36o



MASSACHUSETTS.



danger in the time of the reUgious persecution,
1553-58, as was her sister Isabelle, originally
Gould, who was confined in the Castle of Nor-
wich, and escaped death only by the power of
her brothers, who were men of great influence
in the county. Robert Fiske fled from relig-
ious persecution in the days of Queen Mary
to Geneva, but leturned later and died in .St.
James in i(xx). llis sons were: William, Jef-
frey, Thomas and Eleazer. The latter had no
issue, but the progeny of the other three sons,
in whole or in part, settled in New England.
Besides these sons there was a daughter Eliza-
beth who married Robert I'.ernard ; their
daughter married a Mr. Locke, and was the
mother of the celebrated John Locke, the
Engli>h ])hilosoi)her.

(\'I) William (2), eldest child of Robert
and Sybil ( Gould ) Fiske, was born at Lax-
field in 1566. He married .\nna Austye,
daughter of Walter, of Fibbenham, Long
Row. in Norfolk. After her death he married

Alice . He is described as of St. James

in South Elmham, and it is said of him that
he fled with his father from religious persecu-
tion. He died in 1623. Of the first wife
■Anna, there were children: John, Nathaniel,
Eleazer, Eunice, Hannah and Esther (some-
times called Hester). The youngest child Mary
seems to have been of the second wife, .\lice.
(\ H) Nathaniel, second son of William and
.Anna (.Austye) Fiske. was horn in Ditching-
ham, and resided at Weybred. He married
Alice (Hencj) Leman. Children: Nathaniel
and Sarah.

(VHI) Nathaniel (2), eldest son of Nathan-
iel (i) and .Alice (Henel) (Leman) Fiske,
was born in Weybred. There is a tradition
in the family that he died on the passage to
New England. He married Dorothy, daugh-
ter of John Symonds, of Wendham. Children:
John. Nathan, ICsther, Martha.

(IX) Nathan, second son of Nathaniel (2)
and Dorothy (Symonds) Fiske, was born in
1615. died June 21, 1676, in Watertown, Mass-
achusetts. He settled in Watertown as early
as 1642. and was admitted a freeman. May 10,
1643. He was selectman in 1673, and his
homestall was the lot in the town plot granted
to R. Frake on the north side of the Sudbury
road, opposite to .\. Brown. His sister. ^Lirtha
I'nderwood, testified that he was very "crazy"
in his memory before be died. He married
Susannah (surname unknown). Children:
Nathan, John, David, Nathaniel, Sarah.

(\) Nathaniel (3), fourth son of Nathan
and Susannah Fiske, was borii in Watertown,



July 12, 1653, died there September, 1735. He
was a weaver. His will was dated June 10,
and proved CJctober 3, 1735, and the estate
inventoried one hundred and forty-two pounds.
He married the Widow Mary (Warren)
Child, born November 29, 165 1. a daughter of
Daniel Warren, of Watertown, and widow of
John Child. Children : .Nathaniel. Hannah,
John, Sarah, Lydia. Mary, Elizabeth, .Abigail.

(XI) John, second son of Nathaniel (3)
and Mary (Warren) (Child) Fiske. was born
in Watertown, March 17, 1682, died in Sher-
burne, May 8, 1730. He married, in Sher-
burne, July 31, 1706. Lydia, daughter of Moses
and Lydia ( Whitney ) .Adams. Children :
John, Lydia. Isaac, Daniel, Lydia. Peter, .Abi-
gail, .Nathaniel.

( XII ) Isaac, second son of John and Lydia
( .Adams ) Fiske. was born in Sherburne, .April
24, 1 7 14, died December 22, 1799. He was
a weaver by trade, resided first at Worcester
and later at b'ramingham, first near .Addison
Dadmun's. after at Guinea I-'nd. His will was
dated .August 24, 1789, and proved March 17.
1800. He married Hannah, daughter of Rich-
ard and Lydia (Whitney) Haven, of I'Vam-
ingham. who died February 21, 1800. Children:
Isaac, Hannah, John, Richard. Daniel, Moses,
Lydia and Moses.

( XIII ) Hon. John, second son of Isaac and
Lydia (Haven) Fiske, was born in Framing-
ham in 1 741, where he always resided, and
died there December 17, 1819. He lived near
the Isaac Warren place on the Silk Farm, and
built the house of Rufus Brewer. For years
he was ju.stice of the peace, for six years he
was representative in the legislature and for
twelve years selectman. He married Abigail
Howe, born in 1752, died in .A])ril, 1829. Chil-
dren : Nat, Thomas, .Sally, Jolm Boyle, Sus-
anna, Sally, lulward, Nancy, William. George.

( XI\' ) Thomas, second son of the Hon.
John and .Abigail (Howe) Fisk, was born in
I'Vamingham. .March 22, 1774, died at Chester-
field, New Ham])shire. July 25, 1861. In 1807
he went to Chesterfield and settled on the
farm now owned and occupied by his son,
John li. h'isk. When about two years old, he
had an attack of scarlet fever which caused
him to be deaf and conseiiuently dumb. He
learned nevertheless to rcatl anil cipher in the
four fundamental rules of arithmetic. .At the
age of fifty years he was admitted to the
school for deaf mutes at Hartford, Connecti-
cut, for the term of one year. 1 le made rapid
progress and aciiuircd knowledge that was of
great use to him during the remaining years




.V j.jjbjhv^jwr



-^£c , C, ^la.M



MASSACHl'SETTS.



361



of his life. He married, in Westmoreland,
New Hampshire, Lucinda Trowbridge, of
Pomfret. Connecticut, who was born in 1782,
died .April 14. 1869. Children: Thomas T.,
Lucinda D.. Mary .\iin 1!., John B. •

(W) Thomas Trowbridge, eldest son of
Thomas and Lucinda ( Tr(jwbridgc) Fisk, was
born in Che.stertield. .November 27, 1806, died
in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, June 17, i86i,
on the anniversary of the battle of Bunker
Hill and just as the clouds of rebellion were
lowering over the land. He was a farmer,
conducting an e.xjjress and trucking business,
and later began the manufacture of soap in a
small way with his .son, Lucius L, which busi-
ness has since grown to mammoth propor-
tions and is now located at Springfield. Massa-
chusetts. He married Emily H., daughter of
Elijah Hildrctb. who was born in Chesterfield,
November 28, 1806, died in Hinsdale. Janu-
ary 6, 1849, and together with her husband is
buried in the Pine Grove cemetery there. She
was a woman warmly devoted to the interests
of her family. Children : George C, Lucius
L, Noyes \\'., Addie E., the latter by second
marriage to Miss Goodnow.

(X\T) George C, eldest son of Thomas
Trowbridge and Emily H. (Hildreth) Fisk,
was born in Hinsdale, March 4, 1831, and
received the merest rudiments of an elemen-
tary education in the district school. For three
years previous to leaving Hinsdale he was
employed in the store kept by E. W. I lunt
and by Amidon & Holland : but drawing
molasses, weighing nails and selling dry go<)ds,
all at one time, did not suit him. In 1 851, at
the age of twenty years, he left Hinsdale with
Si 5 in his pocket to commence life in earnest.
He went to Springfield, Massachusetts, and
for want of something better suited to his
taste entered a dry goods store, but soon after-
wards left and went into a grocery store. A
few months service in the grocery business
satisfied him that mercantile pursuits were not
congenial to his tastes. As every active young
man at that time was attracted towards the
great West where new fields of labor were
opened, Mr. Fisk turned towards that land
of promise. Reaching Cleveland, Ohio, he
stopped to renew the accpiaintance of a friend
who had given some encouragement that work
wouM be given him. While waiting for a
decision, like a genuine Yankee he looked
around for an opportunity to turn an honest
penny. Mrs. Stowe"s "L'ncle Tom's Cabin" had
just been published and thinking it might sell
well he purchased several copies and started



out as a book agent. The business flourished
with him until a crabbed old fellow threatened
to kick him out of his house if he was ever
seen selling another book to his family. H
this was the treatment that book agents were
to receive in Cleveland he should shake the
dust from his feet and "go West," which con-
clusicm be immediately put in practice, dispos-
ing of the books unsold to a railroad newsboy.
He started for Beloit, Wisconsin, which place
he duly reached. He spent some time in look-
ing around, but the slip-shotl way of doing
business, then general in the West, did not suit
him and besides he foimd that a young man
without capital in the West had as few chances
for success as in New England. He turned
ea.stward and soon found himself back in
Sjiringfield, Massachusetts. Elcazer Ripley, of
that ])lace, was about to commence the manu-
facture of locomotives, and wanting a book-
keeper he offered the jjlace to Mr. Fisk which
he accepted. While waiting for the machinery
to be put in order he went home to Hinsdale
to make a desk. Two weeks afterward Mr.
Ri])lc)- sent for him to take a temporary place
in r. W. Was.m's car shops, while Mr. Wason
was absent in the West. Mr. Fisk took the
])Iace and acted as bookkeeper until Mr.
Wason returned, who then made him an oft'er
(if a ])ermanent position. Mr. Rii)ley giving
his consent he accei)ted of the offer and com-
menced work for Mr. Wason for one dollar
per day. In 1854, after the company had been
running a year, J. S. Mellen. one of the pro-
prietors, became discouraged as very little had
l)een made, sold to Mr. Fisk his interest, one-
sixth for 83,333, and this was his commence-
ment of a ijartnership interest. He continued
to serve as bookkeeper and cashier of the
establishment until it was organized as a cor-
I)oration. when he became treasurer. In addi-
tion to the duties of the office he had more
or less to do with the general business of the
company, and for some time previous to the
death of Mr. Wason he was chosen vice-presi-
dent and took the general management of busi-
ness of the concern. On the death of Mr.
Wason he was chosen president and is now
general manager, the direction of the entire
business coming upon him.

The works built in 1871 are situated at
Bright wood, three miles above Springfield, on
the banks of the Connecticut river, named after
the author Dr. J. G. Holland's country seat
which overlooked the site. Mr. Fisk planned
and had entire charge of the building of these
shops. Mr. Fisk fletermined that the new



362



MASSACHUSETTS.



shops shoiilfl be light, airy, symmetrical in plan
and perfect in convenience — in short, the m^xlel
manufactory of the city. Accordingly, he de-
voted himself to elaborating a systematic
method of utilizing to the best advantage the
sixtcen-acre (jlot devoted to the Wason car
works. A survey of the completed buildings
will jjrove that .VJr. Fisk's intention has been
carried out to entire success. Lying on the
west of the railroad and the north of the entire
purchase, the plot is occupied by two ranges
of buildings flanking a wide transfer track
that runs east and west between them and into
the long lumber yard that stretches beyond to
the I'lainficld road. The transfer track and
table which moves upon it the whole length
of the works are among the most novel and
remarkable apjjaratus to be found there. The
works and the lumber yard, it must be
I>remised, are seamed at regular distances with
lateral car tracks. This transfer table's duty
is to receive cars of freight, (iron, lumber,
etc.) from the railroad switch track, and con-
vey them to the place where they arc needed;
to take cars from the woofl shfjjjs and trans-
fer them to the paint shops, and to fleliver to
the railroad for transportation the completed
cars ; being in short, a movable bridge. The
table is 42 feet long, built entirely of iron,
except the cab, in the comj>any's own shojjs,
and at a cost of .$io,rxxj. It ran on three tracks
set ujjon eight foot jfiles, and operated by
steam. It could be run its wh<jle distance of
one thousand feet in about two minutes with
sixty jKJunds of steam, while ten pounds
])ressure was enough to operate it. At any (jf
the ninety lateral tracks it could be stoj>ped
instantly or gradually, and moved half an inch
as easily as a greater distance ; in all respects
a wonderful and invaluable invention,

'I"he foimdry itself is one hundred and sev-
enty feet long, sixty-two wide, and thirty-five
high to the apex of the deck roof ; a deck roof,
be it explained, being as if the ridge of the
roof for twenty-five feet width were raised
some six and a half feet and the sides beneath
it occupied by windf)ws for purposes of light
and ventilation ; an arrangement adopted
throughout the new works. Heside the east
wall of the foundry stand a set of Howe's
eighty thousand pound track scales, the first
lateral track passing over their platform, on
which cars lf)aded with iron from the smelt-
ing, are received from the transfer, weighed,
and run through to the iron yard at the rear,
whence the iron is transferred to the great
cupola room. There were containefl therein



three McKcnzie cupolas, melting twelve tons
each per day, two of them used for wheels
and one for floor castings, and contained in a
house forty feet by twenty-eight, Krom these
the metai passed into the moulding room,
which contained four wheel cranes, capacity
twenty-five car wheels each daily, though at
one time but seventy-two were made, using
three cranes. .\ peculiar notion of .\lr. Ladd
committed each crane to the care of a dififerent
nationality, the three in operation being wield-
ed resjjectively by f'Vench, Irish and Yankee
gangs ; the fourth may perhaps be a "heathen
Chinee." The full daily capacity of the
foundry was one hundred wheels and ten tons
of castings. After the wheels left the molds,
they were taken across the track f which is
roofed in at this |joint^ to a house eighty feet
by thirty-eight, where they were put into pits
to remain three days. Continuous with the
pitting house was a core room thirty feet long
for molding and baking wheel cores, which
were made of a mixture of rye meal and yellow
sand, the latter article being brought from
VV'aterford. New York, as all the molding
sand used alxjut here is, and kept in a brick
cellar (fifty feet longj to prevent its freezing
in winter. Still north of these buildings is
a shed eighty feet by thirty-three for foundry
sui)|>lies, directly ofjposite which is a coal shed
eighty by forty. Twenty-five feet west of
the foundry rose the second group of buildings,
the machine and smith shops. The machine
sho]) was a two story building, ninety-six feet
by forty-five, the lower story being devoted to
heavy and the upper to light machine work,
while the trimmings and pattern rooms were
also on the second floor, .Xmong the improved
machinery that tfx>k the place of the obsolete
jtrocesses of the old shops may be mentioned
in this shop the I'emcnt .\'o. 30 hydraulic ()ress,
for gauging the jjressure with which wheels
are set upon the axles, a process which was
before guess work, depending on the judg-
ment of the mechanic. At the north of and
connected with the machine shop was the
sj)acious smith shop, one hunflred and fifty
feet by forty-five, and thirty-five feet high to
the deck roof, having a wing forty-eight by
twenty-four for an iron room. This shop con-
taine(! twenty-six side fires, with new, im-
proved cast iron forges, three large center
forges for heavy work, a Waters patent one
thousand two hundred jiound drop, and the
usual fleafening array of trip-hammers.

The passenger car erecting shoj), twenty-
five feet farther west, begins the next fellow-



MASSACHUSI'.ri'S.



363



ship of buildings. It is one luindrcd and seven-
teen feet long by seventy-live wide, and the
same height to the deck roof as the shojjs
before mentioned. This room area contains
five tracks, and is used exclusively for build-
ing passenger-car bodies ; the trucks on which
they are mounted being set up in the lower
part of a two-story building, si.xty by forty-
five, adjoining on tlie north, whose upjxr lloor
will be occui)ied as a tin shop, for tlMiiing is a
very considerable item in the business of car
manufacture. IC.xtending conliiniously west-
ward from the car-erecting shop, and sejiarated
therefrom by a lire jircjof jiartition, a heavy
brick wall and double iron doors, is a building
two hundred feet by sixty-two and twr) stories
high, with a wing on the northwest forty-two
by fifty feet. The lower floor of botii ni;iiii
))f)rtion and wing is Idled with machinery fcji
the heavy wooilwork, nearly all of which is
new, though a jjortion comes from the old
shops. The cabinet shojj above occn|)ies the
entire area of the main building, while in the
wing arc the upholstery and ihi' varnish and
seat-trimming njoms, each twenty-live by
ff)r(y-two feet. I'.ast (>( this wing, and also
norlli of IJK- niain shop, is another two-story
addition, containing below the engine and
boilers. The engine is one of the i'rovidence
steam engine company's, fine hundred and fifty
horse power, eighteen inch cylinder, four foot
stroke, and running a fifteen fool (ly wheel
with thirty-two inch face. The belt, which is
probably the most perfect specimen of that
manufacture in the whole coimtry, and of
course, therefore, in tlie worirl, won the
premium of the American fnstitntc, in whose
fair at Xew York it was exhibiicd. It is of
flouble leather, one Inmdred and twenty-two
and a half feel long anrl thirty inches wide
anfl cf)st one thousand dollars.

5'assing still westward, the pilgrim ihroiigh
this vast irulnstrial array reaches tlie lumber
yard, extending on both sides the transfer
track, and to whose present and prospective
uses twelve of the sixteen anrl a half acres of
the factory are dedicated. Twenty-five feet
west of the wood-work buildings is a lumber
shcfl four hundred and twenty feet long and
forty wide, two stories high, in which are
storcfl all the choicest woods used in the elabo-
rate cabinet work expended on the m'jdern
passenger coach, and a bridge leads from the
upper story directly into the cabinet rooms.
The lumber beyond is systematically arrang<'d
accorfling to the order of demand, and tracks
rim tlirough between every two [liles, sfj that



;i siipjily of IiiiiiIki c.-ui be taken wilh llic
uliiiosi economy of ii.indiing.

The south side of llie grounds was occupied
for live hundred feel in length and seventy-
five in width by the paint shop. A noleworlhy
feature connected wilh tiiis .shop was the keep-
ing of llie paint slock bene;ilh ground, in a
lire prodl (■(•liar, some iiisl;mrc sdiilli .i| ijie
^lio|i, ;iii(i idmiimiiic.-iting with it by .1 sub-
lerr.iiie.ui |).-issage. ( )n llie same sicjc .•iiid two
hundred ;ind fifty feet from (be west end of
the shop, in the lumber yard, wiis ;i brick
doubli- dry house, forty-two feet by Ihirty-livc,
heated by stoves.

The ])roduct ol ihc (ompany was in service
in every section of Mic I iiilcd Sl.'ites, and they
had large conti.ni fojin ilic (!ciilr;il I'jicilic,
ihc ( .ui.idi.in .Soiithci n, llic New Jersey t.'en-
iial. ;iii<l .Manh.ill.iii r.iilways. Their goods
have .also gtine lo .Argeiiliiie K'epiil)ii<-, llra/il,
( anada, t'hina, Central ;\merica, ( liili, ( !nba,
h'.gypl, Mexico, Nova Scotia, I'anama, Portu-
gal, Venezuela, Yiical;m. In iHo^ ihe build-
ing of passenger co;ui)cs fm ii .1111 iiiilways
dicliiii'd so that tin' conip.iny coniiiK'iKcd build-
ing electric cars. Their prodiul for one year
was fifty-one steam railway cars, four hiiiid-
dred and fifty-three .\lanhatl;in cars, fifteen
rajiid Iransil cars, sixty-four closed and forty-
nine open street cars, four freight cars and
fifty snow plows, valued at .$1 ,jo(),(kk). It
iii;iy not be generally known lli.il lin- first
tinvjiigh train wliiili rolled ujioii iIh i.nls of
the Pacific railro;i<l bound for .'^aii I'lancisco
was bllill, e(|ilipp<d ;illd decor.'ited ;il these
works.

.Mr. bisk is iioi one who forgets former
neighbors and youthful scenes. Mow dearly
he pii/es his old .New I l;iinpshire home is
illilsUalcd by his sele(liiig a view of .\1oii;id-
iiock nioinil.'iin ;iiid the Asliiii-lol v.'illey as a
scene for the drop cm lain ;il llii- I'isk ( iasino.
Mr. Msk started the llrigblwood Paper Mills
at Hinsdale, which furnishes employment lo n
number of people and is one of the princi|)al
indnslries of the place.

I 111- I'isk (,'asino, binll lliioii(;li flu- ciucroH-
ilv of ( ieorge ( '. I'isk, lo provule ;i jilace of
.iniii iiiient for the people of liriglit wood, is
situaird at the corner of Main street and
VVason avenue. It is coiislrncled of wood and
is of (Jiieen Anne style, and has cost ;ibout
. $l2,fX)o. The casino, allhoiigh but about oiie-
fpiarter the size of a goodsizeil iheatcr, Ih
neverlheless as well r-(|nipp(f| probably as any
in this part of the coiniliy '! In- corridor,
opening on .Main street, is ten by fiflccn feel.



364



MASSACHUSETTS.



The auditorium is thirty-seven by forty-five
feet and twenty-five feet high. The house,
inchiding the balcony, has a seating capacity of
three hundred and eiglity-seven. The main
floor has settees and tlic balcony has chairs.
There is a trap duor in smoothly polished
floor, so that all the seats can be removed to
the basement and the room cleared for danc-
ing. The woodwork is ash with cherry panels.
Tlie windows are of yellow cathedral glass
and a Madras lambrequin is hung over each.
Over the proscenium arch is a monogram G. C.
F., Mr. risk's initials, and above this is a head
of Melpomene, the muse of tragedy. The
stage, twenty feet deep and forty-five wide, i^
thoroughly e(|ui])ped with all the paraphernalia
which goes to make the modern stage complete.

One of Mr. Fisk's fads at his farm at Eagle
Rest was thoroughbred cattle of the Holstein-
Friesians breed. Among his registered im-
ported animals have been Promoter Bull Ryse
Duke 3075, sire Promoter, dam Koster 2nd
(46>4 quarts). Ryse Duke was bred by
Elizur Smith, of Lee, Massachusetts. The
females in the Iierd have been Kouingin \'an
Friesland r)th, 6489, Dorrice 6863, .\agie Lee
2nd 4435, Kalma 2nd 3299, Slot 2nd 1520,
Aaggie Beauty 2907. Aaggie Beauty made a
record in Holland of 68^ lbs, in one day,
when three years old, and 13.574 lbs. in one
year when four years old, and was dam of
.•\aggie P>cauty 2nd, and .\aggie Beauty 3d.
.Aaggie Beauty's bull calf, by Netherland
Prince, sold for ^soo when two weeks old.
He also owned the Dutch cow ".\tossa" which
took the sweepstakes premium at the Bay
State fair and won premiums at several other
fairs. This choice pet was imported by Mr.
Bradley, of I,ce. Mr. Fisk has purchased the
old homestead farm at Chesterfield, New
I lanipshire. together with other farms, making
about six hundred acres, where he sjiends
much of his time during the summer, during
the daytime, s|)en(ling his evenings at Hinsdale.
He retird from the Wason Company in 1907,
after over fifty-four years with the company,
and thirty-seven years as ])resident.

Mr. I-'isk married Maria iMiierson. daughter
of Daniel H. Ripley. Three of their children
are deceased: Cieorge. died at age of eleven
years: and Robert and Lena, died in infanv.

Charles .\bbott. son of George C. and Maria
Emerson ( Ri])ley Fisk, born in Springfield,
August 15. 1853. died at his summer home
in Huntington in the Berkshire Hills. His
early education was received in a private
school in this citv. and he afterward entered



the Massachusetts .Agricultural College in Am-
herst. He began his business career as an errand
boy in the Wason car works in 1872, and by
faithfulness and perseverance rose to higher
]5ositions. He became paymaster and was also at
the head of the supply department. At the time
of his death he was cashier and purchasing
agent. He was a director of the Wason Car Com-
pany, a director of the Fisk Paper Company of
Hinsdale, New Hampshire. He was also
])resident of the 1!. L. I'ragg Company.
.Mthough a firm believer in the principles of
the Republican party, Mr. Fisk often acted
independently in politics. He was elected to
the common council from ward i in 1877. and
served on the city property and enrollment
committee, giving good service to the city.
He belonged to the Calhoun Club and attend-
ed the Third Universalist Church. Mr, Fisk
was twice married, his first wife being Jennie,
daughter of George A. Graves, of Springfield.
One daughter. Mattie, was born to them.
October 17, 1894, he married (second) Helen
E. Young, daughter of E. M. Young, of
Springfield, who survives him. He also leaves
three children bv his second marriage : Mil-
refl, Florence and Helen E.
Belle R., daughter of George C. and Maria
Emerson ( Ripley) Fisk, married Oliver Hyde
Dickinson. June 20, 1888, and have three
children: George Fisk, born Jtdy 5, 1890;
Jidia and Minerva, twins, born October