Before delving into the histories of the C. A. Corser shoe and boot shop and its successor, Thomas S. Childs Shoes, I’d like to take a few moments to provide some information about Charles A. Corser, a prominent mid- and late 19th-century figure in Holyoke’s history.
Charles Azrea Corser was born on September 21, 1832, in Lyndonville, Vermont, the youngest of 12 children of Benjamin Corser and Sarah (Gore) Corser. Mr. Corser’s ancestry was said to date back close to the time of the Mayflower’s docking in 1620.
At 2 years old, Charles Corser’s mother died, and soon after, his father, Benjamin Corser, lost much of his property holdings, resulting in an early life of poverty.
At a young age, Charles Corser moved to Woonsocket, Rhode Island, where he was employed in a cotton mill. At the age of 25, he married his first wife, Isabell S. (Isham) Corser, and, shortly afterward, moved to Charlestown, New Hampshire, also a mill town. From 1860 to 1863, he operated a boot- and shoemaking business in New Hampshire.
Not long after the move, his wife died in 1863, and he subsequently remarried his wife’s twin sister, Arabell T. (Isham) Corser.
In 1863, at the age of 31, Charles Corser and his family moved to Holyoke. He purchased a shoe-and-boot business owned by George C. Ewing in the Exchange block at the northwest corner of Hampden and High Streets. At the time, Lower High Street and Lyman Street were Holyoke’s center of business activity.
A devastating fire destroyed the Exchange block in January 1870. Undeterred by this destructive event, he purchased a 25% interest in the land and had a building constructed. The building stands today as the Crafts block. R. P. Crafts had a 41% interest in the real estate.
Having learned from long days at the cotton mills, Charles Corser worked 16-hour days at his shoe-and-boot shop.
He found time to become a member of the businessmen’s association in town, which was prominent in bringing industry into Holyoke. Large businesses, such as Farr-Alpaca, arrived in Holyoke in part due to the association’s efforts.
Mr. Corser was notable in political circles, having served as a Selectman for the town of Holyoke in 1869 and 1870, and as an Alderman in the City of Holyoke in 1872 and 1874. In 1870, he was elected to the state Senate, a post he also held in 1901. During one of his terms as Selectman, the Board arranged the first bridge across the Connecticut River. In 1891, he was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Holyoke.
It was in 1870 that Mr. Corser built his home on the northeast corner of Elm and Essex Street, which at the time was the last house on the street. It was subsequently the home of Joseph A. Skinner. Daniel H. Newton and William A. Prentiss, well-known industrialists and prominent businessmen, also built homes at this intersection.
Much of Mr. Corser’s career was spent as a real estate investor and developer. In 1886, he purchased the Frederick Street property on Northampton Street and subdivided the parcel into more than 50 housing lots. He also bought and developed tracts of land on Morgan Street, and others near City Hospital, Ingleside, the Hitchcock and Merrick tracts and property on Westfield Road.
On April 11, 1893, Charles Corser’s second spouse, Arabell T. (Isham) Corser, died.
On July 17, 1909, Charles Corser was involved in an auto accident in Springfield, where he was thrown from his vehicle. He had not been well since the accident and died from complications on October 31, 1909. Services were held at the Second Baptist Church on November 1, and he was buried the following day at his family’s plot at Forest Hill Cemetery in Charlestown, New Hampshire.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
Findagrave.com
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