USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 23
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The plant of the Bailey Electric Automobile, owned by the S. R. Bailey & Co., incorporated, is another enterprise that has turned out its thousands of electric propelled automobiles. Another well-patronized factory is the Amesbury Lamp and Plating Company. It makes electric
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dome lights, top lamps, step-lamps, inverted dash-lamps, etc. The senior member of this company is William J. Bird, who was long a maker of carriage lamps, before the automobile was invented.
The birthplace of the electric-lighted and electric-started auto- mobile was in the shops of Gray & Davis (incorporated) at Amesbury The business increased, on account of improvements made by these genius light-makers, until in 1913 they had branch plants in a half dozen large cities in this country. A head office is kept open in Boston. This was the first plant erected in the world for the exclusive manu- facture of automobile lamps. The invention brought out in this factory, by which a successful "electric-starter" for automobiles was made, has revolutionized this part of the modern auto, the world 'round.
As long ago as 1913 one of the largest manufacturers of closed bodies in the white, in New England, was that of the Walker-Wells Company of Amesbury, incorporated that year with officers as follows: Harlan P. Wells, president; George Walker, vice-president; James H. Walker, treasurer; Henry Miller, secretary. The company was formed in 1911, and succeeded the Amesbury branch of the Walker Carriage Company.
The most "ancient" of all industries in Amesbury is the plant of the Merrimac Hat Company, still in existence. The manufacture of hats in Amesbury dates back to the settlement of the town, for one of the seventeen original proprietors of the place was a hatter. In 1767 the town granted a location for the first hat factory on "the Ferry road next to Powow river." For many years business was conducted there; in fact, at no time has the hatter's business gone down at that point. The present recent year business dates back to 1838, when Isaac Martin be- gan in the house basement of the residence of Albert Gale, near the Powow bridge. Later he moved to a building on the wharf near by, in 1853. Abner L. Bailey became interested in the business and after con- tinuing it some time under the title of the Merrimac Hat Company, a new company was formed, called the Amesbury Hat Company. The town landing near Powow River bridge was bought and thereon was built a large hat factory. In 1864 Alfred Bailey organized the Horton Hat Company, which began operations, continued until July, 1866, then sold to the Merrimac Company. Additions were made to the Horton Hat Company from time to time, it ever being looked upon as one of the town's best industries. In recent years a better set of buildings have been provided, and tens of thousands of dollars have been paid to those employed in the hat-making business. Here are made misses', ladies' and children's wool hats and ladies' and children's straw hats. The officers of this company for many years have been Messrs. H. V. Bar- rett of Boston, president; George W. Emerson, treasurer; William H. Hastings, general manager.
Public Library-Early in the nineteenth century, about 1827, the
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN. FOUNDATIONS
PUBLIC LIBRARY, AMESBURY
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following named persons formed an association, secured a room over Mr. Allen's store on Market Square, and purchased two hundred books. Jonathan Williams, Edward Allen, James C., Nathaniel and Cyrus Cur- rier, Ezekiel Enos, Thomas and Samuel J. Brown, Seth and Thomas J. Clark, Hiram Collins, T. P. Morrell, Jona Barnard, Daniel Blaisdell, William and Nathan Swett, Daniel Long, and John Herbert. The mem- bership paid one dollar or more per year for the up-keep of the library, which was kept intact until some time in the forties, when the books were distributed among different families. It was not until 1856 that any attempt was made to organize a permanent library. A meeting
was held, when letters were read from Joshua Aubin, of Newburyport, a former agent of the old Salisbury Mills Company, in which he stated that Gardner Brewer of Boston had placed in his hands between seven and eight hundred books to form the nucleus of a library for the benefit of the operatives employed at the village mills in Amesbury and Salis- bury. The citizens much interested in this matter included the follow- ing: John G. Whittier, the gifted "Quaker Poet"; Rev. B. P. Byram, Benjamin Evans, William C. Binney, Philip Osgood, John Hume, Henry Taylor, John Kimball, Stephen Woodman, William H. B. Currier, William and Edward Allen, Charles M. Leonard and Francis Brown, Dr. Thomas Sparhawk, James W. Briggs, Robert W. Patten, William Carruthers, O. S. Bayley, and a few other citizens of the town. The books were kept . at various places until the Salisbury Milling Company erected a build- ing in 1865 on Friend street, the lower part being given over to library purposes and the upper story to the Odd Fellows' use.
In 1872 the association was incorporated under Massachusetts laws, with these officers: William C. Binney, president; Philip Osgood, vice- president ; William Allen, treasurer; James H. Davis, secretary. Mr. Davis, who had previously served, was appointed librarian. In March, 1889, the city of Amesbury took over the library under provisions of the statutes of the commonwealth. The corporation voted to give $200 per year towards the library, the same to come out of the dog fund. Later, Jonathan Wadleigh left by his will $500 to the library, and Widow Fowler left a bequest of $5,000. A brother and sister, Isaac and Mary A. Barnard, natives of Amesbury, and personal friends of the poet Whit- tier, gave to the library, at their decease, the former in 1890 and the latter in 1897, funds to the amount of $30,000. Finally the old Ordway property on Main street was purchased at $5,500 and there the present spacious and well-appointed library building was erected. It was built at a cost of $20,650, being dedicated by the trustees in December, 1901. Later the town voted to appropriate $3,000 for additional book-stacks and other fittings. The first meeting in the new building was held by the board, April 23, 1902. This structure, an ornament to the city, was constructed of gray brick, with Indiana limestone and granite. There is ample stack room for forty thousand volumes. The interior is finished
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in quartered oak. The Whittier Home Association donated a hand- some clock in the reading room as a befitting memorial to the beloved poet. Ten years ago this library boasted of having nearly 18,000 vol- umes on its shelves. It is a thoroughly up-to-date public library, the same having been made possible only by the forethought and persistent labors of the early promoters, who gave both time and money to bring about the desired end. It means much to the sprightly city, and speaks of a high moral, intellectual standard in the community. The late re- ports state that there are now 19,220 books on the shelves; magazines, 2,461; number of books issued in 1920 was 53,000. Many daily, weekly and monthly papers are here on file. The present trustees of the library are James H. Walker, Augustus N. Parry, J. Warren Huntington, Will- iam W. Hawkes, Alfred C. Webster, J. Albert Davis, Edward A. Brown, Albert G. Willey. The librarian is Alice C. Follansbee.
Amesbury is noted among other things in that it was the home of one of America's most celebrated poets-John Greenleaf Whittier. At the age of twenty-eight years he purchased the cottage on Friend street that was his home the remainder of his life. From his infancy he accompanied his parents, who were devout Quakers in religious faith, from their home in East Haverhill, when they came to worship at the Friends' meeting-house in Amesbury. Three years before making his home in Amesbury, Mr. Whittier was engaged in anti-slavery work, and was an editor in New York and Philadelphia, as well as of "The Vil- lager" in his home town. During his residence in Amesbury he wrote four hundred and twenty-two of his more than five hundred poems. He was an ardent worker for the political party that best tended to liber- ate the slaves. He was a candidate for congress from this district when it was Free-Soil in sentiment. The landscape scenery in and around Amesbury gave him an inspiration by which he was enabled to pen many of his finest poems. He donated scores of valuable volumes to the Ames- bury Library, and was influential in securing the splendid legacy of the Barnards for this institution. This beloved "Quaker Poet" died Sep- tember 7, 1892, the funeral services taking place in the garden at the rear of the Whittier Home. He was buried in the family plot at Union Cemetery. Peace to his ashes!
Churches-Thirty-five years ago the directors gave the following on the church organizations of Amesbury at that date: "There are eleven churches and societies in this town, viz: Baptist, Episcopal, Cath- olic, Friends, Free Baptists, Methodist, Universalist, Christian Baptist. The most ancient of these societies is the Friends', organized in a house built in 1705. From that date they have always had a house of worship on this street, which was very properly named for their order, "Friend street." The society at Rocky Hill was organized in 1714, as the Sec- ond Parish in Salisbury, and the present church built in 1785. Most of the other churches have been erected and the societies organized with- in the last century."
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Town records give such paragraphs on churches as follows: "In 1831 a Congregational church was organized at the Mills, Eleazer A. Johnson being chosen clerk. In 1836 a Universalist church was formed at West Amesbury and a building erected. St. James Church was con- secrated in 1836, and Rev. Henry M. Davis was then selected a stated supply for one year. April, 1845, the Universalist church was incor- porated. This society purchased the old Episcopal church building and engaged Rev. Strickland. A new church building was dedicated in 1846. In 1849 the Free Baptist Church on Friend street was completed. In 1866, at the close of the Civil War, the Catholic people built at the Mills, the structure being dedicated August 26, 1866. In 1867 a Baptist church was organized at West Amesbury, April 5."
From certain information blanks sent out to various churches by the compiler of this work, and from old records and histories, the sub- joined articles on the churches of Amesbury have been gleaned :
St. James Episcopal Church was a church society here as early as 1740, but the regular church as known today was formed or reorganized in 1833. It now has a membership of 350, with a Sunday school of sixty- three attendance. A rectory was built in 1887, and the present beauti- ful edifice was erected in 1900 at an expense of $22,000. The total prop- erty of the church is not far from $30,000. Since 1885 the rectors have been in the following order: Revs. Henry Wood, 1885-88; Edward F. Hill, 1889-91; Frederick E. Cooper, 1891-93; George M. Griffith, 1893-95; Charles N. Norris, 1896-97 ; Robert LeBlanc Lynch, 1898-1908 ; Arthur L. Fenderson, 1909-11; Louis A. Parsons, 1912-14; Frank M. Rathborn, 1914-18; Robert Le Blanc Lynch, 1918, and still rector.
The Friends' Society is that to which John G. Whittier, the poet, belonged, and where he and his parents long worshiped. The "meeting" was established in 1702 and has continued through the multiplied years until now. Its total membership today is about seventy-three souls. There is no minister at present. Charles H. Jones and wife Elizabeth were ministers in this society for many years. There are other Friends' churches in Essex county, at Salem, Lawrence and Lynn.
The Universalist church was organized in 1843, and had seven pas- tors before it became decadent during the days of the Civil War. It was reorganized by Rev. Nathan R. Wright. The first church was on Friend street. The society purchased Washington Hall in 1871, and this was used for a place in which to worship until the present brick building was constructed in 1904, during the pastorate of Rev. Francis W. Gibbs. The present total membership is eighty-six, and the Sunday school enrollment is about forty-five pupils, with Mr. Gilbert West as its superintendent. Mrs. Louise Holt was the reorganizer of the Sun- day school. The pastors of this church have included the following since 1870: Revs. W. R. Wright, 1870-74; B. L. Bennett, 1874-77; Albert C. White, 1880-81; Anson Titus, 1884-87; Albert C. White, 1888-91; J. H.
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Little, 1892-94; F. W. Gibbs, 1895-1906; Rufus H. Dix, 1907-09; T. H. Saunders, 1910-12; R. C. Leonard, 1917-18; Barton Watson, 1918, and still pastor.
Since 1885 the ministers serving the Methodist Episcopal Church at this point were Revs. J. C. Felt, C. W. Dockerel, James Cairus, D. E. Mil- ler, L. D. Bragg, H. D. Deets, M. C. Pendexter, F. K. Gamble, R. J. El- liott, C. F. Parsons, I. H. Reed, Mathew L. Simpson, present pastor. The present membership is 181; that of the Sunday school is about 200 pupils; the superintendent is Edwin J. Graves. In 1887-8 a church building was erected; the main building is of wood, while the vestry part is of brick. The historical record books show that in 1847 Rev. W. Huntly was appointed to Amesbury. In 1850 the First Methodist Church was built. Rev. Charles C. Burr was pastor in 1850-51. The first build- ing erected as a church was burned April, 1887. The second church was built 1887-88. This building stands on Main street, opposite the Pub- lic Library.
The Congregational denomination is old at Amesbury. One society was formed "At the Mills" in 1831, with Jonathan A. Sargent and George Perkins as first deacons, the first clerk and founder being E. A. Johnson, who served faithfully and well for forty years. December 6, 1881, the Congregational church at the Mills celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. The first clerk and first pastor were present on this interesting historic occasion. The history of this church extends back a great length of time, and, of course, has involved many changes in its membership and general work. The church has come down through the years of history- making in the United States, and is still one of the institutions calculated to uplift the community in which it is supported.
What is now styled the Main Street Congregational Church of Amesbury is an old church organization, but no sketch of it has been furnished the compiler of this work. It has a good membership, and is a popular church.
The Baptist church of West Amesbury was organized April 5, 1867. Rev. E. M. Bartlett was installed pastor in October, 1872. The church is still numbered among the religious influences of the place.
The Sacred Heart is a French Catholic church, situated on Friend street. It was organized in 1903, and now has a total membership of 553 families and is made up of 1,798 souls. Rev. J. B. Bassiere served from 1903 to 1913, and Rev. J. H. Cotei has officiated from 1913 to the present date. Soon after the organization of the church a rectory and parochial school were provided. The number of pupils in the school is 195 boys and 206 girls, total 401; number of teachers employed, 8. This church and auxiliary school care especially for the French-speaking people of Amesbury and immediate vicinity.
Star-of-the-Sea Catholic Church is situated at Salisbury Beach, and was built by Rev. Father Nilan, now Bishop of Hartford. It was completed in 1896, the opening being July 4th of that year. It is es-
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pecially designed to give summer tourists and beach visitors of the Catholic faith an opportunity to worship. It is usually open from July until October of each season. The building is a frame structure, with a seating capacity of about 700.
As has been well said by J. H. O'Neil, Esq., in writing on Amesbury Catholicity: "No earthly record discloses the identity of the first soul to bear the faith to the district now embraced by the Parish of Saint Joseph. Who that venturesome pioneer was, and when he came, are matters of conjecture, rather than certainty. He may have come be- fore the opening of the eighteenth century, for as early as 1792 there were Catholics in small numbers at Newburyport, which from the very beginning was the center of religious interest towards which the Cath- olics of Amesbury and Salisbury turned. It is told that Father Perron, a French priest, passed through this section about 1650, but he must have found it a barren region from a Catholic view-point." To quote Mr. O'Neil :
The visit of Bishop Cheverus to Newburyport in 1808 was a notable event in the early history of this territory. On that visit he officiated at several ceremonies and visited the few Catholic families of the town. It is not unlikely that Father Matignon also stopped there on his trips on horseback from Boston as far as Ports- mouth, ministering to the struggling bands of Catholics here and there.
In 1827 Bishop Fenwick made an Episcopal visit and said mass on a spot nc far from the present court house. If during these years there were any Catholics in Amesbury or Salisbury, they undoubtedly joined in the services at Newburyport, as did their brethren in larger numbers later.
In the first half of the decade of 1830 to 1840, there is record of a Catholic fam- ily in Amesbury. There were Irish immigrants long before, as early as 1803, and some of them, at least, were unquestionably of the household of the faith, but the first clear evidence of Catholics in the town seems to come in the year 1834. In 1840 there were several families, and in the next ten years they increased steadily. The new-comers were practically all from Ireland. They had come to work out their destiny in a new land. Of earthly possessions they had but little, but they came fortified with steady bodies and determined souls, and above all with a faith that knew no yielding.
The first priest came to Newburyport in the early forties, and was followed by Father Lennon, who became pastor at Newburyport in 1848, and for many years was in charge of the members of this faith at Ames- bury as well. To the church at Newburyport the pioneers were wont to go on Sundays and holidays to perform their religious duties. Thus these devout souls trudged their way five miles and back to Newbury- port to attend mass. Occasionally mass was offered at the house of William Daley in Amesbury, one of the first settlers. It is very likely that the first mass within the confines of the parish was said at his house on Dondero's Court, and some of the older people still recall at- tending mass and receiving Holy Communion from the hand of the priest on the doorstep, the house being too small for all to enter.
More Catholics moved into the town, and there arose an ardent be-
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lief that regular services should be held in some way at this point. This began about 1859, when the Catholics of the town petitioned Father Lennon for this privilege, and with their petition went a liberal offering. The list of names which were attached to the petition just mentioned numbered more than one hundred and fifty, the signers pledging them- selves to raise the sum of $9,250 to be used towards erecting a church in Amesbury. Father Lennon, of course, granted such a petition as this, and plans were made for services in Washington Hall on Market street. Easter Sunday, April 24, 1859, was observed at that place by the Cath- olics in such numbers that they excited the admiration of their fellow townsmen. An important event took place here June 22, 1862, when Father William Daley, the first priest to be ordained from this district, at whose house the faithful formerly gathered, sang his first mass.
On the site of the present church of St. Joseph, the foundations of the first church were laid-modest and simple was the first edifice com- pared to the handsome present-day structure, yet it was the largest and most expensive building of its kind at that time in Amesbury. Its cost was $15,000. It was ninety-eight feet long and fifty feet wide, and con- tained one hundred and sixteen pews. It was dedicated August 26, 1866, and so great was the throng that not nearly all could gain entrance to the building. It was estimated that not less than two thousand per- sons were present. This edifice served well its purpose until the present structure was erected, of which mention is made later on. In September, 1867, property was bought on Pleasant street for a parochial residence, for Amesbury was no longer a mission of Newburyport, but a parish by itself. The first pastor was Rev. John Brady, who three years before had been ordained in Ireland. He was enthusiastic over the project of building a church edifice large enough to accommodate his growing con- gregation. Much of the mason work on the foundation was performed by his parishioners at eventide, after having ended their own daily toil. All worked with one end in view and succeeded well in their undertakings. Ground was first broken in 1872, and the completed edifice was dedicated May 7, 1876, by Archbishop Williams. It is still one of the finest church buildings in this section of New England. The grounds, the convent and school, each and all are monuments to the faithfulness and liberality with which this people have sacrificed to bring about these laudable ends.
In 1885 the doors were first opened to the fine parochial school of this parish, and with the school came also the convent to furnish a home for the Sisters of St. Joseph. The parochial residence was the last of the dignified group of parish buildings to be erected. When this was completed, the work of building by Father Brady was about done. He had been assisted in his labors during a part of these years by Revs. M. J. McCall, 1873-76; David J. Herlihy from 1881 to 1884; by Rev. Francis X. Burke, from 1884 to 1893.
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The second regular pastor was Rev. John J. Nilan, then assistant pastor at St. James church, Boston. He began at once to improve the property by purchasing the old Sparhawk place, and demolished the old buildings thereon. New altars in the main church were provided, the same being of chaste Italian marble, beautifully designed and ex- ecuted with great skill. When free of all debts, this fine edifice was consecrated to God. This occurred April 28, 1901, and the honor of consecration fell to Bishop Brady, who had erected the building thirty years before. Bishop Brady after a wonderful career passed from earth's shining circle, January 6, 1910. His body lay in state in the Amesbury church, which he had built so many years before, was watched over throughout the night, and the following day was laid to rest in St. Joseph's Cemetery.
In June, 1910, Rev. Denis F. Lee, then pastor of St. Agnes church, Reading, became the third pastor in Amesbury. His assistant was Rev. Howland J. Harkins, who succeeded the faithful assistant, Rev. William J. Reardon. Father Harkins died and was succeeded by Rev. Stephen J. O'Brien, a son of the parish. During the late World War, Father O'Brien volunteered as chaplain in the army in 1918, and was succeeded by Rev. John W. Spencer, Rev. McCool and Rev. Tuscher. This parish has had only three pastors in all its history, the third and present one being Father Denis F. Lee, under whose management the church buildings have been much improved, while the spiritual church has been made stronger in the hearts of his membership.
In closing, it is well to note that a golden jubilee of this church was. commemorated October 28-31, 1917-fifty years of eventful church life. It will long be remembered by people in and near the city of Amesbury.
There are but few if any churches in the whole country where so many priests have been members of a church in a town no larger than Amesbury, and have received training and gone forth as priests. The number is seventeen; of that number ten were living in 1917. Their names follow: Rev. William Daley, deceased; Rev. Joseph H. Gal- lagher, deceased; Rev. M. F. Higgins, deceased; Rev. Timothy Whalen, St. Ann's Hospital, Baltimore, Md .; Rev. P. A. Lynch, O. S. A., Immacu- late Conception, Hoosick Falls; Rev. Patrick Carr, deceased; Rev. James H. O'Neill, LL.D., Sacred Heart, Boston ; Rev. Thomas Moylan, deceased; Rev. Martin Cavanaugh, deceased; Rev. Thomas A. Walsh, Our Lady of Grace, Chelsea, Mass .; Rev. James R. Nulty, St. Mary's, Dedham, Mass .; Rev. James Doran, St. Michael's, Hudson, Mass .; Rev. Michael J. Manning, St. Anne's, Somerville, Mass .; Rev. John M. Burke, Sacred Heart, Boston; Rev. Michael J. Kenny, St. Joseph's, Avoca, Wis .; Rev. Stephen J. O'Brien, St. Joseph's, Amesbury, Mass .; Rev. John J. Mc- Grath, St. Mary's Cathedral, Trenton, N. J.
Twelve members of the Amesbury parish have consecrated their lives to the cause of religion. The names of these devoted women can-
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