Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1931-11-06
STAGE COACH
/ TALES
INV E.. C. TAYLOR
From Stage Driver to Railroad
President

EEG8A0CnS
THE Hon. GInery TwItchell rose
u from obscurity to become one Of the
leading figures Of the era Of stage
coach transportation, then president
Of the railroad that put his stage
lines out Of business, and then a men,
Der Of congress.
Many New England child, hearing
the cry Of "Glnery's comingl GInery's
coming!" and probably wondering
what "ginery" was, watched with
delight as great stage coach with
six prancing. reeking. foamlng horses
came to q stop In front of the Bay
state house, in Boston. or the taverns
of Worcester. Mass, or Brattleboro,
Vt.
Seated atop the magnificent vehicle
was dignified, selfcontained man,
rudy Of face, his stout body swathed
In q heavy greatcoat and on his head
a tall silk hat Ginery Twitchell would
sit erect on the coachman's seat,
gather the reins well In hand and
suddenly be on with great rattle Of
wheels and blowing Of horns.
Ginery Twitchell was called "Hon-
orable" even then. Probably 1t was
because Of his vast reputation for
integrity. and probably also because
ie was an inveterate politician. and
always had q finger In the political
maneuyerings and plottlngs of his
part Of New England.
His stage coach was one of the
most famous that ever rolled over
the rough roads of the early days of
the United States. II was built In
1897 BY Henry I. Brock of Worcester,
and never was repaired beyond Oc-
casionally getting a new coat of var
nish. In 1910. at the request of the
citizens Of Barre, VT, seats were
added to the top, 50 that the great
coach carried 80 persons, IL inside and
20 outside.
1t once carried e. young women
from Worcester on q blackberry ex-
cursion, with eight horses drawing
this record load. During the presi-
Dental campaign Of 1910. 1t carried
the political leaders to and from
AACCbAABo aAOuuu tXuluSlkuUOHu.
His last driver, Henry s. Miner.
narrates that Twitchell before the
days Of the railroad collected election
votes on horseback, and once rode
from Greenfield, Mass, to Worcester,
a distance Of "a miles, In four and a
half hours. He had relays Of fresh
horses every six or ten miles, and
made the ride at night.
In the days when he was a post
rider, before he had accumulated suf-
Rcient funds to buy an interest in a
stage coach line, he once slept In his
clothes, including buckskin under
wear, in the American House in wor
cester for week, waiting for des-
patches from British steamers. He
also had men and fresh horses wait
ing the entire week along the road
to Norwich, Conn.
When the boats arrived, Twitchell
mounted his horse and started for
Norwich. He met the boat, and de-
llvered the dispatches in New York
hours ahead Of any other post line.
Ginery TwltchelI was a great fay
orlte with those who rode with him.
and the seat beside the driver was
eagerly We'd for, even In bad wealth
er. He had an inexhaustible fund
Of racy anecdotes with which he re-
called his acQuafntances. The people
along his post and stage routes trust
ed him with their business colnmis-
sions. and he performed a service
similar TO that Of the express com
panies of today.
After long period of self-dcnial
in his early days, he bought stage
coach and two horses from Mr..
Stockwell, and established stage
line between BrattlebOrO and Worces
ter. In 1943 he owned and oper
ated line between Barre and Worces
ter, and later established a stage
line from Greenfield TO Brattleboru.
In that year the postmaster general
at Washington advertised for con.
tracts to carry the mail and Twit-
chell. Instead Of bidding for one route.
went to Washington and obtained sey.
eral. Within short time he was n"
largest stage operator In New Eng.
land, owning large number ef finr
stage lines and coaches.
One of his feats was driving
coach from Worcester, Mass, to |. ut
ford. Conn.,, a distance Of GO mile
in 3 hours and 30 minutes. thrnu"h
deep snow. That was on JANUARY
1915.
When the railroads came. Twiich.ll
turned to the new mode OF tlalnspnr
tation, and became first president q:
the Boston 4 Western railroad.
tSl. 1891. Western Nows"an., n.clr