. A history of the town of Franklin, Mass.; from its settlement to the completion of its first century, 2d March, 1878; with genealogical notices of its earliest families, sketches of its professional men, and a report of the centennial celebration . The first bonnets were made of oat straw flattened, and con-tained from sixteen to eighteen yards of wide Dunstable. Somightily did the no\elty take that no girl was considered of theton without one. The fashion gave a vigorous impulse to the tradeand the sale of straw bonnets spread through the land. The AYrentham ladies in 1804 bought an organ f
. A history of the town of Franklin, Mass.; from its settlement to the completion of its first century, 2d March, 1878; with genealogical notices of its earliest families, sketches of its professional men, and a report of the centennial celebration . The first bonnets were made of oat straw flattened, and con-tained from sixteen to eighteen yards of wide Dunstable. Somightily did the no\elty take that no girl was considered of theton without one. The fashion gave a vigorous impulse to the tradeand the sale of straw bonnets spread through the land. The AYrentham ladies in 1804 bought an organ for their churchby contribution of straw bonnets, which were sold by their agentin Maine and with no small profit to himself.* One result of the sudden uprise of this new industry was agreat addition to the business of small trading stores. They soldtheir goods in exchange for straw-braid. The stock so accumu-lated they soon began to convert into bonnets, and this led tospecial manufactories for straw goods. Fisher & Day, of Wrent- * This organ was moved from its proper and conspicuous place in 1823,into one of the back pews, and Dr. James Mann wrote a eulogy upon the whole atchievement, which was printed in the Norfolk Repository, ADDENDA. 113 ham, first entered into this business in 1804. In 1810 Asii andDavis Thayer opened a store in Franklin at the City Mills, sellingtheir straw braid received for goods to Fisher, Day & Co. About1812 the} bought the Adams store near the Center, and re-estab-lished themselves much more largely, manufacturing their ownbonnets in shapes and st^les of their own. This was^the secondstraw-goods firm in the count}*. The} at first made from G,000 to8,000 bonnets per annum. In 181G the Wrentham firm failed,by the selling out of one of the partners, it is said, and A. & were left sole occupants of the new industry. Asa Thayerdied in 1816, and Davis conducted the business alone until 1820,when Hermon C. Fisher became a partner. He final
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