USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Fitzwilliam > The history of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, from 1752-1887 > Part 33
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A Mrs. Bryant, living near the line of Richmond, when re- turning home from a neighbor's one afternoon found that she was followed by a bear very closely. She was carrying a part of a cheese, and from this she instantly broke a piece and threw it back toward the bear, while she quickened her pace that she might gain as much as possible in her flight while the bear was eating it. This process she repeated, till just as she drop- ped the last piece of the cheese her cry reached her home and brought her a speedy rescue.
Oliver Fullam was at work for Esquire Kendall on the hill east of the village where Mr. Charles Perry now lives, when he discovered a bear tearing in pieces one of Mr. Kendall's hogs. The bear at once left its repast and pursued Mr. Ful- lam, who ran for his life. As the race brought both the fright- ened man and the furious beast near the dwelling-house, Mrs. Kendall interfered by shaking her checked apron at the bear that retreated hastily and ignominously. A little after that bear or another destroyed three of Mr. Kendall's calves, and he had no success in the way of revenge.
Mr. Boutelle, whose home was south of the depot, on Lot 7 in Range 8, to save his corn set a gun in his field with which
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
the intruder wounded himself so severely that he could not retreat, and Mr. Boutelle had the good fortune to secure a huge bear and save his crop from further depredations.
On Lot 7 in Range 11 in the southwest part of the town lived for a time a Mr. Pierce, who came unexpectedly upon a bear with two cubs. Upon his raising a cry the cubs suc- ceeded in ascending a hemlock tree, while a shot from the gun of Mr. James Morse induced the old bear to retreat as fast as possible. The cubs were captured, Mr. Pierce taking one and giving the other to Mr. Benjamin Byam.
The account, of which the following is an outline, Dr. Cum- mings received from his friend and neighbor, Mr. Daniel Spaulding :
Deacon Lovejoy, of Rindge, found a bear held fast by one of its hind feet in a powerful steel trap which he had set and fastened by a draft chain to a log. He had his loaded gun with him, but as powder was dear and he did not wish to waste it, he went home and exchanged his gun for an axe. A little boy six or seven years old accompanied him as he went baek to his trap. The bear dodged the first blow, and not only caught the axe from the hands of its assailant, but seized the arm of Mr. Lovejoy and drew him down under him. The boy attempting to aid his father was at once drawn down also. Under these desperate circumstances Mr. Lovejoy ran his hand and arm into the bear's mouth, and held them there till the bear was choked to death. His arm was injured for life, but he and his boy were saved.
Near the close of the last century the bears seem to have left the town mostly or to have been destroyed, but they were succeeded by wolves in greater numbers and, if possible, more destructive than ever before, and wolf hunts were for some years a necessity, if not a pastime.
The elder Mr. Forristall, Mr. Silas Angier, and Deacon Griffin lost sheep and lambs in considerable numbers, while in a single night sixteen of the flock of Mr. Spaulding, of Jaffrey, were destroyed. The whole community was now aroused, every gun was put in order, and every able-bodied man and boy enlisted to fight the common enemy.
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HIUNTING OF WOLVES.
Knowing that Monadnock was the stronghold of the wolves, a company of men from this and the adjoining towns chose Phineas Reed, Esq., as their leader, and surrounding the mountain a few rods apart they simultaneously worked their way to the top, only to find that the game secured consisted of an old bear with her two cubs, and four foxes. All except one of the eubs were shot, but the one saved repaid the kind- ness of the young man who was carrying it home by biting off one of his thumbs.
After descending the mountain Captain Reed's men heard the barking of a wolf in the woods not far off, and so they sur- rounded the woods and stood at their posts all night, deter- mined that their foe should not escape. In the morning the wolf was driven out into a piece of cleared land. At least fifty bullets were now fired at him, but he broke the ring and made his way east into a meadow belonging to Rev. Mr. Ainsworth, where he was shot by a young man named Nathaniel Stanley. His weapon was one of the old " Queen's Arms, " and he fired two balls and a slug before he finished his work.
As usual on such occasions, the bounty of twenty dollars which was to be received was spent at the nearest tavern.
Soon after this three wolves were killed in Swanzey and two in Marlborough. Meanwhile there were three successful wolf- hunts in what is now Troy. In the former of these Andrew Sherman was the hero, and the bounty was expended at the Warren store for liquor and crackers, but the company assem- bled was so large that the supply furnished to each man was only a single glass of rum and two eraekers. Two years later, viz., in 1797, after the wolves had destroyed in one night ten sheep from the flock of Elijah Alexander, and a little later twenty owned by Levi Randall, two hundred or more men as- sembled, and succeeded in killing one wolf and fatally wound- ing another. On this occasion Jonas Robinson, whose store at that time was in the part of Fitzwilliam now belonging to Troy, met the returning hunters with a wagon-load of erackers, rum, and sugar.
But a " three-legged wolf " was still left to prey upon the sheep. A still larger party of huntsmen was organized, and
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
Jonathan Capron succeeded in wounding and partially dis- abling the animal. The wolf had still life enough to seize and shatter the stock of the musket which was raised to despatch it, and yielded only to a leaden ball in the head. The Com- mon in Troy was the place of rendezvous, and again Jonas Robinson furnished the refreshments.
A single wolf was still left that alternated between Monad- nock and Watatic, and committed great depredations among the flocks wherever it went. In the winter of 1819-20 a num- ber of hunters with their hounds started in pursuit, but day after day the crafty beast rendered all their efforts fruitless. They followed the wolf through Jaffrey, Fitzwilliam, Winehen- don, and Rindge, and even into the towns of Templeton and Gardner. Meanwhile storms came on, the snow became deep, and two of the original hunters becoming discouraged retired, though their places were at once supplied by more courageous and persevering men. At no time did the wolf neglect his nightly repast, but while the hunters were resting he took his meal in the nearest barnyard. Phineas Whitney entertained the wearied men one night, but while they were sleeping the wolf killed several of Mr. Whitney's sheep, drinking the blood as it flowed from the opened veins and taking a little of the most delicate meat, apparently not because it was hungry, but for the purpose of a pleasant entertainment. Then it lay down under some bushes and rested till it was time to start in the morning. For nine or ten days this warfare was kept up, and the wolf, though often seen and fired at, seemed as fresh as at the beginning. Colonel Jewett's bloodhounds were now put upon the track, and followed in close pursuit, but night came on and the wolf was safe. On the morning of the next day (the Sabbath), the people in Fitzwilliam village, having learned that the wolf was approaching Monadnock, turned out and formed lines of men along the roads to Rindge and Jaffrey. The hounds drove the wolf into the Scott meadow, where it was shot first by Shubael Plympton and then by Lewis Rob- bins, two or three bullets passing through its body and leav- ing it dead.
The prey was at once brought to Fitzwilliam Common amid
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DESTRUCTION OF THE LAST CATAMOUNT.
the cheers of the people. There was no religious service in the meeting-house on the morning of that Sabbath.
This is said to have been the last wolf-hunt in the region about Monadnock.
The catamount, which one hundred years ago was occasionally found in Southern New Hampshire, was a very formidable A and dangerous beast to encounter. It is not known that any of this class of animals were ever killed within the limits of this town, but in the history of Troy we have an account of the slaughter of one of enormous proportions.
Knowing that some monster had killed a deer in the vicin- ity of their home. Deacon Fife and his son borrowed the pow- erful steel trap already spoken of as belonging to Mr. Lovejoy, of Rindge, and were successful in capturing the animal. A ball from the musket of young Fife soon brought the defiant beast to terms, for it appeared upon examination to have pierced its heart. From the nose to the end of the tail the catamount measured thirteen feet and four inches. For its stuffed skin the proprietors of the Boston Museum are said to have paid forty-five dollars.
CHAPTER XV.
FITZWILLIAM INDUSTRIES.
Agricultural Matters-Lumber-Mechanical Trades-Domestic Manufac- tures-Tanneries-Saw-Mills-The Scott Mill-Grist-Mills-Taxation of Mill Property-Wooden Ware-Other Manufactures-The Granite Industry-The Granite Itself-The Beginning and Progress ofithe Busi- ness-The Firms and Individuals Engaged in it.
F OR nearly three-quarters of a century after the settlement of this town the facilities of communication with the world at large were small, and the same may be said of the manufacturing business of the country when we compare it with what it is at the present day. As a result of this state of things the early settlers of Fitzwilliam were obliged to depend for food and clothing chiefly upon what could be raised or manufactured at home.
That the land was ever well adapted to the raising of large and largely remunerative crops, as is true in the valleys of our large rivers, we can hardly suppose, still it yielded a fair sup- port to the families of the early settlers, and, under a good sys- tem of husbandry, is still productive. Corn, rye, beans, potatoes, and turnips for food, and flax and wool for clothing, were the chief productions, and nearly all that was raised was for home consumption. Some of the butter, cheese, pork, and beef soon began to find its way to other markets in exchange for family supplies that could not be readily obtained in any other man- ner, but from the beginning the home demand for these arti- cles has been nearly equal to the production.
As a whole the agricultural interests of Fitzwilliam have made but little if any advance during the last half century, but this has not been due so much to the lack of enterprise or the actual wearing out of the land, as to the more inviting openings for remunerative employment in other pursuits. Still, the annual products of the soil of Fitzwilliam at the pres-
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FITZWILLIAM MANUFACTURERS.
ent day are by no means inconsiderable. Probably, however, the time will never come when a farmer will become wealthy by raising wheat and corn in Fitzwilliam, such are the case, rapidity, and cheapness of transportation from the vast agri- cultural regions of the West.
From the earliest settlement of the town the various mechan- ical trades have been well represented, sufficiently so certainly to meet the wants of the people. The names of the early car- penters, shoemakers, tailors, and other mechanics cannot be reasonably looked for in this volume, yet reference may well be made to two families of blacksmiths.
The Bowker Brothers-Bartlett, John, and Charles-were all blacksmiths, and had an established reputation in all the re- gion. The Davis family has followed in the same line, Chancy, senior and junior, and Ezekiel, with his sons Van Ness and Isaac, all blacksmiths, though Fitzwilliam could never claim them all as resident mechanics.
Richard Foster, who lived in the east part of the town near the residence of Mr. A. W. Gowen, made spinning-wheels. Jason Babcock, who lived on Lot 3 in Range 12, made linen wheels. Thomas Clark and Stephen Harris, as already men- tioned, manufactured various articles of wood for table use, such as bowls, cups, plates, etc., and this was the beginning of an important industry.
For about fifty years nearly all the cloth for clothing and other household uses was of home manufacture. The garments for summer were mostly made of tow or tow and linen cloth, and the woollen for winter wear was of domestic manufacture. Nearly every dwelling had its spinning-wheels, great and small, its implements to prepare wool and flax, and its loom for weaving. About 1790 a clothing mill was built in the north village and in it the cloth-dressing business was carried on by various persons, particularly by Salmon Whittemore. For ten or twelve years, commencing in 1816, Thomas Wilson was in the same business in the south part of the town. For many years a carding machine was in operation at the Har- rington Mill, and for a shorter period another was run by Joel Hunt in the south portion of the town.
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
For more than twenty-five years, commencing near the close of the last century, Phineas Reed conducted a large tannery, and was succeeded in this business by his sons, Daniel and Charles. Heavy shoes were manufactured for several years by Charles Reed, but this business was long since given up to the large manufacturers in other towns.
Joel Hayden had a tannery for many years and was succeeded by A. M. & J. Wood, who in turn were followed by Asa S. Kendall. After the destruction of this tannery by fire Mr. Kendall removed to Swanzey.
About 1830 the manufacture of palm-leaf hats was intro- duced, and this for many years furnished a very profitable oc- cupation for women and children. This business has continued till the present time, but at greatly redneed prices.
In the spring of 1836 Seth Whiting, a brushmaker, came to Fitzwilliam from Rindge. His chief business here was the preparation of palm-leaf for the hat-braiders and the manufac- ture of brooms from the waste material of the palm-leaf. Later he removed to Boston and resumed the manufacture of brushes. At present his son, John L. Whiting, is one of the largest manufacturers of this article in the country.
As there are no large and constant streams of water in Fitzwilliam, no large and extensive manufacturing busi- ness has ever been prosecuted here, still such water-power as the town affords has been improved from the earliest settle- ment.
The proprietors of the township gave, as we have seen, sub- stantial aid toward building the first mills. In August, 1765, they voted to pay Colonel Sampson Stoddard twenty pounds on condition that he should deed to Daniel Mellen two lots of land to encourage Mr. Mellen to build a saw-mill. This was the first mill in town and was built probably in 1767. It was located at the foot of the little meadow, about one fourth of a mile easterly from the house of Nahum Hayden, and upon the two lots of land deeded for this purpose to Mr. Mellen. At the present time no one would think of locating a mill at that place, so many better localities could be found, though it is possible that the supply of water in that stream has greatly
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MANUFACTURERS CONTINUED.
diminished in one hundred and twenty years. The proprietors voted, October 7th, 1767, to Captain Silas Witherby thirteen pounds six shilling and eightpence for his encouragement in building a saw-mill. This was located on Lot 16 in Range 3, and was the second mill in the township. Mr. Wetherbee sold his interest in the lot and mill to Benjamin Scott, and from him and his son Barakiah the mill and the brook upon which it stands received the name which they retain to this day.
Samuel Kendall, Esq., was interested in this mill at an early date, but whether as early or earlier than the Scotts cannot be stated.
The following list of the occupants of this mill has been made up from the tax-lists and other sources, and is believed to be substantially correct :
Barakiah Scott, 1793 to 1810 inclusive.
Samuel Kendall, Esq., 1793 to 1809.
Timothy & Luke Kendall, 1806 to 1815.
Luke Kendall and Abel Marshall, 1816 to 1823.
Luke Kendall alone, 1824 to 1836.
Howe & Rand, 1837 to 1839.
David Taft, 1840 to 1842.
Jonathan S. Adams and Raymond Stratton, 1844.
J. S. Adams alone, 1845 to 1847.
Elijah Bowker (1848 to 1850 ?).
George W. Wilson and Seth R. Fisher, 1851.
George W. Wilson and William H. Kinsman, 1852 to 1854.
Ilosea Platts, 1855 to 1859.
William II. Kinsman alone, 1860 to 1871.
George W. Simonds, 1872 to 1877.
Elijah Wilder, 1879 to 1880.
Edward A. Kendall, 1881 to 1883.
George A. Stone, 1884 --
The mill on Lot 9 in Range 4 was built near the close of the last century, and has been owned and occupied by four successive generations of Stones : Hezekiah, Artemas, Artemas, Jr., and Samuel S.
416
HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
At a meeting of the proprietors held October 11th, 1768, at the inn of Captain Thomas Cowdin, in Fitchburg, it was
Voted the sum of £20 La Mo (Lawfal Money) be paid to Colo. Stod- dard in Consideration of his Conveying to Mr Tiffany two Lots of Land to Build a Grist mill on & that sum to be In full for the same.
Mr. Tiffany did not make a satisfactory mill, and March 4th, 1772, the proprietors passed the following votes :
Voted to not except of the Grist mill Bult in Monadnock No 4 by Doc- tor Gideon Tiffany.
Voted and choose James Reed Esqr Mr Edward Kindal and Mr Elijah Clays a Committee in Behalf of this Propriety to put in Execution a Bond Given by Gideon Tiffany to Buld and Keep in Good Repair a water Grist mill in Monadnock No 4 on Either Lott No 22 or No 23 in the 8 Rang of Lotts or come to some proper settelment with the said Tiffany in Regard of Said mill as it is not Excepted by the Proprietors, and said Committee to Lay their Proseedings with Said Tiffany before this Propriety at their next meeting.
The mill was completed and put in running order by Thomas Tolman, the History of Troy says, in 1769, which is certainly two, and, possibly, three years too early. Benjamin Bigelow, the first settler in town, went to Hinsdale in May, 1771, to have some grain ground, and was drowned in the Ashuelot River in Winchester on his return. It is evident that the mill was not in working order at this time, as no one would go twenty miles for what he could get done within three miles. It is probable that Mr. Tolman had bought the property, and that this change of ownership was the cause of the action taken against Dr. Tiffany. A few years later Mr. Tolman built a saw-mill on the same stream and very near the grist-mill. About 1780 the property was bought by Joshua Harrington. The saw-mill was not long used, but the grist-mill was kept in operation by Mr. Harrington and his sons for over fifty years. The location is now occupied by the Troy Blanket Factory.
The second grist-mill was built by Philip Amadon about 1784, and was located at or near the spot now occupied by the saw-mill of Anson G. Beebe. The power at this place is now
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GRIST-MILLS-SAW-MILLS.
entirely given to wood-working machinery, no grain having been ground for a long time.
In 1825 Bartlet Bowker built a grist-mill which he and his sons Luke and Elijah kept in operation for many years. The Bowkers resided in Fitzwilliam, but the grist-mill was located just over the line in Troy, though within the original limits of this town.
In later years Benjamin M. Fiske had a grist-mill at the south part of the town, and some few others have operated such mills for brief periods of time.
The only grain-mill now in town is located at the old Stone mill.
The records of Fitzwilliam contain no general town tax-lists of an earlier date than 1793. In that year Joshua Harrington, Samuel Kendall, Esq., and Barakiah Scott were taxed on mill property. As there were certainly more mills in the town at that time the others were doubtless included in real estate. From the date given above to 1800 all the mills were treated as real estate, but commeneing with 1801 some of them were taxed separately, while after 1810 the separation of mills from other property seems to have been general. Before 1833 the tax on mills appears to have been laid on an estimated rental depending probably somewhat upon the amount of business, but after 1833 mills, like other property, were taxed according to their valuation.
The number of persons in town who have been taxed on mill property from 1801 to 1886 is about one hundred and seventy-five, the length of time running from one to thirty- six years. In many of the shorter periods the occupants of the mills rather than the owners paid the tax.
Aside from common saw-mill work the quantity of wood worked up by machinery was very small till about 1825, when the manufacture of wooden ware increased rapidly, till it be- came at length one of the chief industries of the town.
The following list gives the names of all who appear to have been taxed on mills for ten years or more since 1801, includ- ing also such as were taxed on similar property in 1793. In 27
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
the list the first and last years of taxation are given, and, in brackets, the number of years each person named has been taxed :
Philip Amadon [16] 1801-1821.
Anson G. Beebe [19] 1868-1886.
Levi B. Bent [13] 1841-1854.
Joseph Blodgett [12] 1840-1866.
Luke & Elijah Bowker [14] 1834-1853 succeeded by
Elijah Bowker [19] 1854-1877.
Milton Chaplin [13] 1827-1839 succeeded by
Elisha Chaplin [25] 1840-1881.
Joshua T. Collins [30] 1834-1867 succeeded by A G Beebe above.
Horace Coolidge [34] 1846-86.
Jonas Damon [21] 1866-1886.
Bela W. Felch [21] 1837-1859.
Joshua Harrington 1793 & 1801-1815.
Albert Hayden [11] 1876-1886.
Seth N. Holman [19] 1868-1886.
Nelson Howe & Joel Howe & Co. (M. P. Damon) [34] 1834-1867.
Nahum Howe [11] 1842-1854.
Nahum Howe jr. [31] 1843-1873 succeeded by his son
Henry P. Howe [13] 1874-1886.
Samuel Kendall Esqr. 1793 & 1802-1809.
Luke Kendall [27] 1806-1836 son of Samuel.
William H. Kinsman [15] 1852-1871.
Dea. Nehemiah Monroe [14] 1814-1829 non-resident.
J. C. Richmond [19] 1868-1886.
Barakiah and Elijah S. Scott 1793 & 1801-1810.
George W. Simonds [25] 1840-1877.
Jacob Simonds [ 16] 1831-47.
Edmund Spaulding [10] 1860-1869.
Hezekiah Stone [16] 1801-1820.
Artemas Stone [36] 1803-1838 son of Hezekiah.
Artemas Stone Jr. [11] 1833-1859, son of Artemas.
Samuel S. Stone [18] 1869 -- 1886, son of Artemas jr.
Moses Stone [21] 1808-1848, son of Hezekiah.
Thomas J. Streeter [28] 1825-1860.
Emery Taft [16] 1824-1843.
Charles L. Taft [12] 1867-1878.
Lyman K. Wheeler [27] 1860-1886.
Since 1832 the following persons have been taxed on mills on $1000.00 or over for 10 years or more :
Anson G. Beebe, Jonas Damon, Seth N. Holman, N. & J. Howe & Co., Samuel S. Stone-
On $1000.00 or over for 5 years or over and less than 10 years.
William Brooks, Elisha Chaplin, Warner Clifford, Coolidge & Whittemore, Jacob Simonds, Thomas J. Streeter, Emery Taft .---
On $500.00 or over for 10 years or more, and not included in preced- ing lists,
Elijah Bowker, J. T. Collins, Horace Coolidge, Bela W. Felch, Nahum Howe Jr., Henry P. Howe, George W. Simonds, Charles L. Taft, Lyman K. Wheeler.
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WOODEN WARE-THE GRANITE INDUSTRY.
As wooden ware constituted a class of goods not known during the early part of this century in the regular mercantile trade, it became necessary to seek for it a market, and within a few years after its manufacture was entered upon in earnest the wooden-ware peddlers of Milton Chaplin and Norris Col- burn were distributing their wares not only in Southern New Hampshire, but also in the other States of New England, and in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Some time after the Cheshire Railroad was opened, two gentlemen be- longing in the northern part of New York, who were on their way to Boston, stopped over at Fitzwilliam that they might see the place whose name had become so familiar to them by the passage to and fro in their neighborhood of the wooden- ware carts. Supposing that they should find here a large town or city of ten or fifteen thousand inhabitants, they were aston- ished beyond measure to discover that the central part of the famous Fitzwilliam was only a small hamlet of some seventy- five houses.
It may be added that at the present time substantially all the wooden ware manufactured in the country is disposed of through the regular channels of trade.
About fifty years ago Jacob Felton manufactured chairs in this town, but it was found difficult to compete in this indus- try with such places as Ashburnham and Gardner, Mass., with their vastly better water-power. In recent years George W. Simonds manufactured picture-frames in considerable quantities in this place, but like many others who made similar experiments in endeavoring to establish lines of profitable manufactures here, he found that the superior advantages of other places resulting from better water-power or more favor- able locations made it next to impossible for him to compete successfully in the markets of the country.
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