Frye Village Fridays: The Hardy Brush Company (pt1) a sneak peek
A Shawsheen Village 100 Story
At first I thought…
After that deep dive into the degreasing business, I’ll pick an easier topic. How about the Hardy Brush company? We know the locations of the mill, the mill owner and his Andover connections. This will be easy.
…and I suppose it would have been an easier topic if I didn’t end up with so many questions!
The how-to of history
Like other research projects, this one started with what we know. From the Andover Historic Preservation website, the history of the Andover Selectboard, and the incredible research files of Gail Ralston, there was a lot that we did know.
This is just a tidbit:
Frank H. Hardy, owner of the Hardy Brush Co, was born in 1871 in Maine. He moved to Andover in 1890 and graduated from Phillips Academy in 1896. His father Charles A. Hardy, originally from Raymond, Maine, moved to Andover from St. John New Brunswick and started the business in 1890.
The family lived in the stone house across the street from West Parish Church, where they were active members. Charles later sold the business to his son Frank. Frank would later move his business to the Frye Village mill site recently vacated by the American Degreasing Company.
Frank Hardy was active in many Andover civic organizations, including the St. Matthews Lodge and the Barnstormers theatrical group. He was Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and Assessors from 1923-1935.
As a historian, that is just enough information to be tempting!
Why did the family choose to settle in Andover?
Why Canada?
Were they connected to the Hardy family that had lived in Andover for generations?
How they get into the brush manufacturing business?
Who were they, as individuals and as members of the Andover community?
The last question is the trickiest...the hardest question to get at with the limited amount of material that’s usually available. And, of course, it’s the question I most want to answer!
The more I uncovered, the more I got to know who they were, and the more I wanted to know about them. So I dug deeper.
Using research tools made possible through the generosity of History Center donors:
I found my way through United States and Canadian census, birth, and marriage records.
More was uncovered through the Library of Congress, U.S. Patent Office, and Canadian biographies.
Searching through newspapers from St. John New Brunswick to the Fall River Evening News, the Boston Globe, and Andover Townsman, the personal lives and interests of the family members started to be revealed.
Still more might be uncovered as we share the family story.
As always, we don’t get a complete picture. But we can gain insights and glimpses into the lives of people who lived a century and more ago.
One part that really interested me...generations of this family did community theater and performance. Big time.
The people we usually see posing stiffly for the camera (when we get to see them at all) are not the people we think of performing in a comedy by George Bernard Shaw or traveling as a professional speaker.
Over the next few weeks, Gail Ralston and I are looking forward to sharing more stories about the Hardy family and the Hardy Brush Company. Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading History Buzz!
Elaine Clements, Director, Andover Center for History & Culture and History Buzz writer and editor