USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Florence > The history of Florence, Massachusetts : including a complete account of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry > Part 19
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Here she might always be found before business hours, ready to accommodate those whose convenience required an early call. Here depositors of all ages were encouraged to come with their savings, how- ever small. Here, too, she came in contact with almost every phase of human character, and in her not only the educated and the rich, but the ignorant and the poor, found a cheering, inspiring, and sympathetic friend. She recognized true nobility under the roughest exterior, and. though possessing intellectual gifts and social graces that made her the peer of the highest, she was never " bored " by the society of the hum- blest. In her large heart there was room for all.
In the midst of her arduous and faithful labors in school and at the bank, Miss Bond found time to conduct free classes in several branches of study for the benefit of her young friends, some of whom met with her, with only occasional interruptions, during a period of nearly twenty years. In this way she taught botany, gathering her pupils about her in her office after business hours, and in favorable weather going with them on Saturday afternoon to gather and analyze specimens afforded by the fields and woods of Florence. The class in German met at her home one evening in each week for fifteen years, and during that time she had the pleasure of seeing some of her pupils progress from the " First German Reader " to familiarity with the best writers in that language. How thrilling the memory of those delightful hours when we, her privileged pupils, were wont to gather in a friendly circle about the ample table, to
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partake of the feast thus freely and generously offered ! What pleasure from time to time to steal a glance at her sweet, strong, benign face, as she bent in absorbed attention over the book before her !
For eighteen years she conducted a class in Shakespeare, meeting with her pupils once a week, and it was in this class possibly more than in either of the others, that they learned something of the depth and richness of her intellect, and the beauty and nobility of her character. Henceforth life possessed for them a new and greater meaning. She gave them higher ideals to live by and nobler ends to work for.
Not the least of her services to oth- ers was her work as superintendent of the Sunday-school of the Free Con- gregational Society of Florence, a posi- tion requiring much time and thought, and a service book, which was her own generous gift to the school, is still used in the opening exercises.
Miss Bond liked " wide margins," as she would sometimes say, humor- ously, when, opening some book, she pointed to its clear print and wide mar- gin, apparently unconscious of the deep significance of her words, the truth of which was daily illustrated in her own life. Though her work would seem to have been sufficient to absorb GEORGE 1. BURR. her whole time, she left "wide mar- gins " for those who needed her, and for those who might call upon her for aid or sympathy.
But if all were said which gratitude and affection could prompt, the best would still remain unspoken. We knew her and knew her not. 'For that is the nobility of the great, that they cannot be divined, but send the seeker farther and farther into their own unsurveyed heavens
GEORGE A. BURR.
BY FRANK N. LOOK.
ALMOST without exception, the men who were at the head of the vant ous manufacturing interests of the Florence of fifteen or twenty years ago have died, or have removed to other localities. Seldom is a place found having such diversified industries, where this is as true as in Flor-
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HISTORY OF FLORENCE.
ence, or where so large a portion of its active men of business are as yet in the very prime of life, able to give from their full measure of strength the best of mind and heart for the interests intrusted to them. To some of those who now bear these responsibilities, counsel, example, and strength have come from association with those who, alone and under great difficulties, shaped the successful beginnings of our industries, the heritage of whose toil and wisdom we now enjoy. To some of us have come similar qualities, from those who have laid down their work while in the possession of their full strength, and at the time for doing their best work ; and, again, from others whose active life has been spent elsewhere, yet who always gave generously of time and money for Florence enterprises, influences have come that are fully appreciated by those who direct the affairs for which they labored. Rich as is this inheritance, and inspiring as is this record for character and qualities that ever make for success, as other pages in this volume witness, yet we must always regret that we have not had the benefit of the ripe experi- ence and matured judgment of some who, loving Florence, watching her interests with loyal pride, and planning wisely for the future, have died in the prime of life, leaving to us the attainment of their anticipations.
George A. Burr was such a man, and, had his life been spared, it must have been of much advantage to this community. Mr. Burr was born in Worthington, Mass., December twelfth, 1829, and was an inheritor of those qualities that have made the true American what he is ; the son of Ames Burr, one of those men of sterling character who largely made his own circumstances, instead of being made by them, whose influence was not merely local, whose sympathies were broad, and whose word was synonymous with truth.
He grew to young manhood on a farm, attending the district school and forming his love of nature that never lessened, taking to himself the strength and ambition coming from the broad outlook from the home in Worthington, with its pure air and clean surroundings.
With this equipment, he came to Northampton when fourteen years of age, and began his business career, serving as errand boy for the dry goods firm of Stoddard & Lathrop. Faithfulness to duty characterized him at the very beginning. One of his duties was to cover the windows at night with heavy wooden shutters. One morning he found a notice of warning, stating that he must be more careful of his work. Recog- nizing the handwriting as that of a fellow clerk, who may have thought to discourage him, or to whom the fidelity of Mr. Burr may have been a reproof, he preserved it for many years as a reminder of his early life. Fitted by the advances made in this store, he sought a wider field for his energies, which all recall who knew him during those years.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
A partnership was formed with Mr. McIntyre for the purpose of hand ling coal, flour, and grain, occupying the brick building at the railroad crossing on Main street. Mr. Burr, though now only a young man of nineteen, at once began to increase the line of business, and early in this partnership the first carload of coal was received that was ever brought to Northampton. During this period he learned the telegraph business. and was wont to tell of his many experiences of his early work.
When Mr. Christopher Clark undertook to arrange for the extraof- dinary undertaking at that time of a concert by the famous Jenny Lind. it became necessary to have a liberal guarantee against financial loss. and he found in Mr. Burr a faithful ally. The concert was given with great suc- cess, and her coming led to the happy days that this sweet singer spent in Northamp- ton, "the paradise of America."
Some of Mr. Burr's family having gone West, after a few years he retired from THE GEORGE A. BURR PLACE. the business, and, while en route for the West, stopped at Bleecker, N. Y., to visit a brother. and became interested in the lumber and furniture business, in which he continued for about ten years. Hard work and great energy had built up a fair business, but the life there was not a congenial one, nor was it adapted for his family, for, at the time of his going to Bleecker, he had married Miss Sarah M. Ely of West Springfield.
The entire building and a large portion of the machinery being destroyed by fire, he at once decided to return to Northampton, and very soon afterward was elected general agent of the Florence Sewing Machine Company. Here he found an opportunity for his strength. and, under his management, this company attained great success, largely extending its business, and its capital stock increased to twice its non- inal value. "Had the same honesty, integrity, and ability governed the management of the prominent local offices for the sale of machines that characterized the administration of the home office, the financial con- dition of the company would have proved a marvel of business prosper- ity." During his administration as treasurer, the script of the sewing
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HISTORY OF FLORENCE.
machine company was issued, which served as local money for some time, all but a very small amount being eventually redeemed.
Disposing largely of his stock in this company, though he continued to serve the interests of stockholders in later years, as all who knew his keen analysis of managements and men remember, he entered upon the work of his life, the management and development of the Florence Man- ufacturing Company. Giving to this business his entire time and matured powers, he quickly brought it to an assured success. During the fifteen years of his management, the most cordial relations existed between employer and employed, officers and stockholders. Visiting Europe several times in the interest of the business, and being in touch with the advances made in similar lines of industry, he left this business as a monument to his sagacity and wisdom in financial matters.
Mr. Burr was for a number of years on the board of assessors and selectmen. He was for many years a valued member of the board of directors of the Northampton National Bank, and, from the beginning of the Florence Savings Bank, was its vice-president.
In politics, Mr. Burr was a stanch Republican, but he never con- sented to the use of his name for political honors.
In his business life at home and abroad, he was honored and thor- ouglily respected ; under all circumstances a gentleman, his large heart showing itself in his cordial greeting, a genial host, and attached to home and family with the strongest of ties.
Facing death for many months, in the full attainment of his man- hood, he displayed rare graces of patience and continued thoughtful- ness for others.
Mr. Burr was, throughout his life in Florence, actively interested in, and a generous supporter of, the Congregational church, giving to it and to the pastor the best of his counsel and service.
Mr. Burr died January twenty-sixth, 1881, being fifty-one years of age. His wife and three children survive him, and the memory of his life lives on in lives helped by him.
HENRY HERRICK BOND.
BY ELIZABETH POWELL BOND.
HENRY HERRICK BOND was born in Canterbury, Conn., June second, 1847, the youngest child of Daniel Herrick Bond and Deborah White. He bore the name, Henry Herrick, of the Anglo-American founder of the maternal side of his father's family. The ancestral line has already been traced in the sketch of his revered sister, Mary White Bond.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
The childhood of Henry Herrick Bond was passed in the quiet, rural village of Canterbury, where he attended the village school, enjoying the wholesome recreations of country boys, and, at the same time, having regular duties that supplied all his pocket money. At sixteen, he removed with his family to Florence, Mass., where his brother, Daniel W Bond, had begun the practice of law. During his school days in Flor- ence, he was a member of the amateur baseball nine, the " Eagles." whose competitive games became the occasion of village holidays, and whose successes and defeats were matters of pride or regret to the whole village. The strong, personal influence that was characteristic of his manhood made itself felt in his asso- ciation with other youths. He did not preach against profanity, but, in his presence, the profane word was not spoken.
At nineteen he laid aside the bat and ball, and entered the Columbia Law School of New York, where he spent two years. The youngest mem- ber of a large class, he was the only one who never missed a lecture, and whose command of phonography enabled him to make every lecture his own. He was admitted to the bar of Northamp- ton in 1869, and immediately com- menced practice with his brother, then associated with William Allen, after- ward Judge Allen of the superior court. HENRY HERRICK BOND He had a genius for hard work, not only in his own profession, but in the interests of his town, wherever his efforts might serve the community.
The Homestead Fund, beneficently established by Samuel L. Hill to aid the mechanics of Florence to secure homes, was committed to his care and direction. In 1873 the establishment of the Florence Savings Bank engaged his interest ; and its complete success, under the wise methods of Miss Bond, has justified his efforts for it.
No desire for personal ease, nor for the gratification of his private tastes, ever stood in the way of his clients ; and that part of his work which to a less earnest nature would have been drudgery took on the interest of determined success. He commenced arguing cases before the full bench of the supreme judicial court, in September, 1872, and appeared before the court for this purpose every year until 1878, when he made the argument in the last case on his list, and left the court house never to
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return, nor to do any more professional work. His brother, Judge Bond, says of him : "It can be safely said that during the time he practiced law, no man of his age ever did more or better professional work. The presentation of his views upon questions of law was remarkably clear and forcible. A judge of the superior court of Massachusetts said that 'he could state a proposition of law as clearly as any man at the bar.' His argument for a new trial at Worcester during the last year he was practicing law was said, by lawyers who heard it, to be a model and masterly effort. He was tall and well proportioned, his voice was clear and pleasant, he spoke earnestly, and with the coolness and deliberation of a lawyer of years of practice ; he was always master of his case and had thoroughly examined the principles of the law with reference to the questions at issue. In the preparation of cases for trial by a jury he had no equal among the younger and few among the elder members of the bar. All the facts and inferences were minutely examined, and arranged in order upon paper, for use at the trial, an examination of the law was made, and a careful statement of it written out with reference to the authorities. His opening to the jury was always a strong presentation of the case. The opening made by him in the case of the Common- wealth v. Scott and Dunlap was regarded by all who heard it as a remarkably clear and forcible statement. He never lost his self-control, he was respectful to the Court, and courteous to the counsel on the opposing side ; his arguments to the jury were thorough, and received by them as coming from a man of honor and integrity."
During the three years of failing health, in which he was forced to acknowledge to himself that he could not again take up his profession, his serene courage was never shaken, nor his quiet cheerfulness once clouded. With everything to live for that a man could have, he faced death with the fortitude which had characterized his active life. On the twenty-second of October, 1881, at Millboro, Virginia, he passed away.
At a meeting of the Hampshire Bar on Friday afternoon, January sixth, 1882, the following resolutions were presented before Judge Al- drich, and ordered to be placed upon the records of the court :-
RESOLUTIONS.
Whereas, in the recent decease of Henry Herrick Bond the Hampshire Bar has lost one of its most honored members :-
Resolved, That by his habits of patient and searching investigation, by his clear discernment and grasp of legal principles, and by the logical exercise of his mental powers, he had gained a large and accurate knowledge of the law : and by a compact and vigorous method of statement he made his knowledge available and efficient : while his love of justice, a certain chivalric devotion to his profes- sion, his honesty of purpose, his sound common sense, and the evident sincerity
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of his motives and his speech, gave dignity to his professional character and Dir- nished a solid basis for his personal success.
Resolved, That we hold in affectionate remembrance the sterling qualities to his strong and generous manhood ; the urbanity and unvarying courtesy of his manner, his patience under difficulties and under provocation ; his faith in mano. his genial friendship; his tender and sympathetic consideration for the feelings of others ; his modest self-reliance, and the variety and excellence of his literan attainments. He had the promise of a rich maturity, and of an eminently useto life. Well balanced and self-controlled, he held on his even way calin and cofr- ageous in life and calm and courageous as its end drew near.
Resolved, That we request that these resolutions may be extended on the records of this court, and that a copy be transmitted to the family of the deceased,
JOHN LORD OTIS.
BY THE EDITOR.
GENERAL JOHN LORD OTIS was born in Lyme, Conn., July fifteenth, 1827, and commenced the life of a factory hand when only seven and a half years old, working fourteen hours a day. He followed this employment, from "bobbin boy" to overseer, for eighteen years, de- voting nights to hard study. At twenty-five he was well versed in most of the branches of manufac- turing, was a good machinist, and a mechanical engineer of acknowl- edged ability. At this time he took charge of the Pacific mills of Manchester, Conn., as superin- tendent, and later established the Otis Manufacturing Company at South Manchester, where he was living when the war broke out.
When the call for volunteers came he enlisted in what was afterward known as Company B, Tenth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, and upon the organ- ization of the company was com- GENERAL. JOHN FORDDNES. missioned as second lieutenant. He served first in the Burnside expedition at North Carolina, and was in all the engagements in that department. Passing rapidly through the
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intermediate grades, he was commissioned major of his regiment in November, 1862, and the following March he was promoted to the rank of colonel.
January twenty-ninth, 1863, he was ordered, with his command, to South Carolina, where he served until July, when, becoming disabled by an attack of fever, he was ordered north to take command of the con- script camp at New Haven, Conn. Here he remained for two months, and was then detailed by General Dix to preside over a court martial of thirteen members assembled for the trial of several officers, against whom serious charges had been preferred.
In November. Colonel Otis was relieved from detached service at his own request, and immediately rejoined his regiment, then in Florida, and was placed in command of St. Augustine, where he remained until April seventeenth, 1864, and then joined the "Army of the James" on its organization ; was in all its engagements during the summer, and was brevetted a brigadier general for special gallantry at "the crossing of the James, June twentieth, and at the battle of Fuzzells Mills and Deep Gully." General Plaisted, who was the commander of Colonel Otis' brigade, wrote to a friend, as follows :-
" I have just heard that our old friend and comrade is dead. It touches me deeply, as I know it must you. You know my partiality for Colonel Otis-how I esteemed him as a man, patriot, and soldier. I recollect the first time we met. It was at the opening of the campaign in Virginia in '64, when the Tenth came under my command. We sat down on the grass together and talked of the busi- ness at hand, as one farmer might in the field, with a new neighbor, of the crops in prospect. I remember the impression he made. There was no military air about him, any more than about Grant, but I perceived the quality of his spirit and nerve.
" What I admired most in our lamented friend, next to his patriotic zeal, was his coolness and judgment. He rose with the emergency, always equal to the occasion. I never saw him excited but once. That was when we fell back from the Howlett house battery, June sixteenth, under the fire of Lee's veterans, and he thought the Tenth was not falling back becomingly. His sword flashed high, his voice rang out above the din, bringing his regiment to a standstill on the instant. Riding out, I said to him, 'The orders were to fall back on the run.' . Oh. I did not understand,' sheathing his sword, so quietly. Ordinarily so quiet, but in battle how changed his manner, his voice and form! In the battle of October seventh his regiment was the rock of defense in our line, his the central figure ; and how his voice then rang out in the pines, when taking position with- out a moment to spare ! There was a ring in it, so commanding, as coming from the finest metal, how could his boys move from their tracks, except to make room for those who fell,' as you remarked at the time.
" But the crowning act of his three years' service was his charge of October
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thirteenth, when the Tenth had lost so heavily, including our . knightly soldier Major Camp, and every company commander ! After the terrible ordeal, as Isaid to him, I looked upon him as one of the worthies come out of the fiery furnace His reply was, ' Now I am ready to go home, I am mustered out-have my dis- charge,' tapping his breast. 'And you went into that charge with your discharge in your pocket !' He smiled. 'Well, colonel,' I said, . that is beyond me. How could you do it-mustered out and all your thoughts turned toward home ""
He was mustered out October eighteenth, 1864, on account of expira- tion of term of service, his service in the army amounting to three years
WOODED ROAD IN THE RAVINE-SPRING GROVE CEMETERY.
and four months, and he left the service with the rank of brigadict general. He was wounded three times, once at New Berne, and twice at Kingston.
At the close of the war General Otis came to Florence and became superintendent of the old Florence Sewing Machine Company, but after two years withdrew, and in company with L. B. Williams established the Northampton Emery Wheel Company, under the firm name of Otis & Williams. Later a stock company was formed with General Otis secre-
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tary, treasurer, and business manager. He was a Northampton select- man twice, a representative to the legislature in 1877, and state senator in 1879 and 1880.
General Otis died at Tarpon Springs, Florida, March fourteenth, 1894. For several years ill health led him to spend his winters in the South, thus avoiding the extreme cold of the northern climate. In January, 1894, while preparing to leave Florence, he sustained an attack of heart disease, but rallied sufficiently to enable him to make the journey.
PINE STREET BRIDGE-A VISTA NEAR THE BRUSH FACTORY.
However, his strength failed soon after reaching Tarpon Springs, and the end came quite suddenly.
In 1848 Mr. Otis married Catherine Preston of Northampton, and his wife and two children, Harry P. and Philip A., survive him, all residing in Florence.
A loving husband, a kind father, a manly citizen, and a brave soldier was General Otis, and Florence will ever revere and cherish the memory of his noble life.
INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS.
FLORENCE is a manufacturing village, and the products of its mills and factories have been scattered far and wide throughout the world. How the first enterprises were planted here, and how they thrived, is told in Part I. of this work. But Florence was then in its infancy, and the industries which sprang up after the dissolution of the Community will now receive the attention which their importance deserves.
THE NONOTUCK SILK COMPANY .- The Nonotuck Silk Company stands first on the list of the manufacturing industries. Its early establishment
OLD WOODEN MILL.
FINISHING DEPARTMENT AND OFFICE.
BUILDINGS OF THE NONOTUCK SILK COMPANY IN IS75.
and continued prosperity and importance entitle it to this position. It may be said that the business had its beginning in the mulberry fever and silk enterprise of Samuel Whitmarsh. The Community continued making silk till its dissolution in 1846, when Mr. S. L. Hill assumed charge. In 1850 Mr. Hill was embarrassed by the failure of a brother manufacturer, whom he had assisted and on whose notes he was an indorser, and he was obliged to lease his silk mill to H. K. Macomber and Curtis R. Parsons, who continued the business under the name of Macomber & Parsons.
Mr. Hill now turned his attention to farming, and also dealt in lum- ber, but soon, with the assistance of Mr. S. L. Hinckley, he was enabled to begin the manufacturing of silk again. The firm name was the " Nano
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