A.P. Kimball

(This post is part of a series about my research of Fitchburg architect H.M. Francis)

The house of Alpheus Porter (A.P.) Kimball was erected in the 1870s on Garnet Street.

Fig. 1: A.P. Kimball's house (photo courtesy of bostongringo.com)

A.P. Kimball's father (also named Alpheus) made a living manufacturing scythes in Fitchburg, where the Fitchburg Paper Company later built their mills. A.P. dabbled in scythe-making, but also took up selling watches and jewelry under the business name of Kimball & Lowe and later in a partnership with J.G. Whitcomb.

A.P. Kimball's obituary underscored the many contributions he made to Fitchburg.

Fig. 2: Alpheus Kimball's obituary

According to his obituary, Kimball's "public services were chiefly in the suppression of crime and protection from fires. Long before the police force was established his fearlessness as an officer and skill as a detective made him a terror to evil doers."

In the biography folder for A.P. Kimball, there are two interesting documents.

The first is a genealogy sheet, possibly completed by one of his sons or other descendants that features information about A.P.'s birth, death, marriage and children.

Fig. 3: An ancestry sheet about A.P. Kimball.

The document lists his children as:

Frank, Aug. 17th, 1860

Arthur Huntley, Dec. 11th, 1862

Herman Porter, May 3rd, 1866

and Richard Edwin, April 28th, 1872.

The second document is an article from the Fitchburg Sentinel, dated September 21st, 1956.

The article is about A.P.'s nephew Edward F. Kimball's planned celebration of his 99th birthday.

Fig. 4: Article about the 99th birthday of Edward F. Kimball.

Edward Kimball was the son of A.P.'s brother (General) John W. Kimball.

According to the article, J.W. Kimball also worked in his father's scythe factory but left town with the Fitchburg Fusiliers after President Lincoln called for Union Army volunteers. The Fusiliers were assigned to the 15th Regiment and fought at Antietam, Ball's Bluff, Gettysburg and the Wilderness.

Fig. 5: Picture from Fitchburg of Gen. John Kimball and his horse Prince.

The caption of the photograph reads:

"GEN. JOHN KIMBALL AND PRINCE. Upon accepting command of Company K of the 53rd Regiment in 1862, Col. John W. Kimball was given equipment and a fine four-year-old horse named Prince by 43 friends and leading citizens of Fitchburg. Colonel Kimball and Prince later saw battle in New Orleans, and Kimball was later promoted to general. In the reunion of 1887, the general mounted Prince for this photograph and had a copy made for every man in his command."

The Kimball Family's roots in Fitchburg stretch as far back as the American Revolution and many of their descendants lived dedicated lives to their community and country.

A.B. Sherman (according to the Sidewalk Sifter)

(This post is part of a series about my research of Fitchburg architect H.M. Francis)

The filing cabinets that house biographical records at the Historical Society are always a treat to go through because many of the file folders contain newspaper snippets, obituaries, family letters, family pictures and sometimes small family trees that help explain a person's origin and social activities. When looking up information about A.B. Sherman (a resident of Goodrich Street), I found a peculiar photocopy of a publication called "Town Talk" which was edited by the enigmatic 'Sidewalk Sifter.'"

Fig. 1: Front page banner for "Town Talk."

My mind quickly envisioned a group of 1940s newspapermen in brown trenchcoats all doing their best Columbo impression ("Just the facts, m'am.") before scribbling down the scuttlebutt of the day to publish in ink. I hope there were many "Sidewalk Sifters" who kept their noses clean and ears to the pavement, waiting to latch on to the latest hubbub. Cue up some lightning, smooth saxophone notes, a dark alley, some-- ok, before I get carried away, I'll leave the movie-making to the professionals. The real story behind "Town Talk" may not be as flamboyant and Hollywood-esque as I have described, but it's always fun to romanticize about history, even just for a moment. 
There was a brief biography and photograph about Mr. Sherman that was helpful in understanding what brought him to Fitchburg from his native Plympton, Massachusetts.

Fig. 2: A.B. Sherman biography in Town Talk

The text of the biography reads:

"ANDREW B. SHERMAN
ONE OF FITCHBURG'S MERCHANTS

    The subject of this sketch was born in Plympton, Mass., April 10, 1829. His father, Capt. Zaccheus Sherman, followed the sea 14 years and commanded a vessel about 12 years. Mr. Sherman was educated in the district and private schools of his native town, and on reaching the age of eight years worked diligently during vacations in summer on the farm and in winter in the saw mills, etc. In 1849, he left home and entered the country store of J.M. Harrub, of North Plympton. After working there a few months he went to Boston and entered the dry goods store of Samuel Ellis & Co. After acting as manager and salesman for some years he came to this city in February 1855, and after acting as salesman for this firm about six months he decided that Fitchburg would be a good place to locate, bought the stock and set up business for himself. The late L.J. Brown was one of his salesmen before going into business for himself. For over 30 years he has been in business alone and has during those years done a large and profitable business. Mr. Sherman has also been interested in shipping and has been part owner in eight different vessels and one has borne his name. Mr. Sherman has served one years in the Common Council and two years in the Board of Aldermen."

After reading this biography I began to think my previous information about the Sherman home was wrong. I had it dated as being built in 1916 and according to this biography, Sherman would've been 87 years old when it was built. It wouldn't be too peculiar for an elderly man to be moving into a new home, but it was something I did not expect. I went through some of the census records for A.B. Sherman and found my answer: one of his sons was also named Andrew B. Sherman. The 1920 census lists Andrew B. Sherman (aged 37) living on Goodrich Street.

Fig. 3: A.B. Sherman (Jr.)'s Goodrich Street home. (photo courtesy of bostongringo.com)

The other intriguing fact about this home is that it was built after the death of H.M. Francis (who died in 1908). This house was designed during the era of Frederick and Albert Francis being the main architects of H.M. Francis and Sons.

A.A. Farnsworth/Henry Jackson

(This post is part of a series about my research of Fitchburg architect H.M. Francis)

Today at the Historical Society, I began gathering information about Francis's clients by jotting down names attached to the inventory. The first name was A.A. Farnsworth. In my initial search through the archives, I did not find out much about Mr. Farnsworth, though I am going to delve deeper next week. What I found by re-examining the inventory was that his house was built in 1887, on Mount Vernon Street in Fitchburg. The house was designed in the Queen Anne style, a popular style of the time, as well as one of Francis's more prevalent architectural styles.

Fig. 1: A.A. Farnsworth House, built in 1887 (photo courtesy of bostongringo.com).

According to the 1892 City Directory, Henry Jackson the auditor for the city of Fitchburg lived in that house. I was able to find a brief write-up about him in a Souvenir edition of the Fitchburg Sentinel dated 06/18/1892.

Fig. 2: Write-up about Henry Jackson from Fitchburg Sentinel

The text reads:

"CITY AUDITOR JACKSON.

A WELL-KNOWN citizen and public official of Fitchburg is Mr. Henry Jackson, whose vast experience has made him a valuable man to the city and its residents.

Born in Leominster, his parents came to Fitchburg when he was five years of age, and he has grown up with the city, residing here ever since. He obtained a good schooling at the academies of Framingham and this city. He was elected town clerk as far back as 1866, to which position he returned each subsequent election. When the city was incorporated he was elected city clerk. In the capacity of clerk he served the town and city until 1887, a period of 21 years, a most remarkable record, equalled by few city or town clerks in the state. Before the city was incorporated he also served as clerk of the Board of Selectmen until 1873. From 1872 to 1883 he also held the office of water registrar, while he was also librarian of the public library from 1866 to 1873. He was a member of the auditing committee of the town from 1867 to the time Fitchburg was made a city. Since 1887 he has held the office of city auditor, and is well fitted by ability and experience to perform its important duties. His repeated re-elections show his popularity in this city, while he is justly deserving of the confidence the public repose in him."

Over the years, the house was probably renovated with modern amenities, but a very thoughtful addition came in the shape of a sign on a street-facing window.

Fig. 3: Sign on the A.A. Farnsworth house (photo courtesy of bostongringo.com)