brought up on the extensive farm of his father,
gaining only a conunon-school eckication, and
himself became an excellent farmer. A man
of nmch force of character, with practical sa-
gacity heightened by judicious reading and dili-
gent improvement of the means within his
reach, he gained influence and respect among
his fellow-citizens. Ho added lands and money
to his patrimony, and, when the Salem and
Lowell Ra'.lroad was laid out through North
Reading, his public spirit and private interest
induced him to become a large subscriber to
its capital stock. When the fate of the enterprise trembled in the Imlance, he put his shoulder to the wheel, and by his energy and means was largely instrumental in its successful launching and development. He became a
director and the president of the corporation,
while the enhancement in value of its stock
added much to his fortune. Dying in the ma-
turity of his powers, at the age of sixty years,
from the results of an accidental fall, he be-
queathed the bulk of his wealth to his wife,
they having had no children. She was made
executrix of the will.
Mrs. Flint in her bereavement and sorrow found herself thus unexpectedly confronted with important and pressing responsibilities, which she met with courage and resolution, as duties to be performed. Her well-trained fac- ulties and resources of mind and character en- abled her to assume and successfully fulfil all the requirements of her position. Her keen insight, her tact and energy, her thoughtful judgment, and great business capacity were wonderfully manifest in all the affairs that from this time entered into her life-work. These ciualities enabled her not only to hold undiminished the extensive estate left to her charge, but to more than double the original value of the property.
Not long after her husband's death Mrs. Flint returned to her native town, and made her home on an estate Mr. Flint had owned on Main Street. Here in a house beautifully lo- cated, overlooking Crystal J^ake and the cen- tral portions of Wakefield, she continued to re- side during the remaining years of her life. On this homestead farm she laid out a street, nam- ing it Charles Street, in remembrance of her husband. The estate consisted of twenty-four acres, including the sightly elevation known as "Hart's Hill," which with its picturesque sur- roundings has since the death of Mrs. Flint been acquired by the town by purchase as a public park, and will in time become a charming resort.
Though removed from North Reading, Mrs. Flint cherished a loving remembrance of the town as having been the birthplace and lifelong home of her husband, and because of her own personal and pleasant a.ssociations with the kindly and intelligent people of the old " North Precinct," as it was known in the early days, when Wakefield, Reading, and North Reading were united in one municipality.
On this town of her love Mrs. Flint bestowed her tangible blessings in a golden shower, not in any unconsidered and impulsive way, but only after calm forethought and deliberation, seeking to ascertain what gifts would be of greatest and most lasting value. The first re- sults of her kindly thoughtfulness were manifest in laying the foundation for a public library. By the provisions of her husband's will the sum of one thousand dollars was to be offered to the town of North Reading, the income thereof to be used in the purchase of medals for excel- lence in the public schools. The execution of this laudable jnu'pose having l)een found im- practicable, Mrs. Flint, with the willing co- operation of the town, turned this becjuest into a gift to form the nucleus of a public liljrary. To this gift she soon after added two thousanil dollars and later one thousaml dollars more, to be a permanent fund, the income of which should be amuially devoted "for the benefit of said library."
In accepting the gift, the town adopted the following resolutions: "Resolved, That we, as a town, hereby express to Mrs. Harriet N. Flint our grateful appreciation of the warm interest she has taken in the prosperity of our town, the culture of its citizens, and the edu- cation of our youth.
"Resolved, That we also gratefully recognize her interest in our welfare, as shown in her original gift of one thousand dollars to establish a library, and in adding to that gift two thousand dollars as a perpetual fund, to
