The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1905-04-24
AN UP AND DOWN CAREER
AsAsiiele Bs'nu Three rlmn MADE fenua,
and tenh

ana loh VI
Mansfield r. Barnes ~ Union street
Who nAs ~ years old Saturday, has
life history 81 more Than ordinary ln.
forrest Three times in bis ilfe SIR
Barnes has - rked himself into a
position Of comparative wealth and
prosperity only 10 see bis property
s~epl away through no Nuli Of hls.
Mr Barnes uAs born In Corinih this
state being one 81 Eve children. Ills
father, Joel Barnes, was leading
man In Orange county. a large manu-.
iaciurcr, brigadler general Of mill.
Tia, and The htst man la The country
70 export Has machinery from Scot
land. lie WAS a maker Of threads,
and rope aud his sons vcfo brought
up Ia the same business.
Ia the summer ~ is0g Mansfield
Barnes and his brother Charles came
10 bennington, secured possession ~
the mill n bennington Falls where The
pulp mill Of Fillmore and Slade nov
stands, stocked Il with necessary ma.
chinory, and commenced the making
Of shoe thread and cord. They pros.
pcrcd In the business, imported much
FAX, and also Induced many OF the far.
mers 10 this section 10 plant acres Of
H. and the products we're taken NJ the
mill. The only shoe thread Ia use In
this country was that imported by he
Barbour brothers from Scotland. The
products Of tie Barnes brothers met
with a ready sale and we've rapidly
growing 10 favor when the iirsi disas.
ter came.
This was In The fall Of 1859 when the
most destructive freshoi that the town
ever knew occurred during which two
lives were lost. The food carried |
away the Barnes mill, machinery add |
stock, the loss being over 10000 for
which there vas no redress and the
owners had practically lost every
thing.
The next year the brothers returned
10 Coriuih and IN the mill formerly
occupied and conducted by their father
resumed operations. An addition was
built TO the mill, new machinery Sc
cured, and the business was In good
shape. Then came the Boston fire In
1872. The company had about $50, 600
Of manufactured stock IN storage In
the burned district which was all con
sumed with no insurance. The failure
OF several customers following the fire,
caused them TO lose about $4,000
more.
Nothing daunted by these disasters
the firm continued doing business un-
III about 1880 when the mill at Corinth
took FIRE, and was burned to the
ground with all the stock on hand, and
running the machinery, a good portion
Of which was new, the total loss being
over $50, 600 on which the insurance
had just expired Ii was the GROWING
disaster, one that the firm could not
stand, and the business was discon-
inued, while the savings of many days
iard work and anxious thought were
rome.
While in Corinth this time Mr. Bar \
les was a selectman and a school
rustee for several terms.
In 1885 the family returned To Ben
Iington and have since resided here, +
lr Barnes following various occupat.
ons for a livelihood as long as his 4
iealth would permit He was cheer fl
nj through all his misfortunes, al :,
rays looked on the bright side, not u
-iven to dropping over his misfor- Il
unes, and taking everything at its best Il
ie was an interesting talker, aud de-
oted to his family. The brother -
ames who returned here with him died u
few years ago and is buried in the N
illage cemetery. il
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