USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Northfield > History of Northfield, New Hampshire 1780-1905: In Two Parts with Many Biographical Sketches and. > Part 23
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The Granite Mills, after a short ownership by Mr. Parsons and later by the Kearsarge Woolen Co., were sold, in 1891, to G. H. Tilton, the present owner.
EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION.
The citizens of Northfield have ever been generous with those who sought to establish new industries among them. In 1867 they first voted to exempt from taxation for a term of 10 years the Granite Mills, which had been enlarged with the view to in- creased business, since which time any and all new firms locating on our water front have been exempted for an equal term. In 1880, Buell's Mill and business; in 1872, the Elm Mills; in 1895, the Britton Hosiery Co. and, later, W. H. Carter's woolen mill and Clark & Dodge's hosiery mill in 1889. To show the readi- ness of our citizens, the following from the records of the town is incontestible proof :
"At a special meeting Oct 31. 1891 lasting just 46 minutes it was voted to exempt for ten years George H. Tilton's Hosiery Mill and machinery also the Kearsarge Woolen Co. & the capital stock and machinery of O. and E. Morrison."
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HISTORY OF NORTHFIELD.
ADAM S. BALLANTYNE.
Mr. Ballantyne was born in Scotland, September 29, 1833, and came from Methuen to Northfield in 1865. He was, from the first, a loyal citizen of his adopted town and generously contributed to whatever had for its object the betterment of the community.
He was a man of high moral standards and of more than ordinary mental ability; an earnest temperance advocate and assisted largely in freeing the village from saloons.' Northfield honored herself in sending him to the Legislature of 1881 and in choosing him president of the day at her centennial anniversary.
He united with the Congregational Church in 1867; has served as superintendent of its Sunday School, and been a generous contributor to its many lines of work. After a residence of 15 years in the brick house by the mill he removed to Tilton and since his retirement from the Granite Mills has been employed in similar work at the Tilton Mills. He is a member of Doric Lodge, A. F. and A. M., a trustee of Hall Library and long a member of Union District board of education -and president of Iona Savings Bank.
He married, December 7, 1865, Mittie Clough, daughter of Jeremiah and Nancy Carter Tilton. They have five children. (See Ballantyne gen.)
ELM MILLS AND RICHARD FIRTH. 1824-1898. (See portrait.)
The subject of this sketch, Richard Firth, who was so closely con- nected with Northfield welfare for more than a third of a century, was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire County, Eng., on the tenth day of February, 1824. His parents were in very humble circumstances and he was obliged to go to work, at the age of eight, in order to help sup- port the large family. When about 20 he resolved to go to America and after a long and stormy voyage landed in Boston, September 4, 1844. I have often heard him relate that his only capital was a deter- mination to succeed and a robust constitution, for when his passage was paid there was little left in which to start life in a new country without friends or any situation in view.
Mr. Firth secured work in the mill at Ballardvale, Mass., and grad- ually rose to positions of responsibility, when the gold discovery in California caused him to give up his situation and he accordingly sailed from Boston around the Horn and reached California at the height of the excitement, but his longing for mill life called him back after an absence of two years and soon after his return he married Agnes Morrison of Ballardvale, who became his loving and efficient helpmate through life. Mrs. Fifth died in 1890 after prolonged suf- fering.
In 1865, in company with A. S. Ballantyne and John and William Fletcher, he came to Northfield and opened the Granite Mill, so-called,
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RICHARD FIRTH.
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MILLS AND MANUFACTURERS.
which mill they successfully operated for many years. Later, Mr. Firth severed his connection with the firm and began the manufacture of woolen goods in the white mill built by Hazen Copp, Esq., and now occupied by the Tilton Optical Company. This business Mr. Firth conducted to within a few years of his death and as a manufacturer he was eminently successful, and it is a matter of record that in all his dealing with labor he had no trouble or misunderstanding.
Personally a very hard working man, at the mill early and late, with a knowledge of all departments such as few men possess, he inspired all by his energy and zeal. This success was only accomplished through many reverses, but his strong determination conquered all obstacles and I am sure the citizens of Northfield will uphold me when I say that he was one of her foremost captains of industry.
Not of those who sound their own praise, but one of those who was content to work quietly, unassumingly and who have their reward in gaining the goal striven for through earnest, patient endeavor. As a citizen of the sister town of Tilton Mr. Firth was honored by being chosen selectman several times (under his term the upper iron bridge was built), and also as her representative to the Legislature in 1881, as well as minor positions of trust.
Although not a member, he was a constant attendant of the Con- gregational Church and has left a substantial token of his interest in the form of the Agnes Firth Memorial Fund, a perpetual legacy. The Tilton and Northfield Library was also remembered in his will, which shows how close he held the church and town of his adoption in his heart.
Mr. Firth was also a generous contributor to all worthy objects and many people have been helped and encouraged in time of need by him in his quiet way. He departed this life October 7, 1898, after a short illness and was buried with full Masonic honors. His body lies at rest in the old South Cemetery in Andover, Mass., beside his faithful wife. A son, Ray W., of Newark, N. J., is his sole survivor. An adopted daughter, Mary Ella, died February 27, 1876, aged 13 years ..
In concluding this sketch it might be well to add that his reward in this life for a hard fought battle was the satisfaction that it had been achieved by upright dealing with all men and perseverance, an ex- ample we all would do well to copy.
ARCH MILLS.
Mr. Charles Green of England and A. L. Hilton of Maine, in 1890, leased the Elm Mills of Richard Firth and changed the name to Arch Mills, where, with three sets of machinery and a force of 40 assistants, they made fine dress goods and cloakings. Their stay was short and the business passed to Mr. W. H. Carter and E. P. Parsons. The latter also purchased the Granite Mills,
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HISTORY OF NORTHFIELD.
where he manufactured doeskins and blankets. They remained less than a year, the Granite Mills Co. taking the upper mill and E. G. Morrison, with Mr. Carter, the Arch Mills. This business passed, in 1892, to O. & E. Morrison, who had just vacated the Clark & Dodge Mill, and at once restored its former name, "The Elm Mills."
OBE G. MORRISON. (See portrait.)
Northfield's greatest pride is in its citizenship; the men and women who go to make up the working force in its every day life and assure its present and future progress and solidity. A farmer's son may not have the softest place in the world, yet it often proves to be a good training-school. Mr. Morrison, the subject of this sketch, remained with his father on the farm until past 16 years of age, when he was employed one year at the home of C. E. Tilton. He then entered the Granite Mills at $1 a day as scourer of wool, passing from that, in course, through the various grades of the business until the whole routine was accomplished, some two years in all. He then passed to the Elm Mills, with Richard Firth, where he remained for 20 years, a good school, indeed, for a prospective manufacturer, as it gave him an insight into all the details of a successful business.
In connection with this Mr. Morrison resided on and managed the homestead farm; tore down the old buildings and erected new ones and with pardonable pride set himself to making his surroundings second to none. Rocks were removed, grounds graded, fields leveled, orchard and shade trees planted, cattle and horses improved, a heavy mortgage lifted and all the conveniences attached to a well ordered estate secured. These were but a few of the many things accomplished in those busy years. The increase of the manufacturing interests, how- ever, made a change necessary. The farm was passed over to other members of the family and a home erected nearer the village.
Mr. Morrison married, January 1, 1874, Mary Munsey of Gilford, and has one daughter, Edith, wife of Walter Booth, connected with the firm. They reside in the home and have a son, Howard Morrison Booth, born January 16, 1903. (See gen.). Mr. Morrison, though loaded with the many exacting details of every day business, finds time to devote to many other matters. He served the town as representative in 1886 and has been one of its selectmen for several terms. Besides, he has served the educational interests of Union District as one of the board. He was one of the committee for the construction of the new Union graded schoolhouse and from his familiarity with and often personal encounters with fire has both experience and fitness for the position he holds at the head of the fire department.
He united with the Congregational Church when 17 years of age and
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OBE G. MORRISON.
MRS. OBE G. MORRISON.
RESIDENCE OF OBE G. MORRISON.
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E. G. MORRISON.
MRS. E. G. MORRISON.
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has since been actively identified with all its lines of Christian work and was for a long term superintendent of its Sunday School. His wife nobly seconds his labors in all these lines and they are both ever ready with sympathy and material aid to assist any one in trouble or in want.
EDWIN G. MORRISON. (See portrait.)
Edwin G. Morrison was born at Gilford in 1862 and after his father's death in 1863 remained there with his grandparents. He was educated in the public schools of Gilford, Union Graded School and a short time at Tilton Seminary. He had a practical turn and his education did not stop with his leaving school. He spent one year in California and on his return began his life work as a mill hand for Richard Firth, who sent him to assist in a mill at Ashland, of which Mr. Firth was part owner and proprietor. He became a close student of methods and every detail of the prosperous business in which every onward step was the result of proficiency in the one below. The work just suited him and into it he threw his whole energy and enthusiasm.
He married, February 28, 1891, Carrie B. Glines of Northfield, who by her energy and devotion to his interests has done much to ensure success. She was for years his efficient bookkeeper and has rare exec- utive ability and a strong and pleasing personality. Her leadership of the arrangements of the Old Home celebration in 1901 clearly demon- strated her ability in larger matters than the management of her own household and her prompt and wise decisions make her a natural leader. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison are members of the Country Club, a social or- ganization of Lowell, and he is also of the Vesper Club of Tyngsboro Island. He is besides a member of the Home Market Club and a mem- ber of Friendship Grange.
0. & E. MORRISON. ELM MILLS WOOLEN CO.
In 1888 Mr. Morrison became associated with his nephew, Ed- win G. Morrison and began the manufacture of shoddy on the Tilton end of the upper dam, where, with a building and base- ment and less than half a dozen help, they conducted an increas- ing business until they were burned out, rebuilt and had a second loss within a year. They then occupied a part of the Clark Mill and with one card, one picker and one man they soon grew to fill the entire building and their output came to average 1,000 pounds daily. They here first used that wonderful product called wool extract, which completely revolutionized the business. They here Esuffered a third loss by fire and great loss of valuable material put in but a day previous.
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HISTORY OF NORTHFIELD.
On the retirement of Mr. Firth from the Elm Mills and the departure of Messrs. Green and Hilton and their successors, the Kearsarge Woolen Co., in 1892, Messrs. O. & E. Morrison bought the business and machinery, leased the building and began the manufacture of repellants and ladies' dress goods and cloakings. Busy, prosperous years followed. The mill was twice enlarged, until it became double its original dimensions, and many lines of goods produced.
In 1898 they retired from the Elm Mills, taking the name with them, and leased the mill of the Britain Mfg. Co. on the lower dam. Here they erected other necessary buildings and have since manufactured exclusively woolen dress goods. Mr. E. G. Morrison, while remaining a joint owner and director in this business, in 1902 leased the Merrimack Mills at Lowell, where he conducts on an extensive scale the manufacture of the same line of goods. Their goods are sold exclusively by Derry, Miliken & Co., New York City.
CLARK MILL.
Jeremiah G. Clark of Franklin, in 1888, erected a brick mill, 46 by 92, three stories in height near the Granite Mill and on the same power. Here he began the manufacture of Shaker seamless hosiery. After a few months he received into partner- ship Arthur M. Dodge, who was engaged in the same business across the river. This mill, after the death of Mr. Clark a few years later and the removal of Mr. Dodge to IIampton, was taken by O. & E. Morrison for the manufacture of shoddy, until their removal to the Elm Mills. It is now a part of the G. II. Tilton Hosiery Mills plant.
STEAM MILL.
John W. and Charles Pease came to Northfield from Meredith in 1887 and established the manufacture of builders' supplies and boxes on the cove at the foot of Iloward Avenue. After a few years it passed to the ownership of James Copp and, later, to Jason Foss, and still later to Ray W. Firth. It was sold, in 1897, to John S. York, who removed the business, in 1903, to a new shop near the fair grounds. The former site and buildings are now the property of C. L. True and a carriage repair and wheelwright shop has been established by Corson of Lebanon and
ELM MILLS.
CARTER'S MILLS.
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PLANT OF THE GEO. H. TILTON & SON HOSIERY CO.
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the adjoining building used as a paint shop by Mr. Carter of the same place.
TILTON HOSIERY CO.
The Tilton Hosiery Co. consisted of George E. Buell, presi- dent; Courtland Boynton, treasurer; James P. Osborne, Henry A. Buell and Charles F. Buell. They erected a mill, in 1880, on the south end of the upper Tilton dam, the site of the Morrison tannery, of 70 horse power. They commenced the manufacture of hosiery with two sets of machinery and their regular output became 100 dozen per day with 50 hands. The capacity of the mill was doubled in 1884 and fine grade machinery introduced. The output became 250 dozens daily and 120 hands were em- ployed. The business was closed out in 1895 and the cards and spinning machinery became the property of A. D. Carter.
. CARTER'S MILL. (See cut.)
In 1899 Albert D. Carter of Lowell, Mass., purchased the Buell Hosiery Mill property and, together with E. G. Morrison of the firm of O. & E. Morrison, installed machinery for the manufac- ture of woolen goods of various grades and styles. They con- tinued in business together until 1902, when Mr. Carter pur- chased Mr. Morrison's interest. The property has since been improved and additional machinery added from time to time and is now equipped with five sets of cards and 40 broad looms, to- gether with spinning and finishing machinery.
The output is about 35,000 yards of 54-inch goods monthly; about 50 hands are employed at the present time (1905) and the monthly pay roll approximates $2,500, with Albert S. Carter, superintendent.
G. H. TILTON'S HOSIERY MILL. (See group cut.)
The Granite Mill and the adjoining mill of Clark and Dodge, with other contiguous property, became, in 1891, the property of G. H. Tilton & Son of Laconia. Their business is scattered in a number of states, with mills at Laconia, Tilton, Columbia, S. C., and Savannah, Ga., with main office in Northfield. They employ in all about 1,000 operatives. Their production is very large
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HISTORY OF NORTHFIELD.
and is confined entirely to children's cotton hosiery of many styles and kinds. Their goods are sold throughout the whole United States. (See Tilton gen., page 307; also, portrait and sketch.)
GEORGE HENRY TILTON. (See portrait.)
Mr. George Henry Tilton, the well known hosiery manufacturer of Laconia, Northfield and elsewhere, was born in Dorchester, May 13, 1845. He was the son of Joseph Sullivan Tilton, born at East North- field in 1818. (See page 307, also supplement.) His early life was passed in California, returning with his parents in 1857. He was educated in the public schools and Gilford Academy.
When the Civil War broke out he enlisted, September 14, 1861, in Company D (the Laconia company) of the Fourth New Hampshire Regiment of Volunteers and served three years. In the employ of his . father he learned the details of the hosiery manufacturing industry, which business he for many years carried on at Laconia. In 1891 he purchased the Jeremiah Tilton Mills in Northfield, which he, with his son, Elmer S. Tilton, are running at the present time successfully, pro- ducing hosiery in large quantities and employing several hundred hands. They have also large manufacturing interests in the South.
Mr. Tilton is a member of the New Hampshire Society of Colonial Wars; John L. Perley, Jr., Post, No. 37, G. A. R .; the New England Society of California Pioneers; and of Masonic fraternities as follows: Mt. Lebanon Lodge, A. F. and A. M .; Union Chapter, Pythagorian Coun- cil, and Pilgrim Commandery, K. T .; also a thirty-second degree Mason, being a member of Edward A. Raymond Consistory of Nashua.
He was married at Laconia June 19, 1866, to Marietta, daughter of Osgood and Mary Lamprey Randlett of Upper Gilmanton (now Bel- mont), who died, August 15, 1874, leaving one son, Elmer S. Tilton. Mr. Tilton married (second), April 11, 1883, in Columbia, S. C., Calista E. Brown, daughter of David and Hannah Fox Brown of Sanbornton. Mrs. Tilton died October 9, 1901. He married (third) at San Jose, Cal., September 2, 1902, Julia Caroline Greene of San Mateo County. He resides at Laconia.
ELMER STEPHEN TILTON. (See portrait.)
Elmer Stephen Tilton, who is associated with his father in the manu- facture of hosiery in Northfield, was a graduate of Laconia High School, class of 1887. He retains his residence in Laconia and represented Ward Three in the Legislature of 1897-'98. He was also state senator for the Sixth District, in 1903 and 1904.
Fraternally Mr. Tilton is a member of the various Masonic frater- nities and of Mt. Belknap Lodge, No. 20, Knights of Pythias. He is a
GEORGE HENRY TILTON.
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ELMER STEPHEN TILTON.
TILTON OPTICAL CO.
THE OPTICAL WORKS, NORTHFIELD,
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past master of Mt. Lebanon Lodge, No. 32, A. F. and A. M., and past eminent commander of Pilgrim Commandery, Knights Templar. Mr. Tilton is a thirty-second degree Mason and member of Edward A. Ray- mond Consistory of Nashua and also a member of Aleppo Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Boston, Mass. He married, in 1892, Lillian G. Har- rington of Laconia and has three sons, Charles Henry, Elmer Har- rington and Kenneth Joseph.
BRITAIN MANUFACTURING CO.
In 1893 Francis B. Fay came to Northfield from Cambridge, Mass., and erected a mill for the manufacture of hosiery on the lower dam, A building, first-class in all its details, was erected by D. M. Page, which was completed in 1894. The machinery was all imported and but a part of the power was ever devel- oped. The manufactured goods were fine hosiery.
Mr. Fay had previously studied law and for various reasons gave up the business after five years and, leasing the mill to Messrs. O. & E. Morrison, enlarged and fitted it for the manufac- ture of woolen dress goods, selling the hosiery machinery to A. L. Sulloway of Franklin Falls, and returned to the practice of law.
TILTON OPTICAL COMPANY. (See cut.)
This company was incorporated under the laws of the State of Maine in 1902 and acquired the property of the Lord Bros. Mfg. Co. It was exempted from taxation for a term of 10 years. It manufactures spectacle and eyeglass lenses. It is one of three similar manufactories in this country and the only one to sell to the retail trade. It has a capacity of 2,000 dozen pairs of spec- tacle lenses per week and employs 75 hands with a pay roll of about $40,000 annually. The work consumes about 25 tons of optical glass yearly, which is imported principally from Ger- many.
Much of the automatic machinery is the invention and has been designed and built by Lucien W. Bugbee, who is also the man- ager of the plant, of which Dr. Seth W. Jones of Franklin is president and Arthur T. Cass is treasurer. More than 60,000 different combinations of lenses are made.
Martin Copeland & Co., of Providence, R. I., manufacturers of jewelry and fine spectacle and eyeglass frames, are largely
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CHAPTER XVII. BIRDS OF NORTHFIELD. NED DEARBORN, D. So., Assistant Curator of Birds, Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, Il1.
No other class of animals attract so much popular attention as birds. And what wonder, for, in the elements of beauty in form and color, melodious songs and engaging ways, they are the peers of the animal kingdom. We all love birds for what they are, and cherish them for what they do for us as esthetic and economic forces. Yet few people know by name a dozen birds, when, with a little attention, they might as well know a hundred.
This chapter has been written with the hope that it will en- able, especially, such inquisitive boys and girls as see much of the woods and fields, yet have access to but few books, to learn the names of the birds that are familiar to their eyes and ears but are unknown because, to them, unnamed.
All of the species mentioned have been seen in town or in the immediate vicinity by the writer or some other observer whom he considers trustworthy. The descriptions, though necessarily brief, touch diagnostic points, both as to families and species, and, with a little experience in observing birds, will prove suf- ficient.
There is an evident relation between the habits of birds and their structure; those of different habits differing also in makeup. Thus we may divide them according to general habits into two primary groups, namely : Water Birds and Land Birds, each of which is well adapted for existence in its accepted element, but illy designed for surroundings that suit the other. Now while Water Birds and Land Birds, each group taken as a whole, pre- sent great contrasts, the constituents of either group when com- pared with one another show lesser contrasts in size, form, color or habits by which they in turn are differentiated. These con- trasts, then, large and little, are to be the basis of this review of the birds of Northfield.
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WATER BIRDS.
Although the Water Birds are adapted for aquatic living, their adaptations are several, and their appearances widely varied.
THE DIVERS. (Order, Pygopodes.)
Here belong the grebes, loons and auks, which live on fish and other water creatures procured by diving. They agree in having narrow pointed bills and small wings, and in having their legs attached to the posterior end of the body,-the better for rapid swimming.
THE GREBE FAMILY. (Podicipidac.)
Grebes have very broad toes, with wide, flat Wide, flat toes. . nails, webbed together only at the base. The HOL- BOELL GREBE (Colymbus holboellii) is a rare mi- grant. Its bill is as long as its head, and both jaws taper grad- ually to a sharp point. In spring it has a chestnut-red neck, but in the fall and winter it is gray, like all the other grebes in those seasons, but it may always be known by its superior size. Length, about 18 inches. The ITORNED GREBE (Colymbus auritus), also a scarce migrant, has a bill shorter than its head, thus differing from the last with which it agrees, however, in having both man- dibles gradually tapering to a point. It is named from having long feathers on each side of its head in spring, which fluff out, suggesting horns. Length, about 14 inches. The PIED-BILLED GREBE (Podilymbus podiceps) is similar in size to the last, but it may be distinguished at once by its bill, of which the upper I mandible is arched toward the tip, making its contour quite un- like that of the lower mandible, and the tip of the bill rather obtuse. In spring it has a black bar across each side of the bill, whence its name. This grebe is less rare than the others and a possible breeder. Its nest is a floating structure of rushes and flags usually in a marsh. Length, 12 to 14 inches.
THE LOON FAMILY. (Gaviidae.)
Size large.
Loons are large divers, having the three front Front toes full- toes full webbed. The COMMON LOON (Gavia im- webbed. Back ber) is a summer resident on the lakes and an oc- gray or spotted. casional visitor to our local waters. In spring and summer its head is dark green, its back is black, profusely marked with squarish spots of white, and its un- der parts are white. A collar of alternate black and white verti-
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