USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Fitzwilliam > The history of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, from 1752-1887 > Part 34
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THIE FITZWILLIAM GRANITE INDUSTRY.
As was stated in the opening chapter of this history, Fitz- william is noted both for its extensive ledges of granite under- lying the soil and its bowlders of the same material upon the surface. In this respect no other town in this part of New
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
England is more highly favored. The stone has a uniformity of color, an evenness and firmness of texture, and a freedom from seams of a lighter or darker shade-characteristics that render it very valuable for building or monumental purposes, and this value is greatly enhanced by its being free in general from the oxide of iron which destroys the beauty of so much granite after a few years' exposure. This last-mentioned defect in not a little of the granite of New England has made, as is well known, many costly stone buildings and monuments, that were beautiful at first, so disagreeable and unsightly that noth- ing would tempt their owners to repeat their experiment, so that the one thing most sought after in granite construction is a stone that will not become stained after any amount of ex- posure to air and moisture. And the Fitzwilliam dealers in granite have this advantage also that the ledges most highily valued and extensively wrought are so favorably located, that the heaviest blocks of stone are loaded for removal by railroad at comparatively little expense.
Fitzwilliam furnishes granite of two colors, the light and the dark, the former greatly exceeding the latter in quantity and vastly more popular for general use. The two kinds may be seen in contrast in the immense and massive walls, arches, and towers of the Union Railroad Depot at Worcester, Mass. A large part of the material used in this structure was furnished by Daniel H. Reed, of Fitzwilliam, the stone of both colors coming from different parts of his quarries.
All the fine granite of this town is capable of receiving a beautiful polish, resembling in this particular more nearly the red granite of Scotland than does most of the granite obtained in other parts of New England.
Thirty or forty years ago no granite quarries had been opened in this town, but large quantities of stone at that time were obtained from the huge bowlders scattered over the township. For a long time flat stones of large dimensions have been taken from the surface of the hill, south of the depot, now owned by Daniel H. Reed. In places on this hill the stone lies in sheets and requires no splitting for its removal except to free the sides and ends. The steps of the Town Hall were
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GROWTH OF THE GRANITE INDUSTRY.
obtained in this manner from that locality, and so were the large and beautiful stones that are found at the entrance of many of the Fitzwilliam dwellings. Sixty or seventy years ago persons came from towns in Massachusetts twenty or thirty miles distant, to obtain from this hill the large, flat stones which could not be found in their immediate neighborhoods. The transportation of granite from Fitzwilliam began to in- crease rapidly as soon as the building of the Cheshire Railroad was completed.
This industry of Fitzwilliam may be said to be at the pres- ent time largely in the hands of the second generation of workers.
David Forbush, Jude Damon, and Calvin Dutton sent con- siderable quantites of granite out of town before the present means for transportation had been furnished. Melvin Wilson was also early in the field as a dealer in granite, but the first individual to engage largely and systematically in this work was Charles Reed. Mr. Reed was a man of enterprise, and could not be satisfied without opening a larger and wider market for this important production of his native town.
Others soon after engaged in the same business, and from that day to this the granite interest has increased in amount and value of production, till in Fitzwilliam it overshadows any other special industry. The stone and manufactured work from these quarries are now sent into all parts of Southern New England, into New York, and all the States lying West as far as the Valley of the Mississippi, and it is found in some of the largest and best business blocks in nearly all our Northern cities, in statues, in soldiers' monuments, and in the best ceme- tery work generally, in very many of our towns, cities, and villages, its characteristics already noticed commending it to the taste of the critical.
Of the men and firmis now engaged in this business, Mr. Melvin Wilson (the firm at the present time is Melvin Wilson & Son) has furnished and manufactured granite the longest. having engaged in the granite business about 1845. This firm gives more attention to manufactured work than to furnishing rough stock, and their productions may be found in the town
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
houses of Winchendon, Mass., and Springfield, Vt., also on the Whitcomb tomb at the latter place, on the town tomb of Fitzwilliam, and on the Cheshire County Court House.
Daniel H. Reed is the son of Charles Reed, to whom reference has already been made, and is his successor in the granite business. His quarries have been worked longer than any others in town and are also the most extensive. The statue on the Horticultural Hall in Boston was cut from a bloek furnished by Mr. Reed.
Fisher & Newton is comparatively a new firm in the granite business, though Mr. Fisher has been engaged in it for a long time. They furnish granite for all kinds of building purposes, for monuments and cemetery work generally, and make polish- ing a specialty. This firm is working a new quarry a little east of the central village and is having a good and satisfactory business.
The Ethan Blodgett Quarry, situated nearly one mile south- west of the railroad station, is now worked by William E. Blodgett. For a number of years the amount of stone taken from this quarry was very large, and found its way over a wide extent of country. The granite in the beautiful library build- ing at Natick, Mass., was furnished by Mr. Ethan Blodgett, and a considerable quantity was furnished for the State Capitol at Albany, N. Y.
The George D. Webb Granite Company has recently pur- chased the quarry formerly worked by the Angier family, and is now doing a large and widespread business. The Cheshire Railroad runs directly through this quarry, giving the very best facilities for handling and shipping the stone. This com- pany furnishes both rough and manufactured work of every practicable size and shape, and in any desired quantity. In addition to their Eastern trade, which is extensive, this com- pany has filled large orders from Western cities, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, and St. Louis.
From the accounts kept at the Fitzwilliam Railroad Station it appears that the amount of granite shipped in 1885 was 5750 tons, and in 1886, 7080 tons. Probably about nine tenths of these amounts consisted of granite in the rough state.
CHAPTER XVI.
PROFESSIONAL.
Classification-Civilians-Lawyers-Physicians-Clergymen-Distinguished Educators-List of College Graduates.
U NDER this head four classes of individuals are in- cluded :
1. Those who were known as civilians or were engaged in professional life here but were born elsewhere.
2. Those who, though not born in Fitzwilliam, resided for some time here, and have been known in professional life else- where.
3. Those who were born and practised their professions in Fitzwilliam.
4. Those who were born in Fitzwilliam, but were chiefly known in their professions elsewhere.
CLASS I.
CIVILIANS.
Hon. NAHUM PARKER was born in Shrewsbury, Mass., March 4th, 1760, and removed from that place to Fitzwilliam in February, 1786. At the age of fifteen years he, with five of his brothers, was a soldier in the Continental Army, and was pres- ent and took part in the battles that resulted in the capture of Burgoyne's forces near Saratoga, N. Y., in 1777 .* The ability and fidelity of Mr. Parker were at once recognized by the people of Fitzwilliam, and he was soon called to fill offices of trust. October 17th, 1792, the proprietors of this town-
* A daughter of Judge Parker, Mrs. Selina Damon, has in her possession, and will show to those interested in such things, a relic which her father brought off from the field of battle after the defeat of Burgoyne's army. It is a bottle of dark glass, with a very short neck holding about a quart. This was doubtless lost in the fight by some British soldier, or, possibly, by one of the llessian troops, which served at that time as mercenaries, in considerable numbers, in the British armies.
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
ship elected him as their clerk and treasurer, and he held these offices till the closing up of the business of the proprietors in 1815. Though not educated as a lawyer, he was well ae- quainted with the forms and merits of civil proceedings, and brought to all his public duties a well-trained mind, a habit of exactness in all the calls issued by him for legal meetings, and in the record of the same, and the utmost fidelity in accounting for the funds in his possession. To all these qualifications for a publie servant he added an almost faultless penmanship, so that from the date of his election as clerk of the proprietors, their record books become easy of comprehension.
In 1790 Mr. Parker's name first appears upon the records of Fitzwilliam as one of the selectmen, and he held this office for four successive years. Beginning with 1792 he was often moderator of the town meetings. In 1794 he was chosen to represent this town in the State Legislature, and was re-elected annually till 1804, or for the period of ten years. In 1806 he was again chosen representative. In all the civil, social, and religious affairs of this town Mr. Parker was prominent for a long course of years, his ability, honesty, and fidelity being universally acknowledged. Of his kindness to the poor and afflicted many instances are related by aged persons, and his influence was invariably in favor of the culture and good morals of the people.
Ilis commissions as Justice of the Peace (the last one dated in 1836) were twelve in number. He was also a member of the Governor's Council and of the State Senate.
In 1807 he became Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Cheshire County, in which Sullivan County was then in- cluded. In 1813, when the Western Circuit Court, including the counties of Cheshire, Grafton, and Coos, was established, Mr. Parker was an associate judge, as he was three years later when the County Court of Common Pleas was restored.
In 1806 he was elected a senator from New Hampshire in the United States Congress for the full term of six years, but finding his duties as judge and senator too onerous, and, more- over, sometimes conflicting in point of time, he resigned his office as senator after a service of three years and continued to
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PROFESSIONAL-LAWYERS.
hold the office of judge. He died November 12th, 1839, aged eighty years.
Ilis disease was paralysis of the brain. He was a pensioner. During his service in the Continental Army Mr. Parker kept a diary, making daily entries in a little book which has been carefully preserved by Mrs. Damon. In after years, when he applied for a pension, this book was deemed amply sufficient to establish his elaim, when all the other evidence offered proved insufficient.
LAWYERS.
For twenty-five years or more after the incorporation of the town the law business of the people of Fitzwilliam was not sufficient to support a local practitioner. Samnel Kendall was early a Justice of the Peace and competent to draw up legal documents, while a little later Judge Nahum Parker was so well acquainted with the forms and provisions of law that, in all ordinary cases, he was a safe legal adviser. The more difficult and complicated law business of the town was placed in the hands of the lawyers at Keene.
ERASMUS BUTTERFIELD had a law office here in the early years of this century, but little is known of him by the present gen- eration. He was taxed here from 1804 to 1808 inclusive, and is said to have maintained the dignity of his profession on all occasions, and to have been hardly popular with the laboring classes, that always furnish the bone and sinew of society in a town like Fitzwilliam. He, however, secured an election as the representative of this town in the Legislature of 1807. Ile commenced the erection of the house where the late Daniel Spaulding resided, now the home of his daughter, Miss Viola L. Spaulding.
LUTHER CHAPMAN* is said to have come to this town as a lawyer from Swanzey. He was taxed in this place from 1809 to 1835 inelusive, which period covered his active professional life in Fitzwilliam. In 1816 and 1817 he represented this town in the Legislature.
* This name is often spelled Chatman in the early records of the town, but the spell_ Ing Chapman is undoubtedly correct, and originally designated the occupation of the person-chapman, one who buys and sells goods.
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
The facts that follow concerning Mr. Chapman have been kindly furnished by a niece of Mrs. Chapman, the wife of Mr. Charles C. Carter.
He was born in Keene in 1778, and was the son of Samuel Chapman, a farmer of that place. His preparation for college was made at Chesterfield Academy, then one of the best schools in New England. Mr. Chapman graduated at Dart- month College in 1803, and after studying law with the IIon. J. C. Chamberlain, of Charlestown, he commenced practice in Swanzey in 1806. February 9th, 1808, he married Sally, daughter of Colonel Samuel King, of Chesterfield. As he was regarded as one of the " best read " lawyers in the State his practice for many years was very large. He resided in Troy from 1836 till 1855, when he returned to Fitzwilliam, where he died, August 15th, 1856, aged seventy-seven. Mrs. Chapman died, August 1st, 1869, aged eighty-seven.
HENRY THORNDIKE came to this town as a lawyer from Jaffrey. He finished the Spaulding house, but remained only a short time in Fitzwilliam, for he soon went to Ohio, which was then considered the " Far West." Returning to Fitzwilliam he gave glowing accounts of the fair country which he had visited, and soon removed to the State of his adoption. Ile was taxed here from 1813 to 1815 inclusive.
LEVI CHAMBERLAIN Was a lawyer in Fitzwilliam contemporary with Mr. Chapman, though a little later in his arrival. He is said to have come here from Keene, though he was a native of Worcester, Mass. That he was a man of ability, influence, and distinction appears from the fact that he represented this town in the State Legislature from 1821 to 1828 inclu- sive. He was a member of the State Senate in 1829 and 1830, and in 1849 and 1850 was the Whig candidate for Gov- ernor of the State. In 1832 he removed to Keene, where he resided till his death. He was taxed here thirteen years, 1820 to 1832.
CHARLES C. WEBSTER was a lawyer in Fitzwilliam for some years, but removed to Chesterfield about 1840, and at a later period to Keene, where he died, August, 1884. Mr. Webster was taxed in Fitzwilliam from 1834 to 1839 inclusive.
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LAWYERS CONTINUED.
AMOS JEWETT BLAKE, now and for a number of years past the only lawyer in Fitzwilliam, was born in Rindge, N. H., October 20th, 1836. His grandfather, Deacon Eleazer Blake, was in the Continental service during the entire period of the Revolutionary War, and participated in many of the most important battles, holding the rank of sergeant. Removing from Wrentham, Mass., his native place, to Rindge, he lived and died there greatly respected and beloved. Ebenezer and Hepsibeth (Jewett) Blake were the parents of the subject of this sketch, who is the eighth child and seventh son in the family. Ebenezer Blake held many public offices in Rindge, and died in 1883. Amos Jewett Blake, Esq .. prepared for college in various elassical institutions in this State and Ver- mont, but chiefly in Appleton Academy in New Ipswich. In 1859, abandoning the plan of a college course, he commenced the study of law with F. F. Lane, Esq., of Keene. Two years later he entered the law office of Don. II. Woodward, Esq., also of Keene, where he remained till he was admitted to the bar in 1862. In July, 1863, he commenced practice in Fitz- william. In 1862 he was appointed Assistant Assessor of In- ternal Revenue, and held this office till 1871. In 1872 and in 1873 he represented this town in the State Legislature, and was a member of the Judiciary Committee during both ses- sions.
For four years after 1876, deemed the most trying years ever experienced by the New Hampshire savings-banks, he held the office of Bank Commissioner. The United States census of Fitzwilliam for 1880 was taken by Mr. Blake. He served for ten years upon the Board of Superintending School Committee, was many times the moderator of town meetings, for years was one of the supervisors of the Fitzwilliam Free Library, and 1883-85 was a member of the Board of Selectmen, and is President of the Fitzwilliam Savings- Bank.
October 1st, 1867, he was admitted to practice in the United States District Court, and was a member of the Committee of Three appointed by the town to fund the war debt.
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
PIIYSICIANS.
From Rev. John Sabin's historieal leeture, delivered in 1836, we learn that this town had had up to that date eighteen phy- sieians who had practised their profession among this people, and that there were two other physicians in town at that time that declined to do business "though some use (is) made of them." Four had died and been buried in this place, one after a snecessful practice here of more than forty years. This was doubtless Dr. Ebenezer Wright. One of the two who declined to do business in 1836 was Dr. Noble, as Mr. Sabin speaks of him as keeping " an apothecary shop." The other alluded to was Dr. Thomas Richardson. The names even of all the early physicians here possibly cannot now be recovered, much less ean full particulars be given respeeting their profes- sional life.
Rev. Mr. Sabin's testimony in their behalf is certainly worth preserving :
The physicians of the town have always been ready to attend to the cases that required them, and most promptly ; at least I think I know this for the last thirty-three or thirty-four years. Such skill and faith- fulness may be supposed to be with them that there has never been a life saved by going out of town for medical assistance. To me it is next to certain that those who have recovered from sickness by help from abroad would have recovered through the skill at home. Anyhow the town has always been favored with a sufficient number, and of compe- tent attainment, in the healing art.
The following table probably names the eighteen physicians referred to by Mr. Sabin. The dates may not all be precisely aeenrate, but certainly approximate aceuraey :
1775-80. Gersham Brigham. Children baptized 1776 and 1778.
1783-90. Isaae Moors Farwell. Mar. December, 1785. 1785-1829. Ebenezer Wright.
1790-94. Peter Clark Grosvenor. Mar. May, 1793.
1796-99. Luke Lincoln. Taxed 1797-99. 1799-1802. Zephaniah Jennings. Taxed 1800-02. 1806-12. Benjamin Bemis. Taxed 1807-12.
1808-14. Samnel Lane. Taxed 1809-14.
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EARLY FITZWILLIAM PHYSICIANS.
1810-21. Amasa Scott. Taxed 1804-21.
1814-15. Abel Wilder. Taxed 1815.
1817-18. Thomas Wells. Taxed 1818.
1819-24. Jared Perkins.
1824-27. Preston Pond. Taxed 1825-27.
1827-28. Larkin Baker Cole. Taxed 1827-28.
1827-82.
Silas Cummings.
1828-32.
Warren Partridge.
1834. Abraham H. Jaquith. Taxed 1834.
1835-37. Thomas H. Marshall.
Dr. GERSHAM BRIGHAM was doubtless the first physician of Fitzwilliam. He came from Marlborough, Mass., about 1775. It has been generally supposed, but erroneously, that he was a brother of the first pastor, Rev. Benjamin Brigham. The pastor had a brother of this name born June 27th, 1750, but he was not a physician and lived in Northborough, Mass. The name Gersham was common in the Brigham family, and long before this town was settled there was a physician bearing it in . Marlborough, Mass.
The Dr. Gersham Brigham of Fitzwilliam appears to have been a cousin of the first pastor, and to have been the only physician in this place for a number of years. Of his profes- sional reputation we know nothing. Occasionally he held some minor town office.
Dr. ISAAC MOORS FARWELL married in this place in Decem- ber, 1785, and probably commenced medical practice here about that time. He held the office of selectman in 1787, and served for two years or more as town clerk. In 1790 the town was called together " to chuse a Town Clark in the place of Dr. Farwell, which is going to leave town." Little is known regarding his practice in this place.
Dr. EBENEZER WRIGHT was, so far as is known, the third physician of Fitzwilliam. He was born in Templeton, Mass., November 3d, 1761, and studied medicine in Rutland, Vt. At the age of twenty-four years he settled in Fitzwilliam, and soon gained the confidence of the community. In 1811 he removed to the north village, now Troy, but returned to the centre of Fitzwilliam three years later. He took an active
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HISTORY OF FITZWILLIAM.
part in the measures that resulted in the incorporation of Troy, and as early as 1793 he was a member of the General School Committee. Dr. Wright died here, March 16th, 1829, leav- ing two children. He was married here, November 22d, 1790, to Mrs. Elizabeth Bates.
Dr. PETER CLARK GROSVENOR was a physician in this town for two or three years, and in 1794 was chosen town elerk, but died before his term of service expired, viz., December 14th, 1794.
Dr. LUKE LINCOLN was a physician here for a short time and served as town clerk for one year, having been elected in 1799. He is said to have died of severe burns, but how re- ceived is unknown. Another memorandum (perhaps more reliable) states that it was Dr. Lincoln's daughter, Sarah, that died of burns, but in either case this must have occurred after the family removed from Fitzwilliam.
Dr. BENJAMIN BEMIS, Jr., came from Brookfield, Mass., about 1806, and was in Fitzwilliam six or seven years. How much he did in his profession is unknown, but soon after his arrival he formed a partnership with Dr. Amasa Scott for mercantile purposes, and the firm-Bemis & Scott -- built the store afterward ocenpied by Dexter Whittemore, Esq. This firm was dissolved December 27th, 1810.
Dr. SAMUEL LANE came from Swanzey about 1808 and re- turned to that town about 1814, where he had a long and suc- cessful practice. He married a daughter of Hon. Nahum Parker. In the History of Troy an account is given of a savage encounter between Dr. Lane and a robber named Ryan, in the woods between Troy and Fitzwilliam in 1811. The doctor was attempting to arrest the robber, who had snapped a pistol at him, which fortunately missed fire. Doctor Lane was on horseback, and attempting to dismount his foot was caught in the stirrup and he was dragged two or three rods before it was released, when he saw Ryan rushing toward him with a dirk in one hand and a pistol in the other. In the struggle that followed Dr. Lane was stabbed in the shoulder, but finally threw the robber, and though he was soon turned under the desperate man he succeeded in holding him down by his hair
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FITZWILLIAM PHYSICIANS.
till his cries brought help and Ryan was seeured. Dr. Lane's wounds were not very severe, but his escape from death was remarkable. The robber was doubtless crazy from strong drink, and was acquitted because his reason was deemed shattered.
Dr. JARED PERKINS was born in Jaffrey, February 12th, 1793, and came to Fitzwilliam with his father's family in 1810. Ile died October 7th, 1824. Dr. Perkins studied medieine with Dr. Luke Howe, of Jaffrey, and Dr. Stephen Batcheller, of Royalston, Mass., and was a classmate of Dr. James Batchel- ler. He received his degree of M. D. at Dartmouth College in Angust, 1819, and commenced the practice of medicine in Fitzwilliam the same month. Was married in 1819 to Sarah Hayden, of Fitzwilliam. On returning from visiting a pa- tient during a very dark night, his horse sunk into a deep hole by the side of the road, and as it was raining and eold Dr. Perkins contraeted a fever from which he never recovered. His age was thirty-one years. His general ability and fine scholarship had promised great success in his profession.
Dr. THOMAS RICHARDSON was born in Leominster, Mass., February 1st, 1766. Studied medicine with Dr. Carter, of Lancaster, and Dr. Shattuck, of Templeton, and practised several years in Royalston, Mass. He came to Fitzwilliam in 1812, but did not do a large business here, as his object in leaving Royalston was to avoid praetiee on account of his health, which suffered from irregular hours. Dr. Richardson died in Fitzwilliam, August 8th, 1852, aged eighty-six and one half years.
Dr. PRESTON POND came to this place from Keene about 1824. Ile was very active in efforts to promote the temper- anee reformation, and laid the foundations for a strong tem- perance society which was formed in 1830. His practice is said to have suffered from his boldness in the temperance eause, and after three or four years he removed to Mississippi, where he died a few years ago.
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