Mr. Wheeler resides about a mile from Orange Village, on his "Grand View Farm," where, while still closely attending to business, he finds recreation in breeding fine horses and cattle, to which pleasant and interesting occupation he devotes a large share of his leisure time.
588
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
A LPHEUS HARDING, son of Rev. Alpheus and Sarah Bridge Harding, was born in New Salem, Mass .. Jan. 12, 1818. His father was a settled minister in New Salem more than forty years, and especially prominent in connection with the academy, the public schools and the general educational interests of his time. Alpheus, Jr., was fitted for college in the acad- emy at New Salem, and entered Amherst College in 1833, leaving the next year, on account of sickness. In 1835 he entered a store as clerk and continued for twenty-one years in mercantile life in Worcester and Franklin counties, till 1856. During this time he was ten years postmaster of New Salem, and served the town about the same length of time as town clerk and treas- urer, also serving at various times as chairman of the boards of selectmen, assessors and over- seers of the poor. He was a member of the House of Repre- sentatives from New Salem in 1851-52, taking part in the 1 long and memorable struggle which re- L sulted in the elec- tion of Charles Sum- ner to the United States Senate for the first time. He again represented New Salem in the Legislature of 1853, took part in the formation of the Free-soil party and acted with it till the formation of the Republican party, of which he has been an ardent supporter to the present time. Since 1856 he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of New Salem Academy. In 1856, having received the appointment of cashier of the Miller's River Bank of Athol, Mass., he removed to that town, where he still 1
ALPHEUS HARDING.
resides. After serving as cashier for eleven years the bank was changed to a national bank, under the name of the Miller's River National Bank of Athol, Mass., and Mr. Harding was made president, an office which he still holds, having served as president twenty-six years. In 1863 and 1867 he represented the towns of Athol and Royalston in the Legislature, serving both years on the Committee on Railroads. While a member of the House, in 1867, he obtained a charter for the Athol Sav- ings Bank, an insti- tution which com- menced business in 1867, and now has deposits of nearly two million dollars. Mr. Harding was its treasurer till January, 1892, when he be- came president. In 1879 and 1880 Mr. Harding was a sen- ator from the Fourth Worcester District, serving the first year on the committees on Banks and Bank- ing. and Labor, and the second year as chairman of the committees on Banks and Banking, and Education, and a member of the Com- mittee on Towns. In June, 1880, he was a delegate to the National Repub- lican Convention. He was married in 1842 to Maria P. Their surviving children are :
Taft, of Dudley, Mass. Ella M., who married Colonel A. L. Newman, late pres- ident of the National Bank of the Commonwealth, Bos- ton, and William B., secretary of the Chemical Paper Company of Holyoke. Mr. Harding, in connection with several other prominent citizens of Athol, feeling the need of a liberal church in that community, assisted in the formation of the Second Unitarian Church, which has developed into a useful and successful organization.
PALMER
HELENE CO BOSTON-
THE healthy, picturesque and progressive town of Palmer is situated on the main line of the Boston & Albany Railroad, fifteen miles from Springfield, and is about equally divided in its industrial interests between manufacturing and agriculture. The town proper is really a collection of four small villages, the larger of which is Palmer Depot, in the location above described. The population of these combined villages in 1892 exceeded 6,500. The other villages of the quartette are Thorndike, Three Rivers and Bondsville.
John King, who established himself on the site of the present centre of the town about the year 1717, was in all probability the first of the early settlers of Palmer. At least there are no records to show any priority of claim to this honor. Mr. King's sons and daughters, of whom he had about a dozen, for it was the fashion of our ancestors to have as many children as possible, according to the scriptural saying, "Blessed is the man who hath his quiver full of them," settled with him along the north side of the Quaboag River, forming a settlement that afterward became known as King's Row, although the whole town was called Kingstown, or Kingsfield, at a later date. The town was formally settled ten years later than the above date by a company of Scotch-Irish emi- grants, although their claim to the land was disputed. The settlers finally petitioned the Legislature for a grant of the land ; a commission was appointed by that body, and grants were made to forty-four people. These people were constituted the proprietors of the town, with power to take and divide any land in the town which was not otherwise pre-empted. With the granting of the land there was levied a tax, which, although only amounting to about six hundred and thirty dollars, or four cents an acre, the inhabitants were unable to pay on account of their extreme poverty, and sought relief by a petition to the Legislature. This tax was finally divided into four parts, and the settlers succeeded in paying it. Almost with the first settlement of the town a very respectable tavern was built, and the town has not been without a hostelry since that day.
In 1735 the inhabitants of the town made their first attempt at organization, but their petition to the Legislature to be set off as a town failed of passage. The place was incorporated as a district in 1752, and became a town in 1786, under the law which granted that right for all places that had been made districts prior to 1777. It was about this time that the place was christened by its present title, Lieutenant- Governor Spencer Phipps bestowing the name Palmer in honor of a relative who had died a short time before in Scotland. The growth of the town has been comparatively slow, but its citizens have never lacked in patriotism, and it is recorded that in the Revolutionary War some Palmer men fought for their country, while the town furnished its share of volunteers in the War of the Rebellion. Their valor has been commemorated by the erec- tion of a fine Memorial Hall. The main portion of the town forms the chief business centre, and it is here that the Palmer National Bank, established in 1875, and the Palmer Savings Bank, incorporated in 1870, are located. The churches and schools of Palmer have kept pace with the growth of the community, while the town has many other improvements to its credit.
Up to the year 1824 the principal business was the pursuit of agriculture, although, as was common in many other places, there was a grist mill or two before that year. Several different industries were started a year or two before, but none flourished for a great length of time. In 1824 the Palmer Manufacturing Company located in Three Rivers, but failed four years later. In 1832 the plant was started in the manufacture of common white cotton goods, which later gave way to the making of fancy dress goods. The Thorndike Company, located in the village of the same name, began operations in 1837, and has continued ever since in the manufacture of cotton ticks and stripes, while the Boston Duck Company, which was organized in 1844, is engaged in the manufacture of sail cloth and ducking. A good grade of Brussels carpet is also made in the town, and the future of Palmer as a business nucleus and a magnetic point for population is assured.
590
MASSACHUSETTS OF TO-DAY.
O RRIN PEER ALLEN is a native of Wallingford, Vt., where he was born Sept. 30, 1833. He is descended in the eighth generation from the emigrant, Hope Allen, a currier of Boston in 165 1, through Edward2, Edward3, Nathaniel4, Joseph5, Robert6, Robert7. His mother, Eliza Paine Doolittle, is descended in the sixth generation from the emigrant, Abraham Doolittle, who came probably from County Bedford, England, about 1638, and was one of the influential settlers of New Haven, through John2, Rev. Ben- jamin3, Amzi4, Ros- well5. He is also descended from John Howland and John Tulley of the " May- flower," and other noted early families of New England, among which may be named those of Coffin, Chipman, Cady, Cook, Burt, Bartlett, Barnard, Gardner, Knapp, Lee, Philbrick, Skiff, Strong, Todd and Winter. Mr. Allen completed his educa- tion at Chester Acad- emy, Vt., where he won an enviable po- sition as a student. During his course of study there he taught school in the towns of Windham, Caven- dish and Vernon, Vt. After graduating he taught school for some time in Hackensack, N. J. He was for several years superintendent of schools in Vernon, Vt., and resigned the office on his removal from the State. He came to Palmer, Mass., Oct. 5, 1859, where he com- menced the business of pharmacy, in which he has since continued. He evinced in early life a decided taste for literary pursuits, and his course of reading has been unusually extensive, ranging through nearly all departments of literature, and embracing the classics,
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