Emerson Gaylord



Emerson Gaylord (2 September 1817 – 24 September 1899) was an American businessman, and Republican politician who served in the Massachusetts General Court in 1880.

Early years
Emerson Gaylord was born in South Hadley, Massachusetts on Sept. 2, 1817 to Josiah and Lucinda Smith Gaylord. His father died in 1826 when Emerson was just 9 years old. When he was 12 he left school to support himself and family on neighboring farms.

Career
At the age of 17, he was apprenticed to Seth Nyms, of Amherst, to learn the harness-making business. When he returned to South Hadley, he began to learn the shoemaker's trade under George Kilbourn and then would later work in the shoe business for his cousin John Gaylord until 1840.

He would go on to accept an offer of employment in Chicopee with the N.P. Ames Company a year later; working for 7 shillings a day, which later increased to one dollar and quarter a month after. By 1843, Emerson was offered to take charge shop, but would instead take the opportunity to be contracted with the Ames Company to furnish leather goods.

In 1856, he would outright purchase the leather and accouterments division of the Ames Co. and start the manufacture of leather fire hoses and machine belting. That same year, the War Department would order military accouterments. By 1861, the company would furnish several states in the South; Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. In 1864 the state of Massachusetts ordered 1,582 of cavalry and artillery equipment for a total of $6,101.

In 1875, he would serve as president of the First National Bank of Chicopee until his death.

Political Office
He served the commonwealth for two years (1880–1881) in the state senate as a representatives from Chicopee, where he served as 2nd Rep. of Hampden County.

Personal life
When Gaylord moved to Chicopee, he became a member of the Third Congregational Church on Springfield Street. In 1844, Gaylord married Jane Burnett, a native of South Hadley. They would have one son named Arthur together.

Gaylord Mansion
In 1856, Gaylord purchased a house at the corner of Springfield Street and Fairview Avenue from H.H. Phetteplace, and by the 1870s, he owned the entire block and demolished the original structure to build a new home currently known as the Gaylord Mansion.

In 1962, Elms College purchased the Gaylord Mansion for $50,000. In 1997, an Elms College Cornerstone Campaign raised $100,000 to refurbish the exterior of this historical treasure. In February 2020, the Gaylord mansion underwent another renovation by the college to transform the interior into a classroom-meeting space with dorm residences on the top floors dubbing it "Living-Learning, Community and Cultural Center".