Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-01-14
BRATTLEBORO VT, FRIDAY, JANUARY IA, 1876.

a success, the auctioneer took the load, aud
young Green returned homo with more
money In his pocket than the brothers had
ever seen before.
They now worked with redoubled enor-
! gy, day and night, until another load was
done. This Josiah took to Albany, n. Y,
and sold, as in Boston, with equally good
results. The next year they made two
| horse load of about seven hundred pairs,
and again Josiah started for Albany. At a
| hotel about thirty miles from the city he
met a couple Of army spectators, who pro-
| posed TO buy the entire load. A trade was
finally made at 1927 pair. In this trade
| he received $500 down and a note payable
in York money in forty-five days. The
| traders sold the boots TO the army at Platts-
burg for $500, and promptly met their
note. In 1915 the brothers dissolved part
nership, and found themselves each the
happy possessor Of about 81 ,50O,-a fortune
in those days, even for old men. Nathan
iel married and settled on farm in Maine,
while Josiah went TO Spencer and took
| unto himselfa a life-partner, and purchased
a farm in 1917 when there were but twenty
| one houses in the town exclusive Of the
church, between Brookfiel and Leicester
line. lie now carried on the boot business
in connection with his farm, by hiring a
couple of shoemakers into the house to
make, while he did tho planning, emitting
and fitting. 1t was about this time that he
made his first case of pegeed boots, but ii
was not until many years later that shoe
pegs came into general use. As the season
for the boot trade drew near, he started out
on the road, selling his wares but selling
boots at wholesale was new and unhcard
OF idea. Every village shoemaker rose in
rebellion against a store-keepor who would
keep such goods upon his counter. To
eiTectually meet this opposition, he adopted
the commission plan, and only left his
goods at one store in place, the merchant
paying him a certain price for the boots
actually sold when he should come around
on his next trip, he taking back the unsold
boots or stocking up again, just as they
could agree. In this quiet and careful
manner he carried on the business without
opposition or disturbance until 1881, when
he purchased his present homestead near
the town, the parlor Of which did duty as a
boot shop until 1891, when he built what is
now the oldest boot shop in Spencer, upon
which, for years, travellers have seen the
sign: "JoSiah Green's Boot Mandatory,
established in 1872"
His workmen, two of whom he had al
ready paid $500 for their work, began TO
realize that there was profit in the business.
With their $500 these two men, Hall and
Draper, lefi and set up the first opposition.
In 1885 one White left, and was soon fol-
lowed by Denny and Watson, who estab-
lished the third shop in town under the
arm name of White, Denny & Watson.
The race Of opposition and competition was
now fairly begun, which has since read
itself throughout the entire country, until,
to- day, boot manufacturing is one Of our
most extensive business interests.
Mr.. Green, now in his siih year, is hale
and hearty, and has n remarkable memory,
not ouly OF matters that occurred in his
young days, but Of facts as they transpire
from day TO day. lie has lived to see his
six dollars magnify into Il handsome COM
petence, and beholdS with pride the gener-
al good results that have flown from his
humble beginning. He is, undoubtedly,
the Oldest boot manufacturer in the couu-
try, and being the first successful sale boot
maker, may well be called the father and
founder CT the business.
Our readers will notice that we have con-
fined our narrative exclusively to thc eat
~ history OF the boot trade. The Baichel-
ders in Rutland, Mass, and possibly one
or two ether parties, were carly engaged in
the Southern shoe trade,-as Sambos re-
mark, when his shoes began TO rip, Illus
trates: "Sah, dem shoes picked fore dey
ripe" In later years the Batchelders re-
moved to BrOokfield, and have added boots
to the list of their wares.
Perhaps cannot better close this article
th an by giving brel summary Of the boot
business to-day in the immediate vicinity
Of its early beginnings. Spencer has nine
large firms engaged in the manufacture OF
heavy boots, making, as is estimated by
those competent TO Judge, 100000 eases Il
year, and employing capital Of between
one aud two millions of dollars. The three
Brook fields have, in all, ten large estab-
lishments engaged in making heavy class
of goods, of mems, wOmen's aud children's S
wear. Milford is largely engaged in the
manufacture of the lighter varieties of
mems wear. Rookland has seven large
shops.
And now returning to our starting point,
we may say that it is literally true that the
boots and shoes we wear to-day are actual
ly made by Watts steam engine and the
various wonderful sewing pegging and
cutting machines that the genius of man
hath invented in the 10Th century.