History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 125

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire > Part 125

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Shortly after the death of James L. Chamberlin

his lumber-mill was leased to Isaiah Wheeler, who has since managed it with great efficiency. The flouring-mill is now conducted by Orin D. Prescott, Thomas D. Bennett superintendent. The furniture factories are again in full activity, operated by A. Wright & Co., L. C. Farwell resident and managing partner, with some forty workmen in their employ.

But the chief impulse in the upbuilding of Green- ville has come from the Columbian Manufacturing Company. This corporation was chartered by the New Hampshire Legislature June, 1826, as the Ren- sen Manufacturing Company. "Silas Bullard and Associates and Successors" were incorporated with a capital of three hundred thousand dollars, "for the manufacture of cotton, woolen and other goods, and such other branches of trade and manufactures as may be usefully carried on." The next year the corporate name was changed to that which has since been borne, and authority has subsequently been given to increase the capital stock. The company now owns six factories within reach of about two miles, five of them in full operation. Of the two running in New Ipswich the upper one, at Bank village, variously called Waterloom, Mountain Mill and No. 3, is on the site of the first cotton factory in New Hampshire.

The office of the company is at Greenville, and its three large factories there with all their drying and finishing attachments occupy all the ground and use all the power before distributed among the smaller in- dustries above the furniture and flouring mills.

The first agent was Charles Barrett, the builder of the upper or No. 1 factory, which he put in operation in the year 1830. Upon his retirement Messrs. Dakin and Daniels here manufactured for the company under a contract by the yard. The agents since this time have been Leonard Dakin, 1837-39; John E. Bacon, 1839-41; Willard Daniels, 1841-43 ; Stephen Smith, 1843-57; Charles P. Richardson, 1857-70; Samuel Haines, 1870, who is still in charge Factory No. 4 was erected in 1856 by Stephen Smith, and Factory No. 6 in 1872 by Samuel Haines.

These buildings are all of brick, stoutly built and fully equipped with boilers, engines and all requisite means for operation by steam as well as by water.

Of the 566 persons in the employ of this company 390 reside in Greenville. The average pay-roll of the company is about $11,000 each month. Number of spindles, 22,000; number of looms, 568, trans- forming monthly 197,000 pounds of cotton into 624,- 000 yards of cloth, mostly colored shirtings and den- ims. The company has been eminently successful. Its stock commands a high premium and can rarely be obtained. Its buildings are patterns of neatness, its grounds tastefully ornamented with choice shade trees and its powerful influence ever felt upon the side of temperance.

Its present officers are George Fabyan, treas- urer, Boston, Mass; Samuel Haines, agent at the works ; Bliss, Fabyan & Co., selling agents, Boston,

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

New York and Philadelphia ; William W. Stevenson, paymaster.

" The first merchant who kept an extensive stock of goods for sale at the village, if not the first in point of time, was Isaiah Kidder, son of Reuben Kidder, of New Ipswich. He commenced trade in 1799. By his enterprise and fair dealing he soon won the confidence of the community ; and as his was then the principal store in Mason, Temple and Wilton, his trade was extensive and lucrative. On elosing his business, at the expiration of six years, he declared that thirty dollars would cover all his losses by bad debts, a fact that speaks well both for the people and the merchant." So says Hill's History, and that of New Ipswich is even more emphatic in its eulogy of his after eareer. "No man was ever more popular in the town or more interested in its history. Mr. Kidder has closely examined the subject and foretold that the manufacture of cotton into various fabrics was to be a great interest in New England. With a sanguine spirit he soon began the manufacture of stripes, checks, ginghams and velvets and for this purpose procured various fixtures, till then unknown in this country, and as no persons proper to carry on these projects were to be found, they were procured from England and Scotland. It was left to later time and other persons to mature and carry out such enterprises successfully and to reap the fruits of which he had planted the seeds." In the midst of the grandest manufacturing schemes and with every prospect of ultimate early success, he was cut off by fever at the early age of forty-one years.

Roger Chandler and associates seem to have kept goods for the public, as well as manufactured cloth, if we may judge from their invoices. One of June 22, 1812, the very day of the contract for building their new dam and factory, gives quite a stock of groceries, but reminds us of the temperance progress since, in its leading articles,-

1 lihd. Rum, 109 gals., @ $1.10. $119.90

1 Hhd. Gin, 122 gals., @@ .58 70.76

1 Bbl. Brandy, 301/2 gals., @ 1.00. 31.50

Or $222.16 for spirituous liquors, while only $429.63 was allowed for some twenty of the necessaries of life including powder and shot for those in a new country and in time of war.

Of those who afterwards for a long time aecommo- dated their neighbors with the various supplies of a country store two figures are conspicuous,-James Taft, by trade a tanner, upon coming to Mason vil- lage a manufacturer, afterwards a man of affairs in the skill with which he conducted several branches of business at the same time with uniform success, and George Elliott, a son of poverty and a frequent sufferer from fire and other losses, but a gentleman of rare suavity and indomitable perseverance. Their successors, like them, have generally been financially successful, but they are still living, and the words of eulogy however richly earned must be deferred.

It is difficult to learn the exact date when the vil- lage was deemed worthy of a post-office. Probably about the year 1830 George Elliott received the appointment of postmaster. Following him have been George Taft, 1845-49 ; Lucius A. Elliott, 1849- 54; James Taft, Jr., 1854-61; Merrill C. Dodge, 1861-65; Franklin B. Heald, 1865-77; and Milton H. Hardy, 1877, the present incumbent.

THE PETERBOROUGH AND SHIRLEY RAILROAD, now the Greenville Branch of the Fitchburg Rail- road, was put in operation as far as the Souhegan River, or about a mile from the village, November 11, 1850, and two years after the road was completed to its present terminus. This delay was caused by the labor requisite to build the bridge for the river cross- ing, which has been called one of the greatest works of art in New Hampshire. It is mainly of wood, but stoutly trussed with iron, six hundred feet in length, and where it crosses the stream in its reach from bluff to bluff about one hundred feet above it. Two massive piers of granite masonry, one of them some eighty feet in height, beside the terminal abut- ments, support the structure, from which the tourist has a most interesting view of the ravine below, with its wooded sides and winding waters. The original projeet of continuing the road through New Ipswich to Peterborough has not yet been carried out on ac- count of the cost of construction and the extension of other roads. Its management gives superior mail accommodations and traveling facilities to the citi- zens. Station agent, Ambrose G. Stickney ; conduc- tor, Leonard Felch ; engineers, Andrew Henry, John Allison ; road-master, William E. Ames; express- men, E. P. Sherman and C. A. Scripture. Regular stages also connect with the adjoining towns of New Ipswich, Temple and Wilton.

The Mason Village Savings-Bank was chartered July 1, 1870, and organized July 30th of that year.

Presidents .- Hon. Thomas H. Marshall, 1870-72, and Samuel Haines, Esq., 1872 until the present time.

Vice-Presidents .- Amos Scripture, Dexter L. Bur- ton, Jonathan Russell (2d), Sumner B. Nichols, El- bridge G. Cutter, T. H. Marshall, G. F. Merriam, J. L. Chamberlin, Isaiah Wheeler, Eli Foster, M. C. Dodge, Samuel E. Adams, Beniah H. Savage, S. H Bacon and John Kenney.

Secretaries .- Otis F. Packard, 1870-77; W. W. Stevenson, 1877, and is still in office.

Treasurers .- F. B. Heald, 1870-77 ; M. H. Hardy, 1877, and is still officiating.

Clerk .- Charles F. Marshall.

The largest deposit has been about one hundred and seventeen thousand dollars. Twenty dividends of two and one-half per cent. have been paid, six of two per cent., and two extra dividends.

Educational History .- The first school-house in the village, at the junction of Main and Pleasant Streets, was a present from two of its publie-spirited.

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GREENVILLE.

citizens, Timothy Dakin and Jason Dunster. With the increase of scholars and consequent need of better grading and more extensive grounds, came the in- pulse to rebuild, and the present more commodious edifice upon the hill was erected. It has stood some thirty-five years, and its first masters, Hon. Timothy Perry and Judge Levi Wallace, suggest the excel- lent management which has generally characterized its schools. These are of three grades, and answer to the same bell, the gift of Samuel Haines. The Bul- lard school-house is in Greenville, and the old dis- trict continues its individual, life though ent in twain by the line of division between the old and new towns. The districts south were united about forty years ago, and their two dilapidated school-houses taken to con- struct a new one in a new location between. The old corner school-house, though more than a mile from the village, was the place where its first generation was educated. Many a sturdy disciplinarian there wielded the rod, many a saintly mistress there taught the young idea how to shoot, many pleasant recollec- tions are connected with its weather-beaten exterior, and ceiling crayoned with charcoal from the hands of athletes, who there struggled together to register the farthest leap. The long benches carved with all sorts of designs by the penknife, the many tokens of the stress of earlier times, might contrast painfully with the more elegant accommodations for the rising generation ; but it will be well for them if they do as good practical work, in proportion to their opportu- nities, as did their forefathers and mothers. The stock of the pioneers is suggested by the names affixed to the quit-claim deed of the spot after the old school- house was removed-William Lawrence, Amos Law- rence and Abbot Lawrence. Some of the obstacles in the way of culture in those days appear in these lines by one of the boys there taught, Rev. Edwin E. Mer- riam, of Salem, Pa .-

" THE SCHOLAR'S LAMENT.

" No longer, as in days of yore, That ancient school-house stands; Within its hallowed walls no more Scholars their minds with learning store, By studying books which teach the lore Of this and other lands.

" No more upon the window pane The ' school-marm's' rap I hear, To call us to our work again, After a run upon the plain, And never did she rap in vain, For all would soon appear.

" The Summer's storms would enter there Through cracks and openings wide ; And rats would cross the floor in fear, Lest danger should to them be near,

And squirrels, too, would there appear, And run from side to side.

"'Twas there I learned to read and write, Within those time-worn walls ; When Summer's sun was shining bright, For Winter in his power and might, Arrayed in garb of snowy white The benches, floor and walls.

" Perhaps 'twas best that they should tear That shattered school-house down,

That they a better one might rear ; But memory haunts that school-house dear, The scene of many a hope and fear, And joys forever gone."

As a musical director, Professor Elisha B. Barrett has won a wide reputation during nearly fifty years service at the head of the church choir, and in the conduct of more than one hundred and eighty ses- sions of the singing-school.

The Greenville Town Library had its origin in a gift of one thousand dollars for that purpose by James L. Chamberlin. This primary donation was made in 1876, and has been supplemented with gifts from others, as well as town appropriations, until the present number of volumes is about sixteen hundred.

The Greenville Advertiser was first issned in the year 1876 ; Dr. C. E. Hall, local editor for the first five years. Upon his retirement C. F. Marshall ae- cepted the trust and still retains it.

The list of college graduates from Greenville in- cludes the following names,-

Samuel Dakin, Esq., Dartmouth, 1797 ; Obadiah Parker, Harvard, 1799 ; Rev. Israel Elliot, University of Vermont, 1813 ; Rev. Jesse Elliot, Hamilton, 1826 ; Rev. Edwin E. Merriam, Amherst, 1858; Rev. George F. Merriam, Amherst, 1861 ; Franklin J. Clark, Harvard, 1867 ; Rev. H. Martin Kellogg, Dartmonth, 1872; James W. Ilenry, Dartmouth, 1878 ; Howard P. Haines, Harvard, 1881 ; Elmer E. Kimball, Dart- month, 1885 ; Mabel Haines, Smith's, 1885. Undergraduate, Henry A. McGown, Amherst, 1886.

Others from the town have entered the learned professions as follows :

Rev. William Elliot, Rev. Joseph Elliot, Rev. John Farrar, Rev. M. L. Holt, Dr. Moses Dakin, Hon. Joseph E. Donnell, M.D., Herbert J. Taft, Esq., Prof. Clarence A. Taylor.

Military History .- The military history of Green- ville is necessarily merged in that of the parent town, as the years since incorporation have been, happily, those of peace. It would appear that at least twenty- five soldiers went from our sparsely-settled six square miles to serve in the war of independence. It is but a few years since the last pensioner of the War of 1812 passed away, and in the struggle for the main- tenance of the Union at least fifty from this district answered loyally to the government call in person or by substitute. They were in all arms of the service. They fell in battle, died with disease, starved within the Southern prison, returned to find an early grave or survived with the sufferings of long martyrdom. Captain Thomas E. Marshall, Lieutenants M. H. Hardy, M. L. Holt and J. E. Donnel returned with commissions. Lieutenant Henry A. Cragin led a company of the famous Now York Seventh to the de- fence of the national capital. Frederick Kimball, one of the Free Soil pioneers in Kansas, was killed in Quan- trell's raid through Lawrence. Several veterans of the war have become citizens since their return; among the number Captain Gurts, Lieutenants C. E. Marsh and C. E. Ferson. Herman Shedd Post, No. 27, G. A. R., named from a stanch patriot, who went

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

out from one of our factories to lay down his life at Fair Oaks, was organized June 28, 1870, and now contains thirty-six members from Greenville, New Ipswich and vicinity. Its Past Commanders have been Captain T. E. Marshall, G. H. Livingston, G. A. Hartshorn, Captain M. P. Donley, A. C. Fowler and John Kenney. Present Commander, Charles F. Smith.

Social History .- Organizations musical, social and benevolent have found their place and done their work here as elsewhere. Brass and cornet bands, led by William Elliot and Albert F. Walker, have lived their lives of harmony for the public good. Literary, lecture and agricultural societies have contributed their part to the general improvement. Engine com- panies have been sustained to protect from fire. A lodge of the Sons of Temperance, and at different times two lodges of Good Templars, have for a season di- rected attention to the reform with which they are connected. A generation ago a lodge of Odd-Fellows flourished for a time. Souhegan Lodge of Ancient and Accepted Masons has shown greater vitality and is still flourishing. It was chartered June 8, 1859. Charter members,-E. Scofield, A. D. Taylor, L. J. Spalding, W. W. Prichard, W. Jefts, A. Henry, J. L. Chamberlin, C. Baldwin, G. Taft, E. A. Larkin, E. K. Hardy and L. W. Kingsbury; Present Master, Leonard Felch.

Ecclesiastical History .- A Baptist Church was formed in Mason September 25, 1876, a part of whose members resided in what is now Greenville, and from this parent church twenty-four were dismissed, De- cember 24, 1828, to form the Mason Village Baptist Church, for the last thirteen years known as the Greenville Baptist Church. They chose for their first pastor Rev. Bela Wilcox, who held his sacred office until the year 1831, when he was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. John Woodbury, 1831-34; Rev. Joel Wheeler, 1834-35; Rev. Benjamin

Knight, 1835-36; Rev. A. L. Mason, 1836-44; Rev. D. F. Richardson, 1845-48; Rev. J. Wood- bury, 1848-49; Rev. Isaac Woodbury, 1849-51; Rev. D. P. French, 1851-52; Rev. A. H. House, 1852-54; Rev. George W. Cutting, 1855-61; Rev. Enville J .: Emery, 1861-65; Rev. L. C. Stevens, 1865-70; Rev. W. H. Walker, 1870-73; Rev. A. M. Higgins, 1873-74; Rev. K. Holt, 1874-76; Rev. J. D. Graham, 1876-78; Rev. L. C. Barnes, 1878; and Rev. Jesse M. Coburn, who commenced his labors with the church in 1878, fol- lowing a line of able and excellent men with a most wise and devoted ministry.

The deacons of the church have been Abel Adams, Jonas Adams, Amos Elliott, James Barrett, Benjamin Robinson, Samuel Hartshorn, Calvin Boynton, Ben- jamin H. Dix, Eben Tilton, Sewall F. Adams and Milan L. Sargent, who still retain their office.

There have been added to its membership since its organization about five hundred. The present mem- bership is eighty. Connected with this church is an

active Sabbath-school of over one hundred, under the care of Deacon M. L. Sargent, superintendent. It is free from debt and has a good parsonage, the gift of Lucius A. Elliott, Esq. It has also an attractive house of worship and enjoys a general healthy pros- perity.

The Congregational Church was preceded for some time by regular social meetings and a Sabbath-school. At a public meeting, February 18, 1847, it was voted " that the time has come when the spiritual interests of this community require that a Congregational Church should be established in this place." In fur- therance of this vote, an ecclesiastical council was convened and a church organized. It was called the Second Congregational Church in Mason, and con- sisted of eight members,-Stephen Smith, Maria E. Smith, Joseph McGown, Elizabeth McGown, Henry McGown, Elizabeth McGown, George Kimball and Lydia Warren. In the same month fifty-eight more were added from the first church and five from other churches. The first pastor was Rev. William Olmstead, ordained April 11, 1849, whose enthusiastic ministry

was greatly blessed, and under whose lead the present commodious sanctuary was erected. His death, June 6, 1852, was a great loss to the young church. He was followed in his ministerial work by Rev. Erastus M. Kellogg, 1852-55; Rev. Samuel J. Austin, 1857-59; Rev. George E. Fisher, 1859-62; and Rev. M. N. Root, M.D., 1863-64. All of these, with their various gifts, served the church efficiently, and were scholarly, de- vont men. On the 27th of August, 1864, a call was extended to Rev. Andrew Jaquith, but it only reached him on the eve of his summons to the church tri- umphant. The present pastor, Rev. G. F. Merriam, first entered his pulpit October 15th of the same year. He was ordained March 9th succeeding. His ministry has been amid all the obstacles and advantages which must needs be found in the place of one's na- tivity. It has had the support of many who were worthy of being called saints, and are now numbered with the sainted dead. It has witnessed great changes, but some other pen must write its history.

The other officers of the church have been,-Dea- cons : Simeon Cragin, 1847-58; Stephen Smith, 1847- 57; Nathan Wood, 1847-50; Franklin Merriam, 1847- 49; M. C. Dodge, 1857-83; Charles Baldwin, 1859-82; Charles Wilson, 1859-72; M. Kimball, 1858; and Ambrose G. Stickney, the last two being now in office. The clerks of the church have been S. Smith, M. Kim- ball, J. K. Mills, M. C. Dodge and G. F. Merriam. Superintendents of the Sabbath-school: S. Smith, Hervey Tuffs, M. C. Dodge, C. Wilson, E. B. Barrett, M. Kimball, G. H. Livingston, E. W. French, F. P. Bacon, J. B. Martin and A. G. Stickney.

The church has also a parsonage, the generous gift of George D. Cragin, Esq., to promote the spiritual interests of his native village. It has also some per- manent income from a bequest by one of its deceased members, Isaac Russell.

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GREENVILLE.

The Roman Catholic Church first held regular pub- lie religious services in Greenville during the year 1856. Since the building of a town-house it has wor- shiped in the town hall, and held its meetings at least once each month. Recent arrangements have been made by which the priest in charge will have more time to devote to this parish, and services will be more frequent, or twice a month. The congregation gathers, in part, from the adjoining towns, and is a large one. A building lot has already been purchased for the erection of a churchi edifice. The fathers in charge of the parish have been Rev. William Brady, 1860-61; Rev. Patrick O'Hara, 1861-64; Rev. William Herbert, 1864-68; Rev. Patrick Hoolahan, 1868-76; Rev. Ed- ward Buckle, 1876, and is still officiating. These pas- tors have all had the confidence of their parish and the respect of all others.

In passing from this subject, the spirit of kindly co- operation which has characterized the churches of Greenville should be noticed. For years the Sabbath evening service has been a nnion meeting alternating between the Baptist and Congregational houses of worship. During extra meetings in the week of prayer, or at other times, as well as on funeral occa- sions, united services have bound Christian hearts in closer sympathy and lifted them by a common im- pulse to a higher level. The writer would also add a word in honor of the lay officers of these churches. A good man now gone to his reward used to say that, from his boyhood, the presence of Deacon Hartshorn always preached him a winning sermon. Children grew up in the Sabbath-school looking to Deacon Smith as a model man, such was the kindness of his sturdy nature. Others have felt a like esteem for Deacons Cragin and Dodge, and devout spirits un- named. Nor could any desire to be embalmed in more precious remembrance by any people than are the two holy men who are buried in the village churchyard,-Rev. Alfred L. Mason and Rev. William Olmstead.

Professional History, -PHYSICIANS. - The alti- tude of Greenville among the mountain breezes, with the swift flow of its sweet waters, give it a compara- tive immunity from a class of diseases, and yet its citizens, like all others, must sometimes call for the physician, and worthy men have never failed to respond to the call. Otis Hoyt, M.D., came to Mason village in the year 1835, but left after a few years, entered the United States service as a surgeon, and continued in that capacity through the Mexican War. Thomas H. Marshall, M.D., established himself as a physician here in 1837, and continued to win patrons and friends until his death, December 16, 1872. Later practitioners of the healing art have been : Edwin Schofield, M.D., John H. Cutler, M.D., Charles G. Corey, M.D., Charles E. Hall, M.D., Curtis A. Wood, M.D., and George F. Munsey, M.D. Of these, Dr. Schofield soon moved to Worcester, Mass. ; Dr. Cutler did good service as a surgeon in the

war of the Union, and afterwards won professional distinction in Peterborough; Dr. Corey died in 1878; Dr. Hall is conducting a large drug-store, while Drs. Wood and Munsey are in the midst of most successful practice.

LAWYERS .- Attorneys-at-law have not been drawn to the town as inviting their services in litigation. The following knights of the bar have, at various times, had their offices here: Nathaniel Shattuck, Esq. ; William A. Preston, Esq. ; Joseph C. Mason, Esq. ; A. B. Spalding, Esq. ; and Herbert J. Taft, Esq. The latter is still located here, with the confi- dence and best wishes of a people who have known him from boyhood.

Personal History .- Of citizens resident within the bounds of Greenville, Hon. Stephen Smith reached the highest political station, being twice elected coun- selor and was a prominent candidate for Governor, when his health gave way from the pressure of his many cares. Hon. Thomas H. Marshall was not only a good physician, but always in the fore front of the bat- tle for reform, crowning his political career with two terms of service in the State Senate. John Stevens, a man of marked dignity, urbanity and tact, in addi- tion to most efficient service in various local offices, represented Wilton and Mason more than twenty years in the State Legislature. Colonel James Wood and Joseph Barrett, besides other marks of popular esteem. received special legislative honors in the earlier days. Among those who have gone out from the town may be mentioned the brothers Algernon and George Shattuck, famous as teachers of penman- ship; Jonas Chickering, the distinguished piano manufacturer ; John and Samuel Putnam, of the Put- nam Machine-Works, Fitch, Mass. ; Hon. Samuel Kimball, ex-mayor of Lawrence, Kan., and one of the proprietors of the foundry of Kimball Bros. there; Hon. John G. Kimball, late bank commis- sioner and treasurer of the New Hampshire Banking Company ; Henry W. Merriam, president of the Merriam Shoe Manufacturing Company, Newton, N. J. ; George D. Cragin, long prominent among the business men of New York, and now proprietor of a large sugar plantation in Louisiana ; and Colonel James Scripture, said to own the finest orange grove in Florida. Hon. Henry Stevens secured large influ- ence in Wisconsin prior to his death. Benjamin W. Merriam left a shining record among the merchant- princes of New York. George Barrett, of Chester, Vt., was widely known for ability and Puritan integrity. Deacon Asaph R. Marshall, of Worcester, Mass., held many offices of trust, municipal, State, national and ecclesiastical, and all with a blameless record. The list of deserving ones might be greatly extended, but must be left for larger space and a later pen.

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 125

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168