Checkout these links:
http://www.rdhinstl.com/mm/ro23.htm...and, in particular, col. 2, para. 2 at this link:
http://matchpro.org/Archives/Hobby%...ry/swift.pdfAnother quote based on the history of Westville, Connecticut:
Quote:
One of Westville's most famous families was the Beechers. Anson Beecher moved to Westville in 1852 with his wife Nancy Benton Beecher and his four sons, Ebenezer, Lucius, Lyman and William. Beecher School is named for his inventive family. The Beechers moved from Woodbridge (then called Plymouth), where two years earlier they began match-making. Woodbridge's Thomas Stanford had developed a formula for making the friction match by hand. Stanford, in fact, is credited with the invention of the sulfur match, and this should be noted by the teacher. Upon arriving in Westville, Beecher established the firm of Anson Beecher & Sons, which invented machinery nationally used to produce machine-made matches of many types. Later, the company combined with the Swift and Courtney company and, at the end of 1880, it became the Diamond Match Company with the Beechers as one of the major owners. The Beecher Match Company's location in Westville is the present site of the Geometric Tool Company. A tour of this company is possible by contacting their office.
The Beecher family also contributed other notable firsts. They are said to have made the first pins with hard heads in this country, a new type of berry basket, and one of the first straw hats. Benton School, with its emphasis on music, was erected through their efforts. The school was located on Whalley Avenue and Harrison Street where Temple Beth El is now located.
Posted 02/13/2012 3:50 pm
