Olmstead - Quaboag Corset Company

West Brookfield had a corset industry from the early 1860's until the early 1920's.  The Olmstead-Quaboag Corset Company operated for over 25 years (1894 - 1922) at the end of Pleasant St. The modern three story factory was well lit, with 135 windows, and for night work, dozens of oil lamps, suspended from the ceiling.  Electric lighting was installed in 1903 improving working conditions by eliminating the heat from the oil lamps.  The factory, powered at first by steam, was capable of producing 200 corsets per day, and employed 250 workers.  During World War I, the factory experienced difficulty in finding workers for the West Brookfield factory, and that was the reason cited for its closure in 1922.

Google Books has digitized the Corset and Underwear Review, Vol. 18 published in Oct. of 1921. .  Originally published by Haire Publishing Company, 1921, this publication features advertisements and industry news.  Pages 19 contains  a Silver Seal, which a letter on the following page explains was "the mark of a quality, not necessarily a brand," associated wih the Olmstead- Quaboag Corset Company of West Brookfield.  Melodye Shore posted these on her Blog, JOYFUL NOISE.  Photos of the factory, as it appears today are also on the blog.

Source: A History of West Brookfield, 1675 -1990; by Jeffrey H. Fiske; West Brookfield Historical Commission, 2009; pp.91-97

Pelatiah Gilbert Family Information

See information on The Gilbert Family on the Quaboag Plantation website.  This site contains biographies and a few photos.

Quaboag Current this week

This week's Quaboag Current features images of postcards featuring the head- on-collision of two trains which occurred in West Brookfield on Nov. 9, 1907.  Another article details the progress of the effort to have the Rice Memorial Fountain restored. The article is accompanied by a photo of the fountain. 

Today's Worcester Telegram Article about Funding for Rice Fountain Repair

Today's Worcester Telegram online has an article written by J. P. Ellery which may be of interest.  See the article at telegram.com and read the linked article, as well.

The beautiful Rice Fountain has been located on the town common in West Brookfield for over 100 years.  Expensive repairs are needed to preserve it.  Money from the state will be a tremendous help in that effort.

Dominick Gaffney Naturalized 1867 in Worcester Superior Court

Dominick Gaffney was born in County Sligo, Ireland on or about October 1823 and came to the US, arriving in Boston on 19 May 1847.  He settled in West Brookfield.  Dominick declared his intention to become a United States citizen on 20 August 1860 and was naturalized in Worcester Superior Court on Nov. 13, 1867.  Sponsors were Thomas Roach and Christopher Lovett. Copies of his papers may be found in the West Brookfield Families tree, by clicking on the Documents link.

Dominick married Ellen Nugent (no record found), and the couple raised five children in their home on Front Street.  Dominick died on Oct. 8, 1885 and was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery.

McRevey Property becomes West Brookfield Wildlife Management Area

An article published May 6, 2012 by the Worcester Telegram Farm land a state haven: McRevey family trust,  is available online.

Michael McCrevey and his wife Minnie (O'Hare) settled in West Brookfield in the late 1880's or early 1890's.  Sons Daniel and Francis were born there in 1891 and 1894 respectively, and the family farmed in Wickaboag Valley for three generations. 

Now much of the McRevey land has been preserved by the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game. 

1940 Census - West Brookfield

This morning I was able to download all the 1940 census pages for the town of West Brookfield.  I will be adding the information to my database whenever I have a spare minute.  Please contact me if you are interested in a particular family and I will try to find their household and email you the page.  You can browse the images for yourself, if you go to
 http://stevemorse.org/census/viewer1940.html?state=MA&county=14&ed=315 

The enumeration district for West Brookfield in 1940 was ED 14-315.  The census taker named on Page 1A was John Blake.  The first household to be listed was that of Alan Godfrey and his wife Nellie.  The next few families on the page were Merriam, O'Day, Parker, Murphy, Bronson, Hall, Cassidy and Wilson.

Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/census/1940/1940.pdf  to see a sample form

Steve Morse's web site also has links to lots of information on the 1940 census.