The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-01-01
The Late Resolvx Gage.

Several of the old friends of Resolvy
Gage, whose remains were brought to
this town for interment last week, have
requested a friend to furnish a more
complete memorial notice of him, and
he contributes the following.-ED.1
Resolvy Gage was born at Duanesburg,
N. Y. Jan. 2l. 1904, came to Bennington
in 1925, and worked for several years as
a carpenter and joiner
He married Beulah Scott of Benning-
ton, Jan. 18th, 1920, and made his home
in this village when it had but few in
habitsnts and little business, and was
closely identified with its growth. His
home was on North street, on the porth
corner of Gage street, which he assisted
in opening and which was named after
him.
He was an excellent workman and was
called into the business of patternmaking
for tbe firm of Sanford & Brown, who
then had small wooden foundry build
ing standing where the stone grist mill
building of H. w. Putnam now stands,
and where that firm had commenced to
manufacture stoves, which had then Just
b"gun to supersede the old-fashioned
fireplaces in dwelling houses.
His ready insight of the business re-
suited in the purchase, by him, of the
interest of Mr.. Sanford in the business
in 1882, when the firm became Brown &
Gage, and they at once commenced to
enlarge the stove business; and it is
proper to state here fact in the indus
trial history of the country, which is not
generally known. AT that time the fur
naces east of this village had stopped,
and had little sale for their iron (which
was all made from charcoaD, and there
being no railroad, it was necessary to
haul the iron to Troy by teams, which
left them little or no profit in competi-
ton with English iron. Mr.. Gage pro-
posed to use the pig iron which could be
made here in town for making stoves, in
which there was no English competition,
and the freight on stoves being the same
as on pig-iron, he could build up bust
ness here; but having no proper facili-
ties for finishing stoves here, they COM
menced to make stove castings, which
were hauled by teams to Troy and sold
to parties who set up or mounted" the
stovG and sold them. This is the history
of the origin or beginning of the great
stove industry in Troy, as / have been
many times informed.
At the same time the new firm ar
ranged to build suitable buildings for the
stove business, and in 1916 built the
stone building on North st. before men
toned, at which time the pig iron fur
nacGs, or one of them, had again gone
into operation, but during the year Con-
gress repealed the tariff on pig iron. and
the'fSrnaces stopped. and that was the
enc~51 the stove manufacturing business
in tan town, and the buildings erected
were never used for the purpose for
which they were designed, while the su-
perior advantages of Troy for manufac-
turing stoves insured the permanent es-
tablishment of the business at that place.
About 1856 Mr.. Gage sold his interest
in the foundry to his pal tner, Mr.. Brown,
but remained with the concern until it
was purchased by Olin Scott, and the
business removed to it's present location
on Pleasant street, period of ten years.
He was for many years an officer of the
church to which he belonged and trus-
tee of this village He left Bennington
and went to Syracuse, n. Y, about 1870,
and remained there four years, residing
with his son-in-law, Maj. S. W. Clark,
and from there removed with Maj Clark
to Boston, where he resided until his
death, which occurred Dec. 2lst, 1891.
His wife, two sons and two daughters
survive him.
He was a man of sterling integrity, an
active Christian and public-spirited citi-
zen, and was universally respected, but
held highest in the regard of those who
knew him most intimately. With kind
word and a helping hand for all, he never
had an enemy, and may be truly re-
garded as one who loved God and his
fellowmen.