USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Florence > The history of Florence, Massachusetts : including a complete account of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry > Part 18
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A friend of his, a few years ago, accompanied BY THE OLD RAIL FENCE. him to this place when he came on a business trip to inspect the various establishments wherein he was interested, and heard this testimony volunteered by some of his associates : "Mr. Littlefield is never satisfied with any device he employs till he thoroughly understands its workings, and contrives modes to increase its effectiveness."
In 1861 he represented Northampton in the lower house of the legis- lature, and was re-elected the following year. In March, 1889, he was the nominee of the Republican party of Rhode Island for lieutenant governor, and, there being no election by the people, he was elected by the General Assembly.
In 1863, at the repeated solicitation of gentlemen representing the Pawtucket Hair Cloth Company, Mr. Littlefield went to Pawtucket to undertake the work of perfecting the complex machinery of that com- pany. He made arrangements to remain one year. He remained there
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permanently. He retained his interest in several manufactories in Flor- ence, which were mainly of his own creation. In 1865 he visited Europe in the interests of the Pawtucket Hair Cloth Company, and repeated the trip in the years 1866, 1868, 1871, and 1872, visiting all the principal countries of Europe. The valuable information he obtained for that company made the concern the only complete plant of its kind in the world.
In 1878 he went to France as honorary commissioner from Rhode Island to the Paris exposition. Here his reputation had preceded him, and immediately upon his arrival he was appointed an American juror of small and fine machinery, and mechanism of all nations. His work on this board was of much value to American inventors.
"Intensely and practically one of our self-made business men and a successful manufacturer, Mr. Littlefield was essentially a man of the people, modest and unassuming, at all times approachable, and a cour- teous listener." At home as well as abroad honors came to him unsought. At the time of his death he was president of no less than seven corpora- tions. "He was a skillful organizer and a wise arbitrator, and his decis- ions in important cases where his judgment and counsel were souglit were always sound and acceptable to all concerned."
Mr. Littlefield was a man of magnificent physical proportions. Stand- ing more than six feet in height, his commanding presence was always permeated with genuine kindliness of heart that inspired the respect and admiration of all with whom he came in contact. He was twice married. His second wife and a son and daughter survive him. His mother, a woman of sterling worth, died in January, 1891, at the ripe age of ninety- three years. Mr. Littlefield was a member and trustee of the Pawtucket Congregational Society, and was a liberal provider for the support of church and society.
It may seem to some that Mr. Littlefield devoted his life to work out- side our village. What he did for Florence should be reckoned by the prosperity of our manufacturing concerns, which have known his guid- ance, and have looked to him for support.
ALFRED THEODORE LILLY.
FROM THE " MEMORIAL."
ALFRED THEODORE LILLY was born in Mansfield, Connecticut, April fifteenth, 1813. His mother's maiden name was Jerusha Swift.
His father, Alfred Lilly, was a blacksmith, and made screw angers
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and auger bits, and later manufactured silk at Mansfield. The company failed in 1838, Mr. Lilly losing all his property.
Alfred Theodore attended the summer and winter terms of the dis- trict school until he was twelve years old, and the winter terms until he was seventeen. When he ceased to attend school he worked for his father at auger and bit making until he was twenty-one. Then he worked for his father as a journeyman about a year, until the failure, when the burden of supporting the family fell upon his shoulders. He continued the auger and bit business, borrowed a small sum of money, and for fifteen years applied himself closely to this business. No defective work was allowed to leave the shop ; he was punctual in all his affairs no matter how trivial ; and he gained at once a reputation for integrity from all who knew him.
His health failed, however, and in 1850 he was obliged to give up the business. He be- came superintendent for one year of the Rixford & Butler Silk Manufacturing Compa- ny, at Mansfield Center, and then accepted a position as traveling salesman for a Mans- field silk manufacturer. Af- ter this he went to Providence, R. I., and opened a retail ALFRED THEODORE LILLY. grocery store, where he remained until the spring of 1853, when he came to Florence, as a superintendent of the Nonotuck Silk Company, remain- ing with the company until his health failed, February 1, 1887. After a few years, Mr. Hill asked Mr. Lilly to assist as treasurer and general manager of the company ; he purchased a small interest in the business and was allowed to pay for it as he was able. In 1865 Mr. Hill appointed him acting treasurer, and he was elected treasurer of the company in 1872.
Mr. Lilly did not acquire wealth as soon as he came to Florence. During the early part of the time it was difficult for him to meet his obligations ; his own family, his father, mother, and sisters receiving his
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assistance. He did a great deal more than is publicly known to aid others in various ways.
This desire to assist others led him to become a stockholder and director in the Florence Furniture Company in 1873. The company was not successful the first year, and it was due to Mr. Lilly, and a few others, that it became prosperous. Mr. Lilly was its president from the time of its organization to his death.
He was one of the original incorporators of the Florence Savings Bank, and always took an active interest in the public business of the town ; voted at all elections, but always declined public office. In all his transactions he was thorough, punctual, and always reliable. From boyhood he was strictly temperate, using neither tobacco nor intoxi- cating liquor in any form.
In 1859 Mr. Lilly assisted in establishing the evening schools here, and in 1869 served on the committee appointed to erect the Memo- - rial Hall and Libra- ry, in Northampton. He was a charter member of the Free Congregational So- ciety, and, when this society built Cos- mian Hall, he gave ten thousand dollars towards the building, and during his life contributed gener- ously to its support. In his will he pro- LILLY DRUM CORPS. vided for an annual payment to the so- ciety. He was a trustee of the Florence kindergarten, and at his death left all his estate to these trustees to be used for educational purposes.
In 1884 Mr. Lilly learned that Smith College needed a building for scientific purposes, and, a year later, finding that President Seelye had not obtained the necessary money for the erection of a science building, he furnished the desired amount. In 1886 Lilly Hall of Science, a fine structure, suitable for the needs of the college, was dedicated with appro- priate exercises.
No biographical sketch of Mr. Lilly would be complete without more
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than an incidental reference to his home and domestic life. He was married at Hebron, Conn., in 1838, to Lucy Maria Crane, daughter of Isaac and Constantia (Young) Crane of that town. Mrs. Lilly was a quiet, thoughtful, kind-hearted woman, highly esteemed by all who knew her. To his friends, Mr. Lilly often spoke of the cheerfulness with which she practiced economy and self-denial in their early married life that he might aid his father and mother, and often remarked that he owed his prosperity to his wife. This home was to him of the utmost importance. He could not have applied himself so continually to the active, responsible work had it not been for the rest and recreation of his home, and those who had claims on his hospitality remarked that it was a delight to notice the cheerfulness and consideration which he showed for their comfort and enjoyment. Mr. and Mrs. Lilly had no children. Mrs. Mary Valentine Ross had her home with them for a number of years before her marriage. Mrs. Ross's children were a great comfort to Mr. and Mrs. Lilly in their declining years. Mrs. Lilly died in 1886. After this Mr. Lilly seemed to be alone. He tried to be cheer- ful and bear the sorrow without outward manifestations, but to his inti- mate friends he sometimes disclosed the great grief which oppressed him.
Early in the fall of 1888, he arranged for the erection of the library building which bears his name, giving thirteen thousand dollars for the purpose, and the same season he provided by his will for the disposition of his estate at his death.
Thus, among his friends, surrounded by such recognitions of his use- ful life, his strength gradually failed until the end came, January twenty- first, 1890.
ALFRED P. CRITCHLOW.
BY GEORGE P. WARNER.
ALFRED P. CRITCHLOW was born in Nottingham, Eng., in 1813. His father was a silk stocking weaver. His mother died when he was a lad of nine years. At fourteen, he was apprenticed to a die sinker, and served the required seven years' apprenticeship. On becoming of age. he engaged in the horn button business in Birmingham, and was carry- ing it on successfully, when, in 1843, he met the late Josiah Hayden, who induced him to emigrate, and start the manufacture of horn buttons in Haydenville. At this time his family consisted of his wife and two small children, and their experiences during the six weeks' trip across the
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stormy Atlantic in a sailing vessel were ever after the subject of frequent joking and merriment by Mr. Critchlow.
He made buttons for the Haydens for two or three years, and then moved to Florence, and commenced manufacturing wood buttons, mak- ing them from the common wild laurel found in the woods. Soon he invented a composition suitable for making buttons, and machinery and appliances for its proper manipulation, and began manufacturing buttons and daguerreotype cases. He made of this business a decided success, giving it untiring personal attention ; running the mill night and day, much of the time with two sets of hands, and fre- quently sleeping at the mill, where he could be called upon quickly in case of emergency. Samuel L. Hill was interested in this business with him, and later Mr. Isaac Parsons and D. G. Littlefield, to whom he finally sold out in 1857.
While living in Florence, he became quite a landholder, owning a large tract extending from Park street to the ALFRED P. CRITCHLOW. river. On this and other tracts he erected several houses. Most of the time he lived in the house he built on the site of Mr. Samuel Porter's brick residence. He was connected with the local station of the underground railroad, being by nature sym- pathetic and helpful, and believing that all men are born free and equal. His broad views unfitted him for living under a monarchial form of gov- ernment, gave him little respect for royalty, and were the chief reasons for his coming to America.
Mr. Critchlow always treated his help kindly, and was greatly respected and beloved by them. A little story shows this, as well as his own personal courage. One night at the mill, two workmen quarreled and finally came to blows just as Mr. Critchlow put in an appearance. He at once jumped right between them, called a halt, and was instantly obeyed by both, whose feelings of anger gave place to shame and con- fusion. As the combatants were large men, one being a stalwart six- footer of pugnacious propensities, and as Mr. Critchlow was very short, the spectacle presented had a decidedly ludicrous side.
After selling out his business in Florence, he visited his native land, and, on his return in 1858, bought one of the old woolen mills in Leeds,
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and commenced manufacturing vegetable ivory buttons, continuing the business about fifteen years. This was the first ivory button factory in this country, and business was so successful that within five years a second mill was built. Previous to the flood of 1874 he owned quite a portion of Leeds, and was worth, at least, one hundred thousand dollars. In 1870, on account of failing health, he withdrew from active work, and spent eighteen months in England. Later he traveled in South America, but never fully recovered his health. After rebuilding the mills which the flood destroyed, Mr. Critchlow held a leading position in the factory till his death in March, 1881.
Although small of stature, he was a man of broad mind and large heart, and his charities were neither few nor small. Many have been helped by him in time of trouble or sickness, and, like all generous souls, he was sometimes victimized by the unappreciative or undeserving. He had a "genius for hard work," as well as a wonderfully fertile and inventive mind. These traits showed themselves in whatever business he engaged in, whether agriculture, horticulture, or mechanics. He had also a practical knowledge of chemistry. He was a natural pioneer, sowing seed that would bear fruit. The present Florence Manufactur- ing Company is the outgrowth of the business he established.
Mrs. Critchlow and two daughters are still living, Mrs. Naramore of Perth Amboy, N. J., and Mrs. Warner, wife of George P. Warner, formerly of Leeds, now living in Denver, Colorado, with whom Mrs. Critchlow resides.
ELISHA LIVERMORE HAMMOND.
BY HARRIET B. GARDNER.
" The grass may grow o'er the lowly bed, Where the noblest Roman hath laid his head, But mind and thought,-a nation's mind Embalm the lover of mankind."
ELISHA LIVERMORE HAMMOND was born in Newton, Mass .. December twenty-ninth, 1779. He was the oldest of a family of ten children and his education was limited to a short period in the district school. Quite early in life he worked at stucco work in Boston, and having an artistic temperament took lessons for some time of Chester Harding, the artist. For his second wife he married Eliza Preston, daughter of Dr. John Preston, of New Ipswich, New Hampshire. He was living in a pleasant home, earned by years of hard labor, devoting his time to managing a
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New England farm and painting portraits, for which he had a decided talent ; and, being an ardent abolitionist and an enthusiastic temperance reformer, he was quite ready, when the claims of the "Northampton Association for Education and Industry " were presented to him in glow- ing colors, to sell his home at a sacrifice and follow, as he thought, the teachings of the greatest reformer the world has ever known. This appeared to him the beginning of the reign of heaven upon earth, uni- versal brotherhood. I think, more than any man I ever knew, he tried to follow Christ's teaching literally. He could not twist and turn them to suit his life ; he must make his everyday living conform to them.
He joined the association in 1844, and proved a valuable member, always taking an active interest in its welfare, and doing what he could to promote harmony in the "hetero- geneous mass of people of all ages, colors, and conditions of life," as he was wont to call them. Although Community life fell short of his ideal. he never lost faith in the association's broad platform, and though he knew the human race must cast off much of its selfishness before such a scheme could succeed, while poorer in purse, he always felt richer in soul for having been one of its members. He fully ac- cepted the closing words of Bronson Alcott's speech in Florence a few years ago. Mr. Alcott, after giving a little sketch of his life, of the many " isms " he had tried and found wanting, of a visit ELISHA L HAMMOND. From a Painting by himself. he made to the old Community, think- ing that was to be the millennium upon earth, now, in his old age, declared that he had winnowed them all down to this simple doctrine, " The kingdom of heaven is within."
After leaving the association he built his little cottage in Florence and lived there with his devoted wife about thirty-five years. Always a worker with his hands, he managed by strict economy to keep his pleas- ant home, devoting much time and labor to the many good causes which appealed to his sympathies.
On the subjects of temperance and tobacco he was a radical of the radicals. Here is a characteristic paragraph from his journal :-
" Tobacco is yet too respectable to be talked about. Rum used to be, but it does behave so badly that its conduct is spoken against now by many respect-
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able people, and when women come to the front they will open wide the doors and sweep it out, Hasten the day !"
The following brief paragraphs taken at random from his journal suggest his habits of thought and the underlying principles that con- trolled his action, yet he was not a man of theories, and it might almost be said that his theories were the result of his own experience, of his daily life.
" My investments in silver and gold have not been successful, but my invest- ments in humanity have been yielding a percentage quite satisfactory and remunerative."
" On my platform every human being shall have the privilege of explaining his or her individual convictions. I do not feel I have any right or authority delegated to me to coerce my fellow beings, or do anything that shall disturb their religion or diminish their hopes."
" Honesty is a lost art. It used to be considered a desirable quality adorning the character of any human being, if for no higher motive than policy. Now it is dispensed with altogether."
I find this last record in his journal dated July tenth, 1882 :-
"One week ago, the anniversary of my wife's death, I left my Florence home for a home with my adopted children in Brightwood. Owing to my feeble health the old house had lost its charm for me, and the new home seems the most rest- ful place, till I hear the summons, 'Come up higher.'"
So full of faith was he that what we call death was for him only the setting forth upon a pleasantly anticipated journey concerning which he had no shadow of doubt or misgiving. It was by his own request that his burial was absolutely without ceremony.
The following is an extract from an address by a friend in his old home, New Ipswich :-
"Such a one, not unknown to some of you, once walked our streets whose hand was ready and strong in every good work ; a skillful artisan, a sound thinker, an earnest speaker in his plain, straightforward way, always in the front. rank for freedom, temperance, and all reforms. After he had reached the age of fourscore years, looking back upon the scene as nearly ended, honored and loved by all who knew him, he exclaimed : 'I fear my life has been a failure." Can you wonder if in the minds of those who heard him, the response at once sprang up, 'A life like yours is of the highest type ' ?"
Another friend, immediately after his death, wrote :-
" He was a man of strong individuality, possessing remarkable characteristics . his intellectual endowments and attainments, together with his acute moral and social susceptibilities, rendering his position in society one of peculiar bearing and influence. His temperament was naturally very sanguine and hopeful. His impulses were quick and earnest ; his humanity broad as the world, and of con-
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stant, untiring activity : while his sympathies possessed a feminine sweetness and tenderness. He was the coadjutor and companion of Garrison, Foster, Phillips, Burleigh, Pillsbury, and other noble pioneers of the anti-slavery cause. 'Let justice be done though the heavens fall,' was the watchword of his life."
MARY WHITE BOND.
BY MARTHA BRYANT CARY.
MARY WHITE BOND was born at Canterbury, Conn., May twenty-first, 1836, and died at Florence, Mass., September twenty-fifth, 1891. Her father, Daniel Herrick Bond, was a descendant of Henry Herrick of Salem, who came to this country in 1629.
The ancestry of the Herrick family is traced to Eric the Forester, and later to Sir William Herrick, who was connected with the court of Queen Elizabeth in 1575, a member of Parliament from 1601 to 1630, and continued his connection with the gov- ernment through the reign of James I. It is an interesting fact that the coat of arms of the Herrick family bears the motto,"Virtus nobilitat omnia." HAIL.STONES OF THE GREAT STORM, JUNE 20, '70 .* Mary White Bond inherited many of the qualities of her far-away ancestors, and was a marked illustration of the truthfulness of the motto upon the Herrick coat of arms-"Virtue ennobles all."
The first paternal ancestor in this country was William Bond, son of Thomas Bond, of Bury Saint Edmunds, England, who came to Water- town, Mass., in 1630, with the first settlers of that town. He was select- man, town clerk, a captain of a company of horse, a justice of the peace, a member of the council of safety in 1689, often chosen a representative to the General Court, and four times elected speaker of that body. His grandson, Nathaniel Bond, sold his property in Watertown, and removed to Canterbury, Conn., in 1710. Bethuel Bond, grandson of Nathaniel, married Ruth Herrick, one of whose children was Daniel Herrick Bond.
* In this picture are two hens' eggs, one at the extreme left, and one in the background, showing the comparative size of the hailstones, which were only average specimens. Stones formed in Northampton and Florence larger than anywhere else in the line of the storm.
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Mary White Bond's mother, Deborah White, was the daughter of George Savage White, who came with his family from England to this country in 1812. He was an Episcopal clergyman, and preached in various places in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Her mother died when Mary was thirteen years old, leaving seven children, the youngest, Henry, being not quite two years old. Her father never married again, and she remained with him and the children, caring for them and maintaining the home. Her influence upon her brothers and sisters was, perhaps, the most important part of her life work, and they all lived to recognize their great obligation to her for her unceasing exertions for their welfare.
She inherited the strong mental qualities of her mother's family, and the love of study and independence of thought of her father, at an early age manifesting an eager desire for knowledge. All books within her reach were read, and many often re- read. She early became familiar with history, poetry, and many of the stand- ard works of prose, while later she pur- sued the study of botany, mathematics, and German, acquiring familiarity with the works of the best German authors, and conversing readily in that lan- guage. In her knowledge of Shake- speare and the literature pertaining to his works, she was the equal of some of the best scholars of the day.
Her career as a school-teacher com- menced in 1858 and continued until 1872, first in her native town, after- wards in Farmington, Conn., and, in 1864, she came to Florence, where she was made principal of its public MARY WHITE BOND. schools. She was an ideal educator, developing in her pupils an enthu- siastic interest in their studies, and an earnest desire for knowledge. Many " self-made " men and women to-day delight to do her memory honor by giving to her the credit of making the right suggestion at the right time, which sent them forth with new light and courage to make their way in life.
She saw little of the world by travel, yet she possessed all the culture, refinement, and ease of manners which are usually acquired only by those who have the leisure for extensive reading, travel, and social inter- course. By a liberal purchase of books and photographs of the best
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works of art, and by subscription to the best periodicals and newspapers of the day, she brought to herself the world she had never visited.
Miss Bond was the first woman elected a member of the school com- mittee of Northampton, and continued in that position by re-election to the time of her death. She was selected by Alfred T. Lilly as one of the trustees of the Lilly Library Association, and devoted her time and talent to the end that the generous gift of Lilly Library to Florence should be a positive factor in the promotion of the cause of education in the village, serving as a member of the book committee, and exercising great care in the selection of books which would be of value to the school children in their studies. During the last year of her life, she formed a plan for additional educational facilities in Florence, under the scheme known as university extension, but her death prevented its exe- cution.
In 1873, when the Florence Savings Bank was organized, her brother, Henry Herrick Bond, was chosen treasurer, but the work was largely performed by his sister, and after his death, in 1882, she was chosen treasurer of the bank, being the first woman ever elected to such an office. This position she occupied during the remainder of her life.
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