USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Swanzey > The history of Swanzey, New Hampshire, from 1734 to 1890 > Part 49
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The SLATES resided on Ashuelot river north of the bridge at West- port, hence the name, "Slate's farm" and "Slate's bridge."
JOSEPH SMEAD, a blacksmith, built a house and barn (the cellar only remains) north of Z. G. Tafts. He hammered out all the iron used in its construction, even the shingle nails. His son, Joseph B., for- merly a peddler, is now a farmer in Fitchburg, Mass. Ephraim A. resides in Penn.
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TIMOTHY SMITH, a farmer, lived near Alfred Talbot place.
HECTOR A. SMITH is a painter and an employe in the Westport mills.
IVORY SNOW was born in Mattapoisett, Mass., came to Richmond, thence to Swanzey, locating in the west part of the town near Ches- terfield line. His sons Peter and Joseph settled in the same neigh- borhood ; James, Joshua and Ivory in Winchester, all farmers. Joshua afterwards removed to P. Hare place where he remained till old age, when he married for his second wife the widow of Josiah Hamblet and lived with her on Mrs. Wellington place till his death, Edwin and Or- amon in middle life followed the prevalent custom and left the old farms on the hill and removed to West Swanzey village. Daniel, Solon W. and Phineas H. all removed to W. Swanzey ; the first two being box manufacturers, and the latter a carpenter.
BENJAMIN C. SNow is the West Swanzey sexton, a farmer and teamster.
FRANK L. SNOW is the owner of the steam mill by the railroad in W. Swanzey, a manufacturer of pails, dealer in dry-goods and gro- ceries, a miller and dealer in flour, grain and meal. His father is as- sociated with him in the business.
GEORGE S. and EDWARD H. SNOW are engaged with their father in the box business. Charles T. is a graduate of a Boston University.
JOHN H. SPARHAWK lived in Richmond, on C. Marsh place, and at West Swanzey. He was a farmer, laborer and employe in the mills. His sons J. Willie and Charles B. also located at W. Swanzey.
ABRAM SPOFFORD lived several years after marriage on Amasa Bal- lou farm, whence he removed to Lowell, Mass.
OBADIAH SPRAGUE commenced his business career as a dealer in palin-leaf hats in Richmond. He has since been merchant in Keene, an associate with C. Bridgman, cashier of the Winchester National Bank ; manager and prime mover in all the changes and moves of the Stratton Mills and West Swanzey Manufacturing Companies, and builder and owner of the mills at Spragueville. Though his life has been exceedingly busy he is ever interested in the good order, improve- ment and welfare of the village where he resides.
SIMEON A. SPRING is a brick-mason at West Swanzey.
PENTECOST STANLEY of Attleborough, Mass., located on the farm
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which has since been owned and occupied by his descendants, Israel, Alonzo A. and Geo. W., -all farmers. Alonzo A., after the death of his wife, sold the farm and resides with his children. Geo. W. is an extensive farmer and lumberman in Langdon.
NATHANIEL STANLEY, son of Israel, lived in the small house east of the Stanley place. His son Cyrus W. lives at W. Swanzey.
DANIEL STANTON, a tanner, resided at W. Swanzey.
JOHN STARKEY came from Attleborough, Mass., and in 1771 bought four lots of land in the southeast part of the town; one lot of which and a part of the three others have since been set off to Troy. His son Peter settled in Fitzwilliam, and John, Enoch and Joseph on the original purchase. The Swanzey part of these lots is now owned principally by E. F. Lane and Mrs. A. L. Bailey. The east end of the four lots constitutes a large part of the Luther Whittemore farm. John Starkey was the ancestor of nearly all of the family name in Richmond, Swanzey and Troy. Of the next generation Peter lived near Graves' mills, Laban in E. Swanzey, John in Richmond, and Calvin and Luna in Troy.
COL. HENRY STARKEY came from Richmond and lived where his grandson J. Leroy now resides. He was a genial, prosperous farmer. A large number of his friends and townspeople called on him Sept. 1, 1885, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of his birth. Of his sons John W. was a well-to-do farmer in Richmond, and in Swanzey on the A. B. Cook farm, and afterwards proprietor of the City Hotel in Keene. Alvin spent much of his life in Winchester as a business man, but died in Buffalo, N. Y. He loaned the town a large sum during the war. Henry was a hotel-keeper at W. Swanzey, Brattleboro, Vt., and other places. Joseph lived in Richmond. William W. was a shook maker and lumber dealer in Michigan and other places.
ISAAC STARKEY lived on the old turnpike road in the east part of the town ; Horace at Factory Village, Cyrus in Shrewsbury, Vt., Miles in Wallingford, Vt., and Lemuel was a hotel-keeper in Brat- tleboro', Vt. Lewis Starkey lived at E. Swanzey. J. Leroy has been selectman for three successive years.
The STEARNS family has been prominent in Swanzey and wherever its branches have located.
Abraham was a resident of West Swanzey. Of his sons, Abijah, and Asaph went to Ohio; John was a merchant in Boston, and Abra- ham in Swanzey Centre and Woodstock, Vt. Samuel, a farmer, lived
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at West Swanzey where his son Abraham now resides. He was mod- erator at nearly all town meetings for many years. He was also a merchant and lumber dealer.
Arba was a successful farmer at W. Swanzey on C. Hanrahan place. He was popularly known as "Uncle Arba." Some of the children of these two families reside in Oregon, and have been highly prosperous.
Of the sons of WILLIAM STEVENSON (or Stephenson, as a part of the descendants spell the name), Enos was a shoemaker and lived at Swan- zey Centre, died at Jolin A. Rand place. William, a farmer on H. Stephenson place in the west part of the town. Ira lived many years on a now abandoned farm west of Everett Holbrook place, died in Chesterfield in 1891. Eli lived and died on J. L. Winch place.
Of the next generation Farnum Hiram is a shoemaker and resides in Brattleboro', Vt. Leonard L. removed to the west. Elias G. is a far- mer and shoemaker, also an expert as a trapper and hunter of foxes. Sumner B. engaged in various employments in various places. He died in Keene a few years since. Hiram W. lived and died in Hins- dale. Charles E. resides in Massachusetts.
JACOB M. STODDARD was a laborer in Westport.
MARTIN and SAMUEL STONE, brothers and substantial farmers, came from Fitzwilliam and spent their lives respectively on the Edmund Stone and C. H. Rockwood places. Capt. Edmund Stone has been successful as a farmer, lumber dealer and in other occupations. He was town collector many years. Lyman M. resides on his father's homestead a farmer, teamster and lumber man. Seamon does busi- ness in Chicago.
Col. PHINEAS STONE came from Lancaster, Mass., and located on the farm since occupied by his son, Capt. Phineas and grandson Mar- cus C., all prominent farmers. Phineas, sen., was also a hotel keeper many years. Joseph and Henry were successful merchants in Boston. Marcus C. adds lumbering to his other employment. Solon H. runs a portable steam saw-mill in neighboring towns.
SYLVANDER STONE was a farmer most of his life in Swanzey Centre. He died Feb. 1, 1891. His son, Demeritt, died in the army. George D. is a farmer and owner of Mrs. C. Whitcomb place. He is one of the town sextons.
CHARLES N. STONE is an employé in the East Swanzey pail shops.
ROSWELL STOWELL was a farmer in Westport. Edes C. is a pro- vision dealer in Keene (Bullard & Stowell).
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No name is more prominently connected with West Swanzey Vil- lage than that of STRATTON. About 1790, Richard Stratton came to town and located on the spot which is now the residence of George E. Whitcomb. He was a dyer and dresser of cloth, and during his life was extensively engaged in that business. His son John inherited his father's homestead, and during nearly the whole of his long life was largely engaged as a manufacturer of and dealer in lumber. HIe was also an extensive farmer. In the latter part of his life he relin- quished the "old mansion" to his daughter, Mrs. Frink, and built an- other house immediately east of it which, at his decease, he bequeathed to his daughters Mrs. Thayer and Mrs. Wardner.
Hon. ISAAC STRATTON learned the trade of his grandfather and suc- cessfully managed that and other kinds of business as narrated in Chapter IX. He has been active in temperance and educational mnove- ments, and in promoting the interests of his native village. Since relinquishing his more active employments, he has resided much of the time in Keene. His son, Menzies, is a jeweller in Springfield, Mass. Emery W. was station agent at West Swanzey at the time of his death. William Stratton lived on Maple street and was noted as a player on musical instruments.
Alfred lived on C. L. Russell place, a farmer and manufacturer. John was not only an extensive manufacturer at West Swanzey, but in later life a hotel keeper at Boston. His house in West Swanzey was that now occupied by R. Whitcomb. His sons John and Byron, by untiring energy, have become very wealthy clothing dealers in New York City.
OSCAR STRATTON was a tanner in Sterling, Mass., but now resides with his son in Denver, Col.
GEORGE WILLIAM STRATTON, son of William and Mary F. Stratton, was born in West Swanzey, N. H., Aug. 1, 1830. At the age of seven he displayed a lively interest in music, and begged his father to allow him to learn the clarionet. In a few weeks he was able to play one or two airs with considerable correctness and he was encour- aged to go on. With a steady perseverance he continued practising the next two years, at the expiration of which time he could perform all the popular melodies of the day in such a musician-like manner, that his father organized a little band, with George as leader with his E flat clar- ionet, his brother John F. with his trombone, and with one or two sing- ers, to make up a respectable concert troupe, travelling during three years, nearly all the time in the N. E. states, giving concerts with contin- ued success. At the age of nine the young clarionetist had studied the
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rudiments of music sufficiently to be able to read tolerably well, waltzes, quicksteps, marches, etc. At ten years of age he was seized with the idea of composing some music, and appealed for assistance in learning something about harmony, but with very poor success ; from the wisest musicians within his reach he received only the infor- mation that a third above or a third below any given tone would be pretty sure always to chord ! He experimented a little with this pro- found knowledge of harmony, but found it too monotonous and simple to be interesting. Then he tried his hand at writing a melody, filling out a few bars with properly timed notes, but without much calcula- tion how they would sound,-a trial was to prove that ; so after finish- ing he took his clarionet and read them off. He pronounced it a bad tune, and tried again in a similar manner ; and after trying his second effort with the clarionet, took the sheet upon which experiments were written, tore them into pieces, saying, "Before a fellow can compose music I believe he's got to learn how !" This ended his attempts at composition for a considerable time.
At twelve years of age, when he had been travelling giving concerts most of the time during three years, playing nearly the same pieces over and over again, George became very tired of the business and prevailed upon his father to discontinue travelling and so the concert- izing was brought to an end and his clarionet packed away for quite a long time. He remained in his native village from twelve to four- teen ; from fourteen to eighteen he was in Boston and Lowell most of the time, and it was at the age of sixteen that he heard for the first time, music of the great masters, which revealed a new world of hap- piness for him, and which, in his own words, "so stirred my soul that there seemed to be no possibility for argument about what I had bet- ter choose as my vocation for life-I must be a musician, an educated musician, a composer of operas!" He aimed high at the start, and went to work with a will and a tenacity which he well understood were necessary in order to accomplish what he had set his heart upon. He cut loose from all comrades, and for six years he could think of but little else than his studies, which comprised many things besides music -astronomy, geology, physiology, philosophy, the French language as well as English and other school studies, for his early education had been much neglected, and it was his determination to be a good scholar in other things as well as in music. It was, then, at the age of sixteen that he really commenced studying music ; what he had before learned should go for merely a trifle, as it was only a trifling part of what one must learn to be an opera composer when he has to
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write for a large orchestra, at least from sixteen to twenty different parts (instruments) and solo voices and chorus combined. He took his clarionet in hand again, and in two years was a concert solo performer as a man, not as a boy. At the same time he began with the violin and practised it with great energy for five years, studying the other stringed and brass instruments of the orchestra a little ; along with these went harmony and the theory of music, and very soon the piano and organ, and the higher branches of harmony, counterpoint and composition under some of the most able teachers in Boston. In Manchester, N. H., at the age of twenty, by advice of some good friends he had made there, he announced himself as "teacher of music," and held the position there during the next sixteen years. In this same year he was elected director of the orchestra of the Choral Society.
It was about 1852 that the young composer felt, not without reason, that he was able to strike out freely for himself in original composi- tions, and after producing quite a number of marches, waltzes, polkas, songs, duets and other light pieces, the most of which were published, and about a hundred pieces of church music, he composed his first piece of length and importance-Concert Overture No. 1, for full or- chestra. During the four years, from 1852 to 1856, he was teaching a great deal, and was applying himself with renewed energy to study, so that much of the time his labors went far into the night. In the autumn of 1856 he got together an orchestra of twenty-two perform- ers, quite a large orchestra for those times, and gave two orchestra concerts, the first of the kind ever given in the state. He had both vocal and instrumental assistants from Boston. It was at the first of these two concerts that his Concert Overture No. 1, for full orches- tra, was first performed, and it was received with loud and prolonged applause by a very large audience, and had to be repeated. Its suc- cess was so decided that it was put upon the programme of the next concert, and again the audience would not relax in their applause until a repetition was granted. These orchestra concerts so delighted the music lovers of the city that in the following year, by subscription, funds were raised to insure the expenses of a series of four concerts on precisely the same scale, and they were given with the same suc- cess, the large hall always being packed, seats and standing. The flattering success with which his first Concert Overture had met in- spired Mr. Stratton to compose another, which he did during the year, and at these concerts Concert Overture No. 2 was performed twice, and was well received. No. 1 was also given on two evenings, and,
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as before, loudly cheered, and repetitions always demanded. Follow- ing these came Concert Overtures No. 3 and No. 4.
In 1857 he felt ready to take in hand the large work which he had for over ten years been working for, a grand opera, and in four months it was completed covering a little less than five hundred large pages of music paper. It was entitled "The Buccaneer," a grand tragic opera in three acts. Soon after its completion, two public perform- ances were given, with Boston solo singers for the difficult parts, of portions of the opera ; and the Manchester papers spoke in high praise of the music. Because there were no American or English opera com- panies in the country to perform large operas, the opera entire has never been performed.
Mr. Stratton now said, he would compose some operatic music which could be sung in America, in the towns and small villages ; they shall be little operas on the same plan as the large Italian operas, with a regular story carried through in detail, giving him an opportunity to exercise himself in writing graceful, well-formed melodies, and en- abling him to produce dramatic effects, though in a somewhat limited form. The plan was entirely new, none similar having previously ap- peared, and the London (England) Morning Post said in a review of Mr. Stratton's operettas, as late as 1872, that no better works of the kind could be selected, because no others exist. So, in a few months after "The Buccaneer" had been laid aside, and his mind entirely free from it, he was at work upon an operetta for young people, en- titled "The Fairy Grotto," and soon after its completion was brought out by a class of one hundred singers all belonging to the city. In the course of two weeks it was performed five times in the largest hall in Manchester, and on every occasion to a closely-packed en- thusiastic audience. It was a great success. Everybody seemed astonished to see what beautiful and dramatic effects could be pro- duced by a class of young folks who had never before appeared upon the operatic stage ! Notwithstanding the decided success of this first operetta, the composer was not satisfied with it for one or two reasons. He knew that he could write some better ones, and decided to set "The Fairy Grotto" aside, and write a new one. In a short time, then, he had his new work in hand, and in three weeks' time it was finished. The actual time occupied in composing this operetta- "Laila," was less than ten hours! It was written in pencil sketches at various times during the days and evenings of these three weeks, be- tween music lessons, a melody sometimes being taken down on the way from one house to another.
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For these, less than ten hours' work, the composer has received a clear profit, above all the expenses of making the books, advertising them and selling them, of fully $5,000. Over 20,000 books have been sold ! On its completion it was performed with the expected success entertained by the composer, night after night, and, like "The Fairy Grotto," had to be discontinued, because many of the young singers became so tired out with excitement and fatigue.
After four or five more years of constant teaching, he began se- riously to think that an end must come to it, and what must follow occupied his mind for a long time, being naturally rather cautious. He became restive; for many years he had longed for travel; he wished to go to Germany, not merely to see it, but to remain for a length of time in the land of the great artists, the great composers of music who had given him so much happiness through the study of their great masterpieces. The question came through this, must he forsake a professional life. Again we will give his own words :- "For months I was very unhappy. It was a struggle for me to make up my mind to tear myself from my art which I loved so well, and go into the miserable business of money getting ! But to carry out my plans of life I must live in Europe several years, and to do it I must have money, and I must have a business to bring in money while I am away."
In 1866, Mr. Stratton moved to Boston and established himself in the general musical merchandise trade, as a wholesale house, which has been his principal business from that time to the summer of 1891, when he retired from business to enjoy a few years of rest.
For two years he was editor and proprietor of a Musical Journal, which added to his cares, and the labor on which was most entirely done at night. But when he went to Europe to remain for a time, this enterprise was thrown up because there was no one in his concern to take care of it.
Soon after he was fairly settled in business he published his oper- etta "Laila," the first edition being one thousand copies. Orders came in very rapidly from all directions, and in a few weeks the first edition was exhausted; and then followed the second and third edi- tions, neither of which lasted so long as the first; and so it went on for a long time, the particulars of which it is not necessary to give. Every one knowing about the success of the little opera seemed sur- prised that it should get such a lively start without any apparent rea- son. Mr. Stratton says that he was probably the most astonished of any one at the manner in which the musical public took hold of it and
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managed it. It was written for children from five to fifteen years of age, and the heroine, Laila, intended to be a girl of about a dozen years. One of the first things he heard was that it was being brought out in academies and seminaries by grown-up young ladies, in churches by Sunday-school classes, in theatres and opera houses, married ladies sometimes taking the part of Laila !
In about a year after "Laila " had been published the composer began to receive letters from those who had brought it out, strongly urging him to give them another operetta of similar style. The ap- peals seemed to be so earnest that Mr. Stratton says he scarcely knew what to do. He was now a business man, overwhelmed with work and anxiety about his young musical-instrument establishment, had thought but little about musical composition for several years, and had no mind nor time for it, and very much feared he should not write so good a work as he ought if he should, under the unfavorable circumstances, make the attempt. But as the appeals continued to come in, he decided to write one, and in about a year " Genevieve " was completed and proved to be a success ; like "Laila," it went from Maine to California, Texas and Florida, being played in all the states and some of the territories, and the opinions expressed almost in- variably were, that the music was superior to that of "Laila."
No sooner had "Genevieve" gone the rounds, following "Laila," than letters began to come in almost as rapidly as two years before, which caused "Genevieve" to come into existence, saying, "We want another operetta, with fairies in it,-a fairy operetta !"
Mr. Stratton's business had been growing larger and larger all the time, and he was naturally enough of a business man to know that he must not allow his business to go to ruin from neglect by giving too much of his mind to operatic compositions ; and again it was difficult to decide exactly what to do. "The Fairy Grotto" was a very pretty name, and that was the first thing decided upon-that it should be so named. An entirely new story was written, so the libretto was en- tirely new, and all that is in the book of "The Fairy Grotto," as it now stands, that was in the first work of the same title, is the name and six or seven of the best pieces of the music. Work was imme- diately commenced upon it, and when about in the middle of the second act, Mr. Stratton suddenly started for Europe, to remain quite a time, and the operetta was finished in Germany, printed there and sent to Boston for sale. It is in four acts, and considerably larger than "Genevieve," and requiring brilliant costumes and scenery.
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"The Fairy Grotto" was considerable of an advance upon "Laila" and "Genevieve," being larger and more difficult in performance and therefore could not be brought out in every little town where the other operettas had been given, but it was a genuine success and has been given in all parts of the country.
The reader has seen by what has been recorded that Mr. Stratton for several years has been working very hard, much beyond his strength, and he was warned during the time by his friends, that it was dan- gerous for him to continue his labors day and night, and he had better be on his guard ; but being a pretty strong, healthy man, of strict temperate habits, he thought there was no danger ; but the crash came, and he had to bear the consequences, which were indeed very severe. His sensitive nervous organization, an indispensable requisite to an artist, but an obstacle to a business man who has to fight battles with the cold-hearted world, broke down. And here is the great misfor- tune of his life. He had a severe partial congestion of the brain and prostration of the nervous system, and nearly lost his life! For two years he was a very weak man, able to do scarcely anything, sleep- ing only one, two and three hours out of the twenty-four. These two years he spent mostly in Europe and rested all he thought he could, but having so much business on his hands, much instruction had continually to be sent to Boston. Could he have had something like unbroken rest for two or three years he thinks he could have be- come pretty strong again, but the busy world seemed determined to keep him at work about his business matters. But musical composi- tion could no more be thought of! His head was so weak, nervous and excitable, that fifteen minutes study over a musical idea would entirely exhaust him and throw him into distress from which he could not recover for hours.
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