Grafton
Grafton names 3 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Grafton AUGUSTUS HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
AUGUSTUS HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF, an English statesman, a descendant of Charles II.; born Oct. 1, 1735. In 1757 he succeeded his grandfather, the second duke (see CHARLES II.). He first came to the front in political life in 1763 in the opposition to Bute, and in July, 1765, he took office as Secretary of State under Rockingham, but resigned in the following May. Two months later Pitt became premier and Earl of Chatham, making Grafton First Lord of the Treasury; but in consequence of Chatham's continued illness Grafton was compelled to take on his own shoulders the responsible duties of head of the government from September, 1767. He resigned in 1770, accepted the office of Lord Privy Seal under Lord North in 1771, and filled it till November, 1775. When the new Rockingham ministry was formed in March, 1782, Grafton took his old post as Lord Privy Seal, but resigned office 13 months later. He was the target at which JUNIUS (q. v.) shot some of his sharpest invectives. He died in Euston Hall, Suffolk, England, March 14, 1811.
Grafton a city of West Virginia
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of West Virginia, the county-seat of Taylor co. It is on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and on the Tygart's Valley river. It is an important railroad center and has the terminals of four divisions of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. Its industries include railroad shops, flour mills, machine shops, cigar factories, etc. It has an important wholesale grocery trade. There is a national cemetery within the borders of the city. Pop. (1910) 7,563; (1920) 8,517.
Grafton a town in Worcester co.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a town in Worcester co., Mass.; on the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad; 6 miles S. E. of Worcester. It contains several villages, high school and a public library; manufactures cotton goods, emery, thread, shoes, soap, etc. Pop. (1910) 5,705; (1920) 6,887.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The Duke of Grafton entry still stands as Collier's gave it in 1921, though the Junius who savaged him is now generally identified as Sir Philip Francis rather than left an open mystery. The two towns have diverged sharply. Grafton, West Virginia, was described as "an important railroad center" with the terminals of four Baltimore and Ohio divisions; the B&O was absorbed into CSX by the late 1980s, the shops are gone, and the population has fallen from 8,517 in 1920 to under 5,000 today, the town now better known for the Andrews church where the first Mother's Day service was held in 1908 and the International Mother's Day Shrine. Grafton, Massachusetts, went the other way: its cotton and emery mills closed, but as a Worcester-and-Boston commuter town served by MBTA rail it has grown from 6,887 to roughly 19,000, and North Grafton has housed Tufts University's veterinary school since 1979.
Written for this edition, 2026.