William Bissell

WILLIAM BISSELL

by William A. Benton, 2nd.

I have mentioned Mr. Bissell who lived at the foot of Long Pond (We-non-ko-kook) when father had the farm in Salisbury, West of the pond. The families were great friends and visited frequently. Mrs. Bissell died when I was small, so I have very little recollection of her. They had two daughters, Carrie who married Bert. Landon and Marion who married Willis Jefferies, but no sons.

Mr. Bissell, in partnership with W. E. P. H. Capron made water wheels with the power from Long Pond. Capron invented an improvement to the wheel they were building, persuaded Bissell to buy him out and then started manufacturing the new wheel, putting Bissell out of business. He was practically destitute for some time, till some of the Hotchkiss money made life easier for him in later years.

When I was about fourteen he helped me build a 14' canoe, at his home in Lakeville. It was a success and is still sound, but should have a new canvass cover. He was a great friend of mine. Perhaps he took more interest in me because he had no boys of his own.

His sister Mariah married Hotchkiss, the inventer of the "Hotchkiss Gun". He tried to interest the U.S. Government in his gun but was not successful and went to England, where he made a sale and for years, perhaps yet, the English ordinance was Hotchkiss.

At his death, his widow inherited several millions. She gave the Hotchkiss Library in Sharon, the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville and did a great deal of other good with her money.

The guns were made in Sharon Valley, West of the highway near where the stream crosses it. The plant was called the "Malleable Iron Works". The cannon were cast of iron and to give them strength were annealed by a controlled slow cooling process after having been packed in oxide of iron and maintained at a red heat for several days. "Malleable Iron"

To test them they took them across the road and a few rods South to a little ridge, and fired them into the West Mountain. Father watched the testing when a boy.

Another member of the Hotchkiss family lived on the East side of the street in Sharon Valley, a little farther North and had a shop back of his house on the bank of the stream. He was a cripple and had a board walk from the house to the second floor of the shop, over which he propelled his wheel chair. He made various small gadgets including mouse traps.

Edward 0. Dyer of Sharon, author of "Gnadensee", says that the Hotchkiss cripple, Andrew (Above referred to) invented the exploding shells in his shop by the brook, to be used in his brother's guns.

47