Various - The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 2
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Various >> The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 2
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9 [Illustration: Sylvester Marsh]
THE BAY STATE MONTHLY.
_A Massachusetts Magazine._
VOL. III. MAY, 1885. NO. II.
* * * * *
SYLVESTER MARSH.
[THE PROJECTOR OF THE MOUNT WASHINGTON RAILROAD.]
By Charles Carleton Coffin.
There were few settlers in the Pemigewasset Valley when John Marsh of
East Haddam, Connecticut, at the close of the last century, with his
wife, Mehitable Percival Marsh, travelling up the valley of the
Merrimack, selected the town of Campton, New Hampshire, as their future
home. It was a humble home. Around them was the forest with its lofty
pines, gigantic oaks, and sturdy elms, to be leveled by the stalwart
blows of the vigorous young farmer. The first settlers of the region
endured many hardships--toiled early and late, but industry brought its
rewards. The forest disappeared; green fields appeared upon the broad
intervales and sunny hillsides. A troop of children came to gladden the
home. The ninth child of a family of eleven received the name of
Sylvester, born September 30, 1803.
The home was located among the foot-hills on the east bank of the
Pemigewasset; it looked out upon a wide expanse of meadow lands, and
upon mountains as delectable as those seen by the Christian pilgrim from
the palace Beautiful in Bunyan's matchless allegory.
It was a period ante-dating the employment of machinery. Advancement
was by brawn, rather than by brains. Three years before the birth of
Sylvester Marsh an Englishman, Arthur Scholfield, determined to make
America his home. He was a machinist. England was building up her system
of manufactures, starting out upon her great career as a manufacturing
nation determined to manufacture goods for the civilized world, and
especially for the United States. Parliament had enacted a law
prohibiting the carrying of machinist's tools out of Great Britain.
The young mechanic was compelled to leave his tools behind. He had
a retentive memory and active mind; he settled in Pittsfield,
Massachusetts, and set himself to work to construct a machine for the
carding of wool, which at that time was done wholly by hand. The
Pittsfield _Sun_ of November 2, 1801, contained an advertisement
of the first carding machine constructed in the United States. Thus
it read:
"Arthur Scholfield respectfully informs the inhabitants of Pittsfield
and the neighboring towns that he has a carding machine, half a mile
west of the meeting-house, where they may have their wool carded into
rolls for twelve and a half cents per pound; mixed, fifteen cents per
pound. If they find the grease and pick the grease in it will be ten
cents per pound, and twelve and a half mixed."
The first broadcloth manufactured in the United States was by Scholfield
in 1804, the wool being carded in his machine and woven by hand.
In 1808 Scholfield manufactured thirteen yards of black broadcloth,
which was presented to James Madison, and from which his inaugural suit
was made. A few Merino sheep had been imported from France, and
Scholfield, obtaining the wool, and mixing it with the coarse wool of
the native sheep, produced what at that time was regarded as cloth of
superior fineness. The spinning was wholly by hand.
The time had come for a new departure in household economies. Up to 1809
all spinning was done by women and girls. This same obscure county
paper, the Pittsfield _Sun_, of January 4, 1809, contained an
account of a meeting of the citizens of that town to take measures for
the advancement of manufactures. The following resolution was passed:
"Resolved that the introduction of spinning-jennies, as is practiced in
England, into private families is strongly recommended, since one person
can manage by hand the operation of a crank that turns twenty-four
spindles."
This was the beginning of spinning by machinery in this country. This
boy at play--or rather, working--on the hill-side farm of Campton, was
in his seventh year. Not till he was nine did the first wheeled vehicle
make its appearance in the Pemigewasset valley. Society was in a
primitive condition. The only opportunity for education was the district
school, two miles distant--where, during the cold and windy winter days,
with a fire roaring in the capacious fire-place, he acquired the
rudiments of education. A few academies had been established in the
State, but there were not many farmer's sons who could afford to pay, at
that period, even board and tuition, which in these days would be
regarded as but a pittance.
Very early in life this Campton boy learned that Pemigewassett valley,
though so beautiful, was but an insignificant part of the world.
Intuitively his expanding mind comprehended that the tides and currents
of progress were flowing in other directions, and in April, 1823, before
he had attained his majority, he bade farewell to his birthplace, made
his way to Boston--spending the first night at Concord, New Hampshire,
having made forty miles on foot; the second at Amoskeag, the third in
Boston, stopping at the grandest hotel of that period in the
city--Wildes', on Elm street, where the cost of living was one dollar
per day. He had but two dollars and a half, and his stay at the most
luxurious hotel in the city of thirty-five thousand inhabitants was
necessarily brief. He was a rugged young man, inured to hard labor, and
found employment on a farm in Newton, receiving twelve dollars a month.
In the fall he was once more in Campton. The succeeding summer found him
at work in a brick yard. In 1826 he was back in Boston, doing business
as a provision dealer in the newly-erected Quincy market.
But there was a larger sphere for this young man, just entering manhood,
than a stall in the market house. In common with multitudes of young men
and men in middle age he was turning his thoughts towards the boundless
West. Ohio was the bourne for emigrants at that period. Thousands of New
Englanders were selecting their homes in the Western Reserve. At
Ashtabula the young man from Quincy market began the business of
supplying Boston and New York with beef and pork, making his shipments
via the Erie Canal.
But there was a farther West, and in the Winter of 1833-4 he proceeded
to Chicago, then a village of three hundred inhabitants, and began to
supply them, and the company of soldiers garrisoning Fort Dearborn, with
fresh beef; hanging up his slaughtered cattle upon a tree standing on
the site now occupied by the Court House.
This glance at the condition of society and the mechanic arts during the
boyhood of Sylvester Marsh, and this look at the struggling village of
Chicago when he was in manhood's prime, enables us to comprehend in some
slight degree the mighty trend of events during the life time of a
single individual; an advancement unparalleled through all the ages.
For eighteen years, the business begun under the spreading oak upon what
is now Court House square, in Chicago, was successfully conducted,--each
year assuming larger proportions. He was one of the founders of Chicago,
doing his full share in the promotion of every public enterprise. The
prominent business men with whom he associated were John H. Kuisie,
Baptiste Bounier, Deacon John Wright, Gurdon S. Hubbard, William H.
Brown, Dr. Kimberly, Henry Graves, the proprietor of the first Hotel,
the Mansion house, the first framed two-story building erected, Francis
Sherman, who arrived in Chicago the same year and became subsequent
builder of the Sherman House.
Mr. Marsh was the originator of meat packing in Chicago, and invented
many of the appliances used in the process--especially the employment of
steam.
In common with most of the business men of the country, he suffered loss
from the re-action of the speculative fever which swept over the country
during the third decade of the century; but the man whose boyhood had
been passed on the Campton hills was never cast down by commercial
disaster. His entire accumulations were swept away, leaving a legacy of
liability; but with undaunted bravery he began once more, and by
untiring energy not only paid the last dollar of liability, but
accumulated a substantial fortune--engaging in the grain business.
His active mind was ever alert to invent some method for the saving of
human muscle by the employment of the forces of nature. He invented the
dried-meal process, and "Marsh's Caloric Dried Meal" is still an article
of commerce.
While on a visit to his native state in 1852, he ascended Mount
Washington, accompanied by Rev. A.C. Thompson, pastor of the Eliot
Church, Roxbury, and while struggling up the steep ascent, the idea came
to him that a railroad to the summit was feasable and that it could be
made a profitable enterprise. He obtained a charter for such a road in
1858, but the breaking out of the war postponed action till 1866, when a
company was formed and the enterprise successfully inaugurated and
completed.
Leaving Chicago he returned to New England, settling in Littleton, New
Hampshire, in 1864; removing to Concord, New Hampshire, in 1879, where
the closing years of his life were passed.
Mr. Marsh was married, first, April 4, 1844, to Charlotte D. Bates,
daughter of James Bates of Munson, Massachusetts. The union was blessed
with three children, of whom but one, Mary E. Marsh, survives. She
resides in New York. Mrs. Marsh died August 20, 1852, at the age of
thirty-six years. She was a woman of the finest mental qualities, highly
educated, and very winning in her person and manners.
Mr. Marsh married, second, March 23, 1855, Cornelia H. Hoyt, daughter of
Lumas T. Hoyt of St. Albans, Vermont. Three daughters of the five
children born of this marriage live and reside with their mother in
Concord, New Hampshire. Mr. Marsh died December 30, 1884, in Concord,
and was buried in Blossom Hill Cemetery.
Mr. Marsh was to the very last years of his life a public-spirited
citizen, entering heartily into any and every scheme which promised
advantage to his fellow man. His native State was especially dear to
him. He was very fond of his home and of his family. He was a devout
Christian, and scrupulous in every business transaction not to mislead
his friends by his own sanguine anticipations of success. His faith and
energy were such that men yielded respect and confidence to his grandest
projects; and capital was always forthcoming to perfect his ideas.
He had a wonderful memory for dates, events, and statistics, always
maintaining his interest in current events. Aside from the daily
newspapers, his favorite reading was history. The business, prosperity,
and future of this country was an interesting theme of conversation with
him. In business he not only possessed good judgment, wonderful energy,
and enthusiasm, but caution.
He was philosophical in his desire to acquire wealth, knowing its power
to further his plans, however comprehensive and far-reaching. Immense
wealth was never his aim. He was unselfish, thinking ever of others. He
had a strong sense of justice, and desired to do right--not to take
advantage of another. He was generous and large in his ideas. He was
benevolent, giving of his means in a quiet and unostentatious way. He
took a great interest in young men, helping them in their struggles,
with advice, encouragement, and pecuniary assistance. Students,
teachers, helpless women, colored boys and girls, in early life slaves,
came in for a share of his large-hearted bounty, as well as the Church
with its many charities and missions.
Mr. Marsh was a consistent Christian gentleman, for many years
identified with the Congregational denomination. He was a Free Mason; in
politics he was an anti-slavery Whig, and later a Republican. In private
life he was a kind, generous, and indulgent husband and father,
considerate of those dependent on him, relieving them of every care and
anxiety.
He was a typical New Englander, a founder of institutions, a promoter of
every enterprise beneficial to society.
* * * * *
BARNABAS BRODT DAVID.
By Rev. J.G. Davis, D.D.
In the early records of the French Protestant Church of New York City,
appears the name of John David, a Huguenot, an emigrant, who married
Elizabeth Whinehart. They settled in Albany, and had eleven children, of
whom only five attained majority. Peter David, the sixth child, born
March 11, 1764, married Elizabeth Caldwell, born May 24, 1764, the only
child of Joseph Caldwell, an officer in the British navy. They also
lived in Albany and had a large family of eleven children; Barnabas
Brodt David, born August 8, 1802, the subject of the following sketch,
was the ninth child and fifth son. On the death of his mother, which
occurred September 17, 1808, the family was widely scattered, and the
lad Barnabas found a home for the next five years with a family named
Truax, in Hamilton Village, New York. At the end of this period he was
taken into the family of an older brother, Noble Caldwell David, who
resided in Peterborough, New York. Of his previous opportunities of
instruction we are not informed, but during his stay of two years in
Peterborough he was permitted to attend school part of the time. The
death of Caldwell David's wife became the occasion of a third removal,
which brought him to Keene, New Hampshire, into the care of an older
sister, Mrs. David Holmes. The journey was made in the winter, in an
open sleigh, without robes, and being poorly clad, the hardship and
exposure were vividly remembered. He was interested in his studies, and
enjoyed the privileges of the schools in Keene, so far as they were open
to the children of the town. The question of an employment coming up for
decision, it was determined by his friends that the lad should go to
Boston and enter the shop of his eldest brother, John David, as an
apprentice to the art of whip making. At that time no machinery was
employed in the business, and the apprentice was taught every part of
the craft.
Before the termination of his apprenticeship, his brother John David,
was removed by death and an opportunity was presented of taking the
stock and tools and carrying on the business. He was ambitious and his
early experiences had made him self-reliant and courageous. The opening
was promising, but he had neither money nor credit. In this exigency a
partnership was formed with Mr. Samuel B. Melendy, who had some
knowledge of the craft. With the beginning of the year 1821, the firm of
Melendy and David raised a sign in Dock Square. The young men were
willing to labor and they determined by industry and economy to win
success. For a time the room, which they hired, served a two-fold use as
they worked and slept in the same apartment. They lived cheaply and the
work benches were cleared at night to furnish a place whereon to rest.
Having no one to endorse a note for the firm in Boston, they had
recourse to Mr. William Melendy, who had recently retired from business
in the city and returned to Amherst, New Hampshire. By the most direct
route, the distance from Boston must have been over forty-five miles,
but Mr. Melendy, starting in the early morning on foot, reached his
destination at night, and securing the signature of his brother returned
the next day.
Such pluck insured success. The business became profitable, the firm had
a reputation for promptitude, and were soon able to command capital.
Retaining the store in Dock Square as a salesroom, the young men adopted
a more comfortable style of living. They were unlike in their tastes and
temperaments, the staid, cautious and steadfast conservatism of the
older partner, making an admirable combination with the enterprising and
hopeful spirit of the younger. Mr. David was sagacious and ready to
employ every advantage that would enlarge the manufacture, or perfect
the workmanship, or promote the sale of whips; while his associate had a
practical oversight of the shop and materials which prevented any waste.
The demand for their goods increased rapidly, and with a view to larger
facilities for the manufacture, and diminished expenses, Mr. Melendy
came to Amherst and commenced work in the Manning Shop, so called, about
a mile south of the village, and a larger number of hands were employed.
In the course of three years, a salesman was placed in Boston, an agency
started in New York, and the business of manufacturing wholly transfered
to this town. There was an element of romance leavening these various
transactions, as in December on the twenty-second, 1825, Mr. Melendy was
married to Miss Eveline Boutelle of Amherst, and on the twenty-fifth of
the same month, Mr. David was married to Elizabeth Welch Melendy, a
sister of his partner. These were fortunate marriages. The parties were
not only happy in each other, but what is worthy special notice, a few
years later in 1831, very eligible houses were bought, one for each
family, at joint expense, which were occupied without interruption till
both couples had commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of their
marriage. During all this period, the property was held in common, and
the expenses of each family, however enlarged, were paid from the common
fund.
In 1830, stimulated by a desire to perfect his knowledge of the business
and secure any improvements in methods or machinery to be found in
England, Mr. David sailed for Liverpool.
As might be anticipated, in subordination to this main interest Mr.
David sought to enlarge his knowledge of English men and English
institutions. He became familiar with their commercial habits, visiting
public buildings and places of historical importance, so that fifty
years afterwards he could speak of parks, streets, and sections of the
city of London in which any recent event occured as if he had been an
eye witness. He was present at the opening of the Liverpool and
Manchester Railway when Lord Huskinson was killed, being crushed by the
wheels of the locomotive. At this time he saw the Duke of Wellington,
with other distinguished men, members of Parliament, and nobility. On
his return to America, he brought a machine for winding whip-stocks, the
first ever used in this country. The machine was subsequently
duplicated, and proved a valuable accession to the trade. He also
introduced some new materials, and enlarged the variety of fashions. In
other respects the manufacture was unchanged. The prosperity of the firm
had no serious checks; they had agencies for the sale of goods in
Boston, New York, New Orleans, and large orders came from other cities.
They bought materials for cash, so that when the commercial crash of
1837 carried disaster to multitudes, they survived. "We did not fail,"
said Mr. David, "for we owed no one anything, but we lost nearly all we
had by the failure of others." The result of this experiment was a
contraction of the system of credits and selling goods for cash or by
guaranteed commissions.
For many years, the manufacture of whips was the most important business
in Amherst. It gave employment to several persons and furnished the
means of support to ten or twelve families. The purchases of ivory,
whalebone, and other raw material, were usually made from first hands
and in such quantities as often gave the firm control of the market;
while in the style and workmanship of their handmade whips, they had few
competitors.
With the enlargement of their resources, Messrs. Melendy & David became
interested in other enterprises. They held real estate and buildings.
They bought shares in the railways which were finding their location in
New Hampshire. Mr. David belonged to the Board of Directors that laid
out and constructed the Northern Railroad. Subsequently this property
was sold, and with the proceeds they joined in new undertakings at the
West, which subjected the firm to very serious losses. The business was
entrusted to others, and unforeseen difficulties arose, attended by
material disasters, which no precaution will certainly avert; and
failing in the support which was supposed sure, defeat ensued. But these
reverses were not without their uses, as subsequent events clearly
demonstrated. Accepting the conditions, which were most disheartening,
Mr. David and his partner addressed themselves to the work of securing
their creditors and restoring their fortunes. It was a long and weary
struggle, demanding persistent application, economy, and careful
management. They were subjected to painful imputations and occasional
rebuffs, but they also found sympathy, and at the end of nine years,
in which they sought no relief from the usual claims of social and
religious obligations, every debt was discharged and their real
estate freed from all incumbrance. The example was most commendable,
illustrating the sterling virtue and high determination of the men in
circumstances where weak minds would have faltered, and unconscientious
persons would have evaded payment.
Going back in this history to the period of their increasing business,
we shall find that a strong religious element controlled the lives of
both of these men. In the years from 1830 to 1836, which were so
memorable in large accessions to the Churches of New Hampshire, the
power of the gospel was manifested in Amherst, and these men with many
others were persuaded to act upon their religious convictions and avow
their faith in Christ. Mr. Melendy united with the Congregational Church
in 1832, and Mr. David and several of his workmen followed the example
in 1835; the character of all these men for integrity and steady habits
had been good, but from this date a higher standard of conduct
prevailed. A new direction was given to their thoughts, and the tone of
the establishment was elevated by superior motives. While resident in
Boston. Mr. David had been attentive to the vigorous doctrinal
discussion which divided the community sixty years ago. He had listened
approvingly to the preaching of Wayland and Beecher, then in the fulness
of their strength. He was persuaded that the doctrines to which these
divines gave such prominence were in harmony with the teachings of the
New Testament; accordingly, when Mr. David accepted the Evangelical
system of faith as the ground of his own hope of God's favor, he acted
intelligently. He acknowledged his dependence on the grace of God in
Christ Jesus. He recognized the sacredness of the Christian calling. He
became a student of the Scriptures, entered the Sabbath School as a
teacher, and assumed the responsibilities of sustaining the ordinances
of public and local religious worship. In 1846, he was elected deacon in
the Congregational Church. He accepted the office with some reluctance,
being distrustful of himself, but his counsel and service were of great
value to the brotherhood. Intent on improving himself in all the
qualities of Christian manhood, he was observant of the great movements
of society, and deeply interested in the new and enlarged applications
of Chistianity. He followed the operations of the American Board, as new
fields opened to the missionaries of the Cross; keeping informed as to
the changing phases of Evangelical effort in this and in foreign lands.
In this particular he manifested the same accuracy which marked his
knowledge of current affairs. He was familiar with the history of the
United States and Great Britain, and having a lively admiration of
learned men, statesmen, scholars, and divines, he was a reader of
biographies. While emulating the excellence which he admired, these
stores of information were employed to enliven conversation and to
furnish material for public discourses. In the gathering of the people,
whether for secular or religious purposes, he was often called upon to
speak. His remarks were received with attention, and had weight with his
audience, because they embodied the fruits of his study and reflection.
In the meetings of the Church for conference and prayer, he was often
very helpful. He had too much reverence for the place and object of the
assembly, to indulge in crude and repetitious utterances. He prepared
himself for the duty, by recalling the lessons of his own experience or
citing illustrations from the wide stores of his reading. His words were
well chosen, and his thoughts seldom common-place. In the exigencies of
the missionary cause, or on some occasion of special peril to the truth
he would bring forward an instance of signal deliverance from similar
trial, in the previous history of the Church, or in the lives of her
servants. There were those, who might speak with more fluency, or
employ a more impassioned manner, but no one spoke more to edification.
His prayers also were marked by the same evident thoughtfulness and
spirituality. He was not hasty to offer his desires before God. You
felt, in following his petitions, that he had a message, and his voice
would often be tremulous with emotion as he made supplication in behalf
of the sick or the sorrowful; as he prayed for the youth of the
congregation, or interceded in behalf of the Church and the country.
As an officer of the Church, he was considerate of the feelings and
wants of his brethren; visiting the sick, searching out the poor, and
practicing a generous hospitality. Ministers of all denominations were
welcome to his house, and among his chosen friends there were none held
in higher esteem than the ministers whom he loved for their works' sake.
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