USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Milton > The history of Milton, Mass., 1640 to 1877 > Part 39
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391
GRANITE BUSINESS.
Previous to the year 1838 there was but very little done in this town in the way of quarrying ; but the development of this industry in the neighboring town of Quincy was the cause, and the only cause, that occasioned an increase of population in the eastern part of Milton.
BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.
The building of Bunker Hill Monument, and the consequent opening of the Granite Railway in 1826, was the dawn of a brighter day in that section of our town. The business activity and prosperity that followed is to be attributed in no small degree to that scientific and leading man, Mr. Soloman Willard.
Although the stone for the monument was quarried in Quincy, the cutting of the stone was done almost wholly in Milton. Soon after opening the quarry the Granite Railway Company built sheds at the head of the wharf on the Neponset river; these sheds were mostly in Milton. About the same time a stone-shed was built in Milton a few rods north of the town line and just east of the railroad track, extending northerly several hundred feet. It was opposite the residence and store of the late George W. Tarbox. At these sheds all the stone-cutting was done by this company for the first thirty years of their operations. This statement is literally true, with this qualification : between 1837 and 1844 this company had a contract with the City of Boston by which the labor of their convicts in the House of Correction was sold to them and was used in cutting their granite.
The business here gave employment to a large number of workmen until the close of the year 1835, when Mr. Gridley Bryant, the first agent of the company, and to whose energy and skill the prosecution of this branch of industry in this vicinity is largely due, was superseded by Mr. Samuel R. Johnson. After this date, until 1859, most of the stone-cutting was done at the sheds in East Milton Village.
BOSTON CUSTOM-HOUSE.
In the year 1834 the Granite Railway Company, in connection with other leading granite workers of Quincy, obtained the con- tract for furnishing the granite for the Custom-House in Boston. The ingenuity of Mr. Bryant was severely taxed in devising a method for transporting the vast columns of that building. He had already transported from Chelmsford to Boston the eight columns of the Quincy Market House and the two columns of the United States Bank building, now the Merchants' National
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
Bank ; and from Quincy the columns of the Tremont House and of the Suffolk County Court-House, the weight of the latter being sixty-four tons each ; but the Custom-House columns were somewhat more than thirty feet in length, and were said to be much heavier than had ever been carted in this part of the country.
It was decided to move them in the winter, taking advantage of the snow, and for this purpose a sled was constructed. This sled was in two parts, very much like two mud-scows; the bottom was flat, and, being without runners, it rested fully on the ground. To prevent a side movement when in motion an iron keel, three or four inches square, was bolted on the bottom, which served a good purpose on deep and solid snow ; but where the snow was thin, and on bare ground, the friction was too much. On this sled about one-half of the columns were safely landed in Boston. The last time the sled was used they had proceeded on the way as far as the stable of Mr. John W. Brooks, Centre street, Milton, when bare ground was encountered, and the load could not be moved. The column was rolled from the sled, and the bottom was covered with hard-wood planks, to shut out the iron keel and prevent the great friction where the snow was thin ; then it was reloaded and a new start made. But this new arrangement proved a failure. Without the keel the load became unmanageable, and they had gone only to that point on Centre street where the brook runs under the street, when the load slued entirely from the road, and landed in the ditch, where it was allowed to remain until the next summer. Then the column, which was "in the rough," was cut and finished, and carried to Boston on a wagon made in the interval. This wagon, which took the rest of the columns to their place of destination, was a wonderful affair. The body was made of two pairs of heavy oak timbers, between thirty and forty feet long by about sixteen inches high, and seven inches wide; each pair was placed two feet and six inches apart, leaving room to allow a hind wheel to revolve between them. These timbers rested on the axle-trees, and were separated so as to give room for the load to be suspended between them. The two pairs of timbers were held together by a heavy beam at each end extending across the whole wagon, and to these each of the timbers was firmly bolted. To the cross-beams the load was attached by chains, and left to swing when in motion. It was the intention of the designer to have the load carried mainly by the hind wheels, and for this reason they were made exceedingly strong. Each of the hind wheels was made up of two wheels, each with a felly one foot wide and a diameter of nearly nine feet. On each of these were two tires of a large size. The two parts were placed
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GRANITE BUSINESS.
together, making the felly two feet wide. They were then covered, in their whole width, by layers of oak timber about three by four inches, which were firmly spiked on. On these were shrunk four heavy iron tires, which held everything in place. The hub was of cast-iron, and the axle-trees were just long enough to pass through the hub and support one of the long timbers on each of its ends. The wheel could revolve on its axle-tree, or the axle could turn with the wheel.
The forward wheels were much smaller, being low enough to run under the body, for convenience in turning. As such an enormous vehicle was too much for a pair of oxen to govern when in motion, a section of gear-wheel was attached to the
ACROIX.
forward axle-tree in such a manner that it could be revolved by means of a pinion and crank, so as to move the carriage in any desired direction. To draw this great load on so very heavy a carriage it was deemed best to use oxen, which were very gen- erally in use at that time among farmers. The result was that all the oxen available for several miles around were engaged for this purpose, making a team of fifty-five yoke of oxen, led by six horses. Henry West had charge of the transportation. The route followed in Milton was from Bryant street to Adams ; thence to Centre ; then crossing over White's lane to Brook road, and by Mattapan street over the bridge into Dorchester.
We give above an engraving of the wonderful structure, fur-
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
nished from drawings by J. Wesley Martin, to whom we are indebted for the facts relating to the granite business.
QUARRIES IN MILTON.
In the year 1838 John Winkley worked a quarry for a short time on land of the late Samuel K. Bailey, a short distance south of the "Bailey's Farm." Although the granite was of a good quality it was soon abandoned, and has never been worked since. About the year 1840 Mr. Samuel Alden opened a quarry a little farther to the west than Winkley's place, on land of the late Col. Joseph Lyman. Alden's operations were not extensive, nor of long continuance, and since his day there has been nothing done there.
STONE-CUTTING.
Several persons have carried on what is called stone-cutting, in years past, within the limits of the town, which gave employ- ment to a goodly number of workmen. One of the first of these was our townsman, Mr. Benjamin F. Dudley, who com- menced work with others about 1832. Their quarry was in West Quincy. Their work was, to a great extent, sent to cities on our seaboard south of Boston, and the transportation was by water. For this reason it was deemed best to do the cutting near the place of shipment. Their stone-sheds were at first on or near what was then known as Briggs' wharf. After about three years they were removed to the quarry at West Quincy. Much of the time during these three years Mr. Dudley em- ployed as many as forty workmen at this place. While this work was progressing, Mr. Dudley and his associates were in- corporated as the Quincy Granite Co., under which style they continued to work until he retired from the granite business, in 1850.
While Mr. Dudley was engaged in the place above named Mr. Thomas Hollis, Jr., who succeeded his father, established a stone-shed very near Mr. Dudley's, but after a short time the buildings were removed to his quarry, near the line of Quincy, and now owned by F. J. Fuller.
The next attempt of the kind made in the town was by H. B. Martin & Co., in the year 1837. They began their work at the Lower Mills, on the town landing. At this time Mr. James Campbell was building the wharf now occupied by Mr. Godfrey. This was completed shortly after, and the stone-sheds were moved to the wharf in the fall of 1837, and remained until the
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GRANITE BUSINESS.
summer of 1840, when the business was brought to a close. At this place a large part of the granite for Harvard College Library building was prepared or cut. The quarry worked by H. B. Martin & Co. was on the land long known as the " Quincy Lot," owned by Mr. Josiah Quincy, then President of Harvard College. This may have assisted Martin & Co. in securing the contract with Harvard College to furnish the granite for this building. As the job was of some magnitude and the parties to the contract desired to finish the building as quickly as possible, Martin & Co. divided the work, giving Thomas Hollis, Jr., and O. T. Rogers & Co. each a part.
In the spring of 1844 Hosea Flanders began the stone business at East Milton, nearly on the spot now used by Smith Brothers. It proved, however, of short duration, and before the year expired he had abandoned the undertaking.
OTHER MILTON QUARRIES.
In 1844 Mr. Thomas Hollis, Jr., began to work a quarry a short distance south of Pleasant street. He continued to work this until 1854, when he sold to Daniel G. Corliss and Oliver West. Mr. West soon left the concern, and Simon B. Corliss was admitted as a partner. This firm, afterwards known as D. G. Corliss & Co., continued the business without interruption until 1865, when they admitted into the company J. W. Martin. The partnership continued until the close of the year 1880, and was then dissolved, after an existence of nearly twenty-six years. In the spring of 1881 they sold their quarry to Messrs. H. J. Rice and Frank Tucker. At the end of one year Mr. Tucker conveyed his interest to Mr. Rice, since which time Mr. Rice has carried on the business. This is a part of the Quincy range. It is south and west of the dark-blue stone of which the quarries of the Granite Railway Company and F. J. Fuller are the best representatives. It lies between the dark-blue vein and the Blue Hills, and is of a lighter color, with a coarser grain. The feld- spar is often almost white, in large particles, having the appearance of albite or soda feldspar. The potash feldspar is sometimes light or pale blue, but oftener of a gray color. Occasionally the rock is marked by stripes of a lighter color, similar to marking seen in gneiss; though it does not resemble gneiss in any other respect, as it is wholly destitute of mica, while the hornblende is quite marked, being in rather large crystalline particles and of the blackness of jet.
In the year 1861 Mr. E. Palmer began to work a quarry on
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
land of Mr. L. W. Babcock, a short distance off Canton avenue, south of Mr. Babcock's residence. He, however, soon sold out to Mr. W. H. Boardman, who, with his son, Edward P. Board- man, as partner, carried on the business for a period of five or six years ; but, finding it less profitable than was desired, their business was brought to a close in 1866. Mr. George Crowd, late of this town, afterwards worked the quarry to some extent. A few years ago it passed into the possession of Mr. Henry A. Whitney, and has not been worked since. This granite is identical with Mr. Rice's quarry in all its essential characteristics.
STONE-CUTTING IN EAST MILTON.
In the latter part of the year 1882 Messrs. W. A. & James G. Smith started the business of granite-cutting in East Milton village, under the style of Smith Brothers. The undertaking has proved successful, and promises to do much towards reviving the business in this part of the town. Their buildings are very near the location of the first stone-sheds built by the Granite Railway Company nearly sixty years ago. In the following year a company began work, in the same line, under the style of John E. Manhire & Co. Mr. Manhire soon transferred his interest to other parties, and it finally resulted in the present firm of Watson & Gallagher Brothers. Their place of business is a little off Bryant street, in the rear of what has, since 1834, been known as the Bryant House, which was burned down Decem- ber 26, 1883.
PROMINENT EARLY MANUFACTURERS.
Some of the projectors and chief agents in these business activities should not be passed without a brief notice. Among the most prominent were Jeremiah Smith, James Boies, Hugh McLean, Daniel Vose, and Jeremiah Smith Boies.
JEREMIAH SMITH.
Jeremiah Smith, James Boies, and Hugh McLean were not native-born citizens. They came to this country from the north of Ireland. They were intimately connected here in their business relations and by the ties of marriage. They were all members of the Presbyterian Church of Boston, under the pastorate of Rev. John Morehead; and they continued this
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PROMINENT EARLY MANUFACTURERS.
close and intimate friendship through life, and their families after them. They were buried in Milton Cemetery.
Mr. Smith was born in the north of Ireland in 1704. He came with his wife to Boston in 1726, and removed to Milton in 1736. He entered the employ of the Paper Company, and soon came into possession of the whole property. He was the first man, in a private capacity, to manufacture paper in this province. He was a neighbor and intimate friend of Governor Hutchinson, although differing from him widely in the political measures of the day.
As agent of the Paper Company he became closely connected with Mr. Thomas Hancock, and was thus led to an intimate friendship with Gov. John Hancock, which continued through life.
In January 1759 he was licensed to keep a house of public entertainment at his house near Milton bridge on the main county road to Plymouth & Taunton. One house near by kept by Wm Badcock not able to entertain all the travel. - Public Archives, Vol. III., p. 423.
Early in the spring of 1738 Mr. Smith and William Badcock, his neighbor at Milton village, went on board an emigrant ship from Ireland, lying at Long wharf in Boston, for the purpose of procuring for Mr. Badcock domestic help. There they pur- chased a quantity of potatoes. A part of these was planted by Mr. Badcock, and in the fall he came to Mr. Smith in trouble, having two bushels of potatoes from his planting and not knowing what to do with them. It is believed that these were the first potatoes planted in Milton. Mr. Smith died in Milton, April 16, 1790, aged eighty-six years, and was placed in the Daniel Vose tomb.
JAMES BOIES.
James Boies was born in Ireland. He married, as second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Jeremiah Smith, in 1759.
He was a man of good business capacity, and was among the first to develop the manufacture of paper at Mattapan.
That he was a faithful citizen and an earnest patriot is manifest in his whole Milton life. He died here July 11, 1798, at the advanced age of ninety-six years.
HUGH MCLEAN.
He married Agnes, daughter of James Boies. For a short time he was engaged in business at St. George, Me., now Thomaston, but did not make that town his place of residence,
398
HISTORY OF MILTON.
nor was his home there. After a few years he relinquished his business at St. George, and took up his residence in Milton, engaging with James Boies in paper-making, and here passed the remainder of his days. He owned and occupied the Jackson house at Milton Upper Mills, on the west side of Blue Hill avenue, now owned by heirs of George Hollingsworth, where he continued to reside during his life. He died in Mil- ton, December, 1799, aged seventy-five years.
DANIEL VOSE.
Daniel Vose was born in Milton, Feb. 20, 1741. He was the oldest son of Capt. Thomas Vose, a leading man of his day, and active in the early wars.
Daniel Vose married Rachel Smith, daughter of Jeremiah Smith, Nov. 11, 1762. Patience, the daughter of Daniel and Rachel Vose, married Dr. Amos Holbrook. Elizabeth, the daughter of Daniel and Rachel Vose, born Oct. 20, 1767, married, first, John Lillie; and, second, Edmund Baker, the father of Edmund J. Baker, of Dorchester.
Col. Jesse Pierce married Elizabeth S. Lillie, the daughter of Elizabeth Vose and John Lillie ; his sons are the Hon. Henry L. and Edward L. Pierce.
Through the last half of the eighteenth century Daniel Vose was conspicuous in the civil and military affairs of the town. He was a sincere patriot, and rendered very important service to the country by his diligence and fidelity. He was a true friend and a genial host, entertaining with generous hospitality. His house was furnished handsomely for those days. Rich and valuable articles of his furniture are still in possession of Henry L. Pierce, among which are the "Governor Shirley Bibles." Reference to the family silver is seen in the papers of the day.1 Through his whole mature life Mr. Vose was, perhaps, the lead-
1 STOP THIEF.
Last night the house of the subseriber was broken open and the following artieles were stolen, viz. : -
I Large Silver Cup, holding a wine quart.
I Silver Cream Pot, marked P. V.
I Silver Pepper Box.
2 Pair Silver Sugar Tongs, one new, the other old fashioned.
7 Large Silver Table spoons.
I Dozen large tea spoons, beaded round the handle, not marked - maker's name, Caleb Beale.
7 Small Tea Spoons, marked R S.
A quantity of small change, among which were about 150 Birmingham eoppers.
Whoever will apprehend the thief, or thieves, so that they may be brought to justiee, shall be handsomely rewarded by
DANIEL VOSE.
MILTON, July 10, 1787.
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PROMINENT EARLY MANUFACTURERS.
ing business man in Milton. He carried on a large and varied trade, and was the medium of exchange for the producers of this town and of many interior towns. In this way he furnished occupation to many citizens and families of Milton dependent on their labor for a subsistence.
When Norfolk County was about to be set off, a great effort was made to establish the county buildings in Milton. Mr. Vose, then owning the land at the corner of Adams street and Churchill's lane, where the mansion of Mr. J. Murray Forbes now stands, offered to give the same for a court-house and jail.
JEREMIAH SMITH BOIES.
He was the son of Capt. James Boies, born in Milton, 1762, and married Miss Clark. He graduated at Harvard, 1783. He was early engaged in manufactures at the Dorchester side of the river. About 1795 he built a dam where the starch-factory now stands, and erected a paper, chocolate, and corn mill, employing Mark Hollingsworth, a young man from New Jersey, as foreman of the paper-mill. In 1801 he gave up the business to Mark Hollingsworth and Edmund Tileston, who had been in the paper business at Needham.
At the decease of his father Mr. Boies came into possession of the paper-mill in Milton, which he improved for a few years. He built the mansion on Mattapan street, Milton, now owned by the heirs of the Hon. Arthur W. Austin. He was one of the trustees of Milton Academy at the opening of the institution ; for many years was treasurer of the board of trustees. He filled several offices of trust in the town, and was active and useful in all educational and religious interests during his resi- dence here.
Mr. Boies finally sold out his interest in the mills and removed to Boston, where he became an alderman of the city, and died in 1851.
JOHN MCLEAN.
John McLean was born in Milton in 1761. His father was engaged in business at St. George. His mother went there in a sloop from Boston, and, arriving in the afternoon, went ashore and remained until the vessel was ready to sail on her return voyage, when, being discontented, she returned in the sloop to Boston. She may have gone to her father's, who lived on the Milton side of the river in the old house near the mill, the northerly half of which he conveyed to Richard Clark in 1765 ; but the tradition is that she went to the house of her kindred,
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
Jeremiah Smith, who lived at Milton Lower Mills, in the first house below the bridge. From the intimate relations ever ex- isting between the Smith and McLean families, it is highly probable that she made the family of Mr. Smith her home, and that John McLean was born in his house.
The statement is made by President Quincy, in his " History of Harvard College," that John MeLean was born in St. George. This is surely an error, as Mrs. McLean never lived at St. George, and was only there while the sloop was unlading and taking in her cargo of wood and lime. The place of his birth was Milton. This is confirmed by a tradition that cannot be doubted, coming directly through living witnesses from per- sons who were in intimate connection with the McLean and Boies families.
John McLean lived with his father, at Milton, in the Jackson house, through all his early life, until he went to Boston to en- gage In business there, and then passed more or less of his time in the summer with his mother at the Milton home. He married Ann Amory, of the highly respectable Amory family of Boston. In the latter part of the last century he was unfortunate, and failed in business, caused by an adverse decree of the French Council. A few years subsequently he gave a supper at the Exchange Coffee House in Boston, inviting all of his old credit- ors ; when they assembled at the table every man found under his plate a check covering the amount of his claim, principal and interest. He was a man of handsome countenance and commanding figure, social and genial in his nature.
For many years he was a victim of the gout to such an extent that he was unable to walk in the streets of Boston, and seldom appeared abroad except in his carriage.
At the opening of the war of 1812 he entered the Boston market, and bought up all the molasses that could be pur- chased; and, on the rise of this article, he realized a large per- centage of profit. It is reported that he cleared $100,000 out of this venture.
In his will he made the Massachusetts General Hospital his residuary legatee. When the Massachusetts General Hospital was incorporated the State gave $100,000 to endow it, with the proviso that it might take the name of any donor who should give a larger sum. The result proved that Mr. McLean's legacy not only reached $100,000, but far exceeded that sum. Nevertheless, instead of affixing his name to the Massachusetts General Hospital, they named the institution for the insane at " Barrel's Farm " the " McLean Asylum for the Insane."
His bequests to Harvard College have realized to that insti-
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PROMINENT EARLY MANUFACTURERS.
tution, up to January, 1886, the sum of $43,062.93. His private legacies were large and numerous ; among which was a legacy of $2,000 to the minister and deacons of the First Church, Mil- ton, for the poor, the income of which is annually distributed ; and the same amount to the Federal-street Church, Boston, for the same purpose.
Along one of our public streets, now called Blue Hill avenue, is seen a line of milestones bearing this inscription, " J. MeLean 1823." These were erected, at his request, by Mr. Isaac Davenport, his partner in business; and, as Mr. McLean died before the work was completed, his name was placed on these way-marks by Mr. Davenport's order, thus converting them into monumental stones.
But the most enduring monument of this noble man is seen in the institutions he has helped to found and endow, revealing the manifest purpose of contributing to mental enlargement in generations to come, and of relieving human suffering in its most aggravated forms.
Boston
8 Miles
J.M.Lean 1823
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
CHAPTER XIII.
MILITARY RECORD.
KING PHILIP'S WAR.
O UR fathers were not long left to the undisturbed cultiva- tion of their lands and the quiet enjoyment of their homes under the new administration of municipal affairs.
In the very infancy of the town rumors of Indian intrigues and hostilities filled the air.
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