CHAPTER X. MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. TnE mill is the first industrial enterprise of which there is any record. Before mention is made of planting corn, im- proving land, or any industry whatever, tb& saw-mill is spoken of. This was a necessity preparatory to the building of dwellings, and also an important source of income, the set- tlers in the inland plantations sometimes doing a consium- able business in the sale of lumber, which was floated down the rivers and exported to the Barbadoes, in exchange for car- goes of West India goods. There are records which show that Mr. Simon Bradstreet carried on trad ' e of this sort, buy- ing lumber for export in various places. He is said, by some writers, to have built the first saw-mill at 'North Andover, on the Cochichawick, in 1644, But of this I find no record. The first mill mentioned in the town records, 1661, is spoken of as having been built by the town, the "first comers of in- habitants " who were at the charges of purchasing the planta- tion and building the minister's house, the mill, and the meet- ing-house." The first mill-owner, of whom mention has been found in written records, is Joseph Parker. He died in 1678, leaving his " corne-mill on the Cochichawick," valued at twenty pounds, to his son Joseph. Stephen Johnson owned a saw-mill. He was granted by the town in 1671 "so much old seader timber as would make twentie thousand of shingles, and, in 1672, timber to make ten thousand shingles of cedar already cut down." It is believed that Joseph Parker's mill-privilege was at or above the present site of the Stevens mills. In 1684, this mill was ~appraised at one hundred pounds. In 1699, it is referred to in the records as , ye old mill which was formerly Joseph Parker's." MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 575 In 1695, liberty was granted "to set up a saw-mill on Co- chichawick river, about three or four rods above y" lower ford, on condition that this do not stop the passage of the fish called alewives." The owners of this mill-privilege were Corp'., Samuel Os- good, John Abbot, Jr., Thomas Abbot, Sen~, Joseph Chand- ler, and Henry Chandler. The grants, in various places, of lands and timber for the encouragement of men to build saw- mills and grist-mills were numerous for more than fifty years from the settlement of the town. Hardly a stream or brook of any size that was not put in requisition by the settlers as water-power for grinding or sawing. To trace all these and their various owners would be a long and profitless task for general information, although it is a matter of interest some- times for individuals to know the history of the water-power in their vicinity or on their estates. Sawing wood for shin- ,gles was a profitable business, and there was such a demand for them in the town that the inhabitants were forbidden to sell them out of town without special permission. No man sball cut any shingles to sell out of town till they have liberty of the selectmen," was a vote in 167o. But the same year the town voted " to grant Mr. Walker and John Hazelton (of Bradford) to get x5 or 16 thousand of seader shingles, or so many as will cover their meeting-house, pro- vided they cut down no trees, but take such as are cut down already." And again, Granted to Mr. John Rogers, minister of Ips- wich, to get so many seder shingles as will repair his house, provided he cut down no trees." In 1686, Henry Ingals, Jr., was granted "liberty to set up a saw-mill on Musketo Brook, below Boston meadow-way, and Henry Holt to sett up a saw-mill on Ladle-Meadow Brook," In 1715, Henry Gray bad a mill for grinding scythes on or it near Scoonk river," and other mills for grist and timber were in operation. In the year 1753, Humphrey Holt sold to Asa Abbot "one half of a saw-mill erected on Shashin 4 river, so called, and near the Pine Plaine, called Preston's Plain, with the Intrest and Privilidge of one quarter part of 576 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. the Dam built across said river for the use of sl mill and the Grist-mill adjoyning thereto, with Liberty to lay Timber and Boards on the Land (of- William Chandler, late of Andover, deceased) adjoyning to said mill, and also to carie Timber and Boards to and from sl Mill *across said Land, as there shall be Necessary Ocation in the use and Improvement of said Mill and dam as there shall be ocation forever, which 8d Mill & Privileges thereoff [he] did purchase of s11 William Z5 Chandler, DeCd.1' In 176 4, Asa Abbot sold this interest in the saw-mill to Nathan Abbot. In 1786, Asa Abbot, Jr., conveyed a part of the same prop- erty to Nehemiah Abbot, -one fourth "part of the saw-mill that stands on Shawshin river, near Timothy Ballard's Dwell- iDg-house." In 1794, Timothy Ballard owned a mill-privilege, probably the same. This was the early " improvement" of the water- power at Ballardvale. An interesting relic of a grist-mill, of considerable impor- tance to Andover people who lived in the west part of the town, and of profit to its owner, is a petition (dated May 27, 1752) of James Kittredge, of Tewksbury, to the General Court, in which he shows that about twenty-seven years be- fore he " erected a Grist-mill and built a Dam across Shawshin River," in the part of Billerica afterward Tewksbury. Hesays that the people of the neighboring towns, Wilmington and Andover, had "great dependence" on his mill. Fle states that he has been sued for damage in flowing land, and relates in full his grievances, which, however, are of no special inter- est at the present time. The petition is signed by citizens of several towns interested in the mill. In Andover were - Samuel Bailey, Samuel Bailey, Jr., Joseph Blanchard, Obadiah Johnson, Thomas Hag et, residents of the West Parish. Most of the ancient saw a*nd grist mills have disappeared from the town. They are, however, of sufficiently recent op- eration for every country-bred reader of these sketches, who is of adult age, to recall some one or more: the unpainted, weather-beaten building on the bank of the mill-stream ; piles of cedar wood, or pine slabs blockading the door; rafts of MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 577 logs darkening the mill-pond ; the dash of waters on the in- cessant wheel ; the harsh grind of the saw deeper and deeper into the heart of the monarchs of the forest ; the meal-bags standing on end, or piled sidewise, their distended bellies a temptation -to nibbling mice ; the dusty miller, lord of the noisy domain, gossiping with the farmers, or lifting up their youngsters to look into the corn-hopper; the pleasant rustic scenes about the mill the woods of pine, hemlock, spruce, and birch, or the sturdier oak, cedar, and maple ; the coves in the stream covered with lily-leaves, pickerel-weed, and arrowhead, or fringed with cardinal flowers and dodder, where, in the shade, the perch and bass, or the speckled trout lie, and the angler practies his -noble art," while sleepy turtles sun themselves in rows on some log, rabbit and squirrel scampering in the leaves on the shore, partridge drumming in the wood, and pigeon and quail whirring through the C, bushes,-all these associations are familiar to the lover of country-life who has ever carried grist to mill. Early in the town's history, at the same time with and often a part of the saw-mill and grist-mill, was the fulling- mill, where the cloth, home-spun and woven, was finished and pressed. Spinning was an important branch of labor. At one time, the towns were obliged by law to have a certain amount of spinning done, according to the number of in- habitants. The women and children were much employed in this work. 111 173 1, spin ning-s ch ools were established in Boston, and, after the Revolution, when imported goods were prohibited by the patriotic sentiment, the art of spinning re- vived The town of Andover, in 1787, rnade an appeal "to the good sense and virtuous dispositions of the female sex, to the younger as well as the elder, that they would, by their engaging example, economy, and simplicity in dress, giving preference to that clotbingwbich is produced from our flocks and from our own fields encourage home industries." A relic of the spinning-wheel (about the Revolutionary period) is the following: 37 578 , HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. Mrs. Holt's Receotfor Spinning and Weaving~ Mrs. Abbot. - The spinning of seventy-two skeins /' s. el. comes to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o. 18. o The weaving of nineteen yards comes to . . . . . 0- 7- 11 The whole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '- 5- Rec'd the contents of the above in full. Amy HOLT." Many such a " spinster " ' had preceded Amy Holt in An- dover, and if some of the ancient spinning-wheels which, in the revival of old fashions, have lately been brought out of the dust of garrets, could be understood in their humming, they would perhaps tell such tales of the Amys an~d Dor- cases of our town as that told by the poet of the Puritan maiden at her wheel:- Then as he opened the door, he bebeld the form of the maiden Seated beside her wheel, and the carded wool like a snow-drift Piled at her knee, her white hands feeding the ravenous spindle, While with her foot on the treadle she guided the wheel in its motion. She rose as he entered and gave him her hand in signal of welcome Saying, I knew it was you, when I heard your step in the passage, For I was thinking of you as I sat there singing and spinning." In a paper labelled a "Perlicular Account of the Tliin,,s that Phebe Has Recei~vcd att & since her Going away," Ando- ver, July 2, 1765, are mentioned: ' ' 'One Linning Wheel, One Woolin(,. Wheel, Fine cloth, 16 yd of Diripec, 48 yd of Toe Cloth, 26 yd of Cotton & Linnin0l, 20 yd of Linnincy, 24 yd Z3 of Bed-ticken." The business of weavin- was also carried on, not only in a domestic way, but as a trade by many skilled workmen, who took orders for much cloth which was carried to be finished at the fulling-mills. Such skilled weavers, familiar with the operations of cloth manufacture in the old country, were the men who first put in operation the fulling-mills and clothing mills in the colony, and were the pioneers in the rnanufac turing industries of the countr -some of them becoming y r> owners, and others managers of the mills for men who fir- nished the capital. The first of these weavers, of whom men- ' Spinster, a woman who spins. -~- Webster. HILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 579 tion is found in Andover, was Richard Sutton. He was only a short time resident in the town, removing before there was any action taken to give encouragement for a fulling-mill. Z, It is not improbable that if he had remained he would have undertaken this industry, as he was not without means to do so. It is an interesting coincidence, already noted, that his descendants, after the lapse of two hundred ye I ars, not know- ing of this brief residence of their ancestor, should have established the name in the town, and the business of man- ufacturing, which, in its simpler forms, wa's not unlikely to have been begun by him had he remained a resident. In 1673, Walter Wright and Edward Whittington, weavers, were granted encouragement for setting up a fulling-mill. Z-1 Granted to Edward Whittington and Walter Wright the above- said land (by William Ballard's), with more adjoining thereto, for the encouragement of erecting a fulling-mill, which they promise to set about in y' spring." Edward Whittington was drafted for service in the Indian war with the Narragansets, in 1675, and it is not unlikely that the building of the mill was postponed or abandoned for that reason. It took a good deal of time and much encour- agement to get such an enter rise started. The town, how- C, p ever, seemed determined to have a fulling-mill:- 49 1682. Granted libertie to any man y, ye towne or committee they_shall chose to sett up a saw-mill, fulling-mill, and grist-mill upon Shawshin river near Roger's Brooke, to take up twenty acres of land adjoining to y' sd place, and to enjoye it y' same forever, with ye privileges of a townsman. Capt. Dudley Bradstreet, Left. Jno Osgood, Ensign Thomas Chandler, Dea. John ffrie, Sen., John- Stevens are chosen a committee to act in this affair to make arti- cles with such person or persons as they shall judge fitt. So far as the writer can make out from the records, it seems that the persons who did actually set up and put in operation the long talked-of fulling-mill were Joseph and John Ballard. Their names have not been found mentioned as weavers, and it may be that they furnished the capital for Walter Wright, who was a permanent resident of the town and is always designated as " weaver." 58o HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. it 1689. Voted, that y~ twenty acres of Land granted to a mill on Shawshin River shall be enjoyed by Joseph and John Ballard and their heirs soe long as they shall keep up a grist and fulling-mill for y' good and benefit of the Town, and in case by y' providence of god, s' mills or dam should come to such casualtie as to be wholly spoyled, and they repair it not within three years after such casualty, then s' land to Revert to the Towne." In 1718, Samuel Frye built a saw and grist-mill on the Shawshin, at the place called from him and his descendants Frye village. His son added to this a fulling-mill. During the Revolutionary period, Mr. Theophilus Frye was a miller and clothier at this place. As early as 1689 encouragement was given for the erection of " Iron-works." it Voted, that Y' town will allowe such incouragement, both of woodland and mine, toward y' setting up of iron-works as may be most convenient to y' towne, and not damnifye ye mill upon Shmv- shin river." Thomas Chandler owned iron-works, and the Lovejoys had iron-works on the Shawshin River, supposed to have been near the site of the present Marland Mills. Such, in brief, is an outline of the beginnings of the manu- facturing operations which have, in a modified, or, rather, amplified form, continued until the present time ; the fulling- mill being the parent of the clothing-mill and the manufac- tory ; the iron-works of the foundry and machine-shop. The first mill which was a manufactory proper, and which gave a name abroad to Andover as a manufacturing town, was the powder-mill of Mr.* Samuel Phillips, built in the winter of 1775-6. Its history has been traced in connection. with the Revolutionary War. It was in operation in March, 1775, and turning out gunpowder for the use of the Conti- nental army before any other mill in the, State was ready for work. This mill stood north of the present &arland Mills, on the same side of the Shawshin River. It was continued for twenty years with profit to the owners ; but the dangers and risks were great, and the local unpopularity of the manu- facture, after the death of several persons by repeated explo- sions, led to its discontinuance, -the immediate necessity MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. S81 and profit of it having passed away with the return of peace. The manufacture of paper was gradually substituted for that of gunpowder, the operations beginning, in 1789, in the pow- der-mill, during a temporary suspension of the powder-making. Mr. Phillips began this manufacture, having, as a superin- tendent of the paper-works, Mr. Thomas Houghton, who had been a paper manufacturer in England. He having been involved in a lawsuit in regard to what he regarded as an unjust tax on his paper had become embarrassed, and had finally failed in his business and quitted the country. After looking about some time in the United States, he came to Andover and entered into an engagement with judge Phil- lips. Interesting letters which he wrote home have been preserved, from which extracts have been made in a former chapter. It may not be out of place to quote here briefly from these papers to show the courage and fortitude -and faith of this man who bad been broken down in his fortunes, exiled from his country, and separated from all his kindred. His example might be a lesson and a help to many, who, in the vicissitudes of business fortunes, find themselves at middle or advanced life without business or capital, and almost with- out credit, and with a family to provide for. Thomas Hough- ton's letters to his wife and his sons are full of patience and resignation, while at the same time they bear witness to his dili-ent endeavors to retrieve his fortunes. To his wife he writes: Do, my dear Life, endeavor to reconcile thyself to the dispen- sation of Providence, for we are told ' that a sparrow does not fall without the special permission of our heavenly Father, and the very hairs of our head are numbered.' Consequently, not any event happens to the children of men, but what be permits, and all for their final good ; for one of the greatest poets says What- ever is, is, best.' Therefore I trust it will be for our final good that we have been afflicted, and may truly say, Father, I bless thy chastening hand, How kind was thy chastising rod." But his trust in a Supreme Ruler of events did not prevent him from active exertions to better his condition and to build up a successful business at Andover. In regard to the hopes 582 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. which. inspired him, of the ultimate success of the enterprise of paper-making, he writes Z~ "Mr. Phillips has so much interest in the State and is a man of such consequence in it that I flatter myself we shall have advan- tages that other paper-makers cannot enjoy. The State printers have promised Mr. Phillips their custom. I am informed they will take at least to the amount Of C12oo a year of us. He has also great interest,both in Boston, Cambridge, and Salem, and many other places." The paper-making operations, as has been said, were first begun in the powder-mill, there being no work going on at the time. Mr. Houghton understood that he was to have full possession of the powder-mill until the paper-mill should be read for running ; but wliile he was getting, thing-s ready y I - - - for work, an order for powder was received. Whereupon, the foreman of the powder-mill came in and ordered Mr. Houghton to take away his engines and apparatus, and leave the room for the gunpowder-making. This interference, which ZD z:1 threatened to ruin his undertakings, Mr. Houghton greatly resented. He wrote a letter to Mr. Phillips, threatening to dissolve partnership and quit the paper-works. Mr. Phillips, however, settled the difficulty, and the work of building the paper-mill, which had been under way for three months, was hastened. This was June, 1789. Mr. Houghton, in April, 1789, had written respecting the mill and his connection with Mr. Phillips the following in a letter to his family:- 0 The mill is planned and preparation getting forward for Build- ing as fast as possible. She is to have two engines and two vats, 6 one for writing and printing, the other for common paper." . . 11 Mr. Phillips builds the mill and I am to manage the work. My care and management is to stand against the Rent and we are to share profits equally." The following'inventory or description of the paper-mill is among the manuscripts of Mr. Phillips. It bears no date, but was evidently written near the time of the erection of the mill: - 11 A building occupied as a Paper Mill, 36 by 32 feet, with two vats upon the ground floor, which have a Cast Iron pot in each of HILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 583 them, sunk into Brick chimneys, for heating the vats. The first floor has two~ engines for beating-stuff, a room for dressing rags, with a brick chimney and fire place, also two other rooms for rags. The second floor is occupied for a Rag ware-house. "Another building connected to the mill by a covered passage way Of 20 ft. long, used for drying and keeping paper before fin- ished, 2o by 24 feet, at the end next the mill j a part of the dry- ing-house is taken off for a finishing room, 27 by 24 feet, in which is a cast-iron stove used in the winter season. At one side of the finishing-room is a sizing copper set with bricks and brick chimney. Another building 35 feet from the mill, that is 24 ft. by 20, for Rags and finished paper. Another building, 131 feet from the Mill, 2o by 13 ft., for Rope and other lumber. No other building near on the same side of the river. A Grist Mill upon the oppo- site side of the river, at about 140 feet distance." Mr. Houghton, in one of his letters, spcaks of the difficulty of obtaining competent workmen: " I wish I could have one or two good hands from England. The wages is a great inducement ; for good ones, used to writing-paper in every stage, we would give 15 shillings per week and board, or 15 shillings per week and an addition equal to board." He says, also, that there is a scarcity of paper rags, but that the b people have been instructed to save them. A specimen of the kind of instruction given is found in the " Massachusetts Spy," November 26, 1778, in regard to the paper-mill in Sut- ton. It is an interesting item in regard to the origin of the il rag-bag," that time-honored institution in the New England household : -- " It is earnestly requested that the fair daughters of Liberty in this extensive country would not neglect to serve their country by saving, for the Paper Mill in Sutton, all Linen and Cotton-and-Linen Rags, be they ever so small, as they are equally good for the pur- pose of making paper as those that are larger. A bag bung up at one corner of a room would be the means of saving many which would be otherwise lost. If the ladies should not make a fortune by that piece of economy, they will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that they are doing an essential service to the community, which, with eight pence per pound, the price now given for clean white rags, they must be sensible will be a sufficient reward." 584 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. The paper-works at Andover were not-at first so profitable as had been anticipated. The difficulties in getting started were great, and other manufactorie in the vicinity came into competition with th~ Andover paper-mill, and the modes of doing business, -the facilities for putting the paper in the market, were not such as Mr. Houghton had been used to in the old country. He writes home: - I had many difficulties to encounter, so that even now (July 24, 790, the whole works have been but little more than a year at work; and from the credit we are forced to give, and the stock kept to supply our custortiers, I am still considerably indebted to my Honorable partner ; for here is not Stationers, as in En.-- lan.d, to take our paper as soon as made, but we must keep- assorted stock by us. Ours at this time, in paper of different qualities, is not less than three thousand dollars. Our raus and utensils is not less than a thousand more, and I dare say we have given credit to the amount of nearly two thousand ; therefore I must be at this time pretty largely indebted to the manufactory. Here is many paper-mills erected within about twenty miles to thirty miles of us, and they have since we began both advanced the price of rags and lowered the price of paper ; nevertheless, I dare say that, if it please God to spare my life, and that of my Honble partner, a few years, we shall do very well, for our customers are of the best sort." He speaks of his prudent and economical habits, and his avoidance of needless expense : - "I keep no company, go to no neighbors' houses, except ju dge Phillips's ; neither do I spend sixpence on a tavern in six months, neither do I wish to do it; but I hope it will not be long before 1 have my share clear. I wait impatiently for that much-desired period, and hope it is not far distant." Mr. Houghton, in his religious connection, was a Friend or Quaker. His expressions of pious feeling make a large part of his letters. His moralizings on the labors of men to heap up uncertain riches are instructive and pertinent to the present time: - " And although it has pleased Almighty God to bring us down in this life from an envied to an humble state, yet I trust it will in the end work together for our good and his glory ; for we may truly M11-LS AND MANUFACTURES. 585 say that we have toiled and moiled, early and late, with a view to obtain a little worldly wealth to support us in our old age, and to help us place our offspring creditably in the world ; yet we have experienced what the in.spired prophet says That if we rise before the sun, And work and toil when day is done, Careful and sparing eat our bread, To shun that poverty we dread, 'T is all in vain till God has blest He can inake rich and give its rest." After a year or two the business began to prosper, and, in 1 95, Mr. Houp, ton became a partner. His son succeeded J 7 z1h 1 him, After the death of Judge Phillips, his son, Col. John Phillips, was partner. In 18 11 the mill was burned, but re- built. In 1820 Colonel Phillips died, and the mill property passed into other bands. Paper manufacturing was carried on by Messrs. Amos Blanchard, Daniel Poor, and Abel Blanchard. The mill and privilege were ultimately purchased b thd Marland Manufacturing Company for woollen manu- .3 y Z, .4 factures, and the manufacture of paper ceased. About 1789 the era of woollen manufacture's began in New England. The Federal Government being established on a firm foundation, capitalists directed their attention to the encouragement of home manufactures, and emigrants from the old country sought in the United States an opportunity to become rich and influential, as they might be, by connect- ing their skilled labor with American capital. Among the emigrants were the brothers, Arthur, John, and James Schol- field. The Dame of Arthur Scholfield is famous in the history of woollen manufactures. He made, and in part invented, carding machines superior to any then known in the coun- try. He constructed them from his remembrance of those in England, with the aid of some pieces which be succeeded in smuggling. He set a machine in operation in the mill at Byfield, under management of the first incorporated manu- facturing company in New England. He afterward went with his patron, Mr. Samuel Slater, to Pittsfield, and there rnade the first fine broadcloth in the country. The Schol- fields bought land at North Andover, and mill-privileges on the Cochichawick, and on the Shawshin, near its junction 586 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. with the Merrimack. At the latter place, Stephen Poor had had a clothing-mill about 18oo. James Scholfield set up one of the improved carding-machines made by his brother Ar- thur Scholfield, and carried on the business of making fine woollen goods in a small wooden building on the Cochicha- wick. He did a considerable business, and his mill was made use of by the country people around, to get their wool carded for domestic spinning and weaving, as well as to furnish fine goods. But be lacked the capital needed to carry on the manufacture extensively, and in 1812 he sold out his business and engaged to manage the mills crected by Mr. Nathaniel Stevens at the mill privilege further up the stream. Messrs. Abel and Paschal Abbot, of Andover (South Par- ish), bought the mill privilege, land and buildings, of Jarnes and Arthur Scholfield, and, erecting a larger mill, carried on the manufacturing about a year, and then sold (1813) to Abraham Marland and Isaac Osgood, who, after a year, sold to Samuel Ayer. In 1-826, the property fell, by foreclosure of a mortgage (Samuel Ayer having failed, become deeply in- volved in debt, and quitted the town) to Mr. William Sutton, of Danvers. In this mill of Mr. Marland, and in other early mills of the Andovers, it was the custom for the wives and daughters of the managers and owners to work, just as it had been for them to spin or weave, or perform domestic service, in their homes. From the foregoing, it appears that among the first woollen manufactures with the improved machinery that marked the be,innin,- of the era of New En-land manufactures, was that undertaken by the inventors of the machinery at North An- dover, in what is now known as the district of Sutton's Mills on the Cochichawick, near its junction with the Merrimack. The course of this manufactory to the present time we will now trace, although, meanwhile, others were started which have been more continuously in operation. As was said, the original movers in the enterprise aban- doned it. Samuel Ayer failed, and the mill did not wholly prosper until it passed into the hands of its present owners. Mr. William Sutton, being a gentleman of ample fortune, as NILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 587 well as of great business activity and judgment, at once re- vived the woollen manufactures in the mill which had fallen into his hands. He put in power-looms, which had largely supplanted the band-looms in the progress of manufactures, and had effected a revolution in the mills throughout the country. Mr. Sutton was a resident of Danvers, president of the bank, and otherwise of large business connections, but he ke t constant oversight of the mill, and by his wise manage- p ment insured the success of the business. At his death, in 1832, he left this flourishing business in charge of his sons, Mr. William Sutton and Mr. Eben Sutton. Mr. Eben Sutton died in 1864, aged sixty-one years. His death was sincerely mourned by the great company of oper- atives and employ6s, in whose welfare he had taken a cordial' interest, as well as lamented by his friends, the influential citizens of Danvers, Salem, and the Andovers. In regard to his conduct of these large business operations, an obituary notice says By his sagacious management and persevering industry, he was enabled to accurnulate a princely fortune, and, inheriting a handsome property from his father, he has probably left one of the largest fortunes in Massachusetts." Gen. William Sutton, in 1865, relinquished the charge of the mills to his son, Gen. Eben Sutton, of New York, who became a resident of North Andover, first on the homestead of the Hon. Gayton P. Osgood, and afterward at North An- dover Centre, on the place purchased by him from Mr. Arm- strong Farnham. He is now the sole proprietor of the mills. The cordial good feeling which characterized the relations of his ancestors with the operatives continues with the present proprietor, whose hearty interest and generous donations have greatly confributed to the comfort and improvement of the tenants of the manufacturing village. The Sutton Mill at present employs about one hundred and thirty operatives, and manufactures into flannel about 450,000 pounds of wool per annum. Gen. Eben Sutton also now owns the mill above the first one on the stream, - that known as the North Andover Mill. 588 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. Its history to the time when Mr. Sutton took control is briefly as, follows. Soon after Mr. William Sutton began manufacturing at the lower mill privilege of the Cochichawick, Mr. George Hodues, of Salem, came to North Andover, andin 1828, with Mr. Ed- ward Pranker, commenced the manufacture of white flannels in the old stone mill near the preseni brick mill. In 1839 the new mill was put in operation. It was owned by a company consistina- of Mr. Eben Sutton, Dr. Jose' h Kittredge, and 0 p Capt. George Hodges. After the death of Dr. Kittredge, in 1847, Mr. Sutton bought out the other owners, Captain Hodges continuing the manufacturing with his son, Mr. 7 ZD Frank Hodges, till 186o, when Mr. George Hodges, Jr., and ZD Mr. Samuel L. Hodges, leased the mill, and, with Mr. Frank Hodges, formed the firm of Hodges Brothers. Owing to the death of Mr. Frank Hodges, in 1865, the company was dis- solved, but the mill was run for a time by Mr. George Hodges. In 1847 he had removed to Oxford, where he carried on manufacturing, and where he now resides. Mr. Samuel L. Hod-es removed to Leicester in 1849, and engaged in man- ufacturing, which he continued for twenty-five years. Capt. George Hod I-es was one of the most honored citizens of North Andover ; his name synonymous with integrity and high-minded ness. Chose n* to offices of trust in the town, rep- resentative to the General Court and State Senator, he filled every office with dignity and wisdom. The following obit- uary notice (dated December 6, 1862) relates the particulars of his death, and shows the esteem in which he was held : - " Hon. George Hodges, of North Andover, the well-known man- ufacturer, met with an accident on Wednesday last, which on Sat- urday closed a long, useful, and honorable life. He fell while descending a flight of stairs in a building in Andover, where lie had been to attend to some business in the insurance office, break- ing the bones of his left elbow in a dreadful manner. He bore up, under the operation of extracting the fractured bones and setting the arm, with cheerful courage and Christian fortitude ; but being in years (almost reaching his seventy-first), and of large frame and great weight, nature could not survive the shock, and he has been gathered to his fathers, while enjoying among his family, wife, chil- HILLS AND MANUFACTUIeES. 589 dren, and grandchildren, a green old age, full of love and equal af- fection for all. He has served the State, this town, and his fellow- men faithfully and honestly. A man of large heart, kind to all, one of nature's noblemen in looks and in action, be leaves no ordinary void in the community in which he has so long lived." Mr. Frank Hodges, whose untimely death, in the prime of life, caused the dissolution of the company, was a gentleman of finished manners, scholarly tastes, and high moral principle. A sufferer from chronic disease, he was disabled in a great measure for the activ * e business of life in early manhood, al- tbough he superintended the mill until near the time of his death. In 1867, a stock company was formed, to carry on man- ufacturing in the North Andover Mills. The mills are owned by Gen. Eben Sutton, who is the treasurer of the corpora- tion. Mr. John Elliot is superintendent. They employ about one hundred operatives and manufacture into flannel 300,000 pounds of wool per annum. The oldest manufacturing business in the Andovers, that has been carried on with uninterrupted success from its com- mencement to the present time, is that at the Stevens Mills, established in 1813. The founder of this flourishing man-~ ufacturing business being a native of Andover, and descended through five generations (residents of the town), from John Stevens, one of the first settlers, ought to receive special notice. Capt. Nathaniel Stevens was the son of Mr. Jonathan Stevens, of North Andover. He was born in 1786, died 1865. He was educated at the Franklin Academy, made a sea voyage before the mast, served in the War of 1812 as a lieutenant, was a trader at North Andover. He married, 1815, Miss Harriet Hale,' daughter of Mr. Moses Hale, of Chelmsford. Mr. Hale, the father-in-law of Captain Stevens, was one of the pioneer manufacturers of the State, and a man of enthu- siasm in his business. Through his influence, Mr. Stevens had resolved to embark in manufacturing. In 1813 he en- I She is now living in her eighty-seventh year, bright and active and of clear memory. 590 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. gaged James Scholfield to run a mill, and, entering into partnership with Dr. Joseph Kittredge and Mr. Josiah Mon- roe, they began to build (near the site of the first saw-mill on the Cochichawick) a wooden mill. This is the same now in use. It has been rebuilt in parts from time to time, brick walls bein- -radually substituted for the wooden ones. 0 Z5 Mr. Stevens, by perseverance and energy, soon mastered the business in all its details, and was capable of managing it without assistance. He decided to give up the manufacture of broadcloth, in which be had at first experimented and which was difficult and of precarious profit, and to confine himself to the manufacture of flannels. In 1828 and 1831 he bought out his partners and took the sole control. He had often been warned at the outset that he was engaged in an undertaking of great risk, and that he would lose his time and money in trying to carry on manufactures. Mr. Abbot Lawrence, the importer, especially warned him that lie could not compete with British manufactures. " Take my advice," said he one day when Mr. Stevens had carried a load of flan- nels to Boston. 11 Sell out your mill and go into some other business." " Never," replied Mr. Stevens, 11 so long as I can get water to turn my mill wheel." Captain Stevens became one of the richest and most respected manufacturers of the county, carrying on the business for fifty years with prosper- ity. He lived to see his five sons established in the same business: the two eldest, Mr. Charles A. Stevens and Mr. Henry H. Stevens, in the western part of the State ; the three youngest, the Hon. Moses T. Stevens, Mr. George Stevens, and Mr. Horace N. Stevens, at North Andover and Haverhill. His grandson, Mr. Nathaniel Stevens (son of Mr. Moses T. Stevens), has charge of the mill at Haverhill. Two of the brothers, Mr. George Stevens and Mr. Horace N. Ste- vens, died in the prime of manhood, leaving a memory hon- ored for probity and beloved for all social and domestic vir- tues. In July, 1879, Mr. Moses T. Stevens purchased the Marland Mills at Andover. He has connected these and the Haverhill mill with the mill at ' North Andover by a tele- phone. The Stevens mills at North Andover employ about eighty-five operatives, and manufacture into flannel about 0 300,000 pounds of wool per annum. HILLS AND HAA7UFACTURES. 591 The success of the Stevens mills has been of advantaoe to 0 the communit , both directly and indirectly. Through the . y C, liberal donation of Mr. Moses T. Stevens, the Town Hall of North Andover was built, in connection with the Johnson High School, and the First Church and Parish have been re- cipients of frequent generosity. Having thus traced the origin and progress of the woollen manufactures at North Andover, on the Cochichawick, we turn now to those at Andover (South Parish) on the Shaw- shin. The first of these manufactories, which has continued in operation until the present time, about seventy years (with only a brief suspension), was established by Mr. -Abraham Marland from Ashton Parish, Lancashire, England. He came to Andover in 1807, and lived in the town forty-two years. He learned manufacturing in the old country, in his uncle's mills, and at Leeds and Holbeck. In i8oi, he emigrated to America, and, for a few years, was in charge of manufactur- ing at Beverly. He there made the acquaintance of some .Andover men, through whom he learned of the excellent water-power of the various streams of this vicinity, and was induced to turn his attention in this direction. He was ad- vised by Mr. Samuel Slater not to think of making a living in America by manufacturing, but to ~Lit his money into' a farm. But, believin-- that what his adviser seemed to have found profitable he might hope to succeed in, he persisted in his purpose. His first undertaking was to spin cotton for domestic weaving; but this he abandoned, as the working in cotton impaired his health. A relic of this cotton manufac- turing is found, - an advertisement of a trader of Haverhill in a newspaper of January, i8io. "COTTON YARN. THOMAs R. APPLETON Informs the public that be has been appointed Agent for Abraham Marland's Cotton Factory. He now offers for sale Cotton-Warp Filling, and Knitting-Yarn, of all numbers, wholesale and retail, at the manufacturers' prices . . . . . N. B. Please to call an.,1 examine the -oodness of the Cotton Yarn." 592 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. About 18 1 o, Mr. Marland began the manufacture of woollen cloth at Abbot Village, in a small wooden -building below the present stone-arch bridge. Here, during the War of 1812, he made army blankets. He also, for a year (as has been before said), carried on a rn~ ill at North Andover. About 1821, he entered into an arran 'gement with Mr. Peter C. Brooks, under whose control the paper-mill property had fallen, in regard to building and operating a woollen-mill on this site, Mr. Brooks agreeing to furnish capital and erect the buildings, and Mr. Marland to carry on the manufacturing, taking a lease for twenty years, and promising to pay a liberal per cent. on the capital, A brick mill and a brick block for board in g-houses were built, and in 1821 to 1823 the machinery from the old mill transferred to this new one, and new machinery added. In 1828, Mr. Marland bouglit tile property, including the mill Z_ privilege on both sides of the river, the paper-mill, and a grist- mill and thirty acres of land. He continued to operate the mill, built a new factory, put in new machinery, and made other improvements, till, in 1834, the Marland Manufacturing Com- pany, was incorporated: Abraham Marland, Benjamin H. Punchard, and John Marland, the grantees, and with William S. Marland, the only stockholders. They began with a cap- ital stock of $6o,ooo. They manufactured various kinds of goods, -water-pro~fs, cloakings, cassirneres, whatever the changing fashions required. Mr. Abraham Marland was pres- ident of the company till his death in 1849. He not only built up a successful business, but became an influential citi- zen, and a benefactor to the town of his adoption. He was chiefly instrumental in establishing the Protestant Episcopal Church in Andover, and made to it generous donations. His social connections in the town were honorable, -the various members of his large family joining with the Marland name some of the most esteemed and influential names of Andover and vicinity. On the death of Mr. Marland, Mr. Natban Frye became president of the company and continued in office for nearly thirty years, maintaining a name for probity and energy. The Hon. Francis Cogswell, son-in-law of Mr. Marland, was treasurer for.many years'. The treasurers of the company have'been, since Mr. Cogswell, Mr. Josiah W. Cham- I AlILLS .4-,VD MAAWFACTUJeES. 593 berlin, of Boston, and Mr. Samuel Raymond, of Andover, gen- tlemen of ability and honor. In the recent fillancial crisis of the country, this manufacturing company became embar- rassed, and, in July, 1879, the mills, -machinery, and all the property were sold to Mr. Moses T. Stevens, of North An- dover, who now carries on the manufacturing. - The mills employ about one hundred and fifty operatives, and manufac- ture about 500,000 pounds of wool per annum.1 In 1836, a woollen manufacturing company was incorporated at Andover under the name of the Ballardvale Manufacturin- Company. Mr. John Marland was treasurer and agent, and had the mana,ement of the mills ; he and his brother, Mr. William S. Marland, withdrawing from the Marland Manu- facturing Company. They bought the property and mill- Z, privilege owned by Timotliy Ballard, from whom they named Zn the company and village. Mr. Abraham J. Gould, Mr. Mark r. I Newman, and others, were associated in the company. They manufactured cott6n and woollen goods, and also experimented in the manufacture of silk.' This last, and the introduction of the silk-worm into Andover, form. an interesting episode in Andover manufactures. Mulberry-trees, the food of the silk-worm, were then planted, and the raising of silk-worms was undertaken by several families. Mr. John Marland was the moving spirit of these progres- sive enterprises. He was, as a well-known manufacturer re- marks, " in advance of his times." For this reason he could not always realize his ideals and carry out all the plans which he projected. He was destined rather to open paths for other persons to go forward in to their advantage, than to I Since the writing of the above has occurred the death of one of the most esteemed officers of the Marland Manufacturing Company, the Hon. Francis S. Cogswell. He was born December 3 1, 1 Soo, at Atkinson, N.H., and was eighty years old when he died. He had been thirty-eight years a resident of Andover, held the offices of Cashier of the Andover Bank, President of the Boston and Maine Railroad, Director of Bank, and Treasurer of the Manufacturing Com- pany. This latter office he held till he was seventy-two years old. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, and had entered the legal profession, practising in Dover, N. H., before his removal to Andover. He retained through life his scholarly habits and literary tastes. He was a warden of Christ Church, and a devout adherent to its doctrines, although charitable and catholic in his sympa- thies. 38 594 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF A.AIDOVER. persevere in ways of gain for himself. But he had real in- ventive genius and did a great work for manufactures, some of the improvements which he introduced being among the most valuable. The first piece of " fine white flannel" made in the United States is said, to have been made in the mills of the Ballardvale company, the machinery for double spin- ning having been put in successful operation. Also the company put in worsted machinery, in 1842 send- ing their agent (Mr. Charles Barnes) to England to buy the machinery. The manufacture of delaines was carried on for some years, the worsted mill bein-- leased in i85o to Mr. Jeremiah S. Young, brother-in-law of Mr. Marland. He, in ZD 1853, transferred this branch of the business to the Pacific mills, at Lawrence, of which company be bad become treas. urer. The manufacture of fine flannel was continue--' till 1866, when the company, as a corporation, ceased to exist, and the Ballardvale mills became a private enterprise. The proprietor, at the time of this writing, is Mr. J. Putnam Brad- lee, of Boston ; Mr. James Shaw, manufacturer. Other well-known manufacturers of Andover, 1815-1837, were the brothers Abel and Paschal Abbot, They began at North Andover, on the Cochichawick (as has been before re- lated), but about 1814 removed their works to Abbot-Village and built the wooden mill on the west side of the river, and after a time added other buildings. They did cotton and woollen spinning and made flannels and cassimeres. The country people came here from long distances to get their wool spun for domestic knitting and weaving. The manu- facturers employed about twenty band-looms before the use of the power-loom. The first foreman of the mill, Abiel Russell, is now living in his ninety-second year. In the em- ploy of the Messrs. Abbot, in 1817, was Mr. Daniel Saun- ders, who for a time leased the mill and carried on the busi- .ness, *but in 1823 removed to Salem, N. H., and, subse- quently returning, established himself at North Andover. In the financial crisis of 1837 the Abbot brothers failed and their property passed into the hands of Messrs. Smith, Dove & Company. Another woollen mill, temporarily run, was under the management and ownership of Mr. James HILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 595 Howarth and Mr. Abijah Chase, of Salem. They made flan- nel in the stone mill on the east side of the Shawsbin' about 1824. The business was carried on by James Howarth's SODS, John Howarth & Co-, till 1837, and afterward by vari- ous persons, till 1843. Then, the property which had been leased for carrying on woollen manufacture, by Mr. Henry H. Stevens, passed into the hands of Messrs. Smith, Dove & Company. The mills now in operation at the Abbot villa-e, and at the Frye village, are used for the manufacture of flax, and are owned by the firm of Smith, Dove & Company. The sen- ior partner of the firm is Mr. John Smith. He first started with the manufacture of cotton machinery. He came to America from Brechin, Scotland, in 1816, and obtained em- ploymcnt as a journeyman machinist, in Medway. There he met Joseph Faulkner and Warren Richardson, from Ando- ver, workmen in the same shop with himself. They, about 1822, formed the plan of setting up in business for them- selves ; Mr. Smith taking the lead of the enterprise. Fortu- nately for their undertaking, they obtained an order for machinery in advance, and thus got a successful start, estab- lishing themselves first at Plymouth. Through the influence of Mr. Faulkner's friends from Andover they were induced to transfer their business to this 'town. They bought the then unoccupied mill-privilege on the Shawshin, at Frye vil- lage, and in 1824 Mr. John Smith built the machine-shop now standing on the east side of the river, and they removed their w ' orks from Plymouth to Andover. Here they did an extensive business in the manufacture of cotton machinery, obtaining contracts for machinery in a cotton mill in, New Market, N. H.-, and for other large establishments. In 1829 Mr. Richardson died, and in 1831 also Mr. Faulkner. Mr. John Smith was then assisted in charge of the machine-shop, by his younger brother, Peter Smith, who had come from Scotland in 1822, and been in the employ of the firm at Plymouth. In 1833, another employ6 began work, who sub- sequently became a member of the firm, and was the means of changing its operations, as a manufacturing company, and of introducing a new and successful enterprise. 596 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. Mr. John Smith had received a letter from Scotland recom- mending to his notice a young man from Brechin who had recentl emirated to America. Going to the city of New y ZD York on business, Mr. Smith found there his countryman, among strangers without satisfactory employment, and al- most discouraged, but sustained in hope by the cheerfulness of his strong, sensible wife. Mr. Smith made him an offer, which he at once accepted. He came to Andover without delay, and began to work in the machine-shop. This young man was John Dove, whose inventive genius contributed so largely to the establishment and success of the manufacturing company, ultimately formed under the name of Smith, Dove & Company. John Dove and Peter Smith bad, when boys, worked to- gethcr in the flax mills owned by Mr. Dove's father, in Scot- land, and now, talking over old times, they formed a project to start a flax-mill at Andover. Mr. Dove had not only in- ventive genius, but enthusiasm. He was confident of suc- cess, if he could get the means to carry out the plan, and finally he succeeded in enlisting Mr. John Smith's interest, and by him was furnished with means to go to Scotland, to obtain further knowledge of the machinery there used, and get drawings from which to manufacture what was needed to start with. Meanwhile, Mr. Smith built a new mill on the west side of the river, and in 1836 the business was begun, -the first man- ufacture of flax in America ; Mr. John Smith taking his two employ6s, Peter Smith and John, Dove, into partnership. He, however, continued the manufacture of machinery until the flax manufacture proved successful. Then he gave up the machine-shop, and put all his capital into the -flax manufac- tory. Flax-yarns for carpet weavers, sail-twines, shoe-threads, and other similar goods, were made, at first in small quanti- ties, for the demand was not large, owing to the preference for British manufactures. But the prejudice gradually died out, and it was not many years before the mills were doing a large and remunerative business, the demand for their goods exceeding the supply. Accordingly, in 1843, the company purchakd the water-power and buildings of the woollen mills MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 597 at Abbot village, and put in flax machinery, thus greatly in- cr , easing their productions. In 1864 a joint stock company was incorporated, under the name of the Smith & Dove Man- ufacturing Company, of which Mr. John Smith was Presi- dent, and Mr. Peter Smith Treasurer. In 1865 a brick mill was built at Abbot village. Hand and machine shoe-thread, linen yarns and twines for carpet manufacture, etc., are made ; about 2,000,000 pounds of flax and flax-tow are annu- ally consumed. Some three hundred operatives are em- 3 ployed. Mr. John Dove died in 1876. It has been said be pos- sessed remarkable inventive genius. He was familiarwith the progress of science in. many departments, finding time, even in the midst of active labors, for much reading in his favorite lines of study, and never losing, to the day of his death, his ardor of mechanical invention. It was fortunate for him, and for his partners, that at the outset he met in his employer a true friend, who appreciated his rare gifts. The value to the community, both directly and indirectly, of their large and successful business can hardly be estimated. The munificent benefactions of the three partners, to their adopted town and to their native town, have been spoken of in other chapters of these sketches. Selections from a Me- morial Discourse regarding Mr. Dove, have been given; also, the recent death of Mr. Peter Smith has been noted, and a brief tribute paid to his memory in connection with the his- tory of the Theological Seminary, of which he was a trustee and benefactor. He was born in Brechin, Scotland, Septem- ber 21, 1802, and died at Andover July 6, i88o. The oldest of the three original partners, Mr. John Smith, in his eighty-fifth year, is thus left the last. Still young in spirit and active in body, he enjoys the fruits of a successful life, and the pleasure of witnessing the growth and useful- ness of the various institutions which his liberality has con- tributed to found or endow. The sons of the three original partners are connected with the manufacturing company: Mr. Joseph W. Smith, Messrs. James B., Peter D., and Benjamin F. Smith, and Mr. George W. W. Dove. 598 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. Next to the mills was, a's has been said, the establishment of " Iron-Works " in ancient Andover. The first settler, Thomas Chandler, blacksmith, owned extensive iron works. just what these ancient iron-works were does not fully ap- pear. Probably they were for smelting and refining the ore which was found in the town, a sort of blomary. As late as 1770 Col. James Frye owned iron-works, which he then gave up, advertising to sell, " as he is done with the iron-works." He offers also for sale a. strong negro boy twenty years old, who is a good farm band, " and can work in iron-work, both at blowing and refining." The first foundry in the Andovers was built to furnish castings of machinery for Messrs. Davis and Furber's man- ufactory at North Andover. The builder and first operator proved untrustworthy, got deeply in debt, and quitted the town. The property passed into the hands of Boston men, and in 1842 was leased from them by Mr. Edmund Davis, an iron founder from Dover, N. H. When the business began, all the work was done by Mr. Davis and his son, with the help of one man. At the end of twenty years they employed about fifty men. In 1863 they took down their building and transferred the foundry to the city of Lawrence. " E. Davis and Son" was then and is now the name of the firm, Mr. Edmund Davis, senior, ultimately removed his residence to Portsmouth, N. H., but retained more or less supervision of the foundry until his death, in 1867. His long residence in North Andover identified him prominently with its inter- ests, both in secular affairs and in the religious society, " The Evangelical Church, of North Andover," with which he was connected. He was one of the ori,-inal trustees of the Cem- etery, and owned a lot, where his remains were buried. Mr. Davis was a gingularly unobtrusive man, but one who com- manded respect. From an obituary notice, written by a min- ister who knew him well, the following is an extract relative to his character : - " None knew him who were not struck with the benignity, just- ness, and peace-loving nature of the man. It was in the family, however, that his worth was the most conspicuous. As a husband and a father few could be compared to him. Others may be as MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 599 faithful, but few combine gentleness with dignity, reserve with case, strictness with affectionate geniality as he did." The business established by Mr. Davis is carried on by his son, Mr. George Edmund Davis, who resides at North Andover. Another foundry was built at North Andover by the man- ufacturing company of Messrs. Davis & Furber. The man- ufacture of machinery, so long carried on at North Andover under this firm name, originated in 1828 at Andover (South Parish). Jonathan Sawyer, of Harvard-, and Russell Phelps, of Sutton, machinists, came from a shop in Worcester, and began the manufacture of machinery, under the patronao-e of Mr. Abraham Marland, in the lower part of his mill. In 183 2 they sold the business to three of their employ6s, Charles Barnes, Georp~e H. Gilbert, and Parker Richardson. The shop was removed to the paper-m.ill, and in 1836 transferred to North Andover, on the Cochichawick, at what is called Machine Shop Village. Mr. Barnes withdrew from the firm to enter into the employ of the Ballardvale Manufacturing Company, but in 1838 resumed his connection. Messrs. Gil- A bert and Richardson bought the saw and grist-mill of Mr. Isaac Osgood, and built a machine shop and carried on busi- ness till I84T, when they dissolved the partnership and sold the saw-mill to the original owner. The same year, Mr. George L. Davis, a nephew of Mr. Gilbert, who had been employed by the firm for about six years, formed a copartnership with Mr. George H. Gilbert and Benjamin W. Gleason for five years, Messrs. Davis and Gleason being the managers. They Z~ leased the machine-sbop and water-power, bou-ht the tools, and from that time to the present Mr. Davis has continued the manufacture of wool machinery. In 1846 Mr. Gilbert I retired from the firm, an~ in 1848 Mr. Mr. George H. Gilbert, in IS41, together with Mr. Charles A. Stevens, son of Captain Nathanael Stevens, of North Andover, removed to Ware in the west- ern part of the State, and there began woolen manufacturing, in which they were eminently successful. After about ten years, dissolving partnership, each con- tinned business for himself and both became founders of manufacturing com- panics among the most successful in New England. Mr. Gilbert died in 1868. A costly monument to his memory has been erected by his son in the North Andover Cemetery, which was the burial place of his wife, a daughter of Deacon Jedidiah Farnham. 6oo HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. Charles Furber joined it. In 185 1 Messrs. Davis and Furber bought the entire interest, In 1857, On the death of Mr. Furber, Mr. Davis was for a short time sole proprietor. In 1858 Mr. Daniel T. Gage and Mr. John A. Wiley joined the firm, but in 186o the former withdrew. In January, ~861, Mr. Joseph M. Stone, a builder of locomotives, from Manchester, N. H., became a partner. In 1867 the sons of the partners, 'George G. Davis,' Joseph H. Stone, and James H. Davis, became members of the firm. The buildings, from the one little room in the Marland Mill, are now grown to a group of several large factories, shop, and foundry, at North Andover. The machinery made is in operation in mills in all parts of the United States. Hon. George L. Davis, who embarked in the enterprise at a time when it was btizardous, has stood by it in all vicis- situdes, and by his perseverance and ability established a manufacture honorable to the town, as well as a source of wealth to himself. Many institutions, educational and relig Z!, ions, have reaped benefit from the prosperity of this business and the liberality of its founder. Mr. Furber, whose name since his death is retained in the company, made his way up from poverty to influence and honor. He died in 1857, at the age of thirty-nine, deeply mourned by his numerous friends. He was at the time of his death a representative to the Legislature for North An- dover. Mr. Stone and Mr. Wiley are among the most influential citizens of the manu'acturing village, and liberal contributors to all enterprises for its prosperity, and for the general wel- fare of the town. The manufacture of machinery was attempted on a large scale at Ballardvale in 1847 by-an incorporated company, of wbich Mr. John Marland was a principal member. They made machiner' and steam-enoines in the large stone manu- y n factory built by the company, and which, after some reverses, -they sold to the Whipple File Manufacturing Company. . This company was organized 186o, with a capital of .$500,000. I Since withdrawn to enter a firm in Boston, HILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 6o r They purchased the machine-shop at Ballardvale, and built other large buildings, and put in crucible and steel- Z5 smelting apparatus. In 1866 they had a capital of one million dollars. The enterprise was the largest ever entered upon in Andover, employing about six hundred operatives. But in 1869 the company failed. The stock was owned principally by parties in Boston. The works are now idle. The above are the principal manufactures of the Andovers, which, in one form or another, trace their beginning to the ancient times. Among the modern industries or manufac- tures may be noted a rubber factory, also an ink factory now owned and carried on by William C. Donald & Co. It is not a part of the plan of this chapter to trace the history of any other than the mills and manufactures which originated in the beginning of the town history, and were the " improve- ment " of the water-power of the streams and rivers. These manufactures have been the principal source of the town's wealth and prosperity. They resulted in the establishment of the bank, railroad, and other commercial facilities. To the great importance of the manufactures of Andover, witness is incidentally borne in a petition, 1825, for the' establishment of a bank: The trading and manufacturing capital of the town has very much increased within a few years past by the crection of several establishments for the manufacturing of cotton and woollen cloths and for other purposes. . . . Your petitioners are confident that the amount of mercantile and manufacturing business done among them . . . . . and which is manifestly increasing, and the amount of money transactions growing out of that business, are sufficiently large to render a banking institution a great convenience," etc. Any sketch of the rise and growth of Andover manufac- tures should also include mention of the oricrin of the manu- facturing city of Lawrence, which in 1847 was set off from Methuen and Andover, and incorporated as a city in 1853. This city not only occupies some twenty-five hundred acres of Old Andover territory, but also owes its existence chiefly to the sagacity and perseverance of an Andover citizen. Daniel Saunders learned the business of cloth-dressing and wool-carding in his native town, Salem, N. H. He came to 602 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. Andover in 1817 to seek employment, and, after working on a farm, entered the mill of Messrs. Abel and Paschal Abbot, in Andover, where he ultimately obtained an interest in the business, taking a lease of and manao-in- the mill. Being so- licited by his former employers to return to his native town and start a woollen mill there, lie did so, and remained for a time, but, about 1825, removed to Andover, and settled in the North Parish, for a time leasing the stone mill erected bv Dr. Kittredge, and afterward building a mill on a small Z-1 stream which flows into the Cochichawick. Here he carried on the business of cloth-dressing and wool-carding for some years. In 1839 or 1840 he purchased a mill in Concord, N. H., and carried on manufacturing there, but retained his home at North Andover. About I S42 he gave up the wool- len mill at North Andover, sold his house to Mr. Sutton, and removed to what is now South Lawrence, Andover West Parish, south of the Merrimack River, near the old " Shaw- sheen House." The tract of country in this vicinity was flat and sandy, covered principally with a growth of pine trees. It went by the name of Moose Country. At the point near Mr. Saunders' house, which was a more improved and attrac- tive locality, were two taverns, the Shawsheen House and the Essex House. These were relics of the palmy days of the old stage routes and turnpikes and the Andover toll- bridge, which, erected in 1793 at a great cost, was the wonder of the country people and the sorrow of the stockholders for many years. This " Moose ' Country " was the ancient 11 Shawshin Fields," where, during the Indian wars, block- houses were built, to protect the Andover farmers in their ploughing and planting and harvesting. The neighborhood Z!, r, of the taverns was, during the provincial period and the Revolution, and even down to the present century, a consid erable business centre. The taverns, long owned by the Poor family, had store of legend and tradition connected with them. The bridge was also freighted with memories and anecdotes, which old settlers handed down to the younger generation. Even in Mr. Saunders' day, the glory had not all passed away. Here was the grand gathering to welcome General Lafayette, when in 1825 he made his tour from Bos MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 603 ton to Concord, N. H. ; and here glittered resplendent the cavalcade of Andover troops which escorted the hero on his journey. But with the decline of the turnpike and the stage lines, and the advent of the railway, the prosperity of Moose Country waned ; the taverns became silent, the bridge com- paratively deserted, and the river Merrimack flowed amid scenes almost as solitary as when the Indian paddled his canoe, and was the sole tenant of the forests. But to the seemingly practical man of business, who had taken tip his abode in these solitudes, they were suggestive of schemes and plans of activities which to the ordinary observer seemed as visionary as any ever cherished by the writers of romance. The former glory of Moose Country was nothing in compari- son with the brighter days which he foresaw, From a careful study of the river, he came to the belief, not till then entertained, that there was a fall in its course below the city of Lowell sufficient to furnish great water- power. He became so confident of this, and of the ultimate improvement of this water-power, that he proceeded to buy lands along the river which secured to him the control of flowage. This he did without communicating his plans to any of the citizens. Having made all things ready, he se- cured the co6peration of capitalists, to whom he unfolded his project. The Merrimack Water Power Association was formed, of which Mr. Saunders and his son, Mr. Daniel Saun- ders, Jr., then a law student in Lowell, became members, Mr. Samuel Lawrence, of Lowell, being _' Chairman, and Mr. John Nesmith, Treasurer. Mr. Nathaniel Stevens, and other citi- zens of Andover, also joined the association. When the scheme began to be talked of, it created a great sensation among the farmers who owned most of the land along the river. Their ancestral acres assumed a sudden importance in their eyes. They had to decide whether they would sell for double the money which ever had been offered for the lands, or whether they would hold the property in hope of greater gain. The company could not at first decide at what point to construct the dam, whether at its present site, Bodwell's Falls, or farther up the river, near Peters's Falls. They, therefore, 604 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER. bonded the land along the river. This, however, it was diffi- cult in some cases to do, and some parties of Andover re- fused entirely to sell, so that the new city-was built up at first mainly on the Methuen or north side of the river. In March, 1845, the Legislature granted to Samuel Lawrence, John Nesmith, Daniel Saunders, and Edward Bartlett, their associates and successors, the charter of the Essex Company, authorizin,-,, among other things, the *construction of a dam across Merrimack River either at Bodwell's Falls or Deer jump Falls, or at some point between the two falls. The dam was beo'un in 1845, and was three years in building. The completion of it made a fall almost like a second Niao' ara in breadth and volume of water. The unbroken sheet of water was goo feet wide, the masonry 1,629 feet in length, and rising in some parts over forty feet in height. The thun- der of the cataract, when the dam was first built, could be heard for two or three miles. The old Andover farmers could not sleep o' nights," as they said, for thinking what might happen in the sprino- freshets, and the jarring of the ground was so great near the river bank as to rattle doors and shake down dishes in the cupboards, and seriously dis- turb the equanimity of orderly housewives. It would be a long task to recount all the predictions, fulfilled and unful- filled, made by the wiseacres, from the day when " Saunders's folly " was their theme, to the day when, his visions and plans more than realized, he saw a city of thirty thousand inhab- itants, and manufactories larger than any in the world. Mr. Saunders died in 1872, aged seventy-six years. He married a daughter of Mr. Caleb Abbot, of Andover. Two of his sons are residents of Lawrence, -Daniel Saunders, Esq., and Caleb Saunders, counsellors at law. The former was born in Andover, graduated at Harvard College, 1844. He has been mayor of Lawrence and representative to the Legislature. The latter was born at North Andover, graduated at Bowdoin Zn College, 1859. He was mayor of Lawrencei 1877. The agricultural industry of the town of Andover was a principal part of -its prosperity from the first ; but, in select- ing the order of the topics to be considered, the plan of these sketches accords with the order which appears in the town MILLS AND MANUFACTURES. 605 records the meeting-house, the school, and the mill being the principal subjects of general interest and legislation. To ~cover the entire history of the town in all its depart- ments of enterprise, there should be'added an account of the ao-ricultural and -eneral industries, and trade ; stores, banks, post-offices, stage-routes, bridges, railways ; of the profes- sional men, physicians, lawyers, authors, editors, artists ; and the town history and action under, the Federal Constitution, including the War of 1812, the Civil War, and other impor- tant crises in the history of the nation and the common- wealth, as well as biographical sketches of all the eminent citizens, and the natives of the Andovers who have become eminent in other communities. Few towns offer wider field for historical research or a more honorable record than Old Andover, the present towns of North Andover and Andover.